More WIRE than FIRE, simplifying, saving and savvy spending

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

Sorry to hear that you have been unwell @ShyAndRetiring, and hope that you are now feeling much better. Well done on sorting the bathroom.  I love having a good sort out.  I did under the sink the other day and it looks lots better - simple pleasures.  Enjoy the weekend x

Thanks @Humboldt - I'm still a tad fragile and aiming for a quiet afternoon with my book today! Thanks for the moral support with sorting out ... it's surprisingly satisfying isn't it? Hope you're enjoying sunshine, S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

Missed my Friday update as it was a busy end to a very loooooong week, but happily a pretty successful one. OH has had 2 medical appointments this week and is having a procedure next week, so his road to health still involves a bit more mileage!

Quick round up of all the things:

Extra £ / Surveys etc

• Surveys: £13.75 / £10 achieved although most of it is still pending cash out. Aiming for £10 again this week, although not much showing so far this weekend.

Spending

4 NSDs achieved last week - aiming for 5 this week and already achieved 2 as having a very low key weekend. House bits and dog walks yesterday, volunteering this morning, book reading and dog walk this afternoon, so no costs involved.  

Saving 

• Nothing additional has gone into savings except for interest added, which is always useful! 

Sorting 

• Bag of textiles into recycling plus organising some items for charity auction donation, which should leave the house next week: 30 / 365.
  
• UseUps ~ another shower gel bites the dust and a body spray used up: 32 / 52 items in all so far.

Social

• Lunch outing with family member last weekend but being laid low with bug stopped play a bit during the week. Have managed to get an overdue gift dropped off to a family member even if I didn't get to actually see them.
• Email is proving to be much more convenient for unwell friend, so this is slowly building up into more regular contact.
• WhatsApp-ing with some of my neighbours is now a thing!

WIRE stuff

• We've sorted out a reasonable budget for replacement car and should be able to do this without breaking into main WIRE savings pot.  Have messaged our friendly dealer to start the search. Sadly they've confirmed there's no part-ex value for the old one through them but we'll see where we end up getting one from before we write-off a bit of cash back for it!
• OH has started taking an interest in being able to access the £££ and Life Admin stuff himself, so I've dusted off the (ad-yet-unused) Life Admin folder to start adding info for future use should either of us need it. Aim to spend an hour a week on this at the moment.
• I've started a work project approx 20 hours a week for a friend (who will pay me) so this will help with not needing to draw anything down for the time being and also boost coffers a bit before officially stepping back early next year. Monitoring this so as not to undermine the WI efforts of the WIRE campaign, especially after illness this week!

Debt

• £38 / £198 paid- but aware I'll need to add to this next week as need to pay for transportation to next county for wedding in the autumn. 

All Good Things ...

• Female Kestrel has resumed her regular visits to local meadow - hopefully this means she has successfully raised her young now.
• Home-grown tomatoes - especially as the health benefits of these are currently trending!
• 'Harvesting' the lavender which is now going over ... home made lavender bags will be a thing this autumn, for sure!

Hope everyone is enjoying a lovely weekend, S&R x 

Humboldt

Hi @ShyAndRetiring I like the fact that your are willing to look elsewhere, rather than just accept that a particular dealer is not willing to offer part exchange for your car. I recently received £75 as compensation for a complaint, but have since asked for a review because I remain unhappy.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Loving your list of all good things. Hope that your OH's procedure goes well this week.

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

Hi @ShyAndRetiring I like the fact that your are willing to look elsewhere, rather than just accept that a particular dealer is not willing to offer part exchange for your car. I recently received £75 as compensation for a complaint, but have since asked for a review because I remain unhappy.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Loving your list of all good things. Hope that your OH's procedure goes well this week.

HI @humboldt ... thank you! Oh yes, always on the lookout to compare prices and opportunities to save a bit of money / achieve the best possible value on purchases!   

Good luck with the review, sometimes companies are just too quick to put a (lower) figure on compensation following a complaint, rather than actually listen to the problem and make a proper response. I hope you are successful.

Thanks for good wishes, 'all will be well' is a bit of a mantra around here!   

