Sh*t creek - is now in my rear view mirror...!

Irenadler

Hey Babs!

Yeah, I forgot to say I have 3 bird boxes, positioned well apart so they have a choice of 'des res' and privacy.... Think any beach huts on the 'beach' would be a red rag to the dog though! She still sits under the trees at the back willing the squirrels to drop in her lap! Looks so cute think 'innocent' Snoopy dog gazing up pose, but, not so innocent motive!

Skint_yet_Again

Would quite like a nice pool myself at the moment it is so hot already today 🥵 and there is no breeze. I quite envy the birds with their pool 🏖 😆

Irenadler

Hi Skinty,
Yeah, might shift them over to dangle my feet in there! 

I should explain that I haven't blown it and visited the shops to do it! I already had an old spare piece of pond liner, about 6' x 6', I had a half dozen rockery stones (for hiding liner edge on one side, and creating perch or 'look-out for the flaming dog' stones), and I have a fish pond, pulled off a few corms of native yellow iris for the wildlife one. The only thing I had to buy was gravel to create a 'beach' on a gentle slope into the pond, and cover the remaining visible liner edge... (Local builders merchant 2 x 25kg bags gravel, approx £7), and the kind help of family with car to fetch it and lug it round the back with me. Just took a bit of digging out and sweating, hefting stones and gravel about, filling it from the hosepipe, and Bob's your uncle, lots of happy birds .... amazing how insects have also honed in on it already....

I also bought 3m black 'waste pipe' (another £7ish), from the same place which I am using on several projects.
1 - two pieces to join 2 rain butts to a 3rd 'overflow' butt
2 - the rest to make into 'watering pipes' e.g. either for self watering reservoir in large pots as seen on 'Beechgrove' for larger plants, or, adding in next to newly planted trees (if I ever get another one!).

Ah ha, I hear you say, you still spent £14 odd. Oh no, not really counting that as didn't need to use bank card. I finally got the reward card from the net of plus, and it was for £60, not £50 as I thought. As you can't withdraw cash with it, it's a pre-paid card thingy, I used it for all those little projects I had in mind. 
  
Finally, on-line ordered from local DIY shop, and used same reward card for some chalky furniture paint, as I have been wanting to do up some old bedroom furniture I have had for 20 years (and it was donated from family so used a good 10 years before that from new!), and a bit of woodworm killer, for an old table I have been wanting to spruce up to actually use in the front room.... Phew! So that's nearly used it all up, but, all to start or finish all those jobs that I have been thinking about forever..... Very MSE as it hasn't really 'cost' me anything but organising, time and effort. Stops me actually getting the real debit card out and hitting the shops, and keeps me too busy to go there!

MovingForwards

That's some savvy shopping Ren!
Write how much you have left on it, plus the expiry date and keep it with your EF ready for your next project.
You have no excuse for not taking a brew outside, lounging in the sun and admiring your handywork 🤗

Irenadler

Good idea Babs, there's a bit left, which might stretch to another tin of paint if I need more....

A definite plan there, pity it's not something bubbly and cold though, this weather.....

Irenadler

Hey all
Been thinking (maybe even over-thinking) in-between cleaning, and projects. Long post warning:

So far I have, over the last couple of months:

