Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

chika

GeorgieGirl just been nosying at your budget and noticed you spend £1500 a year on phone and broadband, is this right?

ceridwen

itsallinthemind wrote: »

I use Olive Oil, all my family do. The girls(and boys) in the family all look great(ok could be genes) my nearly 80 year old Grandmother looks sixty at a push and I have not one wrinkle that I can see. I have a frownline, but that is because I frown :D Try it, I love the feeling of it, nice and thin

I have been using olive oil latterly as a body lotion - but my skin is MEGA dry and its not "man enough" to do the job - hence my continued search....:(

NualaBuala

:j I am so enjoying all the posts, you are all so inspiring! :T

Huge thanks to Cheryl too who is doing a superb job of running this challenge - but then I'm not surprised as she strikes me as one of the most organised people I've ever known in my real or online life! :A

Ceridwen - here's a link the website where I found the deodorant recipe. It's a great site for all sorts of hair and skin recipes. Am wondering if you've tried various oils on your skin? I find coconut very moisturising but it gives me spots if I use it on my face so I don't use any moisturiser now. I use the OCM (Oil Cleansing Method) - a mix of whatever oils you like (I use jojoba, rosehip, castor oil plus a drop of lavender and tea tree EOs). I rub it over my face and wipe it off with a flannel wrung out in hot water. The residue seems to be enough to keep my face from feeling tight or dry. Time will tell if I get wrinkles but so far I'm doing ok in that department.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=47846
Edit: for the body - I have heard cocoa butter and shea butter are very rich but I haven't tried them myself

itsallinthemind

ceridwen wrote: »

I have been using olive oil latterly as a body lotion - but my skin is MEGA dry and its not "man enough" to do the job - hence my continued search....:(

My Mother uses Petrolium Jelly on knees and Elbows as they get dry. Uses Aqueous Cream as hand cream. Both cheap. Also can be on prescription if that applies to you in any way.

redglass_2

Ceridwen, don't know if you saw my earlier post, think I got mixed up and it was actually an enamelled hob that my ma used washing soda on - sorry!

LolaLemon, Thanks for suggesting crystal rock, I haven't tried that one yet.

redglass_2

ceridwen wrote: »

I know yogurt can be made in a crockpot/slowcooker. Has anyone done this and if so how please? I assume that I just put a tablespoon of live yogurt and a pint of milk in a crockpot and cook on "low" for 8 hours and thats it? Is that correct? Also - can I use any type of milk - without having to bother about whether its skimmed, semi-skimmed or full-fat? (I would only use "proper" milk - I don't use UHT milk or powdered milk....)

I'm very proud of having discovered this :cool: : with my crockpot, you can invert the ceramic lid, so I have something cooking in the crockpot and a glass bowl of yoghurt gently heating on the lid at the same time, just using the rising heat that would be doing nothing otherwise. It has always worked so far. Haven't done it for a while so not sure which setting i used, I imagine any of them would work if you allowed enough time. The weight of the bowl pushes down the crockpot lid so you still get a good seal inside the crockpot. Can't tell you about skimmed milk though as I only like a chunky yoghurt. I try to use 'Greek' style for the live starter for the same reason.

Paulgonnabedebtfree

cw18 wrote: »

saved to add a list of those taking part - I'll add names when people post on here, but if you're still missing after a couple of days please let me know

Lurkers are also more than welcome to say hello and be added - it's always nice to know who's following us

2wildthing2
alec eiffel
Annie56
apple_mint
Aril
Blairweech
cake21
ceridwen
cha97michelle
Cheapskate
chika
Chipps
CRANKY40
cw18
diddly74
dizzy lizzie
Doom_and_Gloom
Ellidee
elly68
enjoyfinancialchallenges
Erme
glendam
fingersxed
Floxxie
flying_fresian
Georgiegirl2012
HelenPie
itsallinthemind
jess444
jo70mo
JustKeepSwimming
kazire
Kerfuffle
kezlou
knithappens
l.m.hart
liloandstitch
Lily_The_Legend
lingojingo
LolaLemon
LollopyBear
maccanut
Marru
miss empty piggy
nannyboo1
NualaBuala
oldestgnome
pagangirl
patentgirl
pink_numbers
Puddleglum
redglass
salski
shebrett
silvasava
slowlyfading
the_cat
thrifty
twiglet98
viv0147
xnatalie81x
youngmummy

Please put me on again this year.
Didn't post in 2010 except for early on but have followed it at times.

xnatalie81x

Wanted to let you all know a lovely left over pasta recipe i am just munching my way through

Left over pasta
mayonnaise
salad cream
macdonalds sweet curry dips (my sis and family save them for me cos i rarely eat it)

Mix it all together and eat cold mmmmm - in spring/summer will add grated raw courgette and chopped cucumber (from the garden) to make a delicious side dish. Today we had this with veggie hot dogs in finger rolls (freezer reduced specials)

Also made biscuits. Used double amounts and made 6 with jam in, 6 ordinary and about 8 with orange essence. Topped them with vanilla buttercream i had from when tesco baking was b2g1f or some good offer

Kerry_Woman

Have set my budget for 2011 as £10,500, which includes the following:

Mortgage – 1889.28
Home Contents – 193.56
Life Insurance – 72
Bills – 600
Christmas – 240
Savings – 480
Council Tax – 1500
Pension – 507.12
Mobile – 192
Broadband – 143.88
Toiletries – 100
Property Maintenance – 534.36
Courses – 150
Presents – 330
Misc – 1053.80
Fares – 2364
Social - 150

Have not included the food, as my Mum lives with me and she pays for the food. Am keeping a separate record of what is spent on food.

Am keeping a spending diary and trying to use up food and toilertries before buying anymore.

chika

Just looking at the moisturiser discussion with interest. Oils such as petroleum jelly, aqueous cream etc aren't moisturisers and will not moisturise your skin. They do a great job at sealing moisture in by creating a barrier. However they won't let your skin absorb mositure either meaning your skin can often get drier, they also clog pores creating spots on some people. You might find it more effective to use a cheap moisturiser, Aldi do a good one for around £1.50 or if you live near an afro carribean hair shop try razac lotion (the smell is rather strong but its a fantastic moisturiser at £1.99 for a big tub). Use the cheap moisturiser and then seal it using a mineral oil product such as baby lotion, petroleum jelly etc. Olive and coconut oils are slightly better but they are still not moisturisers and all you are doing is creating a barrier between your skin and the air. It may feel nice and soft for a while but all that is just the film the oil leaves.

Edited to add this post - there is some "science" in here! http://paigetheblogger.com/2010/09/02/just-so-you-know-oils-are-not-moisturisers/

HTH someone