S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

  Wednesday already! I'd hoped to update a little more regularly this week, but time keeps running past me. Still plugging away in the background though!

So far, so good this week ...

Extra £ / Surveys etc

• Surveys: £20.82 / £10 already achieved this week - had a couple of good ones!

Spending

4 NSDs so far, although today is a little spendy:

• I stepped on something very sharp whilst walking the dog this evening and it's made a hole right through my trainers, sock (and a little bit of my foot)! Trainers were about 6 years old so had a good innings but have had to be dumped and I've raided my clothing pot (the one I wasn't going to use this year) so I can start looking for a new pair. And socks. And plasters!  
• Despite buying lots of greetings cards earlier in the year, I don't seem to have everything I need (my family is crazy with summer birthdays). So, back to Wh1stleF1sh who thankfully still have their 10 for £10 offer on their lovely cards. Also went via T0pC@shB@ack so will earn a little bit back on the purchase @Organgrinder so hopefully some free £££ will come off the back of that.

Saving 

• The garden is still saving us money with a daily tomato salad and another courgette risotto ripening before the end of the week!
• Also, along our lane is a bit of a 'cross-roads' with other lanes although it's more pedestrian than vehicular. It's a popular shortcut to the beach and local nature reserve so, as it sees plenty of footfall, many of the neighbours use this spot as a bit of a hot spot for passing on unwanted items (although it's carefully managed to avoid becoming fly-tip zone). Coming back with the dog last night, there was a lovely stone planter, which came home with me - although slightly precariously as it was pretty heavy and I had a 20kg dog in the other hand!    Very happy with that as we have some spring bulbs which will look good in there.

Sorting 

• SIM card has arrived but still not sorted yet.
• Started on a drawer of doom in the kitchen - several random items discarded and plastic pots repurposed as drawer dividers so there's less doom and more room going forwards! 36 / 365.
  
• UseUps ~ finally finished a lippie my sister bought me, which I've used every bit of! Would like to replace it really but the shade is discontinued and the brand is expensive! Not to worry, it was fun while it lasted: 33 / 52.

All Good Things ...

• Being a bit cooler this week has meant I haven't had to wait until later in the day to take the dog out. So, as OH is also feeling more mobile, we adjusted the meal plan into picnics for 2 days this week and have taken pup to the beach for a run around and had our tea whilst there.
• Having a plastic pot each with our dinner in = less washing up (see above)! 
• Two Heron fishing the sea as the tide was coming in tonight. I've seen them in the tide pools before but not right in the sea as it came rolling in around them! The sea was right up to their bellies before they took off, it was quite something!

Hope everyone else is having a fine week, S&R x

Humboldt

Hi @ShyAndRetiring,  such a simple, yet lovely idea to enjoy your meal at the beach. I wasn't aware that heron fish in the sea, how fab to witness that.  Great that you were able to offer the stone planter a new home.  Have a great weekend x

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

Hi @ShyAndRetiring,  such a simple, yet lovely idea to enjoy your meal at the beach. I wasn't aware that heron fish in the sea, how fab to witness that.  Great that you were able to offer the stone planter a new home.  Have a great weekend x

Thanks @Humboldt ... we have lots of herons around here really but I'd never seen that before either, I couldn't take my eyes off the one of the two which particularly seemed to be playing 'chicken' with the sea!    

Wishing you a wonderful weekend too! S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

It's Friday! Hope everyone has had a good week ~ it's been a busy one here but I've had a few pockets of time for a change today, so my round up is ready!

Extra £ / Surveys etc

• Surveys: £37.50 / £10 achieved, very happy with this, some of the surveys have been very interesting. 

Spending

5 NSDs - we've been pretty good at eating out of the freezer, cupboards and garden this week, which has kept the food budget low and reduced shop pops, so not much extra spending either!

Had to put petrol in the car for all the hospital trips this week, but it still means I've only spent £40 on petrol in August, so pleased with that and we now have a full tank to go into September with. If the car lasts that long, of course!   

