To Buy Or Not To Buy?

Is it still a money saving exercise to buy a coat for £20 when it is reduced from £45? The dangers of window shopping when you know you are going to be paid soon.
To think sensibly my mum would say it's not practical (no collar) and my dad would probably say I already own a coat (true, but I did see a granny wearing one the same which damaged it's style rating!) So really I only want to hear from you if you are going to encourage me to buy it!
If you are remotely interested this it it but in blue, the rules of shopping used to state I had to wait four days before buying something so I guess now I'm on super save I should at least double it! Meanwhile I'll hide all the coats in my size around the shop to waylay anyone else from buying them!

Here's A Cup Cozie In Action

I am most proud that they actually work!

I think maybe I should lurk outside starbucks for a Saturday, maybe I'd make some super sales.

Thanks for the pic Beccy.

Green Fair Roundup

I earned £2.83 per hour, I stood up all day, I spent till 12.30 the night before crafting.
It was worthwhile though, the stall looked fab,
I got to spend the day chit chatting with my friend Evelyn, I did sell some of my wares (all though the lovely Beccy and my Mum in Law did buy some of my wares so sympathy buys don't count!) and lots of people said our stuff was lovely.

Now we have masses of stuff we think we may do another, if nothing else to shift our remaining stock and as my mum said "think of it as being paid £17 to get a day of rest from your daughter".

Ten Pence Per Minute

Some people earn this. Others may pay it for their mobile phone calls. For me however it was the cost of relaxation.
I paid it willingly and along with aching thighs, crippled wrists, and a distinct lack of flexibility it was worth every penny.
I have been stressed lately, the sort of can't sleep I think I'm going to implode sort of stress. So I decided to blow a few quid on getting some 'me' time to see what effect it had and oh it was glorious. I felt so peculiar driving home that I think it was shire luck I didn't drive off the road and that was even knowing I had to chase home to fetch my daughter and take her to the doctors. Nothing was going to beat my hour spent focusing on breathing in and out, checking my feet were in line with my hips while twisting my body into some impossible position.
So will I be spending six precious pounds next week? We'll wait and see how much I ache tomorrow before I decide.

And Some More

My favorites, Cute baby bibs and even little tags to decorate our creations.

No Room For Writing

Today it is just photos. Of all the lovely things I have crafted.
What a busy bee I am.

Seven Days And Couting

It's exactly seven days till crafting deadline. We are booked in to do the Green Fair at 8am next Saturday and panic has hit.
Back in the heady days of the summer holidays I was full of enthusiasm for a stall packed to the rafters with Eco jewllery, up cycled home-wares and vintage trinkets galore. Today I spread my haul out over the dining table (much to Max's dismay, he is not a big fan of crafting) to discover a grand total of about twenty items, four of which were made by my mum! I think I will do well to make enough profit to treat myself to a cup of tea at the end of it all.
The trouble is time, or lack of it. On my days off from work my only free time is nap time (I can tell you attempting to make crafts with Martha's assitance is not easy) and during nap time I feel I should tend to my 'housewifley' duties of floor mopping and cleaning the bathroom and if you saw the state of our house you'd agree. So that only leaves evenings and weekends and there is certainly no more time or energy there. Combine it all with trying to cram five days worth of work into a three day week, cooking the odd nutricious meal here and there and getting a bit of down time and it's easy to see why I haven't managed to make much stuff!
Today I worked like a Trojan thanks to Martha's fantastic fairy godmother taking her out to be 'ladies that lunch' and tomorrow is another day and I plan to spend it all in front of my sewing machine or armed with a glue gun. Watch this space as tomorrow it will be so crammed full with cup cosys, peg holders, felted jewellery, baby bibs, coasters and clutch bags there won't be room for any text.

