Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home

ArtyJ931

Locally here you can get 2 large pizzas takeaway with lots of toppings for £14. I occasionally get these if I have someone to go half’s with as the pizzas each do me for two meals. I’m not a big pizza eater though so it isn’t often. A meal out with a pint, starter and sides and a tip stretches to £22 ish

MillQueen

@ellenvan, thank you, I have never tried bank switching as I'd be worried I'd forget to pay something as I have it all set up to work automatically as I am not skilled at keeping up with admin. Might have to have a look and see if I could just switch one thing that's easy to do and won't mean I miss payments.

@ArtyJ931, that's decent for pizzas, especially if it's doing more than one meal. I rarely get a takeaway one now, I just get them when I see them reduced at the supermarket and put them in the freezer. I like to have half with a side or salad, so I can microwave the rest at work the next day. I miss going out to restaurants, but that's a sort of annual occasion now, I've sadly been avoiding it.

I have just been into town and ordered my new glasses. I paid £174 and pick them up in two weeks. It was honestly hair-raising spending that much, but it was the best I could do, as there wasn't much choice of frames that would be suitable for the enormously thick lenses I have to get. They always say I need to get the smallest frames possible to avoid the edges of the lenses looking chunky even if I get the thin lenses. However, big frames are currently in fashion so there were hardly any small frames available. I got some from the cheap range and ended up with a pair that are pretty similar to the ones I have now - they are tortoiseshell brown with gold detail on the side. I guess cost per wear isn't too bad because I will aim to keep them for at least 3 years (longer if I can get away with it), so the cost per wear in that case is only 16p per day, or less if they last for more years. I have had my current pair an extra year past when I was due to get new ones and I'm only replacing because I'm getting eye strain headaches.

I also spent £4 on a chai oat latte because I wanted to get something for myself as it's the first time I have been somewhere other than work in ages. I had planned for the treat to be getting something from the charity shop, but I didn't see anything I wanted. I spent £2.80 on a bag of apples, a pack of spicy mexican cheese slices and a 4 pint carton of milk which I have put in the freezer.

Tonight's low cost activity choices are reading a book on Borrow Box, work tasks or cooking something.

MillQueen

I got a bag of parsnips the other day for 26p so I have cut them long and thin into chips and tossed them in oil and I am now roasting them with salt and pepper. Not sure if parsnip chips are good, but the price of these for my tea tonight is good.

Also doing a quorn spag bol to have during the week and I'll freeze some, as I had a bag of the mince in the freezer (£1.50). It's just a handful of frozen chopped onion, seasonings and a low salt stock cube, a pack of yellow sticker mushrooms (68p), a tin of reduced tomatoes (30p), and a carton of passata (60p).

The spag bol will do at least 6 portions, so probably 50p a portion. Sometimes I mix half of it with a tin of kidney beans and some spices and it sort of turns into a chilli to have with baked potatoes as well.

I forgot to say that I managed to not buy a cool vintage coffee table in the charity shop. It was painted chipped pale blue, and was ornate wood with a glass top, and looked lived and elegant at the same time in just the way I like. But it was £25, the glass top made it impractical, and I already own a coffee table.

MillQueen

I can confirm that the 26p parsnip chips I've done are actually nice. I have served them with a spoon of mayo mixed with lemon juice and black pepper. Also a scoop of the bolognese sauce since it's done.

I saw a recipe for loaded potato bowls, which looked nice. It was just potatoes cubed small and roasted, topped with whatever protein you like (I'd probably use veggie mince or even chopped up veggie sausages) and then mashed avocado, chimchurri (I don't like it, so would use pesto, or chopped up sundried tomatoes with chilli oil instead), grated cheese, tomato wedges, and an egg, or whatever else you like. This would be a nice treat food for a Friday night rather than my usual cheap pizza.

MillQueen

i just looked on my energy account as they have how updated my gas bill and I have only spent £48.59 on gas in the last 4 months, which is good. I haven't put the heating on at all, so that's all just hot water when I do the dishes, or have a bath or shower, as the shower isn't an electric one. There was an accidental day when the heating came on, as the battery had died in the thermostat thing. I need to clean the bathroom at some point today so I can dye my hair and start having more baths again as the weather gets colder.

