Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

Morning Daffodils,

And greetings from Ash too, who has just come in from the garden meowing.

Today is my Big Budget Day so I shall be up in my little HQ sorting the monthly numberwang. Apart from trying out a new slow cooker recipe, I don't have any further tasks planned. I do need to bring the aubergine babies down from their warm upstairs windowsill - time for them to get their big girl's pants on & toughen up in our much colder conservatory.

Builder came to assess the work & we discussed how best to go about it, factoring in that we need to make absolutely sure that the water ingress was connected to our old problem roof. Am awaiting the quote.

Right, must get cracking now I've had a suitable amount of coffee to tackle all that maths.

F x

Baileys_Babe

@foxgloves said:

I know! The mitigating factor is that we rarely visit the big city centre these days, unlike back in the Spendaceous Era when I was there at least once a week.

I can never understand extremely excessive parking charges unless a destination is trying to dissuade visitors, which would then lead to venues closing due to a decline in visitors, which no doubt bumps up the price of parking again as the carparks isn't making as much revenue as it once was.

When looking for parking I use parkopeadia

https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/

In the search box add your destination, date and times and the results show prices, distance to location on foot, restrictions - height etc, number of spaces…

foxgloves

@Baileys_Babe - I don't use multi-storey car parks, which are cheaper when parking for long periods. We were shopping, eating then staying late for a concert. At night I don't feel safe in multi-storeys. I am phobic about lifts so would have to do several flights of steep stairs in isolated stairwells. There are a lot of desperate people around who camp out in them. So I opt for us to pay a bit more for street parking in a well-lit, busy street not too far from the concert venue. I do moan about the cost, but it is worth it to feel safer.

We were in a multistorey in broad daylight a couple of years ago & still had to weave our way through a group of incapacitated spice-heads in the stairwell.

F x

foxgloves

Hello Friday Frugalistas,

I seem to have spent a long time glued to my desk tackling Big Budget Day. Not really anything very exciting to report……reconciled March's budget & found that we did end up with a grocery underspend again - only a little one of £3-65 but I sent it to the Grocery Underspend Pot anyway, as it feel motivating to see these little odds & ends adding up.

I knew that setting April's budget was going to include a 5-week grocery month, Easter, our mini-break & a birthday. Added to that the fact that we are awaiting the builder's quote for more remedial work to be done on the house, it felt tighter than usual before I even got my trusty Money Book out. Budget now done & written up longhand, as usual, & all funds which needed to be somewhere else have been moved. We can usually get 5 grocery shops out of our standard monthly grocery amount but I have allowed extra this time so as to cover living expenses while we are away. We will, of course, take some food with us, but it's not the same as having one's own well-stocked pantry on hand, & we will defo be including a pub night with birthday meal while we are there. Paid our Regular Saver & sent our usual monthly Car Fund payment to Mr F's credit card to cover the deposit on the new car we ordered. Did not purchase any additional premium bonds this month as the money was put to the more immediate job of boosting our House & Garden Pot, given that we know the builder's quote is imminent & we scalped our Emergency Fund in January paying for the new roof. I sometimes budget a little bit for some Easter treats & sometimes find a little extra for our Personal Spends in case we see something we like on holiday. This time, however, I have combined the two, by adding an extra 20 quid each to April's Personal Spends, which can be used if anyone wants to buy extra chocolate eggs, or left to cover a holiday treat. Received a pretty card, letter & yummy Easter choc to share from my sister this morning so I don't think I will be looking to buy much additional choc for myself - maybe a box of the little emminess coffee eggs to share, perhaps. I am baking an Easter cake too, so it isn't as though either of us are going to be fading away for lack of sugar! I have also paid 2 Savings Pots - Holidays, as I have a payment schedule to ensure balances, cattery, etc, can be paid when they fall due, & no prizes for guessing the other one - House & Garden was allocated an additional £235 towards the builder's bill, when we get to that stage.

