In this context, I believe the peelings are counted as "food", along with banana skins and used tea bags. And composting is counted as "wasted".

Not necessarily! I do that. But it's not really random. I use the supermarket to jog my memory of what we need, and we waste very little. The last time I had to throw away something that was edible when I bought it was when I had flu, and meals went a bit awry for a week.

We on the other hand kept our mortgage to what we were confident we could afford, and maintained our savings "for a rainy day". So now with low interest rates our savings are withering away before our eyes, while those with bigger mortgages than they could afford (1) are now laughing.

(1) I'm certainly not implying Baz comes into this category,, just saying there's more than one way of being stuffed.

And beware of GROBs

(Gifts with reservation of benefit - eg you give your house away but still live in it)

harry wrote in
:


You certainly want to pay it off as fast as poss. Interest rates are
bound to go up soonish. You often see free freezers on these
"freecycle" sites.
However you should examine your freezer contents carefully. They can
soon get filled with trash. The main reason for big freezer capacity
is if you grow your own veg/fruit/etc. You need to use freezer stuff
in rotation, difficult if it's a chest type.


harry, you are exactly right in what you say.
Things have happened in the last 3 years to us which we never could have
foreseen. We took this house and thought we were safe in the fact that both
of us had a good income, in fact we were able to put more money away than
we expended so paid sometimes double the monthly mortgage, a couple of
times we almost emptied our savings account to spur things along.

The freezer issue annoys me because we have 2(an upright and a chest) and
OH and me freeze everything from the garden we can which is surpluss, put a
date on it, everything a person would need to know. What happens? After a
get-together with the family the chest freezer looks like an explosion at a
Hannibal Lecter reunion. Difficult? *******g impossible.
The upright is different though, because it's easier to make the same mess
but you can stand up while you do it.
I know it's not done on purpose but why oh why not take the oldest out? and
if they are not so good *******g ask.

Moaning over and i'm glad I got it off my chest.(no pun)
Baz

On Dec 27, 2:13*pm, Baz wrote:
harry wrote :



You certainly want to pay it off as fast as poss. * Interest rates are
bound to go up soonish. *You often see free freezers on these
"freecycle" sites.
However you should examine your freezer contents carefully. They can
soon get filled with trash. *The main reason for big freezer capacity
is if you grow your own veg/fruit/etc. *You need to use freezer stuff
in rotation, difficult if it's a chest type.

harry, you are exactly right in what you say.
Things have happened in the last 3 years to us which we never could have
foreseen. We took this house and thought we were safe in the fact that both
of us had a good income, in fact we were able to put more money away than
we expended so paid sometimes double the monthly mortgage, a couple of
times we almost emptied our savings account to spur things along.

The freezer issue annoys me because we have 2(an upright and a chest) and
OH and me freeze everything from the garden we can which is surpluss, put a
date on it, everything a person would need to know. What happens? After a
get-together with the family the chest freezer looks like an explosion at a
Hannibal Lecter reunion. Difficult? *******g impossible.
The upright is different though, because it's easier to make the same mess
but you can stand up while you do it.
I know it's not done on purpose but why oh why not take the oldest out? and
if they are not so good *******g ask.

Moaning over and i'm glad I got it off my chest.(no pun)
Baz

Heh!Heh! We have the same problem. Every so often we have a purge and
chuck out the ten-year-old peas. It helps if you have some suspended
baskets. But there's no such thing as total self sufficiency.

I have always bought duff houses and done them up. Our first house
cost £400 in 1970. My last house cost £10,000 in solicitor and estate
agent's fees alone (and that was a downsize). Got out just in time I
think.
The plan is to upsize when houses are cheap and downsize when they are
expensive. So the last move was a downsize. The problem is where to
invest the difference these day as someone else was saying.
There is a plot to encourage people to take their money and invest it
in the stockmarket HehHeh. The ******* bankers are trying to wring
the last drop of money from us. I won't be falling for that one.
They have stolen our past, present and future now they want more.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Dec 27, 2:13 pm, Baz wrote:
harry wrote
:



You certainly want to pay it off as fast as poss. Interest rates are
bound to go up soonish. You often see free freezers on these
"freecycle" sites.
However you should examine your freezer contents carefully. They can
soon get filled with trash. The main reason for big freezer capacity
is if you grow your own veg/fruit/etc. You need to use freezer stuff
in rotation, difficult if it's a chest type.

harry, you are exactly right in what you say.
Things have happened in the last 3 years to us which we never could have
foreseen. We took this house and thought we were safe in the fact that
both
of us had a good income, in fact we were able to put more money away than
we expended so paid sometimes double the monthly mortgage, a couple of
times we almost emptied our savings account to spur things along.

