Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@KajiKita - Yes, I am very pleased with it. I look forward to wearing it when I finally manage to get it blocked. It will go nicely with my leather jacket.
@ladyholly - Yes, it is a lovely pattern. It isn't actually all that difficult in itself, more a case of getting distracted by trying to watch TV or chat at the same time, then finding I had miscounted. I've knitted mine in a purple mix with the lacy section in black merino & silk yarn.....a bit out of my price bracket for yarn, but it was a gift.
*@2scratters - Enjoy a bumper fudge-making session. Perhaps you could make some to gift at Easter instead of chocolate eggs? I've done that before with fudge as I knew my nephews would receive plenty of chocolate.
*@determined_new_miss - Hi & welcome back! Many congratulations on achieving your Masters & on your new career. I am still saving & sowing seed from that original batch of Guatemalan Blue squash seed you sent me from your allotment!
F x

foxgloves

Hello Sunday Savers,
I got so chilly out in the greenhouse earlier, I'm looking forward to a nice hot bubble bath in a minute. It's Mr F's cooking night so I have no further tasks to do. Not a lot of budget-friendly stuff been going on today, as have had quite a lot of leisure time, reading, doing the 'Observer' crossword, etc, but for what it's worth, here are my efforts:
*Made a porridge pot for tomorrow's packed breakfast.
*Did an advance laundry load as there seemed rather a lot - used eco-setting - now on heated airer which will give the conservatory a little bit of an overnight heat boost.
*Chatted through our diaries so we know what we are doing during the coming week. Mr F requested a job list for tackling over the next 6 weeks or so. I am already on it in my head, shall write it out tomorrow. He has already volunteered to wash down the greenhouse inside & out before my seed sowing begins, so a big yay to that!
*Speedy nosebag tonight - some of the turkey bhuna I batch-cooked following turkey dismantling day. Just a couple of portions of rice to cook, so feels like a free meal.
*Spent 40 minutes nithering out in the greenhouse. It does seem very cold today, despite there being no frost first thing. Watered everything & tidied up my autumn-sown salad crops - 2 lots of rocket still perfectly edible, also some baby spinach & mizuna. Pulled out 5 October-sown sweet peas which were too small to survive the recent sub-zero temperatures, although these were from saved seed, which can be a little more variable than bought ones. I still have sufficient strong plants for growing up our obelisk & can always sow some more in Feb if I decide I want extras. They do need potting up, pinching out & staking though, so I will get onto that this week. The autumn sown larkspur & parsley seem to be doing ok, but were grateful for a drink. Too easy to forget these simple tasks when the garden is frozen & preventing the usual outdoor pottering around. Covered the salads for a bit of insulation after their watering, just to encourage them to get going again if we do see any sunshine in the next few days.
*Have cast on B-i-L's 2nd sock so will continue with knitting that tonight while watching TV. 
Ok, that's me done for the day. Off for a soak, facial & hair wash now.
F x

Makingabobor2

It was definitely cold in the garden today.  I was out feeding the birds, taking stuff to the bins and sorting out some bits that had been stashed in a garden cupboard for electrical recycling and metal to take to the tip. Even in my old wintery garden coat and hat I was cold. I'm sure the birds appreciated my efforts though, at least the water isn't freezing at the moment. 

Onebrokelady

It was cold here today when I went out to feed the 🐓 and my heating has been on all day today 

Moorviews

Looking forward to seeing the finished shawl as it does sound rather glamorous in those colours and in that yarn! I enjoyed looking through the designer’s website. She certainly has some gorgeous and unusual patterns. I have never tried lacy knitting and can only imagine it is very difficult with regard to getting the tension right. 

