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

Moorviews

Good spot on the energy bill! Well done for keeping on top of these things and what is going on with your accounts. For many years I had to use the overdraft and credit cards so I do understand what that feels like. I have my fingers crossed for you regarding the local house 😊
It is hard to know with grocery budgets as so many prices really have escalated. I am always shocked at the checkout even though I am fairly modest with my purchases generally. I am very glad that I no longer have to feed children, or teenagers, as it must feel nearly impossible for many. Hopefully, your salary increase will go some way towards helping with the bills. It is great that it has been mild thus far and you can conserve the oil for any cold spells. It was a big outlay but at least it is there for when you need it. 

Like you, we enjoy the homemade soup, bread and pizzas. Despite being economical they always feel so luxurious and satisfying. Hope you have a good week 😊

Elisheba

foxgloves said:

Nice to hear from you, @Elisheba. You seem to enjoy a life of simple pleasures - much like myself & I enjoy reading about your lifestyle. How odd about the Celphalopod bill. It does sound as though the new occupants may not have submitted a moving-in meter reading or a similar silly problem. Glad you have got it sorted out. I must say that on the rare occasion I've had a problem with them, they have sorted it out without any drama, & I had a named person too, which always helps when sorting out a utilities problem.
I really like home made soup & freshly baked wholemeal bread. All our freezer soups are tomato-based atm as we had such a glut of the fiends, but I am fancying some leek & potato, so must put leeks on the shopping list so I can make some.
F

Funnily enough leek and potato is one of my least favourite soups, @foxgloves.  My favourite is probably lentil - I remember telling my Mum it was my favourite food when I was about 5 and her being quite taken aback as lentil soup isn't traditionally a childhood favourite over sweets and puddings  .  

Elisheba

Moorviews said:

Good spot on the energy bill! Well done for keeping on top of these things and what is going on with your accounts. For many years I had to use the overdraft and credit cards so I do understand what that feels like. I have my fingers crossed for you regarding the local house 😊
It is hard to know with grocery budgets as so many prices really have escalated. I am always shocked at the checkout even though I am fairly modest with my purchases generally. I am very glad that I no longer have to feed children, or teenagers, as it must feel nearly impossible for many. Hopefully, your salary increase will go some way towards helping with the bills. It is great that it has been mild thus far and you can conserve the oil for any cold spells. It was a big outlay but at least it is there for when you need it. 

Like you, we enjoy the homemade soup, bread and pizzas. Despite being economical they always feel so luxurious and satisfying. Hope you have a good week 😊

Thankfully these days I am in the very privileged position of being able to pay for my food and cover my bills without having to tear out my hair, worrying about where I am going to find the extra money for all the rises.  When I first started this debt free journey back in 2020 that wasn't the case though, and yeah, that was mainly because I was paying back so much in debt I had almost no leeway and thus was my own fault, but it was pretty terrifying.

The whole situation with the sea creature energy company reminded me, as it was that account, of when I changed energy company from them in 2020.  I hadn't done any energy readings since I moved into the house, and it turned out I owned the sea creature company about £400 and I just didn't have it.  All the credit cards were maxed out, and both overdrafts were at their very high limits.  There is nothing so humbling as earning a good salary, and finding yourself having to negotiate a debt repayment schedule for a basic bill.  Thank goodness I had already started the debt free journey by then so I was able to find some money and pay it off over a few months.  Pretty certain it was that which totally tanked my credit rating back then though.

Slowdown

I so enjoy your posts. Your aim of simple living is inspiring and so I’m off to make some sweet potato and red pepper soup for lunch later! I’m not a fan of the leek and potato either. 

Peace and quiet and slower living is very underrated and you sound like you’re getting it right alot of the time. 

It’s also great to know you can get through financially even if there are a few outstanding bits and bobs to be paid off. Much peace to be gained from that. 

Like you, I need to get my food spends under control. It’s all gone a bit haywire lately and I need to get a grip. A meal plan is a good idea. 

Happy Thursday 😊

Elisheba

Good morning, frugalistas!

Well, I honestly think that despite what all the headlines are saying today that the budget wasn't bad at all.  I guess we will have to see how the increase in employer Nat Ins effects economic growth, but in general I think most people will not be affected or be better off.  Or well, that's certainly the case for me, and it looks very fair to me.