The freezer issue annoys me because we have 2(an upright and a chest) and
OH and me freeze everything from the garden we can which is surpluss, put
a
date on it, everything a person would need to know. What happens? After a
get-together with the family the chest freezer looks like an explosion at
a
Hannibal Lecter reunion. Difficult? *******g impossible.
The upright is different though, because it's easier to make the same mess
but you can stand up while you do it.
I know it's not done on purpose but why oh why not take the oldest out?
and
if they are not so good *******g ask.

Moaning over and i'm glad I got it off my chest.(no pun)
Baz

Heh!Heh! We have the same problem. Every so often we have a purge and
chuck out the ten-year-old peas. It helps if you have some suspended
baskets. But there's no such thing as total self sufficiency.

I have always bought duff houses and done them up. Our first house
cost £400 in 1970. My last house cost £10,000 in solicitor and estate
agent's fees alone (and that was a downsize). Got out just in time I
think.
The plan is to upsize when houses are cheap and downsize when they are
expensive. So the last move was a downsize. The problem is where to
invest the difference these day as someone else was saying.
There is a plot to encourage people to take their money and invest it
in the stockmarket HehHeh. The ******* bankers are trying to wring
the last drop of money from us. I won't be falling for that one.
They have stolen our past, present and future now they want more.

.................................................. ............................................

We are very satisfied with Premium Bonds. At least the money is safe,
......... we hope ;-))

Mike

--

....................................
Today, is the tomorrow, you were worrying about, yesterday.
....................................

"harry" wrote in message
...


if they are not so good *******g ask.

I have always bought duff houses and done them up. Our first house
cost £400 in 1970. My last house cost £10,000 in solicitor and estate
agent's fees alone (and that was a downsize). Got out just in time I
think.
The plan is to upsize when houses are cheap and downsize when they are
expensive. So the last move was a downsize. The problem is where to
invest the difference these day as someone else was saying.
There is a plot to encourage people to take their money and invest it
in the stockmarket HehHeh. The ******* bankers are trying to wring
the last drop of money from us. I won't be falling for that one.
They have stolen our past, present and future now they want more.

-------
My secret is - find a house with the land you want and stay there. Grade up
gradually but stop in your forties.
My house is now paid for.
Tina

On Dec 27, 10:47*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"harry" wrote in message

...

if they are not so good *******g ask.

I have always bought duff houses and done them up. *Our first house
cost 400 in 1970. *My last house cost 10,000 in solicitor and estate
agent's fees alone (and that was a downsize). *Got out just in time I
think.
The plan is to upsize when houses are cheap and downsize when they are
expensive. So the last move was a downsize. The problem is where to
invest the difference these day as someone else was saying.
There is a plot to encourage people to take their money and invest it
in the stockmarket HehHeh. *The ******* bankers are trying to wring
the last drop of money from us. I won't be falling for that one.
They have stolen our past, present and future now they want more.

-------
My secret is - find a house with the land you want and stay there. *Grade up
gradually but stop in your forties.
My house is now paid for.
Tina

I have never borrowed money for any purpose as I don't want parasites
living off my back.

I had around fifty acres of land and a five bedroom house, mostly
forest but as you get older it becomes impossible to look after it.
Down now to two bedrooms and one and a half acres. And a thousand feet
lower altitude.

Premium bonds. I might think about that. They don't seem to be
pushing them these days do they?

In message , Baz
writes
harry wrote in
:

Hah. We throw away virtually nothing. My wife has a shopping list.
You see people going round the stores just chucking things in the
basket at random. Clueless!
If we get low on an item at home she has a list on the wall. The only
extras we might buy are non-perishable BOGOFs &c.
Peelings go on compost, birds get scraps, still got veg out of the
garden too.


harry,
What are BOGOFs &c ?

You are lucky to still get veg out of your garden.

ALL my hardy(winter) veg are rotting or rotten, even parsnip.

Yes chucking things in the basket at random...done that.
But I was a very young uninformed father then and it took my mother in the
supermarket to educate me about the ins and outs of it all.

How can you tell if someone is chucking stuff in at random, are you mind
readers.

I don't normally carry a list around with me (though sometimes have one
in the pocket to check if I'm getting lots of stuff), but I'm still
there looking for specific items.

Though mostly I shop online for groceries nowadays, so supermarket
visits are generally to to top up with stuff.
--
Chris French

Very very good point, however at the same time, Baz, this is a Christian country so pretty much everyone is bound to celebrate a holiday so big, and most people do only celebrate because they have been brought up to, not because of what the day is about or represents.

I myself am a bit of a Scrooge, I must admit I'm not all that festive but I do enjoy Christmas dinner and present giving (and receiving) who doesn't? it's the nightmares of shopping leading up to the day that I hate, this year I could barely breathe shopping in Boots a couple of weeks before Christmas, it was so packed - that does my head in, as well as the over the top three month build up.