As I get paid on the 3rd week of a month, and I do my weekly shop on Saturdays only, I'm slipping this one to complete the month.
I bought a few more seeds this week but not a big shop and that was it. When I checked what I had spent on various seeds and other "non essential purchases", anything I had saved from not paying council tax and water rates has been cancelled out. However, I still have £100 slipped into the flexible savings from my January pay (with back pay) which will go towards my plot rent with a little over for the usual stock up of compost and fertilisers so I'm happy about that. I have one more month of no council tax so will put that into the flexible account.
Last night I called in at the chippy for a fish supper ... no excuse this time other than before driving home I had counted all the loose change in my purse and found the exact amount I'd need - there's just 3p rattling in my purse at the moment LOL.
Despite my original list of sticking to a basic shop, as I entered the supermarket the gardening display is now being promoted ... so I had to briefly peer at the shelves as I pushed my trolley by and my eye caught packs of labels for a £1 - as I grow lots of different varieties as part of projects and experimentation, I do go through quite a lot so 3 packs went in the trolley. After that a bit of fresh meat and frozen fish to restock my freezer and then the usual shop. I was non too pleased to see the till total £37
I checked the till receipt and yep, all correct.
On my way home, I called in at the filling station - last week I deliberated whether to top up the tank with petrol (at £1.34p per litre) but as the traffic had been light due to half term, the tank was still full. I would have to fill up some time next week as the tank rarely lasts 3 weeks so it needed to be done (otherwise I'd have to call at my nearest filling station which is a lot more expensive) - fuel now £1.38p per litre!
Still, I was amazed to find the cost was lower than my usual 2 week fill probably due to the reduced traffic the week before. However, I foresee the traffic problems getting worse as the phase 2 tram works and the widening of the A453 (from J24 off the M1 into Nottingham) will have a big impact on my fuel consumption in the coming months
This week my kitchen lights finally died - for some reason one by one, the 3 halogen bulbs in the fitting went and then the last one went pop. Luckily the kitchen is just a partitioned area of the dining room (with a wide arch as a door) so I was able to use the dining room lights to see but it was frustrating to walk in the kitchen and automatically switch the light on, groan, and then have to walk back to the other room. So this morning I had a look at replacement low energy bulbs - I needed one with a wide screw thread fitting and after looking at the selection of various bulbs, I finally selected a LED bulb with a supposed 60W illumination but was only 4W. It cost nearly £13
but with its almost 25 year claim, I suppose it would last my lifetime. After screwing it into the fitting, wow - amazingly bright (or have I just got used to the gloom LOL - the other bulbs used to be 100W) So I think I will probably invest in 2 more to complete the set (each light is directional so one for the work top, one over the sink and the other for the cooker) - not frugal buying but hopefully reduce the leccy bill in the long run. I was interested to note that some LED bulbs can be dimmed which would be great for my dimmer lights in the living room as the other low energy bulbs do not work
So overall, how did I do in Frugal February?
1) Only 2 weeks out of 4 were chippy free Friday night suppers - but I wasn't well one week and was a necessity.
2) The chilli project has meant getting several seeds and I never do things by half, not to mention investing in a heat mat (about a tenth of the price of 2 equivalent propagators) and the battery LED lights weren't that effective although they can be used elsewhere. They weren't that expensive anyway so not bank breaking. I bought a shiny new gardening tool but I'm sure it'll be worth its weight in gold if I don't need to keep bending down to do the weeding. Other than that, I think I've been fairly restrained with just a bag of onion sets and shallots for planting in spring, and oh yes, forgot about the strawberry plants (but free p&p and on special offer). Despite looking at polytunnels over and over again on various websites, I've held back from buying - I think part of that is due to cost: it's one thing spending £10 here and there but when it comes down to a larger expenditure, I have had to give it more thought but I'm definitely getting one in the next few weeks.
3) The hair conditioner switch has not been that clever but I've persevered not using the Pantene and amazingly even done a couple of hair washes without and had no flyaway hair so that must be on the plus side. Not the biggest saving I admit.
4) Meals have been fairly frugal using up veg in store and the plot, with most stuff out of the kitchen cupboard and freezer, and one day I even had a free dinner with a load of cooked new potatoes for another 2 dinners worth so that meant just reheating with whatever. My £15-£20 weekly limit could not be achieved as prices have definitely gone up for basics. I didn't think I had spent more than I needed to so felt that my goal was probably unrealistic.
5) Downside - I've had to have the heating on a slightly higher setting due to the chillier weather this month, plus the additional lighting and using the new heating mat for the chilli project.
6) I haven't attempted to sell anything on e-bay - I really need to have a sort out of stuff and just go for it. However, I have been seriously thinking of having local plant sales in the coming months as quite a few people have expressed an interest so I will make an effort to get a little extra income coming in.
I voted: well I tried as I have been careful as can be and I did say that my downfall might be the gardening side. Financially I'd say I'm even with not much in the way of saving but no worse off either.
I hope they do well for you. Which varieties did you get?
