Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@weenancyinAmerica - Great way of hedging your bets on the cards front!

@Moorviews - Some excellent wins there! I know what you mean about 'not hearing from people again'. As a keen, life-long letter-writer myself, I am very aware of the fact that almost all of the people I've lost were also letter-writers. Nothing like sitting down with a coffee & delving into a real newsy (preferably handwritten) letter.

@PennysIntoPounds - Yes, I was determined to have one when we had our kitchen fitted. The bigger, deeper size is good for washing homegrown produce, big bundles of rhubarb etc, as well as occasional hand washing. We did have to buy a washing-up bowl though as we were breaking crockery on our rock hard new sink on at least  a weekly basis.
No, Soot gave up, but I'm sure he'll pursue it again. Getting an extra biscuit is too big a prize for him to walk away completely.

@badmemory - Yes, I agree it is much easier to turn up garments with another pair of eyes on hand to help confirm things are level.
F

foxgloves

Hello Saturday Savers,
Well, yesterday's excitement about my parcel arriving didn't last long, as I unpacked it & discovered it was broken. I got onto the company straight away (small business) & they responded within 10 mins, so disappointed as I was with arranging a replacement, etc, I did think that was excellent customer service. 
A very pleasant city centre trip today - as I had somehow managed to lose 0.5kg over the last 10 days despite eating Hallowe'en goodies, celebratory anniversary brownies & too much toast, I decided to treat myself to a 2-course breakfast from my Personal Spends - Yes, 1 toasted teacake with 1 stroopwafel. Very healthy, I don't think!! I could develop a problem with stroopwafels. Anyway, I have gone off on a tangent already! 
We bought 5 more presents from the list & I had an hour & a half on my own during which I managed to get 2 things from Mr F's birthday/Christmas wishlist too. The Marine Condiment shop had the dress I wanted in the correct size & I'd made sure when I got dressed this morning that I was wearing chunky tights & boots for trying it on with, as that is how I'll be wearing it. There was a 20% offer & as I also had a present for S-i-L to buy from there, I qualified for this & also had the £20 gift card from my loyalty points which they gave me last time, so I ended up paying just £31-73 for a £59-95 dress & felt that was a really good reduction.
Mr F still hadn't bought any jeans so thought that as he had been sent an offer on some, he'd buy a pair. Oh my life, the fuss! He likes slim fit ones as really dislikes what he calls 'flappy ankles'. He found a pair in the right colour, size & fit but declared them to be 'too flappy'. I said I couldn't detect any flapping potential but he found another pair & compared the ankle width & the first pair was indeed wider. I pointed out that he had chosen a pair of 32" waisted ones to compare them with, which drew the response that it is the mid-section of jeans which need to go up in size not the ankles! There ensued a 5 -minute explanation from me of how clothes sizing works. i.e I am short & curvy so if I want a low-necked dress that fits my curvy bits, you can guarantee the troublesome Foxgloves boobs will be in peril of escaping from the front because every part of the dress is sized up, not just the sections which go over your fat bits, so the neck will thus be far too low! He just couldn't 'get' that the sizing-up of clothing is standardised (probably because he has never cut out a dress making pattern!) Eventually, he decided he'd buy 2 pairs to make best use of his 15% off code. A nice dark blue pair from the display table & a black pair from some nearby shelves. Off to the tills. Pays. We head towards the stairs........& THIS m'dears, is today's valuable money saving lesson. ALWAYS CHECK THE PRICE!!
Suddenly he's staring at the receipt. I said, "What's wrong?". He said "Bloody hell, I THOUGHT that was expensive, those black jeans cost nearly twice as much as the other pair!". 
Me: How did that happen?
Him: Because it's a rip-off, that's what it is. They are the same jeans!!
Me: Well, they're obviously not the same, are they, I assume one pair is from a different range.
Him: It's a jeans scam. They're the same thing. A blue pair of jeans & a black pair. It said the price on the display table.
Me: Yes, but you got the black pair from those shelves over there, didn't you?
Him: Yes.
Me: Did you look at the price?
Him: No. 
Me: Well, there you are then. You haven't been ripped off, you just didn't look at the price of them.
Well, he was still muttering away about being ripped off, & I said, "Right, OK, we are still here in the shop, so you have 2 options here. 1) You can go home with 2 nice pairs of jeans on which you got a 15% discount, enjoy them, but remember to check the price tags on individual pairs next time....... OR
2) You can go back to the counter & explain that you genuinely thought they were the same price & would like to exchange the more expensive pair for another pair from the cheaper range. 
BUT if you decide to keep both pairs, then that's it, the moaning stops now, because the fact of the matter is that you made a mistake in not looking at the price label on the black pair, which to be fair, were part of a different display". He opted to keep them both. There was a mini-moan about rip-offs while he was unpacking his shopping when we got home, but I reminded him that if anything, he'd ripped HIMSELF off, through not checking. He badly needed new jeans (can wear smart ones for work) & it is no bad thing to have a best pair. Honestly, once he gets a bee in his bonnet.......& that price differential which he entirely failed to spot, was certainly today's very lively bee!

