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

foxgloves

Hello @Elisheba,
Nice to hear from you & of course not spending money atm because you are away in the North has got to be helpful both short term & longer term, has it not? We watched the documentary you mention & it was indeed interesting. Planned obsolescence has not only cost all of us way more than necessary, but will have had a really significant effect on landfill, especially plastics & techy stuff. I was reading somewhere recently that there is a copper shortage & a company (can't recall any details) was gathering in old defunct cables so that the copper can be recovered. We both like the concept of the 'Fairphone' which is constructed in separate physical units which can be replaced individually (without a phone engineer) should anything go wrong. They are a bit out of the price range of Foxgloves Manor atm, but we will certainly be looking in future at purchases with a built-in longevity. I think of my maternal great grandparents, who had very little (& earlier generations even less), & I think they would be simply horrified if they could see what is thrown away today.
F x

missymoo81

Hey I’m glad you’re doing ok and not spending money, I was wondering how you were getting on. Keep plodding.

dawnybabes

Just in case you don’t  know Boots sell Wild deodorant in the stores with refills so if you don’t need the subscription you could buy as you need and collect the points.  

Makingabobor2

dawnybabes said:

Just in case you don’t  know Boots sell Wild deodorant in the stores with refills so if you don’t need the subscription you could buy as you need and collect the points.  

ooh that's useful to know. Keep thinking of trying it

Elisheba

Morning, all ☀️
That's me back in Wales now. While I do miss my family it is soooooo good to be back in my own house, with my own space. I've now washed all the clothes I took up with me (my mum smokes so everything smelled), and the last load is during on the racks. Christmas decorations are all boxed up and I'm hoping to get them into the garage today. 

I did a T3sco online order which was delivered yesterday. I know I said I'm planning to shop in person to save money this year, but I didn't get back until Sunday night due to the storm, and I'm away again this weekend, so time constraints meant online was much more sensible this time. It was a fairly small shop, with mao my the pet necessities and a few bits and pieces to stock up the pantry and fridge.

I made a throw it all in a pot lemon and sausage quinoa stew that was dinner on Monday and Tuesday, with one portion for the freezer. Then last night it was a tomato and bean wholemeal pasta one pot dish that I'll have again tonight, and should be a couple of portions for the freezer.

This evening I am picking up an old wooden bureau that was going free on my local Freecycle equivalent FB page. I've been wanting a bureau for years so I'm quite chuffed about that. It has some oil damage so at some point I'll need to sand it down and revarnish it, but that's fine.

I have update my s/s with my January figures, and unsurprisingly (what with being away), I was an underpaid in all categories except diesel. My one extravagance for January was a bulk shop of the Ethique curly hair shampoo and conditioner bars that are no longer being sold in the UK. H&B still had some in stock so I now have 5 of each. I managed to stack up a few discounts to get 40% off them, and although they weren't cheap they seem to last months and months, so that should last me a year or two.

I mentioned I am away this weekend. Very much looking forward to that. It's a chalet with a hot tub in a very nice looking resort in N. Devon with 4 other friends, so should be lovely. Silly dog is going into kennels, so I must remember to look out his vaccination card. I paid for it last year, before I decided this year was going to be ultra frugal, and it was very reasonable between 5 of us. I have allocated diesel and spending money out of my annual pots so no need to worry about that either.

@foxgloves I had another brand of eco phone before the one I have now. I am trying to remember what it was called and can't turn the life of me. I bought it through Only Buy Once, but I wasn't very impressed with it. The camera was rubbish, and the phone itself broke twice in two years. It's all very well sending it away to be fixed, but I was then without a phone for 2 weeks. I think Fairphones look better, but probably a good idea to have an old phone for backup if anything goes wrong.

Good to hear from you, @missymoo81. I'll catch up with your diary soon

Good to know about Wild being in Boots @dawnybabes. I saw them in H&B as well, but they didn't have the sensitive ones I use. I'll need to find my nearest Boots and see if they stick them there.

Right, time to get ready for work. My walk today will be in my nearest small town as the library have a book in I ordered. It is lovely that my library don't charge to order books, and don't have any late fees either!