Saving 

• A free portion of something every day from the garden is saving us a bit ~ we're very hopeful that the tomatoes will see us into the middle of September at least. Not sure about the courgettes though.
• Another handy 'donation' from the neighbourhood 'help yourself' corner ~ some little stone 'tablets' (imagine mini headstones ) the type of thing you bury 2/3 into the ground and the top 1/3 (the curved shape) creates an edging for borders etc. It's just the thing for a front border which is getting out of control. These are very nice individual stone pieces, so I think they've saved us a little bit and they'll also be sustainable, so it's good to be able to usefully recycle these.
• With the need to replace my trainers, I've found some nearly-new trainers, in a whole bundle of new and almost new footwear, which also includes canvas shoes and two new pairs of sandals which are my size and my favourite (most comfy) brand. Whole lot for approx £16, so the extra made on surveys will cover this all nicely. I know some people are squeamish about second-hand (or should that be foot?) footwear, but the condition of the items is very good and for me this is also about saving the environment by recycling, as much as saving money (like the local 'help yourself' corner) - and I will clean everything thoroughly before wearing, so I'm happy that this is savvy spending as well as saving!

Sorting 

• Sorted out a couple more areas of the bedroom, plus a bit of a shoe sort out, throwing out my old slippers (once I'd got them back off the puppy)    Following my lippie UseUp this week, I also sorted a drawer with make-up in and got rid of a few almost finished / out of date make up items which I doubt if I'll use (or will be useable) 45 / 365.
• UseUps ~ toiletries: a body spray bites the dust 34 / 52;  forgot to update on my yarn use ups- doing well with my Crochet-along project, which I need to finish by end of September - 27 / 52 balls used up and several more almost finished (the project used 15 balls).

WIRE antics

• I've located another pension ( ! ) and have contacted them about registering for their portal. I expect this one will be tiny but it will still be useful to get it sorted and will help with car fund a bit, I hope. Aim to do this over the weekend.

Steps

I keep forgetting to include this, but it's part of the well-being end of WIRE, for sure. This week I've clocked up 86,752 steps which averages 12,393 a day. This is down a bit since OH has been back on his feet and helping with dog walks, but it's still OK as my minimum aim is 10k steps a day.

All Good Things ...

• Random stranger complemented me on the pup's obedience off-lead this afternoon, which was unexpected, but nice to hear. I haven't been taking my camera out on walks lately so that I can focus ( ) on ensuring the pup is doing things right, especially as there's so many holiday makers here over summer! Pup will be 2 around Christmas, so he's very much into his 'adolescent' behaviour, so I don't want to take any chances in holiday season! I'm pleased that it's paying off, especially as we have fun on the beach too, so hopefully I'll get my camera back out over the autumn if he's settling down.
• OH's procedure has gone well. We won't know until follow up whether all is good now, but we're content that it's over with and he feels fine at the moment.
• NHS is marvellous - overstretched, underfunded, the government should do more, absolutely - but in our experience, everyone who's been involved with OH (from admin and back-room clinical staff, to medics, nurses and HCAs) could not have been nicer, or more caring, or have done more for him. We are very grateful the NHS is there. If anyone working in the NHS is reading this, we appreciate what you do.

Hope everyone has a lovely bank holiday weekend, S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

  Hello, hope everyone is well and having a good bank holiday weekend! 

It's been a quiet one here, but great that the weather has been good, so a bit of gardening and sorting out in the sunshine has taken place, along with the usual other malarkey!

So far this week:

Extra £ / Surveys etc

• Surveys: £4 / £10 

Spending

2 / 5 NSDs so far - helped by the fact that the tourists have been through the only supermarket in the village like a plague of locusts and seem to have bought up all the things (well, the things we were needing anyway).    

Saving 

• We've started saving seeds from this year's tomato crop which is still going great guns and will for the basis of a  super-saving supper this evening! 
• I've had a good snip of a lavender bush which is just going over. I now have an old pillow case of lavender drying out in my work room ~ smells lovely in there! I'm saving most this to make a lavender pillow / scent sachets for a disabled friend, as she loves the smell but can't get out to enjoy it. Low cost gift she will enjoy once it's dry and ready to go. 

