Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

foxgloves

Afternoon m'dears - Thanks for all your comments, which as ever, I enjoyed reading.
@Elisheba, @Cheery_Daff & @Makingabobor2 - I think the thing with car purchases is that with all the finance options available, we kind of forget that we can actually save for one. Now, I know a car is a very expensive outlay, whether it's new or 2nd hand, & it may be that to begin with, we can only 'buck the system' by saving up for a proportion of it & taking out a low-cost bank loan for the remainder. In fact, that's what we did the first time we changed cars after our realisation that if we didn't do something differently, we would probably be in some kind of car finance scheme pretty much for ever! So we saved nearly half the cost of the car (a year-old one), took a bank loan for the remainder, then continued saving & arranged to pay off a chunky lump sum of that so as to get rid of it asap. This was a good stepping stone to saving the full amount. The Old Spendy Me would have laughed at anyone who'd said they paid in the 1st £100 of savings towards the next car when the new one has only been sitting on the drive for barely a month, but a car is a major purchase so the savings process needs to begin early. I really hope we keep our current car (an entry-level hybrid, which we both love) for a full 6 years at least - Mr F will be the one who starts looking at changing it at 5 years, so I'll simply tell him that we will be £1200 short of our full saved amount so he will need to wait or adjust his expectations downwards & I'm confident he'll go with that. In fact, last week when we were out in the car (which he loves driving), I mentioned the car replacement fund & he said 'Shhh, don't say that in front of **** (yes, tragically our car has a name!), he'll hear you!' 
I think that the working backwards method of thinking what you will need to spend, when you will most likely need to spend it & factoring in anything you would get in part-ex, is a definite goer - as long as the monthly instalments are put away each month. 
Our Car Fund is just in the same very easy access savings account as our emergency fund. I know we have 6 months of income in the emergency fund, so it's easy to keep track of the remainder which is the slowly growing pot we will use for our next car. Honestly, the Old Me couldn't even succeed in saving £50 for a pair of boots! How times have changed!
F x

Makingabobor2

It really is funny how our mindset has changed since we all had our LBM and became very MSE,  We were talking the other about a holiday one year to celebrate a big anniversary that never got celebrated properly last year. Every idea that DH came up with, I was saying....Ooh no, can't justify spending money like that. Even though I knew we were talking about years in the future when I know our income/saving/debts will have improved. 

foxgloves

@Cottage_Economy - You're welcome! I enjoy veggie-growing, so am not going to complain about being 'hijacked' for tomato-chat. Do feel welcome to join us - we've always got plenty to say on here!
@Suffolk_lass - Thanks for the link. That's an interesting water butt. Never seen one like that before. We will need to buy one this year as I'm encouraging Mr F really to get his whole 'back of the shed' project finished this summer. It's not his fault it was so delayed, but it's dragging on now & naturally there are some 'issues' with the siting of the blimming thing. We only have one atm, which gathers a lot of water from our high-eaved greenhouse, but we want one on our large shed too as it will provide a useful water source at the vegetable plot end of the garden, especially during very hot spells in summer.
@milann - Welcome back! I started a new diary, so that might be how you came to 'lose' me. I can assure you that it has all been business as usual & you have missed nothing of any excitement at all!
F x

