LLs Frugal February 2017

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Hi gets a bee and a small jar.
Bob
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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bikesandbirdsbob wrote:Hi gets a bee and a small jar.
Bob


LOL

Addendum : I tried to ignore the free p&p for Mr Fothergill seeds, then remembered Sweetcorn! That's definitely a crop I'll happily grow on the plot but will need fresh seed - I got the sugar enhanced variety called Incredible F1. Then I decided to also get some shallots called Picasso - I love shallots but the last lot back in 2013 / 2014 did not do well on the plot but these are supposed to be more reliable. I thought I'd give them one more go. And carrot seeds - I have been taking a couple of raw carrots to work as part of my lunch box, so maybe I should grow some. New variety to me called "Burpees Short n Sweet" - a wedge shaped variety good for heavy soils.
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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I was hoping my Saturday shop this weekend would be a minimal one .... The trolley didn't look particularly full as I was trying to be frugal and / or go for cheaper brands, or cook from scratch rather than a "ready" meal (to be fair, I don't ever buy ready meals (what I might refer to as tv dinners) but I might buy something like a pie that I can throw in the combi oven to go with veg, potato or rice, or a pizza for those days when I'm too tired to start preparing food) but still the total came to £39. And I don't have an excuse of buying cleaning products like washing powder. And on top of that, I needed to fill the car up - that came to £30 but at least I know it'll last 2 weeks. Just seemed like an expensive shop and yet I did write a shopping list

On the plus side, while changing the bedding in the hen house I found a little clutch of eggs building up that was not in the nest box, sneaky madams. I can use those eggs for myself (free food) but I now know where to look if the egg count is down again! Over the weekend, got another half dozen ready for sale.
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

Post by Grannyof4 »

£39.........that's nothing in my books. I do find I spend far less by shopping on line than going into a supermarket.
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Grannyof4 wrote:I do find I spend far less by shopping on line than going into a supermarket.


I'm reluctant to use online shopping for my groceries - but they are very handy if for whatever reason I've been unable to get out (illness, no car and so on) I think the last time a product was swapped (not too big a deal except of all the ones that could have been swapped for, I would have preferred none) and the time before that, the fresh produce was rubbish (like the person doing the selection picked the worst rather than the best because they couldn't be bothered)

Well, my frugal month is not being very frugal so far :oops: I feel as though I'm spending more instead of saving. This week my back and hips have really been plaguing me, even my knee and ankles started to hurt .... I realised that the shoes (trainers) I were wearing to work might have been responsible - I've not long been wearing them, maybe a couple of months. So I splashed out on another pair (actually the ones I wanted but they had none in stock the last time) Fingers crossed these work!

Next, bed linen - the sheets were becoming embarrassingly threadbare so more of a mini emergency LOL. I went for a bargain set which should be fine. And then I did a bare minimum grocery shop so it came to a total of £49 which I didn't think was too bad.

On the plus side, with half term last week the traffic on the road was very quiet - every morning I got to work in a fraction of the time it usually takes. And what a difference to the fuel consumption - normally I use about a quarter tank in a week but this week it barely left the full mark! I think what also helped is not giving my colleague a lift home (an arrangement I have with a retired colleague who comes in about 2-4 times a week and I drop him off "en route" home) Due to particular bad traffic and also bad weather a couple of years ago, I felt compelled to take him home rather than drop him off at the bus stop - yes, he lives in the general direction of my home but the long way round if you understand, with the worst traffic queues. At the time he asked for a lift about 6 or so years ago, the bus stop really was not out of my way and fuel prices were much cheaper so I poo-poo'ed him paying for petrol, but now, the journey does cost me. With him not coming in last week I got home a lot quicker too! I'm not really sure how to tell him but I keep hoping he'll finally decide it really is time to retire altogether (he's nearly 90 years old but is still able to do research and write papers on the subject which is how he has an honorary (unpaid) post to keep his finger in)

Last week I managed to sell 3x half dozen eggs so with money from sales from the past fortnight as well, I had a little cash in my purse - and decided to treat myself to fish and chips (actually, I prefer the battered fritters instead) on the way home from work on Friday. Wow, the price of fish had gone up since the last time I went there (about a year ago) - up from £3.80p to £4.70p yike* and the fritters from 35p each to 50p. No wonder the shop wasn't as busy as usual for a Friday night but still, they were well worth it )t'
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

Post by Freeranger »

A little off-topic, LL, but maybe you could go to a sports shop for your next trainers. They fit them to your usage patterns and gait. It might be a wee bit more, but what price comfort? Hope you feel a bit less sore soon.
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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I generally don't buy expensive shoes - from my experience it's not true that a decent pair will last longer and so worth it, but thanks for the tip. As it happens, the new shoes are making a difference. After resting up over the weekend and wearing the flat shoes, I'm feeling much better. The hips, back and knees are almost normal again )t'

