Weekend of Simple Pleasures

This weekend was of those blissful ones where all the jobs were done and I had time to just do exactly what I fancied around the house - without spending anything.

So what did I do?

I weeded the veggie patch in the back garden (this is for salads, courgettes, beans and everything else that needs constant watering and picking. The longer term, less precious stuff is at the allotment).

 

I planted out some winter kale and some fast-growing summer cabbage under my improvised cloche. It's a tiny patch but I am already pleasantly surprised at how much you can fit in to about 8m squared of flowerbed.

 

I weeded between the courgettes and lettuce. I generally pick a lettuce three times a week, saves buying those pillow packs from the shops which last all of three minutes before turning to slime. Nothing bar the lettuce and radish has produced yet - there are miniscule courgettes forming now, and I can see the beans (french and runner) are in bud. There is flat leaf parsley, coriander and basil just about ready and perpetual spinach is nearly there too.

 

Next I went for a run. As you can see, the grass on the verges was glistening in the sunshine after all that rain on Saturday. Being out in the woods on my own (apart from the dog) in the fresh air was gorgeous.

 

 

I spent the afternoon with my sewing machine knocking out a few more squares for my Scandinavian inspired quilt. They are lovely but SO fiddly! It's going to be a long, long  process.  But with Glastonbury on the iPlayer, it was great to just methodically get on with it. Plus it is mega-satisfying when you finally iron the seams flat on a finished square and put them in a nice pile. Small pleasures!

 

 

And momentously, late in the evening after spending three hours in front of the X-Files, I finished my 'The Killing' tribute jumper!

 

(This is Sophie Grabol, for those who don't know, of the famous Scandi drama 'The Killing'). This was my inspiration:

 

 

Yes, my jumper is too small (I have put on two stone since I started it) and there was a hideous moment when I couldn't get my head through the neckline. But it has been two years in the making and I have had to unpick and re-stitch it so many times, you cannot imagine the joy I felt when I finished the final stitch!!

 

 

 

Now that's a UFO off the needles, I can move on to the socks pattern I bought to knit while I was in India, which unfortunately, I had to unpick...and start again.

 

So all in all, a weekend of small pleasures.

Bargainous Morning in Town

I had a few hours to spare today while LB went to the gym, so I had a mooch around my local town. In true frugal style, I am getting low on reading material, and since my days of ordering books on Amazon are long gone, I went and made peace with the library.

I say made peace - I have been avoiding it for ages because I stupidly ran up some hefty fines. The fines, along with the reservation fees on three books I am looking for, came to £8.50! Not frugal this month, but in terms of the long game this is a good investment, as I will be able to borrow books for free (or the £0.80p reservation charge, since our little local library is a bit restricted in its choice of reading material). Still much cheaper than £5 each at the supermarket or online.

It was a bit of a revelation - libraries are BRILLIANT, use them!

 

I just drifted from shelf to shelf, flicking through anything that took my fancy. It did strike me as amazing that we can just walk into these places, and for absolutely nothing (for responsible borrowers anyway!) walk out with several books to read.

 

They even have magazines to read - if I didn't work, I could spend hours in a nice comfy library soaking it all up - for NOTHING! I will definitely be using the library much more, and came out with two books I have had my eye on in the shops for ages, which will keep me frugally entertained.

 

As it is payday, I treated myself to a snoop around the charity shops too. Now, while I am totally in favour of charity shopping, I think to reap the benefits, you have to be really strict with yourself. Before I went in, I braced myself and promised only to buy something that a) I need b) that fits perfectly and c)I am really sure about.

 

 

 

I was a little seduced by the silk Boden top for £4.50, but it was a size too small. It fitted - just, but in truth it was a bit on the small side. The thought of what it cost new (at least £35 I would guess) was very seductive, but it would have contravened rule b). So, rather than promise myself I would 'slim in to it' I put it back on the rail. I did however buy the dark denim skit, barely worn, from Oasis and a really good fit. I can wear this in summer or with tights and boots in winter, so at £4.50 I think it was a good find. I can't say I went out with a denim skirt in mind, but the random nature of charity shops does mean that you have to be a bit open minded about what you are there for.

 

A fairly expensive morning then at £13 in total, but a miniscule payday splurge compared to days of old.

