Saturday 10 November 2018

Frugal in Suffolk, Low Spend November, Strictly Come Dancing, Swimming and........

.................I didn't get a speeding ticket (twice)...... Phew

Long post - no photos - Sorry!

 5½ years ago I started a blog called "Frugal in Suffolk", I called it that because there was Frugal in Norfolk, Frugal in Derbyshire and some other Frugals too.  It morphed into The Quiet Life in Suffolk and The Cottage at the End of the Lane.

Things are very, very different now, but underneath I'm still Frugal Sue.
There have been big expenses since we moved here and there is still half the kitchen costs, the new hot water tank and the water pipes up the lane to be paid for but I'm keen to get back to frugal roots, so I'm going to start doing frugal notes again, I want to carry on being frugal in some areas so that I can spend in others!

Belated Frugal notes for October

Enough apples, pears and autumn raspberries from the garden to have two servings everyday all month until the 25th.

Eating beetroot from the garden every day

Strained the cider vinegar and it looks and tastes like ..............cider vinegar!

Still mixing milk half and half with water.

Made birthday cards from stash.

Found some small gifts for Christmas presents from car boot sales and a Christmas gift for Willow

Collected more secondhand books for Grandchildren's advent parcels

Used paint I already had to do the downstairs bathroom

£18 worth of books sent off to Ziffit

Repaired greenhouse staging at no cost

Made chutney with home grown tomatoes and peppers.

Used home grown apples and some of the home made vinegar for  Cranberry and Apple Chutney for Christmas Hamper.

Low Spend November ( Ha Ha Ha )
 For the last few years I've always tried to spend as little as possible in November except for fuel, food, cat food and Christmas things. It's a really good month for me to do this as there are no utility bills due. I can't do a spend nothing challenge because leaving Christmas present buying until December would make me start to panic! I'll be keeping a close check on money going out, so I can spend on some special treats without guilt in December................ Good Plan Me Thinks! (all due to me  having a strange yearning for a snow globe!)

So Far - after 9 days.............nearly one third of the month...................

Cat Food  £11
6 Boxes of Choc Biscuits for Xmas presents (on offer at Tesco) £15
5 Boxes of Bicuits-for-cheese for presents £10
Other Christmas stuff £2.50
Food £14.73
Other inc. birthday present  for Youngest, car park, charity and other Direct Debits+ bathroom stuff £71
Diesel £30 for one car

BUT then I blew the budget by treating Son, DIL and DIL's sister to the firework display last Sunday (£16 )and starting volunteering at a charity shop where I found all the  useful things.(£4.80)

AND I had to get the fog light glass repaired on the car after discovering it had mysteriously got broken - another £42

ALSO  I'll be getting the BIG bill for the new hot water tank. The work was done over the last two days and I can now fill the washing up bowl with hot water in record time and I also have an immersion heater (which never worked) as well as the Solar Thermal panels on the roof and the oil boiler. However (there's always a hitch) when the heating man got everything running he found that because of the strange configuration of pipes in the boiler cupboard he now had valves on the wrong pipes so he is coming back Tuesday and will have to drain everything all over again. He was ever so cross with himself for not noticing - I was just resigned- there's so many odd things here.

Maybe I won't be doing low spend November after all! Doesn't look too hopeful does it?

Strictly Come Dancing
I'm loving Strictly Come Dancing this year, not because it's any better than other years although the chance to see completely new dances is fun, but because it nicely fills the empty hours of dark Saturday and Sunday nights. And I've enjoyed finding out about people I knew nothing about - like Stacey - who doesn't sound at all like someone who's travelled to war zones around the world and met some frightening and some interesting people but she really has.

Swimming
Haven't mentioned it lately but I'm still swimming once a week at an over 50s session. First time I went in May I struggled to do 4 x 20 metres, now I can do 20 x 20 metres with only a couple of pauses. Problem is that the pool is getting busier, it's only a small pool so it's difficult to swim without having to avoid people all the time.I've got 4 swims left on my 20 swim discount ticket.
then I'll get a new one as it's such a good saving.

