The Reckoning

As I said last week, August has been a very expensive month for us. We have spent almost double the usual monthly budget but it isn't so bad when you look at the figures as lots of the spending was for annual expenses which have been saved up for.

The big expenses were :- house insurance, which I got for less than last year; septic tank emptying, which I also got for less than last year; road tax, which has gone up a bit; car insurance, which I got for less than last year and a massive car repair bill ! We had not reckoned on such a large bill for the car repairs, but have decided to keep the car going, at least until it is 10 years old as reckon a couple of thousand a year to keep it going will be cheaper than buying a new to us large car. In three years time MasterShoestring will be finished at school and we reckon that we will not need such a large car then. Given the short time frame it then makes sense to try and keep the current one going.

There were also petrol expenses for going on holiday and spending expenses for the holiday, such as the trip to Venice. We did very well saving on food as the garden was producing so well and managed to spend less than £110 all month, which is great ! We celebrated a very frugal anniversary and look forward to a nice frugal September to build up the savings once more !

Homemade Oven Chips

This is also a useful recipe for holidays as you do not have the problem of carting around frozen chips, just buy a bag of potatoes !

6-8 medium potatoes
2tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the potatoes into long strips after washing them. I leave the peel on as we like that, otherwise you have to peel as well ! Toss in a bowl with the salt and pepper and lay on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 200C for 45 minutes or until really brown and crunchy !

Enjoy with ketchup !

Saving Money for Teens

MasterShoestring is 15 now and when he turned 15 in July we stopped giving him weekly pocket money and now give him £10 a month for helping with little jobs around the house. If he wants more he has to do bigger jobs, such as mowing the 1/2 acre of lawn !

He now has an account with a bank card at the local building society and is responsible for all leisure purchases, from gifts to friends to anything above the basics on his mobile phone. Interestingly, since he has to pay for the phone now he hasn't got a contract but has gone pay as you go and uses it only for emergencies ! The rest of the time he uses free ways to make calls via the computer.

The other ways he saves money are by using free downloading services for music etc. and trading online to make a bit of money e.g.) to buy accessories for games. He hasn't saved much money for going on holiday but then I don't think he is planning on doing much buying either, so it looks like he has inherited the frugal gene !

Is an over 50s policy for me ?

MrShoestring and I have reached the age when we start getting advertisements for equity release, retirement villages and over 50s policies. Yesterday we had an offer from Saga to renew our home insurance for £468 ! This compared with the £76 for buildings and contents we actually paid. I was shocked at how much more it was and so I started checking around for the cost of things like motor insurance and funeral insurance etc. through specialised providers for us 'silver foxes'.

Well, the answer to' Is an over 50s policy for me ?' is a resounding 'NO'! In every case that I checked you were going to be paying substantially more for the 'pensioner' product than if you had gone for the cheapest option. Now I know that companies like Saga often offer additional services with the product which some people might find useful as they get older. But I know that I would rather have the money in my pocket and look for my own services, thank you very much !

Especially now when we will have to wait even longer to get the state pension, keep every penny captive !

Contentment

There is something so pleasing about knowing that we have plenty of fruit and vegetables stored to see us though the winter. A pleasing feeling of contentment and I find that it is the little things which give rise to the greatest feelings of contentment. Here is one of my favourite poems on that theme.

The Joy Of Little Things

by Robert William Service

 It's good the great green earth to roam,
Where sights of awe the soul inspire;
But oh, it's best, the coming home,
The crackle of one's own hearth-fire!
You've hob-nobbed with the solemn Past;
You've seen the pageantry of kings;
Yet oh, how sweet to gain at last
The peace and rest of Little Things!

Perhaps you're counted with the Great;
You strain and strive with mighty men;
Your hand is on the helm of State;
Colossus-like you stride .
 .
 .
 and then
There comes a pause, a shining hour,
A dog that leaps, a hand that clings:
O Titan, turn from pomp and power;
Give all your heart to Little Things.


Go couch you childwise in the grass,
Believing it's some jungle strange,
Where mighty monsters peer and pass,
Where beetles roam and spiders range.

'Mid gloom and gleam of leaf and blade,
What dragons rasp their painted wings!
O magic world of shine and shade!
O beauty land of Little Things!

I sometimes wonder, after all,
Amid this tangled web of fate,
If what is great may not be small,
And what is small may not be great.

So wondering I go my way,
Yet in my heart contentment sings .
 .
 .

O may I ever see, I pray,
God's grace and love in Little Things.


So give to me, I only beg,
A little roof to call my own,
A little cider in the keg,
A little meat upon the bone;
A little garden by the sea,
A little boat that dips and swings .
 .
 .

Take wealth, take fame, but leave to me,
O Lord of Life, just Little Things.

---

Wedding Anniversary

MrShoestring and I celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary today. We were married in Aberdeenshire in a tiny place that has since been demolished. We had 2 witnesses and a frugal restaurant lunch of fish and potatoes. We took photographs ourselves out in the blooming heather of the Highlands and were back to work in the afternoon ! I guess we were frugal even then !

Today we are going to enjoy exploring Aviano and toast our fantastic achievement of staying married for 32 years !

Frugal Friday

Just a few frugal things to report this week as we have been getting ready to go on holiday and dealing with marrows and apples !

I got some brand new books from the library to help with my course and also downloaded some free Kindle books to take on holiday. We made bread, soup, tortillas, homemade chips and fajitas. I froze some chicken stock which I couldn't use before going away. We took a menu plan and lots of food for self-catering when we went away.

I got £2 in vouchers from the Royal Mail survey and we saved money on highlight convertors for driving in Europe by using pieces of duct tape instead ! I also froze lots of apple pie filling and made some more marrow chutney !