In Praise of Chick Peas...

...the secret weapon of the frugal housewife!

At the end of December my budget went seriously off the rails.  This morning I settled down to review my spending for the first three weeks of January and I'm proud to report that our food/household budget is currently £25 per week.  I don't have a useful chest freezer for bulk buys etc. - just the small one below the fridge - so I'm really pleased with this total!

I'm also pleased that darling hubby isn't complaining.  He's a committed carnivore so it's been quite a challenge to 'hide' the smaller cuts of meat by adding more veg.  Given that he also takes left overs and microwaves them for lunch...you'd think there would have been some kind of whimper!!  However, at the moment I seem to be getting away with it.

His favourite, frugal casserole seems to be Chilli Chicken.  I can stretch two chicken breasts into five portions with this one.  I just cube the chicken; chop up a couple of onions, celery, peppers and carrots; put it all in a large casserole dish with a stock cube, a tin of chick peas and a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes; add garlic, paprika and chilli powder and cook for a couple of hours. 

It re-heats brilliantly and works really well with a cheesy breadcrumb topping, rather than rice or potatoes.  To be honest, I think it would be equally nice without the chicken at all... but I suspect that might be a step too far for my little meat eater!!

Welcome to my new follower Jan.  I'd love to follow your blog too but can't find a link from your name.  Please could you pop a quick "Hi" against one of my posts, then I should be able to find you without difficulty in the blogosphere!

Presents and Plans

I'm definitely "time rich and cash poor" at the moment, so I'm digging deep into my crafting skills to make as many presents as possible.  I made this bag on Tuesday afternoon (when it was pelting down with rain here in Worcestershire).

 

 

Then I made a second bag in a different colour-way yesterday afternoon.  (I am in a group of three friends who all have birthdays in November - so we always meet up for a joint celebration and swap presents at some stage in the month.)

 

The material is a really lovely quality with attractive details in the leaves.   I bought it from a clearance bin in a interior design shop in Hereford.  Each piece of material was about 34 inches long and 16 inches wide, so I've got some useful pieces left over from these projects.  I think I paid about £8.00 for five pieces - so the bags have cost me less than £2.00 each (plus lots of love, time and cursing over pricked fingers!!!!)

 

With the benefit of hind-sight I wish that I'd picked up more pieces... but I was in the early days of developing my fabric stash and didn't recognise the potential.  However, I've got the same design in a pretty blue colour-way which may be nice for my Mum for Mother's Day.  The other two pieces are a kind of bold stripy deck chair design.

 

Thank you for all your suggestions for Saturday night. 

You really kick-started my creative juices and I'm now having loads of fun with my plans.

Here's the provisional menu...

 

Golden Peach Cocktails

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Glowing golden autumn vegetable soup

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Cold Roast meats

and a selection of hot and cold 'sides' including

Roast Veg with Double Gloucester Cheese

Lightly curried potato salad etc

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"Climb Every Mountain" dessert (a profiterole pyramid)

Golden fruit pie

A lemon syllabub

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a 'Golden' cheeseboard

 

I've got loads of autumnal coloured tea light holders to dress the table and a vase for some yellow flowers.  I've also decided to develop the expedition aspect of the award by giving each guest a placemat that's personalised with a section of OS map of significance to them.  H. will get a map of the area that she walked in; I. will get a map of the area of north wales where her best friend lives; B-in-Law will get a map of an area of the Lake District where he went open water swimming for the first time this summer... and so on!  Hopefully it will work...

 

Fortunately I've only got a couple of pupils in the next few days so I should be able to organise this in a 'calm and measured manner'!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Jx

So - the reality of the 'Great Escape'...

So far, so good.... 

I am spending more quality time with my parents.  I've completely lost the 'inner stressy voice' that was constantly auditing the hours of my day and the unrealistic amount of work that I still had to complete.  I've given up clock-watching.

Mark is amazed to find that, even though he's still working long hours in his very stressful job, he's more relaxed because he doesn't have to listen to my 'work woes'.  He's also gained time on his commute because he doesn't have to drop me at work first, then fight his way through Solihull rush hour traffic in the evening to collect me.  He's also gained time because I'm doing all the 'background house jobs' during the week.  As a result, he's got more physical and emotional energy, and has even started to work on his projects in the garage again.

