August Financials - In and Out and Frugal Notes

 Income was the usual State Pension, County Council spouses pension and interest on savings + £21 for books sold online - Son and DiL took them away and added them to some they had to sell.

image from google freepik

In August there was only one known extra expense............ the half-year bill for water/sewer costs, which was a big ol' lump of money - as expected. Despite using less than the last half year, the unit cost and standing charges have gone up, so the bill wasn't much less than in February. Looking back a few years and this is one of the things that has gone up by a large %. I don't mind paying for water - but object to this....

"Essex and Suffolk Water operates as a water-only brand of Northumbrian Water Limited, itself a subsidiary of Northumbrian Water Group. Rather than standard performance bonuses, the parent group's remuneration committee awarded Chief Executive Heidi Mottram a massive £1.5 million retention package structured over five years (£300,000 annually until March 2030), designed to sit outside regulatory performance-related bonus restriction."

I was quite peeved to get an email from E&S Water saying they will repair loos that are using too much water for free....It cost me £200 to get mine fixed in February.....why didn't they tell me before!

Outgoings...........

Direct debits for Council tax, phones and broadband, charity and the variable monthly electric bill plus that Big sewer/ water bill and just one fill up of diesel for the car came to £548.

Other expenses were for odds and ends including the window cleaner, more sunflower hearts and Nyjer seed for the birds, dishwasher tabs, postage, a new loo brush, toothpaste, antiseptic cream and when I spotted small saucepans in the middle aisles of Aldi for just  £3.99 it seemed like a good idea to get one. When I moved here I only had one saucepan suitable for the induction hob so I bought two others and they were a Lot more expensive than £3.99!

Personal spending was more than recent months included the outing to the ceramics festival with the garden cane topper, a new pair of slip-on indoor sandals in the sales ready for two years time when the ones I'm now wearing wear out,  a new puzzler book, a couple of second-hand books from abebooks and the car-boot and book sale books.

Food spending wasn't too bad - just under £100 for food at home, plus coffee out twice, both instead of breakfast and taking YD and EGD for a Sunday lunch out.

A few penny pinchers as usual.

• Courgettes from the garden
• Cooking apples from garden into freezer
• Tomatoes, cucumber and peppers from greenhouse
• Aubergines from greenhouse made into a pasta sauce.
• Gifts of runner beans, pears and windfall cooking apples from Keep Moving Group friends
• Bread from bread machine as usual
• Reading library books for free
• Finding a few books from boot sales
• Peeled, sliced and blanched a few carrots and popped in freezer when I found 'yellow sticker' pack for few pence but already had some in use.
• Saving bits of bread crust into the freezer ready for making dried breadcrumbs
• 15% discount on dishwasher tabs for regular order.
• Started saving peels, cores and other odd bits of fruit in the freezer ready for the next batch of compost jelly.

Looking ahead to September and there are just two known extras - one is DiL's birthday and also Amazon prime which covers postage. 

Last Saturday of the Month

Awful, awful scenes of devastation in Nepal and Tibet. The speed at which that water and mud tore through the valley and so many people missing in one of the remotest places in the world. A tragedy on a huge scale.

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One of the disturbing things I've heard this week was about the number of people going to hospital  A&E this summer for help with  simple insect bites and stings. Apparently this is common (and it's not counting the people who are stung in mouth or eyes or allergic and go into some sort of  shock - obviously they have to go). Of course everyone who shows up at A&E has to be treated, taking up hours of time. Seems many don't know that antihistamine cream or  tablets are available at the pharmacy and usually all that's needed. 

Reminds me of the one time we were in A&E and there was someone there who had fallen and grazed a knee. She came in with 3 drunk friends! The drunk friends were made to wait outside but the grazed knee waited for ages - frequently going in and out to smoke and chat with the friends outside-  before giving up and going. They would have seen her but she was way down the waiting list as  they never turn people away.

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The fruit-bowl has the first of the windfall Falstaff Apples and 4 pears from a friend

It's been a good week in Mid Suffolk, I've seen many more people than usual. 15 at the Keep Moving group which is a good turnout. My sister popped in on her way back from getting her eyebrows done (we are so different! my eyebrows haven't been plucked since I was a teenager and it's not something I even think about). 

Friends from Essex visited one afternoon, they always bring me a jar of proper home made marmalade, which is delicious.  They make lots each January from Seville oranges (A. has more patience than me! I cheat with the ready prepared tin of oranges or lemons.) Although apparently there might be a shortage next January  as Spanish Seville orange trees have also been affected by the excess of summer heat.

Then BiL came round to help me get the sliding door back on the greenhouse. Managed fairly easily with two pairs of hands and him getting down to see what was happening with the bottom runner.

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 Rain and thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday didn't materialise at all and Thursday's forecast wasn't right either - just a shower in the morning and another couple in the afternoon and warm in between which dried it up very quickly and then yesterday was really hot and sunny again until another shower in the evening. Maybe there'll some rain today and tomorrow - but not a high % chance. Everywhere is still brown and frazzled.

And now we are around to the Late Summer Bank Holiday weekend.... seems like about 10 minutes after last year!, but it means it's the annual Flower Festival and mini fete at Crowfield church, which I go and visit due to them always having lots of secondhand books for sale.

Have a good weekend, I'll be back Monday with the end of the month financials.

More Food (Not a Haul!) Shopping

 It seems this has become a regular thing...............unpack..............take photo........put away.

There was one purchase between the last shop and this one as I went to the nearest Co-op for the local 'Lane Farm' sausages .......but although they had their bacon they didn't have any sausages, so I got the other local pack 'Taste of Suffolk'...........which I could have got in the village shop although they would have cost me more. I divided into 4 x 2, wrapped and put in freezer without thinking about a photo. They were £3.29 for 400g.

 I'm odd because I buy the cheapest of cheap bacon (£1 bacon bits from Asda) but wouldn't dream of buying anything other than good local sausages.

Aldi had so many gaps and absences on their shelves that I had to go to Asda anyway even if  I'd not been going into town and needing to get my £1 parking fee back. 

Most noticeably missing at Aldi for the last two visits has been their decaf ground coffee and wholemeal bread flour.

From top to bottom. 4 Pints milk £1.65; rice £1.25; 400g extra mature cheddar £2.45; Asda Wholemeal flour £1.45; 2 x Asda decaf ground coffee @ £3.50 = £7; 6 white rolls 45p; 2 peanuts £1.18; Ham trimmings 400g £2.49; Carrots 37p; 1Kg nectarines £2.35; Head of calabrese 86p;

Total £21.50. 

Running total for month. £24.79 +£37.81 + £3.29 + £21.50 = £87.39

I very rarely buy meat but I do like ham but these packs of bargain ham trim don't often have a long date, but they did this time  so made me 4 main meals and, with the bread rolls, 4 other ham roll meals. (The bread from the bread-maker makes lovely toast but not so good for sandwiches)

That Asda coffee is £1.01p more than Aldi's when they last had some, I think it's something that has gone up in price a lot which is maybe why Aldi didn't have any. Last time Aldi had wholemeal flour it was 89p so the Asda is 56p more.

This shop was done last Saturday and I've done no food shop since but I may well make some scones today and buy myself  some clotted cream for a Bank Holiday weekend treat again......it's become a 'thing'!