Dusty's Frugal Fortnights

Dusty's Frugal Fortnight Sep 3rd-Sep 16th
income: from Mr D £291 my pension £71,c/f from last month £25
total £387
outgoings:
gas+electric - £91
phone and broadband - £30
water rates - £36
Asd@ online shop - £63
birthday fund - £20

hair - £6
HBB (home budget box) - £141
total - £387

no surplus to savings.
Was glad I put aside £25 last time knowing things are tight just now.
No passport fund savings either,only need a tenner more so hopefully next fortnight,the easier fortnight I can finish that. the money will then go to Xmas savings.

Asd@ shop was more than I had hoped for. Needed detergent,washing up liquid,aluminium foil,kitchen towels plus cola. Usually I get a big pack of cans for Mr D,and that lasts a month.But summer holidays,so family and grandkids polished them off in no time.£18 on these few items:eek:Got to start looking at the food budget. Even Mr D has noticed the way prices are going up,and he's usually oblivious!:rotfl:
Right I've washed up,found Mr Ds football teams,posted my budget,and am now off to the library. A book has gone missing and I have searched the house for weeks.I definitely remember it down on the floor beside my chair,when visitors came,and that was that,never surfaced since. Maybe the great granddaughternow 21 months old put it in the bin? Wouldnot be surprised. The Imp had a mania for decimating my spoons when she was little.

Hmm,we have the Angel and the Imp ,looks like I need a name for the latest!
The library have agreed to let me replace the copy of N K Jemisin's The Obelisk Gate. I got one from Amazon for a couple of quid less than the RRP,in brand new condition,and fortunately had an Amazon voucher from surveys to pay for it.Off to the library to hand it over. Must be strong and not look at the shelves,I have so many books still to read this year,I dont need even more added to the TBR pile

Have moved all library books to a upper shelf in the cupboard under the stairs till further notice!:D

Sorry to be away for a week,not been too well,swollen joints in knees,right hand and even the right elbow and shoulder.Typing is literally a pain!:D
Finally got a copy of the court case ruling,and Mr D wants me to go to the library and print off a copy. He is determined to make an appeal. Despite saying he owns the land,and presumably the house,because the woman was a family friend who cared for his mother for 15 years plus was an agent for decades looking after the properties, she has a so called ''moral right'' to stay in any of the properties she was overseeing.The court seems to have completely ignored the fact that we made a written agreement with her in 2012 to move to a property nearby. She later reneged. We then built her another little house on another piece of land,but she refused that saying it was too small,no land to grow food.She claims to have spent money on repairs etc,but this was from rent from tenants in the hoses,so its Mr Ds money that paid for the repairs!:mad: Mr D intends to appeal,but I am worried that it distinctly states in 3 separate places she has rights over all three places.If she is, on appeal, evicted from the disputed houseshe could probably make a case for moving back into the property she lived in before,which has been extensively repaired and decorated in the six years since she moved out.The money we get in rent is a big help in paying for the lawyer and phone calls Mr Dusty is forever making. I worry that appealing will just make matters worse,she will still have ''rights'' in the property she is squatting in,and where she keeps cattle and grows food,but could move into the nicer house.
But Mr D is determined,I have had 3 days of him constantly raving. He is so annoyed that they found her not guilty of trespass and illegal tenancy,so we get no damages,and the whole mess must have cost many thousands of pounds. Each side has been told to pay their own costs,that is the only glimmer of light,that he doesnt have to pay her costs,but is all a mess.
He is now obsessing about we must start using the land at once now it is legally stated to be ours,and wants his daughters to go and start growing food. They are terrified of the woman who once claimed they had come to kill her,and the police arrested them. It was awful,and we had a hard time to locate our lawyer to get them released.Mr D is going on about paying the lawyer yet more money to write to the local chiefs and the police proving his entitlement to using the land,but the girls are understandably wary of going there,and who can blame them.If I say anything in their favour I am classed as a traitor,or more damning in his eyes,acting like a typical foolish woman:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Damn,thats the first time I've laughed in a week I think. My health issues alone are more than enough for me to think about,all the court case hassle is just about the last straw.
Struggling a bit financially this fortnight. Despite a big Asd@ online shop last weekI have spent a lot on top up shopping. Couldnt believe it when I spent £23 at Aldi alone yesterday! I had to pull out £25 for my hair,and money for the birthdays coming up ,4 in 10 days. I hate September.:)
I have been waiting to hear from my insurers for house contents. Thought it was due for renewal this month,no word from them,must check up on the policy,I dont want them sneakily putting up the premium without telling me!:(

Been too poorly - and too upset - to check out surveys much. I spent a whole hour the other day being closed out on at least a dozen surveys,and finally got one for 40p! :rotfl:
family history group today,havent been for several weeks,and after spending a lot of hours researching after that visit to Newcastle,I havent even unzipped my bag in almost 2 weeks.just too distracted to focus.
I do intend to sort out some coins for the credit unionI think I may be able to put in £40. My savings for Sealed Pot and coins end at the end of October. That was the main reason I came on MSE,to save for Xmas and get my finances in order. Seem to have done very well,too bad so many other parts of my plans turned to manure!:rotfl:
Off now to sort dinner,(roasties,carrots and beef casserole),then I will wash up,mop kitchen floor,hoover the downstairs and sort my family history stuff out for the 3pm class.Afterwards I need to go down the hill to Tesc* for potatoes and butter. Probably end up buying more stuff,but will try to restrain myself:) good to feelwell enough to go out after a week stuck indoors.

