Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@EssexHebridean - We didn't have any fog at the time I read your comment, but I can see now from my little HQ window that it seems to be descending even as I type. Being so close to the river doesn't help. 

@PennysIntoPounds - Yes, that's a thought that hadn't occurred to me. Thanks.

F

foxgloves

Greetings Wednesday Pence-Wranglers,
A bit of a  tired headachey day for me today, as slept poorly, but am ok, upright, functioning & have managed some budget-friendly productivity. My gardening session was sadly brought to an abrupt end when I received a ping from Mr F to say his parcel was out on the van - the delivery window being half an hour ago to 3pm. As I can't hear the door from the border I was at the time upended in, I had to pack everything away & come indoors. At least the parcel did arrive though & tbf, the Beloved was very apologetic. I told him he can make amends by helping me dig out all the hawkweed, bindweed & bramble roots at the back of that border & he said to put it on the list of jobs he requested (which I have now written & fixed to the fridge door). 
Anyway, today's efforts such as they are:
*Decided on a use-it-up jacket potato night tonight - basically that's a freezer/pantry dive in which we choose anything we fancy which isn't already allocated to another meal. I'm having the last sweet potato with prawns, sweetcorn & coleslaw. Mr F seems to be having a major round-up of veg which looks to be going in the last portion of the Hairy Biker curry sauce I made during the tomato glut.
*Did the ironing mountain. Not money saving in itself, I know, but I did do it all in one session so wasn't wasting energy heating the damn thing up multiple times. Found some interesting listening on BBC Sounds which I'm sure helped me get through it quicker.
*Did meal planning for next week:
Roast pork, potatoes, carrots, greens, etc.
Leftover meal 1: Pork sweet & sour stir-fry with noodles.
Leftover meal 2: Pork & sweetcorn hash with stir-fry garlicky shredded greens.
Jacket potato/freezer dive night 
Veggie fajhitas with salad
Sausage hot-pot with crusty fresh-baked bread
Leftover sausage hot-pot with basmati rice
*Shorter-than-planned garden clearing session but nevertheless got another 2 trugfuls of triffid-baddies into the garden waste wheelie plus one of useful bits onto our compost. And it IS free fitness. I read somewhere very recently that 3 hours of gardening, which consists of a mixture of activities is equal to an hour of intensive exercise at the gym! I was heartened to read that, as gardening & very modest walks are the only exercise I like (Oh & popping from A to B on my bike when I get my confidence up to get out on it again), there being absolutely zero chance of me ever attending a gym unless frog-marched there by a medical team while being paid handsomely per minute for participation. Oh actually, rethink....I still wouldn't! 
*Am checking for surveys but very little so far & I shan't have my laptop on for much longer.
*Shopped a pretty new pad of post-it notes from home. I can't remember who bought me these, but they are lovely - big pale blue butterflies.
*Perused latest bill from the Cephalopods. We have spent pretty much exactly the same as the same period last year - just 44p less on combined gas & electricity costs. I checked their balance forecast tool again - I'm doing this quite regularly, as I'd rather deal with gradual increases/adjustments to monthly DD than suddenly be informed that it needs to rise by a more chunky amount. We were still just within their estimated figure, but I have opted to increase our monthly DD by £4 as I feel happier with more of a credit balance than we currently have, a reduction which transpired when they lowered our DD by a sizeable amount last year for a few months. I like a balance between them having what I consider is too much of my money & enough credit built up to see us through the winter months. 
Well, that wasn't a very interesting day, was it?! Soot & Ash have been little b*ggers today. We've had the landing carpet heavily stropped by massive claws (Soot), ditto the back of my kitchen armchair (also Soot), 2 scraps while trying it on for early lunch biscuits, a demand to which I did succumb just to get an end to the squabbling, then they went outside & Ash was clearly hunting something, which turned out to be a baby mouse. Soot helped with disposal, which he did by bringing it indoors, & biffing it through the lounge door so I could see how helpful he was being. Aaaagh! So out I went to perform an impromptu rodent interment. They are now both snoozing away near the radiator as though butter wouldn't melt! They will start getting ars*y with each other as Mr F's arrival time draws nearer, as they both like to be the first one to greet him. 
I think I will write this week's grocery shopping list next, then enjoy a bit of time with my book. Have started both a new book & audiobook today as my library wishlist items have started arriving. I am enjoying adding each title read to my 2025 Challenge list. 
Ah well, enough yakk, 
F x