Today I want, Wait, I Need

I am feeling materialistic, will power is waning. Today, if I had the 'readdies' I certainly would have spent them.
My lust list encompasses everything from new socks and trousers, film for my plethora of cameras, new roasting and muffin trays, Croc boots for Martha, a nice dress from Matalan, a new DVD and a cleaner, or even better a butler crossed with a PA!
I think sometimes a lack of cash can make you want things even more, especially if you had a challenging day with your daughter which you only made it through with the bribe of some Disney princess knickers! (I know totally corporate and £6!!!!! but she's two and a half, a girl and they were mostly pink with sparkles and hearts on. They worked their magic and were worth every penny)
Maybe I should throw a swap shop party and offer out my decrepit wardrobe and possessions in the hope that someone decked in Zara clothes and with a wheelie trolley full of habitat belongings is looking for a trade!
In reality I'm hoping a trip to my local charity shop and a project from the Junk for Joy book with have the desired affect.

Fen Potatoes

This post is irrelevant unless you live in Cambridgeshire. If you do however, get yourself out into the fens in search of a sack of potatoes. If like us you are a potatoes lover (mashed, jackets, boiled, roast, saute, dauphinous, you name it I am addicted to them all) then you can save yourself a small fortune.
Sainsburys potatoes 2kg = approx £2.00
Fen Potatoes so heavy I can't lift the sack kg= £5.00

I always like an edible money saving tip.

A Month In Recession Re-hab

Apologies followers for the distinct lack of activity. It certainly isn't from a lack of money saving, it's more from a glut of money depression. Several days after my last post I had the embarrassment of 'transaction decline' in the supermarket and my weeks shopping had to be paid for from the savings account. I dared myself to check my online banking only to discover I was in the red. What's worse is it came just a fortnight after being paid, so the following two weeks was spent scrapping my petrol money together from the coppers pot, nicking change out of Max's trouser pockets and eating a mainly vegetarian and lentil based diet!
Grabbing my deerstalker and magnifying glass I scrutinised my spending to see what had happened and after the initial certainty that my account had been hacked and someone had spent all my money in Sainsburys, Clarks and the garage I realised that the cause of the cash flow crisis was actually a rather steep car repair (£110), some new shoes for Martha (£35) a night out with my new work colleagues (£30) and some generally rubbish account keeping. What it did force me to do was actually look at my spending and really account for what goes in and out. I noticed the fact I am still paying payment protection on a cooker for a house I don't even live in any more so that was swiftly canceled making me a whopping £1.20 richer each month.
My new job leaves me financially worse off than my old but I am definitley much happier with my work/stress/life balance so that's acceptable but it does mean for a while at least I am on a very tight rein so that new yoga class I was itching to start will have to wait and that mythical £30 a day we are meant to be saving may be a challenge!
As for general money saving we are doing well, rather than find us in Waterstones on a weekend we are more likely to be found stomping through the countryside with a thermos and some homemade cupcakes for sustenance. I am in the proccess of listing some items on ebay in order to make the money to buy the new camera I want and I have even resisted the jewelery making kit that I tried to convince myself myself I needed for the Green Fair 'craftathon'. I still have moments of weakness when I can be found making an online shopping basket at ASOS (only for pretend buying though) but on the whole perhaps I am a little less materialistic? Though I dread to think the sight that would behold if I got to do a trolley dash round Primark!
What I have been so warmed by is my lovely family who have come to the rescue and cheered us up no end. The Jone's and Blick's came en mass for a visit with a full on lunch (Including jacket potatoes and a pie traveled up from London in tinfoil) and Olivia took me and Marty to the seaside for a day out and even insisted on driving us so it wouldn't cost me the petrol.
Max and I even did a date night for a cheap break from the daily grind, Martha tucked up in bed early, a nice home cooked meal, a bottle of bargain wine and an evening playing cards was a right chuckle and next week it's his turn I shall enjoy kicking back and relaxing while he uses every utensil in the kitchen to make a pasta creation and then challenges me to a match of Scrabble or Cluedo!
So for the moment it's a bit of a wait and see with how the finances go. We are still toying with the idea of downsizing the house to save some money and Martha may get a few more home made Chrimbo presents this year but we are all happy and healthy and that the main thing.

