Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Cheery_Daff

I used to work in a youth hostel and we used to chop a LOT of onions at once. Bizarrely, we used to put either a small piece of bread or a teaspoon in our mouths while chopping 😂 Strangely, it did seem to help - no idea why, and it seems to do the opposite of the advice above as it makes you breathe through your nose! Preferred the teaspoon myself as bread goes a bit soggy 😂

Debsnewbudget

Yes, a teaspoon in your mouth was my preferred solution.
just realised I held it across my mouth so the bowl bit was sticking out, not sure why.

badmemory

I started wearing glasses in my late 50s, for some reason that used to make onions less of a problem.

EssexHebridean

Just to say that I feel your pain on the onion thing - I've tried all the things mentioned at one stage or another but only the use of water in some shape or form makes a difference to me - I've been known to drape a sheet of soaking kitchen paper over the top of onion and knife and cut it "under cover"! 

GillyLucy

When I wore contact lens onions never bothered me, prior to that I did suffer.
Now I have lens implants chopping onions in a tearful experience again!

foxgloves

Thanks for all your comments about peeling onions without afterwards looking as though you have just been through life-changing tragedy. The 'teaspoon in the mouth' method was actually taught in my school cookery lessons! I have tried it on & off over the years & it does sort of seem to work at first. Either this is just because my mind believes it's going to help so it's a minute of mind over matter OR it is maybe something to do with the cold metal. I think I might try putting a teaspoon in the fridge & seeing if that improves the chances of my normally very waterproof mascara against the worst of these allium fiends.

@Makingabobor2 - My strawberries have had a weekly dose of tomato feed since the first signs of berries setting. It's made all the difference, as these plants are on their final year. Hope your pre-Covid levels of energy return very soon. What a horrid illness it is. My bestie was really poorly with it last year. It doesn't seem as awful as those early versions when none of us had any immunity & no vaccines, but it is still a mistake to assume it will just be 'like a cold' which I still sometimes hear people saying. 
@tiddles - Thank-you & welcome. 
@KajiKita - I haven't done today's planned bindweed removal. Hope to have a bit more energy tomorrow if it's another dry day. There'll certainly be a lot of it being taken away by the council garden waste lorry tomorrow morning!
F

foxgloves

Hello Diary Readers,
Another day of small budget-helpers. I haven't done everything I intended. It's my planned weeding session which has dropped off the end of the day & that's not so much time, but because I can feel a muzzy head developing....more of a lurking, really, & I don't think bending over with my head down is going to do it a lot of good. I'll hopefully be able to put the time into that tomorrow. Anyway, small things today:
*Baked a batch of bread rolls as back-up so we don't run out of bread this weekend. I do like to have rolls in the freezer.
*Washed bed linen & pegged it out for free drying.
*Watered veg garden 
*Did next week's meal plans & wrote grocery shopping list. This will be the final grocery shop of our June budget cycle & we are about £20 down on the amount we would notionally want to be allocating to each week. We do have plenty of food & household supplies in, however, & bought extra pouches for the beasticles last week when we had a couple of useful supermarket vouchers. So we have chosen meals which use up freezer supplies for 5 out of 7 days. The remaining two will be a BBQ on Saturday, with sufficient food cooked to feed us on Sunday too. We are a little low because we did all our refilling last week at the eco-shop in town, which was a small bulk buy.
*Postie brought 2 useful items:
i) Two free full-size products I was recruited to test as part of a recent survey. 
ii) My 2024 work pension statement. I was hoping this was imminent because as you know, I've been looking in detail at my state pension forecast, so it was useful this morning to sit & do a little number crunching. If I take my pension now, it will be reduced accordingly, but I have no need to do so & intend to leave it. I have to admit that it has always seemed such a long way off, but today I looked at the date I can take the full amount & it struck home that it is slightly less than 5 years away! The amounts had risen by 6.6% on last year's figures, which as I am not paying into it, must be down to interest rates on the pension fund portfolio. I ran a bit of a 'guesstimate' on less generous rates to get a rough idea of what my lump sum might look like by then & have made a mental note nearer the time to think about the best place to put it. With Mr F being a few years younger than me & still working after I have received both my pensions, it is important that I make optimum use of this money when it starts coming in as it will be extra & will be a factor in whether we do manage to relocate to the coast when Mr F retires. Lots to think about & I'm glad I am doing so & also that I have now been sensible with money for a long time (though still not as long as I was a spendy fritterer!)
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Cast on 2nd sock of the current pretty pair I am knitting for the presents bag.
Not a no-spend day as I had 3 rather dull items to order online, but all will be covered by savings pots so will not affect June's buffer zone.
OK, that's today's money saving. Talk to you tomorrow.
F x

Sun_Addict

The ever chomping snails and slugs seem to be more of a pain than usual this year. They’re the mollusc equivalent of wood pigeons eating everything in sight that’s remotely edible 😩

It’s a good idea to hold on to any pension at the moment if you don’t need it. I have a very small previous employer pension I could access now but would rather let it build up and wait until I’ve finished working. 

Makingabobor2

Didn't know about feeding strawberries with tomato feed. Thanks for the tip.  My tomatoes aren't looking too healthy either. First time I've grown them for many years. I just presumed it was the weather again. Told DH I definitely want a green house

themadvix

Makingabobor2 said:

Didn't know about feeding strawberries with tomato feed. Thanks for the tip.  My tomatoes aren't looking too healthy either. First time I've grown them for many years. I just presumed it was the weather again. Told DH I definitely want a green house

It probably is the weather - some of mine aren’t looking too healthy either and I looked it up yesterday and basically it’s the cold nights they don’t like. Hopefully now the weather has improved they’ll cheer up. I’d love a greenhouse but no room for one here (unless we put something in the front (which is an option with our house).