1. Renovated old Victorian walnut table - woodworm killer in leg and 'bare wood', revitalising oils, and beeswax to polish it up. Now in lounge as reasonably nice looking coffee table, big enough for putting mugs on (with coaster! I am not an animal, ha!)
2. Moved up-light into a down-light to see if it looks ok. Nope.... Think both wall lights need to go...future project!
3. Re-arranged rain barrel (again) as it was too high to be an over-flow, marked out where to cut into them, but have yet to find the right tool for the job. Note: stabbing at it with a chisel doesn't work.... Emptied a bit out of both and watered outdoor pots as banging at it with said chisel produces 'interesting' splashes at me...
4. Put weights at the bottom of new shower curtain as it flapped about too much.
5. Re-arranged back room so I can sit properly at the dining table to reach laptop without giving myself neck and back ache.
6. Finished hemming two sets of curtains for two rooms and re-hung, with weights as a heavy fabric.
7. Pruned apple tree so I don't have to wrestle past it to get to rain barrels.
8. Cleared all gutters outside, on bungalow, conservatory, garage and shed - went to neighbours side to get at side of my garage and offered to do her back gutters too.... 
9. Weeded front and back gardens.
10. Put stump killer on stumps of two large shrubs that were taking over the garden too much, got rid of branches as neighbour offered use of her green waste bin too. 
11. Had the idea to use gutter netting in down-pipes to stop blockages; just cut small rolls of it and stuffed them in the top of the down-pipes, works well.
12. Created a 'step' of sorts behind garage as dog sometimes leaps down behind raised beds and gap behind garage, and can't get out. I can now get down there to rescue her safely without having to a. Swear. b. Get key for garage and get steps out. c. Swear again at weight of dog whilst struggling up rickety step-ladder. d. Carry dog across raised bed and go back for step-ladder e. Put step-ladder away and lock garage!
Not adding the cleaning exploits, as, this post would be twice as long....

On the financial front, I have been saving my shopping receipts, and worked out (surprise) that I am over-spending. Be prepared to stand by with wet fish for slapping me....

July's average weekly spend is £30.91 (£123.66 for month mostly groceries).
August's average weekly spend is £57.27 (£171.82 - £85ish spent on one-off items for replacements/projects which doesn't include the £60 reward pre-paid card!) If I subtract the one-off spend, it means over 3 weeks I have spent about £28.94 a week on groceries. So, doesn't sound quite as horrific. A saving of £1.97 over July!!

Not giving myself a Blue Peter badge just yet, as I still haven't implemented the £25 cash envelope per week to get groceries with, but I am edging towards it.... And I still have to get a savings account open, not just the stash jar (which hasn't been added to either)... Hmmm. I still haven't quite got the stick to a budget and save mentality yet. Now I have got the spending urge out of my system, which at least wasn't for personal treats or eating out, but for home improvement/replacements/spares and I am enjoying those every day, I have to get my focus back on the finances...

I still have money in the bank, I am hopefully being 'paid' next week, and the theory is that I can then see what is left after the direct debits go out. My worst habit, since getting refunds and having more from reducing bills, is thinking that I 'need' to spend what is in there as 'spare' cash, because there is stuff that I want 'needs' doing.... and I have been used to having that income to not stop that mindset. I will get there, ok, you can hurl the wet fish now!

MovingForwards

No wet fish, not needed this time!
You've been really busy and achieved a lot in quite a short space of time 🤗

3 - drill and hacksaw (if wood) or pliers to hold hot metal bit and hacksaw (if plastic) 😁

I think you need to put your big girl socks on and get that savings account opened.
When you get paid wait for the bills to come out and move £4 into savings plus your portion of annual bills.
Then divide what's left into 4, that's your food money each week. 
If you overspend your weekly budget one week, you have to underspend the next or over the remaining weeks. 
If you have any money left when you get paid again, move the leftovers to savings.

It's easy to spend, especially as you've struggled for ages and are now making up for that time.

I will set a challenge! Open your savings account by the end of September 2020 and get £4 into it. I've faith in you Ren 🤗

Skint_yet_Again

I also think you have done really well on your food shop. It’s hard changing your mindset to stop spending any excess but you are also entitled to buy some things for yourself. Just spread the cost, budget & save for it. 

Irenadler

MovingForwards said:

No wet fish, not needed this time!
You've been really busy and achieved a lot in quite a short space of time 🤗

3 - drill and hacksaw (if wood) or pliers to hold hot metal bit and hacksaw (if plastic) 😁

I think you need to put your big girl socks on and get that savings account opened.
When you get paid wait for the bills to come out and move £4 into savings plus your portion of annual bills.
Then divide what's left into 4, that's your food money each week. 
If you overspend your weekly budget one week, you have to underspend the next or over the remaining weeks. 
If you have any money left when you get paid again, move the leftovers to savings.

