FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 1. (Living on £4,000 a year)

JayJay14

Lynz - I grow potatoes in old recycling boxes (we've changed the way we collect the stuff so the boxes were surplus) They grow really well and as we just put 3-4 seed potatoes in when it is ready to harvest we just tip it out and rummage in the soil for the potatoes.

They also mean that if we plant them out a bit early and there is some frost we can put the boxes in the garage or shed overnight to protect them.

(I have aquired quite a lot of the boxes I have to admit but they will be put to good use growing all sorts this year - reuse and recycle and all that:rotfl:)

bails

Has anyone got any of the soya mince from Approved Foods and how is it please? Does it have any date on it? ie could I buy some now to use when we get home in 4 months? Any other great things on there? Thanks peeps!

JustKeepSwimming_2

sophiesmum wrote: »

Love the "Humphrey" account lol, my uncle used to work for unigate dairies then and got us loads of sheets of humphrey stickers and stripey straws with milkshake in, which we swapped at school for football cards, and marbles (early LETS trades maybe lol)

Wow, that bought back some memories!

Annie - thanks for the Jan thread. I've just taken over a horribly overgrown allotment so when the snow melts I'll need to crack on.

This thread moves far too quickly for me to catch up but I'm trying to post more. So far I've spent £350.61, but £36.67 of this has been charity donations & I'm not sure if I'm going to include these in my £8000. I guess it depends on how overbudget I go :rolleyes:

Thanks to all for the great ideas & inspiration - Aril - I shall try your carrot & sweetcorn crumble. Can't wait to see my DD face...

minjara

Well was bad today, neither of us could be bothered cooking or going out so got a chippy delivered and juice which was £8.90!! Oops, enjoyed it though. Also had someone come round for a quote for our piping, guttering and roofing so will get more of them.

Also written my "to do" list for the forseeable future.

On a good note, we cleared our path to the house today, and cleaned up a bit, was dripping, so thats been my work out! lol.

Just playing scrabble now on pc with OH. Anyone know any good cashback or survey sites.

Minjara

cha97michelle

I just had myself a little idea and have started a new folder on my favourites called recipes to save the recipes that i like the sound of in until i can try them. Why have i not thought of this before. :rolleyes: Great recipe from Aril. I think that one would go down well here with my boys.


annie another thanks for your thread. We did ok in the garden last year at our first attempt but more by luck than judgement. We want to build upon this in 2010. First plant was planted this week (a chilli plant) and i have got it on my desk under the light while i am working, near my SAD lightbulb when i stick that on, in natural light when it appears, and wrapping in a plastic bag overnight to keep the warmth in the soil a bit. If they work out ok i am likely to start off some salad leaves once we get back from our short break booked for early Feb. Hopefully poor weather now will lead to a mild spring. Fingers crossed.


Heads up for any Mr M shoppers. I bought a brisket joint of beef this week to use in my SC and stretch. We have just seen an advert for a shoulder of pork joint for £1.99 a kilo so i think that will be next weeks 'nile' ingredient. The brisket joint was £6 for just over a kilo. I'm going to send DH there for me tomorrow as he passes on his way home from work, and he will only pick up what i tell him too, whereas i would probably add a few bits.

mooomin

Corned beef hash was tasty, and a nice cheap dinner for us! Mr Fresian is a fan of the hobnobs

I'm ready for going back to work tomorrow, I am about to sort out my handbag stuff and have already found an orange and some flapjack for my lunchbox! I'm going to take the reduced quiche out of the freezer for lunch in the morning, so a nice cheap lunch for me :j

Help required! I have a dimmer switch thing in my lounge. I thought that the bulb needed replacing as it was flickering a lot, so I replaced it but it's still going mad (Think horror-movie style lighting) I'm using side lamps just now, but they're not bright enough. Any idea what could be wrong with the light? I don't want to call someone out if it's something simple!

Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your night!

savingfortravel

Much better day at school but feel exhausted from marking 120 pieces of work this evening!
Frugal things achieved today: NSD/HM soup and Christmas cake/Free lunch at school
Lovely to hear all your news Bails :T
Welcome Karmacat/Sabs10:hello:
Sf-All the good lessons make up for any bad.
Chika-Glad your mum’s ok :T
Mushy-Your meal planning sounds great
Thriftkitten/Ansoff/Knithappens/Flying/Lynzpower/Ches-Glad things are going so well. :T
Loopychris- I also enjoy stockpiling as it saves a lot of money..but have been doing this for a few years now. Interesting comments regarding food shortages. Doesn’t it feel great resisting those unnecessary spends though :T
Aril-Thanks for the tuna bake recipe
Kiwi-I am an Essex girl. Where’s your mum living?
Kitti-Congrats on those NSDs. :T
Debt-Hope the flat viewing goes well.
Nyk-Glad LETs is going so well. Please continue to share your trading with us.

Have a good evening all

sft

ellemm

Kiwisaver [QUOTE=

Would love the Kleftico recipe, if you wouldn't mind sharing. I adore Greek food.


[/QUOTE]

My version of the lamb kleftico is using lamb leg cutlets. They are simply cooked in the oven in foil parcels, usually leave them on in a moderate oven for a couple of hours till nice and tender.
I add a little garlic, some olive oil, oregano & thyme, fresh or dried, a bay leaf, sometimes a chopped tomato, salt & pepper and a few small chunks of feta cheese and occasionally a splash of white wine or some lemon juice - tends to be different each time I make it!!

I too love Greek food especially their lovely yummy cakes and pastries :rotfl:When we were in Crete at Christmas & New Year, our lovely Greek neighbour baked us the traditional New Year cake which has a coin in it for luck. It was lovely, spicy with cinnamon & almonds in it...OH was determined to get the coin but I was the lucky one in the second last slice!!

liloandstitch

Thought Id better post, I have been waiting for the thread to slow down - Ive spent so long reading it, Ive run out of time! I followed the thread last year, and didnt do bad, but this year I need to be a little more hardcore. I am trying to use £70 a week to cover all my adjustable expenses - food, diesel, presents, bits and pieces - all our expenditure really except decorating. This is where we have really fallen down, and having the odd takeaway. I really need to get more into menu planning - we need to lose weight so could combine the two. I think I need to become more disciplined in quite a few areas, and make sure that I keep records of what I spend. Have come in within budget so far, but have spent the money each week, whereas I really need to allocate it a bit better, for example putting money away towards the cost of Christmas, presents etc. All 4 stepchildren have a birthday in May and this will quickly go wrong if I havent started to put money away for this.

I made a good start today - I took out a pack of mince, cooked it all and used some to make a spag bol for todays tea, and the rest I made up into 2 1/2 shepherds pies - enough for 2 meals. I would normally split this pack in 2 so am pretty chuffed to get the extra meal out of it. And, I have frozen the shep pies, so my first bit of 'batch' cooking! We are having stew tomorrow, which I do a vat of, and it covers 2/3 meals. Must make sure that I am organised in the morning to get it going, so it cooks whilst I go to my hospital appointment.

Thanks everyone for the tips, they are really appreciated and I do find that reading all of your posts about stretching your money really inspirational. Hopefully I will stay more on the straight and narrow this year.

Lilo

JayJay14

flying_fresian wrote: »

Help required! I have a dimmer switch thing in my lounge. I thought that the bulb needed replacing as it was flickering a lot, so I replaced it but it's still going mad (Think horror-movie style lighting) I'm using side lamps just now, but they're not bright enough. Any idea what could be wrong with the light? I don't want to call someone out if it's something simple!

Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your night!

What sort of bulb is it? Cos I don't think they work very well with low energy bulbs and I know that the light fittings we have in the lounge can't be used with a dimmer.