Hope everyone is well 😊

Makingabobor2

That's good, getting books ordered from library for free. Ours charges £1. So I always look in CS's first, as that way, if I pay a £ to buy it, I can at least re-donate it once I've done with it.
Our small local library ahs very few books in stock, and they tend to be the same ones, week after week.  Thinking of nipping in the one in the next town as I can use my card in there and I go into the town for food shopping, so won't be a problem to return them after.  Its just that our local one is in the village and I can walk to it....so just lazy really....lol. 

Elisheba

Bore da, frugallers!

I had a lovely weekend away with friends in North Devon.  Visited Clovelly, whose cobbles going down are much scarier than I remember them being from my 20s (hypermobility and poor balance seems to have gotten a lot worse since then), but managed the climb back up without feeling too tired or sore, so at least there is that! It was funny spending so much time with friends, and seeing all their possessions.  Fancy hairdryers, and expensive PJs, and all the mod cons. 

Its something I have really opted out of over the last few years - not even really to do with the debt (although that has been a contributing factor), but more from wanting a simple life.  In some ways I felt like a bit of a luddite, seeing their bits and pieces, but mainly I was just thinking, really - do you need that?  I know for a fact that the people concerned could afford it all, so it wasn't like I was worried about them getting into debt or anything, just that the frugal, simple life gets into your bones, and these days I'm also worried about the environment and our over consumption culture.

So its back to my second hand home with only the basics, technology wise, for me.  Lit the stove on Sunday evening which was very relaxing, and then I've had the heating on the last couple of days to dry the washing.  I'v been a bit lazy with the cooking the last few days - fake meat, veg and potatoes on Sunday, marmite pasta Monday, and then hot cross buns yesterday  . I'll make something proper tonight - I have halloumi and smoked tofu in the fridge, so something with one of them I suspect.

I am in the office tomorrow, but a different office so I'll be driving.  Not looking forward to the 5am start after a couple of months without it.  However, I only have one more office trip in February (one has been cancelled) and its actually a site visit (again driving) so can't complain.

I have arranged to view a car on Saturday down in Cardiff, if its still available. Its Citroen Grand C4 Picasso if anyone knows anything about them? Pros - its not too far away, its one of the cars on my short list, and it a decent colour.  Cons - the garage doesn't have great reviews on Autotrader (mainly for poor service if the car has issues after purchase), and its little bit more than I wanted to pay.  If I like it after a test drive then I think I'll pay for an AA inspection - the car is 10 years old with 77000 miles on it so I want to know what I'm getting into.  If the garage aren't willing to hold it for me to organise that then I'll just let it go.  I'll also need to talk to them about the exchange value of my car, as the Autotrader quote is £1k less than the Webuyanyc4r quote.  I'm presuming Webuyanyc4r give you the absolute top valuation and then take money off for all the bits and bobs they see when they inspect the car, and that's the reason for the difference, but annoying as I was hoping for a bit more.  

Anyway, the plan is still to sell the car before April, so I can fire some cash into my LISA and get the £1k for this financial year.  Then pay off the last remaining credit card and the overdraft, and save, save, save.  I went through the MSE guide to house moving costs and created a rough budget if everything is top dollar.  I think I'll need to put aside £6k for all the conveyancing and insurance and mortgage costs, and then another £3k for the removals. So this is probably at least a 2 year plan, as I want £10k for a deposit as well. If I don't need all that then its extra money for kitting out the house or putting back into savings.  

I am being more and more drawn to moving back to Scotland.  I worked out its a 5 hour drive from where I am looking to get to the area my work is in.  I could do that the night before, and car camp in a service station which has showers and things for getting ready, then get the train to work (which avoids the main A road congestion, and the city traffic which is a nightmare). Then drive home the work day night.  It would mean no more 5am starts which would be a blessing, although still a massive commute on average twice a month, 

The main sticking point is silly dog. He can't really come with me as I can't leave him in the car all day at a train station. It would be different if I could park at the office, at least on days that aren't hot, and take him for toilet breaks and lunchtime walks, but with where my office is that just isn't an option.  My brother has said he might sometimes be able to come over (its an hour away from him, longer by public transport and he doesn't drive) and dog sit, but mainly it would be kennels.  There is what looks like a lovely kennels nearby to where I am, so I will need to inspect them at some point.

