2023 Frugal Living Challenge

mandy47

DH and myself have redecorated our lounge for nothing. I was decluttering the garage and discovered long forgotten paint. Enough gloss for skirting etc, emulsion for ceiling and walls and even a tin of spray paint for our wood burner. 
I washed the dry clean only curtains and cleaned the carpet. 
Also found half a tub of fence paint so I put a fresh coat on the gate. 
Looks great and nothing spent.
Decluttered the garage somewhat aswell !

cw18

Chaps came and topped up my loft insulation this week - that came with the problem that I filled rooms with the stuff I pulled down, and I now can't put anything back up as it would squash the insulation.   So I need to remove the insulation (!) and the boards they put it on top of, put in some 'risers', re-lay the insulation between the risers, and then put the flooring back on top of those (which means I'll lose some headspace up there).   I can then start putting anything I'm keeping back into the loft.

I then had a call yesterday to arrange putting in the boiler.   They need access to my boiler (means pulling a reasonable amount out of my garage, but possible on the day as long as it's not raining!), my hot water cyldinder (not a problem, though I guess it means taking all my linen out of the cupboard), and all my radiators (which is currently a huge issue as they're blocked by stuff that came out of the loft!).   I have three weeks to get it sorted, and I'm away for one of those weeks     They wanted to come and do it this coming Monday, but I managed to get it delayed a couple of weeks.....

However, it appears I've been misinformed about what will be provided.   I have a smart control panel (which I purchased and installed myself as an upgrade to my current system), and the guy who came to inspect my system said I'd be provided with a like-for-like.   When the chap phoned yesterday I queried this, and was told they only install a basic one.   So I'm now going to gave to purchase another smart control panel once I know which the system will support, as the one I have now won't work with a combi boiler !!    I'm not happy about that, but it'll still be cheaper than paying for a boiler.   Just lucky that I have a bonus coming in from work at the end of this month, as installing that saved me a fair chunk of gas usage last winter and I want it in place for this.      They said they'll be taking away the hot water cylinder (my fella says it's worth a fair bit as they're made from copper), so I'm guessing they also be looking to take my control panel.   That WON'T be happening, as I also have two thermostatic valves (one never used) that connect to it, so I plan to bundle it all up and sell it on to offset the cost of the replacement - though one option is to get the same make of control panel for combi systems, as I'm pretty sure the same TRVs work with that (something to check this next week).    I can, however, let them have one of the two previous ones.   I know where my second one is (also one I purchased and installed, so that I could have different settings every day instead of having to be the same every day of the week).    If I come across the original one they'll get that.......

I also need to consider kicking in a service contract on it.   I cancelled the contract on my current system about 6 years ago - it was getting too expensive (at least in part due to the age of the system), and I was told the boiler was that old they'd not be able to get spares for it any more.  So any call out that was for boiler issues would likely result in me having to find money for a new boiler, and not covered by the contract.   Whilst it was in place I also couldn't do any upgrades to the system myself without then paying for an inspection, and the figures I were quoted for something as simple as changing the control panel were unbelievable.    But I wouldn't kick anything in until I'd made the changes to make the new one a smart system myself, so I have time to shop around.   I'm just a bit worried as I hate combi systems and have never had any joy with them when visiting properties with one - so if anything goes wrong with it I'm not going to have a clue where to start!     My Mother has had someone out to hers a couple of times in the last 3 years, and my daughter seems to have to call the Housing Association out fairly regularly.

cw18

@mandy47  Two birds (three in this case) with one stone is always a good result.

Well done on the decorating and gate preservation whilst making space in the garage

gill5blue

sorry to hear your news cw 18.
I had a health scare a few years ago.
Cholesterol was 7.99, BMI was 31.52, pulse was 78 and Blood Pressure was 155/107.....now it is
Cholesterol now 3.50 BMI now 21.80, pulse now 65 and Blood pressure now (need to update)
I joined slimming world, started swimming once a week rejoined yoga (after many years away) and got myself a Fitbit. I lost 3.5 stones, turned my life around to be healthier and happier.
My take on it is that it is 90% what you eat and 10% exercise.
Good luck CW18. hope this helps.
gill5blue

cw18

@gill5blue Many thanks for encouragement that all can end up well

I joined a Slimming World group some years ago (6 weeks free through local health system due to BMI), but didn't make it past the 3rd week.   I got shouted at every week for not loosing enough and eating too many sins - but nobody could suggest lunches that fitted with my requirements.  I wasn't allowed any extra sins due to having a highly active life style or high calorie intake requirement which seemed crazy to me.

I think I'm finding this latest set of 'diet sheets' hard to get my head around for the same reasons.   I'd sooner see 'calories from carbs not to excess 30% of your daily calorie intake' rather than 'not to exceed 130g a day'.    Looking on the diabetes webstite, the highest calorie meal plan for women is 1800 and highest for men is 1900 - but with what I burn at work I can be looking at a requirement of closer to 3000 !!     From the diet sheet I have it would appear I have to get all the additional calories from fatty foods, which totally goes against everything I've worked on for the last 10 years while trying to control my cholesterol by dietary changes

RateTartExtraordinaire

@cw18My mum was recently diagnosed as prediabetic and some of my friends kept talking about the 5:2 diet so I read up on it. Cutting out all the carbs sounds tough! Not sure if this is any help to you, but thought I'd share. There are some good swaps for carbs in the recipes in the back of Michael Mosley's The Fast 800. I got the eBook on loan from my library app. Not sure if you might be able to find them on his website. Ones I've tried myself are limited to the vegan ones:
Miso soup (put ingredients in a container and take to work then add hot water). He also mentions zero noodles /slim noodles which have zero carbs.
Courgette spaghetti / ribbons - swapped in for normal pasta. I used a potato peeler to make ribbons. . 
Hummus in a Hurry - eat with celery and cucumber.

cw18

@RateTartExtraordinaire  Many thanks for the suggestions.....     I totally forgot I bought a spiralizer gadget some years ago, so I'll have to dig that out.    Unfortunately I can't do anything hot for work lunches - I have to eat whilst walking and posting mail.

Mention of the courgette pasta reminded me I've seen cauliflower rice, and using cauliflower to make a pizza base.   I'm going to dig around and find instructions for those that I can have a bash at

mama67

Cheryl, if buying cauliflower rice I’d recommend the frozen Tesco one. Which you heat in the micro. 

The ambient pouches have a very weird smell & taste. 

cw18

@mama67   I wasn't planning on buying - it's a terrible price in my local Aldi who only have the fresh!

I've found instructions for making it - and that gives a warning that keeping it raw in a fridge gives off an unpleasant smell.

Buying the frozen isn't an ideal option for me - I'd have to carry it home on a half hour plus walk, by when it would likely have defrosted.  And I'm sure it would clump if I then put it into a freezer.

mama67

cw18 said:

@mama67   I wasn't planning on buying - it's a terrible price in my local Aldi who only have the fresh!

I've found instructions for making it - and that gives a warning that keeping it raw in a fridge gives off an unpleasant smell.

Buying the frozen isn't an ideal option for me - I'd have to carry it home on a half hour plus walk, by when it would likely have defrosted.  And I'm sure it would clump if I then put it into a freezer.

The frozen comes in individual serving pouches so wouldn’t really matter if clumped in that respect. 

Similar idea to the frozen micro. Rice pouches