Charlottechicken Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 anyway, with all orders and pre party orders and double savings in january, I had £75 to spend. so I got loads for birthday presents - plus some for me all in all a good party yay Well done! I love free shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 doing very well with magazine addiction. Ive just got the lets get crafty magazine (lots to do ) so, only 2 magazines this year (would have previously got 2 magazines per shopping visit - to any sort of shop ) so i'm very proud of myself If you ever find yourself weakening with the magazines, do what I do and pick up all the free store mags, Boots clubcard, Somerfield do a nice one, and supermarkets usually have free publications after you have gone through the checkouts. After reading them all, the last thing you want is another magazine BTW lots of good offers for make up with this months Boots Clubcard mag I nearly 'lost it' today in Boots though. Mind you, I strolled straight past the baskets without picking one up so that was good. However, they had bottles of shampoo for 25p and Nivea cellulite lotion for £1. I really had to stop myself from buying, the shampoo was for colour treated hair (mine is au natural) and I'm not bothered about my cellulite Instead, I got back to work and told my friend who works in the same building, so hopefully she got a bargain on the way home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I've been eyeing this thread on and off after seeing the big red title in Claire's sig and thinking "No way I can buy nothing new for a year!". However I eventually got around to reading it, and I'm going to have a go at the notebook thing - I have masses of little notebooks lying around half-used One thing I have resolved is "no new gadgets unless I sell one or more things to help pay for them". So far I have bought a bread machine and sold my rice steamer (and still have to get rid of a hover mower and two strimmers - who needs grass-cutting equipment when you have chickens??), and I'm going to put my mini tablet PC (a "frustration" impulse buy last August when Palm cancelled the new gadget I really wanted) on ebay to pay for the ebook reader I just bought - I need to read a lot of electronic documents for the writers' clubs I belong to, and e-paper is much kinder on the eyes than a computer screen (and it saves real paper too, if I don't have to print them). I also need some new jeans for work as the current ones are wearing through in the seat, but I'm going to a) try the charity shops first and b) wait until I've lost a few more pounds. I don't buy a lot of clothes anyway, or shoes A lot of the clothes I've bought in the last year or two have been fairtrade, including my wedding outfit Fortunately I got pretty much all the gardening equipment I needed last year (compost bin, raised bed units, tools, crocs wellies(!), etc), so I shouldn't need much apart from the odd packet of seeds and a bit of fertilizer. BTW, does buying more chickens count, or are they classed as food because they provide eggs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 BTW, does buying more chickens count, or are they classed as food because they provide eggs? but surely, buying more chickens is a necessity of life - definitely not a luxury cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Yup, I agree, you can buy as many chickens, plants, and seeds as you like because ultimately it will lead to an element of non-buying when the free eggs, fruit and veg start rolling in Good luck with the notebook Eyren, you might be amazed at the frittering you can do, I certainly was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 hve just been to town shopping. I found a white chinese bowl set from the Kidney research shop for £2.50. its got 4 bows, 4 small plates, 4 larger plates and 4 spoons. we eat a lot of Chinese food (kev does a fantastic banquet ) I also got these from the pound shop (each one was a pound ) Raspberry Blackcurrant Blackberry Gooseberry Blueberry all healthy looking, 3 already with little leaves very pleased with myself cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Well done! I will have to look in the charity shops for some sherry/port/sloe gin glasses - the DH is always breaking glassware when he does the washing up, so I'm loath to buy brand new ones! I'm also looking on ebay for some of the things I want (like a dog cage to use as a broody pen). Trouble is, so many small businesses use it now that you have to do more searching to find the genuine second-hand items Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Make sure the crate has small holes Eyren . Otherwise the daft chicks will poke their heads through - mine did that in the rablu run and I had to put up kick boards to stop them otherwise the cats would have had them I got a brand new dog crate from Freecycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks for the tip! The first one on my 'watching' list has bars about an inch apart, which hopefully will be enough - I've also eliminated one that had more than 2-inch spacing. I had a look on our local Freecycle but there have been a lot of 'Wanted' ads recently for dog cages and no 'Offered', so I'm not optimistic. I'm going to set a realistic budget for ebay (half what I would pay for a new one) and stick to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Be prepared to put up kick boards Anne. I reckon that the eglu run mesh must be 1" or less, but the daft little blighters still got their heads through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Be prepared to put up kick boards Anne. I reckon that the eglu run mesh must be 1" or less, but the daft little blighters still got their heads through Really? - mine have never done that! As long as they can't get their heads stuck, I'm not too worried - the old cat avoids the chickens, and the pen is mainly for Angelica, who is old enough and bolshy enough to look after herself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Claret I don't think that the broody pen will be used for chick hatching, reading between the lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ahhh, beg your pardon, when you said 'pen', I thought it was to hatch and rear chicks rather than to break a broody... Sorry I use a wire cat basket for that - brilliant (ignore me!