Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

paidinchickens

Had a good and bad spending time today.

I went to two jumble sales and bought some of them old (but perfect condition) wool blankets (ready for winter) and two pair of curtains for the boys room, fully lined in cream so will go with the carpet............20p a pair!!!!:j

A jacket for one of the boys (as when he visits his mother she keeps his clothes:mad:) so will put this in his "when he goes to his mums pile"

A Pair of jeans for DH.

Got a free bath off freecycle for my aunt as we managed to get her a new sink and toilet cheap but she still needed a bath. She is really happy as getting the bath free has saved her at least £60. Happy enough for extra food parcels;)

After we fetched the bath and dropped it off to my aunts we had to go and do a quick repair job on my friends bay window as someone has nicked the lead off the top:eek:

As we did not finish until 8.30 and we were both tired we treated us all to a kfc which was lovely but I am sat here feeling guilty now:( I can't believe I paid to put weight on.

Had a little tiff with DH and craving chocolate so guess I will be miserable for the next couple of days if you get my drift.

I am going to have a lay in tomorrow, list a few bits and bobs on Ebay and try and have a more productive day!

Going to have a couple of bacardi n cokes (free as friend brought it round when they came for tea the other day)

nite all xx

youngmummy

seriouslyfrugal wrote: »

Hi


well I got the car back with no extra work need :j and m.o.t passed with flying colours :T what a relief !

yayyy ...

youngmummy : I keep a note book with all my spends in I update it daily ( I do keep a journal so I just combined the two) I like the paperchase spirl notebooks so I just put them on my birthday & christmas lists & I normally get them :j( I have spirl books because they are easier for me but they do sell these things in £ land ) if it helps

have a good weekend

many thanks hun, i have found a small notebook in the bottom of the kitchen draw so have noted all my spends for today down im actually very shocked now ive added it all up

tumptyteapot wrote: »

does anyone want this book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Diary-Recovering-Shopaholic/dp/1840468602 it just made me angry - stupid woman justifies £32 on a haircut and is £32k in debt, I couldn't read all of it just scanned through what is basically a list of expensive things she had bought even when trying to be frugal, and she still cleared 2k off her huge debt despite that so god only knows what the woman earns. I'll post it to you for free as a punishment for buying the poxy thing, even though it was only a pound.

SOUNDS like my mum lol .... dont worry we dont get on!

paidinchickens wrote: »

Had a good and bad spending time today.

I went to two jumble sales and bought some of them old (but perfect condition) wool blankets (ready for winter) and two pair of curtains for the boys room, fully lined in cream so will go with the carpet............20p a pair!!!!:j

what a great price!! :T

Todays spends were:
£13 - pet shop i really should stop buying toys for the dog . what can i give him to play with instead of keep wasting money at the pet shop ??
£10 kfc :mad:
£25 avon :eek: suncream x2, aftersun, (any 3 for £10) and an epilator (£15) for a early birthday present from OH
MIL spend the £25 or something so i claimed the epilator at a discount price

i think i may have convinced OH to let me get chickens :T but wont be getting them till next year now as have got to finish the garden first .


hope everyone is well, take care

tumptyteapot

off to London to see my sister tomorrow, not thinking about how much it is going to cost! I'll face the music next week :-)

youngmummy

tumptyteapot wrote: »

off to London to see my sister tomorrow, not thinking about how much it is going to cost! I'll face the music next week :-)

have a good time hun,

Erme

tumptyteapot wrote: »

does anyone want this book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Diary-Recovering-Shopaholic/dp/1840468602 it just made me angry - stupid woman justifies £32 on a haircut and is £32k in debt, I couldn't read all of it just scanned through what is basically a list of expensive things she had bought even when trying to be frugal, and she still cleared 2k off her huge debt despite that so god only knows what the woman earns. I'll post it to you for free as a punishment for buying the poxy thing, even though it was only a pound.

