End of June ..... The Round Up

My favourite month was a good one, lots of sunshine and warmth after the first week, the garden started producing and tennis was on TV.....what more is needed!

Now I've been here a year and got all the big expenses out of the way (until the en-suite rebuilding is done) it's easier to work out how much I need to live on - and it seems to be OK. My normal outgoings are less than my normal income........which is the right way round! That means that the down-sizing savings are available for whatever I want. It was definitely the right thing to do - and at the right time too. (I'll write more about about my reasons for saying that sometime)

My income was just the usual 2 pensions - nothing extra this month.

Normal outgoings were for food,  Direct debits for phones and broadband, Council tax and charity donation. Plus diesel - now costs me over £45 for half a tank full, a few months ago it was well under £30. I heard someone say that we shouldn't fill up our cars with fuel as it adds weight - and it's better to keep running it at about half full all the time. But after all the hassles there were just a few months ago with shortages I prefer Not to let it get too far under half full before I top up.(Saw the first diesel at over £2 a litre when I was out on Tuesday- what an horrific price)

 

Not too many big  expenses this month although having said I didn't want to spend anything else on the garden I forgot that a bill would arrive from the District Council for the Garden Waste collection service, as I've now had it a year..... £54.40p but a lot easier than taking lots of green garden-waste to the recycling centre which is 6 miles away and there's a limit to how much grass can go in my small compost bin.

The car was taxed - costs me nothing - How? because it happens to date from when that size engine was free to tax and we happened to buy it secondhand six months later ......... Just before the government changed things. A very good reason to hang on this car for as long as possible. Also had to buy a new container of widescreen wash. The rain during the month was very dusty again as well as lot's of dust off the road so I have to wash widescreens every time I go out. Typically the window cleaner came to do the house a couple of weeks before the mucky rain!

Personal spending wasn't too bad even though I've started swimming again - it's £2.50 a session so not a huge expense. I bought a phone cover for my new phone. I had a haircut - clippers again which is cheaper than a dry trim and much cheaper than having it washed and cut. Car boot spending was small with useful things for  50p each and books also 50p each.

I made a big batch of Fruit Slices and Chocolate Cappuccino cakes and boxed up for the freezer- this is to stop me buying a luscious cake from the "Cake Lady" at Stonham Car boot sale on Sundays! Neither is frugal! Also made a tin full of chocolate biscuits for when the family were here(and then they were unable to come!) They aren't frugal either but at least they have no strange ingredients.

I'm still being frugal on the small things ..............

• Still baking home made bread
• Still mixing whole milk half and half with water
• Washing dried outside all month 

• Strawberries from the six plants in the pots on the patio gave me some everyday for nearly 3 weeks
• Strawberries from Brother in Law for jam
  
• 11 ounces of gooseberries from my one new bush here (into freezer for jam with the strawberries above)
  
• Cucumbers from greenhouse from mid month
• Courgettes from garden also from mid month
• Beetroot from 24th onward
  
• Reading books from my shelves after running out of library books
• Pot of Basil for 67p made 7 plants.
  

 

Still moving stuff out of the house, this month it was  16 books, two little jugs that I no longer want to display, some CDs. and a storage jar all off to charity shop. Plus a book sent off to a friend. 

I'd better have a look and see what bills are due in July 

Back Tomorrow

Sue