Other money bits - Have done a few surveys which have boosted my March PA total to just over £30. Still a few days to go so I must keep popping in. A nice freebie this week from the Waitbl00m Little Treats scheme, which I don't think I mentioned - a bunch of lovely mauve tulips currently brightening up the top of my piano.

Caught up on a little admin - confirmed cattery drop-off time for the 2 rascals later this month & cancelled the milk. Also replied to a county genealogy group about my membership subscription. An email reminder arrived this morning & I felt sure I'd paid it. Checked & it is clearly showing on our bank statement as having been paid so I have replied to ask them to check their end & update their records. Sometimes, it can feel really useful to sit & get not only money'budget stuff straight & focussed but outstanding annoying little bits of admin too.

Well, just a quick filing session, then I shall go & put the plant babies to bed before prepping the sugar snap peas & green pepper for adding to the new slow cooker recipe I'm trying. We'd planned a not -too-distant trip out tomorrow, but Mr F noticed that the local petrol station seemed to have staff only letting in one vehicle at a time when he went past which he assumed is to do with managing queues for fuel, as they are on a very busy local road. Decided to use our car for essential journeys only this weekend so as to ensure Mr F had fuel to get to work if the situation is beginning to bite - SUCH a predictable outcome of starting a war in the Middle East. Infuriating & worrying in equal measure.

Right, onwards with the filing. Enjoy your Friday nights, all.

F x

Blackcats

well done on the grocery underspend it's always motivating to beat the budget. I'll need to put my thinking cap on for a 5 week grocery month both in terms of setting the budget and writing a meal plan to match that budget. I tidied our sauces and spices stash yesterday and got some inspiration for some tasty dinners.
Unfortunately we have to drive about 100 miles over Sunday/Monday so will fill up with petrol and aim for a low drive week after we get back. MrF has a long commute so petrol availability and price must be a concern. Hopefully if those that don't need to drive stay close to home there will be sufficient fuel for those that need it.

Sun_Addict

It doesn’t matter how small but an underspend is always a win 🏆 One thing I don’t miss about having a car is the expense.

foxgloves

@Blackcats - Yes, he has about a 54-mile round trip commute 4 days a week - it was 5 days before he requested compressed hours, so it is defo a worry if things worsen, as well as the rising fuel costs.

@Sun_Addict - Yes, they can certainly be expensive to run - the main reason we got rid of my car when I took VR was that we didn't want to run 2 cars on one salary & it defo saved money. There is no other viable way for Mr F to get to work. He's based right up in the north of the county & public transport is non-existent between our nearest town & the one in which he works. There is no bus service at all. To take the train, he'd have to walk a couple of miles to the nearest station, get a train 17 miles south to the city (i.e in completely the opposite direction!) then change lines & take another train way back North to where he works.....& all reversed at hometime. It's expensive but even putting that aside, he wouldn't be able to get to work on time. I used buses a lot when I lived on the edge of the city centre but it's very different in more rural areas of the county. I'm sure better bus routes would open up employment opportunities, esp for young people.

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,

A very routine day here at Foxgloves Manor, as it is my usual day for setting us up for the week ahead. However, I've kept the frugal faith:

*3 laundry loads pegged out for free-drying.

*Baked a loaf.

*Divided up yesterday's roast chicken. Enough for fajhitas tonight, a stir-fry tomorrow, Epic Man Stew on Weds plus all the gribbly bits into the slow cooker for 3 containers of stock.

*Did my usual Monday morning budget updates.

*Cashed out a £10 voucher from Ips*s.

*Did usual checks on plant babies.

*Cut some shrubby twigs from the garden for our Easter tree. Have enjoyed decorating it this afternoon. No new decorations bought as none needed, tempting though they are, as I do love seasonal things.

Right, time to go & add a bubblewrap layer to those plant tinies. It'll be worth it, as it always is, when we are picking lovely organic veg - food metres, not miles.

F x

foxgloves

Morning Campers!