Okay why spend £32 on a hair cut? I mean it's okay if it's every few months but if it's every 6 weeks it's just unjustifiable. I wanted a decent hair cut this month cos know the local FE college will be closed and I got a voucher for a really good one with £45 for £18...okay it blew the budget at the time but it's a necessity. I've done the pony tail bands self cut and it's just not worth it. However in 16 weeks time or so it'll be back to my normal £5-10 cut (if it's gone up...it was about £6 last time :A)

Nope I don't want it....Have you seen the size of my library I'm trying to downsize LOL? I have more than enough books (too many to even justify getting the tightwad gazette though might get it for Ma for xmas @ just over £1 inc p+P for the first edition)

Puddleglum wrote: »

I took this book out of the library last week. She does come across as being a bit of a dipstick doesn't she. Still she must have made a bit from the book so maybe there's a lesson there for us. Well probably not me as whenever I try to put pen to paper and write a witty and amusing story, it comes out all wrong somehow!

Life here is plodding along nicely. I had the interview for the promotion I have been after last Monday and will find out this Monday if I have been sucessful. I tried for it last year so will have to rethink the strategy for next year if needs be.

We have got friends coming to stay next weekend so next week will be quite expensive getting food and drink in. This weekend is given over to cleaning and tidying as we wouldn't like them to get the impression that we spend our lives in chaos....

Was looking at the prices in our local supermarket this morning. They are quite pricey anyway but £1.46 for a tin of tomatoes has got me talking to all my tomato plants and urging them on to produce loads this year. A 200g tin of tuna in oil was £2.08! Packets of cereal, over £3. It comes to something when looking at the prices in the supermarket is as shocking as a rollercoaster ride!

Best wishes for the weekend

Puddleglum

Porridge is quite reasonable as it the saver tuna which is only about fit to feed to your cat.... There are savings to be made in the supermarket but you have to hunt and be prepared to lower your standards...Have you tried the 'eat the seasons - http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/ ' website for ideas? I know that always helps me when shopping (only last time I was on there it said purple sprouting broccoli when there was none to be had :rotfl:...shows you how many months it is since I've been on there

Anyhow...tis me..hungry as always and like just about to go out to kirk (after I've put my tights on)...Must be still putting on weight if my sabbath dress barely buttons :eek: (at one time a year ago I couldn't wear it cos it was too big for me)..

Blessings

E

minnie2

Erme wrote: »

I think it's been said before somewhere on here but if you're selling home cooking for a business you have to get checked by Health and Safety. Great idea (could do it bar the H& S bit) but not for everyone.

Hugs

E

I dont want it as a business (though i am often told i should open a bakery),I dont make enough cakes to make it a business. Got two jobs already, havent got time. But at the minute people ask me to make cakes for their families member friends etc and i pay for everything and when they ask for the carrot cake I make the walnut pieces alone cost £1.50 it takes 4 eggs the cream cheese is £1.then theres flour icing sugar brown sugar butter baking powder bicarbonate soda cinnamon carrots plus electricity. So i was thinking more along lines of getting my money back and adding £1 - £1.50 for my time. It takes 1hr 20mins to cook and a good half a hour to prepare.Plus some people have allergies so i have to buy specialist flour etc.
I started making them as presents, as birthday gifts and end term gifts twice a year were costing me a fortune. One july i spent £50 on gifts.And cakes work out cheaper though take more time. But now I keep getting asked and ive just been baking them. But now everyone wants cakes all different cakes all the time.

minnie2

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Thanks for the tip - I do leave my curtains closed during the day but they are dark navy:( in my room. I do have light ones in the other bedrooms though. Will have to have a trawl through the pile of curtains DM gave me to sell at car boots to see if I can find any lighter ones:).

Re the water, will see if I can figure something out - the window sills are only about 10cm wide (and usually occupied by a cat or two) but may try a bucket (if I can find somewhere the little "so & so's" won't try to tip it over!:D)



I've got these and they are brilliant for storing cat litter in and I'm sure they'd be OK for the dog food - he gets through a 15kg bag in 5-6 weeks.

Strangely enough I was trying to work out exactly how long the bags last so noted the day I started the boy's last 2kg bag (13 April) with the amount left, I reckon it will last about 9-10 weeks.

The 4kg bag is therefore going to last nearly 5 months so it really needs to be air tight to keep it fresh for that long.





DF used to have a restaurant and we used to get the 10L ice cream tubs all the time - they were great!

