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Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend
Comments
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Soot’s certainly keeping down the mouse population!
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping) -.literally have been run over by a bike, mobility scooter and a car - still here 💪5 -
Wonderful as ever @foxgloves to read of your activities on the homestead. There are elements of Little House on the Prairie in your writing. Always so joyful and nourishing love Humdinger xx
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Oh my life, @Humdinger1 - now I have visions of packing up Mr F's sarnies in a lunch pail & can't get the blimming theme tune out of my head! Do you remember that episode of 'The Smoking Room' (one of my favourite TV comedies) where they waste their entire break trying to think of the 'Little House on the Prairie' theme tune.
And hello Friday Frugalistas,
I haven't achieved as much as I thought I might today because I've spent all afternoon sewing but budget-friendly stuff as follows:
*Made a sourdough loaf. Would normally refridgerate overnight & bake 1st thing tomorrow but the humidity meant that it was ready so is currently in the oven & smelling crusty.
*Dinner in the slow cooker. Will also provide 2 portions for freezing. The red peppers were so enormous (I bet Mr F went 3 boxes down to find the biggest) that I chopped some & froze for when I next make a pizza.
*Ironed newly laundered kitchen door curtain & re-hung. It's the vintage one I've mentioned before which has been upcycled 3 times & is still going strong.
*Finished sewing my dress. Am pleased with it except for a tiny little bit on the underside of one of the sleeves. Really though, if anyone is getting THAT close to my armpit, they've got a problem!
*Deadheaded some containers to keep the flowers coming for a bit longer.
*Garden pickings: Coriander & parsley.
*2 cans of grey water saved for watering the driest looking plants tonight.
*Arranged to call in & see friends tomorrow when we will be over on their side of the city centre. I need to get a work pension form witnessed so must remember to take it with me.
Soot & Ash began lunch pester over an hour early this morning & filled the time by winding each other up. Another mouse to bury this morning (Soot). That's the 4th in 3 days, which tells me there are enough around to be a problem this autumn when the weather drops colder & they start looking for warm nest sites. Tbf, our electric mouse trap has never seen so little action since we adopted these two so they are good pest control on the whole. This morning's mouse had been brought upstairs & deposited on the landing. Oh joy.
Right, some reading time for me now. Wishing everyone a relaxing Friday night,
F x
2026's challenges: 1) To rebuild our Emergency Fund to at least £5k.
2) To read 50 books (12/50) 3) The Re-Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
Remember....if you have to put it on a credit card, extend your overdraft or take out a loan to buy whatever it is, you probably can't afford it, as that's not your money, it's somebody else's!9 -
I find that I end up merging the theme tunes of The Waltons and little House on the Prairie - like a kind of wholesome style Ibiza mix 🥴
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I thought of Soot today when I spotted a mouse trap at work on the 6th floor 🙀
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping) -.literally have been run over by a bike, mobility scooter and a car - still here 💪4 -
Shame I can't pop him on the train & send him down 🤣 as he'd likely make short work of dispatching it.
2026's challenges: 1) To rebuild our Emergency Fund to at least £5k.
2) To read 50 books (12/50) 3) The Re-Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
Remember....if you have to put it on a credit card, extend your overdraft or take out a loan to buy whatever it is, you probably can't afford it, as that's not your money, it's somebody else's!5 -
Trying to get myself in the mood for a trawl over to the other side of the county to visit the Big Blue & Yellow Emporium...…..
2026's challenges: 1) To rebuild our Emergency Fund to at least £5k.
2) To read 50 books (12/50) 3) The Re-Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
Remember....if you have to put it on a credit card, extend your overdraft or take out a loan to buy whatever it is, you probably can't afford it, as that's not your money, it's somebody else's!6 -
Nooo! - they do web/mail order and delivery (less temptation)… just saying
Save £12k in 2026 #2 I have banked £9004.48 so far, against a £10k target The 2026 Save £12k in 2026 thread is here
OS Grocery Challenge in 2026 I am sticking with a £3000 annual budget for 2026 - currently £1111.79 and most of my May purchasing made
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the grow your own in 2026 discussion thread
My keep within our budget diary is here4 -
I hope you'vve worn sensible shoes @foxgloves - you'll be completing a marathon if you venture into the blue and yellow maze!
4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)Original End Date - Sept 2041 New projection - Sep 2038 (reduced by 3 years)3 -
@Suffolk_lass - They do, but I prefer to be able to see/feel the quality before I buy things whenever possible. My friend lives nearby so we have been invited to call in for coffee & cake, plus it will be nice to have a catch-up & hand over a nice big bag of gardening mags I've been saving for her. She is also going to witness a pension form for me as I am intending to apply for my work pension next week, so that will be a page of the form done.
@rtandon27 - You are so right! Yes, I am wearing my walking boots & a pair of handknitted socks. I have sandals in the boot if things really heat up, my water bottle, emergency oatcakes & a mosquito repellant wristband as my friend who we are visiting afterwards has cut a maze in her long no-mow-May & June lawn & I am a mosquito magnet.
2026's challenges: 1) To rebuild our Emergency Fund to at least £5k.
2) To read 50 books (12/50) 3) The Re-Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
Remember....if you have to put it on a credit card, extend your overdraft or take out a loan to buy whatever it is, you probably can't afford it, as that's not your money, it's somebody else's!7
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