Today is pay day )c( but it will still be another "tight" month. At least it is only 4 weeks until next pay day (as in 28 days) My subscription for the Ancestry website however, is due (today) - I had hoped a one year subscription would have been more than enough time to gather all I need to know but after a couple of hiccups, I'm still finding out new things. Just yesterday I discovered something curious about a 3x great grandfather who married his "cousin" (not quite as eyebrow raising as you might think - they were not related by blood but by marriage. After his father died when he was an infant, his mother remarried. He later married the daughter of his step-father's brother. Which means that although I'm not a direct descendant of the step-father, I am related to him because of his niece (my 3x great grandmother) and his parents - I know, it sounds very complicated. It certainly took me a while to unravel all the bits to find the story) At the moment I'm in the process of bringing all that information together, making sense of everything as well as copying bits of the original records and pasting them into a document. It's taking a lot longer than I thought it would (only about a third way done and already up to 50 pages) hence I think I will still need another year's subscription.

My next expenditure will be in the coming weeks when it is the sowing and growing season. On the plus side, the monthly saver I started a year ago using the money I saved after paying one of the mortgages off has finally matured with interest and in a saving account )t' I'll try to leave the money as long as I can but I suspect I'll be dipping into it later in the year - I suppose the upside is that there is money there which I wouldn't normally have had if I hadn't decided to start the saving account.
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Mo
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

Post by Mo »

I don't suppose the savings account is earning much, are you starting a new saver and trickling it into that (you can always drop the monthly payments down to a minimum if you need to)
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Unfortunately when I bought the car, the monthly payments were at the very limit (if not a tad over) of what I could afford. I reduced the Monthly Saver standing order payments to the minimum which was down to £25 just to keep the saver going for the last 4 months of the contract so I wouldn't lose out on the interest, and put the rest towards the car payments. It might only be £25 a month, but every penny of that needs to go towards the household bills now as I have been struggling to keep on top of things since buying the car. Especially as I'm also expecting my council tax to go up as well as the water rates, insurance and so on. And whatever cost of living rise I received in November, I can't say I've noticed an improvement in my income (I'm at the top of my salary grade (again - there were only 3 points on the new pay scale I got it back in 2014) so unlikely to get any more.

The Monthly Saver is automatically closed after the 12 months and the money is transferred into another savings account. I haven't checked the interest rates of that account but as you say, I imagine they will not be brilliant. At the moment I might need immediate access to the money so I can't tie it up into a higher interest account. I could put one off payments if I find a "surplus" building up in my current account but I very much doubt that will happen LOL
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Mo
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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I seem to remember you are with Nationwide, in which case the highest interest (on up to £2,500) is in the current account I think., other than the regular. I used to have a Loyalty acc but that earns less.
AH They seem to have changed their Flexclusive Regular Saver (news to me and interesting as I have one). 5% paid (but variable) can open with £1 save any amount £0 - £500 / month and withdraw as wanted. My FlexDirect current acc pays 1% (0% above £2,500) as I've had it more than a year. And my regular saver only gets .25%. So worth topping your current acc to £2,500 opening a Regular to trickle £500 a month in since you can get it when you need it.
A lot of the banks and BS let you make one withdrawal from their regular savers, but all the T&Cs are different - must be a SO or can put more than one in per month; can/ can't take out; carries on to the next year or closes and goes into a low interest account. I think I treat it as a computer game, trying to make my savings beat inflation
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Mo wrote:I seem to remember you are with Nationwide


no, not me - I've been with the TSB bank since I opened my first bank account in 1980 when I got my first job.

The 5% Monthly Saver is no more but they now offer a Monthly Saver at 2% interest rate. When the 12 months for the Saver is up, the money & interest is transferred to what they call an Easy Saver account (currently paying 0.25% Gross/AER variable including a fixed bonus of 0.20% for the first 12 months - I think that would work out at a staggering £2.25p interest for my £900 savings before tax. I hate to say it, but I think my egg sales are more profitable)

Mo wrote:So worth topping your current acc to £2,500


{rofwl} Oh Mo, if I earned enough to be able to top up my current account to £2500, I wouldn't be worried about needing the £25 to put towards my household bills. Even my gross monthly salary doesn't come anywhere close to £2500!
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Is your TSB current account the Classic Plus. That earns 3% on the first £1,500 so would be worth shifting your £900 into that until you need it.
Most interest rates are pitiful at the moment. It makes me mad that the government policy works against the savers and encourages borrowing, when it was lending & borrowing that caused the banking crash.
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lancashire lass
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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Mo wrote:Is your TSB current account the Classic Plus. That earns 3% on the first £1,500 so would be worth shifting your £900 into that until you need it


I just have the Classic account not the Plus. I hear what you are saying but I feel more comfortable if the £900 was kept separate from the current account so that I can avoid spending on it until it is actually needed.

Yesterday I did a big shop - not so much food but some other stuff including stocking up the chicken treat box (seed, peanuts, mealworms) and some bathroom stuff. I'm pleased to say that it came to below £50. And I also filled the petrol tank up - after half term, the traffic came back with a bang and the fuel gauge dropped quite quickly ... still, it only came to £24 so I'm pleased about that (the other car used to be an average £15 per week)

The downside is the subscription to the Ancestry website - due on the 22nd February, costing nearly £120. I checked my bank and my credit card (I only have 1 card) but there's no sign of a charge ... I can't think where else the payment came from but I still had access to the site on Friday. Perhaps it is just taking a little longer for the accounts to be updated.

Only a few days left of frugal February, but I am wondering on this occasion if I have managed to save anything at all this month {rofwl}
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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lancashire lass wrote: 26 Jan 2017, 13:07
So what happened in 2016 - my old banger decided to start playing up. I took the car to the garage but they claimed they couldn't find anything wrong - I may not be a mechanic, but I could definitely hear something that sounded expensive which got worse as the months went by. The car was bought in 2002 so I decided it was time to look for another - if the repair was going to be expensive, then it made sense to rather put that money towards a replacement car. I had looked at buying second hand but I couldn't afford a loan with the existing loan and mortgage outgoings! Believe it or not, it was easier to buy a brand new car with one of those 3 year deals (after 3 years, to keep the car you pay the rest off or put the car towards another new car, or simply hand it back) Decisions - a new new car or second hand?

It goes without saying that a brand new one was beckoning. I did a lot of research, looked at the various features - high on the list was economical, low CO2 (which could mean low or no road tax!), higher seat (I was having difficulty getting out of my old car that was low down) and a decent boot size for transporting stuff like the bags of chicken feed or stuff from the allotments and so on. And with it being new, I would save on the cost of the MOT for at least 3-4 years (the MOT is not expensive, it's the problems that are expensive!) Then it was a case of looking at car reviews and whittling the list down - in September were some special deals (for the new 66 registration) and I bought a Nissan Note which I just love )t'
Well, here's an old post to update. When I bought the car, I went for a 4 year financial deal (yes, it cost me more in the long run but the monthly payments for the 3 year were unaffordable) and ..... drum roll ....... )c( it is now all paid off. I was looking at the milometer the other day and after 4 years, it still only has 16 000 miles on the clock - I had many travelling plans in mind when I bought the car but with the combined bank loan and car loan to pay for, reducing car usage (CO2 emissions) and the ever rising petrol prices among other things, I found I was only driving to and from work, and a once a week supermarket shop. Along came the Covid lockdown and reduced travel to work plus keeping to local shopping, the car has spent more time on the drive than on the road. So in a way, Covid has contributed to being more frugal LOL

I still love the car even though it has lost that "new" smell, but at least it doesn't smell of wet dog this time round (and the back seat has only once had passengers so the upholstery is still immaculate) While one of the major routes to work is still closed (well, partially opened), I have been driving on the motorway to the next junction then down the dual carriageway to work, and there's no doubt the car was designed for driving long distances - it almost feels like it is effortlessly slip streaming down the road (so much so that on occasion I have to take my foot off the accelerator pedal because I've found myself speeding!)

And now with a little extra spending money available, I can start putting that towards paying off the bank loan sooner. And paying off the mortgage is a lot closer too ...
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Mo
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Re: LLs Frugal February 2017

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I listen to Radio 4's Money Box most weeks, and have heard that there can be problems with that kind of car deal, if they cause people to buy a better car and then at the end find it isn't worth as much as the outstanding loan. But you obviously didn't fall into that trap. You must be pleased to get that loan out of the way. )like(
I agree that old cars start being horribly expensive. I had one that was hit hard while parked, by an old chap who seemed really confused when we came out to see what the bang was. He must have been going fast on the wrong side of the road.
Ever after that the suspension on that side kept needing expensive work, then a friend detected another problem, not that I could tell, but if it developed it would have cost a fortune to fix. So I was glad to get rid of it. I was going for the cheapest, but a new Honda Jazz was coming out with helpful features, it spots the speed limit signs and can be set to limit speed to that. Other things like turning on and dipping the headlights, wipers. Automatic gears too, which OH would never have. So I could keep my aging concentration for the traffic. I was delighted with it, still am, first car I've ever liked. It came with a special offer on prepaid servicing for 5 years, which has just come to an end.
Like you I'm driving a lot less, hardly at all except when the the U3A walking group restarted and I went out with them once a week.

Are you claiming your tax allowance for working from home. You may have been saving money up to now, but heating costs will go up now the weather has turned. That's another tip (irrelevant to me) from Money Box. You get the £6 a week allowance even if you only work from home 1 day (MB said just 1 day in the year), no need to prove extra costs.
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