We are financially secure, providing that I continue to be 'quietly frugal' on a day to day basis.  To be honest, we don't have a mortgage or children, so we could easily live off Mark's salary.  However, I saved almost 80% of my salary in the last 12 months to create a 'financial cushion' (in addition to other savings) and I've got a small number of private pupils starting in the Autumn.  At this stage, it feels good to still be earning SOME money....and I'm definitely looking forward to teaching without the politics of a large institution.

Most importantly, I'm giving time to my own emotional and physical fitness.  I practice my harp every day for an hour or so after breakfast.  When my back starts to complain, I pop on my shoes and do a brisk four mile walk round the north side of Worcester.  The rest of day is divided up between family and friends, crafting, house jobs, the occasional lesson and more practice (if a performance is looming).  I thought, by this stage in the holidays, that I might miss the 'ramp up' to the new term.   Absolutely not!  I WILL miss a small group of pupils who were important to me but I've lost any inclination towards classroom teaching whatsoever.

I'm making steady progress through a small bucket list of 'Things I couldn't do while I was a teacher'.  Mark and I are going to South West France in September.  We have built a three-centre holiday around a classic motor-racing event that we have always wanted to attend.  It's very exciting.  I have also learnt the basics of machine patchwork and now my imagination is full of little crafting projects.  I've wanted to learn this skill for years and I'm so proud of my first few efforts!   We are also going away for a four-day break on my birthday weekend at the end of November.  (Every year I asked if we could go away, even for one night, and Mark always vetoed it on the grounds of concerts, parents evenings and report-writing exhaustion.) 

We've also booked Le Mans Classic in July 2016.  (We went in 2008 but I had to take two days of un-paid leave.)  After 26 years of being tied to school holidays, we are still exploring the best way to spread Mark's annual leave from Land Rover across the rest of 2016.

So, on balance, things are going well.  I'm sure that grey clouds will sometimes cover my current blue skies - but nothing would induce me to go back to a Head of Department job in any school at the moment.  I'm off now to finish another patchwork cushion.  Expect a 'crafty' post with lots of pictures next.
Jx

A little bit of vintage style..

This weekend ...'Cinders' went to a Ball!!

Ladies... here is my 'frugal' vintage outfit for the evening...

The dress was Roman Originals clearance 18 months ago - I paid £15 for it.

The jacket was Alexon clearance 10 years ago

 

 

In this rather severe-looking 'selfie' you can see my jewellery a bit more clearly.

My earrings are 1950s vintage from a little stall in Stratford upon Avon

(a couple of pounds because no-one else buys screw or clip earrings nowadays....).

My necklace is also 1950s from a market stall in London in 2003

(in the days before vintage was stylish and this sort of thing was seriously cheap).

 

This bracelet is one of my prized vintage possessions...

It's an American Coro design from the 1960s.  I bought it on e-bay for a couple of pounds.

The bag is from the 1940s.  I found it in a vintage clothes shop in Welshpool last August.

Mark bought it for me as Christmas present and I often take it out in the evenings.

(It looks amazing with one of those £10 Primark dresses, heavier vintage jewellery, a little black jacket, black leggings and boots)

 

 

We went to a 'Summer Ball' in the function suite at Worcester Cricket Ground.

There were about 150 people there so the event raised £1900.00 for the local cancer hospice.

It was great fun catching up with people that we haven't seen for a while.. and getting to know a few new people too.

 

I've got to admit that I was shattered this morning though...

I'm not great at late nights really...!

Jx

My Saving Habit...

I was brought up in the 1970s by a stay at home Mum.  We had a car and a telephone (on a 'party line'!) - but these came with Dad's job as a District Surveyor for a national Engineering Insurance Company and we wouldn't have had them otherwise.  Dad was great at budgeting his salary so there was 'just enough' money to do things.  Mum was an amazing crafter and creative cook, so she stretched the housekeeping as far as possible.  However, I was used to hearing the words "Sorry Jan we can't afford this" pretty much all the time I was growing up.  From a very early age I was taught - "If you want it, you save for it.  Don't have a Credit card.  The only loan you should have is your mortgage."

I've been fortunate enough to be in a situation where I've been able to live by these rules all my life.  (I do recognise that many people are forced to take credit or loans when they haven't wanted them because life has dealt them some really bad luck - I am really lucky here!).  I still save for things, then buy them - and I don't have a credit card.   I also don't have children and I'm married to some-one who is on a similar 'professional' salary to me..... so money has been 'sloshing' around for years.

