Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

Marru

Oh - meant to say HERE some frugal recipes and do check out the potato vedgies - they are lush

xnatalie81x

Kerfuffle wrote: »

Hi SandraScarlett, thanks for the recipe. The thing I never thought of adding though was the dumplings. Now I'm hankering after dumplings and all the soup has gone

Maybe next time
Hello xxNataliexx

Thanks for the homemade chips tip. Do you think it would work if I froze them after the short boil so that I could then cook them in the oven straight from frozen.?

Thanks everyone.

Toodles

Used to freeze just potatoes cut into chips, and then oven bake for 40mins or less...........we boil carrots/cauli/broccoli etc then freeze it so really don't see why not chips.............. whenever i make chips i always peel extra and make mash for freezer

xnatalie81x

freedom2011 wrote: »

Any ideas for how I can use up some dried asparagus soup mix. It's a caterer size box which I refuse to waste. I tried my family on the soup & they didn't really like it but am wondering if I can come up with some alternative recipe ideas.

Make it up thick and use as a delicious pasta sauce with some veg and maybe cheese on top mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

xnatalie81x

itsallinthemind wrote: »

No I smoke, my eldest is registered disabled and is pretty much 24/7 so I need a vice. Same amount as my groceries budget. My view is judge me for smoking when you do my job with no support I have no other vices bar cheddar, so why not(children not smoked around)?

He NEEDED the cigarettes and coffee, food was an afterthought! He will pay me back, no issues there, just not meeting up with him for a bit as since my relationship breakdown it has emerged he has liked me for ten or so years as more than a mate, after I jokingly reminded him we had a pact(joke) to marry in a few years if still single. Not about to rush into anything a lose a friend Anyway, he has competition :rotfl:

I love a whoopsie, small co-op here is my heaven! I'm sure nobody would dare judge you or me for smoking(or my gazillion other flaws) on this thread, after all if they were perfect they would be at their beach side pad currently sipping a cocktail, not online viewing the frugal challenge :D

I smoked while pregnant with 3rd and about a year after (pregnancy thing lol) - biggest thing i missed when i stopped?? The time i had in the garden on my OWN lol, now i enjoy the money saving luckily i didn't have cigarette cravings with the 4th lol we all have our vices. It may not be fags but there is summit - at the moment i would say wine, gym (costs me 5.20 per time in creche fees!!!!! 4 times a week) and computers xxxxxxxxxx

kezlou

Thanks cheryl regarding vat and cc's, put my mind to rest!

Wow the thread has moved really fast. Only just caught up with it all.

Well i tried for 5 nsd's in a row. But the boys tried they school trousers on and shock horror they grown out of them all. So ended up spending £42 in asda on 4 pairs of schools trousers, one pair of shoes for snips (ds2) and a top for OH. :eek::eek::eek: What a ridiculous amount of money to spend, even OH felt ripped off by the price.

Well lets hope it lasts them till July:o.

Then the light came on in the car, so we ended up filling the tank up another £55.23 on diesel:eek:. But it should last the month, hopefully, and its cheaper than public transport, which is completely unreliable.
but we did combine our trips today, took 4 weeks worth of recycling and general carp to the tip today, the queue to get in was crazy. So many people were chucking stuff, guess everyone had the same resolution as me and OH. Chuck junk out!!:rotfl:


So going to try and claw todays spends back by making lots of homemade stuff for pack lunches and sort a meal plan for next week.
Need to carve up the cooked ham for sandwiches tomorrow and make some cakes for the boys pack lunches. So hopefully i won't spend any more money next week.

Also going to start sowing some seeds today esp tomato / cucumbers ready for when the warm weather starts. Which should save us some money, got loads of compost from last year so going to crack on with that next week.