kayannie

Greetings Wednesday Pence-Wranglers,
A bit of a  tired headachey day for me today, as slept poorly, but am ok, upright, functioning & have managed some budget-friendly productivity. My gardening session was sadly brought to an abrupt end when I received a ping from Mr F to say his parcel was out on the van - the delivery window being half an hour ago to 3pm. As I can't hear the door from the bed I was at the time upended in, I had to pack everything away & come indoors. At least the parcel did arrive though & tbf, the Beloved was very apologetic. I told him he can make amends by helping me dig out all the hawkweed, bindweed & bramble roots at the back of that border & he said to put it on the list of jobs he requested (which I have now written & fixed to the fridge door). 
Anyway, today's efforts such as they are:
*Decided on a use-it-up jacket potato night tonight - basically that's a freezer/pantry dive in which we choose anything we fancy which isn't already allocated to another meal. I'm having the last sweet potato with prawns, sweetcorn & coleslaw. Mr F seems to be having a major round-up of veg which looks to be going in the last portion of the Hairy Biker curry sauce I made during the tomato glut.
*Did the ironing mountain. Not money saving in itself, I know, but I did do it all in one session so wasn't wasting energy heating the damn thing up multiple times. Found some interesting listening on BBC Sounds which I'm sure helped me get through it quicker.
*Did meal planning for next week:
Roast pork, potatoes, carrots, greens, etc.
Leftover meal 1: Pork sweet & sour stir-fry with noodles.
Leftover meal 2: Pork & sweetcorn hash with stir-fry garlicky shredded greens.
Jacket potato/freezer dive night 
Veggie fajhitas with salad
Sausage hot-pot with crusty fresh-baked bread
Leftover sausage hot-pot with basmati rice
*Shorter-than-planned garden clearing session but nevertheless got another 2 trugfuls of triffid-baddies into the garden waste wheelie plus one of useful bits onto our compost. And it IS free fitness. I read somewhere very recently that 3 hours of gardening, which consists of a mixture of activities is equal to an hour of intensive exercise at the gym! I was heartened to read that, as gardening & very modest walks are the only exercise I like (Oh & popping from A to B on my bike when I get my confidence up to get out on it again), there being absolutely zero chance of me ever attending a gym unless frog-marched there by a medical team while being paid handsomely per minute for participation. Oh actually, rethink....I still wouldn't! 
*Am checking for surveys but very little so far & I shan't have my laptop on for much longer.
*Shopped a pretty new pad of post-it notes from home. I can't remember who bought me these, but they are lovely - big pale blue butterflies.
*Perused latest bill from the Cephalopods. We have spent pretty much exactly the same as the same period last year - just 44p less on combined gas & electricity costs. I checked their balance forecast tool again - I'm doing this quite regularly, as I'd rather deal with gradual increases/adjustments to monthly DD than suddenly be informed that it needs to rise by a more chunky amount. We were still just within their estimated figure, but I have opted to increase our monthly DD by £4 as I feel happier with more of a credit balance than we currently have, a reduction which transpired when they lowered our DD by a sizeable amount last year for a few months. I like a balance between them having what I consider is too much of my money & enough credit built up to see us through the winter months. 
Well, that wasn't a very interesting day, was it?! Soot & Ash have been little b*ggers today. We've had the landing carpet heavily stropped by massive claws (Soot), ditto the back of my kitchen armchair (also Soot), 2 scraps while trying it on for early lunch biscuits, a demand to which I did succumb just to get an end to the squabbling, then they went outside & Ash was clearly hunting something, which turned out to be a baby mouse. Soot helped with disposal, which he did by bringing it indoors, & biffing it through the lounge door so I could see how helpful he was being. Aaaagh! So out I went to perform an impromptu rodent interment. They are now both snoozing away near the radiator as though butter wouldn't melt! They will start getting ars*y with each other as Mr F's arrival time draws nearer, as they both like to be the first one to greet him. 
I think I will write this week's grocery shopping list next, then enjoy a bit of time with my book. Have started both a new book & audiobook today as my library wishlist items have started arriving. I am enjoying adding each title read to my 2025 Challenge list. 
Ah well, enough yakk, 
F x

I had to re-read the first few lines again as I thought you were in bed when MrF pinged! That'll teach me to speed read!
KA

foxgloves

I read that line back, @kayannie, & you are quite right that it did infer that I was standing on my head in bed engaged in something else entirely. Have now altered it for clarity!
F 

badmemory

So glad I am not the only one who speed mis-reads.

