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

jokono

I don't think I've seen olio mentioned in your diary? I save quite a bit of money collecting food listed there. I also have a 'community larder' subscription (£3.50 per week for 14 items), I don't know if that's available where you are but people in other parts of the country mentioned other food waste groups.

Elisheba

jokono said:

Finally caught up! Hello again 👋👋

I bet it feels amazing to get rid of £75 interest every month, that's a huge amount over the year. I hope your other cards offer transfer soon but as you start paying off more and more you will eventually get other card offers. Just make sure you cancel the unused ones if you don't trust yourself not to use them again. 

Right, I have questions 😅
1. How do you cook pasta off the heat, google wasn't very helpful? I think you put the pasta with the water from the beginning, bring it to boil then turn the hob off? And leave it there for how long?
2. How did the no loo roll experiment work in the end?
3. What's your recipe for washing liquid? I used to make washing powder using this one, I might go back to it after I finish this box.

Re banks - I have a spare account that I use for switching, easy money off the banks. I don't think NatWest still have the switching offer but my main account is with them and I make £3 off them every month just by logging into the mobile app and having 2 direct debits.

Hey @jokono I'm feeling very flattered you read all of this diary!!!!!!

In regards to your questions
1. I boil water in the kettle, then pour it over pasta in the pot.  Put the pot lid on, bring it to the boil and then turn off the heat and leave it for about 10 mins.  How long you leave t depends on the psta.  Value stuff takes a bit longer, fancy stuff a bit less.  I ave also heard this work for rice, but but I don't know the timings.

2.  No loo roll experiment is working great actually  .  I have a sealed bucked I chuck in with anything that needs a 60 degree wash like towels.  The loo roll cloths dry super quickly on the clothes rack so no bother at all.  I have some spare loo rolls in for guests as well, as I don't want to appear bonkers if folk are round 

3.  I am planning on using Rhonda Hetzel's recipe from her book 'Down To Earth' - 1 /12 litres of water, 1 cup grated soap (I have liquid soap to use though), 1/2 cup washing soda (not bicarb of soda), 1/2 cup borax substitute (not if you are using the grey water in the garden).  Heat soap and water until soap is dissolved.  Add washing soda and borax.  Stir until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Pour into a bucket, add tap water to about 10 litres.  Stir until cool.  Add to containers (I will use cleaned out milk cartons).  Shake before use.  Use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load.

Elisheba

Have done my debt sums for last month and now at the bottom of £11k.  Next month I'll be in the £10k bracket!  How exciting!  

I still haven't gone properly through my budget and changed the pots to better reflect what I am spending - its all a bit reactive currently.  Hopefully, I will be able to sit down and do that next week.

Other than that not much to report.  I paid off the extra interest on the credit card I paid the balance on so it is now at zero.  That's 2 cards down, four to go!  Hopefully within a year or so!

Busy weekend coming up, and probably fairly expensive as well.  I'll try to keep costs down (won't be drinking tonight, or tomorrow lunch time, and have picked what I want off the menu already), but no doubt it'll add up.  Still, itys nice to nice things and I have budgeted for everything!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and that Friday 13th is lucky for you!

Elisheba

jokono said:

I don't think I've seen olio mentioned in your diary? I save quite a bit of money collecting food listed there. I also have a 'community larder' subscription (£3.50 per week for 14 items), I don't know if that's available where you are but people in other parts of the country mentioned other food waste groups.

Sadly being quite rural Olio and TGTG have nothing much round here, and there is no community larder that I know of.  Occasionally if I am there early enough I can pick up a Lidl box of fruit and veg for £1.50.

missymoo81

Hey I do the no cook rice thing! I boil water in the kettle. Use twice as much water to rice. I usually measure it in a mug. Then heat until boiling, stir, then let  it reach boiling again and switch off the heat and leave the lid on. Prob takes about 15 mins to absorb all of the water. 

Didn’t know you could do it with pasta! Very impressed! 

Baileys_Babe

missymoo81 said:

Hey I do the no cook rice thing! I boil water in the kettle. Use twice as much water to rice. I usually measure it in a mug. Then heat until boiling, stir, then let  it reach boiling again and switch off the heat and leave the lid on. Prob takes about 15 mins to absorb all of the water. 

Didn’t know you could do it with pasta! Very impressed! 

When following this method with pasta I find it is easy to end up with soggy pasta 😢

Elisheba

Morning all,

Just plugging away with the money saving at the moment.  Turns out I have been scammed with buying my new kettle, and when I emailed to find out why it hadn't arrived the email was undeliverable.  I have reported it to my bank and should get the money back in a a few months I think.  It's only £15, but going by reviews I have now looked at for the website people have been scammed out of a lot more.  Its awful these things happen.  And annoyingly, I am still without a blooming kettle!
I am also chasing up a travel expenses claim for something i did last month, and that seems to be slow going as well    That'll be another £15 odd at some point.

In good news my District Council website now says the £150 heating rebate should be paid before the end of the month.  I could do with it now to avoid going into my overdraft, but if wishes were horses.

This weekend will be very money saving I think.  I am helping out at a charity stall, so it'll be flask of tea and packed lunches and snack.  I could do without it really - I have so much needing done around the house.  However, I am not feeling brilliant right now with the old mental health, so I doubt I would have got much done anyway and would have just retreated into a book.
I need to set some small manageable tasks for myself to help me get out of the doldrums.  Dishes, hoovering and washing by the end of the week I think. I also have some work tasks I am setting myself.  Sometimes a good kick and getting moving does help, so fingers crossed!

I seem to be doing okay in energy usage.  Thanks goodness its fairly warm again!  Shell are now recommending I reduce my DD to less than I have put it up to, which is £40 less than they were suggesting 3 months ago so that's nice.  I'll keep it where it is though.  I like to have a bit of credit there, and it will buffer whatever the new price cap will be.

Hope everyone is well and having a good week!

Elisheba

Oh, my kettle refund has gone in already!  Must be a well known scam company.  I have bought a kettle from Amazon now, paid more and gone for new rather than refurbished.  It boils a cup in 45 secs and has good reviews and a 3 year guarantee, and also looks cool and will go with my kitchen! 

I'm very much looking forward to not having to boil a cup in the microwave or boil a pot to fill my flask! It does take me into my OD, which I try to avoid for as long as possible, but such is life.   One day the OD will be paid off and in the mean time there will be tea.

foxgloves

That's exactly what I'm doing, @Elisheba, with our energy account. We're aiming to build up as much credit as possible between May & the end of September in the hope that when the government energy help 'loan' lands, we will be able to offset at least some degree of the price increase. Our monthly dd has not yet been increased, presumably because our account is in credit, so I'm keeping a close eye on usage. It's the only thing over which we have any control.
F

missymoo81

Hey @Elisheba just wanted to check you’re ok.