 

 

Payday Budget

Ahhh, having had 24 blissful hours of a full salary in my bank account, it's time to get rid of it so I can't spend it!

This month, I am clearing the rest of my debts:

Riverford                          £88.00
littlewoods                        £77.58
Boyfriend for holiday       £175
Total Debt Repayment: £428.58

Gone! Lingering debts that stressed me out, GONE! I can honestly say for the first time in many, many years - I don't owe ANYONE ANYTHING!

You will also remember, I have committed during this frugal apprenticeship, to devote £600 a month to the cause of saving up for the course of my dreams and achieving some financial stability. So, after debt repayments this means I have £257 left of the £600 to devote to savings. Will this be the month of reformation, where I not only achieved debt freedom for the first time since I was 18 (it's a LONG story) but also manage to keep something in a savings account without caving and drawing it out when I run out of cash mid-month?

I am giving myself a fighting chance. I have a savings book for a building society which is not on the highstreet of my hometown, nor in a drivable radius of where I work. I opened this account in 2005, and a flick through the pages reveals the extent of my good intentions - three months of saving £65, which I then withdrew in one lump - and that's it. The fact that it is a passbook account with no local branches means It is going to be very hard to get at anything I save in that account - just what I need. I may also ask LB to hide it in the safe, to be doubly sure. But this is how committed I am to getting myself financially stable.

After rent, dog insurance, dogsitting, food (£150), phone and charity donations, I am left with a fairly generous £139 in 'spending money' for the month. I will live like a king compared to some frugal bloggers I know, so my infant saving career is hopefully safe for now! Anything surplus will of course be diverted to frugal causes - I could do with a little cushion in my account for sort-term savings, so I will still be keeping an eye on the budget and trying to claw back from the food budget if at all possible.

Right July - lets do this!

End of the Month Yay!

 

Yippeee! It's the eve of payday, and I am pleased to announce that I did it - this month, I stuck to my budget (after a little re-jig) and paid off:

 

£637.50

 

of debt!

 

 

To be honest, it's been perfectly fine - I've been away once, I've been running several times, got loads done at home and it has been a perfectly restful, relaxing month. The allotment has never looked better. I haven't had a single takeaway, but have made pizza at home instead, and it's been fine.

 

Can you do it every month? I'll soon find out, but at the end of my first month of frugal living, I can say that I really can't understand how I managed to spend £600 on a 'normal' month, with absolutely nothing to show for it! Why on earth didn't I save it instead?! Nothing I could have bought this month with £600 would be worth the feeling of paying off debts - or of sticking to my goal.

 

 

 

Part of the success of this month was removing choice - by taking away the temptation, having paid things off at the start of the month, the money physically wasn't there to spend.

 

Next month I have approximately £450 of debts to clear and the remainder of the disposable income minus allowance  is going in my savings account. Savings, imagine that! It will no doubt be tougher not to spend when I know the money is technically 'there' if I am invited to something really exciting, or see something particularly bargainous in the shops. I have a cunning plan to deal with this and will explain, along with publishing next month's budget, very soon.

 

Meanwhile, I am off to smugly bask in my success for an evening.

Solstice

We decided to celebrate the solstice with a night in the camper and a walk in the midsummer sunshine.

Although we were near to Avebury, we didn't make it to the stones - too crowded and no parking. But it was a day spent under the sun, in an ancient Wiltshire landscape with all of the trappings of Midsummer:

Blue skies. meadow flowers and sweeping views of cornfields ripening nicely.

 

Broad beans getting there.

Summer hay ready to be stored for winter.

 

Canal-side hedgerows showing signs of fruit forming.

 

Ever wondered what a white horse looks like up close? Bit of an anti-climax!

Sheep fattening up on the lush grass.

 

Giant hogweed (I think?) in all it's glory.

 

We were walking for ten miles in total - utter bliss soaking up the 'midsummeryness'. Total cost was £6.50 for two pints in a canal-side pub - we took a picnic. This could have been avoided by making do with our cold drink - but still not bad for a whole day out, and within our budget.

 

Great day!

Allotment Goodies

It's been a quiet week of content frugality, training for the half marathon and work. Every day that passes is another day I feel that I have under my belt and another day closer to a payday where I have met my debt repayment/saving goals.

