Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

minnie2

mama67 wrote: »

can also download the nectar toolbar which then puts a popup on top of each online shop saying can go thru nectar if signed up

how would i do this?

mama67

minnie2 wrote: »

how would i do this?

on the nectar website, and follow the link

natnat13

I have just spent all afternoon clearing out my kitchen cupboards! Found some stuff for car boot and ebay and feel like I've achieved something!

Found a jar of pasta bake at the back of one cupboard so thats for tea I have decided, I just had fish written down on my meal planner so going to add a tin of tuna, a tin of mixed beans and a pepper chopped up.

Quick question, I'm venturing to pound land on Wed, which I don't do very often as it's an hour away but need to go to the city for other things, can anyone reccommend what to buy? Def going to look for green bags, toothpaste, any other ideas welcomed please.

Just an idea for anyone wanted free cosmetics, I USED to (so not promoting myself, don't think we're allowed to do that are we?!) work doing body shop doing party plan and for hosting a party you got freebies, as long as your sales reached a certain level. It's like that with all the other parties you can hold to, kitchen stuff, chocolate, jewellery etc. So if anyone wants some freebies, you can just get some friends round and for a few cups of tea you might get some goodies. Only a thought.... Nat x

never_too_old

natnat13 wrote: »

I have just spent all afternoon clearing out my kitchen cupboards! Found some stuff for car boot and ebay and feel like I've achieved something!

Found a jar of pasta bake at the back of one cupboard so thats for tea I have decided, I just had fish written down on my meal planner so going to add a tin of tuna, a tin of mixed beans and a pepper chopped up.

Quick question, I'm venturing to pound land on Wed, which I don't do very often as it's an hour away but need to go to the city for other things, can anyone reccommend what to buy? Def going to look for green bags, toothpaste, any other ideas welcomed please.

Just an idea for anyone wanted free cosmetics, I USED to (so not promoting myself, don't think we're allowed to do that are we?!) work doing body shop doing party plan and for hosting a party you got freebies, as long as your sales reached a certain level. It's like that with all the other parties you can hold to, kitchen stuff, chocolate, jewellery etc. So if anyone wants some freebies, you can just get some friends round and for a few cups of tea you might get some goodies. Only a thought.... Nat x

you cant go wrong with the teabags tetley or typhoo but watch box size i noticed some of the tetley ones have gone down to 80 in a box rather than 100:D

JayneC

HI all,

Sorry I just can't keep up with this thread

Have read the last page and this one and afew scattered in between so sorry for not being up with the news.

SF glad you had such a lovely time with your friend. I saw an old friend of mine at Christmas taht I've not seen for over a year and it was as if we always saw each other

Nuala - hope you're ok. Have you been having a bad time?

Well I was ever so excited yesterday - my chickens laid their very first eggs!
I'm doing ok on the frugal front but why do all the expenses have to fall at one go....? I'd budgeted an amount for DD's auditions over the year and have paid for 3 already!! Hoping her dad will pay for the next 2 or 3! And my toilet is blocked again!! I have emergency home cover as part of my home insurance and I rang them on Fri - they couldn't come till Sat after 1pm. I had to take DS back to uni so asked DD to be there - she didn't get in til 1.30 and he'd alreday been:mad:
So rang yesterday and they said today btween 8am and 6pm - not been yet, think it's payback for being out on Sat:mad: No toilet in the meantime - don't ask it's not pretty!!!!:p

Anyway off to make tea - pasta again;)

seriouslyfrugal

itsallinthemind wrote: »

Coley tastes no different in a fish pie, plus is sustainable :T and CHEAP!

http://www.fishfight.net/

Hi thanks for the link to this I ment to signed up over the weekend and I just didn't get round to it :j

Laushappy wrote: »

Hello everyone.
Been reading through the posts, i'm addicted! everyone is doing so well with the frugaling.
I havent had a NSD for a few days
For anyone with little uns, sainsbury has all there baby stuff on a third off, i've just been and stocked up and tempted to go back for more nappies.

For those with ME (chronic fatigue) and depression, the advice i give to my clients is individual to each person, but to all i would say balance you blood sugar levels to help even out energy levels and reduce cravings. The general rules for doing this is eat protein and complex carbs (wholegrains) with every meal and include two snacks per day (crudites and houmous, nuts and fruit).
Also food allergies can play a major role.
Reduce saturated fat and increase essential fats (found in oily fish, nuts and seeds).
Chew food thouroughly (to take the pressure off the digestive system).
Dont burn yourself out, or push yourself to hard, gentle exercise is best.
Hope this helps, i suffered for years, although not severe, its a frustrating illness.

Making fish pie for dinner, feeding 5 adults and 2 children so using 3 packs of fish (not very frugal although will bulk it out with peas, toms and sweet corn oh and some onion.

Best wishes to all

Laushappy : thanks for the advice on eating for depression I think i'm going to start keeping a food diary do you have any advice for those of us trying to cut down on caffine!! - I know exactly what you mean by it being addictive ( the tread and being frugal )


today was a spend day for me which is fine and expected

I hope everyone is ok - have a good frugal day tomorrow everyone:j

slowlyfading

Evening everyone

Another NSD for me today, which is good. OH made a chicken and sweetcorn soup from the left over chicken and some homemade stock so I've just had some of that for tea which was lovely. It was also nice to come home and not have to worry about cooking!

skint_chick

Hello new peeps I'm finding it hard to keep up this thread is moving so fast! Welcome back Marru hope all's well with you.

I've been super busy this last couple of weeks. After redundancy in August I decided to start my own business (even though I got a new job a couple of weeks later) and have now launched my website and blog. I just need to get some time to sort out my marketing - business cards and Facebook page are done but I need to do some local advertising and get out and tell people about it. I'm not very good at self promotion so this is well out of my comfort zone.

My business fits well with the frugality of my lifestyle. I want to become even more minimalist this year, selling off things I'm not going to use anymore and trying to be more eco-friendly. I've just completed a jewellery making course so have made myself lots of unique bits n bobs for a lot less than buying. I'd love to be able to do the same with toiletries- Erme your shampoo solution sounds great and I was going to give it a go. I read on a blog I follow about rinsing with vinegar to give your hair shine and combat frizz but was slightly concerned about smelling like a chip shop:o

Lynzpower -I'm totally hooked on diet Coke but have managed to reduce myself down to one can a day and there's an offer in Asda this week 12cans for £3:D

slowlyfading

JayneC wrote: »

SF glad you had such a lovely time with your friend. I saw an old friend of mine at Christmas taht I've not seen for over a year and it was as if we always saw each other

Thanks, it was lovely

NualaBuala

Laushappy, thanks for ME advice - fits well with what I am trying to do and the more reminders I get the better! I'm trying to eat veggie and finding it hard to increase my protein without resorting to fatty things like cheese. I'm not mad about pulses unless they are hidden in sauces and stews but will need to improve that. Have some cooked chickpeas I froze so plan to make hummous with them for snacks and sandwiches.

JayneC wrote: »

HI all,

Sorry I just can't keep up with this thread

Have read the last page and this one and afew scattered in between so sorry for not being up with the news.

SF glad you had such a lovely time with your friend. I saw an old friend of mine at Christmas taht I've not seen for over a year and it was as if we always saw each other

Nuala - hope you're ok. Have you been having a bad time?

Well I was ever so excited yesterday - my chickens laid their very first eggs!
I'm doing ok on the frugal front but why do all the expenses have to fall at one go....? I'd budgeted an amount for DD's auditions over the year and have paid for 3 already!! Hoping her dad will pay for the next 2 or 3! And my toilet is blocked again!! I have emergency home cover as part of my home insurance and I rang them on Fri - they couldn't come till Sat after 1pm. I had to take DS back to uni so asked DD to be there - she didn't get in til 1.30 and he'd alreday been:mad:
So rang yesterday and they said today btween 8am and 6pm - not been yet, think it's payback for being out on Sat:mad: No toilet in the meantime - don't ask it's not pretty!!!!:p

Anyway off to make tea - pasta again;)

Jayne - I've been finding it hard to keep up too! Hurray on your eggs - have you eaten them yet? I'm sure they will taste so good knowing that they are from your own. Hope your DD gets on well at her auditions - am very impressed since I know you've got into drama too. What a family - you're not the Redgraves by any chance?
My sympathy over the blocked toilet, I've got one too. Luckily it's not the only one but I could do without the expense. I didn't think of claiming on the insurance, not sure if it's covered.
I'm ok - not sure if I told you I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and ME. I had a really bad patch but think I am making progress now. Today I met a friend for lunch and walked 25 minutes. There's no way I could have done that before, and even a short while ago I could have only done one or the other but not both. So it's a really good sign I think. :j

slowlyfading wrote: »

Evening everyone

Another NSD for me today, which is good. OH made a chicken and sweetcorn soup from the left over chicken and some homemade stock so I've just had some of that for tea which was lovely. It was also nice to come home and not have to worry about cooking!

You've got a good guy there SF! Well done on the NSDs! :T

Skint Chick - I used to always wash my hair in a bicarb solution and follow up with a diluted vinegar rinse. I didn't bother wash out the vinegar (think you get a better effect that way) and the smell disappears by the time your hair is dry. Congrats on setting up your own business - hope it all goes well!

Couldn't resist whoopsies in Mr T - went to a different branch with much more organic stuff and there were several bits reduced. Maybe I should have resisted as I already have so much veg but it's in the fridge and I hope it will keep for a while. The thing that looks closest to going off is a bag of pears for 65c. Apart from just eating them as snacks, any ideas on using them up or could I bung them in the freezer? Also I got baby sweetcorn for stirfries for 1/8th the price I paid at the organic market on Sat. I still prefer to give the market my money than Mr T though but can't help getting excited at bargains!