Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

Thanks, @PennysIntoPounds. If it wasn't the car issue, it would be something else. I am that classic combination of both over-thinker & insomniac. Am rational again once I get up & start my day.
Re car use, I think you are in London? My family in London don't use their car very much either, but the public transport network is very different from elsewhere in the country, especially more rural areas. We can get into our local town on the bus & from there to the two nearest city centres on the train, but that's pretty much it. Mr F works right up in the north of the county & there is no public transport link. He would have to walk the couple of miles into town to the station (too early for village bus) to take a train 17 miles south, to pick up another train to go about 40 miles north just to get to work. Things like appointments at the big main hospital mean nearly a 50 mile round trip with no meaningful public transport from our area. 
I am feeling more cheerful now. I have ☕ & Mr F is making me some toast 
F x

Cheery_Daff

Glad you are more cheerful Foxgloves 😊 I too am prone to bedridden frettiness which usually disappears once up and about. I very often wake worrying about work at the minute, very annoying. I have to keep opening my eyes and reminding myself that there, at most, two people in my bed, and the other is asleep, and work has no business being there at 4am! 😂

scandimore

Re: watering, just to add another idea to the mix which I've seen online- sinking terracotta pots into the veg bed, fill with water and add a lid to reduce evaporation. Apparently the water will seep through the terracotta when required.
We are going on holiday in June, my parents offered to house sit to look after the veg plants and animals. We live in a national park so they could have a little getaway while doing us a favour. However one of them is having some sudden health issues and awaiting a biopsy and op, so I need to find another solution. We usually pay someone to come feed the animals, but since having a ring doorbell I can see he is only in the house for 1 minute and it makes me feel bad for the poor little furries who are clearly having their food thrown at them at high speed. They're quite old and couldn't go to board.
We have previously booked a pet feeder but she left them the entire weekend without turning up. I'm sure neighbours would help but seems an imposition. So I shall have to have a think! Hopefully our holidays will be worth it foxgloves, and the veggie plants survive! 

2Scratters

Well I had a resourceful day yesterday and I had been chomping at the bit to get this task done.
 DH health isn't great and some jobs are just going by the wayside. He has been and still is considering certain jobs are "his jobs" and feels useless. The fact I have to remind him we are a team.
 The big 750 ltr water butt has been full all through winter so yesterday with a bit of railroading I got DH's help to get the pressure washer out! This is a small professional one we have had for 20+ years and I've never even used one! Every day is a school day. Job got done!! All Yorkshire stone flags of varying colours came to light. I managed to do a good enough job and still had water in the bottom of the tank. The next clean won't take as much water as it won't be long between cleans. Already fed off the smaller tank to start filling it back up. (Feeling accomplished) 

Need to get Eboy stuff done this weekend - 

Sorry to read about the car issues @foxgloves

Have  good weekend all

2 Scratters xx

badmemory

I have a theory.  Some of us & I include myself, are of the group that worry about things, whatever those things are & if we don't have those things to worry about then we worry about that too.