I spent a blissful afternoon on the allotment on Sunday and we are still scoffing the results - 1kg of strawberries which we have been eating for breakfast with natural yoghurt. We have also made rhubarb stew mixed with some leftover stewed apples in the freezer, which has been a sweet treat for dessert - the apples were quite sweet anyway and we like the tart flavour, so eat it chilled without anything added.

 

 

The small salad patch at home has kept me in lettuce and radish for work lunches this week. I am keeping a running total of the financial rewards from my allotment, and compared to the price of bagged salad, I recon I am saving quite a lot.

And the patch of poppies that emerged at the allotment, which I left to grow (didn't even sow them) are looking stunning.

So a quiet week as we prepare for a weekend in the camper for the Summer Solstice. A frugal one of course!

Spending Disaster - Pocket Money Update

Oh dear, it's been an expensive few days!

So, my spending money budget was £83. I added £10 to this by not having to pay the dog-sitter on one occasion unexpectedly. This took it to £93. As my food expenditure, even with the fruit and veg top-up, was £50 under budget, happily my 'pocket money' budget rocketed to £153.

Spending until yesterday was just £20.40.

I caved at the college canteen and hoovered up a coffee and a banana at £2.70. How could I have avoided this? I could have taken a flask and my own fruit - it was just bad organisation. I will do next time.

I then was called in to the technicians office as the Hydroponics unit I ordered six weeks ago had arrived, and I needed to pay for it - £45. £45! A local company specialising in home hydroponics came to college ages ago to do a talk. I vaguely remember expressing an interest, but had forgotten all about it.  Needless to say, this is a bit of a disaster for my spending money budget!

Back at work, I had the usual panic about Fathers Day - I am totally eschewing the expensive presents that we seem obliged to buy, but do think a card is required. So, on to Moonpig and £3.61 later, a personalised card is on it's way. Not sure how I could have avoided this - made my own? I don't have any materials, so buying them would have been more expensive than the card I suspect (it included postage).

I consoled myself that I had planned a frugal evening's fitness activity - I met a friend for tennis at the local courts, which are free.

I really enjoyed it - it's been so long since I have played but it all came flooding back - and I am SO sore today, so it must have done me good!

However, I am sorry to say that I then took my friend to the pub for a drink, as I lost - cost £5. How could I have avoided this? We could have gone back to hers for a cup of tea. Or sat in the sunshine with a bottle of squash in the park to cool down. Or won the match so she had to pay! I will do one of these three next time.

So all in all, a catastrophic spending day - of my £150 spending money, I have spent £96.71, and have £53.29 left until the end of the month. I really need to rein it in for a while - I have no plans for the weekend other than jobs in the house/allotment, study and running. It is amazing how quickly the coffees and drinks sneak back under the radar.So I hereby impose a spending BAN until next week, Thursday 19th June.

Does Frugality Make You Fat?

Days since last spend:  0

For a while now, my backside has been getting bigger and bigger. Not helped by all of this frugal food – pastry is cheap, muffins are cheap, pasta is cheap, homemade bread is cheap – but it is all wheat based. I need help! I did consider Slimming World – it has worked for me in the past. £5 a week for meetings is a lot – but I could just about afford it. However, over the cost of a year, that is £260.

 

Once upon a time, I used to run – a lot. I have done four half marathons in my time, and each time I have lost at least half a stone – sometimes more, just by virtue of the training involved. Of course, I could always just run for the fun of it – but this is not as much of an incentive as having a race to train for. Even more of an incentive if that race is in my hometown, and my competitors are the people I went to school with.

So, I decided that the entry fee of £20 would be a good investment, and much cheaper than paying to join Slimming World. As I had the space in my budget, I decided to go for it. And I can feel the motivation working already.

 

 

Last night, I went out for my first run in months, and just managed 3 miles, thundering around the woods like a T-Rex. It was HARD! But, I came back in an excellent mood, skin glowing and happy, if tired. I slept like a log too, for the first time in months.

Best of all though, my run was FREE! I train using the Nike+ App on my iphone which you can download for free. I find it great for running training, the GPS is excellent, as is the ability to upload stats. I need to shave at least a minute off my time to beat my PB, but I have three months to do it, so that's fine.

