Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

themadvix

I too am using up some tea (loose decaf) that has been lingering in the cupboard too long. I will be very glad to finish it off and get the space back!

I used to have issues with knives in squashed, but not since Mr MV went on a blacksmithing day course in the summer - he made a mahoosive great knife intended for chopping such things and it is brilliant. Not the cheapest solution (course was £100), but at least he got the experience and we got something very useful out of it.

ladyholly

Families can be difficult. Mr LH and his father didnt talk for several years before he died and we only found out he had died when we got a solicitors letter.

Suffolk_lass

Mr SL popped into Morries while out yesterday (eye test) and came back with double the amount of carrots I asked for, a bag of brown onions, and two bags of pears (not on the list). He also bought some ice cream that was not in stock when I shopped at the end of October.  We just need to pay to store the supermarket's food now. In the freezer, I suppose it keeps the whole thing working better if it has plenty in it.

Mr SL undertook to feed the starter last night but forgot. So... this morning we succumbed to the lure of the market. As well as a Jalapeño and cheese sourdough, we bought a baguette to have with some courgette soup I made this morning (more - to use the bag of courgettes I didn't use yesterday but had defrosted), a sourdough malt loaf (now frozen, with the fancy bread, for Chrimbo) and two french breakfast treats. We also bought fish to have today as we rarely see the fish van. Then we went for posh coffee. The first time for months for me (he went two weeks ago and had his breakfast too, when I was away at the honey show. Just coffee this time. Treats were for the followup drink at home!

All in all, a bit spendy but Mr SL received his very first ever state pension payment into the current account this morning (all 5 days of it, but close to  £180 so better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as they say!) - a small celebration was called for! Back to being watchful, I intend blasting the soup for the village in the microwave before putting it in the big pot and heating that to take. It will warm more quickly and cheaply than using the leccy oven or the gas hob to heat from cold (hopefully). A late lunch here next with the fish and some simple steamed veg and maybe a little mash. 

Diarising this again, after stopping updating my diary at the end of June is making me really conscious of the little extra spends. Maybe I need to start another and be more accountable to myself. Seriously considering.

foxgloves

@themadvix - Oooh, mahoosive big knife for butchering humongous squashes is just what I need. Must ask Mr F if he fancies a smithying course, lol. He does have blacksmiths in his ancestry.

@Suffolk_lass - Maybe a new diary to refocus would be a good idea? We are none of us perfect. Yes, we may be debt-free now & have many useful lifeskills come the zombie apocalypse, but we can still find ourselves going off-course if we relax things. I do find I am.more focused when I post daily.

F

foxgloves

Oh dear, it's comical here. Soot has discovered that there is an old cat biscuit under the fridge & he is trying everything his furry brain can think of to winkle it out!
Hello Friday diary readers,
Am.just checking in with today's budget-friendly activity:
*Cleaned entire house - usual minimal products & washable cloths. Green bleach made a good job of our belfast sink which gets stained with coffee jug dregs.
*Changed bed linen & loaded washer but will wait for a better pegging-out day.
*Updated grocery budget. Delighted that Week 2 is currently running at a £25-17 underspend. We may decide just to pop to our village farm shop for a sack of potatoes, but that will still leave an underspend. Just shows what batch-cooking, use of freezer, meal planning & a canny shopping list can do. Must keep best practice up until Christmas.
*Did a couple of surveys.
*Entered 3 competitions.
*A bit more present knitting while watching Ep2 of Lord Lucan prog over my lunch hour.
*Wrote a list for our city centre visit tomorrow - Am hoping to pick up 4 presents from the list. Also priced up some items from Mr F's Christmas/birthday wish list, because I am going to suggest we each go off on our own errands for an hour or so, during which time I will hopefully be able to buy a couple of them. Really feeling organised with presents after this week.
Didn't get any more cards written today. I went to the next person on my list & I owe her a letter & generally enclose one with her card. I felt this would be old news by the time she opens her card, so decided to write a November letter instead & post it tomorrow. Well, this friend & I can yakk for Britain, so 10 typed pages later......& then Soot came to ask where wss his snack & Mr F pinged to say could I start prepping some jacket wedges as he needs to cover a later shift because of more staff sickness.....& then I spent 10.mins trying to fathom if a parcel is or isn't arriving this evening because I have had 4 different messages......so today's quota of card writing will have to wait. 
Oooh, that parcel HAS just arrived! Apparently the first driver's van broke down so another driver had to intercept & finish the round. And it's another present, so will go & cross it off the list without further ado!
F x

weenancyinAmerica

One year I drew a card for any season - Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny ringing in the New Year, along with the Leprechaun and his pot of gold, plus a  few more characters for other holidays in the year - just in case I didn't get it mailed in time. Helped as it did take awhile to get them all mailed that year. Now I don't usually send any at all. Need to send a newsy letter to some of the relatives though to let them know we are still here.

Moorviews

foxgloves said:

@Moorviews - I don't like altering trousers either, which is a nuisance with me being a mere 5'3 & a quarter! It means that regular trousers are all too long, but petite fitting ones are too short. At school, we used to shout out to kids with too short trousers 'Hey, why don't you spread some jam on your shoes & invite your trousers down to tea!' & of course thought it was the funniest thing ever in the history of comedy. However, I think not going around in too short trousers made its mark as I'd still rather have them too long than too short.

I must admit that I have never heard that particular phrase about short trousers! I am, however, very particular about the length and being vertically challenged always need to alter hems. 

The week has been busier than expected but I shall update with my wins. 

One pair of trousers have been shortened to my satisfaction. There were many pins, tacking stitches and trying ons involved. Hopefully I can get the others done this weekend. 

An annual membership has been cancelled and the associated standing order cancelled. A nice saving!
We ate all the pork and none of it made it to the freezer. I copied your hot pork cobs idea and left Mr MV in charge of this. Let’s just say they were well filled! We haven’t bought any additional food and I have menu plans for next week. 
A trip into town for an appointment was accomplished without refreshments or extra spending. I bought my vitamins as planned and they were on special offer which was great. Fish and chips was suggested on the way home but I pointed out that I had two portions of sausage casserole in the freezer so we could have that instead. I also collected a fresh stash of library books. 

Several items that were in the wrong place and have been irritating me have been dealt with. 

Appointments made for my dental and eye checks.
Dealt with a missing in the post item and now have the replacement. 

Discussions with family have been held regarding presents so my list for that is finally underway. 

Overdue phone calls have been made too. 

I think those are all the main things. Thank you for prompting a productive week 😊
We enjoy writing and receiving cards although there are fewer as we go through life. I do find it sad though sometimes knowing that we won’t hear from someone again. I still like to take the opportunity to think affectionately of a dear relative or friend as I work my way through my address book. 

It’s been a grey week but hopefully you will get some sunshine soon. 

PennysIntoPounds

I love a Belfast sink, it's on the wishlist should we ever get to build this place!

Has Soot reclaimed the under-fridge biscuit yet 😁

badmemory

Trying to correct the length of trousers when you are the only one available is a real pain as it involves so much guess work & re-doing.  Be grateful they are no longer flares as a flare starting halfway down your calf is not a good look.

Humdinger1

Ooh flares @badmemory.  They went from super-groovy to an arrestable offence overnight, I seem to recall.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx