Tales of thrift and self-reliance on a journey to early retirement.
I was in the paddock the other day and, yet again, got annoyed that all of the massive apple trees in there are all the same variety of Bramley-type cooking apple. There are about six of these massive trees, and there's only so much I can do with a tiny fraction of them. ...
I used to enjoy baking and preserving, but for reasons I didn't fully understand until this weekend I haven't done them for a long time. I used to bake cakes, pies, and biscuits, and preserve all sorts of fruit and veg at our previous house but a combination of different factors ...
Being frugal doesn't mean never spending any money. I do spend money, but I spend it consciously on things that matter the most to me and I try and find ways to get those things for as little money as possible. I've spent years adjusting my focus to spending money ...
It was dark at 9pm last night. Ridiculous. Where has the summer gone? I'm starting to freeze and dehydrate a few bits out of the garden now to enjoy the harvest for a bit longer. I've rediscovered tzatziki after circumstance dictated I find a home for six huge cucumbers, some ...
Something happened on Friday and I'm still steaming about it. I get health insurance through my employer from a company called Vitality Life. I pay quite a lot for it - £76 a month - but it is an all singing and dancing policy that requires no medical, allows all pre-existing conditions, and the slate is wiped clean every year. It is taken out of my salary at source. I decided to take it out 3.5 years ago for several ...
Our house is not on mains gas, so we use kerosene to fuel our (ancient) boiler backed up with log burners. I quickly realised when we moved here that the price of heating oil fluctuates depending on the season, and when you need it the most it will be the most expensive. Generally, ...
