Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

badmemory

I changed supplier Aug last year & knew they set the payment too low, highly unusual.  They've just put my payment up but it has been in the budget all along.  I didn't want to have them keeping over £600 that BG had of mine.  Much better in my savings than in theirs.  But if you are going to play around like that you need to keep good records or the proverbial can hit the fan.

foxgloves

And now I'd better get today's post on before going downstairs to sort out cat treats. It would be good to get this done before the daily zoomies kick in.
Had a rubbish night. I think I fell asleep with my head at an unhelpful angle as I awoke at 4.20 with a vile headache. I should have got up & taken some painkillers straight away, but I told myself that if I propped myself up & relaxed, It's probably go away on its own. Wrong! Woke again at 6 & it was worse than ever. Sat & cried into my coffee! But I did get some paracetamol down me & Mr F made me some toast, as I often find the triple self-medication of painkillers, coffee & a starchy snack works best on my headaches. So a slow start, as I didn't start to feel better for a good couple of hours. Soot came to sit with me, which was nice. Am OK now, though with it having been such a pounder, I can still sort of feel it trying to linger. Getting out in the fresh air was really helpful, not just breathing it in to clear my head, but seeing the mini-irises starting to open, a blackbird having the splashiest bath in our pond & finding that a single crocus corm which accidentally got in with a plant a colleague gave me years ago, has now become a big clump of purple loveliness, which was this morning being investigated by a couple of bees. Anyway, that's quite enough yakk. Has there been any budget-friendly activity?
*Sorted & put away clean laundry. Only 5 garments for ironing so could have been a lot worse.
*Mixed up a sourdough, currently proving in its basket.
*Made tomorrow's packed breakfast. Packed lunch will be leftover fish pie & vegetables.
*Did 1 Ipsos survey & 1 PA. 
*Dealt with a minor bit of financial admin.
*Had a pleasant greenhouse session  - so warm in there with the sunshine, I had to take off my coat which felt quite Spring-like. And it was all about free plants again! I sowed all my February flower seeds. Monarda (bee balm), Aquilegias 'Chocolate soldier' & 'Lime sorbet', Foxglove 'Silver cub', Sweet rocket, Brachychome (Swan river daisies), aubretia & antirrhinum 'Royal bride'. All these were free packets of seeds from the front of my regular gardening magazine, as well as some extras I was sent for getting a letter published last year. Also sowed cerinthe, poppy 'coral reef' & woad, which were all saved seed. Cerinthe is a very easy plant to grow from seed & the bees love it - it's folk name is 'honeywort'. When I see people looking at them in garden centres, I want to say, 'Go & find someone you know who grows them, ask if you could just have 1 spare plant (all gardeners have spare plants), then wait for the seeds & you'll probably never have to buy them again. The seeds are large, very visible after flowering & easy to collect & store. 
*Have tweaked meal plans for today & tomorrow as I didn't know first thing if I would feel up to cooking, so Mr F said he'd be happy just to have pesto pasta with cheese & I defrosted the penultimate pot of the home made pesto I batch-cooked during last summer's basil glut. I'm going to start it off with some caramelised leeks. Tomorrow's planned meal has been changed for a slow cooker chilli. We have all the ingredients & it will give me more time to do other things. Like one of my recipe book title says, "I [do} heart my slow cooker!"
It occurred to me this morning that I haven't heard anything from the London solicitor who requested those ID verification documents, bank details, etc. I did wonder if my non-verified birth certificate (the PO won't do them because of the copyright issue) would present a problem & they'd get back to me to say I'd need to get it stamped in person at a local solicitor's office, but although this may still happen, it hasn't yet, so it either isn't a problem or they are taking their time about it. I expect I shall find out one way or the other.
Right, that's my day. Ready to have an hour with my book now.
Wishing you all a pleasant evening,
F x

Sun_Addict

I'm glad your headache has eased enough to still have your usual productive day. I must admit I'm a serial painkiller dodger and always wait for aches and pains to go away on their own before giving in. Fortunately I rarely get aches and pains. 

It has indeed been a glorious day today, feels very spring like. 

foxgloves

It's been lovely in our neck of the woods, hasn't it, @Sun_Addict? I don't get many bad headaches at all these days. I had the most dreadful ones when I was perimenopausal, but they pretty much stopped once I'd reached the menopause itself. Mostly it's just a muzzy or stuffy head type of headache now, but occasionally I wake up with a real headbanger usually because of sleeping in a daft position & I know I should always go straight for the painkillers for those. I am going to put a couple in easy reach of my bedside so that if it happens again, I can swig them down immediately & start recovering.
F

Makingabobor2

The sunshine has made such a difference, been lovely here as well.  Watching the birds and bees is lovely and means spring really must be on the way.  I need to get on with my garden planning as well. 
Glad your headache is gone. I sometimes get one in the mornings and think that maybe I need a new pillow. Think that can make a world of difference.  

cbsexec

Have recently got my new electric prices and they have gone up substantially- especially the standing charge!   Also had new water bill charges and that has gone up by £11 a month 😱 a 50% increase !

ladyholly

I am liking the warmer temperatures but not the mosquitos who are biting me.

foxgloves

@ladyholly - Mosquitos out already? I haven't spotted any yet. I am also very prone to insect bites & must remember the pack of friendship-type bracelets I bought last year. They are impregnated with natural insect repelling oils & both of us trialled them on holiday last summer without getting bitten. 
F

Suffolk_lass

Cerinthe is in the borage genus (Boraginaceae), which is why the bees love it, of course. We have more success with Phacelia under hedges here.

I just wanted to mention (memory triggered by the painkillers by the bed note to yourself) that my friend always had her meds and a glass of water on the little table, by her bed. She awoke early one morning to see her cat's head in the glass, lapping at her water. She (the cat) was completely unrepentant, so it was clearly a regular ritual. I have always had an old insulated beaker with a snap top by my bed at night, from that day to this. My cat's nickname is "stealth-cat" as she can wedge any bells on her collar against her neck, and silently approach. The first you know is when you hear that gentle lapping as she steals your cold water. Enough said!

themadvix

I look after several cats that prefer a glass of water to their bowl - it’s more common than you’d think! That being said, you share quite a lot of your microbiome with your pets anyway, so it’s probably not going to make you ill (I’m not suggesting that I would want to share my water with my cats! 😂).