 

 

I do need to shift some weight too, to speed myself up - a stone and a half should do it. A weight-loss conducive diet (which is basically high-protein, less wheat) is difficult to do frugally, as meat and fish is relatively expensive. However, I have plenty of fish in the freezer, so on no-run days I can jazz up cheap fish like Basa and Coley with herbs and spices (such as thai red curry paste and pesto) and eat it with vegetables.

 

 On run days when I need extra fuel, I can have my sourdough or quinoa porridge for breakfast, a vegetarian risotto or a pasta salad for my lunch. My meal plan allowed for meat or fish every other day, so some days I can eat chops, sausages or minced beef meatballs with some nice sauce and 'vegetable spaghetti' (courgettes julienned).

 

I will keep you posted with the results! But as frugal hobbies go, I think it's a winner.

 

 

Ta Daa...Extremely Frugal Project Reveal

In the last few weeks I have been working on a project. This seems to be the way to go if you want to keep your spending down...just make sure you are so busy you don't have a moment to miss going to the shops!

LB and I are lucky to have a campervan - this beast, a Fiat Ducato:

It is not a sexy split-screen VW, but frankly I would rather have a loo and the extra space. We try to make sure we go away in it at least once a month, and now that I am saving, this will be a cheap way to keep life interesting (if it passes it's MOT - keep your fingers crossed!). Diesel is expensive though - it costs £100 to fill up, so we will only be taking it out locally this year. That's OK though - living in Wiltshire we are surrounded by gorgeous countryside, and any time out of the house in the fresh air is still a great break.

The van formerly had two very narrow single beds, but LB's dad and uncle have recently very kindly converted this to a double for us.

This means we needed new cushions as the formation of the mattress was slightly different to the previous two.. LB's dad treated us to some foam, but it was down to me to make the cushion covers. I know from previous experience that upholstery fabric is expensive, and a cursory eBay search revealed the cost would have been approximately £60. Not frugal!

However, I found two pairs of floor length curtains on Freecycle - red, to match the rest of the interior, and lovely thick corduroy fabric. Perfect! They were faded in a few places, but I made sure I cut the fabric around the faded patches, so you would never know.



Then I spent several evenings and most of a weekend bending the sewing machine. Thank god for BBC iPlayer, even if I am busted for watching EastEnders! I am no expert with the sewing machine, but it really is as simple as cutting out panels the same side as each face of the square foam cushion (plus 2cm seam allowance around the edge), pinning the seams, and sewing them together.

I had to leave a seam unsewn to allow me to stuff the foam into the covers. Leaving them stacked up in the Living room meant I couldn't procrastinate as by this point I was sick of the sight of them.

(Might have stacked them on top of the dogs bed...oops!)

Then started several evenings in front of the TV, of pulling the seam tight, pinning it and slip-stitching the seam shut. I could have gone for zips, but that would have blown the budget. If I really do have to wash these covers, I can always unpick and stitch them up again.

Ta Daaa.... finished:

I know it may look like these are the wrong size from this photo - however, they all fit together like a jigsaw to form a perfect double bed when the wooden slats are pulled out.

 

They aren't perfect - I can see a wonky seam from here, but they will do just fine. They mean we now have use of the campervan back, and all for the princely sum of £1.55. the cost of a reel of black cotton and my time.

 

Now that's what I call frugal.

Sunday Mooching

In one of the rare periods of my life where I have been on a fitness kick, my food and exercise app had a function 'no. of days this stretch' meaning, number of days you had been tracking food and exercise on the app.

 

I think this is a great tool, so from now on I will be tracking 'days since last spend'. Excluding planned expenditure, which I can't control or avoid, such as planned grocery shops and bills. I had the most frugal weekend, and haven't spent a penny since my coffee at Wisley on Wednesday. So...days since last spend...5!

 

So, about the frugal Sunday.

 

 

It started with baking my sourdough loaf, which had been proving overnight - straight out of the oven, with butter, melting slowly it was HEAVEN! If being frugal is enjoying simple pleasures, this was definitely one of them.

 

Then it was down to the allotment to plant out pumpkins, squash, leeks, fennel and some perennial flowers to grow on.

