We will get this debt down & the savings up

Makingabobor2

So this morning I sat down and did some more number crunching and messaged DH at work to tell him.....not ask him...that I was going to reduce the amount that goes into the car/bike maintenance pot by £10 a week as there is loads in there at the moment, and even by reducing it, we will still be putting £30 a week into it, that seems more than enough to me.  He just said "sure, fine", so that's a little bit extra being sent to the debt pot. He tends to manage that one, so thought I should tell him. But with the others, he has no idea what goes in when/where or why....lol.  I'm also thinking of reducing the amount going to the house and garden pot, although that has taken a hit recently, when we had the new loo downstairs, and the new tap to replace the leaky one, and the first lot of fence panels...which were needed as old ones really falling to bits. So might have to give that one a bit more time and get it back up to a reasonable level, before reducing the amount we pay into it.  Not sure I can reduce the grocery pot, but if I don't use the buffer pot I will put that into the debt pot each month. But I may try and reduce the groceries a bit if I can....we'll see how this 4 week period goes. Its things like loo paper and washing powder that push it up. I did start a "stock up" savings pot, but so far there isn't much in it....lol. Think I'll try a set amount to that from next month. 
So any more tips would be welcome.

P/fc seems to be picking up a bit today, after a really slow month, so hoping that will carry on. The others...YL!v*, 1P*!! and Op*n**m are just very slow these days. Maybe they'll pick up again in the winter

Walked to the local C00p just now and got a pkt of crumpets for 26p, they don't often reduce them that much. 
Tonight's dinner is left overs from Sunday, minced pork and veggies, will add some more veg and turn it into some sort of soup/stew thing.  There is also some left over crumble from yesterday....I suppose we should finish that up really.....lol....

So that's about it for today. Need to get out in the garden for a few more tidying up bits and a bit of watering before dinner. Still saving washing up water etc as the water butts are empty, and yesterday we managed 2 bucket loads from the shower.  Shower was being temperamental, so DH had to put some WD40 on it, so hoping its cured! 

Have a good evening all. 

joedenise

Don't know if it would work for you but I put £15-£20 a month into a pot for things like loo rolls, toothpaste, cleaning stuff.  None of which need to be bought every month so there is always enough in there when we need loo rolls - can always buy a smaller pack than usual if there's not enough to buy a bigger pack (which of course are usually better value).

Makingabobor2

Quick question to all you keen gardeners. I put a few pepper seeds in that I took from some bought peppers. They have come up & I potted a few on, and some have developed little white flowers. But then flowers seem to be dying off & nothing happening. Any ideas? Never tried this before. 

foxgloves

It sounds as though the flowers have not been pollinated, so are simply dying off with no little fruit to follow. Unfortunately it's probably a bit too late in the season now for them to do anything. I have big green peppers only now just starting to turn red, but I usually have to sow them in the 2nd half of Feb to get a crop as they like a long season.
F

Makingabobor2

foxgloves said:

It sounds as though the flowers have not been pollinated, so are simply dying off with no little fruit to follow. Unfortunately it's probably a bit too late in the season now for them to do anything. I have big green peppers only now just starting to turn red, but I usually have to sow them in the 2nd half of Feb to get a crop as they like a long season.
F

They've been in since about March, but took ages to show. Never mind, I'll try again next year. 

foxgloves

If you are a new veg grower & not v confident, you could buy a packet of pepper seeds, which will be more reliable. Usually enough for a couple of years' sowings. 
F x

Makingabobor2

Just trialling a new lap top, gifted to me by DMIL, who has only ever used it for playing silly games on, and now moved on to a new one as doesn't think the graphics card is good enough in this one.  All I'm bothered about is if I can type on it properly and if my surveys will all come up ok, and the audio works....which it doesn't on my current one....which was gifted to me by DFIL!  This one is a lovely pink Samsung one, and so far seems perfect. So DH thinks he can transfer all my stuff over from the other one, he is a computer geek and I trust him on that, and he also tells me the processor speed is faster than on my current one, so that should be good.   So, so far it looks as this might be ok. So I will ask him to have a look at transferring stuff over and then we can maybe sell the other one....every little helps. 

So not much to update on on the MSE front. I did go into CS yesterday and saw 2 lovely pairs of curtains for £12 each. We have been wanting to get new curtains in the front bedrooms for a while now, as the current ones are over 18 years old, and so thin the sun shines through too much.   These are perfect, except for the curtain pole needs to be shortened in the bigger of the rooms, which DH says he will do tomorrow for me.  So 2 pairs of lovely curtains for total of £24 sounds like a bargain to me. They are from D*n*lm and a lovely charcoal grey crushed velvet sort of fabric, and lined.    

I have been contemplating greenhouses for a while now and DH said if I could make it fit, he would help me set on up. So I had a look at some online and went out this morning with tape measure and think I could fit a 6'x2'6"' one, if we chop back some of the acer tree which I am happy to do...will have to see what DH says. It is only the smaller of the acer trees, and grows far too quickly anyway. Other than that, I have seen a lean to type one that is 4'x2'.  I would prefer the bigger one if we can fit it in. Will take DH out in the garden tomorrow armed with tape measure and see if it is feasible. I have been enjoying my gardening so much, but I really want to take it to the next stage now. Both of the ones I have seen are polycarbonate with sliding doors, so no glass to worry about or doors blowing around in the wind. Also have a window at the top for extra ventilation.  Question is, should I get it set up now before the winter, so its all ready to go in the spring? Or wait until nearer the spring to get it installed?

Apart from that not much to report. Studies and surveys have been slow this month, but hoping they improve from September. 
Finished another jigsaw puzzle yesterday and will pass it on to my friend. Got about 4 more in the cupboard waiting to be done. 

So time to get tea now...jacket spuds tonight. Then we are watching Thursday Murder Club. 

joedenise

I watched the Thursday Murder Club last night and really enjoyed it.  Hope you do too.

foxgloves

Oooh, a greenhouse at last!! It will transform your veg growing. Mum & Dad bought us ours for a house warming present 23 years ago & it is still going strong. It was a basic mail order one...well under £300 back then. Dad & Mr F screwed the aluminium frame together on a chilly but sunny January day & post-creted the 4 corners into the ground, then we glazed it ourselves, which was much easier than I imagined. I love pottering around in there. I take my coffee beaker with me & it's like a planty den.
Look forward to hearing all about it as plans progress.
F x

Makingabobor2

Yes @joedenise, we did enjoy the film. I'd not read the book so didn't have any pre-conceived ideas, so really liked it. Great cast as well

@foxgloves, yes I'm hoping it all works out & will be a good investment. The 2 that I am considering are £188 or £89.99, so we'll see what happens.