Oh, & he challenged me to a steps contest for this weekend. I am in the lead so far - I took the opportunity of zipping around doing tidying & other tasks as soon as I realised he'd sat down to watch a film with Soot & Ash - but it's his cooking night, so he will pick up a few steps there. I think it will all come down to how active we both are tomorrow. I'm not sure what he has planned, but I am definitely having some garden time, so that should put a few steps on. Anyway, I have just been offered a glass of wine, so shall wish you all a pleasant evening & sign off without further ado.
F x

MisterPym

Moorviews said:

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. 

At school when someones trousers were too short we said - Did your budgie die? Meaning were you wearing the trousers at half mast in mourning!!!

Makingabobor2

Well, sounds like a very exciting shopping trip. Mr FG obviously didn't go to S/S*v**s.....lol

foxgloves

@Makingabobor2 - Lol, he actually HAS been to the place you mention & bought 2 new pairs! He has managed to get through all of today without chuntering about "rip-off jeans".

@MisterPym - I've never heard that expression about deceased budgie & it made me laugh. It reminded me of when I started a Saturday job aged 15. My co-workers were all much older women. One morning, one of them leaned over & whispered in my ear, "Charlie's dead". I said "Who is Charlie?" She said, "No, Charlie's DEAD". Thinking he must be one of our customers, I said that sounded sad & I was sorry to hear it. What I didn't realise is that some people of that generation routinely used the euphemism "Charlie's dead" to inform that one's slip or underwear is showing!! Well, you live & learn!
F

foxgloves

Hello Sunday Readers,
Pleasantly peaceful day which hasn't involved any spending.
Useful activities:
*Garden pickings: Kale & a bunch of sage now tied & hanging from kitchen beam for drying.
*Started cutting back & clearing herb bed. Our tame robin helped by eating slug & snail eggs as I exposed them. Discovered 2 chard plants which, bizarrely, hadn't succumbed to the New Mollusc Army so they will be free winter leafies at some point.
*Cut back some overspilling comfrey. Added 1 trugful to the compost (good free activator) & used a 2nd trugful for 'chop & drop' around the redcurrants.
*Made a big fish pie using that box of trimmings & fillet oddments I froze when I cut up our last fish box order. There will defo be enough to feed us tomorrow night too, which will save time.
*Chatted through our diaries for the week ahead.
*Roughly planned out the shape of my own week, in which I will definitely need to begin wrapping presents. My little HQ room looks like a warehouse. Wrapping always takes longer than anticpated so I am going to get onto it this week. It's too small a room to take this level of cardboard chaos!
Was shocked to realise that my mid-month budget check-in is due later this week. November seems to be flying by & needs to have a word with itself!
Looking forward to a nice hot bath & settling down to watch 'Wolf Hall' later tonight.
Wishing everyone a lovely evening & a good start to the new week ahead.
F x

rtandon27

oooo - your comment about 'Wolf Hall' prompted me to remind the OH to add it to our watch list!  As I'm very familiar with Tudor history it seems to be a good bet!  Our default seems to be any and all cooking shows when we can't agree on the mental energy available to concentrate!  We are in the middle of the Turkish Detective & Ludwig - both shows I enjoy but struggle to concentrate on after a long day of work!

ladyholly

I will have to watch Wolf Hall on I player as Mr LH is busy watching war documentaries.

Sun_Addict

I’ve heard that saying Charlie’s dead re under garments showing from much older work mates 😆 No idea where it originates from though.

Baileys_Babe

rtandon27 said:

oooo - your comment about 'Wolf Hall' prompted me to remind the OH to add it to our watch list!  As I'm very familiar with Tudor history it seems to be a good bet!  Our default seems to be any and all cooking shows when we can't agree on the mental energy available to concentrate!  We are in the middle of the Turkish Detective & Ludwig - both shows I enjoy but struggle to concentrate on after a long day of work!

We enjoyed both Ludwig and The Turkish Detective. I will be adding Wolf Hall to the watch list.