The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

ThriftyPrincess40

Elisheba said:

Evening, thrifty folks,

Hope everyone is well. I've been busy with the ongoing organisation and decluttering. In good news I've made £81 since I started putting things on V!nted, so that means my savings should be just over £7k come the end of the month 😁.

I've been watching loads of YT videos on minimalism, as well as my normal ones on frugality. I don't think I'll ever be a complete minimalist, but it's all been really helpful in being quite brutal when I've been sorting stuff out. I've now got a boot full of stuff for the charity shops, lots more clothes to list on V!nted, and some things have been binned that couldn't be repurposed.

There is still a huge amount more to go, but as long as I just keep at it I'll get there. And that will pay lots of dividends in making the house easier to clean, and making the removal company cheaper when I'm finally really to buy a house.

It's also hopefully going to translate to useful principles in managing my time and social life. I am often guilty of planning too much, and feeling like I should be making and going out and seeing people and doing things. However, I've realised recently that I very much need the balance of downtimes as well, and that's not something I need to feel guilty over. So one of the tips the minimalists use is 'If it isn't hell yes, then it's hell no!', and that can apply to life as well as stuff. I mean, I don't think I'll ever be quite that brutal with people. There are some things that you might not be massively enthusiastic over - long journeys to see people, phone calls when you are tired, that sort of thing, but which are necessary to be a good friend. But it's definitely something to be aware of when planning things.

There are also a lot of great tips that translate well into frugality. Things like don't buy a problem, i.e. don't buy things that will cause you more work. Also being aware that most purchases will make absolutely no difference to your life - for example, if you already have trousers, buying another pair will make zero impact on your life. And then the idea that every single item you own or buy is a whole to do list on its own. Looking after it, cleaning it, storing it, even seeing it, and eventually disposing of it at the end of its life - you really have to think with every single item, do I want to take on this much work? And then there is the obvious stuff that most of us on these boards are aware of, like you can never buy the lifestyle the adverts are trying to sell you, and impulse purchases are a bad idea. It's all very inspirational and refreshing, and I'm getting lots of good ideas from it all.

In MSE news I had the car at the garage for an interim service and a couple of things I wanted checked today, so thats a £200 odd bill I'll need to pay this month. I have £800 allocated for car maintenance in one of my annuals pots this year, so that's where the money will come from. Full service and MOT are due in November I think, so that where the rest of that pot will go.

Also got the car insurance renewal quite through today, so I'll need to do some shopping around next week and see if I can beat it. I seem to recall that between 21 and 24 days before is the sweet spot for getting the best prices.

Oh and while I was waiting for the car earlier I took silly dog on a long walk, and I have almost 17000 steps on my Fitbit today 😁. Which will partially make you for yesterday when it was raining and I didn't bother taking him out at all 😳.

Everything else continues apace. I had salad with boiled eggs and some defrosted fake ham slices (which I got on yellow sticker months ago) for dinner this evening. I'll probably have much the same tomorrow, and maybe salad with a fake burger and cheese on Friday. Also got some veggie Bolognese in the fridge I'll need to either eat this week or freeze. And as a reward for having lost 20kg I treated myself to some strawberries and cream this week's as well, which was absolutely delicious.

In terms of setting up my routines for cleaning and the like, they are still evolving. Having a day where you do a 'home blessing' type thing and do all the big chores at once doesn't really suit me I've found, so I am breaking the tasks down and allocating them to different days instead. Today was hoovering upstairs, so that is one thing out the way for another little while.

Hope everyone is keeping well. Life is so much easier now that it isn't silly levels of hot isn't it?

You might already know, but have you heard of biscuit? Dog walking app? If you’re walking a lot might as well collect points for Amazon or Asda vouchers. I use it loads xx

ThriftyPrincess40

There’s also doggy treats Tesco etc 👍 I’ve stopped using Amazon after reading one of your previous posts ❤️

Elisheba

Morning everyone,

So a huge amount going on at Elisheba Cottage! So this post is going to be a bit of a brain dump.

The biggest news is that it turned out the the roof repairs to the house I was looking at weren't as much as I originally feared, in fact they lined up with what I had allocated. So I suggested a price to the estate agents, and the owners got back splitting the difference, so I put an official offer in yesterday!

One presumes they will accept since they suggested the price, and there is no chain, so I have all my fingers and toes crossed it will work out! So with a good wind, come Spring you will find Elisheba Cottage has become a real tiny cottage in the the hills in South West Scotland 🤯🤯🤯🤯.

It is going to stretch my finances a lot! If I'd had known it would work out I wouldn't have booked the holiday in Skye, as I could have done with the money and the annual leave. However, I've decided to go ahead with Skye as I wouldn't get much money back at this point, and I think the break away will be good for my mental health. With so much going on and to think about, I need to make sure my old noggin is being looked after.

I have run all the figures and I can afford it, although it'll rinse my savings. I know this is what they were for but I have gotten used to having the security of them there! They will build back up again though, so just fingers crossed the car doesn't blow up or something dreadful in the mean time!

The main problem with the house I'm buying is the lack of storage. So I'm going to be living out of boxes for a while, which I'm going to hate. I have been looking at options - buy some cupboards for certain spaces is the cheapest one and probably what I'll have to do to start with. However, I am also tempted to get a company like Wr$n out to build in a massive fitted cupboard in the living room, possibly a slanted fitted wardrobe in the bedroom to fit the ceiling, and just for funses get a quote on redesigning the tiny kitchen so it works better and I can fit a full sized fridge freezer, washing machine and dishwasher in, with more storage as well.

