Tuesday 30 June 2020

End of June - Was it Thrifty?

I don't know what the weather was like yesterday where you live but here is was horrible, really cold and windy especially in the afternoon and evening, although it was good for drying a load of washing and I cut a bit more hedge - mainly vicious brambles sticking out into the garden and nettles at the bottom, but didn't stay outside for long after that.It looked like rain all day but not a spot fell so it was dreadful to see the big floods in Cumbria - what a difference in weather we have on our small island, no wonder we talk about it all the time.

This is a boring post, it's more for my records really.....sorry! Not even a photo to cheer it up

June should have been a low spend month with only the electric bill over and above the regular stuff and everything was going so well until the visit to the vet to get Polly's annual flu etc vaccination where they checked her mouth and decided she needed a tooth out. It was a shock to find out how much it costs to take out a cat's tooth. It would have been cheaper to get a new cat from Cat's Protection or even 3 new cats!! Cats in my life up to now have been "farm cats", loved, looked after, fed, taken to vets when very elderly if necessary but not treated like cat royalty. Polly is the first to have so much spent on her. Ho Hum!

Other spending was the normal direct debits for Council Tax, phones and broadband and charity. Then I bought a 5L refill of Ecover Non-bio laundry liquid.......it will last ages. The electric bill was much the same as this time last year, which is good considering I've been at home all the time.  Odds and ends like toothpaste and paracetamol .Also spent on having the massive settee throw cleaned.
And books - of course -  secondhand when possible - and many more than usual!
I don't need any more childrens toys or cross stitch kits from ebay but  found something else that is often very cheap as a 'job-lot'............. greeting cards. I  cross stitched a few at the beginning of lock down but then moved on to the owl scissor cases for gifts and plan to do sunglasses cases and more lavender sachets for more small gifts,  from ebay I bought a bundle of childrens birthday cards with the age badges, which will be handy as I think children like them better than a home-made card.
Nothing spent on the garden except £5 worth of petrol for the mower.
I've been buying the Saturday local paper during lockdown, partly for the weeks TV schedule and the puzzle pages but at £1.90 a time it soon adds up so I may drop that. My sister in law will save all the puzzle pages for me from every day's East Anglian if I have time to carry on doing them once things are back to normal.

The thrifty bits

Cut my hair myself again - a saving of £16
From the greenhouse and garden..........Rhubarb, cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, courgettes, aubergines,rocket, tomatoes
Sold some books - £13 from Ziffit
£4 Co-op divi.
£5 Morrisons More voucher
Didn't go far so only £16 worth of diesel put in the car
One takeaway of pensioners Fish and chips for £3.50



Not thrifty
After the heat of the last week it seems strange to say that it was so cold in early June that the boiler was needed for a bit of heat mornings and evenings.
Having to use metered water for the garden before it rained.

Every time I say next month will be better because there's nothing due something always happens. So best say nothing about next month at all!

Back Tomorrow
Sue


19 comments:

  1. Not boring at all. I like your thrifty bits. June has been a very expensive month for us, so I'm not saying anything about next month either!

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  2. Definitely not boring. June has been mega-expensive with the work on the house and I need to be very careful through July, I really do.
    xx

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  3. The weather is certainly weird. We had our heating on 3 times yesterday just till it switched off by itself.

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  4. It most definitely isn't Summer! I have also had the heating on, just a few minutes in the morning, and in the evening. So be it, I don't want to get cold.

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  5. I've just done my round up, it helps keep everything in focus to have an end of the month post. I can always find something I need for the garden through the summer months.

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  6. It's been a good month I have had only monthly bills and shopping(my daughters done) I have not been out since early March so no little extras like wool or charity shopping. Hazel c uk 🌈🌈🌈

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  7. You're so good Sue, Mike and I have spent extra money, me on books and plants, him on CDs and non acholic beer, which he found on line.. and you cut all that hedging, wow. Mike did our one, at the very bottom of the garden but its not regular hedge but a mixture of shrubs, trees and holly. Next door who is a gardener helped as he has an industrial sized hedge cutter.so we are tidy for year. We're gardening slowly and keeping going with veg. and just getting on with this strange life.. visited where your daughter works last Friday as an emergency as I had an eye injury which was awful, he's such a nice man.

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    1. Everyone who works there is nice! Ally is usually off on Fridays. I'm glad you got seen and sorted very quickly. I still go there for regular check up even though I'm miles away - trying to keep her in work!

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  8. Have you explored the PressReader service offered through the library? Where I live we have it too and I read the local and national papers that way. There is no cost, it's just part of what a lot of libraries offer now. https://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/services/pressreader

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  9. Something always crops up doesn’t it...I hope puss knows how much she is loved! Let’s hope July shows up with moderate heat and washing drying gentle breezes. No sideways rain required. No hailstones either thank you very much! It really is amazing just how much we manage to spend each month without even setting foot outside the door to spend it...it comes...it goes...just like the tides really. x

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  10. It's not boring at all, it's interesting to a lot of us. If we all keep tabs on what we spend it really does help to budget.

    I am hoping to keep spending to an absolute minimum once I'm back at the Van. This years site fees were paid in December, which gets me a reduction of just over £100 pounds well worth doing when you think about how long that money can last me for food. The electric bill will be there, but that is always under £20 for the year, once that and the share of the rates is paid that will be it except for gas bottles, fuel and food.

    Fingers crossed Suky stays well because like you say it's the pets that can cost us a fortune, if anything goes wrong.

    It's cold here too and yesterday wind blew down all my Lilies just as they'd opened up :-(

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  11. I find the same thing. The moment I say 'well,next month will be a low spend month' something always crops up. It poured with rain yesterday and this was not in the forecast, so no gardening done, better today though.πŸ™‚

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  12. It is amazing to me to see all the cool weather so many in the UK have been having this summer! We are having temperatures in the 90's F here which is typical for summer. But I do know if anything in this world is unpredictable it is the weather!

    It sounds like you have had a thrifty month for the most part. There will always be unexpected expenses such as Polly's tooth extraction. I hope you have a nice week!

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  13. Well I think you did quite well. I am just glad that we were under budget by a small amount this month. I hope to make it a larger amount next month.

    It is very expensive to have a cats tooth pulled isn't it.

    God bless.

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  14. Poor Polly, but I am sure she appreciates being treated like royalty :)

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  15. We have had to have the heating on several times too, strange weather for strange times.

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  16. We have definitely overspent again this month: over budget on food and a costly consultant's fee (£273) You have done well, Sue, Polly had to be treated so unavoidable expense there. Hope the weather calms down a little for you.

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  17. I can't remember how much longer you have to manage until you receive the state pension. I hope not too long. Roderick

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