It's the first of August, my gosh how quickly the months are passing by at the moment and it doesn't even feel like Summer. I've been sleeping under my summer-weight duvet but with an added quilt on top, it's the only way to stay warm. I've spent most evenings watching television wearing my fleecy jacket for warmth and days dashing out between showers to pick what vegetables are still growing to add to my meals.
And talking about food, at the top is this months photo of the top part of the food cupboard.
Last month it looked like this.
Suddenly there are proper gaps appearing, helped a little bit by me taking a jar of jam and a tin of lentils to the flat ... not to be eaten together I hasten to add.
... very sparse!!
After my thoughts and post on retirement the other day, and then sitting and thinking about all the Challenges I have set myself both this year and in previous years, I've come to the conclusion that they were all leading me to this point. I love that in every single Challenge I have ever done I have learnt something new, either about myself, about how to do things or how to change things going forward.
So, I am giving myself just over eighteen months to get myself to a position whereby I can retire a year early and have enough in my savings account to still be able to draw down a similar amount as though I was earning wages.
When I put together my recent findings about ultra processed foods, my desire to live cheaply and simply, my food cupboard challenge whereby I have been eating down the excessive stores that I had built up, and then thought about my previous limited times living on the rationing amounts available in the UK during WWII, when food was limited and expensive but mostly natural ... it was almost as those had been practice runs.
So I think I am going to go back on rations, and I'm not going to mess about.
I will have Austerity August to get me in the right financial mindset and start my bank account feeling a bit healthier and then I will go straight back to basics, paying with cash, buying and eating simple foods in the WWII quantities that made us healthy as a nation ... and see what it can do for me.
I guess it's time to register my Ration Card then.
Sue xx
Do you follow Carolyn's blog (https://the1940sexperiment.com/) She has got the WW2 rations down to a fine art.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been blogging buddies with Carolyn since I started Our New Life in the Country. Her blog has always been on my sidebar as she's dipped into and out of rationing over the years. I am also one of the founding members of her Facebook group, we started off with around 25 of us and now it's there's over 3,500 members worldwide. It's a popular subject at the moment.
DeleteYou are right about the year racing away. Yesterday I put the heating on for an hour because the whole house had got chilled (and so had I) and this morning I need a light on.
ReplyDeleteI won't say "good luck" for your 18-month plan because I don't think you need it - yes, it does feel as if all your previous Challenges have been getting you ready for this, the big one, and that you have the skills and knowledge to just get on with it. I plan to be watching alongside, and I expect saying "wow, well done" on a regular basis as I continue to learn from you and be inspired. xxx
I'm sat here feeling pretty chilly and currently warming a bowl of soup for my lunch, it definitely feels like soup weather again today.
DeleteThank you for your kind words. :-)
With the wind and rain, it feels very autumnal here today. Recently, I have needed a lamp on during the daytime, as it's been so gloomy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with Austerity August. Xx
Thank you. I've noticed the nights drawing in even more this week as the skies have been so overcast during the day. It feels like we are heading into Autumn, before we have completed Summer. :-(
DeleteTotally agree that all your challenges have lead you to this point :-) Even though I haven't achieved my 4 year challenge, I feel ready to start my retirement well prepared! :-)
ReplyDeleteBut doing your challenge definitely put you on the right path, and into the right mindset to accomplish everything that you are accomplishing at the moment. It was well worth doing. I think holding ourselves accountable is the best way forward isn't it.
DeleteVery inspiring! I look forward to following, so I can stay mindful of my spending. I sure wish I had your weather! It was 100 degrees here yesterday! (Texas)
ReplyDeleteGosh we would LOVE just a little of that heat, maybe just for a few hours so that we would appreciate all the rain and coldness again. If only we could swap completely for a couple of days. :-)
DeleteYou have got planning down to a fine art, Sue, so I know you will smash this new challenge. It makes a heck of a lot of sense to make the next 18 months a preparation for retirement and I look forward very much to reading about your journey. Thank you in advance for sharing it :)
ReplyDeleteAs I wind down the day job over the next few months it will give me lots of time for truly frugal living and planning, and hopefully growing more ... if I can stop Ginger using my salad leaves as a cat litter tray ... eugh!! Netting is definitely required over the beds.
DeleteWhen I decided to retire 2.5 years early, I started the year before in August and removed every penny from my salary above my pension and left my pension in the bank to live on. Over the year before I retired, I also saved the balance of money from my salary to give me a back up for retirement. I am old enough that I received my State Pension at 60 which I also took into consideration. I had enough clothes etc to last for years and I also oversaw lots of essential maintenance on the house as soon as I retired. I didn’t feel deprived in any way because I had time and patience to live more simply. Good luck with your challenge-I always learn something from the things you do. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good way to do it, planning ahead really helps towards retirement doesn't it. And as time is going by so fast at the moment, it seems as though it will be here before I know it. Thank you. xx
DeleteI did the same as Catrina two years before actually retiring, deciding to manage on the pension amount I’d get once I reached 66.
ReplyDeleteI then ‘paid’ myself once a month from the savings. It allowed me to retire a year early. Regards, June
It seems I am not alone in making this a plan, lots of us have our 'sensible heads on' when we are getting close to retirement age. :-)
DeleteGood luck, I always love your challenges. Austerity August!! I love that title.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you. It has a good ring to it doesn't it.
DeleteI will read with interest. I have tried a few wartime recipes, and enjoyed them, my problem is that I can't figure out the rations as a vegan who doesn't eat any vegan cheese or vegan meats except the occasional Linda McCartney Lincolnshire sausage. How would I get enough beans, lentils etc, I really don't know. I know there were vegans during the rationing period but can't find any information on line. If anyone can help me I would be most grateful.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy your beans/lentils/rice/pasta etc on points or do a complete substitution say instead of bacon take 1/2lb of lentils. There's no hard and fast rules if you just want to simplify your diet with a rationing slant. The vegan society was only established in 1944 right near the end of the war years, so there is not a lot written about the vegan diet.
DeleteCarolyn who runs The 1940's Experiment blog (on my sidebar) and The Living on WW2 Rations 1940's Experiment.com Facebook group is vegan and all her planning is done for a vegan diet, although she does eat some meat replacements.
I think the bacon/lentil substitution route is the way to go, makes perfect sense. Grateful for the help.
DeleteI like your way of preparing for retirement! When I considered retiring, I calculated what my retirement income would be and decided to live on that amount for a year. Except, when I punched in the numbers, I discovered, much to my surprise, that I was already living under what I calculated my retirement income would be! LOL! I've been retired for almost five years now, and managing very well. I'm sure you will manage very well, too. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure I will. That must have been a very pleasant surprise for you, you'd already been practising without even knowing it. :-)
DeleteIt's Jon's birthday, we should be sitting outside quaffing beer in the sunshine, not sitting inside with the heating on!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone could rise to a challenge then it's you! xxx