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Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend
foxgloves
Posts: 11,941 Forumite
Happy New Year to readers old & new!
Well, it's time for a new chapter. My old diary ("Put away your purse & become debt averse") achieved pretty much what I intended. I shared the story of how I got into debt at the age of 19 & stayed that way until a pretty enormous lightbulb pinged on during my early 40s, I've shared various 'debtisodes' aka tales of some of my silly past frittering, as well as daily snapshots from my much-preferred debt-free lifestyle. When I began my old diary, we'd just taken out a bank loan to enable us to buy a reliable car to cope with Mr F's then very heavy work mileage. I am sure that the act of posting on my diary motivated me to overpay & get rid of that loan much quicker than I would otherwise have done, so I think I can say that it did achieve what I hoped it would - mostly motivating myself, but also hopefully encouraging others that it's never too late to start managing our finances properly.
But the UK is now in a very particular place economically & I feel it's time to begin a new chapter. Prices of essentials - food, fuel, etc, have been beset by inflation levels unseen since my childhood, & energy costs, already doubled, are set to rise further this year. I feel fortunate that there is wriggle-room in our budget (largely because we were unexpectedly able to become mortgage-free 3 years ago) but there are aspects which do require attention because this level of inflation cannot leave any but the budgets of the most wealthy unscathed. The practicalities will be up for discussion next weekend when Mr F & I have our annual January money summit.
So the theme for 2023 at Foxgloves Manor will be resourcefulness. That feels to me like a good positive word. I feel positive about "frugal" & "thrifty" too, but there is something very motivational about "resourcefulness" & all its encouraging synonyms - "ingenuity", "inventiveness", "enterprise", "creative", "capable", etc. I feel that resourcefulness plays to my practical strengths, which I very much intend to use to underpin my deep determination to spend less in 2023.
Anyway, more of this as the month unfolds........
My old diary would have been nothing without its readers & all the many comments, discussions & friendship. Thank-you to everyone who read my ramblings whether on a regular or occasional basis. I learned a lot over the timespan of that diary & welcomed the open culture of sharing ideas on so many aspects of money saving.
My best wishes as we go into 2023,
Foxgloves x
Well, it's time for a new chapter. My old diary ("Put away your purse & become debt averse") achieved pretty much what I intended. I shared the story of how I got into debt at the age of 19 & stayed that way until a pretty enormous lightbulb pinged on during my early 40s, I've shared various 'debtisodes' aka tales of some of my silly past frittering, as well as daily snapshots from my much-preferred debt-free lifestyle. When I began my old diary, we'd just taken out a bank loan to enable us to buy a reliable car to cope with Mr F's then very heavy work mileage. I am sure that the act of posting on my diary motivated me to overpay & get rid of that loan much quicker than I would otherwise have done, so I think I can say that it did achieve what I hoped it would - mostly motivating myself, but also hopefully encouraging others that it's never too late to start managing our finances properly.
But the UK is now in a very particular place economically & I feel it's time to begin a new chapter. Prices of essentials - food, fuel, etc, have been beset by inflation levels unseen since my childhood, & energy costs, already doubled, are set to rise further this year. I feel fortunate that there is wriggle-room in our budget (largely because we were unexpectedly able to become mortgage-free 3 years ago) but there are aspects which do require attention because this level of inflation cannot leave any but the budgets of the most wealthy unscathed. The practicalities will be up for discussion next weekend when Mr F & I have our annual January money summit.
So the theme for 2023 at Foxgloves Manor will be resourcefulness. That feels to me like a good positive word. I feel positive about "frugal" & "thrifty" too, but there is something very motivational about "resourcefulness" & all its encouraging synonyms - "ingenuity", "inventiveness", "enterprise", "creative", "capable", etc. I feel that resourcefulness plays to my practical strengths, which I very much intend to use to underpin my deep determination to spend less in 2023.
Anyway, more of this as the month unfolds........
My old diary would have been nothing without its readers & all the many comments, discussions & friendship. Thank-you to everyone who read my ramblings whether on a regular or occasional basis. I learned a lot over the timespan of that diary & welcomed the open culture of sharing ideas on so many aspects of money saving.
My best wishes as we go into 2023,
Foxgloves x
2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (4/100)
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)
2) To read 100 books (4/100)
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)
50
Comments
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Today was just about getting off to a good start, so I've written up my 2023 diary to prepare for the year ahead. I chose this diary because of the positive wording in the cover & a quick flick through to confirm there'd be sufficient space per day. When I came to write it up today, I found it was much more useful than that. It has an annual planner for this year & next, a monthly calendar which I'll use for meal planning & an inspiring quote & notes page for each month too. I'm very much a planner, so enjoyed spending a couple of hours setting everything up.
Also today: Baked a sourdough, a batch of rolls & pizza base (will use last of the Christmas ham I diced & froze on that, as well as the last little pot of pizza sauce from summer's tomato glut). Baked mincemeat muffins to use 2 eggs Mr F had put out 'for the bin', as their BB date was yesterday. Absolutely nothing wrong with them & he certainly didn't hold back from gobbling a muffin! Useful addition to freezer as easy portable snack for our January walks.
And as I'm wanting v much to live to my New Year theme of resourcefulness, I salvaged all clean pages from my old diary, split to A6 size & added them to my kitchen 'bulldog clip notepad".
Not wasting resources is going to be key.
F x
2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (4/100)
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)29 -
Happy new diary and New Year Foxgloves! Love the front cover of your new diary and it’s very true what you say about the connotations of ‘resourcefulness’.Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days
'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway10 -
Hi foxgloves
I'm looking forward to reading your new diary and that is indeed a lovely paper diary !
I am the same age as you and am looking forward to becoming mortgage free this year so then I can build up some savings. Resourcefulness will be key to many people this year and I agree it is a motivating word
I would definitely have eaten those eggs too !
Love Deni xLBM - October 2018; finally debt free on 16 March 2021
2023 Mortgage Free Wannabee #92023 Mortgage free in March 23 !
Decluttering Campaign member 2023🏅🏅 🏅⭐️⭐️
Decluttering Campaign Member 2024 🏅🏅
Decluttering Campaign Member 202510 -
Hello, long time Lerker , de-lurking to say looking forward to this new chapter.9
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Love the new diary title looking forward to your daily posts. Must admit I never look at the dates on eggs but usually crack into a mug first, just in case!! X
9 -
Happy new diary. Love the paper diary 😀I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)9
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Happy new diary from a lurker.
I feel lost this year with finances as we no longer have mortgage or debt and last year saw big purchases of new bathroom and sofas plus a bedroom redesigned.
hubby is earning more now too so I have to not let myself slip into frittering money away although i refuse to do without when we have money if that makes sense
look forward to hearing what you get upto this year11 -
Thanks everyone for your encouragement, & welcome to @MrsCatz.. How nice that you've de-lurked for the new year. Do feel free to join in discussions on here. It's a nice friendly thread & I know we're all up for considering new ideas for tweaking budgets & saving money.
F2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (4/100)
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)13 -
Oooh, another de-lurker! Welcome @Crazycatlady2. Yes, I understand what you mean. We did a big refurbishment project on our house from 2020 to 2022. We didn't take on any debt, but we definitely need to engage in rebuilding our everyday finances.now that all the work is finished.
F2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (4/100)
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)10 -
Happy new diary! I too love the concept of resourcefulness, what a cheerful attitude to take into the new year 😊 Very much looking forward to hearing more about all your financial planning and doing over the coming months and years 😊😊10
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