Hurricane Florence is sweeping in on the US east coast.Despite numerous warnings people refused to leave,and already in one place 150 people are begging for rescue,expecting people to risk their lives to come and get them out. One family had moved right up into the attic with only a tiny window and the rescuers managed to save them,but now conditioners are too bad for first responders to go out without risking their own lives.
I'm glad my stepson and the kids are well inland,and up in the blue blue mountains of Virginia,since the coast is braced for bad storms.He phoned to reassure us.Being out of a town area he has his own water supply and even a back up generator in case electricity goes out. But they are fortunately out of the main area under threat from Florence,which is a relief.

lonelyrat wrote: »

I'm exactly the same dusty. Re-discovered how much I love reading, at a time when I've been struggling. There is something about switching off and focusing on other people and other places rather than your own drudge (not that you get to switch off with Mr. Dusty and the courts So sorry that this is still ongoing.... I feel you are bearing so much stress of it all).

Been away from MSE for a while so had a number of pages to catch up on... Very sorry to hear about your various health woes, also about your scare with Mr. Dusty and the conversation that felt foggy. I for one would definitely try and go to the doctor if you can. I know it may feel demoralising after your last experience but it is something worth discussing with them I think.

So crazy about Florence... Mother nature is definitely scary. Glad your family are not caught up in it xx

Lovely to hear from you,Lonelyrat.I know you have had it very rough lately.Apologies for not posting on your threadbut the way I felt lately I would have probably joined you in crying,nd on top of the massive overeating,that would really put the lid on it.:D
This week we FINALLY got a copy of the ruling,where the court basically said that she had been almost a family member,had helped the family,had been an agent looking after the land,using her own resources to maintain the property for decades and as a result has at least a moral right to the property,and indeed to all three properties,so she can stay. Mr D is of course furious.he gave her a small property and house which she signed for in the presence of witnesses and the local village chief,and later repudiated,her lawyer claiming she is illiterate so its invalid. Later we actually built her another little house but she refused it on the grounds it wasnt big enough to keep her cattle.None of this appears in the ruling at all for our side of the tale.And it leaves all sorts of things hanging. If she has rights to live in the house,do we still own it. What if we wanted to sell the land?The house is hers,but does she have the right to keep her cattle - which have ruined the land for farming - there when our girls want to use it for growing food.
Mr D is determined to take it to the appeals court. He wanted the girls to go and do some planting to establish our rights,but they are terrified. He then told our lawyer to make copies of the ruling for the local chiefs and the police,so they shouldnt get arrested again,but the police said they wouldnt get involvedwouldnt act as protection,because the woman's friends beat up a policeman recently over something else and they dont want it to happen again.Unbelievable.
But Mr D is doggedly going on. He has asked that the latest chief magistrate clarify just what rights the woman,and us,have Our girls approached the judge on Wednesday,and by Friday Mr D was ranting at the girls as to why he hadnt heard of any progress.It could take weeks or months knowing the court system,and for the judge to find time for it among all his other duties,but MR Dusty is blinkered, he expects instant results. I got my head bitten off for trying to intervene,and we seem to spend all the time quarreling. Put on 5lb this week alone,the bingeing is totally out of control:eek:.
No wonder I am retreating into reading so much. 8 books read so far this month,with 6 more in progress.The more books I have on the go the more its a signal of me being distracted,unable to focus on a few reads,just restlessly picking up different books. But at least I am getting caught up on my various challenges.15 books left to read for my science fiction challenge of 80 books.112/144 read from my 12x12 on LibraryThing. 2 books left (both in progress) for my A-Z Authors challenge there.Only an author for ''O'' and ''U'' left. So something is going right.:D

Sorting out the finances for the next fortnight. This fortnight's purse emptying produced £4.89,and has been put in the pot.Besides I hope to have at least £10 for the credit union this week,and have lots of copper to be bagged and counted for addition soon,a few pounds a week,as the girl at the credit union isnt all that keen counting all the pennies,or 5 pences,so I limit them to £2 usually.:)Hoping to reach the £300 mark there.Its 6 weeks to the end of the Sealed Pot and £2 coin saver challenges.and I will probably have saved over £450 altogether in coins over the year,without even noticing!Will definitely continue saving coins,but probably not as a formal challenge.
Apart from that and my reading its been a poor fortnight. Less than a pound made on surveys.:( No progress on family history. Rotten health,both physical and mental. Mr Dusty raving all the time.And as for exercise,apart from a couple of shopping trips I havent been out for weeks and weeks.and the diet has nosedived to where I've put on a stone in a few weeks.Keep saying I must pull myself together,then I dont. Depresses me even to just read a few of the early posts on this diary,I was so happy,confident in my weight loss, in better health than in many years,even putting the diabetes into remission.Look at me now.:(
Enough of this doom and gloomI am off now to watch some mindless TV,as I normally do on a Sunday:D Actually,I mostly use the on demand channels,I always find something intriguing to watch.Was annoyed when Channel 4 On Demand channel closed down,and can only be watched online.I had dozens of items taped,but dont enjoy watching films etc on the laptop,picture is too small and the sound is too tinny. ITV Hub makes you check in every time with name and other details,tapping in letter by letter on the screen,it takes ages.:mad: None of the other channels have such a poor check in method,I've given up going there.
Thank goodness for BBC,so much varied stuff ,I always find something to watch.
Off now to develop my square eyes:rotfl: