Thursday 16 February 2012

Frugality In Action.

Firstly let me say, Hello!! to my new follower - Flourgirl. Thank you so much for visiting! x

Being frugal is an every day occurrence here at W Towers it has to be, to keep to budget and pay back those darn credit cards.

I feel on top of paying everything back and I can see an end date now of December 2012 when I will be debt free, perhaps even earlier when the commission starts flowing again. It makes me feel good to know that I am taking action. I do have bad days when I feel like it is taking forever, but the truth is it is not. "The End" as they say "Is Nigh".
In order to fulfil my goal, I have to ensure that every day thrift is adhered to. I have had 2 No Spend Days is a row, and I feel good.
When I do spend money it has to be on items that will last and are good value.
Tuesday, I bought that cooked chicken for The Chap and I to have. I served it with tinned peas/sweetcorn and the last of the potatoes I bought a couple of weeks ago. Ok, as romantic meals go, it was not the best but it was cheap. The chicken I got reduced for £3.25 and in the end it has served up 4 chicken dinners and there is another serving which I froze for another day. Plus, I boiled up the bones for a good hour and hopefully at the weekend I can make soup. Hmmm, tasty and frugal 5 meals and soup. I reckon that means that the meat has come in at 46p per meal.

I also bought whilst at the supermarket a bottle of own brand caffeine free cola for 60p and a bag of white strong flour for 60p. The food budget for Feb now is down to £15.47. I need a few things and am planning to spend a lot of that over the weekend.

I do make sure now that whatever I buy lasts - I picked up a huge box of own brand washing powder at Morrisons over Christmas and whilst they suggest using 30g per wash I use less and so far my clothes come out clean, I also bought a small bottle of fabric conditioner, then decanted it into a larger bottle and topped it up with water. My clothes still smell fresh. I could probably do away with conditioner all together but when this bottle has already done me 2 months for £1 with still over half left then I can justify buying it.

I air dry all my clothes now and avoid the tumble dryer to cut down on electricity. However, I hate the scratchy towels air drying creates, so instead I air them over night until they are about 80% dry then bung them in the dryer to fluff them up at the end.

I would have liked to do so much this week after work - bake bread, ironing etc but the truth is my family and The Chap came first, deservedly so. My sister has dropped off my nephew with my parents for half term week, at 3 years old he is a bundle of delight, giggles and energy so Monday, Wednesday and tonight I have popped round after work to spend some time with him, bath him and put him to bed. That, if you ask me is a joy. I am taking him out for the whole day on Saturday, and budget be blowed!

Tuesday, was valentines night and of course I spent it with The Chap. He bought me a beautiful card and a box of chocolates in a heart shaped box. I am so touched, no man had bought me chocolates before especially in such a lovely box. 

So, all those pesky chores have got put to one side and I will tackle them on Sunday when I have the time to do it. Bread making here I come.....

To sum up, being frugal this week has not been pesky, and spending time with 2 handsome chaps is never bothersome.

I have also made an extra payment off credit card 1, only £7.01  (such a small amount but it covers the interest payment for Feb and a couple of extra pounds too) I thought things were going so well this month I could afford it, plus nowadays it gives me more pleasure than visiting House of Frasier during my lunch hours. The result today and yesterday I walked round the block in my lunchtime, passed no shops and just felt pious for doing so.

Life really is good.
Frugally Yours
Abigail
x

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a lot of great times this week. Dont get discouraged about the credit cards. Paying them off is like walking on air, trust me.
    Worth the pain and them some. Some people have got in so deep they will never get out.

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  2. Simple pleasures are always the best. It sounds like you've had a great week. Keep walking round the block - good for your bank balance and your well-being.

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  3. Just wanted to say hello. Reading your blog, it sounds like you are doing really well - you should be very proud of yourself! Everyone has good and bad days but it sounds like you have a definite goal in mind and that you will get there. Look forward to reading more.
    Bee

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I really love reading all comments. So please tell me what you think. Abigail