More WIRE than FIRE, simplifying, saving and savvy spending

QrizB

Savvy_Sue said:

I used to have a heated seat pad on my office chair, but it's died the death this year. Looking at new ones, they all say you can't sit on them, so what's the point of that!

As I type this I'm sitting on one of these (or something very much like it):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365173671096

I'm toasty warm and haven't been electrocuted yet!

ShyAndRetiring

Savvy_Sue said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Savvy_Sue said:

I can recommend a gilet for warmth, and add an oversized hoody with a hot water bottle in the pouch if sitting still in a shed! 

Thanks @Savvy_Sue ... the good news is that you reminded me I have a hoody 

The not so good news is, having rescued it from the depths of the drawer, it appears it's me that's oversized, not the hoody 

Have hot water bottles at the ready though, S&R x

Oh dear, that's a shame ... Mine is a men's from B&M last year, so it comes down to my knees, not sure how many Xs there are before the L, but I do recommend them.

I used to have a heated seat pad on my office chair, but it's died the death this year. Looking at new ones, they all say you can't sit on them, so what's the point of that! HWB on my knees it will have to be. 

Gilets were my 'amazement' discovery a couple of years ago, found one in a charity shop. Until this last cold snap, I haven't felt the need for a cardigan: just vest and long sleeved thin cotton jumper under a shirt or blouse. Long johns under my trousers, of course ... 

I do have a heated gilet somewhere which I haven't tried, we bought it for FIL but he couldn't get on with it. 

Now then @Savvy_Sue you've set me off on a whole train of thought (always dangerous at this end of the week) ... apart from the zip-uppery involved, a gilet doesn't feel too far removed from the good old tank top, which I used to love back in the day  perhaps I could knit myself one and meet the stash challenge at the same time? 

A heated gilet sounds like the height of sophistication and warmth, definitely try it out! S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

QrizB said:

Savvy_Sue said:

I used to have a heated seat pad on my office chair, but it's died the death this year. Looking at new ones, they all say you can't sit on them, so what's the point of that!

As I type this I'm sitting on one of these (or something very much like it):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365173671096

I'm toasty warm and haven't been electrocuted yet!

Hi @QrizB sounds like you have the perfect thing, not sure about the word YET though  mind how you go! S&R x

Savvy_Sue

ShyAndRetiring said:

Savvy_Sue said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Savvy_Sue said:

I can recommend a gilet for warmth, and add an oversized hoody with a hot water bottle in the pouch if sitting still in a shed! 

Thanks @Savvy_Sue ... the good news is that you reminded me I have a hoody 

The not so good news is, having rescued it from the depths of the drawer, it appears it's me that's oversized, not the hoody 

Have hot water bottles at the ready though, S&R x

Oh dear, that's a shame ... Mine is a men's from B&M last year, so it comes down to my knees, not sure how many Xs there are before the L, but I do recommend them.

I used to have a heated seat pad on my office chair, but it's died the death this year. Looking at new ones, they all say you can't sit on them, so what's the point of that! HWB on my knees it will have to be. 

Gilets were my 'amazement' discovery a couple of years ago, found one in a charity shop. Until this last cold snap, I haven't felt the need for a cardigan: just vest and long sleeved thin cotton jumper under a shirt or blouse. Long johns under my trousers, of course ... 

I do have a heated gilet somewhere which I haven't tried, we bought it for FIL but he couldn't get on with it. 

Now then @Savvy_Sue you've set me off on a whole train of thought (always dangerous at this end of the week) ... apart from the zip-uppery involved, a gilet doesn't feel too far removed from the good old tank top, which I used to love back in the day  perhaps I could knit myself one and meet the stash challenge at the same time? 

A heated gilet sounds like the height of sophistication and warmth, definitely try it out! S&R x

You are probably right about its similarity to the Tank Top, aka a sleeveless pullover, so a knitted one would be excellent! However, if I were to knit one (which has crossed my mind from time to time) I'd want an opening down the front, for when I'm overheating, and pockets. So I'd have to find a waistcoat pattern.

