Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

Blairweech

Lynz - Well, I want to stay on PAYG so have narrowed it down to...

Tesco Mobile -£10/month 30 day SIM. 500 minutes, unlimited texts/internet.

GiffGaff -£5/month goodybag. Unlimited texts, free unlimited internet until 28th Feb (then 50p/day)

GiffGaff -£5/month 'hokey cokey'. 60 minutes (plus 1 free minute for every minute you are called), 300 texts, free unlimited internet until 28th Feb

The GiffGaff deals look pretty good, but I do need the internet so thinking Tesco might be better for me, and its no hassle as am already with them

There was also ChitterChatter £6/month sim but would need to get my phone unlocked for that so no good for me really

mooomin

Today has been a little bit spendy and a little bit frugal....

Spendy

Lunch with a friend - frugal though as we went to the cafe in Morrisons so my lunch (including a cuppa) was only £2.84
Earrings for me - £2.40 but had 70% off in the Accessorize sale
A new computer game for me - £3.49, again on sale
Groceries budget has been pummelled, but I'm putting this in the frugal category really!

Frugal

Mentioned on Facebook that I was thinking about getting a breadmaker and a friend is lending me hers so I can see if I will use/like it!
Did four hours at work today but as it's a bank holiday it's double time :j
Stocked up on essentials in Morrisons and Costco. I now have lots of mince/catfood/tinned tomatoes/beans/pulses so the storecupboard is looking healthier.
Spent crafting budget for the month on Ebay but saved a fortune. I got four sets of dies for my Cuttlebug for £16 in total instead of £12 each. Bargain!!

I've now spent £84 on groceries since the 1st of the month (eek....!) but this will last a long time. I do still need to get some fresh fruit and veg throughout the month, but we've now got a lot of bargains in the cupboard. I was especially pleased to get 10 cans of posh tuna from Costco for £5.19 as Mr Fresian loves it and I can't stand the stuff so object to the price of it normally!!

I'm also back using Bingoport again for free bingo which can eventually be redeemed for Amazon vouchers. I'm nearly at the level for a £5 voucher and have only been using the site for a week. If anyone is interested in it there's a thread about it on the boards and I can send you a referral link, just PM me. I'm going to be adding any money that I make from Ebay/overtime/Quidco into my spreadsheet and this will be used for extra treats. Hopefully that will be a motivation to make some more cash!!

Hope everyone else has had a good day.

NualaBuala

Cheryl, any plans to see that "someone" again? Sounds like it is all going swimmingly?

itsallinthemind wrote: »

I do not think we can do that, safety blah blah, but thank you so much anyway

I have 6 whole crates of things to sell online(plus more in the house!) that I can list when my relatives come. If I list now and they have a bad day I would not get to the post office, so I am waiting till I have back up in the house Plus I need to build up some money for posting, after starting financially again

The tips I will pick up here will turn pennies in to pounds, sure there is much more I could be doing

The offer was REALLY appreciated though :)

Oh you're more than welcome hon, it wouldn't be much anyway! Keep us posted on your progress anyway won't you and if there is any way I can help, I'd like to. I've never sold anything on Ebay - is that where you are listing your stuff? I'm a bit afraid of it to be honest. Have a few things listed on Gumtree but no interest so far. But hey, at least it's free to list them and I can keep bumping them.

Chipps, that was so nice of your neighbour.

Flying Fresian - enjoy plaing with your breadmaker. I was going to try to get one on freecycle but not sure I want an extra thing cluttering up my limited worktop space (plus I'm moving somewhere even smaller). Let us know if you think it's worth getting one. Oh, and well cone on your LSD ... or did we say it would be safer to call them MSDs? :rotfl:

SandraScarlett

My family love Toad in the Hole, which is another cheap, tasty and filling dish. I use a big roasting dish, and grease the dish. Then I slice, lengthways, 4-6 sausages, and lay the 8-12 halves in the dish. This would serve 4 people. I add some slivers of lard, and leave the sausages to cook for about 20 minutes, middle shelf, fairly hot oven whilst I make a batter mix.

I separate the white from the yolk, and whip the white so it is in stiff peaks (like you would for meringues). Then I fold the white into the batter mix, and pour this over the sausages, which should have started to brown.

Bake for about another 20 minutes, and you'll find the batter is really light and fluffy. I also make this with mince (first time I typed it, the "n" didn't function, and it read "I also make this with mice!") instead of sausages, and I just dot spoonfuls of seasoned mince around the dish. My DH calls this Frog in the Bog!!

Good luck to everyone in your efforts, and thank you for all the super tips.

xx

rubytuesday

Hello everyone I will be lurking but I have had 3 NSDs so far this year so I have lurked well. Good luck everyone and Happy New Year! x

cw18

NualaBuala wrote: »

Cheryl, any plans to see that "someone" again? Sounds like it is all going swimmingly?

No definite time/place yet, but we've been texting again tonight so would be surprised if it was a 'no'

NualaBuala

cw18 wrote: »

No definite time/place yet, but we've been texting again tonight so would be surprised if it was a 'no'

Yippee! Lets hope his frugal credentials pass muster!

cw18

SandraScarlett wrote: »

I also make this with mince (first time I typed it, the "n" didn't function, and it read "I also make this with mice!") instead of sausages, and I just dot spoonfuls of seasoned mince around the dish. My DH calls this Frog in the Bog!!

I've heard of mice turning into footmen and frogs turning into princes, but never before have I heard of mice turning into frogs :rotfl:

cw18

NualaBuala wrote: »

Yippee! Lets hope his frugal credentials pass muster!

He's not doing bad with the tea brewing - just need to see how he gets on with the spreadsheet now :rotfl:

23rdspiral

so now i've sorted out how to keep track, i guess i'm going to have to make a sort of plan to budget for things... when i'm scared about money i usually just 'spend nothing if its not totally necessasary' which leads me to feeling depressed and wearing the same clothes for a year! good for the purse, but not too good for the mind!
i think i'll read back some more and see what others spend on different areas.

I think i'll just keep this to me, as my other half does have more cash, it's me that deals with household spending, groceries and my own stuff. thanks for the advice.

my big worry is that i'm probably being made redundant with the new financial year... so some money will go to no money coming in unless i can find another job... more worry there. oh well. at least if i can be good for a few months and show where my money is going then i might have a chance to budget better when i'm living on my savings.

?????
I often get my clothes, toiletries ect on special offer too... whilst not technically Whoopsies, is there any way i can allow for this in the other pages of the spread sheet? eg, my only spend yesterday was 2.48 on a necklace orginally 8.00 in Accessorise... i wouldnt have paid full price but am dead chuffed with it... any ideas??? (can i just copy the boxes accross, would that work?)