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

Elisheba

Morning all, and happy Halloween/Samhain/All Saints Eve/31st of the month!

Well, its payday today so my bank account is looking lovely and healthy, and as I'm paying for most things on my Amex it should continue to look that way until the 28th when most of my bills come out and the 29th when the payment is taken, and the I'm paid on 30th again so will only be bank account poor for a day or two!

I had a very quiet weekend in the end and very much didn't feel like going out on Saturday so didn't.  I think its fair to say I struggle with handling grief for a number of historic reasons, and its not like its easy in the first place.  So I'm going to put myself in special measures for this month in terms of looking after myself.  Set a firm bedtime, set an alarm to remember my medication, make a special effort to cook and eat well, go for fairly long dog walks (and do that during the day so I get some sunlight) and try  to get other exercise, completely cut out booze for the time being.  If I look after myself the rest will follow, but if I don't I could spiral and I really don't want that.  It also helps that it should be fairly frugal  .

Money wise this month I have booked in my car for an early MOT, Service and to fix whatever is wrong with the exhaust.  I think it will also need at least 2 new tyres, so I've put £500 aside, and have a bit more if its needed.  Ideally I would have held off on this until December, but I have 2 long journeys this month and figured it will probably save some money to merge them all together in terms of labour time. 

This months I have the 2 long car journeys to pay for (£??), a pub Quiz (£10), and a charity Quiz (£15), and possibly an Escape room (£20).  Since I'm not overrun with social events I might book in some coffees with friends as well.  Might join the local historical society as well as I've been thinking about it, and the talks look quite interesting. Its £10, and then £3 a session I think (unless it has gone up since I last looked).

No word on a refund from Shell Energy yet, but I'll leave it a while - mainly because I managed to confuse myself over how much I need to leave in the account!  If I do start using the heating I'll have to increase my DD, as without heating I think my DD is pretty spot on right now.  Its so hard to say with this ridiculously mild Autumn, but in general I think my heated hoodie will be enough.  But I suppose if I get ill, or start craving a long hot bath, I will need the heating on a bit, so will need to keep an eye on it.

My plan for tonight is to food plan and do a food shop, as it will mean I hit the £100 Lidl spend and get a £2 off voucher.  If I leave it until tomorrow the limit will have reset.  It should be fine, especially if I get my dog walk done at lunchtime.  Then I can have something nice for dinner!  I'm thinking pesto pasta with olives and peppers and feta  . Although maybe I should wait until tomorrow for that, as I should eat before I go shopping.  Maybe sausage and mash and peas then. 

I've got a fair bit of Quorn in the freezer so will plan around that and try to avoid oven use.  I made a loaf yesterday so lunch today is eggs and fake bacon on toast, and maybe some mushrooms I need to use up.  I'm also going to try Jackie O's tip and grate all my cheese into a tub when I get it.  I'm sure I often use a bit much just because thats how much I have grated and I feel like I should use it there and then.  I wonder if it will make a difference pre-grating it?  I'm also really hoping Lidl have UHT milk as they didn't on Friday, and I'm down to my last 2 cartons.  Honestly, supply chains and basic stock not being in shops is just a nightmare these days.

Anyway, have a great day, everyone 

Elisheba

Okay, food plan done for the month for 4 and a bit weeks

Breakfasts
Weekdays - HM Muesli
Weekends - choice of pancakes and tinned fruit, eggs on toast, or fake bacon and eggs and beans/mushrooms

Lunches
Weekday - Baked potatoes with cheese/egg mayo, or soup (broccoli and cheddar, lentil, mushroom, carrot and coriander)
Weekends - Leftovers, or just have a big breakfast

Dinners (on weekly repeat)
Cheese Beano (on busy nights)
Veggie Mince and tatties
Pasta Bake
Pesto Pasta
Veggie Roast Dinner
Veggie sausage and mas with veg
Veggie Spag Bog

I have a shopping list so will drive to Lidl after work.  I have enough animal food for now, but will check cat litter before I go.  

I really hope my animals get acclimatised to get fed 'later' fairly soon as they are being super annoying! Blooming clock change!  I am being rigid about waiting until 5pm to feed them though or it'll go on for weeks.

It was lovely when I went a walk at lunchtime but is hideous outside now. I hope my new non-holey walking boots arrive soon or I will be getting properly wet feet when out on dog walks.  Its still unseasonably warm though.