Will have a meander down the high street and see if there's anywhere promising to go and ask!:T

Off to have a look at Oxfam site just now!

wow!! cats really dont eat a lot!! I am sorry my idea was unhelpful - cats are not my strong point as i am fatally allergic to them and I have three greedy fat dogs where food does not last very long at all!!!!! erm.......the only other thing I can think of is storage boxes with lids from QD, i also saw a three kg food storage with lid and handle in kitchen department for £2.99 in QD yesterday. I was after something for my soda crystals.

minnie2

Lookingtothefuture wrote: »

minnie2 wrote: »

Hello there!!

Wow I was expecting loads of pages to catch up on but there was only two!

So I am searching for ideas on how to make a bit of money.I was wondering about selling my cakes at work - but I am wondering if that is a bit cheeky!! as up until now I have been baking them all for free. It's not cheeky! Even if you say "it's just to cover the cost of the ingredients". Why should you be expected to do it all for free? it's not fair... dont let them take advantage of you.

I am also struggling to not drink cans of coke!!!! us buying bottled drink like that when we are out has crept back and we are spending loads.I told hubby thats it no more but i keep buying myself some while i am at work. So i need to start cutting down - tried going cold turkey but it didnt work. Would it be more cost effective to save one of the small bottles and fill it up from a 2 litre bottle? Is this "proper" coke or own brand? Would you be able to down grade to own brand? or limit yourself to one proper coke a week (60p a can) and then down graded coke (50p for 2 litres?)... Where I live a box of 18 cans of proper coke is on offer at the local shop at the moment for £6 which seems like a good deal. But I dont drink it so its not a bargain for me! Good Luck... hope this helps... if not just ignore me! lol!:D

QUOTE]

thank you!! its proper coke and i couldnt have it for years as it gave me a bad belly but a while ago i had some and i was fine but it has to be out of a cold can!! i bought one on way to work one day then found myself buying one every morning then it crept into lunch when i wnet to chippy then other shops etc. i should just stop but i find myself longing for one and i dont have any other vices - im allergic to life.but it is so expensive.

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Minnie I am a total DC addict too! I've been trying to cut down - used to be 3/4 cans/day at work (and a 2 litre bottle in the evening) and managed to get down to one at lunchtime for the past couple of months. I've now "kicked" the habit in the day as I now buy concentrated apple juice for lunch (I know I could cut this even more with diluting but drink this all day so it's a bit of a treat). I can get a 1.5 litre carton at Mr L (does 3 lunches) for £1.29.

Still on about 3 cans in the evening - they're my next target!

i dont drink anything else except hot ribena when i am ill. i cant drink fruit juices medically and squashes give me headaches and i already have enough of those with my tumour.i use to just drink water years ago but fizzy has just crept in but its so expensive.i am going to cut down and keep a diary for two weeks say and go from there.if we buy in cans then my hubby drinks them all but if i buy them as and when they are more expensive per can. my hubby is worse than me if they are in the house i only drink when i want a drink but he drinks coz they are there and i go to have one and hes had them all and i have nothing in house to drink and hes got all his other drinks still. he doesnt understand how annoying it is. same as food i have allergies so dont really have snacky stuff but when i fancy something it is always gone coz he has stuffed it and all thats left is all his snacks which i am allergic to!!

seriouslyfrugal wrote: »

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well - welcome to everyone new :wave:

Busy time at Mottisfont ( rose season) so i've not had much time to post - but i'm still frugalling away




I totally agree with this I to would prefer things half price

Lookingtothefuture wrote: »

I fill up a smaller bottle from a bigger bottle ( 2 Litre) to take to work

not got the car today as its having its service / mot so i'm waiting to see if everything is ok _pale_

i've already put the slow cooker on today it that sort of weather down here in Hampshire.

have a good weekend everyone

minnie2

what are peoples thoughts on extension leads with individual switches on them? I always turn off at the plugs before bed and when we are finished etc but now we have somethings that need to be on all the time and other we want to turn off. Rather than keep unplugging etc i wondered if the switches would save money or does it still use more?

minnie2

oh sorry me again found a bargain in QD yesterday!!!

The laundry balls with the detergents in think they are called eco balls. They are selling two for £1.99. I bought mine online for a lot more than that nearly £40 i think so if anyone is considering switching nows a good time to atleast try them!!!