 

 

I also did some weeding. The potatoes are coming on nicely.

 

 

Red cabbage is also growing at a pace.  But best of all...

 

 

Strawberry season! These beauts are the first load and they were amazingly juicy and sweet. They weighted in at 400g (not including the few which didn't make it home!) - which in Morrisons cost £2. I will have them chopped over yoghurt and cereal for breakfast or just as a snack. I have added these to my allotment tracker (see the tab at the top of the page) as this year I will be keeping books to see whether the allotment is cost-effective. I would do it anyway as I love it - but it will be interesting to see whether it is a net gain or net drain.

 

Then, in frugal fashion I dyed my hair myself. I can't claim this saves me massive amounts of money as I have coloured my own hair for as long as I can remember. Once upon a time, when I had credit cards, I spent £70 each time on a cut and colour. But my hair is brown - to be honest there really isn't much point in paying someone to do it when you are putting brown on brown! (Just a better shade of brown you understand). 

 

I squeezed in a little self-learning (more about that another day) and spent the last few hours watching a film - this was a fantastic Scandinavian thriller (I just LOVE Scandinavia, did I mention) which the boyfriend ordered from LoveFilm. This costs £9.99 a month and we watch at least six movies a month, so it works out at £1.66 per film. If it was coming out of my budget, I would probably just watch TV films instead, but LB loves his movies and he pays for it - fine with me.



 

So for a total spend of nothing, I have had a really relaxing, satisfying weekend with plenty to keep me busy. Result!

Not Going Out...But OK With It

This is my first frugal Saturday night in since I turned over my frugal leaf. LB is away this weekend, so I am indulging myself with a weekend doing exactly what I feel like...without spending any money.
 
Some of the best things in life can be frugal...I enjoyed a blissful lie-in this morning, starshaped in a bed all to myself. I am not telling what time I rose from my pit, but it was double figures! Bliss.
 
 

 
Then I treated myself to a blissful frugal fry up. No bacon, but I have vegetarian leanings anyway, so a couple of veggie sausages was perfect for me. This cost me a grand total of £1.15  (Eggs 32p, v. sausages 40p, mushroom 20p, tomato 10p ketchup 3p) and as I didn't have toast it was perfect without filling me up too much.
 
Then, I took myself and the little doggy out for a romp around the woods. I am very lucky to live on the doorstep of the Longleat estate - beautiful pine forests.
 

 

There is a schnauzer in there somewhere.

 

 

 

The sun was shining through the branches, birds were tweeting and there was that lovely forresty smell.

I came back after an hour in a great mood and feeling really blissed out.
 
Did several loads of washing which dried in no time in the sunshine, and got a sourdough loaf on the go. Then got my on-going project out... 
 

 

This is a quilt I started last year  - not very frugal as it uses rather expensive Scandinavian fabric (which I LOVE). However, I bought this years ago, so it won't cost me anything more than time now - making it a good frugal project.

 

 

And with the i-Player and a glass of wine (Lidl - surprisingly fine!), it is actually a really relaxing night in, with something to show for my efforts.

 

 

I really like the 'pinwheel' effect, although it is painstaking stuff as the blocks come out really small. My last quilt took me five years to finish - this may well be the same as I don't get a whole evening to do it very often. That's fine with me though.

 

Now I think I will retire to the living room to watch some gratuitous period-drama while I have the chance! A totally chilled out day and I didn't spend a penny - result.

 

 

Bi-Weekly Shop and Meal Plan

Well, yesterday I did the first of the new frugal budget bi-weekly shops at our local Lidl.

Can I just say – what a fantastic shopping experience. Somehow, because the store is smaller, you can see over most of the shelves and there is less choice, it was just so….EASY. I don’t want twenty brands of conditioner to choose from, it just bewilders me. I don’t want to work out whether the BOGOF offer I am presented with, is cheaper than just buying the cheapest brand. I don’t want the cuddly, squeezy marketing stuff that makes me feel like a supermarket brand is supposedly looking out for my best interests. I just want reasonably priced, reasonable quality and acceptably ethical food. I have to say, Lidl had all of those. I may be late to the party, but I’m converted!

