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

Elisheba

My sister posted me pics from Scotland @WinterWarrior Its coming down thick and fast there!  I'd rather have snow that the 'chase the wheelie bin' game I seem to be playing where I am right now!

Elisheba

Oh, what a day!  And the wind hasn't peaked here yet - only in an amber warning area though so hopefully will all be okay.

My counselling was cancelled today because of the weather so that will leave me a few pounds richer for this month, so silver linings and all that! I'll need to update the spreadsheet.

Made my pot of tea and put it in my super awesome Stanley flask earlier, and food is all prepared for the day and just needs heating.  Obviously if the power gets cut off I'll have to change plans, but I have a gas cooker  and lots of stores so it won't be an issue.  I'm wrapped in my sleeping bag for working from home - all smart on top for meetings, and the sleeping bag is hidden 

I need to remember to send my power company some number from my smart meter they need to replace it.  I'll do that at lunch time I think. I due to go bowling later on so hopefully the winds will have calmed down by then.  Bowling is all paid for so very frugal!

Not sure what my plans for the weekend are .  The forecast for tomorrow is atrocious, so probably a house day.  Once I have hoovered and cleaned the bathroom I might light the fire, and curl up with a library book.  Sounds like it is going to be that sort of day! I'll probably need to get some more coal if I light the fire though, but that's okay as I have money in my personal allowance I can use.  The smokefree stuff we need to use now is just so rubbish in an open fire that I'm not even sure its worth it.  Wood burns nicely but burns so quickly it makes it super expensive.

I've just seen there is another wheelie bin in the road so I better go and rescue it!

Elisheba

Wheelie bins all rescued for today and looks like the worst has passed now, and no damage to my house done so thats something.

Has anyone else been watching the aeroplanes landing at Heathrow?  Amazing what those pilots can do, isn't it? 

I hear part of the roof is off the O2 dome.  Friends have had roofs, fences and garages damaged.  I really feel for them.  Hopefully they are insured and can get it all sorted out quickly.

I am seriously thinking about doing a 'No Spend Lent' where I only buy absolute essentials - what those are exactly I haven't yet decided! For instance, would milk be considered an essential, as I can technically live without it, but my tea and coffee would suffer drastically.  It seems like quite a good thing to do for Lent, stepping away from commercialism and capitalism and focusing on more humble, basic things.  I've had a look at my diary and I think I can get away with only spending £10 of personal allowance in March for two talks at local clubs I want to hear.  I'm counting those as educational though, and education is always essential.  Not sure about the two odd weeks of Lent that fall in April yet, and if there is anything I HAVE to spend money on then.  It would mean I could treat myself to Hot cross buns on Easter Sunday and they will be a proper treat because I won't have been munching on them for weeks before   

I went through my spreadsheet again earlier and played with some figures, and I figure on an uber frugal month where I didn't need to buy petrol and where I took a third off the food shopping, stayed really low in energy use, and if I cut back a few bills that are coming up for renewal and got rid of the TV licence, I could put 58% of my income into savings and paying off debt.  That is the absolute maximum I think, with me buying nothing other than absolute essentials. I would have to earn more, or be mortgage/rent free to get any higher than that.  Obviously that's not really sustainable - I live alone so I do want a social life and some nice things, but its good to know what is possible and maybe challenge myself to reach than number every now and then 

Elisheba

Happy weekend, my lovely frugalistas,

What a dreich old day it is out there! Lots of indoor activities for me this weekend I thinketh!

I've lit the fire so that will mean buying some more coal later on. I also need to get a few messages, so I will probably pop to Tesco as well. It's things like milk and cheese which are price matched so no point going out of my way to Lidl or Aldi for them. I do need real coffee but I have some old stuff in a jar which will no doubt taste rubbish but which I should probably finish first 

I had a hankering after pancakes, so made some Scots ones from my Granny's recipe for breakfast. I let my dog lick the batter bowl which was a mistake as now he's on a sugar high and causing chaos! I won't be doing that again!

This weekend I plan on making clothes washing liquid, do a bit of cleaning and tidying, some dishes and that's about it for productive things. I've got a jigsaw I started ages ago I can do, and I got the new Richard Osman murder mystery on a free Audible trial so I can listen to that. I do need to do some mending but can do that if I watch some telly at some point.

I've got Quakers tomorrow but don't think there are any after meetings, so of its nice I'll go to the local nature reserve for a walk and to see the snow drops. If its not I'll stay in a read a book and might light the fire again.

Frugal wise I signed up to airtime rewards yesterday, and I need to cancel a few free trials today. Otherwise I shall just try and keep on with good habits but otherwise not think about saving or money much. 

Elisheba

Ooooh, my quick trip out for coal and a couple of messages ended up costing me quite a bit!

