Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

seriouslyfrugal

We all need a Gav in our lives![/QUOTE]


Oh I couldn't agree more he's a star :j:j

dizzy_lizzie

lynzpower wrote: »

Dizzy lizzie there is one called http://www.supercook.com/

thats pretty good, althoguh some of the things are american, so you have to call things american names ( only for somethings) eg icing sugar is powdered sugar on there

Fantastic thank you lynzpower :j I put 4 items in and 2000 yes 2000 recipes came up (I didn't count them it tells you lol)

Helenpie lots of best wishes on starting up your business. Go for it!

alec eiffel hope you enjoy the rest of your Birthday Evening

Just got back from town having got GD her birthday present and I popped into a charity shop (whilst OH walked on hee hee) and picked up a dvd Rob Brydon Live for only £2. So that's what we'll be watching tonight.
Clicked on Findhorn for todays Angel card and its Peace. There's just one thing stopping me from achieving that at the mo and it's.....we haven't taken the christmas decorations down yet! So better get that done now. I really hate doing it though. OH can help me thinks even though he has his nose in the paper, tough!
Have a lovely evening everyone.
Luvz Dizzy x
♥

rubytuesday

:jHappy Birthday Alec:j

I managed to get three good books from the charity shop. One on money saving which I thought was a bit pricey at two pound fifty.:rotfl:
I tried on a really pretty dress but I decided it was just not flattering enough; no point buying something just because it's cheap!

Got my three chickens from Markses. Five pound ones too.

(Sorry no pound sign working on this lappy!)

alec_eiffel

lynzpower wrote: »

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEC EIFFEL :beer: :j

Oh sounds like you have had a lovely day, sounds idyllic where you live, where are you ( if you dont mind saying

I live in Lytham St Annes which is on the Lancashire coast. It is very lovely here, we've been here for less than a year so I still have new house joy! It'll be on the telly lots next year as the Open Golf is at Royal Lytham - seriously thinking of renting my house, or at least a parking space out.

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone, I don't usually go round advertising it but I was so excited about my bargains :j

seriouslyfrugal

Hi


well done :j helenpie for setting up in business - good luck

happy birthday alec:bdaycake:


If I want to compare supermarkets I use Mysupermarket.com that way i can see what's on offer at the major four without leaving the house !!!

rising_from_the_ashes

Puddleglum wrote: »

Phew! I fell behind with the reading and have only just caught up!



A couple of reality checks have hit me today and I would really appreciate people's views on them.

1. The veg box has gone up by a pound, organic milk has gone up by 5p a litre and the free range eggs went up just before Christmas by 5p a half dozen.
2. Our friendly window cleaner who has not put his prices up in 10 years turned up today.

Now, on the grocery front, I want to support small, local shops and producers at all costs but I am only budgeting £30p/w and the entire budget is tight. This will leave me just over £4p/w for everything else.
At what point do we have to give up on our ideals? Should I set a price and say, "if it goes above that I stop", or should I keep going regardless because the greater good will be served by people being loyal?

The window cleaner is budgeted for but he is one expense which is on my ditch list if things get too tough. However, he has a child and is probably on a few people's ditch list. How can we square our consciences if we put him out of a job?

Sorry if I have gone too off topic with this - it's bothering me.:o

I had to ditch my window cleaner last year and had the same issues - unfortunately at the end of the day I just couldn't afford it (and did use the "saved" money towards my catalogue debt).

Re eggs, do you have a farm shop etc near you? I'm lucky that there's one just down the road from me: 80p large & 90p extra large so a lot cheaper than I can get elsewhere anyway.

Re milk, I know how you feel about this one... I have to use a special milk due to dietry problems which costs £1.36/l compared to around 85p for "normal" milk. No option for me unfortunately.

I try to use organic when I can and if it's only a few pence then I "take the hit" but it it's loads then I'm afraid I don't.

rising_from_the_ashes

alec_eiffel wrote: »

I live in Lytham St Annes which is on the Lancashire coast. It is very lovely here, we've been here for less than a year so I still have new house joy! It'll be on the telly lots next year as the Open Golf is at Royal Lytham - seriously thinking of renting my house, or at least a parking space out.

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone, I don't usually go round advertising it but I was so excited about my bargains :j

Happy birthday!

Renting out room/parking's a great idea if you're near a big event (esp if you have somewhere else you could stay for a few days)

itsallinthemind

Glad you had a bargainous Birthday alec eiffel, hope you enjoy the rest of the day

midwinter

itsallinthemind wrote: »

Spot on, mine is £25 per week for groceries and I refuse to go over it! EVERY treat is a step further from getting my sunshine's safespace I can not get it lower as children need a good diet and I will not cut their fruit down, mine yes, theirs no

Done my shopping for the week now, loads in the store cupboards and freezer, could have gone lower but there were some bits I fancied stocking up on that I normally pay full price for

£20.41 spent, will last till next Sat hopefully! So £4.59 in kitty if I NEED it

Got 4 x bread, 12 yoghurts, 4 x I can't believe it's not butter (64p each), 2 x pesto (£2 for 2), 4 x Batchelors condensed mushroom soup(36p!!! I love these, make super quick pasta sauce or base to a pie filling for days where you have nutty children doing your head in!)6 cumberland sausages (60p!) plus two MASSIVE carriers of whoopsied fruit, salad and veg. Would have been aprox £55 worth full price I could hardly walk:T

Then I popped into the charity shop, as they said they would put any glass lemon juicers/flan dishes by as I broke mine £1 juicer brand new, mason and cash flan dish £2, standard pyrex flan dish £1 and a wooden toy she thought my eldest may like at £2.50 brand new and boxed(elc £16 sticker on it!). Just as I was paying a lady bought in a brand new gorgeous sofa throw from The Futon Company-unwanted present-they charged me £5. £29.95 on the ticket!!! It is simply STUNNING! Be gone evil green sofa! So that is £2.50 out of eldest's piggy bank and £9 out of the home repairs/replacements budget. But £9 well spent I think Robert Dyas wanted £11 for a flan dish alone:j

Charity shop was FULL of unwanted Christmas presents and people bringing them in, seems people are having a good clear out, so may be worth popping in to your local

Decorating awaits-yuk!

So pleased you got bargains all around, especially at the charity shop.

Bet you've still got huge grin on your face!

SandraScarlett

Good luck HelenPie in your business venture. :beer:

xx