That sounds like a lot of good work in the greenhouse. I agree that it is easy to forget, or in my case ignore, all those important things when it is cold out. One reason that I wish I mine was heated; it would be so much more tempting! Although, probably more complicated to look after. I have never successfully grown larkspur from seed. The mice seem to like the seeds and muss up the compost if I put them in the shed. When I tried in the greenhouse, they just didn’t germinate at all!

foxgloves

@Moorviews - My greenhouse isn't heated either. Long ago, I did have one of those little paraffin heaters, but so rarely managed actually to have the blimming thing set up & lit when the temperatures dropped that I skipped it (ancient) & now just use recycled bubblewrap or fleece if I want a bit of insulation. Even charity shop net curtains are better than nothing.
Re knitwear designer. Yes, she does some quite innovative patterns. I would like to re-knit one of hers that I made years ago - a long lacy (but in aran yarn so quite warm) cardi which could be worn one way up as a fairly standard cardi (edge to edge, no buttons) but was designed also to be worn the other way round (as in upside down!) for a different look - a shrug with a waterfall front. I loved that garment. Eventually it felted as I washed it on too energetic a hot wash, but tbf, I had got loads of wear out of it.
F

foxgloves

Hello Frugalistas,
Mr F tells me that it's 'Blue Monday' - I think something to do with nasty-looking post-festive credit card bills starting to plop through people's doors? Well, of course back in the Spendy Decades, that would have been me......January was a long old month, as having been paid a week early, I had already spent it all, & it was a huge relief to make it to payday. February's bill was always worse however, as the horrid balance hadn't gone away & I had naturally been shopping a few more times by then too. Thank GOODNESS this stupidity came to an end, despite the LBM coming to me later in life than many. It still feels so good to have everything Christmas-related paid for by the end of December with nothing hanging around on credit cards to sabotage finances going forward into the New Year. And yes, I DID always feel sorry for myself & blame it on Christmas.......er, that would be the festival which has happened at the same time every year for 2 millennia, longer if one counts Yule (which I do). What a pudding head!!
Anyway, before I digress any further, has there been any budget-friendly activity today? 
*Did 3 loads of laundry - tbh, a bit too much for one heated airer, but as it's too cold & damp for pegging out, & I've got to pay for the electricity to run it, I thought I might as well get as much on there as possible.
*Baked bread.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Made pastry to use up the last of a pack of Trex which was annoying me by taking up space in the fridge. So I planned in a quiche for tonight's meal. I've made the case already, just need to do the filling (caramelised onion & cheese) & accompanying veg.
*Turned out a small annoying kitchen cupboard & binned off a satisfying amount of clutter.
*Did my usual Monday morning budget updates. January's grocery budget is almost certainly going to come in underspent, so we have decided to do a small A*di shop to stock up with a few items we like i.e Baked beans, cold pressed rapeseed oil (which we also like because it's in glass bottles) & doubtless a few other bits once I've checked pantry stocks.
*Did a few minor surveys, but it all adds up, doesn't it? I shan't get anywhere near my monthly £40 PA target this month, but this doesn't mean I am ignoring those surveys that are available. 
I'm going to have a bit of a tidy-up now, then a bit of reading time. Some of the titles on my library wish-list seem to be arriving so I need to get a wriggle on with my current book so as to start the next one this week. I have always been a big reader, but I have never kept a tally of how many books I read per year. Hence my 100 books in 2025 goal. I'll be surprised if I get there tbh, but it will be interesting to see just how many I do read. Atm, I'm reading Ben Elton's WW1 novel, 'First Casualty'.
Right, I had better distribute cat treats or there'll be loud grumbling from our black furry friend who has only had breakfast & lunch today (i.e like the rest of us!)
F x