It's easy to spend, especially as you've struggled for ages and are now making up for that time.

I will set a challenge! Open your savings account by the end of September 2020 and get £4 into it. I've faith in you Ren 🤗

Hey Babs!
Great, no ducking the wet fish!
They are all plastic, 2 'proper' rain barrels with fitted lids and legs, plus tap, and the 3rd, not sure what it was originally but adapted big blue plastic barrel with sawn-off top which is a dodgy fit, and metal tap stuck in bottom, resting on slabs and bricks so I can use the tap. Don't have drill, hacksaw but do have pliers. Resisting urge to buy a drill (um, small, cordless one would be lovely....). I am going to ask family or neighbours if I can borrow one for it. Maybe one of them has that special attachment which can drill out a reasonable sized hole?

I really don't understand myself, why I am so daunted at opening a savings account, it's not like I haven't been in places where there are other people i.e. supermarket. Maybe it's the thought of filling out forms, getting my head around ID, etc... Or the fear that I can't actually save anything.... and I am jinxing it by opening one? See what I mean, over-thinking....

Ok, challenge accepted Babs! Even if it's only tiny amounts to start with, I will do it.

Sums on that MONTHLY, should be £3.33 for green waste, £8.22 for H&C insurance, £10 for dog, so that's £21.55 minimum for those to set aside and keep up paying them off annually. Add £4 = £25.55 to save bare minimum goal. I am thinking if I treat that as a 'debt' because it's got to be put away as an annual fee, and not think of it as available cash, I can get my head round it..

Income = £409.89 - D/D = £100 -ish; £309.89 remaining. 
Send £25.55 to savings = £284.34 remaining

Then, 284.34 / 4 = 71.08 per week.

In theory, if I aim to spend only £25 of that per week on groceries, or £100 a month, I 'should' be able to save £184.34 on top (or a total of £209.89!).

The reality is that I am currently spending just over double that, although a lot of what I have spent is on one-off's which I don't need to repeat. This obviously doesn't include replacing clothes or shoes as they wear out, appliances that might need replacing or repairing, dog emergencies. Just the bare minimum of food. And, in the near future, there will be family and friend socialising which is never cheap....I am not even thinking about the 'C' word yet....

Finally, there is the question of repaying family debt. My relative keeps insisting that I don't need to pay it, until I am working again, but, frankly I don't know if/when that might happen. Perhaps the best thing is to make token payments, have it set up as a standing order to them, so they don't worry that they will never see it again. IF things improve, all I would need to do is increase the payments to pay them back faster.... Maybe start at £25 per month, after 4 months it's going to be £100, so it could be paid in a few years.
 
I suppose at the back of my mind I am worrying I will go on a manic spend, get overdrawn, and be back to square one.... Just stupidly realised that the suggestion of using cash envelopes only when going out is the solution, I think it was either Skinty or Swan who suggested that (thanks for that!). If I leave the plastic at home, and only have limited cash in my hot little hands, I can't blow it, as long as I only take out £25 per week.... 

Then I will learn the budget discipline properly, then I will be more likely to stick to it, then, I will have something left to save, and then I will learn to save! Phew! There is method to everyone's advice!

Irenadler

Skint_yet_Again said:

I also think you have done really well on your food shop. It’s hard changing your mindset to stop spending any excess but you are also entitled to buy some things for yourself. Just spread the cost, budget & save for it. 

Thanks Skinty!
  
The 'urge to splurge' was definitely upon me! I think all those refunds, and reduced direct debits, went to my head and I got over-excited (Again). When it should be the other way around, if I had scrimped for months, researched and shopped around, and bought more mindfully, then I might have stretched those new things further price-wise.... Still, it's done and they do give me a lot of happiness looking at them. At least I can see something for the spending, it's not been lost in an orgy of booze and takeaways, chocolates, and junk food....  Not that I do orgies! The nearest I would get to that is rolling around on chocolate bars, and then worry that I need to eat it before it melts...