By habit and nature, I've always liked to keep my spending down.  My wardrobe is factory shop clearance and thrift, rather than designer.  Mark is a 'fixer' and does all the work on the cars and the house (which saves an immense amount of money).  We like to have our weekends away and days out - but it comes with the proviso that this is 'value for money'.  We have an ancient TV and avoid other electrical gadgets and the cycle of up-grades that seems to be a feature of 21st Century living.  We 'look after things' and keep our wear and tear to a minimum.

For the last 20 years, I've saved well over 50% of my salary every month.  Around 5 years ago I paid off the mortgage.  I've also funded Mark's car building project; I've replaced the windows in the house and paid for the conservatory; and I'm still saving like a maniac! 

Now I'm starting to wonder if my saving habit is actually an addiction.... (or some kind of Obsessive/Compulsive/Control Freak thing....Ha ha!!)  When I decided to move on from teaching, I started a new financial regime.  I wanted to see if I could live for a sustained period on less money.  I also wanted to try and create levels of 'financial buffer' so that I had space to make 'real choices' in the Autumn.  My saving obsession is now in full flight - in February I saved close to 80% of my salary.  Seriously.. I appear to be 'saving on my saving'.

However, I'm not sat here being a penny pinching miser!  Over the last few months I feel like I've really enjoyed and appreciated the money that I have spent.  In a strange sort of way I feel like I'm 'buying time' and it feel good.
Jx

Planning...

In September our household income will effectively be cut by 45%.  For the last two months I've been carrying out a 'controlled assessment' to see if Mark and I can handle the resulting life-style changes - not as a frugal novelty but as a fairly permanent financial state of affairs.
I've paid myself a new weekly cash allowance out of my salary and put everything else into savings.  I've then written down everything that I've spent my cash on... even down to 46p chewing gum and £1 parking fees.  I've found that the process of 'spending knowingly' has made me more appreciative of most things and less inclined towards frittering money away in my coffee shop habit.  Don't get me wrong - Mark and I have had a couple of lovely lunches out recently - but they were planned treats for special occasions not normal routine.


I'm not pushing the 'cash conscious' lifestyle onto Mark - but I know that he is quietly watching, thinking and coming up with his own ideas about the shape of our new future.  We're starting to develop 'filters' for a our spending..

• Are we getting real value for money - is there a cheaper way..
• Will the purchase be a real improvement in our life...
• Will we end up in situation where we are obliged to spend too much money...

Recently we were asked to buy tickets for a charity formal dinner.  Some friends of ours wanted to get a group together but the tickets cost £90 per couple.  The friends also wanted to stop over at the hotel (another £75) and are enthusiastic drinkers (a large shared drinks bill!).  They were really offended when we declined the event.  I wonder if this couple will remain our friends as we move our financial goal posts.  I hope that they will - because we have known them for years and have a lot of shared history.  I worry that they won't - because his role as a Company Director with all the trappings of a large salary means a lot to them.


I'm excited about the future and completely believe that I'm doing the right thing.... I think I've just been a bit naïve about some of the implications....
Jx

Frugal Fiend!

At the moment I am saving as much as possible from my salary to create a financial buffer for my change in career.   In December I blogged about my plans to live on a set amount, paying myself a cash sum each week that was based on my average monthly spending to date.


I guess there's plenty of you out there that know this already - but what an interesting process it's been for me!  By sticking religiously to the 'cash only' rule AND writing down every penny I spend, money has stopped dribbling through my fingers.  An unexpected side effect of this is that I'm actually more appreciative of the things that I have decided to invest in - lunch for myself and Mark at the local garden centre; one bought coffee and hot chocolate during a winter walk rather than regular tea shop stops...  The rest of the time I just pack sandwiches, so we've enjoyed some fabulous winter picnics too.


I'm particularly proud of last weekend's frugal credentials... 
On Saturday I walked to Worcester - free; I visited the WW1 Memorial Exhibition at the City Museum and Art Gallery - free; I walked down to the Library and sussed out some materials in their local history section - free; I bought myself a treat of some yoghurt coated peanuts - £1 from Poundland (but I'm still nibbling on them four days later).
On Sunday we parked the car on Hartlebury Common and did a six mile walk - free; we enjoyed a winter picnic - cheaper than a tea-shop stop; we also enjoyed some quality time with my parents - which made me feel even better!