No Speeding Ticket
Weeks ago I said there was one of the speed check camera vans in a village on the way home from swimming and I might have been going 34mph in a 30 zone. Well no letter arrived. Then Blow Me Down, a couple of weeks later there was the van just  a couple of miles from home in a 30mph zone on a quiet back road - never seen one there before - must have been so boring for the person behind the camera  as it's a Very quiet village road, (12 houses and a field!) I was only just over 30 mph, I'd slowed down as someone was pulling out of their driveway ahead - but you never know. No letter again. I'm being more careful close to home now too!


Back Tomorrow
Sue

38 comments:

  1. Our low spend November isn't turning out to be quite so low, either! Things have a habit of cropping up, don't they? Well done on avoiding the speeding tickets, husband amazingly got away with it too last month (he really should know better, he's already been done for speeding 2 or 3 times, grr). I'd never heard of Stacey on Strictly either, you're right, who'd have thought she has such a dangerous job. I really like her, she's so down to earth, and so funny.

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    1. I shall start voting on strictly soon to help make sure Stacey keeps in for as long as possible

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  2. That WAS a long post!!!
    I like Stacey too and she has the advantage of bnot having had dancing experience before, unlike some of the others. I'd love her to win but you can never tell.
    There's always something or other, isn't there, but most of your expenses will are good/helpful things, one way or another. I don't mind them quite as much as the other kind.
    I'm really looking forward to your frugal posts - I love reading frugal posts.
    xxx

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    1. Don't get too excited about the frugal notes - there might not be many!

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  3. They recently made loads of roads near me 20mph in addition to the existing speed bumps. I don't have a car at the mo but I can imagine that it is not easy to keep to that limit all the time in our souped-up modern cars.

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    1. There are 20mph limits around all the schools in Suffolk which is fine except for school holiday time with not a child in sight!

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  4. It seems whenever I hope to have a low spend month some unforeseen large bill always crops up (e.g. car battery, computer fix) and makes a mockery of my plans. Happy you managed to avoid tickets from the speed cameras so far. That is an expense we could all do without.

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    1. I really must be more careful with the 30mph limits in all villages as it might be third time unlucky!

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  5. With hubby home we are not spending much, but I am keeping the heating on most of the day, last thing hubby needs is to catch a chill. Still reeling from the cost of parking whilst hubby was in hospital for 12 days, even with the discount voucher it's still crippling cost.

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    1. Parking at Ipswich wasn't too bad as the did a special ticket for cancer patients (£3 for 10 visits) but Addenbrookes was pricey although they also did a special discount for Oncology outpatients.

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  6. I love reading frugal posts as I am always trying to save money.
    I would love the Strictly winner to be Stacey or Lauren. I think Faye Tozer and Ashley Roberts have a very unfair advantage.

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    1. The frugal posts might not be as good as they were once!

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  7. That was a good post today Sue and I’ll enjoy reading your frugal posts. Your house has had even more things needing done that ours did 30 years ago. I’m trying to make some handmade gifts too for presents but mine will be sewn rather than cooked. Looks like it’s going to be nice here today so some garden tidying may be in order. I’m enjoying Strictly this year and hope that Kevin could finally win this year with Stacey who is such a revelation considering she truly has no dance background.

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    1. There was no sign of the things that would go wrong when we looked at the house - although we probably still would have bought it because of the lovely quiet location. No one in the lane knew the water company didn't own the pipes - it's the most annoying thing of all the work

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  8. I keep on top of bills and I try to keep the cat food topped up when the big boxes of 40 sachets are £9 and their cat biscuits £4 and even found them in Sainsbury's the other day at £3.50, never seen them that low before. Other than that I am not very frugal but with the house a stitch in time saves 9 is my motto (17th century houses need a careful eye kept upon them) and I keep on top of "issues" as they arise with the help of my man who mends and fixes, and Summer is now over which is when we do that. Other than that I don't buy things which is probably the best way to be frugal without even trying!

