Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

KajiKita

Interesting that neither of your Feline Friends went outside today … 🤔 Our two have been out marauding all day! Chloe is obviously feeling better 😉

KK

foxgloves

Morning Campers!
Not much to report today on the money saving front, but I do find that kicking in a (mostly) daily post helps to keep me focused, so here goes:
*Did a couple of minor budget updates.
*Did a few surveys - none of them very generous, but it all adds up & the month is yet young.
*Almost zero-effort meal tonight as have defrosted a couple of portions of the chicken bhuna I made from leftover roast chicken last week. Shall only need to cook some rice to accompany it.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch.
*Avoid unintentional food waste by eating Mr F's packed lunch! Yes, he (& this is a very rare event!) managed to leave his lunch behind in the fridge this morning so went into work only with his packed breakfast. He hadn't realised until I pinged him & then replied, called himself all the *&??!**%$ under the sun. I am going to eat it myself for lunch to it won't be wasted.
*Entered a competition.
I've also vacuumed all of upstairs & emptied the bins. Just got to change towels, etc, then the house is clean for the weekend as I did downstairs yesterday. This afternoon, I intend to have another good session in the garden, which is both good for my physical fitness & also in practical terms of getting it cut back & cleared over Autumn & Winter. I garden in a generally frugal way so thinking about the tasks I'm aiming to include today, I will be:
*Transferring the compost from a used growbag into a big pot so as to re-use it for sowing rocket seed.
*Potting up & bringing more geraniums & other non-hardy plants into the conservatory or greenhouse.
*Cutting back more of the side of the garden I am currently clearing & forking over. Good free exercise, plenty of lush free greenery for adding to our compost bins ready for next year's veg growing & doubtless a few free plants as I pot up any self-sown freebies as I go. 
Wishing everyone a peaceful & pleasant frugal Friday,
F x

KajiKita

Poor Mr F! I hope he managed to find an edible alternative for lunch? 

I am in garden clearing mode here too 😊 I foresee significant big weed lifting, compost riddling and spreading in my afternoon today …. 😉

KK

foxgloves

@KajiKita - Yes, he sensibly popped out on his break & bought something. 

Morning Saturday Savers,
Well, unusually for a Saturday, I am here on my ownsome (cats haven't surfaced yet, apart from breakfast of course & a brief biscuits pester from Soot, which stopped when I think even he realised he was on a hide into nothing!) as Mr F is co-ordinating a major work event & will be there all day. I've been pottering around getting a few things done. Today's budget-helping bits as follows:
*Dry & sunny so put a laundry load on first thing & pegged it out - any free drying, even partly dry, between now & Spring has to be a winner on the electricity saving front.
*Put everything for pulled pork in the slow cooker which will do us a few meals. The pork joint was the last one cut from that whole pork loin we bought from our butcher for £25 a few weeks ago & Mr F cut it up at home. It has certainly provided a lot of meals & in addition to those from the pulled pork I'm cooking today, there is also a box of pork steaks he cut from it in the freezer for another occasion. We've also had 2 roasting joints from it, with all the knock-on meals I got from the leftovers of those too. Anyway, I shan't have to do anything to it until the finishing off stage, which is one of the things I love about my slow cooker.
*Did a couple of minor, low-paying surveys. I'm not looking for others as am not in the zone today.
*Finish knitting first pair of Mr F's birthday socks & hopefully get the swift out to wind the skein for the next pair while he is still out. He really likes handknitted socks & will definitely notice funky yarn being flailed around if he gets back while I am still winding. 
I had actually planned to do some more out in the garden this afternoon with the weather being dry, but it's very tempting to get a present finished & I would still have tomorrow afternoon for continuing outdoor tasks. I think I've talked myself into sitting in the kitchen armchair with a coffee knitting while listening to my audiobook. 
Oh, I am a narna.....here I was, just about to wish you all a nice day & sign out, & I remembered I have forgotten to include the key budget-helping news of the day!! (Perhaps I need to increase those fish oils!) Yes, I had forgotten all about the October premium bond draw - well, I mean, I of course noted that Agent Millions didn't visit us, but then it went out of my head & I didn't go on the prize checker, so it was such a lovely surprise this morning to receive an email telling me I'd won a prize. When I checked, it wasn't the £25 I was expecting to see, it was £100 !! How nice was that? We are new to premium bonds & it is our first win. We started buying them 11 months ago & this month's winning bond was only purchased at the end of August, so it actually won a prize on its first draw. With several of our savings pots looking a lot lower than I'd like, I am pleased to be able to give one or two of them an unexpected boost.
Right, that really IS everything this time,
Sunny weekend wishes to all my readers,
F xx

PennysIntoPounds

Hurrah, so pleased for your PB win

Moorviews

Congratulations on your PB win!

That pork joint was certainly good value. I am never sure quite what to do with loin of pork and appreciate hearing that I could do pulled pork with it. It’s getting to be the time of year where sitting knitting or crocheting is a most attractive option. I love that you make presents, whereas my remaining family would not wear anything handmade. It was my mother and I who enjoyed that. 

Sun_Addict

Great news about the PB win 👏 A year of doing them and not won a thing yet 🙁

foxgloves

Thanks all. Winning £100 was a nice surprise. @Sun_Addict - I think we both started buying bonds at roughly the same time, didn't we? Maybe ERNIE is saving you up for a big one. Of course with the randomness of it, I may go for 2 decades with not a further penny! 

@Moorviews - I have always made things for presents. I'm lucky that so many of my family members appreciate handknitted socks. Since discovering them, 2 B-i-Ls & Mr F won't wear any other type which is handy for gift giving. I have also given little hampers of my home made preserves & added a couple of boxes of posh farm shop crackers to them. Also home made fudge & the occasional fruit cake. The latter was a good present for my Dad, as Mum didn't bake & a nice fruit cake lasted Dad well into January.
F

PennysIntoPounds

*pretends to be a relative of foxgloves*

KajiKita

PennysIntoPounds said:

*pretends to be a relative of foxgloves*

Budge over …! 😉😂😊

KK