Five Frugal Fings

1.  When I retired, I got a lump sum which I decided to save rather than splash out on ephemeral 'treats' such as a world tour or a posh new wardrobe of clothes or . . . whatever.  Some of it went into Funding Circle (peer to peer lending) but recently FC stopped allowing lenders to manage their own lending so I'm gradually withdrawing the money as it comes back to me.  Last weekend I withdrew some, added some to my current ISA and opened a new ISA too (Dad manages it and he is all for diversification - spreading it around).  I know it's maybe a wonky way to talk about being frugal but one of my aims is to make the best of what I have got and it fits that bill.  It's long term savings so won't be touched in the next while unless for a dire emergency and it's certainly a comfort to know it's there.
I'm useless with that sort of mathematical thinking so I'm very grateful that my dad manages the funds.
Now I need to make better use of my current excess income rather than just letting it sit in short term savings.  One step at a time though!

2.  I've started prepping the garden for this year's food.  It'll be the usual - strawberries and runner beans, plus I'm really hoping that the blueberry and the tayberry will bear fruit this summer too.  With the former in mind, I ordered a small fruit cage that's just the right size to be able to pop over the blueberry planters as blueberries are most attractive to birds and I don't want them to get my harvest.  I'm also umming and ahing about a gooseberry bush - I wonder if they like planters!
I got going in the garden yesterday and sorted out the strawberry bed, including dealing with all the runners.  Usually I just ditch them but this year I dug them up/clipped them off and potted some. 

I've worked out that I've potted up around 44 little plants.
Now, even if only half actually survive, I have enough not only to plug any gaps in my own bed but also to start a decent strawberry bed down the allotment.  After all, you can never have too many strawberries, can you?

3.  I've continued to use leftovers or even leftovers of leftovers!  They do develop flavour overnight, definitely, and it's such a satisfying feeling to know it's been used rather than thrown away.  I also concocted a very nice stuffing recipe (nothing unusual, but tasty) which I will use again.  And I baked some more bread.  I used to bake bread every weekend but just recently I haven't been eating nearly so much.  I love baking bread so it's a sort of investment in the soul as well as financially saving.

4. Sara from Frugal in the Corner did a post about refreshing your home and she said: 'It doesn't have to cost anything or for you spend precious money on things.'
She's right and I've been investing my time in my home (and garden) this week by freshening up rooms, sorting out piles of stuff that I was too lazy to put away and generally making everything look more welcoming and friendly.  All it costs me was time and a bit of effort - a good investment, I reckon.

5.  This isn't really me being frugal but I was so pleased.  I've had to go down a size in tights and had two boxes of the bigger size unopened.  Except that I didn't, one box is the smaller size which I must have bought by mistake.  So, with five pairs in a box, I have plenty to keep me going now before I need to buy any more, three cheers.

What are your Frugal Fings this week?