Me and OH have actually started to become organised, first time ever:rotfl::rotfl:So we have compiled some lists 1)jobs arund the house 2) things for car i.e fixing the screenwash filter thing, which has now started to leak, cracking.3)equipment needed for the house i.e funnels, silicone, fridge etc

So the idea is that jobs get done, money stays in our pockets, fingers crossed if unexpected crisis' come up we can sort them out quickly and efficiently. ahem like thats ever going to happen, but its worth a try.:p

Hmmas for the budget i add the rent in, its an extra £4560, again i feel sickness brewing. But i'll post up next week what our full budget will be, as i will have more time with the boys being at school.

My gawd its cold, darn temperatire has dropped from 4 degrees to -1 arghhh good job the wooley socks are in the washer!

xnatalie81x

freedom2011 wrote: »

My only worry is how to keep up with this board once I'm back at work on weds as I am addicted!:rotfl:

get up half hour earlier lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xnatalie81x

Today has been a nice day. Mainy HELLO IKEA - GOODBYE £54 buttttttttttt i got

1. 2 Chopping boards
2. 2 frying pans
3. A storage unit for babies stuff to live in front room and make life easier
4. A lovely black 18 piece dinner service
5. A toilet brush
6. 2 dish brushes (i wash up by hand!!!!!)
7. 3 door mats
8. a plastic tray with wooden stand in for prepping coffee n tea etc in and stop worksurfaces being ruined


Sure i have forgotten summit and now i have realised toilet brush must still be in car................ we also had lunch there - kids x2 meatballs and chips (one child was at their other nans still), i had chicken breast and pasta, 3 coffees (my mum n dad n me) a piece of daim cake, a bread roll and butter = £8 ALL of these spends came from 'other budget' which is made up of any extra earnings and not from budget (wahooooooooooo)

Baby 6 weeks today - and is booked in for creche trial 10-10.15 in the morning. Kids not back to school till Wed so we will all go for a walk while he is there

Ok, i am off to bed with my 4 munchkins and the ikea catalogue............... lucky i have £175 left in the 'other' budget already ha ha ha ha

23rdspiral

hey, thanks CW18 - i've taken a new look at the spreadsheet, and with your help i think i have figured it out.:T

went to the sales today with OH but i didnt buy anything! :T he bought a new suit but very much reduced

---

Can i ask, what do people do about individual spends like this? for me it was a happy NSD, but not as a couple. his spending is quite different from mine, and he earns a lot more than me, but we share some bills though he pays most of the mortgage. any ideas for how to show this on my graph??

itsallinthemind

NualaBuala wrote: »

Did I read that one of your children is disabled?

That was so nice of you to do the errand of mercy for your friend!

Yes, I need to squirrel 5k for a safespace for them, hence doing the challenge http://www.safespaces.co.uk/

I have a lot more acts of kindness from friends and strangers the last month than I could ever repay, trust me!

Marru wrote: »

Oh - meant to say HERE some frugal recipes and do check out the potato vedgies - they are lush

I can't see it on this list? http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipes-all.html Can you link to the one you mean please? Thank you

kezlou wrote: »

Also going to start sowing some seeds today esp tomato / cucumbers ready for when the warm weather starts.

Have the seeds from a kind freecycler, will do it tommorow as Natalie said it is easy to grow them


My 300+ items turned up, needed to take 5 minutes break after getting them onto the property, bought flours and sugars in, but am tempted to leave it all up the pathway and move it in the morning:rotfl:Considering I live next to a woman who has 3 baby baths in her garden and has to spend 10 minutes clearing stuff to get out the front door, it should not be an issue :rotfl:

Kerfuffle

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Used to freeze just potatoes cut into chips, and then oven bake for 40mins or less...........we boil carrots/cauli/broccoli etc then freeze it so really don't see why not chips.............. whenever i make chips i always peel extra and make mash for freezer

Thanks xnatalie81x, the next time I make some mashed potatoes I think I'll do some chips and parboil them in the same water, take them out and freeze them, just to see what they're like.

Toodles