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

astrocytic_kitten

Same thing happened to me with Amzn and when I looked to see what had happened the small print it said the voucher only applied to the first 10,000 (I think) people to use it 🙄 I was doubly annoyed because other than kindle  books I try to not use them 

Elisheba

Bit of a stressful evening in the end. I came downstairs after work and sat on the sofa, and realised poorly cat had peed on the sofa 

So after an emergency clothes change and chucking everything in the washing machine, I called the vet. As always, they take her UTI's very seriously, I think because they can cause a lot of discomfort, and squeezed her in straightaway.

So I dragged the cat box out the cupboard under the stairs, and as always it's the most awkward thing to get to, and my dog is trying to get into the cupboard at the same time to have a nosy. Then out in rush hour traffic to the vets, where they had the heating on full and with my nine million layers and a mask I was absolutely boiling.

Anyway, cat monkey is all treated now (and I did remember to take the insurance claim form so that was something). I got home and had to take my very impatient dog out for a walk, and by the time I got home I was so hungry I gave up on the idea of pie and chips and chucked some pasta into a pot and actually boiled it till it was ready, instead of letting it sit in boiling water with a lid and saving energy - I was that hungry I couldn't bear to wait an extra 10 mins  .

So everyone is now fine and fed, although I'm a bit chilly as I had to put all the downstairs blankets in the wash!  I've also got that wet cold feeling. I was so hot in the vets and on my walk (because its so mild and I'm still dressing for the cold of last week) that all my base layers must've gotten a bit damp and now they are making me cold. 

In completely different news, I was watching a You Tube video on frugal ways from the depression. The presenter, who described herself as a religious homemaker, was in this very modern, spotless, well decorated home (not to my taste but I'm sure to others) and she was perfectly made up and her teeth were that weird bright white colour that I think Americans bleach them to. Anyway, I digress, but mainly because it didn't look like she was cutting back on spending much  .

So she started her list, and most of it was pretty obvious and focused around not eating out and making food from scratch.

Then she got to one of her last ones, and she laughed and said this is so old fashioned and most of you will think I'm mad, but honestly it works! And what was this amazing, crazy nugget of advice? Good people, she advised us to take a hot water bottle to bed - because then we could turn the thermostat down. 

I have to wonder what is going on when the very concept of taking a hot water bottle to bed is so crazy and out there that watchers have to be assured its a real tip and it works! She didn't even have a proper hot bottle - it was a bag of corn she heated in this incredibly fancy, fitted, pull out microwave.  It did serve to amuse me rather a lot though, so there is that. 

savingholmes

Fancy pull out microwave? Not surprised you laughed.

Good tip though. Easy to forget the obvious

WinterWarrior

Wouldn’t a bag of corn heated in the microwave become popcorn? 😁
Another frugal tip is to not turn the lights on, but instead use the light reflecting off of your American teeth 😬 I really love those you tube videos, I get sucked in to how to cater for your 14 kids frugally…I have no kids 🤣

Elisheba

WinterWarrior said:

Wouldn’t a bag of corn heated in the microwave become popcorn? 😁
Another frugal tip is to not turn the lights on, but instead use the light reflecting off of your American teeth 😬 I really love those you tube videos, I get sucked in to how to cater for your 14 kids frugally…I have no kids 🤣

That's a very good point about the popcorn! I have no idea what they are using that doesn't pop.  I was thinking more about the fire hazard it might be as I've heard wheat heat packs can be a risk.

  at the idea of lighting the house by reflected tooth shine! I love those sorts of videos too though!

Elisheba

Morning all. 
I haven't posted in about a week as I had a lovely weekend away but caught the lurgy (thankfully not Covid) and have been feeling rotten all week.
The weekend away went rather over budget, although to be fair I had no idea how much to budget for it. I was staying with a friend but needed to pay for kennels, and the steam train dinner we had. I'd put a bit aside for drinks/snacks but probably should have put aside double. Still, I've juggled and shuffled at bit and covered the majority of it from other budgets.

