1. I did a post about skimming a short time ago and it prompted me to sort out my loose change jar. I only put coppers, 5ps, 10ps and 20ps in it and it took a while to sort but I have £13 bagged up and I am only 40p short of another £10 in 20ps so that's good. I now have to make the time to get to the bank to bung it all into my account and then, probably, move it sideways into my savings account.
2. I've been keeping an even closer eye than usual on my regular bank account this month. I get a bit nervous about going overdrawn. When I was married it was a regular state of affairs and it carried on into my single life for a while. However, I realised that it was creating a lot of stress for me, even though I didn't have any other debts (apart from the mortgage) so when a tax rebate turned up I used it to sort out the overdraft and haven't looked back since. So yesterday I moved just a small amount back into my everyday account, just in case as I have a bill to pay soon. If I don't need to use it, it will go back again! I just feel a whole lot more settled knowing that it's all covered.
3. I wanted something to read and nearly went on to Amazon to look for something. Luckily, I had a search through my Kindle first and found The Forsyte Saga. I've read it before, lots of times but I do enjoy it plus it is very long so there loads of reading involved. Much better than shelling out on something new.
4. In summer, inside, I go about bare footed but in winter my poor old toes do feel the cold. Before Christmas, I bought some slipper-socks which were lovely but developed holes in the heels very quickly. A blogger friend pointed me to Ravelry where there are loads of free patterns, one of which was more or less just what I wanted. I adapted it a little bit, found some Aran yarn in my stash and now I have two pairs of slipper socks with one more pair on the make. One pair on, one pair in the wash and one pair in the drawer - perfect. And now I've found the pattern I can adapt, decorate, tweak and generally make it my own, using yarn from my stash, with no need to buy expense slipper socks from the shop any more.
5. And a little one - I was going to have some second day soup today but, for very good reasons, didn't have it so it's now in the freezer, glammed up with a bit of leftover mash! That'll do nicely for next week when it's supposed to be getting colder again!
Great frugal steps. I'm hoping to put £1 a week in a tin ready for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteEverything helps, doesn't it? I think most of the battle is doing something regularly and 'protecting' it - making it a priority. You may not miss £1 a week but you'll certainly appreciate the £45 or whatever just before Christmas.
ReplyDeleteJ x
I have found some good books to download for free from the library. Have you looked on "Faded Pages," for vintage free books? We buy a lot from local charity shops when we are in town, 3 for £1, and try to remember return them afterwards.
ReplyDeleteNellieGrace