A sunny Saturday and a four mile bike ride - just up and down the quiet
roads. My next door neighbour was weeding out in the lane opposite her house when I left home and I stopped to talk to her .She said "Do you realise we are OK to meet and talk out here in the lane but if we moved six feet over into the garden it wouldn't be allowed" and we both agreed the whole thing was crazy!.
A late Autumn sunset on Saturday afternoon
I had been watching a soppy Christmas film on Saturday afternoon and at the end turned over to the BBC news channel just in time to hear that the election result in the USA had been called - phew, although lawyers were being sent out here there and everywhere to look for the "illegal/fake" votes. Hope the handover is peaceful for the sake of all my American readers, but I fear it may not be.
On Sunday I was invited to lunch with my bubble - and that's something that would have made no sense a few months ago! (and maybe makes no sense to anyone outside of England - but single people are allowed to meet up with one group of other people as long as the total isn't more than 6. My bubble is the closest part of my family).
We walked round their village after a roast dinner. The old soldiers were out on the green again for Remembrance Sunday.
New houses are scheduled for building in 3 places round the village, doubling the size of it. The Primary school has no room to expand and there is no doctor in the village, but all those new people will keep the bakery, Co-op, Indian Restaurant, pub and Post Office going.
Old Street will remain, however many new houses are built.
That was the weekend.
A new week and another 5 ways to save pennies or £s ....are they still relevant 7 years on from the original blog post?
21. Every time you come home put any 5p's you have into a jar. They are so small and
get lost easily, you won't miss them from your purse and they will soon
turn into a pound.
I still do this, but there will be fewer this year due to paying by contact-less through Covid, it's also not as much fun as it was because I used to trot into the bank and swap my 5ps for notes to buy Christmas food but now to stop fraud, money has to be paid into an account...... Why they think that someone coming in with a fivers worth of 5ps might be laundering stolen money I have no idea!!
22.Read your local and national papers in the library or persuade a friend or neighbour to save them for you.
Lots are online via the library now too. Here's a VERY annoying thing - Suffolk libraries are staying open through this latest lockdown for people to collect their reserved books or a random selection picked by staff BUT mobile libraries are stopped!!! I wonder if I can get my reserved books sent to a branch for me to collect?
23. Never buy notebooks for phone messages or shopping lists. Cut up
cereal packets or similar into neat squares and keep them in a little
box in the kitchen or by the phone.
This is easy to do. I keep a bundle of cut up card in the dresser draw to use for shopping lists and 'to do' lists and never buy a notebook
24. Grow something to eat - even one tomato plant in a pot can produce more than a pounds worth of tomatoes.
Grow-your-own saves me a lot of money
25. Never use 1st class post - get organised and post early with second class stamp.
Another penny saver that still works seven years on.
(Direct Debits for Council Tax, Phones, Car Breakdown Insurance,Charity Donation Total £260)
1st. No Spend
2nd Food £33 + Cat £6 + Diesel £18 + Printer Paper £4. = £61
3rd No Spend
4th Swimming £2.25
5th No Spend
6th No Spend
7th No Spend
8th No Spend
Someone asked "Why No Spend November?". It's been around in blogland for as long as I can remember and was a way to save some money for Christmas. All these various challenges are a very popular way to fill blog posts! I don't take it too seriously and wouldn't worry if there was suddenly something needed to spend on after all but if I was to leave all Christmas present shopping until December I'd be panicking so that's exempt for me.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
It takes me about a year to fill my Special Tin with loose change - now it will probably take two years as I simply don't go shopping with cash like I used to.
ReplyDeleteLove your sunset photo, it is quite atmospheric with that hint of mist.
I think the sunset photo will be my new header for a week or two
DeleteWe always save the envelopes from bills and letters to use for shopping lists. Afterwards they are useful for lighting the fire!