I got some wood to go with the coal, and that ended up costing just under £20. Its a treat, but at the end of the day it will bring several days of hygge joy and wellbeing. I could easily blow £20 on absolutely nothing and get no value from it at all.

I ended up looking at the sales rack in Tesco, and got 10 pairs of pants for £5 reduced from £11 (2 packs of 5). You always need pants don't you, and I doubt I'll find them cheaper. I also got a tea coloured top/dress which will go with leggings, can be smart or casual, washes normally and is made from recycled bottles. Reduced from £18 to £5. I'd be pressed to go find something similar for cheaper in a charity shop, and hopefully it'll be one of the basic wardrobe staples that'll last for years. 

Both the coal and the clothing will come out of my monthly personal budget. I'll have to add it up but I think that's me maxed out for the month now! I may even be a few pound over 

Other than that I bought milk and cheese as planned, and noticed the 6 pint cartons of milk have gone up from £1.60 to £1.70. The 4 pint cartons are still price matched at £1.15 with Aldi, but how long till they both put them up? 

elbree

Well done @Elisheba! Sounds like your purchases were well thought out. I like the idea of lent but couldn't go all the way to Easter, I try to alternate. I'll have a super strict month where I'm really good, then I feel bored and annoyed so I have a 'bad' month where I spend more and do more. Then I feel guilty so I have a 'good' month again. I know I'm likely to spend more in the summer socialising etc so try and be relatively good even in the bad months over winter. I don't think I've explained it very well but it works for me! 

Elisheba

Thanks @elbree. Once I have my annuals pot full and running I will have a small amount in there every year for clothing so these sort of purchases will be fine. At the moment they are still coming out of my personal allowance, which does mean I need to cut back on other things.
I'm still thinking out Lent. My worry is I go too extreme and get sick of the whole thing. Still, Lent is basically only 6 weeks right, and technically Sundays don't count do I could gave a Sunday loophole if I want I'll keep thinking about it. Still got 12 days to decide!
Sounds like your system is working for you and that's what matters 

Blackcats

Some good bargains - we always need pants!

Your cosy hygge home time sounds lovely.  We did Fredagsmys this week (cosy Friday) so hot chocolate instead of wine which meant it didn't seem worth opening my weekend wine last night so that bottle can carry forward to next weekend 😇. I'm doing the grocery challenge so the saving on wine should mean I come in under budget - yay!  I need to remind myself that the figure I've budgeted isn't a target to aim for but the absolute maximum available.  

I think Lent with Sundays off sounds doable - perhaps a Sunday treat spending pot?

Elisheba

@Blackcats I do love some cocoa by the fire! Or if the fire isn't lit, with candles and blankets to feel super cosy. And all the better if it saves you the cost of a bottle of the old vino collapso next weekend  .
One of the interesting things that the Frugalwoods say is that they don't really budget at all because they are aiming for zero so every cent that is spent has to be worth it. Personally I think I might not get on very well with that. I like to have a rough idea of what I'm spending each month and try to come in under!

Elisheba

Happy Sunday, one and all, 

I've been quite busy up until now, but should all be quiet and relaxing from now on. Had the leftover pancakes from yesterday for breakfast and very nice they were too. Had Quaker Meeting and did enjoy some shortbread with coffee afterwards. I'm not buying biscuits or sweets as part of my frugal cutback, so I appreciate them when they are available 

After that I nipped round to a friend's house as she was giving me her old printer. I'll have to investigate ink cartridges for it.

Decided to walk my dog fairly early today as the weather forecast gets worse and worse as the day goes on! Even then I was fighting against the wind at times, and there was a bit of rain. I just don't have the fitness I had through all the lockdowns anymore. Walks take longer and tire me more, but I guess that's because I now have the luxury of doing things other than walking 

I had some poached eggs on toast when I got in, and will have my last portion of mushroom soup and apple crumble for supper. I was thinking about the menu plan for the week, and once I've used up the last of the veggie mince tomorrow I think I'll made a big slow cooker pot of quinoa, chickpeas, and veg with stock for flavour and have that for lunch all week. Then for dinner I'll do soups and have them with bread and butter and apple crumble for afters. That will do most days, and I can make pizza on Friday, and defrost some of the Quorn bolognaise and cook spagetti if I fancy a change.

Moneywise today I decided this morning that I needed to put some more towards a credit card with high interest so added an extra £50 to the direct debit for that each month. Other than that I spent 79p on some dental floss and worked out I'm £2 over on my personal allowance for the month and have about a tenner left for food.

I've lit the fire again, but not done anything on my 'To Do' list. Oh well, me and the animals are all cosy and walked and fed. Nothing else is very urgent and ill get round to it at some point!