Elisheba

Righty ho. Shopping all done. £38.76 at Lidl, and £20.84 at Aldi for all the stuff Lidl didn't have. Should do me for most of the month. 

Lidl had basics pasta in (first time in ages) so I bought 3kg and I already have 2kg in the cupboard. Aldi had reduced their basics porridge to 70p from 75p per kg, so I bought 6kg when I had only 2kg on my list. That should do me until the New Year now.

Other than that I bought 2 packets of Quorn crispy fillets from Lidl. I didn't see a price on the freezer for them, so checked my receipt when I got home and they don't seem to be on it. They were definitely on the moving thing at the till, so I'm wondering if they were old stock and no longer on the system when the check out chap zapped them. Since it's on the other side of town from me I won't be taking them back I'm afraid.

I didn't buy real butter because it's now £1.99 up from £1.47 a few months ago and that's just too much. I got the own brand spreadable, which was £2.35 a pack and lasts as long as 2 blocks of butter. I know you can make your own spreadable, but after the cost of the butter, oil, energy and personal time it's not worth it.

Oh and Lidl have overcharged me 10p at the till for cinnamon than the shelf label said. Since they seem to have under charged me £3-4 for some Quorn products, I think I'll let them off this time  . 

Oh and I have the £2 Lidl voucher to use, but it has to be within 7 days. I'll likely stock up on dog food at the weekend to use it up. 

Makingabobor2

Sounds like you did really well there. I will stock up on porridge when I go to Aldi this week, that's a bargain. Think I paid 79p 2 weeks ago

jokono

Tesco also has their own brand porridge for 70p but it's in plastic bags. I don't know about Aldi, but last time I got it in Lidl it came in a paper bag.

Nice surprise on the fillets! 😀

Elisheba

jokono said:

Tesco also has their own brand porridge for 70p but it's in plastic bags. I don't know about Aldi, but last time I got it in Lidl it came in a paper bag.

Nice surprise on the fillets! 😀

Ah right, didn't know that about Tesco. Sadly Aldi's is in plastic bags as well, which is why I normally get mine at Lidl but they didn't have any. 

Makingabobor2

Elisheba said:

jokono said:

Tesco also has their own brand porridge for 70p but it's in plastic bags. I don't know about Aldi, but last time I got it in Lidl it came in a paper bag.

Nice surprise on the fillets! 😀

Ah right, didn't know that about Tesco. Sadly Aldi's is in plastic bags as well, which is why I normally get mine at Lidl but they didn't have any. 

Didn't know that Lidl's came in paper. I must take a look. Hate having to buy plastic but some of the paper ones are so much dearer. 

Elisheba

Morning all,

HM muesli for breakfast  today.  Just has 2 old satumas that needed eating for an elevenses snack, and I'll have a baked potatoes and cheese for lunch, and bangers and mash again for dinner.  I did buy biscuits on my shop yesterday, but I'm trying to cut down on them as I've been eating too many.

My new walking boots have been delivered to the shop so I'm going to pick them up at lunchtime and them take my dog a walk - as its currently pouring down I imagine it will be a trial by fire!

I think putting myself in special measure is working.  I slept well last night, and I'm feeling a lot better today.  Just got to keep up the strict timetable which makes sure I get the things done I need to for self-care.

There is talk of my brother coming down from Scotland for the funeral.  My Mum wants me to pay for his travel, but I think he's trying to get a grant - he's on benefits and PIP so I think its something to do with that.  I hope he gets it as with my car service and MOT this month, and petrol prices, if I pay it would be on a credit card as I doubt I'll have money left over. 

I have a feeling he may end up staying until Xmas as he has a lot going on and could use a healthy break.  That has it's pros and cons.  He's very big so I may need to give up my bed as I don't think my little spare day bed could take him, and he eats a lot which I'm not sure he would fully pay for.   Also all my little frugalities like not using toilet roll or putting on the heating or using much energy would go by the wayside with a guest.  Still, it would be nice to see him.  We'll see I guess.  He also has a lot of hospital appointments and things so he probably shouldn't stay away even if he wants to.

Noting much else going on in my frugal world today.  It should be a NSD so that's nice.  Oh, and I started my 3 month Disney Plus Tesco voucher subscription yesterday.  Will get around to watching the new season of Grey's Anatomy at some point!

