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Progress not Perfection
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I can't seem to trim your post, sorry. I was reminded when I read about the cans in the park hedges, of why we have the particular hedge that we have adjacent to the road. When we moved here, there were still milk deliveries, and we discovered someone had shoved a number of milk bottles into hedges bordering the road. We wanted to change our gate and fence around that time, and chose holly.
I've yet to find a single milk bottle in there.
I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)
Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
2024: Trainers 5, dress 7, slippers 5, 2 prs socks (gift) 2, 3 prs white socks 3, t-shirts x 2 10, 6 prs socks: mostly gifts 6, duvet set 7.5 = 45.5/68 coupons
20.5 coupons used in 2020. 62.5 used in 2021. 94.5 remaining as of 21/3/227 -
It also reminded me of when we had gas put in. There was a pipe in the road, from which another was put in across our lawn and under the concrete adjacent to the house, before connecting to the house. All well and good.
When they came to make good at the end of the job, there was a team to fill the concrete, who were only allowed to do concrete. Another team sorted out the lawn, because that's what they did. They Made Good on Lawns. Then someone else showed up to patch the tarmac outside, because that couldn't be done by the Team that Did Concrete, or, for that matter, The Team Who Did Soil.
Sounds as though you got The Team Who Cut Things back, not The Team Who Take Rubbish Out of Hedges.
I think a bit of sunshine is good for frugal living. (Cranky40)
The sun's been out and I think I’m solar powered (Onebrokelady)
Fashion on the Ration 2025: Fabric 2, men's socks 3, Duvet 7.5, 2 t-shirts 10, men's socks 3, uniform top 0, hat 0, shoes 5 = 30.5/68
2024: Trainers 5, dress 7, slippers 5, 2 prs socks (gift) 2, 3 prs white socks 3, t-shirts x 2 10, 6 prs socks: mostly gifts 6, duvet set 7.5 = 45.5/68 coupons
20.5 coupons used in 2020. 62.5 used in 2021. 94.5 remaining as of 21/3/2210 -
Congratulations @Sun_Addict on being mortgage-free! What are you doing with the money? Love Humdinger xx
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I've had a rejig of budget pots and the vast majority of it is being sent to savings. The mortgage payments were very low so it hasn't made a huge difference.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)5 -
Morning all, happy Friday eve.
WFH again today.
The young cat has her annual booster/check up at the vets this morning. I'm going to take her on the bus. It will be the first time I've used the holdall style cat carrier I bought from the charity shop so we'll see how that goes.
The 6 months regular saver that holds the holiday pot matures today. £200 of it is going to open a new 6 months regular saver and the balance is going to the current account as the holiday balance is due to be paid this month.
I won't have time to do any kitchen decluttering today as my lunch break will be spent doing the live strength training class and I have live Zumba straight after work.
Tonight's dinner is stir fried vegetables with lime and coriander rice. Using up stocks of course 😁
Apart from the bus fares, no other spends planned today, the cat's check up is covered by the vet plan.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)7 -
Great decluttering there SA - we too are in a similar situation with stocks of lots of assorted things and need to focus on them getting used - hence this month's frugal food challenge is being focused as much around cupboards as freezers!
🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her1 -
Thank you. I didn't use foil. I will try in the SC wrapped in foil…
If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them
Emergency fund 1400/1000
Buffer fund 100/100
Debt Free (again) 25/07/20251 -
What a faff all that was!
I reminded Mr SA last night that he was taking the cat carrier to the bus stop on his scooter. I reminded him again at 7am when he was still in bed that we needed to leave the house no later than 8.05 to get to the bus stop in time. He was still faffing about putting his lip balm on at 8.10 so I had to leg it down the road with the cat carrier without his help. Fortunately the cat isn't that heavy. I was already at the bus stop by the time he caught me up.
The vets didn't open until 9am and I got there at 8.45 so had a wander round BnQ to stay warm and dry more than anything. If the vet had seen the cat on time I would've made it for the bus back but missed it by 3 minutes. The next bus wasn't due for another 30 minutes so I decided to start walking and catch a bus back further along the way. Can you believe I was almost at the bus stop when a bus going up the hill pulled away! So I started walking up the hill until I saw another bus coming and jumped on that. The bus was heaving and I had to stand up for the journey.
I arrived home soaked but on the plus side the walk earned me almost 10,000 steps and I got back home earlier than I would've done if I'd waited for the later bus from the retail park end. A bit of a waste of an all day ticket though as I walked most of the way home.
Anyway the cat's had her booster and the vet has declared her fit and well. Hopefully that's it for another year!
Oh and the cat carrier was great, much easier to use than the old one, it even turns into a backpack.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)8 -
The proceeds of the regular saver, minus £200 to open the new account, have hit the current account so have been sent to the holiday pot minus the oddment of £5.85 that's gone to the Christmas pot. Pleased to report the Christmas pot has now hit the £200 target set for February so the next target is £250 by end of March.
In other money news I've moved the entertainment pot to the YBS easy access account. I've only got a couple more pots to move now. No point moving the holiday pot as I need to pay the balance off this month.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)3 -
Happy first mortgage free month! 🥂
And well done on making it happen through all these years of doing your full time job on top of your other full time job of Mr SA, DD, and house maintenance
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'self-blame can be as egotistical as self-praise... any work worth doing is greater than we are... we must not overrate our importance to it, either for good or ill' Margaret Kennedy Lucy Carmichael4
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