On Monday Mark and I celebrated 30 Years since our first date.  I made him a card with the words "30 Years... Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!"  It's true - most of the time we have lots of fun together.  It's only the external stresses of work (and occasional health issues) that 'rock the boat' from time to time.


I hope that you are all having a good week.  Jx

Guess how much I've saved....

...shopping at one of the newly popular discount supermarkets since February.
 
I'm going to keep you in suspense here and explain that I did a proper set of calculations before starting this particular money saving project.  I added up all the food and household goods bills for the whole of Autumn 2013, then divided them by the number of weeks to come up with the my notional weekly bill.  I have meticulously listed all the food 'spends' (including small shopping trips to buy specific things from other stores) since February.  After a lot of adding and subtracting, I can now reveal....


I saved £1393.00 in 10 months!!!!!
Yes... really!


AND I think that we're eating a much better diet.  It had got to the point where I really couldn't afford the price of fresh veg in my chosen supermarket.  This has been a saving that hasn't felt like a saving... we can eat fresh peppers and fruit as much as we want. There are down sides.... I've given up my lovely 'unhustled' shopping experience for something that feels a little more like hard work.  But that sort of saving buys a lot of compromise.


And if you wondered, yes we have got plans on how we want to spend it - but that's for future posts!
Jx

Carefully Into the Unknown....

I've made the fact that I'm leaving at the end of the academic year general knowledge with the staff at work.  (It says something about the general climate that - even though it's 9 months away - I have discovered 5 other people who have already made the same decision!).  I intend to hand in my notice around February half-term so that there's plenty of time to find someone who is right for the kids.


This week I've started a new financial regime.  I am going to live strictly to the budget that will be the reality as of the 1st September 2015.  All the extra cash will add to the 'transition support fund' - just in case it takes a while for things to work as I plan.  I've always been a complete control freak over my income (even as a teenager when I started to make the odd £1.50 from teaching piano to the neighbours' children).  There are new columns in my little black notebook ('Escape Fund', 'New Budget Test') along side the regulars ('Housekeeping' and 'Holidays').  I've even created little rules about how and when I'm going to access the new budget.  Monday is going to be the new weekly pay day.


Current illness aside, I'm feeling more positive and excited about the future than I have done for years.  Whenever I explain to some-one that I'm moving on a new offer of work comes in.  I've already collected three piano pupils and a wedding 'gig' as a harpist.  There's even a vague offer of a bit of Year 7 and Year 8 teaching (plus instrumental work) at the local Independent Cathedral School.  Of course all of this has to become reality......but it's nice to think that I'm not jumping into some kind of 'career black hole'.  One of my lovely friends has even offered to create a professional business website for me for free!  I am lucky to have so many kind people in my life.

I am also delighted to find a way of getting photos on my blog again. (Insert photos into a word document then 'cut and paste' from there - DURRR - why didn't I think of this months ago!) This is a photo of the river Teme when we went walking near Ludlow a few weeks ago.  I adore Ludlow.  We've spent whole summer holidays there just walking, eating and chilling - even though it's only 45 minutes from home.  (If you climb the right hill over there it's actually possible to see back to the hill where we live near Worcester!) It's definitely one of my favourite places on the planet and I plan to do lots more walking in my new life.

Developing New Habits

If this whole adventure (a.k.a. the mad idea) is going to work, I know that I'm going to have to tweak my spending a little bit further.  Basically I'm going to try out the financial regime that I'll have to follow now - while I'm still working.  If it doesn't work then I know then I've got time to think of other options. The only REALLY bad habit I have at the moment involves coffee shops, cakes and magazines.  I love sitting in a window, watching the world go by with a strong black coffee steaming in front of me.  Just add a piece of cake and a foodie magazine and that's it.... I'm in heaven!


Yesterday I walked down to the local Garden Centre just for a bit of fresh air.  I wandered through the festive section (completely un-inspiring) then decided that a restorative piece of flapjack would be nice.  I was just about to buy a magazine and 'do the whole thing' ...when my Small Voice of Moving On squeaked "That's going to be the best part of 10 quid!"


So I came home and made the same effort in my own front room.  I looked out some pretty china that I don't use regularly and popped a slice of Plum tart and cold custard on my favourite plate.  I made plenty of strong coffee, looked out a Woman and Home Christmas Food magazine from 2006 and sat in the sun in my lounge.  It was lovely.


(The magazine also reminded me of some 'old-favourite' recipes that I will be able to resurrect for this Festive season.  Can't argue with that!)


Jx