 

Our bi-weekly shop (excluding milk and fresh veg top-up for week 2) cost £86 – this is all food, toiletries and cleaning products. I know that  same trolley would easily have cost £120 in Morrisons. I had budgeted £150 for this so I am well under budget and it will work out about £50 a week with the top up bits. It was so cheap, I even managed to buy a few things to make the frugality a bit more exciting, like parmesan cheese, black olives and wasabi peanuts. How Ed Milliband met with such uproar for claiming his weekly shop was £80 I don't know - if he shopped in Lidl I think this is quite realistic frankly!

 

Armed with this bounty, I came home and made a meal plan. You would think that planning before you go and only buying what you need would be more frugal, but actually no – I went with a rough idea, but other frugal bloggers suggest seeing what is cheap and then planning when you get home. Having this list means I don’t have to think about what to cook every night.

In the next fortnight, we can look forward to:

 

Dinners

Quorn and cauliflower homemade currry padded out with vegetables, poppadoms and rice

Home made chicken kiev, salad, homemade coleslaw and few homemade chips

Pepper and courgette fajitas with kidney beans

Homemade pizza x2 nights

Venison sausage casserole with jacket potato or mashed swede and cabbage

Homemade meatballs with pasta and tomato sauce, broccoli

Beef, port and mushroom slow-cooker stew, cauliflower cheese

Goats cheese, pea and mint (or whatever else is around) risotto, sprinkled with parmesan

Spicy tomato and sardine pasta

Prawn green thai curry with rice

Grilled minty lamb steak, mash and veg

Pesto pasta

Fishcakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce and mint yoghurt dressing

Homemade falafal and salad

Omelette, chips and mushy peas

Quorn mince lasagne

Leftover veg pancakes with cheese sauce

 

Lunches

Leftover quorn and cauliflower homemade curry

Tuna and mayo jacket potato and salad

Cheese and bean salad wrap

Leftover venison sausage casserole

Leftover beef port and mushroom slowcooker stew

Leftover goats cheese, pea and mint risotto

Leftover spicy tomato and sardine pasta

Leftover prawn green thai curry

Leftover falafal and hummous with crudetes

Cheese and spinach frittata/quiche

 

Breakfasts

Eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms

Sourdough toast

Cereal and Yoghurt

Homemade banana muffins

Homemade apple and cinnamon muffins

 

By the time I got home, it was late, so I shoved a previously made and frozen portion of veggie lasagne in the fridge for us, which we ate with leftover salad – which took all of ten minutes to prepare.

Going to the shops, even if it is just to pick up a couple of items mid-week, is an invitation to accidently spend £30 and this is where our budget has accidently spiralled out of control in the past. By buying in advance I hope that I have removed this temptation. Now time to batten the hatches for a fortnight!

 

 

Super Cheap Super Amazing Day Out

Today I had a great day out on my college field trip to the RHS Wisley garden in Surrey. The weather was shite, but I still had a great time indulging my horticultural urges.

 

 

The first thing my group did was head straight to the coffee shop. My muffins and home made coffee were a distant memory at this point (it was an early start and a long drive!). But a friend who wasn't able to come, and who asked me to take some photos for her, gave me a £5 voucher to use in the café, so I had a coffee and huge slice of cake.

 

 

Ask, and the universe delivers!

 

 

 

After some more mooching and a tour of the orchards, the heavens opened, and all thoughts of a picnic outside went down the drain with the deluge. We all piled into the nearest café...this time an organic sausage restaurant. This was difficult - I could have spent £4.50 on a hot dog so as not to offend anyone by eating my own food and I came close.

 

I figured that there are always going to be times like this, when spending money is an easy way to avoid an awkward situation. But if I did that, I would be putting off reaching my goal to basically fit other people's expectations. On the other hand, the owner of the café needs to make a living and isn't providing, cleaning and heating an indoor picnic site. So I compromised. I bought a black coffee for £2.35, declared to the group that I had already made my lunch and brazenly ate it at the table. Nobody looked, commented or threw me out and it was perfectly fine.

I stayed away from the bookshop and plant centre (SO much temptation - why do it to myself?) and the whole day out cost me a grand total of  £2.35 (which came out of my spending money budget).

Thus proving to myself that I do not need to spend lots of money to have a great time.