Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

I enjoy hearing about the bees & crafting is always of interest.

Today is my Big Budget Day & I have cracked through it like mad so as to keep the afternoon free for finishing my dress. No nasty surprises  - June's budget reconciled as expected & I was able to pay into all of our savings plus a decent amount was divided between the Savings Pots. The only error was self-inflicted as I had deducted a weekly instead of a monthly figure for something & didn't notice it until afterwards when I did my usual check-through of the maths. Well, that shows a check-through is useful, if nothing else! It didn't put me out by much, less than £30, which I accommodated by making a couple of minor tweaks. Mr F is on leave most of next week so I've budgeted for us to have our lunch out at a nice place in town & also for the coffee shop we will undoubtedly visit on a planned daytrip up to North Yorkshire. Everything now written up in my trusty Money Book & paperwork filed away.
And......I've swallowed a frog. This particular amphibian had been lurking for a long time but it wasn't until I dug out my notes that I realised its lurkdom began in January 2024!! That is a frog & a half if you ask me! And for no other reason that I wasn't quite sure what I was doing & wasn't really gettig any input from Mr F (who tbf knows as little as I do - & that would be zero - about it). Anyway, today I decided I was sick, SICK, S-I-C-K of seeing this outstanding job, subjected it (& myself!) to some choice language (well, I AM descended from fishwives!) & swallowed the frog whole. 
Right, Soot has come to fish me out of Foxgloves HQ to tell me that it is his lunchtime, which to be fair, it is, so I shall go & serve up their stinky biscuits. Defo having my sewing afternoon. 
Nothing else of a money saving nature to report. I have written a list for our city centre trip tomorrow - I need a toiletries stock-up & have a few other bits on the list plus some things I want to look at, but I enjoy shopping & it is always better for me to have a list than wander around aimlessly getting tempted. I spent a LOT of money (hideous amounts) that way in the past. 
Right, the starving meows are stepping up a gear so off I go.....
F x

foxgloves

Hello Diary Friends,
Oh glory, it's hot! If it were not for the breeze, it would be even more hatefully sticky. Decided to bump our city centre trip to next Saturday - I didn't feel 100% last night & with an unhelpful dose of overthinking, managed to convince myself I was heading for a flare-up of my ibd condition. This didn't happen & naturally by 9.30am I was feeling fine & could have gone out, grrrr!  Never mind, we'll enjoy our shopping next weekend instead.
Has there been anything of an MSE nature? 
*Am wearing my new batik print dress over cropped leggings & it is so light & airy in this humidity. I need to build resilience to these hot temperatures & more high summer clothing will help. Have decided to cut out my next dress tomorrow from that retro-print cotton so I can have another light airy dress I actually like.
*Did 3 loads of laundry simply to make a positive thing out of this heat. It dried so quickly, even our winter bathrobes. Great time to get thicker stuff dry for free rather than waiting till heated airer season. Also on my hit list are 2 sets of curtains, blankets & pet bedding. 
*Today's garden pickings: Lots of courgettes, jalopenos & cucumber no.11. 
*Entered a competition.
*Did a Yougov survey.
Mr F's cooking night & he opted for garden-watering later on, so I shall wash-up & sort out the kitchen while listening to my current audiobook.
Oh, I nearly forgot.....a question for pet owners. Can anyone recommend pet cooling mats? Soot isn't happy in hot temperatures but I don't want to buy a non-recyclable mat then find it doesn't make any difference. Of course, they could be brilliant, but he may just decide to lie next to it, rather than on it [eye-roll]! 
Right, time for a final humid march up the garden to achieve my daily minimum steps.
Love to all,
F x

foxgloves

Meant to say that Project Surbiton is still underway. Will try & remember to do an update. We've been re-watching some of those old 'The Good Life' episodes & I have to admit I was a little tempted to set up a 'talking to beans' experiment next year, lol x

ladyholly

A lot of dog owners swear by cooling mats but none of our dogs would go anywhere near them. They really good for putting your feet on while sitting and sweltering. Of course I cant answer for cats.

Sun_Addict

I bought a cooling mat from Lid! for our dog and she loves it. I can vouch that it is indeed cool. No idea how it works but it does. 

foxgloves

@ladyholly & @Sun_Addict - Thanks for that. I will have a look at them to see if I think they'd be up to Soot's monster claws

Hello to hot money savers everywhere,
Ohhhh, it is a sticky humid day & worse tomorrow, apparently. Just a quick one fron me today:
*A no-spend day.
*Mr F cooked a lovely lunch - harissa lamb, which I am gleefully eyeing for its leftovers largesse.
*More leftovers.....2 portions of yesterday's Mexican red rice will be topped with a sliced hardboiled egg & bit of mayo each & eaten for tonight's meal.
*Even more leftovers.....Mr F saved some chicken from yesterday & made himself a sarnie for tomorrow's packed lunch. 
*Today's garden pickings = lettuce & spring onions.
*Cut out my next dress & pinned it together. Also drafted a pattern extension piece so I can also make a longer version going forwards, to wear with footless tights.
 Nice bottle of English rose shared over lunch - my treat as I shall have good PA earnings this month. And here's a curious thing. In my tipsy state (yes, I am that classic cheap date who is affected by barely more than a mere sniff of the cork), I suddenly started solving cryptic crossword clues right, left & centre! We'd done about 3/4 of it together, 2 glasses of wine for me & I could see all the rest of the answers staring me in the face! Hey, note to self for future occasions when we are stuck! 
Off to fetch my book now. I'd like to finish it over the next couple of days.
Stay cool,
F x

foxgloves

Oh & Mr F lifted his Autumn-sown garlic today. Really good-sized bulbs. He's really pleased with them. Will tie & hang once they're dry.
F 

Blackcats

Puzzle solving Rose wine sounds like a great option on wine lists everywhere.
unlike when I went to a pub many years ago and asked the bored looking bartender what dry white wines they served.  She gave me a condescending smile and explained all their wines were wet! 

Sun_Addict

I’m always better at crosswords/quizzes after a drink, I think it’s the confidence to just go for it regardless 🤣

DawnW

Must be a good year for garlic. Ours were good too. Better than the last couple of years' bulbs.