Music Magpie Update

The boy is obsessed!
He is at this moment still adding CD s to the Music Magpie haul. Grand total £112.54. I think I may get up tomorrow to find we own no more music and Max has pulled a bar code typing all nighter. It may not pay the mortgage off single handedly but if he makes it to £125 that is a quarter of the bathroom re-fit paid for with old music and films.
Watch this space.

Music Magpie In Progress

I handed the thankless Music Magpie task over to Max. Hours sat typing barcode numbers into a website wasn't my cup of tea, but it turned out it certainlywas his. Two hours later and we have two bags for life packed full of DVD s and CD s waiting for a courier to collect and our grand total of cash in the pocket £70, that's if none of the selection are rejected.
Max is a brave man too, he has bid farewell to his entire James Bond catalogue and cast aside an unusual collection of classical music. I on the other hand clutched onto my DVD s. Even though I have Napoleon Dynamite recorded on the Sky box I still couldn't bring myself to let it go, and that was along with demanding to keep the first CD I ever owned (even though I haven't listened to it sine I was about 18!) I think Max's second round will have to be done while me and my sentimentality are out of the house.
All in all far easier than a car boot sale and it gave Max an excuse to have the rugby on in the background without being nagged.
Now it's my turn. This week challenge is listing some pre-loved baby items on eBay, lets see if I can beat £70.

Philosophical Frugality!

Apologies for of lack of posts but I have been somewhat busy. Beavering away at my new job while trying to be a mother, housewife and crafter extraordinaire uses up a lot of time (and energy). I have spent most evenings this week crashing out on the sofa moments after I sit down.
We should be celbrating though, we saw in the start of the month with record funding in our bank accounts after the super saving month and we are at it again this month. Last months excesses haven't gone towards the mortgage yet though, we're still playing catch up and its going on credit cards to pay off summer Euro tunnel crossings and new cars (well pre-loved cars)!
The most striking outcome is that our attitude to things seems to have changed, on a small scale we have broken the routines of spending, pack lunch and thermos's are common place and I am shocked at the idea of spending Two quid on a cup of coffee when I go into town. I am far more aware of spending and prices as I toddle round the supermarket (This week I estimated my shopping as I went round the supermarket and was only a pound off at checkout, not bad eh) and we are more conscious of cooking and enjoying eating on a budget. However on a larger scale things have really got going and has posed us some interesting dilemmas I shall leave you with one to mull over.

Our house has three bedrooms and a cellar bedroom come office too. We occasionally have guests but on the whole theses rooms are dumping grounds for laundry and clutter. While we tackle the pennies by turning lights out and taking packed lunch surely we are wasting a great deal of money by owning (courtesy of the mortgage lender) two rooms we barely use. Wouldn't we be better downsizing, shrinking the mortgage and paying it off faster? And if we achieve paying off said smaller mortgage, what could and should we do after that?

hmm perplexing.........

Wonder Weather

So the trip to the coast was an absolute success, I haven't felt so relaxed in a long time. A complete change of pace and scenery sorted the three of us out a treat. All this month we have been frugally saving money and thinking about the future but all it took was to stretch out on the sand to put a few worries into perspective and to consider what we could do next with our lives. Max especially had a chuckle about his looming 40th birthday and the ensuing mid life crisis. I don't know if a motorbike or sports-car will fit snugly into the budget.
OK so we did spend a Tenner on fish and chips and we had a cheeky half of Adnams, but I think we both agree the benefits of the day definitely outweighed our financial slip up.