Being ill all week has been a bit pricey as well. I've had the heating on all day, every day, as when I'm ill my temperature self regulation is all over the place. I also bough quite a lot of easy food and junk food as I'd no energy to cook and was basically craving sugar. So my food budget for the month is about 25% over what I'd planned. Annoying, but not the end of the world. 

I've not added it all up completely, but I think with a lot of juggling I should only end up £20-30 over for the month, which isn't bad at all, all things considered. Of course, if I hadn't overspent I would have had a fair bit extra to put aside this moth but spilt milk and all that. 

Shopping wise, I need to get bread flour and teabags this week, but should be fine otherwise. As I buy biodegradable tea bags I've google and I should be fine putting them in my bucket for my paper log maker. There is no food waste collection where I am and I can't compost as don't have a proper garden, and it's a constant source of annoyance for me to through biodegradable stuff into landfill rubbish. A lot of it can go into my dog, but it's nice to find something I can do with my teabag, and coffee grounds as well I suppose but I don't use much coffee. 

I have lots of house things to do this weekend as I've not done much during the week. If I have the energy I'm also going to do a bit of DIY fixing of some shelves on one of my bookcases, and then sort out my books a bit. They are a mess since one of the shelves collapsed. 

At some point, although I doubt it will be this weekend, I also need to follow a recipe I read to make clothes washing liquid. Think I have everything in for it and it should make 10 litres. I've been putting squash and milk cartons aside to store it. I still have a little bit of shop powder left though, so can leave it until next weekend. I'm getting low on a lot of shop bought cleaning products and am planning to replace them all with homemade as I run out. I bought shed loads of bicarb, vinegar etc last month so am all prepared. 

I did find it interesting seeing my friends last weekend. All three of us are quite environmentally conscious, them more than me in many ways. However we all seem to have our own priorities and ways of doing things. One of my friends has just moved into a new build, and I have to admit the insulation was fantastic, despite me not being a huge fan of new builds (I grew up in one but much prefer the character of an older house).

They have bought a lot of new stuff though, and although the old stuff was recycled/passed on/sold so isn't landfill, I'm more of a fan of keeping things as long as you possibly can. The less we need the less we use. Perhaps it's because I'm coming at it from a money saving perspective as well, whereas that's not a priority for them. Anyway I kept my rather sniffy opinion of all their shiny new things to myself  and let them enjoy without my judgyness. 

Right, I best get started on things. Bathroom and laundry here I come! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! 

WinterWarrior

It’s funny when priorities shift isn’t it? I used to be a big keep up with the joneses and would get things on credit to do so. It took a long time to realise that some people just have more money to spend and some people are in crippling debt to look good. Money still trickles through my fingers more than I’d like, but at least it’s not to impress anyone else. I’d be horrified to have to sign for something that I’d have to pay for for years now. 

Sorry you have been ill and glad you are feeling better.
let us know how the home made washing powder/liquid works please.

Blackcats

Glad you are feeling better.  Well done for being able to juggle the budget pots to minimise most of the overspend.   I laughed about the frugal living tips from the non frugal living, ultra-white toothed woman.  I like reading various blogs and hints and tips - there are some good ideas interspersed with a lot of the blooming obvious.
on a slightly different note I read an article in the Daily ma*l - "this is what being 59 looks like".  Well this woman spent £50 on shampoo, regular Botox, regular fillers, a personal trainer and the most expensive brand of make up.  So I've still got absolutely no idea what she would look like at age 59 without thousands of £'s a year spent on her appearance.  

badmemory

Blackcats said:

 So I've still got absolutely no idea what she would look like at age 59 without thousands of £'s a year spent on her appearance.  

Exactly the same as if she had used stuff @ 99p a throw but have a lot more in the bank well apart from the botox & we should remember Leslie Ash & her botox!

Do you know the story about oil of Ulay/Olay?  They originally brought it out as a cheap moisturiser & it didn't sell well, so they withdrew it from the market & remarketed it as really expensive & it was a sellout.  It tells us quite a lot about people's gullibility.

capuchin

@Blackcats The question I found asking myself was: "Why were youi reading the daily mail?" lol.