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ah, I see the misunderstanding! No, the dog cage is only for keeping broodies off the eglu nestbox, not for raising chicks! Oh, or as a "hospital ward" indoors, should we have a sick hen in future, or as a day-time isolation run should we have any problems with introductions. Our cat carrier is too small for isolation - it's plenty big enough for a chicken but no space for food and water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I got a small dog crate from Freecycle for just that purpose and it's been fab. The cat basket is great for moody, broody banties - they soon snap out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 As long as I don't have to be within earshot of Angelica when she's in it - preferably in the next county So, do you just put your broody in the cat basket? For how long? What about food and water? I'm going to get the cage anyway, for the other reasons, but any weapon in the struggle against broodiness is very welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I pop her in there for 2-3 days depending on how long it takes her to snap out of it - the cage is in the run, under the cover. It has clip on food and water bowls and is raised up on bricks to increase the air circulation and cool them down. I usually let them brood for a couple of days first to have a break from laying as I believe that it's good for them. This way, the broody still gets to be with her pals, but is in the cage 24/7 for a maximum of 3 days. It works a treat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Ah, OK. I was planning on putting the cage (with eglu summer cover) next to the run, so she can see her friends but not get at the nestbox. And I agree - a rest is good for them, as long as it doesn't turn into weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I give them a couple or three days on the nest, then put them in the cage - they shouldn't need more than 3 days max in that. They should come back into lay roughly a week after stopping being broody, but it does depend on how long you left them broody for in the first place... if you get my drift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Thanks for the tips. I have my dog cage now (won on ebay today, collect at weekend), so I'm all prepared! Been a good week for not buying new stuff - also got a secondhand steam cleaner (from a guy at work who wants to upgrade to a larger model) and a free compost caddy from the Recycling Awareness Day at work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Well, two months down and more money saved out of my £200 a month household budget. This month just £42 though However, thanks to the MSE site, I have saved £74 on my buildings and contents insurance, I made just over £62 on ebay in the past few weeks, and the new car is even thriftier on fuel than the Metro (which is 'sale agreed' and will be sold at the end of this month). I really don't know where the money has gone this month though, as I thought I had spent less. I had to do some serious resisting in the charity shops yesterday too, lots of lovely sets of six glasses in all shapes and sizes, it is so unusual to see full sets too. Also, I am a sucker for glassware anyway, but there were some really pretty 50's glass plates and water jugs. Managed to resist though, I don't need more junk at the moment How is everyone else doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 well I'm not really doing this, but reading with interest because I find your approach quie inspiring! I have decided that I'm going to start writing down what I spend every day, from today so I have a little notebook for the purpose. I've also decided that rather than take everything to the charity shop - which is what I'd usually do - I'm going to eBay a few items, to see if I can make a bit back. And I've discovered the MSE website, if I spent as much time on there as I do on here I'd probably save quite a lot! I'm going to check out utilities suppliers. I really do admire you - and £42 out of £200 is a pretty massive saving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I think I'm doing as well as anyone even though I didn't set out to do this. So far this year I have bought a hutch (for the quail) a new mop, and two new toilet brushes. We also contributed towards (new) bithday presents I honestly can't think of anything else. There are only a handful of other bits and they've been second hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 February was an expensive month we are trying to "de clutter" so I have been getting new bookcases (no-one in ebay lives less than 200 miles from us ) and new bathroom cabinets. I seemed to have spent loads . but not on food, my food bill is forever decreasing (didnt keep track last month, gonna sort that this month ) cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Well, it's the end of March and I have £30 left out of my budget. I seem to be spending more and more on things I do need, and not saving much at all. I think I spent a bit extra this month because of Easter (went a bit mad on chocolate chickens in Lidl ) and ended up spending about £10 in total on friends, family and work colleagues. Also had some sort of brain storm in Boots when confronted by the lovely round Protect and Perfect boxed set (I oohed and aahed but the deal was clinched when I got a free pink gift box of no 7, and a £5 money off coupon too ), and gave mum some of the bits out of it in her Mother's day bag of goodies. Also couldn't resist the brilliant Home Farmer magazine, so have bought the next issue online. If I want to continue with it I may trade it off against Practical Poultry, can't have both now Good news is I have sold the Metro and have the money in my hot little hands, so don't need to get any spending money out of the bank for a couple of months although I have an awful lot of £20 notes to spend (I don't do large notes ) Big news is I have decided to spend my extra savings wisely and have asked a builder for a quote on an extension and extra foot on the floor in the downstairs wing of my house. I know it isn't buying nothing new, but the builder is keen to re-use any old bricks I have and the back door too, so there won't be too much waste from the build. Some of the rubble will be used as infill in the brand new bit. It will make such a difference to the house and will enable me to have a kitchen overlooking the garden rather than the yard, as the kitchen and laundry will swap places, it will add a lot of value to the property and as it is my only asset I have to think about that too . So, subject to building regs etc this may be underway at the end of August. How is everyone else getting on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