I have never lived through a Labour government that wasn't supported by the press, and it is very interesting to see how the press are spinning things.  New Labour got Murdoch and Co on side (at least at first, maybe not so much later on) whereas Keir clearly hasn't.  And not having the ear of government will make the press attack the government even harder, to try and recover their power for the next government. 

I don't know if a government will be able to survive to 2 or 3 terms with almost no popular press support, although it certainly didn't stop them winning a General Election.  I'm trying to be very careful what I say here in line with forum rules, but as Murdoch isn't a politician I think I can say anything that even slightly breaks the stranglehold his Empire has on the British political debate is a good thing in my book.  He's an unelected mogul - why should an Australian national have such a huge say in what happens in our country?

In money saving news I updated all the s/s with the end of month figures yesterday and did a full financial reconciliation between what is the the bank and what is on the s/s. So I can say with confidence that I am all on track to payoff the credit card whose interest fee period ends in Jan 25 on time, and unless some big unplanned expenses come my way, I should pay off the last credit card at the end of its interest free period in Nov 25.  Then the OD will be gone early-ish 2026. 

And that will be pretty much it.  I owe my ex some money as he paid off our old joint OD, but he doesn't want it until I have a house deposit together and have bought a house.  And I have the car loan, but that's a completely separate thing and I don't count it as part of this. 

So I feel quite on top of things and organised financially which is nice.  I still haven't done a meal plan for November so maybe tonight, as I do want to get the T£sco delivery slot booked for before I run out of pet food.  Its soup and the last of the hm bread tonight, pizza tomorrow, veggie sausage and mash on Saturday, and new potatoes, veg and some sort of fake meat thing on Sunday.  And I have everything I need in, so no need to buy anything except maybe milk and yogurt before then.

I think that's all my news for today.  The weather is still mild so no need for heating, and walking silly dog is a pleasure right now with how pretty all the Autumn colours are.  I'm reading a Tim Spector book, The Diet Myth, which is just reinforcing info I already know so far, but its very interesting anyway. Hope you are all warm and cosy and the budget didn't cause you any problems.  

KajiKita

I’m not sure what effect the changes in car tax will have? I think I will end up paying c. £100 more pa? But considering that I am currently paying £20 pa, which is far too small for my roads use, I actually don’t mind that …

I’m with you on wanting a more diverse press …

KK

Makingabobor2

KajiKita said:

I’m not sure what effect the changes in car tax will have? I think I will end up paying c. £100 more pa? But considering that I am currently paying £20 pa, which is far too small for my roads use, I actually don’t mind that …

I’m with you on wanting a more diverse press …

KK

Oo, was there a change to car tax? I must have missed that.....must have been 'cause she went on far too long and I must have dozed off.......lol

Makingabobor2

Love Tim Spectre @Elisheba. He is a very knowledgeable man.  Was listening to him on Liz Earle podcast the other day. Fascinating stuff.  Don't know if you follow Liz Earle, but she does some really informative podcasts you may like. 

Moorviews

You have recovered everything so well from being in a difficult position. In our case we had to live on a single modest income for a good few years due to the particular needs of our DC. I was robbing Peter to pay Paul a lot and wouldn’t want to go back to that again. We were fortunate in the kind of mortgage and bank account that we had as it was an Offset. We could pay lump sums from endowments in and it reduced the interest on our mortgage. Every penny went in there then we hung onto the ability to borrow against it and that was how we survived. Interestingly the bank kept offering to reduce what we could borrow but I kept saying no! I knew we would eventually have lump sums from our pensions which could pay the remainder off. 

It was very interesting to watch Martin on his show last night. He definitely presented some perspectives that I hadn’t thought of. The pensions being valued as part of the estate could be a factor if we die young and have any inheritance to add on to what we have now (quite possible*), however I always thought that was an odd loophole and one which benefited the well off. It seems an appropriate target to me as pensions are built up with tax benefits anyway. It might mean people help their younger family members out more during their lifetime rather than leaving a larger inheritance pot. A family home is probably what makes up most of what a homeowner has in their estate which might present difficulties though. 

*likely inheritance I mean, rather than early death. 

Slowdown

Hi @Elisheba
Hope all is well with you. Just checking as you’ve not posted va in a while. All your plans seemed to be jogging along ok so hope the radio silence is simply reflection of a quiet and contented life. 😊