I have put together a budget for it all, and fired in different figures for mortgages, council tax and the rest, and its definitely manageable.  I can't go as high as I would ideally like on house prices if I want to keep money aside for maintenance and savings, but there are houses that come up at a price that would be suitable and leave me comfortable financially.

Its still just an idea, but : -
The pros -

• Being an hour away from my family so I can be more involved in their day to day lives, especially as my nieces get older, my Mum gets older, and as I get older, but being far enough away that I wouldn't be just a taxi and babysitting service, 
• a beautiful rural location with lots of walking around, 
• local groups and organisations to get involved with and what looks like a half decent community from the FB groups I have joined, 
• getting snowed in in winter (I love extreme weather), 
• being fairly close to a motorway, 
• almost all the houses that come up already have wood stoves so I wouldn't need to fit one (I don't think I could live without a fire/stove these days).  
• Within an hours drive to major cites, and 3/4 hour for big towns with a decent range of shops, 20 minutes for smaller town with some shops, library, swimming pool.
• Two pubs and a local shop close by
• I have a good idea of what is possible and what I can manage due to the commute I am doing now
• Slightly cheaper properties
• I'd be in my home country again where people speak with the same accent (roughly) as me and know what some of my words mean, and in the culture I grew up in.  Say what you will about the UK, but it isn't homogenous and I notice the difference being in England/Wales. 

Cons are -

• the insane commute, although to be fair my commute is almost as insane now
• getting snowed in in winter (much as I love it, it can be an issue for commuting), 
• colder climate (its in the hills for about 4 degrees colder than everywhere else on average), 
• silly dog and any issues with kennels and lack of vacancies, 
• less flexibility in case of redundancy etc., although where I am now has the same issue and I can't afford to live where I work even if I did want to, which I don't.
• Further away from all my friends in England and Wales. I know some people (and obviously my family) in Scotland but I haven't lived there in over 20 years, so have lost touch with a lot of folk, and up until my divorce I thought my life was going to be in England so that's where I have built friendships.

So yeah, that's where my thinking is at.  Its not a decision as yet, and I have a lot of time saving up to go in a different direction, but with the budget I know its at least a viable option.

Other than that things continue apace.  I paid off one of my credit cards this week whose interest free period was coming to an end, so that's another one gone.  Just one more now and the OD, oh and a loan from a friend from when I moved house, which I have been paying back monthly but will pay back in full once I sell the car. I also have the loan I took out to buy the car in the first place but nothing much I can do about that so I am just ignoring it other than making the payments.

I hope everyone is well and keeping cosy and warm. 

foxgloves

What a lot to think about, @Elisheba. My head nearly exploded from just reading it & contemplating all those pros & cons! That would be way too long a commute for me, but I know your current one is pretty long.
Hope the car purchase goes well. Good luck with that.
F x

SuzeQStan

Hey Elisheba - wow some exciting options there. Afraid I’m no good when it comes to buying cars but maybe it’s a query for the motoring section on the forum?

as regards moving back home to Scotland - the main sticking point seems to be silly dog - I know the kennels around here require a lot of advance booking etc.  I might recommend looking on N@xtDoor app for dog walkers/babysitters in the area you are looking to move to. Some near us offer house visits (inc walkies, refresh food/water, make a fuss over them etc)  so that might be an option but I haven’t a clue over costs sorry.  Xx

sarah_diamond

If you were happy to car camp with the dog overnight, would you consider finding a doggy day-care place near work so he would be there during your work hours but could travel to and from home, with you?

I'm near Cardiff and a friend of mine had a Picasso (08 plate) when her kids were little so she could fit 3 car seats in the back. I drove it a few times when child care was an issue and I picked the kids up from school, it's a bit of a boat but it's fine! Wary of bad review garages, up to you if you want to name them or send a DM, but if it's a car supermarket on the A470 I might not recommend it. Your idea of the AA check is good, and if you have a local-to-you garage you trust then the report could be worthwhile sharing with them.