Struggling along as best I can

southern_chick

glad my suggestion made sense and hope it works 🥰 xx

nannygladys

Southern_chick - I'm definitely going to try it, I would really like to buy with cash only but around here there are still quite a few places not wanting to handle cash.

On the way taking dgd back home we called into a local retail park, I'm still on the hunt for a winter coat, but couldn't see one that I wanted to buy. I think I'm going to stick with what I have for the time being, so I may put the one I have into the wm tomorrow if the weather is OK and then do a bit of mending on it. And whilst I was there I bought a birthday card for dd3s partner as its on Tuesday and as he really likes his coffee machine I will be buying him some of his favourite coffee grounds for it, so that's easy enough.

Hoping to go to the allotment tomorrow for a couple of hours to resume the weeding and plant some more cabbages I've been growing - winter ones. I quite like cabbage and so do dds which is a good job as I seem to be growing quite a few! And I think the beans will have finished so I can tidy them up as well, oh and do a bit more tidying of the hedge, it just needs smoothing out a bit after its scalping lol. So if I pace myself and do half an hour on each, that will do!

So off to bed after a quick look around the boards as I got into reading one of my library books last night and the time just flew and then it was two o'clock, so a bit tired tonight.
Nannyg

nannygladys

What a rainy day, I had hoped to go to the allotment today but I'm not going in the rain, I'm hoping it's better tomorrow as I can only fit it in Wednesday and tomorrow, I will see.

I haven't really done much today, but I have started to tidy some cupboards and I started with my desk, so quite a bit of shredding to do and more space in my now tidy desk. And I've sorted out my airing cupboard as I'm hiding sc toys in there for eldest dd, one of my dgds knows mummy hides things in her wardrobe, it was a good job it was only bath bombs!!! 

As I haven't been out no money has been spent, I get paid Wednesday so hopefully I will have some money left over. I keep changing my mind what to do with any lo money so until I decide it's going in a spare jar, but I'm not going to fritter it away.

Hope everyone is fine.
Nannyg

nannygladys

£10.52 spent today in lids, included coffee, bread, yogurt, cheese and a few bits, I couldn't get toilet paper, well not a 4 pack, milk or the crackers I like, but I expect I'll manage to last. So as I'm going to dd 3 tomorrow to my dgs sitting I don't think I will be spending anything.

Went to the allotment this afternoon and carried on with a bit of clearing up, forgot to take my cabbage plants but another few days won't hurt. I wasn't going to pick anything but I couldn't resist so came away with green beans, more courgettes, more aubergines and some tomatoes.  I made tonight's tea this morning and used my own courgettes, aubergines, potatoes, green beans and tomatoes, I used a recipe from the recipe page on the grocery challange. I've made a bit of a menu plan for the next week using veggies from the allotment and freezer and a tentative shopping list that's not very long, so I may have to look at that again. Wednesday is pay day so that's when I will be doing the money side and faffing around with the budget and lists.

Off to have a surf around the boards.
Nannyg

nannygladys

Ok then, went to do my bit of dgs sitting and had a walk around their old fashioned small town, it's a lovely place, lots of black and white buildings and independent shops. I even called in for a free coffee! Bought a couple of Xmas pressies for dgc with the rest of my grocery money so have £3.44 left!! Not quite what I was going to do but at least I didn't waste it.

Still not decided about the budget from tomorrow, I would really like to save a bit more, in my case it's always just a few pounds but on the state pension by the time I've paid the usual bills and put money in all my little pots there's not a lot left, I'm not complaining as I have no private pension and my house is paid for and luckily I have no debt, so I need to put my thinking head on. Lesson:  you younger ones, private pension, pay mortgage off, have no debt and save a bit!! That's I tell my dds! But you can still be frugal and have a good life, I don't go without (very often) and I'm blowed if I'm going cold in winter, in fact I do use the winter payment so I don't go cold and not on Xmas presents like someone I know!!! Mind you it's never tropical I'm not that keen on that much heat! 

Sorry for the little lecture,  I just want everyone to be better off I suppose and not go into retirement with not being able to have some sort of secure life.

Well lunch - courgette and potato soup
Tea - left over aubergine and courgette bake, there's enough for tomorrow as well.

Tomorrow is like a day off for me this week so in the afternoon hopefully I'll be down the allotment for a couple of hours. No cooking required as I still have leftovers to finish. 
Well going to have a browse around the boards and then have another look at the budgets.
Nannyg

WinterWarrior

Very sensible advice nanny….may I also add ‘don’t marry a taker who will take half of your private pension, and everything else you paid for, in a divorce, then cash it in and swan about spending your money while you slog on paying into your much smaller pot’ …. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! 

