January Re-set & a Challenge ....

Hello everyone, and welcome to 2026.  I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that 2026 is going to be calm, happy and healthy for you.

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Christmas seemed a bit strange this year, not knowing exactly who was going to be there for meals on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.  Unfortunately, our Granddaughter was working (in retail) on 26th so couldn't come for the buffet at ours, but Grandson brought his girlfriend so I ended up catering for 4 guests, not 6 as expected.  The hot, pulled beef cobs went down a treat.  The M&S beef served 8 generously filled cobs and Grandson (18 and 6ft tall) added stuffing, pigs in blankets, a cheese slice and gravy to his 😯😂  I would definitely buy it again.

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We have decided to carry on with a second year of frugal adventures and we would like our March treat to be a few days away in a hotel somewhere.  With that in mind, January will be a low spend month for food and toiletries etc.  We still have a lot of food in the freezer and store cupboard to go at, so only intend to buy stuff as needed eg fresh bread and milk, and only the fruit and veg for planned meals.  

We intend to use the following and to make it last as long as possible :

The change jar contains £20.25 in cash,

My Nectar card has £42.16 in loyalty points,

Graham's Nectar card has £12.50 in points,

Boots card loyalty points value is £12.44

Nectar points can only be used in multiples of £2.50 which means we can spend £40.00 of mine and £12.50 of Graham's plus the £20.25 in cash.  We will spend the points first and top up what is spent over and above the £2.50 multiples with cash, if you see what I mean?  My Boots points will be used for things like paracetamol,  toothpaste and hand-wash. 

How long can we shop on just the above? Can we manage for the whole of January?  Probably not, but we can try 😁🤞 I'll let you know how we spend it.

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We were both given toiletries for Christmas so have plenty to last for a few months.  My lovely Granddaughter gave me some Liz Earle shower gel and body cream (a real treat ) and my Daughter gave me a lovely perfume, so I will smell delicious for a while at least 😁

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In other news, the energy company reviewed our direct debit payment just before Christmas and it will be reduced from £120 per month to £97.53 from January.  This is seriously good news as we are still in credit and won't need to worry about putting the heating on during this cold snap.  The forecast is for even colder weather over the next few days so we won't be venturing far.  At least the rain has stopped, it's just so damp everywhere.....

In addition, I won't have to fork out for insurance on my car in March, as I no longer have it.  This will save up to £200 and there will be no service or repairs to pay for either.  We intend to use some of the money saved to buy car breakdown cover for our one remaining car, as we are no longer able to deal with car problems ourselves.  This will give us peace of mind on our days out in future. 

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I usually write a new budget for the forthcoming year in March which is when the increases in rent, service charges, home insurance and Council tax take effect.  At least I know that we have enough money coming in for the current bills.  Such a relief...

Anyway, thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be.

Happy New Year !

Angie 💗

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays To You All

 

What a year this has been.... full of  life events.  We have had bereavements, accidents, and life changes for the whole family, and I'm sure we are not alone in this.  Many of you have been in a similar position and some still are.  We have had some fun times too, of course, we mustn't forget those.  Times spent with family have been very precious.

I want to wish all my loyal readers a very Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas.  May 2026 bring joy, peace and, above all, LOVE to you all.

I'll be back in the new year with my usual frugal January to off-set any extra spending in December (although we have been pretty much bang on budget)

Take care of yourselves,

Love, 

     Angie 💗

In My Element & Bargain Buys....

 On 8th December I published a post showing my winning raffle ticket prize of an entrance ticket to the Stourbridge Glass museum.  We decided to visit on Friday as it was a lovely, sunny but cold day.  I love glass anyway but it was amazing.  The beauty of the building is that they are all geared up to sustainability and energy conservation.  They have installed solar panels for electricity and the furnace in the working glass studio is run on electricity and not gas.  The craftsman and women were a joy to watch.

There were so many cabinets full of glass of all kinds that we spent a couple of hours just looking at everything contained within.  It was all so beautiful, especially the cameo glass.....

Just across the road is another small glass museum which has free entry and an independent coffee shop adjacent to it, so we popped over there for a quick lunch, then went back into the main museum for another mooch. I didn't know that Northwood Carnival Ware was so varied.....

At the entrance, there is some vintage glass for sale and I couldn't NOT buy a beautiful Waterford water glass priced at £2.50.....

.....and a smaller water/ juice glass which might have been Stuart Crystal, also priced at £2.50....

....as well as a Chance glass plate for my Christmas table for mince pies/ Christmas cake.  Apparently, the design was originally for Crystal Palace.  Wow... at £3 it had to come home with me....