Sunshine

Well it's sunny outside and we should all be making the most of it. Another week of work ticked off and a busy one at that, so its time to enjoy the weekend, a day out is in order.
Now how do you have a day out without spending any money?
We have decided on a trip to the coast, luckily we only live an hour away from the sun, sand and surf so petrol won't cost too much, but there is the dilemma of fish and chips versus picnic. Picnic should be cheaper but fresh fish and chips is the ultimate luxury so maybe just once this month we shall splash out, but if our financial will power wins it will be some home made sandwiches, English apples picked from the tree and home made cakes. We'll be packing up our thermos flasks and some Martha proof snacks and all we need then is the picnic blanket, bucket and spade and we are off. Hopefully the weather will hold and the rest of East Anglia won't have had the same idea as us!

Ebay Assist

My daughters feet grow daily and my six year old teachers wardrobe is looking a bit shabby. The money saving rules dictate I'm not allowed to spend, but needs must so I've been hitting the eBay searchs. Kids shoes still go for a fair few pounds but I'm watching some preloved Clarks that hopefully won't carry the £30 price tag of a new pair. As for my proffesional attire I've grabbed some great bargains bidding at the last moment. Two skirts and some trousers none of which went over the £1 mark and best of all I get some post which isn't a bill!

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£96 And Counting

Routine equals success, the nightly preparation of snacks and sustinance for the following day. The inbuilt habit to pick up your lunchbox on the way out to work. We have nearly completed our first month back at school since summer holidays and we haven't failed once to take our own packing up. Max has had one unfortunate day where all he consumed was two rounds of peanut butter sarnies but on the whole lunch is good. Martha and I are even baking home made treats to battle the sugar hit you need to see you through the afternoon. The best thing though is the feeling of saving money. Max isn't piling round after round of 30p's into the staff room coffee machine and I'm avoiding the daily 50p spent on afternoon cake. This month we think we've added nearly £100 into the kitty from packing up not buying out. I need to deduct from that a tenner for buying two new thermos flasks after obliterating the old ones caps in the microwave in an attempt to steralise them but that's still not bad. Now I just need anithervVicky Blick visit to cook us up a couple more batches of sausage pie for next month and we are truly sorted.

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Tasty Savings

Saved money today by baking. I followed the no wastage rules and whipped up a batch of chocolate and banana cupcakes. Utilising the very dodgy bananas and some scrapings from a jar of honey. They were very delicious (were being the word to choose as they are now all eaten!) Tomorrow I think it's autumnal enough to cook the first roast of the season and I shall see how many meals I can get out of the leftovers (if there are any). I'm looking forward to the eating already.

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A Hobbit House?

Just a quick post today as I have a pile of school admin to sort before bedtime. Tonight's tip bit comes from my good friend Mr Todd. Now I would love to build me one of these.

This clever man designed and built his house with just the help of his father in law and all for just £3000. Only trouble is he got some free woodland to build it in. Woodland owners let us know if we can come and build a house amongst your trees. For more pictures check out
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Man-builds-stunning-hobbit-yahoofinanceuk-1514084024.html
On a different note our electricity has decided to go AWOL and we are without power to any upstairs sockets. We only discovered this on our return from work, the fuses had tripped and the power had been off all day! It's good news for the electric bill but not so good for the repair bill. Glad we have been living on a tight budget, it may all get spent on the repairs, that's if I can't persuade the electrician to take payment in cakes or handmade green fair ipod holders!

Shabby Chic?

I've been meaning to post this since the weekend. What a slacker.
Last week Mrs Chicken suffered a cat attack (she survived it, slightly shaken though she hasn't laid an egg since!) We decided it was time our free rangers got cooped up when we weren't around to protect them. In the spirit of saving rather than spending Max went into super scavenge mode. Our neighbor Carl (of the famous Carl cookie) gave us some posts from his wood stash and Mr Next Door (I can't remember his first name and embarrassment stops me from asking him) donated us a little more. A couple of hours spent scavenging in the waste ground behind our house and Max had enough to knock up this little number. You may call it rickety or bodged but I think its fantastic and with a splash of blue to match their house and maybe even a bit of bunting to decorate it it will look dandy. Most importantly it saved us a few bob and it's protected our feathered friends from cat attack.