Hope you all have good days 

SuzeQStan

Elisheba said:

Morning all, and happy Halloween/Samhain/All Saints Eve/31st of the month!

Well, its payday today so my bank account is looking lovely and healthy, and as I'm paying for most things on my Amex it should continue to look that way until the 28th when most of my bills come out and the 29th when the payment is taken, and the I'm paid on 30th again so will only be bank account poor for a day or two!

I had a very quiet weekend in the end and very much didn't feel like going out on Saturday so didn't.  I think its fair to say I struggle with handling grief for a number of historic reasons, and its not like its easy in the first place.  So I'm going to put myself in special measures for this month in terms of looking after myself.  Set a firm bedtime, set an alarm to remember my medication, make a special effort to cook and eat well, go for fairly long dog walks (and do that during the day so I get some sunlight) and try  to get other exercise, completely cut out booze for the time being.  If I look after myself the rest will follow, but if I don't I could spiral and I really don't want that.  It also helps that it should be fairly frugal  .

My plan for tonight is to food plan and do a food shop, as it will mean I hit the £100 Lidl spend and get a £2 off voucher.  If I leave it until tomorrow the limit will have reset.  It should be fine, especially if I get my dog walk done at lunchtime.  Then I can have something nice for dinner!  I'm thinking pesto pasta with olives and peppers and feta  . Although maybe I should wait until tomorrow for that, as I should eat before I go shopping.  Maybe sausage and mash and peas then. 

I've got a fair bit of Quorn in the freezer so will plan around that and try to avoid oven use.  I made a loaf yesterday so lunch today is eggs and fake bacon on toast, and maybe some mushrooms I need to use up.  I'm also going to try Jackie O's tip and grate all my cheese into a tub when I get it.  I'm sure I often use a bit much just because thats how much I have grated and I feel like I should use it there and then.  I wonder if it will make a difference pre-grating it?  I'm also really hoping Lidl have UHT milk as they didn't on Friday, and I'm down to my last 2 cartons.  Honestly, supply chains and basic stock not being in shops is just a nightmare these days.

Sometime feel like we are leading parallel lives Elisheba 🤣 - I got the £2 Lidl £100 threshold spend this week just gotta remember to use it before the 7 day update cut off. Our Lidl has a lot of empty shelves too - and I struggle to find my favourite which is the honey pomelos - £1.49
per but one lasts me 4 days!  Highly recommend if you not tried them.

Special measures sound very sensible - things like this make me love reading your diary as it is so inspirational. I need a bit of sunlight in my life too but will have to make do with vit d tabs haha!
ps also well done on giving yourself a bit of breathing room with the Amex - ain’t nothing like a few weeks extra free credit 😉 
pps - re grated cheese would it not go a bit dry? How about grating at time of use just what you want to use on that occasion? I do that and weigh it out so I don’t go cheese crazy (I wish I could be cheese crazy!)

SuzeQStan

Elisheba said:

There is talk of my brother coming down from Scotland for the funeral.  My Mum wants me to pay for his travel, but I think he's trying to get a grant - he's on benefits and PIP so I think its something to do with that.  I hope he gets it as with my car service and MOT this month, and petrol prices, if I pay it would be on a credit card as I doubt I'll have money left over. 

I have a feeling he may end up staying until Xmas as he has a lot going on and could use a healthy break.  That has it's pros and cons.  He's very big so I may need to give up my bed as I don't think my little spare day bed could take him, and he eats a lot which I'm not sure he would fully pay for.   Also all my little frugalities like not using toilet roll or putting on the heating or using much energy would go by the wayside with a guest.  Still, it would be nice to see him.  We'll see I guess.  He also has a lot of hospital appointments and things so he probably shouldn't stay away even if he wants to.

You are very kind to give up your bed for your brother. As you say it is difficult to be MSE when you have guests. My m&d visited here a few weeks ago and it really hurt my wallet to do it but I put the heating on for about 10 hours a day as they are both stone nesh. 

It’s one thing to be kind and another to put yourself in debt to pay for DB’s journey though. Could your mum club with you to raise the travel funds at all? Fully appreciate its so hard with family - but you are not a bank with endless reserves! And it sounds like you will be dipping into those reserves to feed and provide warmth etc.. especially if he is staying till Christmas!

I need to know what this toilet roll thing is about tho - pls dish! 😉