We enjoyed it so much that we fully intend to go back in the spring.  Next time, the tickets will cost £30 for two of us but they then give unlimited access for a whole year, a bit like the Black Country Living Museum.  Which reminds me....our BCLM tickets are still valid for part of next year 😀

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Right...I'm off to give the bathroom a good clean, do the ironing and check that my final supermarket delivery next week has all I need on the order.  Bye!

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Thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

What Did I Do With My £802 ?

 

When I sold my car just over a week ago I was mulling over what to do with the cash.  I didn't want to fritter any of it away and decided to use some savings to make it up to £1000 and buy some premium bonds with it.  Done and dusted !  They will be entered into the February draw.  Who knows... I might win enough to buy the remaining share of our shared ownership bungalow one day, so that we can both remain here to the end of our days 😊

Or there again... pigs might fly 🐷😂

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How are you doing with your Christmas prep?

All the Christmas cards that needed posting have been committed to our rubbish Royal Mail service (we haven't had post for about a week) neighbour's cards have been pushed through doors (carefully where there are dogs at home!) and my gifts have all been wrapped and labelled.   The freezer has been filled with party food and a beef joint for pulled beef baps on Boxing Day.  I have a Sainsbury's delivery booked for 23rd Dec with all the stuff like milk, cream, bread etc  All I will need to buy is fresh salad stuff and the cheap 15p veg which I like to choose myself.  I have a list and think I'm prepared !  Oh...and I have the last batch of cards to drop off at the shop for this year...425 in total for 2025.

How about you ?

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Thanks for popping in.  Do stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Facing Facts....

 I saw the following piece on Facebook recently.  Not sure who wrote it, but it made me think.  Does it resonate with you?

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Aging isn't loud. It’s quiet. It shows up in stiffer knees and quieter phones. But this morning, I decided: This is my new chapter.

Here are the 3 Hard Truths and 7 Rules I’ve learned:

The Truths:

Your kids can’t be your everything. They are busy surviving their own lives. They love you, but they can’t fill your loneliness. That’s your job.

Your health is not guaranteed. When you’re young, your body is a given. When you’re old, it’s a project. Take care of it.

No one is coming to save you. Financial dignity is up to you. Even small savings equal freedom.

The 7 Rules for Age 70+:

Pay your future self. You owe yourself comfort.

Treat your body like a best friend. Walk. Stretch. Hydrate.

Build your own joy. Don't wait for an invitation to be happy.

Don't surrender to "old." Strength draws people in; complaints push them away.

Release yesterday. It’s already done. Let it go.

Guard your peace. Not every fight is worth your energy.

Learn one new thing daily. Curiosity is the anti-aging serum for the brain.

The verdict? You have two choices: Shrink into the shadows or step into the light. I choose the light. I might be older, but I’m not done yet. Not even close.

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Stay safe and well, dear friends, wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

A Grand Night Out.....

Last week  we attended the final meeting of our Horticultural Guild for 2025.  It was quiz night and 'pot luck supper'  The ticket cost just £5 per person plus a food contribution and it included a glass of wine and a raffle ticket.

It was very enjoyable 😊Where else can you get wine, food, fun and laughter for £5? Our team came 4th too.

I was lucky enough to win a prize in the raffle too;  a family ticket to the Stourbridge Glass Museum as well as a pair of crystal candle holders.  I love Stourbridge glass especially as my last job was at Royal Brierley Crystal.  I know what actually goes into the production of it.  Some of my Scottish family on my dad's side were glass blowers by trade, although I never met any of them and they are long gone.

We hope to visit there sometime before  Christmas because it should be really cheerful and festive 🎄 🎅 

Thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be, 

Angie ❤️ 

The End of an Era....Sadly....

A couple of days ago I got an estimated offer for my car from We Buy Any Car.com in the sum of £1231 so I booked it in for lunchtime yesterday.   I took all the paperwork I had, along with the service records and was offered £882 despite having a full 12 months MOT.  I had already made up my mind to sell so accepted the offer.  Minus fees, it meant that I got a nett amount of £802 which was paid into my account within 20 minutes.

Do you know of anyone who was paid the actual initial offer?? 😕

I have to admit that it felt like taking a pet to the vet to be put down.  I felt sad that it's the end of an era.  I've been driving since I was 19 years old and have had my own car since I was 35 but needs must.....

Heaven knows if I can get to grips with Graham's automatic Polo.....😨

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In my last post I mentioned donating my Christmas bonus to Ang & Bob's Christmas Hospice appeal but didn't know how to post a link.

The appeal page is here for anyone who wants it:

 https://www.justgiving.com/page/bob-almond-1

Angie 💗