Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@2Scratters - That's crazy if walking boots aren't meant to be worn on sand! Mind you, I remember when I was in my early teens, clogs became a trendy thing & I wanted a pair. They split within a couple of weeks, & were exchanged for another pair....same thing happened........& again for a 3rd pair.....same thing. They were from a very popular shop at the time which my Mum called 'Fall-to-bits, Hardy & Willis'. The manager told her, "Your daughter's feet are obviously not suited to the shape of the clog", at which my Mum said that there IS no shape to a clog! A refund ensued & I was taken to a different shop where I came away with a not nearly as nice or trendy pair. Goods really do have to be able to cope with their intended purpose, do they not?!

@Blackcats - I am defo feeling a big sense of focus. I know what you mean about having to use money from Savings Pots. Last year, we were 'hit' in several categories, not helped by the fact that I subbed the Tech Replacement Pot from the Appliances Replacement Pot when Mr F's phone did its leap of doom from the freezer onto our kitchen quarry tiles. I had barely begun paying this Pot back when naturally the washing machine decided now would be an optimum time to trip the household electrics then cark it. So that pretty much emptied out another one. We also both needed new varifocals, well you know how it goes. We are still so stunned by the fact that we have general savings, that we would both be really very reluctant to have to dip into those for the ordinary & very foreseeable expenses which should be covered by our Pots, hence Project Surbiton. I should add that I have not yet availed myself of a 2nd hand loom to turn out shapeless green coveralls yet......or begun building a generator in the basement!

@EssexHebridean - I'm a huge fan of 'Cook once, eat twice' in all of its helpful guises. I only used half the savoury mince I made for last night's cottage pie, so we will be having the other half on jacket potatoes tonight, along with the remaining purple sprouting broccoli & some carrots. 
F

foxgloves

Hello Diary Readers,
Well, what a soggy dull old day. It honestly barely seems to have got light here. Felt sorry for Soot who detests rain & set up a litter tray. He had been meowing away like mad & I thought he'd by jumping straight into it, but no, the barrage of meows turned out to be a protracted attempt to secure early biscuits & when they didn't appear, he went outside in the rain anyway! Has there been any budget-friendly activity? Yes, a bit, but a very routine day  - defo no glitter or razzmatazz to see here.
*Did 3 loads of laundry & just about managed to cram it all on the heated airer. Dehumidifier is helping big-time.
*Leftover savoury mince atop jackets tonight, so I shall only need to lob a couple of potatoes in the oven & prep some veg. 
*Did my usual Monday morning budget updates - mostly grocery budget & Personal Spends with a few transactions to pay off CCs. 
*Baked bread. 
*Did 3 surveys.
*Did much-needed home hair colour. Just need to show it the straighteners & I shall look half human again.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & porridge pot.
*Got a bag of library returns together.
*Today's daily home care hour: Cleaned the lower run of kitchen cupboard doors & tall pull-out unit. Had some time left over so I took the veg baskets out for vacuuming & wiping down too.
And that's it for today. I did say it wasn't exciting, didn't I? I had hoped to get into the garden for an hour or so this afternoon, but it has been raining for most of the day & is so soggy, I decided not to bother. A quick tidy round & closing of curtains now, then I think I shall have some time with my book before the hungry caveman gets home. He pinged me this morning to say there'd been a crisis. It sounded very worrying so of course I replied instantly asking what had happened, imagining the worst.........it turned out to be that he had forgotten to take his new pack of work coffee in with him so was facing a day with NO CAFFEINE!! I suggested he simply go & get a takeaway one from the nearest decent coffee shop (though tbf, Mr F works in bandit country)......I didn't mention that it will almost certainly definitely be coming off his Personal Spends, haha....... I think he was just looking for sympathy as we both tend to run on caffeine in the mornings!
F x

Makingabobor2

Been a horrible soggy day here as well. The rest of the week doesn't look much better either....roll on spring!

themadvix

Absolutely with you on the grim, miserable weather. I know they like to proclaim the 20th January as 'blue Monday' (no doubt another marketing ploy), but I really do think the seemingly never-ending grey, damp days of February are much harder to get through - spring seems so close, and yet so far!

MissRikkiC

I like how you didn’t, but did suggest that the coffee would come from personal spends. We have a rule here that if it could have been sorted at home but you didn’t sort it, for whatever reason and you want something for yourself then the cost is on you. Think lunch that hasn’t been prepared the night before or forgetting screen wash (despite having just bought it) and needing it, is a personal spends cost on account of that fact that it will 100% cost more that it would from home or its already been purchased once from the joint account. How else would one realise that they need to be more organised. 

Suffolk_lass

Ah yes, in the grim weather stakes I popped out, carrying scissors and a torch, to cut a sprig of Rosemary, and slipped coming back from the front garden, landing of course, on my bad knee (well hands and both knees, but that one twisted too). The trousers and trainers were washed, I was washed too, and Mr Sl cooked the dinner. I am bruised but not damaged, I think.