foxgloves

And now for today's post.......
Hello everyone, Not feeling 100% today - no intention of going into massive detail, except that it's a bit of a resurgence of a longstanding gynae issue which will doubtless need a fair few hot water bottles & codeine over the next couple of weeks - I was first threatened with a hysterectomy at the age of 30 & I am still intact all these years later, so fingers crossed that this passes as it has done before. Do you know, I actually feel better just for having that little moan?!
Anyway, has there been any money saving activity? A few wins in that general direction, I suppose:
*The new slow cooker recipe I tried yesterday was lovely - from the BBC Good Food Healthy Slow Cooker book, which I did eventually buy, but originally borrowed from the library - it was Spicy lentil & root vegetable casserole & I served it with the last 2 garlic flatbreads. Mr F said "You can make that anytime" & so I've divided the leftovers into 2 freezer containers for him to take for work lunches. Very cheap to make.
*Promised Mr F I'd bake for a work event as we have everything in stock so a good saving on a bought cake. Also baked a sponge for an Easter trifle & roasted some leftover butternut squash while I'd got the oven on. Had a good audiobook on the go while I mixed & iced - the latest Inspector Linley novel by Elizabeth George. I love that series, so detailed & yet they all come together perfectly by the end.
*Moved aubergine seedlings to the greenhouse & the peppers & cucumber babies are being brave little soldiers & trying a day outside the propagator. Lots of seeds coming up in greenhouse. 
*Wound a beautiful skein of sock yarn (a birthday gift last year) into a ball ready to cast on a pair for myself. I will need to buy a replacement fine cable needle first. Mine is probably still wedged down between the decking boards of a holiday apartment balcony at a historic site in Suffolk! 
*A use-it-up meal tonight. Am combining a single portion of bolognese with the roasted l/o butternut squash & using it to make a pasta bake.
*Mr F volunteered to get the supermarket part of the grocery shopping on his way past Waitbl00m tonight. I know he'd shoved the shopping bags in the car first thing, so I pinged him the shopping list. Quite a lot of it  - certainly meat & greengrocery - will be bought at the local market on Saturday, as we rarely get everything in one place.
*Surveys  - I do try to check most days.
*Finished the scented candle I received for Christmas from Soot & Ash & found myself experiencing candle-buying urges. Have turned out the candle drawer in the dresser & will use in the following order:
1. 3 orange & cinnamon tea-lights.
2. The lovely scented candle in a tin which I received for my birthday last year.
3. The leftover wax from a used candle which still smells very perfumed & was saved to be used as wax melts on a burner.
4. Ditto from another expensive gifted candle
And ONLY THEN will I be buying any new ones!!
Anyway, must sign out & pop down to put greenhouse to bed.
F x

foxgloves

@Makingabobor2 - Yes, you are so right about change of mindset. All through the time we were debt-busting, I promised myself that I would buy myself a pair of Vivienne Westwood boots to celebrate finally being debt-free after so very many years. And you know what? When that final debt payment was made & we were solvent (apart from the mortgage) with all our income now our own, I went off the idea of those boots......not because I wouldn't love them, but because something in my mind-set had changed & I no longer wanted to spend the money!
F x

Makingabobor2

Ooh bet the cinnamon & orange candle is lovely. One of my fav smells.  Hope you feel better soon. I know how you must be feeling as I had a Hysterectomy at age 45 after spending many days each month cuddled on the sofa and sometimes not even being able to go into work. TBH, it was the best thing for me and I felt so much better afterwards.  x

Makingabobor2

foxgloves said:

@Makingabobor2 - Yes, you are so right about change of mindset. All through the time we were debt-busting, I promised myself that I would buy myself a pair of Vivienne Westwood boots to celebrate finally being debt-free after so very many years. And you know what? When that final debt payment was made & we were solvent (apart from the mortgage) with all our income now our own, I went off the idea of those boots......not because I wouldn't love them, but because something in my mind-set had changed & I no longer wanted to spend the money!
F x

We suddenly realise that material possessions are not important, don't we?  I get mega excited now if I find a bargain in a charity shop....lol

Humdinger1

@foxgloves hope you soon feel better..sending soothing vibes love Humdinger xx

milann

Hope you feel better soon. Well done resisting the candle buying urge.

Tescodealqueen

Hope you feel better soon. Love your planned candle experience. I used to buy the Y***kee candle gift sets each Christmas then during lockdown found a company selling wax melt for the Captain Tom NHS appeal. Decided I like them so subscribed for a while but the scents last so having amassed a draw full of wax melts cancelled the  subscription til I catch up. However when changing the wax melts found they still had some scent so I am now making the used wax melts into candles with a few wicks bought  from the big river store with vouchers earned from a survey site and saved Y***kee candle jars so I’ve sort of come full circle