I’m so glad you use the winter payment on heating, being warm enough is so important! 

cbsexec

Great advice and good to hear from someone living a “normal” life and not someone with a huge pension pot wondering if they have “enough”.    I’m sure all the hard work you put into your allotment must help 😀

Kantankrus_Mare

I have just read through your thread and wanted to pop in to say what an inspiration you are and how very lucky your girls and grandchildren are to have you!! You sound just like my own grandmother who I spent lots of time with when I was growing up. Some of the happiest times are when we used to go brambling when I would sleep over at hers and she was the most fantastic baker abe to whip up something tasty at the drop of a hat.

My nanna taught me all about frugality as she never had a lot of money and it has stuck with me. I am currently sat in my hotel room in Acharavi Greece as its blowing a gale!!  Its a holiday that we have saved hard for and are thoroughly enjoying.

Your diary resonates hugely with me as I also have an allotment and can totally relate to the daily courgette drama and what to do with them

I also hate waste and try to make something from everything we get from the allotment but I get frustrated with time constraints as I work 3/4 days a week but being short staffed have been doing extra days when I would much rather be at my plot. I love being down there, even if its just weeding and tidying. Its my sanity and I love it when we cook and at least a couple of the ingredients are what we have grown. Ive never managed to work it out but must save us a fair bit of money and I look at keeping our food budget down as a way of affording the nice things in life. 

You are doing a fantastic job with budgeting and I will follow along to see what you are concocting from your allotment pickings. Wish I could make the courgette balls that they serve here in Greece!! They are delish!!

nannygladys

WinterWarrior - my ex has quite a good pension and we were married for a fair amount of years, I didn't want any of his pension although I could have had some, I didn't want to be beholden to him and then dd told me a couple of years ago that he had been to a solicitor to stop me getting any!!!! I was a stay at home mum until the children went to school and he had his full entitlement of half the house value when we split- I was very naive back then!! But I know I've bought my house and manage quite well without him, I was married to a taker or someone who didn't want to give, not sure which, so can appreciate what you're saying. 
cbsexec - thank you for the kind comment. My first private pension was in the early days and when I enquired about it years later I was told it didn't exist because of all the administration costs incurred lol!! I have always had low paid office jobs and at a pension review meeting was told I wasn't really worth me having one as I couldn't pay enough into it (i was in my forties/fifties by then), I was paying a mortgage and bringing up 3 children on my own at the time, so again I didn't bother. I do have a very small pension because the govt bought in the compulsory employers one, but I only paid into that for a couple of years before I retired, I have deferred it a couple of times and now is worth about £6 a month or it might be a week, not sure I would have to look, but it's hardly  life changing lol!
Kantankrous_mare - thank you for those kind words. I had a slow year last year at the allotment, but this year I'm all on it, I was there this morning and found two more courgettes, where do they come from?! I have left them on the plant so I'm expecting them to be marrow size when I next go in a couple of days!!! Courgette balls made me laugh because I have bought some courgette seeds for next year and they are like little balls not long, I might have to go and search for a recipe as they sound quite nice, my middle dd lives in Cyprus so she may know one, not that she cooks much Greek food though!

So I spent the first part of the morning redoing budgets, but I haven't really changed anything around. I think this month I will be spending more on groceries as the pantry is depleting a bit but it will be only replacing the more common things like tom's, beans etc especially as winter is coming and then I went to the allotment and spent a couple of hours just titivating and weeding bits, oh and planting winter cabbage, chard and winter beetroot, also saw one of the other plot holders so had a chat. Then home and went to the library and that was it really, just fluffed about a bit this afternoon!!
Dinner - lo aubergine and courgette bake
Tea - beans on toast.
Ok off for a look around the boards, see you all tomorrow after another exciting day lol!!!!!!!!!
Nannyg

nannygladys

Going to be a quick one tonight as I'm not very well. When I sat dgs on Tuesday he wasn't very well, explosive nappies! Dd, her other half and dgd have all got it and I started last night. I thought I was OK this morning but gone downhill as the day has gone on, I managed to go to the community kitchen but I wasn't there long, spent £5.50 and got loads. (Its only open once a week)I will only have to buy milk this week I think but, as my brains are mush at the moment that will probably change.
I am so cold and shivery, I have put two hot water bottles in my bed and a thick throw on the top, I can always grab the quilt from the spare bed but that might be just a bit too much! 
If I still feel this bad in the morning I will cancel my eye test and go next week if I can, and then probably stay in bed.I haven't eaten so I suppose that's frugal ha ha, but I'm trying to keep the fluids up.
Anyway going to bed, see you all tomorrow
Nannyg