2013 Frugal Living Challenge

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  • allie23
    allie23 Posts: 1,857
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    edited 4 February 2013 at 7:26PM
    Morning All. My frugal plans for this weekend are:
    1. Food plan for lunches and dinners for next week. We won't need much from the shops as we stocked up last week. Spend this week will be less than £10. Done - spend less that £10 as anticipated.
    2. It is a beautiful frosty day here so I am going to take advantage of this and get out walking for some free exercise. Done
    3. Look at finances and see if I could send a bit more across to savings this month. Done
    4. Get the HM ice cream and yoghurt made ready for next week. Not done.
    5. Check stocks of bread in the freezer and if low head out to Mr T at around 7.30pm tomorrow to get reduced bread for the freezer. - Done still got 4 loaves plus rolls.
    January GC 2024 £135/£180
    Frugal living Challenge 2024
  • dizzy_lizzie
    dizzy_lizzie Posts: 2,952 Forumite
    natnat13 wrote: »
    This is an interesting read - http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1641364/How-I-lived-on-1-a-day-for-a-year.html

    NSD for me today hopefully. Fuel light on on car so going to try and walk everywhere til Fri night then it will be three weeks since I filled up.

    Thanks for the link natnat. Just read it but did I read it right...she hitched rides to some places? No way would I ever consider that...
    x
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  • allie23
    allie23 Posts: 1,857
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    Evening All. Todays frugal actions:
    1. Listed some books on Amazon.
    2. Made a list of gift ideas for family/friends birthdays this year - mostly going to mix and match a mini hamper of boots toiletries that I bought on sale after Christmas. Mum is getting a knitting bag & needle case bought in sale too. It is harder to think what to get the males - somehow I always seem to forget to get Boots stuff in the sale for them!! It is my OHs 40th this year so I do want to do something special. I think we will probably go away for a weekend somewhere.


    I also freecycled an old bike that I don't use to gain extra space in my potting shed. I am hoping to grow most, if not all, of my plants for the garden from see this year. I have done this before but fallen out of the habit. I do really enjoy doing it though - there is something relaxing about popping out each morning to water them.
    January GC 2024 £135/£180
    Frugal living Challenge 2024
  • allie23 wrote: »
    I do really enjoy doing it though - there is something relaxing about popping out each morning to water them.

    I totally agree Allie23, I used to love going out on a summers morning to water the plants and then collect my lunch to take to work knowing it was picked from the garden and all free.

    I too fell out of the habit but am planning to really get on with this this year. Garden is a mess and could do with a really good overhaul but can't really afford it just yet, planning to make it beautiful next year budget allowing, but for this year the plan is to grow a lot more than I managed to do last year. Good luck.

    with regard to other frugalling - today has been good. I forgot to take lunch and didn't want to spend any money in the canteen really but didn't have any choice. All I had in the cupboard at work was a tin of beans so I asked the ladies if I could buy a couple of slices of bread and they gave me two crusts for free. I love crusts!! So I was very happy, also found 5p on the floor. It's not much but I put it in my savings tin on top of the fridge. DOH hates having change jangling around in his pocket so he either puts it in the tin, in his van (which gets cleaned out into the tin), or leaves it lying around on some surface which I then minesweep and it ends up......you guessed it...in the tin! Also I have to say I am so happy, I have for the first time in my life started to put money aside for christmas. I know I have debts still to pay off but they are on 0% and I have money to put towards them too, but I just want to start feeling a little bit in control, and boy does it feel good.

    Hope you're all having a lovely warm and frugal evening. :)
  • gien
    gien Posts: 1,649
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    I've been terrible about coming and posting here - sorry and I will do better next month.
    we have actually been really frugal in January, spending very little indeed as we have some massive bills to pay which cleaned us out completely.
    I feel that we can now just about think about being back on an even keel at the end of the month.
    this month I am starting to think about my vegetable garden and sowing some early stuff in the cold frame to get some lovely frugal fresh vegetables in summer. I hope it stops raining a bit though!
    Trying to keep in budget.

    2270
  • lbnblbnb
    lbnblbnb Posts: 567
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    How funny! I have been thinking more and more about getting the vegetable patch going again, I come on here, there is at least three of us thinking like that. I have been re-reading Vegetables for Small Gardens by Joy Larkcom and daydreaming. I need to track down my seed tin next and work out what I have.
    Grocery Challenge (2 adults 2 kids)
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    2013 Frugal Living Challenge
    Debt free October 2012
  • My mission for the weekend is to do 'something' in the garden. I am imagining just clearing some rubbish away and just the beginnings of a plan together will be about it but at least that is a start. Have got some moving around in the house to do first thought - DOH and I are moving our bedroom into the second living room so that the girls can have a bedroom each/some privacy. Not sure where we're going to sleep at the moment. There is a rubbish old sofa bed which is fine for the girls sleepovers but not for 2 adults to sleep on every night. We also need to organise some kind of wardrobe situation - really don't know how we're going to work it all but we'll manage. We can't afford to move and the girls need some space so we're going to give it a try. I'm off work in a couple of weeks so the plan is to get sorted properly by then, so lots to do and with no money. I do love a challenge!!!
  • allie23
    allie23 Posts: 1,857
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    Afternoon All. Had my first order for one of my books on Amazon so packing that up just now.

    I have been wondering - what frugal habit has saved you the most money over the years? What frugal habit has changed the way you do things?

    For me the one that has saved me the most is food planning and cooking from scratch. I have learned over the years to plan my meals and cook from the 'raw materials'. I remember after I had been doing this for a few months I thought we would have a treat and get a weeks worth of shopping from M&S where we used to buy a lot of your food in the form of ready meals. I was so disappointed that the M&S food did not taste as good as I remembered - I realised that the food I was cooking from scratch was better!! I used to spend around £350 - £400:eek: per month in food back then. These days its more like £120 - £150:j.


    I have lots of wee frugal habits that have changed how I do things - I now go shopping a certain times to pick up offers and cut price bread which I bulk buy and fill the freezer with.

    I cut the top off the toothpaste, face creams, hand creams etc and usually get another few days if not longer out of them - I was amazed the first time I did this how much was left.

    I forage - I never used to even notice the raspberries and brambles as I went about my walks. Now I forage for them every year and make Jams and jellies which I really enjoy doing. This year I am planning on using these skills to make HM hampers for family for Christmas filled with jams, jellies and chutneys along with HM cakes etc. This will also hopefully cut down the cost of Christmas as I can get carried away and spend a lot on 'just a wee extra' as the £50+ item I purchased 'doesn't look that much'.
    January GC 2024 £135/£180
    Frugal living Challenge 2024
  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    Great post allie :) I was just saying to a friend that I should cook more from scratch too. But I've been disappointed recently with recipes I've tried. Do you use a recipe book allie or find inspiration on the net? I like to cook but have got in a rut.
  • we bulk buy and do a lot of batch cooking which has saved us lots of money and time.

    I cut the tops of toothpaste hand cream etc also cut cleansing cloths in half

    we have foraged for blackberries etc and get given a lot of fruit ie rhubarb, plums,apples. which make lovely pies etc.

    we have just been offered the use of a garden for a veggie plot just deciding if its a good idea

    I have really got back into my crafts which initially are for my use but hope to be able to make gifts or sell some.

    we are not buying anything thats not essential and being economical with the petrol gas and electric

    im not sure what else i can do at the moment except for selling stuff on eBay. i have collected quite a few bits but i have a mental block when it comes to listing them but I will do it when im fed up with tripping over it all:rotfl:

    one thing more. im growing my hair and gone back to colouring it my self saves a small fortune
    You can if you think you can .
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