Frugal Living 2010 -The Cost of Living Challenge, INTRO

Fishcake_Random

Inspired by your whoopsie values CW18. OH and I went on a Mr.T adventure tonight looking for bargins and we found loads.
Value ketchup and value brown sauce - 68p (reason we went,also the fact I havent been out for 2 days and needed a nice walk)
Fresh chicked kiev things(encroute?) - 75p from £3.00
Melon snack pack - 40p from 2.00
2x pork pies - 15p each from 74p each
Quiche Lorraine - 47p from £1.89p
2 fresh organic chicken breasts - 50p from £2.00
6 pack of incredibly youghurts - 47p from £1.89

Over all costing us £3.57p instead of £12.86p a saving of £9.29p.
I can't believe it, I`m so chuffed.
OH is having a pork pie, 1/2 quiche, 2 yoghurts and some crisps tomo and sunday for work lunch. I`ll eat the other 2 yoghurts and melon for my lunch/pregnant lady snacks lol. The 2 chicken kiev things will be tomorrow dinner with some mash and veggies I already have and as we're having a meal out sunday night with family, the chicken breast will be frozen untill I make a curry on monday night with things I already have.
So 3 lunchs (ish) and 4 dinners for £3.57p. At this rate I can certainly manage on £100 a week lol
x x x x x

wornoutmumoftwo

I just got three loaves of Warburton's toasting bread for 30p. If I had a bigger freezer i'd have taken the entire crate load of bread with me.

Skint_Lynne

Fishcake,

I would say that your chicken breasts were reduced a couple of times, they most probably started off around the £4 for 2 of them, as I used to buy these once upon a time. so well done you, that's an even better saving for you. :T

(will scuttle off to other 4k thread).

victoriaplum1

Hi please can you add me, not really been too frugal in past but as income dropping by £900 a year this month I need to make some big changes. I have already started swopping books on readitswopit instead of buying (am a bit of a bookworm) also already got christmas cards and wrap for next christmas (sad I know but half price in Sainsburys this week) not sure above counts as frugal as such but its a start...I intend to dust off the slow cooker, save wherever possible and hit the charity shops so please coudl you add me, very interesting to see how this turns out...thanks!!!!

stingey

Hi

Can I still be added please?

little-lou-pink

please can you add me to the 2010 live off challenge thingy.
I am now a single mum student so watching the pennies will sure help me. I will add my budget asap. Great to be joining you all.:j
little-lou-pink

cw18

Welcome to the newbies


Fishcake_Random - :T on the Whoopsie haul. Only problem I've discovered is that Whoopsie hunting can get very addictive -- and I have two groaning freezers to prove it :rolleyes2

ChinaTea

cw18 wrote: »

When I turn off the TV (or in the case of the downstairs one, press the standy button on the remote) they turn off the power to all the appliances in the 'socket' (other than the two I can over-ride if I've flicked the switch on those).

When I turn on the TV again (or in the case of the downstairs one, press the standy button on the remote - no need to cross the living room at all with this one) the appliances all power back up.

It's as if you've actually switched all the appliances off at the mains, but you only have to press one button to do it. And it's a one button action to turn them all back on at the mains too. Means people (myself included) really can't be too lazy to bother switching off things that won't be used for a few hours (or days, or even weeks in the case of the ones in my craft room)


ETA: This is the one I have downstairs, and this is the one I have upstairs (officially a desktop PC version, but they also do a TV version with a sensor which works from a remote control like the one I have downstairs). I got both mine for free (bar the cost of a newspaper for the downstairs one), so keep an eye peeled for promotions would be my advice

I got one of these free from the EON site even though I'm not a customer and also got one of the standby saver thingys and a electricity monitor from BGas after following a link from the Freebies board. Warning...the electricity monitor is addictive. I'm on a prepayment meter and it will show how much you've used today, last 7 or 30 days so I 'replace' how much I've used each week. Was really shocked at how much the cooker uses per hour :eek: really makes you think before using it and am using the slow cooker far more than before. Only put the oven on now when I can fill it, as there's just me can usually cook a weeks worth of meals in one go and freeze the extras. Don't know if the offer is still on but well worth a look, sorry can't do links.

A bit OT but I've just had an email to say that I have after 8 long years achieved a BSc with the OU:j Have to decide now whether to do another course next year to add the Hons.

Snowed in here so a stay at home weekend, still have the thermostat at 12 degrees and thermals on for first time today. Can feel a baking day coming on.

cw18

I connected up my electricity monitor yesterday.....

In the last 24 hours I've been shocked to discover :-

1) the light on my hob extractor uses as much as the 7 recessed spots (energy efficient bulbs) in the kitchen
2) how much the grill uses
3) that my toaster (if doing 4 slices) uses as much as my kettle
4) that it shows a momentary increase every time I open the fridge (even if only get the milk out of the door, so I don't open it fully)

and I've not started playing with everything else in the house (nor used the oven) yet

ChinaTea

cw18 wrote: »

I connected up my electricity monitor yesterday.....

In the last 24 hours I've been shocked to discover :-

1) the light on my hob extractor uses as much as the 7 recessed spots (energy efficient bulbs) in the kitchen
2) how much the grill uses
3) that my toaster (if doing 4 slices) uses as much as my kettle
4) that it shows a momentary increase every time I open the fridge (even if only get the milk out of the door, so I don't open it fully)

and I've not started playing with everything else in the house (nor used the oven) yet

Hadn't thought about the fridge door, off to check now. Is it the light that causes the increase or the rise in temp or both?