Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

fionaandphil

Well done on such a successful move, you've done lots this week. Try and rest up a bit before going back to work! Lovely to hear you are settling in so well

Elisheba

Evening, all,

I'm hoping now the big move is done to get this diary back to its frugal and simple living roots. So on that theme my biggest money saver today was NOT buying a Christmas tree.

I've been debating whether to buy a real tree or a nice fake one instead. I looked on Amazon and they had some very nice fake ones between £100 and £150, and I was thinking over a few years it would pay for itself. 

Then this morning I properly looked at where I thought a tree should go and though uh oh, there's not enough room there. The space wouldn't have been wide enough. So I decided to get a small real tree in a pot which I could put on a table in a different location.

So I went to the garden centre, but real trees in pots were £40 to 50, and I thought if I'm going to spend that amount of money I may as well pay a bit more and get a fake one I can use again.

Back to the Big River site I go, and scroll through them all and the ones I liked were about £80-100. And then my frugal brain clicked in. I have a small fake tree I bought last year from Argos for less than £15 . It is thin and a bit rubbish, and I was thinking of putting it in the porch.

But it's just me and I'm not even here for Xmas. Yes, I like a bit of festive decoration and cheer but I don't like a huge amount of extra work. So why don't I just put up the rubbish little fake tree on the table in my living room? It won't cost me anything, and I can put a few festive bits elsewhere as well and it will be really easy!

So that's what I'm going to do tomorrow morning. Total cost - zero, and that saves me whatever stupid amount I was thinking of spending on a tree 😁.

In bad news the trolley I bought fell apart when I was moving the wood this morning. The bolts were as tight as I could make them (which wasn't very tight, as the nuts had plastic on one side so you couldn't put the screws in far) but they fell out, and one was lost.

I ended up moving the wood in my suitcase, which although time-consuming wasn't the end of the world as at least it fitted through my house. I was not best pleased though and have submitted a returns request to Amazon due to the goods being defective.

It looks like I'll have to pay the postage on the return. I'm not happy about that as although it should be refunded to me for defective goods, you never know with these things and it is a heavy and bulky item. I've messaged the seller to enquire what their preferred postage method is, as it will be coming out of their pocket in the end, and am waiting to hear back from them.

Total spending today was £2.50 on some replacement bulbs for my little candle arch for the window. I'll need to clear some space and get that up tomorrow as well.

I haven't written any Xmas cards, as frankly I couldn't be bothered this evening 🤣. There are high winds outside and I've been enjoying listening to them and sitting by the fire, while I watched YouTube videos from people living in much more remote areas than myself, as they battle the elements ☺️.

List for tomorrow -
🎄Put up Xmas tree and decorations
🎄Empty boxes in hall

🎄Start Xmas cards

🎄Batch cook some cheese and broccoli pasta bake 
🎄Possible try a local church

🎄Possibly do some online stuff - address changes and budgeting 

Oh, and I picked up a couple of free books from an old telephone box book swap. One by Churchill's cook, and a Miss Read Xmas one. I have far too many books to read right now and my brain isn't really focusing for reading, but books are my vice and I struggle to say no to them.

I also got a couple of lovely parcels this morning - one an Xmas present from a friend who will be abroad for Xmas, and one a house warming present. So nice to open them and enjoy the gifts inside ☺️.

Bedtime for me now. I'm going to try to focus to read something Christmassy. Hope everyone is snuggled up warm, and not being blown away with the gales.

Cheery_Daff

Sorry about the trolley, that's very annoying.  Good decision about the tree though,  well done.  For years we had the fake one my mum bought when she got married - that lasted about 40 years before I decided it had just lost too many bits of branch,  and we replaced it with a 6 foot one from Argos which was in a sale (before Christmas!) for £25. That's about 6 years in I think and going strong. I've never had a real tree,  I know people love them,  but having always had the same fake one growing up,  that's just carried on. 

One thing I did last year though that was lovely was dried orange slices,  hung in the windows to let the light through 😊 I kept them in a jar afterwards (the ones that survived) and the look to be still OK,  so I'll put them back up this year 😊 a nice little thing to do 😊

Moorviews

It’s very disappointing that the trolley failed you so quickly. What is the point of them if they can’t actually do what they were designed for? 

Good swerve on the Christmas tree; it’s the decorations that make them anyway. I have never had a big fake tree but do have a little one that I enjoy using each year. The big tree is a real one but cut and I shop around for the lower price, not so perfect ones. I never know whether to make the move to either a potted tree, or a fake one. 