Sorting 

• Can't get into a zone this week, I need to find a spot and just stick to it.
• Also a bit caught up with sorting the calendar as September and into October are starting to look very busy with more appointments and family events.
• Old, puppy-chewed footwear has been dumped, plus a bag of old papers shredded by hand and into recycling - 50 / 365.
• UseUps ~ toiletries: ongoing 34 / 52; Crochet-along project, another ball used - 28 / 52

WIRE antics

• Registration with portal for additional pension is now complete. It's less than £500 in there but am very grateful for it ... it's all money earned so I will work out how / when best to claim it, down the line.

All Good Things ... all nature edition, apparently:

• Lovely beach walks the last few evenings ~ it's too hot during the day for the dog but by 6 all the tourists have gone in for their tea, so we've had the place to ourselves! 
• The Goldcrests (tiny birds) have been visiting a neighbouring fir tree this weekend, so it's been lovely to catch glimpses of them.
• Yesterday 200+ Greylag flew over our garden as they moved from their roosting area to feeding zone on neighbouring nature reserve. They were very loud, but fantastic to watch!
• I'm sitting on the back stoop typing this. Fat pigeon is sitting on the edge of the bird bath and is making kissy noises rather than coo-ing! I did not know this was a thing and am hoping the cat (who is very responsive to kissy sounds) doesn't think it's me calling her!   

I hope everyone is able to enjoy the bonus of a bank holiday in the sun, S&R x

Humboldt

ShyAndRetiring said:

  Hello, hope everyone is well and having a good bank holiday weekend! 

It's been a quiet one here, but great that the weather has been good, so a bit of gardening and sorting out in the sunshine has taken place, along with the usual other malarkey!

So far this week:

Extra £ / Surveys etc

• Surveys: £4 / £10 

Spending

2 / 5 NSDs so far - helped by the fact that the tourists have been through the only supermarket in the village like a plague of locusts and seem to have bought up all the things (well, the things we were needing anyway).    

Saving 

• We've started saving seeds from this year's tomato crop which is still going great guns and will for the basis of a  super-saving supper this evening! 
• I've had a good snip of a lavender bush which is just going over. I now have an old pillow case of lavender drying out in my work room ~ smells lovely in there! I'm saving most this to make a lavender pillow / scent sachets for a disabled friend, as she loves the smell but can't get out to enjoy it. Low cost gift she will enjoy once it's dry and ready to go. 

Sorting 

• Can't get into a zone this week, I need to find a spot and just stick to it.
• Also a bit caught up with sorting the calendar as September and into October are starting to look very busy with more appointments and family events.
• Old, puppy-chewed footwear has been dumped, plus a bag of old papers shredded by hand and into recycling - 50 / 365.
• UseUps ~ toiletries: ongoing 34 / 52; Crochet-along project, another ball used - 28 / 52

WIRE antics

• Registration with portal for additional pension is now complete. It's less than £500 in there but am very grateful for it ... it's all money earned so I will work out how / when best to claim it, down the line.

All Good Things ... all nature edition, apparently:

• Lovely beach walks the last few evenings ~ it's too hot during the day for the dog but by 6 all the tourists have gone in for their tea, so we've had the place to ourselves! 
• The Goldcrests (tiny birds) have been visiting a neighbouring fir tree this weekend, so it's been lovely to catch glimpses of them.
• Yesterday 200+ Greylag flew over our garden as they moved from their roosting area to feeding zone on neighbouring nature reserve. They were very loud, but fantastic to watch!
• I'm sitting on the back stoop typing this. Fat pigeon is sitting on the edge of the bird bath and is making kissy noises rather than coo-ing! I did not know this was a thing and am hoping the cat (who is very responsive to kissy sounds) doesn't think it's me calling her!   

I hope everyone is able to enjoy the bonus of a bank holiday in the sun, S&R x

Hi @ShyandRetiring, another great update that is both inspiring and interesting.  I'm loving the nature edition of 'All Good Things'.  Fantastic to have such an abundance of nature on your doorstep. Have a fab week x