I had a memorable ankle boot episode in a high street shoe shop. I was probably 16 and had saved hard. I bought a pair of size 42 (I know, like flippers!) boots in a lovely blue coloured suede. I wore them and they literally made my heel of my longer foot bleed. This was when I realised there was a sticker of the size on the sole, and I removed it to find 41 stamped into the moulded sole. The shop honestly refused to refund them. I hung it out for about an hour, asking to speak to the store manager. They just left me there until it was obvious I was not leaving. Eventually she was summoned from her hiding place.

No, she suggested, we can't refund them because you have marked them (with your blood). Yes, you must, I insisted, if I had not worn a pair a size too small I would not have damaged my heel. This was their fault, not mine. Well we don't give refunds, she said. Well a pair that are the right size then, brought out, and the sticker peeled off to show exactly the same thing. I asked how they expected a shoe a size too small to miraculously fit. She alluded to the ugly sisters trying to fit into the glass slipper and my fault for having size 9 feet (they are a UK 8, so even more insulting). I pointed out that half a size is not enough to know until your feet are warm. Well, we don't give refunds on shoes that have been worn, she insisted. At this point I reluctantly suggested I would take them and further suggested (rather louder), in front of the ten or so customers becoming ever more impatient to get to the counter I was blocking, that the local trading standards officer would like me to bring them in so they could be prosecuted under the trades descriptions act, two of the customers looked at the soles of the shoes they were about to buy and left. Miraculously, a refund was provided.

The result?  not just a lost customer, but also someone who would pop in there on a rainy Saturday and peel the 42 stickers off the shoes to see what was underneath, which I did for around 6 months. And I still talk about it. They just didn't get customer service (or know who they were dealing with!!)

foxgloves

@themadvix - I don't mind it cold, it's Winter after all, but I still like to see some sunshine. I like a cold crisp day, a walk in the frost, but it's this endless dull grey that I find so tedious, I'm still having to have the light on to do most things as there's so little light coming through the windows. Plenty of little signs of Spring in the garden, but unfortunately too much rain to get out & finish clearing the borders so we can see them properly. Tomorrow & Thursday look to be drier so hopefully I'll be able to get outside with my secateurs & trugs.

@MissRikkiC - I think that rule is fair enough! We all slip up now & again, but mostly avoidable by planning & a bit of prep.

@Suffolk_lass - Oh no, sorry to hear you tripped over. I hope you are right & it's just bruising rather than any more structural damage. How ridiculous about that shoe shop! It's amazing what people used to try & get away with before we all got a lot more clued up on our consumer rights. I worked a lot out in the community before my VR & I remember meeting a young woman who was so upset (actually crying) because her baby's new pushchair had already broken & the upholstery coming apart. She'd only had it a couple of months & I don't think the poor woman had two pence to rub together. She said she had tried to get her money back but no longer had the receipt so they wouldn't pay up. I remember writing down her rights on a piece of paper, how goods have to be fit for purpose & the receipt thing can't be legally enforced. Next time I saw her, she thanked me & said she'd got a full refund out of the skanky chisellers & had used it to buy a new pushchair, which she had brought in to show me. I think the first line of defence did always used to be businesses trying it on. I expect online reviews have also contributed to a better attitude.
F

foxgloves

Hello Frugalistas,
Another day devoid of sparkle....apart from the kitchen fairy lights, of course, which do bring a little cheer on these thoroughly stygian days. Today's budget-friendly offerings, such as they are:
*Changed bedlinen & washed it on the eco setting. Now on heated airer, or rather over the top of it as I am still trying to get yesterday's overcrowded laundry fully dried. At least it's raising the temperature a little in the conservatory without paying for the electric stove to be on.
*Did some mending.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Did a few surveys 
*Looking after house & home hour: That was changing the bed linen & having a good general tidy, then doing some houseplant maintenance. Overwintered geraniums seem to be having a good year, so I should have plenty for our outside tubs & baskets without dipping into the House & Garden Pot.
*Carried on with my recipe project. I am going to return to that as soon as I sign out of here, but keep my laptop on in case any further surveys land. 
Not much effort required for tonight's nosebag. I'm making kedgeree - have already defrosted & flaked the smoked mackerel & hardboiled the egg, so it won't take long to sort out the rest of it. Got to love the convenience of a whole meal in a bowl sometimes.
Right, I can see another survey has appeared, so I'm going to see if I can get onto that.
So hoping for a gardening session tomorrow. I don't even mind if there's no sunshine, as long as it's dry.
F x

Makingabobor2

I agree about feeling fed up with this dismal weather. Don't think we've seen the sunshine for days now. Would love to get out in the garden and do something....anything, but it is too wet and horrible. I can see why people who can afford it, go away for winter sunshine for a couple of months.  Not only do you get extra vitD, but your joints and bones don't hurt some much.....roll on winning the lottery!

foxgloves

I do like Winter, @Makingabobor2. I'm not a sunseeker, but I think I start to sag under these constant low light levels & general grey gloom. Autumn is my favourite season. Just realised my hoped-for garden clearing session tomorrow will hace to wait, even if it is a dry day, as the garden waste wheelie isn't emptied until Thursday & it's absolutely rammed.
I think I might sort my seeds out into their sowing times though. I can do that indoors & it'll feel like some sort of garden progress at least.
F