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    1. Polly is getting fussier with food which is really annoying - the problem of having one cat on their own - no competition

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  9. Car service and MOT! Thought it was going to be about £250. Nope, almost £500 as we also needed 2 tyres:(

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    1. I'm finding car stuff expensive as Col did almost everything himself. Even Tyres he would often source online and then just get the tyre company to put them on the wheel.

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  10. I'm like you Sue, I would panic if I had to wait until December to do my Christmas shopping. Was in TKMaxx last week and they had some gorgeous snow globes.

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    1. Don't think I can get to Ipswich and TKMaxx for a while - bet they'll be gone by then

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  11. I am more or less like Rachel - I like to keep on top of things otherwise they just sit at the back of my mind all the time. I think we all have 'issues' from time to time and, of course, when we live alone there is only us to deal with them.
    As to Christmas I just put odd bits of money in a special bank account over the year when I have spare and then just dole it out at Christmas - I just can't face shopping any more.
    I too am enjoying Strictly Sue - for the same reasons as you. Also I do think the standard has improved and I too love that introduction of Contemporary. Looking forward to it tonight - and also to the Festival of Remembrance - my first husband was a Prisoner of the Japanese and I especially remember him this weekend although he has been gone twenty six years now - it was a very happy marriage as was my next one.

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    1. I can't watch the poppies falling as it makes me cry

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  12. I always make a point of watching or recording Stacey Hooley's documentary programmes - she is a great, daring, and courages reporter.
    Glad the speeding tickets never arrived.

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    1. I hadn't even heard of her but will look out in future. I've watched some now on catch up online

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  13. I remember your frugal posts because that is when I 'found' you and carried on reading, not because I am particularly frugal although I don't spend for the sake of it, but because I liked your style of writing and how you were managing to do this, envying in a way your lifestyle.

    I always tried to keep on top of things when I was 'in charge', but my husband is now the one who sees to things. He doesn't always do them the same way as me, but somehow he gets things done, maybe not on time, but no disastrous consequences so far and I have learnt to bite my tongue on many occasions. He is doing his best, bless him.

    I'll be looking forward to your frugal posts, it will be like old times.

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    1. Frugal but without the smallholding! Might not be much to write about

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  14. That was a nice newsy and interesting post. Being frugal is in the blood isn't it, no matter how we go away from it for a little bit we come back refreshed and get on top of everything again.

    Maybe just give up on a low spend November and have a No Spend January instead. It'll be hard volunteering at the charity shop without giving in to temptation ... but you could try :-)

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    1. If I want to buy me a Christmas snow globe I'll definitely need low spend January........the good snow globes cost more than I thought!

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  15. I like your idea of being frugal in some areas so that you can spend in other areas. We all need a few treats.

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    1. I try not to waste money anywhere so have enough for what I need

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  16. I always love your blog Sue, I especially like your long post today.
    Really admire the way you are getting on with your life and keeping busy, I know some days it must be hard.
    Keep on posting, I enjoy every one, even though I don't often comment.
    Looking forward to your frugal posts, there is always something to learn from others, a tip or different way of doing things.
    Best wishes.
    Pam in Texas.x

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  17. How do you cook beetroot please and what do you eat it with? Someone gave me two long beetroots this week and I'm not sure how long to cook them for. Many thanks to anyone who can help.

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    1. I just boil until soft. Peel Then keep in a box in the fridge with just a little vinegar ( I don't like vinegar much) and shake the box everyday, I eat with my sandwich and salad lunch every day as purple food is good for us OR they are delicious peeled and cut into chucks and roasted and some people grate and eat raw ( Not me!).

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    2. I do the same. Boiling until soft takes about two hours. I then let them cool, peel and slice and cover them with vinegar. I don't mind vinegar so mine get lots. They are then eaten with salads or I sometimes have beetroot sandwiches. I eat one lot of boiled beetroot a week.

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    3. Thank you both so much. I will cook it tomorrow and enjoy!

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  18. I love reading what others do in the way of thrifty things. Very inspiring thanks.
    Arilx

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