My oil company refunds onto my card automatically so hopefully that is what will happen with you. They also send a statement in the post. It can be worth shopping around for the best price, or joining a local oil buying group.  I’m pleased to hear that the heating works well and that you have a comfortable winter ahead. How are your dog and cat settling in?

SuzeQStan

Hey Elisheba - echoing the above re trolley - so frustrating.  Strongly recommend builders going to physical premises store for a purchase like this. 

We have a fake tree - got it for a tenner in the post Christmas sales years ago and still going strong. 

Hope you are ok after lugging all that wood about!! Xx

Elisheba

Thanks, all.
@Cheery_Daff I am thinking about making Christingle oranges and hanging them from my fireplace, but worried silly dog might see them as a snack 🤣

@Moorviews I normally shop around for a big tree as well, but being more rural now and not knowing the area it wasn't really possible this year. The oil company has now refunded the money for the litres I didn't need just as you said, so that's good 😁.

@SuzeQStan I might keep an eye out for a bigger fake tree in the sales for future years 😁

Elisheba

Little fake tree is up and looks fab 😀

Makingabobor2

Ooh how lovely. What a cosy looking room with all those books. 

Elisheba

Evening, thrifty friends ,

Oh, I'm glad the photos worked. Not sure I've done that before on here so wasn't sure if they would 😁.

The trolley saga continues. The company said I needed to tighten the bolts tighter, through the rubber in the nuts and to use a sprocket. Upon googling a sprocket is similar to a gear, so I think they mean adjustable screwdriver or socket set. Neither of which I have. They are sending me a couple of replacement screws and nuts, and I'll see what I can do at the weekend. 

A friend of a friend has also offered me a lawnmower and wheelbarrow for £20. They are at my old place and I'll be there on Sunday so will have a look then. Even if I can't unload the trolley a wheelbarrow will be useful, and I do need a lawnmower for the summer.

There has been a bit of confusion with my new energy company. I signed up to Octopus, but my estate agent signed me up to Ovo. I think I've sorted it out now, but might have to pay for a week with Ovo. They are more expensive to that's a bit annoying.

I'm on a two tier tarrif, with a day and a night rate. Think the house had storage heaters before it was fitted with oil so that's probably why. Anyway the standing charge is about a penny below the normal, the day rate a few pence high, and the nightrate significantly lower.

I had to do a bit of googling to find out what times were actually off peak. Turns out it's written in very small letters on my box. Quarter past midnight to 7am, which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. I was quite cross when I found out and wondered if I should speak the them about getting a normal tariff.

I had a washing and a dishwasher load to do, and no way was I paying a higher rate. So I set my alarm for the middle of the night and got up and turned them on 🤣. It was only while I was doing this at 2am that I remembered that both appliances have a timer delay! So that's that problem solved I'm a much more satisfactory manner than middle of the night excursions to the kitchen 😂. Still a bit annoying that my day use is more expensive though.

Pretty much everything is sorted now, bill wise, for the old and new house. My council tax owe me a whole £1.50, so I shall be waiting with bated breathe for that! My old energy company, Shell, owe me about £50 so I'll probably need to chase them up about that as surprisingly enough I don't want to bank it with them. 

I got around a £12 rebate on my car insurance, so they must think my new house is safer even with on street parking. Oh, and my council tax here is about £20 pcm less than I thought it would be so that's nice.

I've spent the evening writing Xmas cards, so will post them tomorrow. I picked up 2nd class stamps when I went to my nearest big town to collect my new glasses. My new glasses are fab, and I can see much better. One of the problems with my old ones was that the coating had become a bit scratched (thanks silly dog) so there was always a certain amount of blur going on.

I think I've done everything from my weekend list except empty the boxes in the hall. I know I'm putting them off but they can wait until the weekend. I'm thoroughly sick of boxes 🙄.

Hope everyone is warm and cosy and over the midweek hump ☺️

foxgloves

We used to have storage heaters, @Elisheba, but changed to a standard tariff when we had them replaced with gas central heating. It wasn't a problem still having the dual meter as once we were moved off the Economy 7 tariff to a standard single-rate one, the Octopods just combined the readings. Once we no longer had storage heating, the only benefit of Economy 7 tariff was running the washing machine & heated airer during the cheaper hours but we felt this would be outweighed by the higher daytime rate, hence our request to change to a standard one.
F