I am going to have to go & do some kitchen type stuff.  Which is just an excuse to watch a bit more of Stargate Universe which we recorded from the TV almost 15 years ago.  Even the ads are interesting.  A lot of them would be unacceptable now.  But there is one that uses music from Bedknobs & Broomsticks & it keeps getting stuck in my head.

foxgloves

Aww, my Mum took me to see 'Bedknobs & broomsticks' at the cinema in Lowestoft when I was little. 
F

kayannie

foxgloves said:

I read that line back, @kayannie, & you are quite right that it did infer that I was standing on my head in bed engaged in something else entirely. Have now altered it for clarity!
F 

I preferred it the first time - I'm still giggling about it!
KA

lellybun

kayannie said:

foxgloves said:

I read that line back, @kayannie, & you are quite right that it did infer that I was standing on my head in bed engaged in something else entirely. Have now altered it for clarity!
F 

I preferred it the first time - I'm still giggling about it!
KA

Thanks for quoting the original KA, I giggled too! 🤣

Lelly 

Makingabobor2

Just having visions of you upside down in a flower bed now...lol

foxgloves

Afternoon Money Savers,
Can't say I have achieved a huge amount on the budget-friendly front today, but I haven't been spending either. In fact, the only spending today will be the grocery shopping which Mr F will be stopping off to do any minute now....striding in with his coffee beaker primed in the hope that our branch has received its overdue delivery of coffee beans from the Roman Emperor place.
*Finished grocery shopping list.
*Wrote town list for tomorrow when we will be picking up outstanding grocery items from the local farm stall, butcher & eco-refill shop. Then updated my list for Saturday's city centre trip which we have been putting off for one reason or another since the beginning of January. The updates were crossed off items rather than additional ones which appealed to my money saving nature.
*I have abandoned my regular Friday Big Clean as of today. It's boring & although it obviously makes a difference, I tend to do the same tasks so that every so often, a deep-clean is required. I have decided to do 1 hour's cleaning per day. I will obviously ensure that things like the loo, basin & sink are done regularly & are hygienic but will decide what else I am going to clean so that yes, it might take me longer to get around everywhere, but what I am cleaning will be done to a much higher level. I did kick in an extra half an hour today just to start me off. I cleaned along a length of kitchen worktop, including the tiles, cupboard doors as well as everything on there which was taken off, washed or polished before being returned. I listened to nearly 3 discs of my audiobook while I was scrubbing so didn't really notice the time it took. From a thrifty point of view, I'm sure you will be glad to hear that having tried a few different things for washing down cream coloured kitchen cupboard doors, the most effective one was a square of rough fabric cut up from an old towel! Last of the big spenders THERE, then!
*Had a look at our car insurance renewal quote which landed in my inbox today. What? Takes specs off, wipes them, replaces, looks again......but no it is true.....our premium has GONE DOWN!! After that chump stoved in the back of our car last year, I did think (being a cynical type) that despite Mr F being 100% exonerated from blame, our insurer might just sneak our premium up a bit, but no, that hasn't happened. I have done the maths & the amount we will be paying annually has decreased by £46-68. Baffled. But pleased, as we all know that we are entering that time of year when the figures on our bills spreadsheets are all increasing.
*Lots of surveys around today so my January PA earnings have had a boost. Am awaiting quite a lot of payments so will keep at it & see where I am on the 31st when I'd usually cash out. 
*Very easy nosebag tonight & 2 use-it-ups too. Have defrosted a pot of the pesto I made when our basil was lush last year & will be using up a stray salmon fillet & an annoying part-pack of spaghetti which seems to have been sitting in our pantry forever.
*A bit more of B-i-L's socks to knit tonight. 
Right, had better see why I haven't been ambushed for cat treats yet because I think that's suspicious in itself.
Take care all & enjoy your Friday nights. 
F x