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.