Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - Hardback edition of Sebastian Faulk's 'Human traces'. It's a big brick of a thing. 
The thing with this scammer is that he knew the last 4 digits of my credit card number plus 2 digits of the security number on the back, my card provider & my phone number. As he knew all this, I did have to engage long enough to rule out there being a genuine problem with my account. 
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PennysIntoPounds

Absolutely, you need to make sure you haven't actually been scammed whilst simultaneously working out if you're being scammed, no wonder they get so many people. Long gone are the days when a poor grammar email was the main thing to worry about.
Did you see the article in G the other weekend about the scam hunter who got scammed? Scary stuff, we're all vulnerable if something chimes true..

I'm reading Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety and it is the heftiest book I've ever come across, but I think a Faulks' could certainly compete! I have Birdsong but have never read it because it sounds too sad

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - Yes, I did read that article. 
I haven't read the Hilary Mantel novel you mention, though read another of hers earlier this year. Can't recall the title without looking in my notebook, but it was the one about the medium/spiritualist.
I read 'Birdsong' when it first came out. 
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foxgloves

Hello Sunday Savers & thanks for your comments & contributions.
A city centre trip for us this morning - the smaller of the two local cities as the big one seems to have horrid roadworks on just about every gateway in, plus a sinkhole. Pleasant time. Not much to report, but budget friendly aspects as follows:
*Decided to pay for 3 hrs parking instead of 4 & not to dawdle!
*Free coffee thanks to Mr F's full loyalty card.
*Qualified for a free gift from the shop where you'd go for a new body when I went in to buy the 3 items on my list.
*Oodles of sale rails but didn't succumb, as firstly I didn't need anything & also because this was me going though them......
...."too small, too blue, parachute, too fitted, too red, too long, eeeeuuucccch, too yellow, simply horrid, not up to containing the Foxgloves boobs without incident, too blue, far too blue, waaaayyyy too long, oh lordy......." Now, those of you who followed my original diary, in which I shared several 'debtisodes', will know that none of these misgivings would have stopped me coming away with a few garments back in the Spendaceous Era. My clothes rails were packed with just such sale items.....stuff which just looked 'ok', the key 'pull' being the reduced price. That is the old behaviour which landed me with the triffid top & that wretched velvet dress I kept hacking bits off to try & make me like it more (not to mention the constant debt). I just no longer mind if I leave a shop with nothing because I DO have something. I still have my money. Right, where was I? Went off at a tangent there.....
Oh yes, budget-positive activity:
*Garden pickings: A couple of pears to see how 'ready' they are.
*Wrote out a sort of 'shape to the week' in terms of what I'd like to achieve. I can see a lot of garden picking & kitchen witchery looming.
*Finished the last bit of the blackberry vinegar process & bottled it. One full-size gin bottle plus a beer bottle. I have plenty now, so can be a lot more liberal with it in my winter stews & casseroles. I use the River Cottage recipe for raspberry vinegar but swap the raspberries for blackberries as that's what we have.
*Mr F watered the veg garden, containers & baskets.
It's not my cooking night, but I am assured tonight's meal will involve using some courgettes......as will most things atm, with the possible exception of cereal & coffee.
Let's join together in our hope for a productive new week ahead & see what we can achieve. All that synergy might add a bit of collective ooomph!
F x

badmemory

For the past few hours I have been wracking my brains to remember where on earth I remember Hilary Mantel from recently.  Finally got there.  It was a 3yr old crossword clue  Hilary....... Bring up the bodies author.  I am trying to dispose of some old puzzle magazines which I obviously cannot do if there are any interesting puzzles still to complete.  Then I wonder why I am disappearing under the weight of stuff.

foxgloves

@badmemory - I'm sure you'll enjoy decluttering them when their time comes, even if inly to make space for some new ones. Mr F & I took up cryptic crosswords last summer, starting with the Guardian's Saturday Quick Cryptic, then the Everyman until we were able to tackle the main Saturday cryptic. That one takes us the best part of the week, but it gets our little grey cells working.

foxgloves

Morning Campers, rise & shine! Not much shining going on here yet, but I've done the 'risen' bit & had a cup of coffee.
Everywhere I look atm, I see a task which needs doing - always the same this time of year when one grows food, as this is the peak harvest period where it needs picking & processing to provide Autumn & Winter meals. Have decided to divide this week into 2 x 2-day blocks. Today & Tuesday will be spent tackling produce, batch cooking, admin, laundry, financials & any other general tasks. Thursday & Friday will also involve picking & processing but will also include sewing time to progress my dress. Wednesday is Mr F's day off & we are going to give the house a good clean, do meal plans, shopping list, grocery shopping & then sit down to some holiday planning. Friends coming over for a BBQ on Sat & relaxation/leisure on Sun. 
Right, I'm on it! Let's start by getting the washing machine churning. 
Hopefully I will be able to pop back later with a decent mse list of achievements.
F x

Blackcats

Thanks for the scammer info.  I am besieged by callers from lots of different numbers who all start with "hello.  Are you the home owner?"  What an intrusive question!  They are all, allegedly, my local energy advisor 🤷‍♀️.   The various numbers are usually made to appear to be from relatively local dialling codes.   I block them then another one pops up.  They are less likely to be scammers and more likely to be cold callers but it's very irritating.

rtandon27

If I don't know the number on the call display I reject the call with a message that says can't take your call atm, please leave a message & I'll call you back.  The only unknown numbers that have ever left a message are the legitimate ones about once a year for a contest I've entered or from one of the two veg box companies trying to give me a deal as a 'former customer'.  The numbers that don't leave a message get blocked.  The other legitimate ones are from call centres working for my energy company trying to sell me insulation or have smart meters installed even though they have it on record that we do not have cavity walls nor the clearance for modern meters! I've now blocked them as well as obviously they can't read the do not contact note on my file!

foxgloves

Good idea, @rtandon27, & indeed, I do block many numbers. The only reason I picked up this particular call was because it came in as 'Private number' & 99.9% of the time, this is my best friend calling as she is ex-directory. 
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