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Progress not Perfection
Comments
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If a change in lipbalm is needed, I've found the superdr*g own brand one really good
Lovely news on the savings interest, that is impressive. You'll have to book yer next holibob in a tax haven 😁
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 Carmichael3 -
SA, have you moved Mr SA's tax allowance to yourself? I moved mine to Mr Satchmo a few years ago.
What would you get if all you got was what you were thankful for?3 -
Morning all, happy April, another new month.
WFH today. Not as relaxing a start as I'd hoped for as I had a Mr M delivery at 6am and one of the cats had pooped in the hallway so I had that to clear up.
All the regular savers have been fed, cc balance paid off and an oddment of £5.82 has gone to the Christmas pot.
Today's exercise plan is yoga first thing done, dog walking also done, a lunchtime strength training class and live salsacise tonight (in place of Zumba as the instructor is off sick).
Tonight's dinner is an old favourite baked sweet potato with veggie chilli.
To do:
- Contact a tree surgeon for a quote to trim large tree after nesting season (this is becoming a frog)
- Gold sale - I've discovered some more broken/unwanted items so going to re-start this sale
- Renew senior railcard - expires 6 April - use Mr T vouchers for this
- Open ISA and move EF
- Plant April seeds
- Garden tidy/cut grass
- Tidy understairs cupboard (yet again!), one or two things need to go in the loft (job for Friday)
- Patch up paint behind Mr SA's armchair where he's managed to scrape the paint off the wall with it 😐
- Get out suitcases - the holiday is approaching fast
- Book a mobility scooter for Mr SA for our upcoming holiday
The gardening jobs will be done on a dry day over the upcoming Easter long weekend.
The Lid! £5 off £40 spend voucher is live from today for 3 days. I think I'll be able to utilise it as there are a few things I could do with stocking up on from there.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)8 -
Morning all it feels like Friday today 😁
WFH today, actually had a lovely relaxing start to the day with my book and the dog cuddling up to me on the sofa.
When I finished work yesterday I decided to go to the big Mr T for the cheap veg to save us a journey on Saturday. Mr SA wanted to come with me and we took the dog so she got her third outing of the day. I picked up one of those big joints of meat for Mr SA. I cut them up into steaks/small joints and stewing beef and freeze them. I got that plus 2 x broccoli, 2 x 1kg onions, 1 x white cabbage and 2kg of potatoes all for £8.33. I know I said I didn't need potatoes as we still have quite a few from the free Lid! sack but the Mr T ones were good sized ones ideal for jacket potatoes.
I'm planning to go to Lid! tomorrow and use the £5 off coupon. I've made a list of everything I would buy this month from there (non perishable) and it will definitely come to at least £40. Might as well utilise it.
On the to do list front, I exchanged the Mr T vouchers for a senior railcard but as I already have an active card it won't let me buy a new one and there's no way to renew using the vouchers. I'm hoping it's just a case of having to wait until the card has expired and buy a new one and this doesn't mean I've wasted £17.50 of my clubcard points. I've emailed the railcard customer services for advice. I've checked the clubcard Ts and Cs and it doesn't mention anything about it.
I booked Mr SA's scooter for our holiday so I can tick that off the list. Hopefully I can tick a couple more things off today.
I'm having my nails done later this morning, booked and paid for a few weeks ago. While I'm out I'm going to pick up some bird/squirrel and fish food and also go to S@vers.
Today's exercise will be a short yoga session, dog walking, a live strength training class at lunchtime and live aerobics instead of Zumba tonight.
Cashed out £21.03 from PA yesterday, 40p away from cashing out £25 on Op.
Tonight's dinner is another old favourite, Spanish style butterbean stew but instead of using veggie sausages I'm going to finally get rid of the veggie meatballs that have been in the freezer forever.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)5 -
I have one of those £5 off £40 spend at L1dl as well, and although I can use it till tomorrow, it needs to be today as tomorrow is busy. I'm trying to decide what I could usefully buy that isn't too heavy as I'm on foot! Cereal is always useful, and light, but bulky! Tins are great, but too heavy… fruit bread is a favourite, but only accounts for £1. I have enough freezer space for a couple of items which I can undoubtedly fill.
I've just made a list of 'carry-ables' based on my last three months of receipts and it comes to £25, so unless I have an inspiration, I may not get to use the discount. Shame, but it's only worth it if it's worth it, IYSWIM.
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 21/3/222 -
I also have the Lil's coupon so have put together a list of stuff we can stock up on and we'll be calling in this evening to deal with that. I've also got a 25% off their deluxe branded cheese which is useful - limited to three items but still, better than not having it! I have to say I think it's pretty certain we're going to see prices increasing again before long, so some stocking up at this stage seems sensible without going mad and stockpiling!
🎉 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/her2 -
Popped into the little Mr T while I was out this morning and instead of broccoli for 15p they had cauliflowers. I had to read the shelf tag twice before I believed it 😆I picked one up anyway and it was only 15p.
Yes @EssexHebridean definitely wise to stock up when things you usually buy are on a good offer, whatever the reason. I've also got the 25% off the deluxe cheese so will have a look tomorrow, although I don't tend to buy anything other than cheddar, cottage and cream cheese.
I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)2 -
We've done a good stock-up too. There's a difference between stock-piling & building some extra stores for household resilience against difficult times.
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!1 -
Ooh - might swerve into the T's near work in case that is a general thing then - I could easily make a batch of cauli-pasta bake to feed us for a couple of days next week!
🎉 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/her2 -
I have the cheese offer as well - great idea to stock up on cheese, as it will freeze if necessary. My little list is growing and I can always buy small light things like spices if I need to tip the balance towards £40.
Those caulis were a fantastic price, I'll have a look for them though I know it may just be local to you, @Sun_Addict
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 21/3/222
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