ShyAndRetiring

And here we are, poised on the weekend!

A busy day here, helping out the Older Ones, lots of ferrying around. Driving was a bit hairy in some icy spots but overall not too bad.

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £10.60 / £50 so far in Prolific, another £6.50 still pending.
• I've added Freebies to the heading here, as I hope to be able to add some Stooze benefits here and other malarkey.  

Spending

• Doing OK, NSD = 4 / 5 so far, and very unlikely to spend anything tomorrow so nearly there for this week.

Saving

• Car insurance has now been paid in full, using CC 0% as a cheeky stooze to avoid the extra costs of paying by DD. Approx £48 saved on car insurance for this year, compared to last. 

Sorting

Can't remember where I read it, but I've been trying to sort things out / declutter around an idea I read, which recommended instead of trying to create space, look at the space you have and organise your items to only fit that space. I've been using this idea to help sort out the She-Shed and it's really helping me to avoid the idea of needing extra storage - I really don't need any, I just need to use the space I have more effectively and cull the clutter to clear said spaces. 

• One bag of items taken out on my runaround today and donated to a local charity.

Challenges

• DECLUTTERING #1: knitting project for Jan ongoing - 1 / 52 balls of yarn used up.
• DECLUTTERING #2: 15 / 365 
• NO BUYING TOILETRIES USE UP CHALLENGE - ongoing, hand cream and lip balm going down nicely 
• Xmas 25 52-week challenge now stands at £250 / £1378.
• Wedding weekend (Principality Savings) = £60 / £750.

Simple pleasures

• I practised 'Zen Motoring' when driving across town to help the Older Ones today (Zen Motoring is a great series of short films, heartily recommend). I smiled and gave way to other drivers, was polite to jaywalkers and pedestrians insisting on crossing with red lights against them etc. Sometimes, the trip, the driving and some of the roads involved for assisting the Older Ones leaves me feeling a tad frustrated with other drivers, so today I made extra effort not to let it get to me. 
• Kestrel was hunting on the field tonight and I happened to meet up with a neighbour on the field, whose dogs like to play - easy way to exercise the dogs for both of us!
• Using up my lavender hand cream is proving to be a simple pleasure - applying it at night, just before sleeping, effectively makes my hand into something of a 'nosegay' ... I can just put my hand under my nostrils to make up for those moments when the dog releases a  less-than-fragrant outburst during the night! 

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend ahead, S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

Savvy_Sue said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Savvy_Sue said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Savvy_Sue said:

I can recommend a gilet for warmth, and add an oversized hoody with a hot water bottle in the pouch if sitting still in a shed! 

Thanks @Savvy_Sue ... the good news is that you reminded me I have a hoody 

The not so good news is, having rescued it from the depths of the drawer, it appears it's me that's oversized, not the hoody 

Have hot water bottles at the ready though, S&R x

Oh dear, that's a shame ... Mine is a men's from B&M last year, so it comes down to my knees, not sure how many Xs there are before the L, but I do recommend them.

I used to have a heated seat pad on my office chair, but it's died the death this year. Looking at new ones, they all say you can't sit on them, so what's the point of that! HWB on my knees it will have to be. 

Gilets were my 'amazement' discovery a couple of years ago, found one in a charity shop. Until this last cold snap, I haven't felt the need for a cardigan: just vest and long sleeved thin cotton jumper under a shirt or blouse. Long johns under my trousers, of course ... 

I do have a heated gilet somewhere which I haven't tried, we bought it for FIL but he couldn't get on with it. 

Now then @Savvy_Sue you've set me off on a whole train of thought (always dangerous at this end of the week) ... apart from the zip-uppery involved, a gilet doesn't feel too far removed from the good old tank top, which I used to love back in the day  perhaps I could knit myself one and meet the stash challenge at the same time? 

A heated gilet sounds like the height of sophistication and warmth, definitely try it out! S&R x

You are probably right about its similarity to the Tank Top, aka a sleeveless pullover, so a knitted one would be excellent! However, if I were to knit one (which has crossed my mind from time to time) I'd want an opening down the front, for when I'm overheating, and pockets. So I'd have to find a waistcoat pattern.