ReplyDeleteI like card rather than paper for shopping lists as I seem to have more chance of not losing it
DeleteSome great money saving ideas. However, No Spend November wouldn't work for me as that's when I normally do my Christmas shopping, plus this year because of moving all sorts of random things have to be purchased. We even have to get another blow up mattress as the removal company will take our entire beds away when packing the van. Last time we moved they did at least leave us a mattress and came back for it on moving day.
ReplyDeleteNo spend would never work with moving house!
DeleteVillages are no longer villages, but housing estates with a few amenities. Our village has a Spar, Post Office which also sells a few items of groceries, garage which doesn't sell petrol, pub, church, primary school and a doctor's surgery and lots of houses with talk of more.
ReplyDeleteI've been saving 5ps since they were issued, then I started saving anything under 50p. Now my husband has joined in as he is the one who does the shopping so gets all the change. He became keen when he saw how much we saved in a year.
It isn't only cardboard I/we use but any blank paper too. When there is enough I staple the sheets together to make a notepad. I'm afraid this doesn't stop me from buying notebooks as they are a weakness of mine.
There are going to be 3 huge housing estates around the village where son lives - it will be chaos through one little road where people have to park all down one side
DeleteMy old teapot has not seen much change being deposited in it this year with most of my transactions being contactless.
ReplyDeleteThese rules are so confusing, I honestly didn't know that bubbles could now be a household and a single person. Thanks for the info ... not that I know of any households I can join, both my sons already have others in their bubbles. Haha ... just a year ago we would have laughed at all this talk of 'bubbles'!!
Well I suppose we can still meet with our bubble - I may be wrong and get chucked into jail - who knows!
DeleteAt least if you were in jail you could save lots of money!
DeleteNo, you are totally right, I checked after reading this post. A household of a few people can choose to take a single person household into their bubble, and you can travel to visit each other.
DeleteI was in a bubble over the summer, when running my granddaughters [one pupil/one teacher] nursery school- but now back home with husband am no longer bubbling! The 'ok in the lane but not the garden' thing is strange. Like ASL above, I have hardly used any cash this year, so 'small change' is almost nonexistent. I've put any I've found lurking round the house into the little Marmite jar in the car, which holds money for parking.
ReplyDeleteI used contact-less for a while when shops were preferring it but reverted to cash as soon as possible in my one woman stand against the cashless society!
DeleteGreat tips and still very useful. We are in a bubble with our single parent daughter, as we help with childcare and other things. But we still try to stay away as much as possible because the children go to school and could pass something on.
ReplyDeleteDaughter in Law is very glad my youngest Granddaughter can carry on at Pre-school group to be able to play with other children as they can't play with other children in their homes.
DeleteDid you have a chance to hear Harris and Biden speak? Excellent speeches. I think though tRump hasn't conceded the nation is moving forward to embracing the decision. Biden is losing no time to make decisions for the transition. He's the leader we need at this time and some who voted for tRump will come around to see that.
ReplyDeleteI hope for a peaceful transition between now and January
DeleteThat is a striking picture of the soldiers for Remembrance Sunday. It is nice that you were able to meet up with some of your family. Thanks for more great ways to save money. It is amazing how if we just stop and think there are many simple things we can do to save money. I love your Autumn sunset picture!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use that autumn sunset photo for my header tomorrow.I love to save money in small ways so I can use it for other things
DeleteA wonderful picture of those fallen soldiers (or socially distanced perhaps?) Cardboard shopping lists are a brilliant idea - I invariably lost mine, until I started using the lists app on my phone. And since we have to (are encouraged to) sign in at every shop we enter, I don't forget my phone any more! You've reminded me - 40 years ago we gave a big pottery hog with wonderful tusks Money box as a "Wedding present" to a couple of gay friends (loooong before Civil Unions!) and they have always emptied their pockets into it, and dined out on the proceeds. They said it was a gift that kept on giving!!
ReplyDeleteI bet the wooden soldiers are a great reminder of those who perished in the wars.
ReplyDeleteI put all my change in jars at the end of two weeks and it is amazing how it all adds up.
God bless.