foxgloves

Morning Campers! 
I'd planned to have done an hour of garden clearing by now, but it transpired that 'light cloud & sunny intervals' actually meant drizzle. Looks brighter this afternoon so I am still hoping to get out there after lunch. Usual humdrum everyday bits of budget-helping: Made dough for tonight's pizza & a batch of rolls, re-arranged items of damp laundry on the heated airer for a bit of a boost (so I can get it switched off asap), made tomorrow's packed lunch (very easy as I made a cheese & onion pasty with last night's leftover quiche pastry) & of course, my hour of free fitness bending & stretching in the garden as I make first inroads into clearing a problem border.
We are still both very much in 'Project Surbiton' mindset. No, I shan't be asking Mr F to build a generator or source a few pigs, but I am definitely working along the lines of 'If I already have THIS, why am I thinking of buying THAT?' which is also playing well into my current decluttering blitz too. I've been thinking about the main streams of cashflow into our 10 Savings Pots this morning:
* Cashflow IN is from regular payments made on Big Budget Day when I work out how much is going into which pots, prioritising according to need (including knowledge of future need, i.e Boots wearing out, car needing a couple of new tyres, vet trip due, etc). 
*Payments made from extra income. Things like backpay, winning, selling something, diverting survey earnings, etc.
*Bigger payments from savings elsewhere in the budget. i.e Underspend on our monthly grocery budget, deciding not to buy something we had previously budgeted for, or planned estimated costs coming in lower than expected.
*Spending as little as possible from the Savings Pots this year so as to allow them to build unimpeded. There isn't a lot we can do about our Car Maintenance Pot as keeping a well-maintained vehicle pays for itself, ditto the Holiday Pot as we are committed to bookings made for this year & next, but we have agreed that 2027 will be a stay at the en-suite campsite rooms which we tried last September & really enjoyed, as that will give the Holiday Pot time to rebuild ready for booking somewhere nice for Mr F's 60th. That's a long way off yet, but as I have a full holiday payment schedule written out in my Money Book, I am confident that all commitments will be met as long as I don't accidentally sleep-book an expensive cottage for 2027! The Clothes Pot is one which should regenerate pretty well, I think, as both of us mostly just require essentials this year, though I am going to encourage Mr F to choose another rugby shirt as one of his has developed a mystery hole in the front. I had planned to order quite a few pairs of nice tights this month, but having unearthed a couple of not-worn-for-ages pairs at the back of a drawer, I think I will have a proper sort through & see if this is something I can put off until Autumn. I also have the £50 gift card (the one I thought I'd lost) which is for a clothes shop so can choose something nice with that. I could do with a new summer dress as my much loved lime green linen one wore out beyond repair last year. I did keep it to take to pieces for potential pattern pieces though. The Presents Pot - always opportunity for improvisation where gifts are concerned. Will be gifting an additional hamper this year - a joint one, which will be a good saving. I also have sufficient part-balls of sock yarn in my stash to knit Mr F his usual 2 pairs of birthday or Christmas socks whereas I bought 2 indie-dyed skeins for those last year - that will be a saving of £34. I haven't been through my craft stash yet, so there could be other present-making opportunities just waiting to be discovered. Another thing I though of re the Presents Pot was to pop £10 a month away as cash (ie kept separate from the Presents Pot) to cover Christmas money for our nephews as it would be quite nice knowing it didn't have to come out of the Pot as we get into Autumn.
So I am mulling various things over & also looking for useful money saving resources as I declutter my way through each room. Yes, we will obviously have to use Savings Pots money for some things - we do still have things to buy for our vegetable plot refurb, for example, but the key thing this year is that we ensure more money goes INTO them than comes out. 
Ooooh, I think that silly drizzle has stopped. I am feeling more hopeful about this afternoon's cutting back/weeding session.
Stay cosy, Frugalistas,
F x

EssexHebridean

Ugh to your grotty weather - we had proper thick fog when I left home this morning, of the sort that just makes the car consistently need it's wipers on, but the wipers to them grumble about this as the screen isn't quite wet enough for them to run smoothly IYKWIM. Glancing out of the office window it does now appear that it might have cleared a bit in London at least. 

PennysIntoPounds

Good idea to put separate money aside for nephews, maybe when it gets to £25s you could pop it in premium bonds until needed for an extra go in the monthly draws..
Enjoy your garden session, it's murky sunny in London atm but apparently not for long so I'd better try to get out for some steps myself, need to have some balance to all the lemon drizzle cake Mr PIP made that I've been bravely sampling 😁