Ahh yes, pockets too, of course! Pattern challenge accepted!    S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

  It’s been a very lovely chilly-but-chilled weekend here, weather’s been so bright and calm but cold also. Busy time with family events, all with minimum spend but maximum fun.

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £11.60 payable in Prolific so far, £5.45 pending. I haven’t been able to do many this weekend as it’s been busy, but hope to do better through the week.

Spending

• Weekly NSD goal of 5/7 achieved. 

• Money spent today on Wh1stleF1sh as I couldn’t resist their offer of 11 cards for £10, this weekend only. We’ve had their cards before and they’re excellent quality, so I used some of the birthday / gifts budget to buy 2 lots to cover all the birthdays and celebrations coming up in 2025. Also bought some Xmas-themed notelets for half price in the sale, which work nicely for cards / token / cash gifting in Xmas 25 and for sending advent notes to grandkids who live away. Buying all these together meant I met the free postage threshold, so win-win. It doesn’t feel like extra spending, more savvy spending as all the items would’ve been needed at some point, so may as well get them now thanks to the offer.

Saving

• Money-saving offer taken advantage of, as above! Saved over £20 as the cards would all have been £2 each at RRP.

• Gathering with some of the family over the weekend, and in the planning of it, getting a take-out was mooted. However, it's pretty expensive as there were several of us, all a bit skint in this post-Xmas period, so take-out costs were avoided with savvy spending on supermarket pizzas and salad - loads cheaper than a take-out and just as nice. We added lots of extra toppings, and for afters we contributed the desserts and chocs which didn’t get used (still in date) over Xmas, so all good there.

• I have resisted buying yarn, not once but twice this weekend. This is significant for me, so deserves a mention!

Sorting

• Minimum sorting achieved over the weekend due to socialising, although I’ve almost finished sorting something of a new schedule for this new phase and for the upcoming, busy week!

• Sorted contents of one admin envelope, looking for items / docs to go in LIFE ADMIN folder. Nothing useful found, but lots of bits of paper shredded!

• I’ve also sorted a couple of free courses on topics of interest, so I can broaden my hobby horizons but without additional costs this year. I guess I’ve almost created myself an extra challenge there, to find suitable free courses. One course, a 9 week one funded by the Arts Council, involved quite a stringent application process, so I‘ve drafted and submitted my application today.

Challenges

• DECLUTTERING #1: knitting project for Jan ongoing - 1 / 52 balls of yarn used up - now into the 2nd ball.

• DECLUTTERING #2: 17 / 365 

• NO BUYING TOILETRIES USE UP CHALLENGE - ongoing, 1 x shower gel now finished, another half-bottle now in play 1 / 52 Used Up.

• Xmas 25 52-week challenge: £250 / £1378.

• Wedding weekend (Principality Savings): £60 / £750 - lots of chat about this at gathering this weekend, including talk about sharing costs of accommodation etc, so feeling very positive that £750 should be plenty.

Simple pleasures

• Lovely walk on the field just before twilight both yesterday and today. There's a backwater on the field which most (people and predators) aren't aware of, and I was delighted to see the Kingfisher scoping it on both days this weekend. Marsh Harrier also seen today, although swans have now moved on. Fabulous nearly-full moon on the rise tonight. Joined up with a neighbour to walk home. 

• Speaking of neighbours, that's a simple pleasure I really don't take for granted (having had an awful neighbour when my children were small). Now, we’re very lucky with most of our neighbours, it’s a small village and many people are connected one way or another, so it’s a pretty genial community. Dog-walking is an easy, fun connection too, there’s usually someone to walk with if OH and I can’t walk together, and it’s always in a gentle, falling-into-step-whilst-chatting kind of way, not necessarily prearranged.

• Spending time this weekend with family members I didn’t manage to see over Christmas. So good to catch up!