Well, Mr F is wfh on an online training course today, so I've lent him my desk. I have a few routine things I'd like to get out of the way this morning - sorting all yesterday's line-dried laundry, tiny bit of ironing, finishing meal plans for Easter week & writing shopping lists for groceries & town. Not expecting any kind of spending to rear its head today. I did consider a garden centre trippette as I have the wheels today, but it really would be going out for the sake of it as there's nothing we need atm & my time today would be better spent in the garden where I have loads to do.

Also intend to see if I can get any further PA surveys before cashing out my end of month earnings.

MUST remember Ash is to be kept in overnight & is nil-by-mouth (except water) from midnight as he is booked in for follow-up dental surgery tomorrow to remove the root of a tooth they accidentally left last time.

Right.....onwards with my day. Have a good one,

F x

foxgloves

Back again to report a successful day in terms of getting planned stuff done…..& not spending anything.

Meal plan didn't take long as we had already decided on roast lamb for Easter Sunday with 2 knock-on meals from leftover meat. Mr F had decided what he wanted to cook on Saturday & Wednesday, so it was just a case of adding a couple of meals to make use of what we already have in stock. Grocery shopping list done, plus a list for Good Friday when we will get fresh stuff from town. As this month's grocery money needs to cover Easter, my birthday, a holiday & 5 'shopping weeks', I've reminded Mr F that Weeks 3 & 4 are going to be key in sticking to our grocery budget this month. That's based on us spending a bit more at Easter & also expenses for our mini-break later in the month. As with most of us, 'carrots' work better than 'sticks' where Mr F is concerned, so I have explained that if we stick to a lower spend on those two weeks, we will have the allocated amount left for Week 5……but if we have any underspend on them, then I will add it to Week 5. I think more potential treats for when we are away will be a good motivator. We do have plenty of food in, especially fish, pulses, rice & pasta, & as we need 2 items from our butcher on Friday which are usually part of his 5 for £20 deal, we can make sure we choose the remaining 3 items with maximum meals in mind. We manage fine on our income & I feel fortunate every day that we own our house outright, but starting the year with that bill for the new roof & seeing how just that one (though major) emergency job scalped our Emergency Fund to a shadow of its former self, has focussed me on the fact that rebuilding it is going to require strong budgeting in all areas. When we first see the light re living within our means & realise the importance of building an emergency fund, I think we initially base it on how much we think we might need to cover a realistic emergency - something going kaput, a car repair bill, etc, then as our finances become more resilient (usually as debts are paid down/eradicated), we look to the usual advice of having 3 months of income saved in our EF, or 6 months for over-50s, etc, that's what we did. There's always something to learn from an emergency situation & the roof saga has underlined how emergency repairs do not necessarily do us the courtesy of arriving singly……we had the new roof, then some electrical stuff which needed sorting out, now we are awaiting a builder quote on some more repair work, the bigger of the latter jobs doubtless caused by the dodgy old roof. Emergencies, repairs, the soft splat of general ordure hitting the proverbial fan can happen at any time. Big problems can uncover smaller knock-on ones & completely unrelated issues can overlap.

So, as I said to Mr F, when talking about making April Weeks 3 & 4 low grocery spend weeks, it was from a place of it not being necessary to add in additional mini-break money or Easter money to that which I have already budgeted. Every 'extra' I fit in won't make us overdrawn & it won't go on credit but it will be money which I'll know damn well could have been pinged over to the Emergency Fund, which will just be annoying & self-defeating.

Mr F is just getting Ash's carrier out of the loft ready for tomorrow. I wish he didn't have to have another general anaesthetic, esp as he is asthmatic, but hopefully he won't need to be 'under' for as long this time as last time was 4 extractions & a full scale & clean-up. We will both be keeping busy tomorrow to keep worry under control. Mr F is going to take the grocery list to call in on his way back from the vet & I am going to shuttle all the plant babies down to the greenhouse & set them up there with cloches & covers rtg for these ongoing chilly evenings.

Right, enough yakk from me. Hope everyone is having a decent day,

F x