All of the work by Wr£n would be on interest free credit, which I know 🥴🥴🥴! Debt is bad! I think it would probably be good for the value of the house though, so might be worth considering. They come out and give you quotes for free so at least I could see what is possible.

So a lot of thinking going on right now, and my brain is sore from it. Can't really do much else just now, as not sure of dates so can't book a removals company, and it's going to be about 3 months so can't really start packing. I did look out some more stuff to declutter yesterday, so my wedding dress will be off to the charity shop, along with my summer wardrobe (which no longer fits). 

So that's the big news. In slightly smaller news I'm off to Scotland for Xmas on either Sunday or Monday, so need to get organised for that and make sure I have what I need for Skye at the same time. Today is my last day at work for year so lots to do there as well.

And Xmas presents - urgh. Money, money, money - all I seem to do is spend! And I know it's budgeted for, but me no likey. 

And then just to make things awkward, because I didn't think I was moving I just changed energy suppliers so need to see about cancelling that asap (I think I'm still within the 2 weeks grace) as otherwise there is £50 early leaving charge. And I just switched broadband providers and I know I'm out of the grace period with them, so will need to see if I can take them with me to the new place. 

And then, once I know it is definitely happening, I'll need to give notice on my current little house (which is so sad as I love it here). And because I'm in Wales and they are much more civilised here and have much better renting rules, I need to give 3 months notice. Which means I need a date as early as possible, and there will have to be some crossover. But a date is complicated as I have no annual leave left, so need to see if I can buy some and built up some flexi time as well. But I have a big project in the New Year and need to make the dates work around that as well. So much to do now! But at least I know what I need to do, even if it's going to be like a jigsaw sorting it all out.

I've not been hugely frugal recently either so know I've gone over on my food and personal allowance budgets. Still got to add some of my spending to my Notion sheet as I've not done that this week. 

Then I'll need to have a think about whether I want a 2, 3 or 5 year fixed deal on a mortgage. I know 2 would be cheaper as it's a 95% mortgage, so I'd be able to get a better deal in 2 years. However, with the local government structuring going on there will be a lot of job uncertainty in 2 years and it might be better to get a longer deal so I'm not remortaging in the middle of chaos. Also, do I go with a slightly more expensive deal to get an ethical bank? Dunno, dunno, dunno.

Anyway, I'm in bed with coffee. The house is warm. Me and the monkeys are healthy, cosy and well fed.  This is an amazing opportunity. I just need to keep reframing the situation as an opportunity and an adventure, and not a terrifying ordeal 🤣. Change is inevitable, so you can either embrace with it and make it work for you, or constantly be on the back foot.

Hope you are all well. It never stops raining at the moment, does it? Can you remember how dry it was in summer? How the times are changed! I have ordered some waterproof trousers off V!nted (which were supposed to arrive yesterday actually, so I wonder where they are?) so should be nice and dry on dog walks.

Elisheba

I've not heard of either of those things @ThriftyPrincess40 so will look into them 😊. Thank you!

in_need_of_direction

Excellent news, well done.  Can you bring some additional items with you on your travels to store until you get the property?  Also I know we all try to avoid debt but having recently been able to fund different things around the house and, seeing how improved things are, I wish I had done it sooner even if the mortgage had run for another year.

greenbee

That's great news!

Bear in mind that while the process in Scotland for house buying is more straightfoward than in England, it's not unreasonable for it to take 3 months to get the paperwork done. I'm sure you can agree suitable dates with the vendors. And while an overlap is expensive, it will be so much nicer for you if you can clean the new house before you move your stuff in, and clean the old one after the stuff is out!

I'd also suggest you look very carefully at reviews of the company you've mentioned for fitted cupboards. While interest free credit might seem great, there are a lot of unhappy people out there. You may be better off with temporary solutions for a bit (while you work out how to live in the house), and then finding local recommended trades who you know will do what you want and do it well. Your holiday will give you a bit of breathing space to think.

I'd also point out that how I use my house is very different to how I thought I'd use it. There are things I would have done differently in the early days if I'd known - but I can't face making the changes now. Luckily, I left the most important bit (kitchen!) till last, and can sort out a few other things at the same time. But the bathrooms still annoy me, and will for the next 10 years or so before I can justify doing anything about them!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, this is all very exciting! All fingers and toes crossed that things go smoothly for You!

KajiKita

Oooooh! Exciting news

Very happy for you. Will getting to work periodically still be feasible? Am I right in thinking this brings you closer to family as well?

You have managed to do so much over the last couple of years - you should be really proud of yourself  💖👏

KK

Sunshine_girl2

Always read but rarely comment , well done on getting your home where you wanted it . Look forward to your venture . Will you still be expected to go to the office occasionally? 

themadvix

Ooh, very exciting times! 

I'd second greenbee's comments about the aforementioned fitted furniture company - I have only heard horror stories about them, I'm afraid. And also the getting to know your house idea - much better to work out properly what you want before committing to storage that may not be for the long term. You also don't know what your life might look like up there - some things may come into it, others go out (I'm thinking in terms of hobbies here, not men 😉) and you might have different storage needs as a result.