That’s everything for this weekend, I think, hope everyone else has had a lovely one and is keeping warm. S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

Update time, am having a good week, definitely feeling the benefit of being (mostly) in charge of my own schedule!

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £18.60 payable in Prolific so far, £7.25 pending. Aiming for £1 a day to give me £30 of the £50 target so already over that as 14 days into the month!   

Spending:

• 2 / 7 NSD so far. 

• Grocery spend challenge isn’t going too badly - largely because it’s very much soup weather and we love a good soup! We can get reduced veg quite easily from local supermarket so 2 soup days a week are in the meal plan at the moment, which is certainly helping. 

Saving

• Had a medical appointment with a nearby coffee shop but resisted the temptation of a treat! If OH had been with me I might have succumbed, but I’d rather save the £ for a joint treat sometime!

• Underspend of £40 in grocery budget sent to Principality Saver, so that’s now £100 / £750

Sorting

• Phoned to sort the Council Tax direct debit change from 10 months to 12 months. However, they told me that I have to wait for the new bill to be generated in March, then phone them when I receive it and amend then. So basically I’ve sorted a note into planner for March. 

• Thanks again everyone’s useful feedback about Debt and CC use previously. I was very aware of this as I noticed a CC offer in my online banking earlier today. It’s 0% for balance transfers and purchases for 17 months. Was offered a £1200 limit, which is actually more than I have on my other CC, so I’ve applied and been accepted. This will be for emergency and stoozing (aka Free Money) purposes only, or major purchases to take advantage of extra insurance that comes from paying on CC. Made another small payment to current CC, now that the car insurance payment has pushed this up. Have added a sub-head for Debt so I can stay accountable (and on top of it)!

Debt

• CC #1: was £430 / £500 ; £83 paid today, new balance: £347 / £500

• CC #2: ZERO BALANCE

Challenges

• DECLUTTERING #1: knitting project for Jan ongoing - 2 / 52 balls of yarn used up.

• DECLUTTERING #2: 19 / 365 

• NO BUYING TOILETRIES USE UP CHALLENGE - ongoing, 1 / 52

• Xmas 25 52-week challenge now stands at £250 / £1378.

• Wedding weekend = £100 / £750.

• LIFE ADMIN: document hunt ongoing!

Simple pleasures

• Fantastic walks the last couple of evenings - seen Spoonbill and Grey Heron fishing the tide pools at the beach, whilst the field has offered the joys of a Kingfisher and the emergence of a Barn Owl with the Wolf Moon rising last night.

• I didn’t really list any health goals, but I have a personal challenge to get out there at least once a day and I’ve realised that I’m recovering pretty well from the pre-Xmas lurgies as I’m now out there easily for a daily walk and going farther, more quickly. Dog is very pleased (also very muddy) as a result!

Hope everything is fine and well for you all, S&R x

Humboldt

Hi @ShyAndRetiring thank you for the holiday wishes.  We had a fabulous time, but oh my goodness it feels cold now we are home. 

I'm really enjoying reading your informative, organised and upbeat posts.  It is really lovely to see your progress in terms of the various challenges that you have set yourself, and their benefits to your overall aims.  How lucky are you to see a kingfisher, and I just loved your description of the emergence of a barn owl with the wolf moon rising. 

Hope that you had a good weekend.

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

Hi @ShyAndRetiring thank you for the holiday wishes.  We had a fabulous time, but oh my goodness it feels cold now we are home. 

I'm really enjoying reading your informative, organised and upbeat posts.  It is really lovely to see your progress in terms of the various challenges that you have set yourself, and their benefits to your overall aims.  How lucky are you to see a kingfisher, and I just loved your description of the emergence of a barn owl with the wolf moon rising. 

Hope that you had a good weekend.

Thanks @humboldt ... I'm glad you had a good holiday, shame though not to come back to a bit of warmth - hopefully now it's February we'll enjoy a bit of warmth with our longer days!

Appreciate your comments, I've been a bit AWOL and overwhelmed but do hope to get back into the swing of posting it really does help me to keep track.

Thanks for stopping by, S&R x