I have had weetabix for breakfast with the last (somewhat brown) banana and will have the remaining parsnip chips for lunch. I am going to put a pack of baking potatoes in the oven again today, as I have tuna and mayo. There's the spag bol with pasta, so that means lunch and tea is sorted until midweek. I've already planned my next cooking experiment, which is lentil wraps (soaked red lentils and a tin of coconut milk, blended with seasonings, then poured onto a frying plan and flipped like a pancake). I'll do some fajita veg to go in them, as I have peppers, mushrooms etc in the freezer and fajita spice.

I have just spent £55 on a heat gun and some dry flex, which will be arriving over the next couple of days. Hoping for a warm day next weekend so I can get the front door sorted. I have got to go out in a bit to put air in the car tyres as one is looking flat. I have got a tyre compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, but the cigarette lighter doesn't work. I saw a TGTG fruit and veg bag for £2.29, so I have got that to collect, as I might as well since I have to drive there to get the tyres sorted. I have work related tasks now, for a couple of hours first.

MillQueen

Small moment of pride that I managed to use the machine at the garage to pump up the tyres. I spent £3 as it took me 3 goes to understand how to use it, but I also filled up the windcscreen wash and felt quite accomplished. I then removed a live bird from the kitchen that must have come down the chimney, or else it came in yesterday when I emptied the bins and has been lying low until deciding to flap around.

I've just done late lunch which is the remaining parsnip chips (13p worth of them!) and a sliced up apple, with a crumbled up slice of spicy pepper cheese on top. The apples and cheese were yellow sticker items too, so for the portion this lunch has cost 54p. Simple combinations can be nice. They have cancelled my TGTG order, so it's back to the original plan - I have just put 4 baking potatoes in the oven to last until midweek. There's now a choice between reading a book or doing some work.

MillQueen

A small cheap thing that I am really enjoying is my tea cupboard, which I keep stocked with all varieties and flavours of tea. It is literally a specific cupboard on the kitchen wall, which only contains boxes of tea, as I gradually buy whatever nice ones I see, as long as they're not too expensive. It's just pennies per cup and it always feels like a treat. The latest additions I have put in there were the Victoria Sponge and Sticky Toffee ones from Yorkshire Tea. For Christmas I want to get myself the "banana bread sticky chai" from Bird and Blend, as that's a bit more expensive. I recently finished my Tea Pigs "spiced winter red", but I rarely get a more expensive one and that one was from last Christmas. Today I am having a cup of spearmint tea, which is good for hormonal balance and stress, as I want to feel peaceful and centred. I have got my hot water bottle and a book and I am going to have a couple of hours to chill now 🏡

ETA: I also get the coffee sachets when they are on offer as I occasionally have a salted caramel latte as a treat. I got some mocha ones but sadly will have to give them away as it gave me heartburn 😒

MillQueen

I saw something that suggested making an inventory of what products you have, so that you can use up all you have got before buying more, so I made a spreadsheet of all the toiletries and makeup I have so that I can make better use of it. For instance I somehow have 20 conditioners, most of which I haven't liked (I have difficult hair so it's hard to find suitable products) and I will alternate the ones I don't like with my main staple, on days when I don't care if my hair looks well-kempt, until the bad ones are all gone. I have done the same on the spreadsheet for shampoo, skincare, styling products etc, so that I can work on maximising the use of the things I have and getting my money's worth. The amount of eyeliners I have is crazy. I may even do an inventory for my food cupboards if the mood happens sometime soon, to get the most out of things.

I feel like it will be a real achievement to finish the lip balm I am using 🤣. I am actually going to think really carefully next time I buy one, as I have tons of them and even if they are only £3.50 or whatever, it's something I'm probably going to have for the next few years, throw away, or eventually lose.

MillQueen

Final ramble of the day is that I have gotten my lunch ready for tomorrow and I MUST REMEMBER TO TAKE IT TO WORK WITH ME. It's jacket potatoes and tuna mayo and a pot of overnight oats, with lots of free water in my sustainable water bottle. I am working a late shift tomorrow; a busy day of no spends.

Good night fellow money savers, and here's to another week of hanging onto our money. I am so sick of companies, the government, the council, the energy companies, and everyone else always with their hands in our pockets, that I will not give anyone a penny more than I have to. Determined face: 😑😠

ArtyJ931

notes taped to the back of the front door work for me. I forget everything.