foxgloves

Hello Sunday Savers,
Thanks for your comments - full of wisdom & things to think about as usual. I enjoy reading everyone's contributions - thanks for being part of my money saving diary.
Not the most productive of days, but I did have more sleep last night, which is always a positive. It's still blowing a gale here, although we are not in the worst hit storm areas by any means. We were queueing outside our favourite big garden centre earlier, waiting for it to open, & I was cursing myself for wearing an above the knee dress, as it kept blowing right up in the wind so that I was flashing my undergarments. Mr F said not to worry, probably the most exciting thing that's happened to some of the old chaps in the queue all week! Hmmm, not sure as to whether that was complementary or not! 
Anyway, just a few things today:
*Cheese scones & cappucinos for breakfast - budget neutral as paid using our Personal Spends.
*Was very restrained in the garden centre - only bought a pack of better quality watering spikes to try & a big ball of jute string, which were the 2 items I was looking for. Did not look at the clothes, despite having to walk through them to get to the loos, or handbags, sandals, scented candles, etc, as I do still find these sections tempting, despite my attitude to spending having changed dramatically since the Spendy Years. Only other spend was a Sunday paper & that will be from my Personal Spends.
*Checked Savings Pots account to see if our annual interest had landed. It had. The improved interest rates had provided a boost & we were pleased to see that this will more than cover what Mr F has ordered me for my Big Birthday. I decided I would like a new fitness watch (not an enormous sporty, made of plastic with 5093 functions type of thing as those are not 'me' at all) as my Bit of F*t has developed a range of problems & is now behaving in a manner which is decidedly more sh*t than f*t. I am a life-long exercise dodger. but even I have noticed that without the motivation of tracking my daily steps, I am walking far less, & am less inclined to keep to fitness goals than previously when I could see the results of my efforts. Anyway, that is a rambly way of saying that I was pleased that the interest will more than cover this purchase & will not require a dip into the Presents Pot.
*Put a bargainaceous ham hock in the slow cooker this morning. Will serve with parsley sauce, roast potatoes & veg for dinner later & will get a couple of further meals from it. It was in one of our local butcher's "2 for £5" deals so I think that a target amount of 3 meals from a £2.50 hock is extremely good value. I only cook ham hock in the slow cooker so apart from doing the veg later, it's a meal which cooks itself.
*Did a £6 survey.
*Mr F just stuck his head around the door to say that he is taking a spare porridge pot I made up last week for his work breakfast tomorrow & he has chosen something from the freezer for packed lunch, so that's another job done, & so different from those bad old days pre LBM when we were both working full time & we worked out we were spending around £2000 a year from our joint income on buying lunches on work days because we couldn't be bothered to make packed lunches! 
*Have added to my bag of library returns for going back some time this coming week.
*Veggie babies have been uncovered, checked & will be put to bed under their bubble wrap again tonight. Nothing is cloched now, & nothing has complained so far, though the month is yet young.
*Oh & I will also include in my list of positives, that Mr F decided NOT to pop out to the C**p on a beer-run last night, despite mentioning it several times throughout the day.
*Chatted through our diaries for the coming week ahead & things which will need doing. I added a list to mine for a general 'shape to the week' in terms of tasks. With our holiday starting to feel as though it is looming on the horizon, there is loads to do beforehand & that isn't even taking into account faff that is almost bound to happen re the car. I am therefore aiming for a megally productive week, keeping a lid on overthinking & not spending anything that isn't in April's budget.
Soot has just braved going outside in the gale & was not impressed with its buffetting of his fur. He rather thought this might mean that his Sunday Lick-e-Lix might appear a little earlier in the day & was disappointed to see that treat timings do not seem to be changing even for brave gale-enduring mini-panthers! 
F x

2Scratters

@badmemory OMG what is that about worrying there is nothing to worry about..... I am on that page definitely. Procrastination the thief of time, begone.  

I have got a plan regarding my excess stock including under the sink stuff (it all doesn't fit there) ours and the removed from parents house, toiletries, makeup and many expensive perfumes I will be putting £1 per item into a purse for later when items need replacing. By the time it is all gone and most never to be replaced should be enough for an actual required stock of not a lot. This will come from the housekeeping budget. 

2 Scratters xx

PennysIntoPounds

Ooh you brazen garden centre hussy 😂
Well done on resisting the lovely tempting things, and great that the interest covers your birthday request, that's a big win!

foxgloves

@2Scratters - That's a good idea for your cleaning products hoard.
@PennysIntoPounds - Yes, it will be nice to use some of the interest instead of hitting the Presents Pot.

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,
Been busy today. Just having a sit down with an oatcake & a big glass of water. Today's tasks which contribute at least something positive to the budget:
*Did the rest of this week's laundry & pegged it out for free drying.
*Divided up leftover ham hock from yesterday. Enough for topping tonight's pizza (base proving), a pasta bake tomorrow & the rest added to a container of leftover roast potatoes, parsley sauce & veg to make a hot work lunch for Mr F. From a £2.50 ham hock, I think that's a result.
*Made pizza dough plus half a dozen rolls for freezer 
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast 
*Did my regular Monday morning budget updates. Grocery budget still above target but not irredeemably so. Allocated the rest of the interest on the Savings Pots account to a few of the pots which I'm trying to boost up.
*Sorted out a batch of jars from my recycled jam jar stash ready for chutney making tomorrow.
*A bit of a free fitness session weeding a strip of bed ready for half the outdoor tomatoes, lugging agapanthus pots out of the greenhouse to coax them back strongly for summer blooms & set up cucumber frame before planting them into their grow bag. First outing for the hose too & all veggie babies watered.
And finally, (we hope) some good news about our car. Mr F received a phone call at lunchtime to say that it is not going to be written off. There is now an engineer working on it & he had already been onto Suzuki to order specific parts. Parts pending, it could be delivered back to us next week. Mr F reminded them that if they don't deliver it by a certain date, they will be stuck with housing it for an extra week because of our planned holiday. This was noted, as they have plenty of other vehicles waiting to come in & need to keep up a pretty good turnover. So, I feel more positive about that, anyway.
Right, time to see if Soot & Ash actually intend getting up today - they have even snoozed right through treat time - then I must crack on with topping this pizza.
I need a really productive week so have plenty of stuff lined up for tomorrow too.
Until then,
F x