Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

youngmummy

minnie2 wrote: »

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!!!

i use these, and they are quiet good tbh. saves alot of money in laundry powder and softer especially if you use brand names. i cant use cheap laundry powder becaause i suffer with eczema and have really sensitive skin, but i have been fine using eco-balls.

does anyone have any experiance with steam cleaners, as was thinking of investing in one in the future, do they really save you money on cleaning products or do you still end up buying cleaning products? do they work as well as they say the do? are they worth the money you pay for them, if so does anyone have any they could reccomend ? many thanks x

minnie2

youngmummy wrote: »

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



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

not sure what type of dog youve got but bones from butchers are a lot cheaper and keep them amused for days. I bought big bones form butchers yesterday for 60p so that was their food for yesterday too and they are still tucking into them today.Even when all the marrow and meat have gone they will still chew on them. its good for their digestion, good for their teeth keeps gums healthy (you may see a bit of blood but that is healthy from the gums). Ask your local butchers.

other things we use is is toilet roll and kitchen roll inners.also food boxes, like cereal boxes they chase them around and chew on them.

margarine or butter tubs too for them to lick out. its good for keeping them in condition and will help their coats.plus they will chase it around for ages.

you can buy those toys with holes in that you squirt food into and they have to work to get it out but my dogs lose interest quickly.

i get my other toys from the pound shop raggers etc. i cant buy hte ones with tennis balls on as my dogs actually eat them.

if you have a cheap shop near you you can buy a cheap hand towel of flannel tie a knot in the middle and that makes a cheap ragger. ikea have hand towels for 19p tie a knot in the middle and youve got lots of games in one.tug of war fetch general chewing and if you have a big dog tie two together.

paidinchickens

youngmummy wrote: »

i use these, and they are quiet good tbh. saves alot of money in laundry powder and softer especially if you use brand names. i cant use cheap laundry powder becaause i suffer with eczema and have really sensitive skin, but i have been fine using eco-balls.

does anyone have any experiance with steam cleaners, as was thinking of investing in one in the future, do they really save you money on cleaning products or do you still end up buying cleaning products? do they work as well as they say the do? are they worth the money you pay for them, if so does anyone have any they could reccomend ? many thanks x

I have a polti the big red one, I would not be without it. It is fab for getting into all the nooks and crannies. It takes a little getting used to as it has no smell when clean unlike when you attack things with a bleach bottle. I hardly buy any cleaning products now xx

I bought mine second hand off ebay as I wanted the heavy duty one but did not want to pay the price!!!

redglass_2

Aril wrote: »

Hello fellow frugallers:j
Well now I know when my job is finishing I have donned my frugal head as of today and begun to put some more strategies into place to make our funds go further.
Here at Gnat Bottomed Towers I have started by joining 3 survey sites- I know it's hardly mega bucks but it all helps. From one I hope to get Amazon vouchers and another Tesco ones...we shall see. I am willing to try all sorts of new ideas:D Little spent here today- the small person and I travelled out to a local village which had a wonderful Pagan art exhibition. We parked in a side road so didn't have to part with 200 pennies for parking either. We also had a dig around in the charity shops there- not much to take my fancy but there's a great bookshop. Bought two immaculate paperbacks for 60p each for pressies and one for myself as a small treat.

I've baked today and made a meal from meatballs on offer and used up the left over stirfry veg from last night. OH is busily decanting the strawberry vino into demijohns so it can start fermenting.

I'll keep you posted as I try new frugal ideas- I think a reread of my Tightwad Gazette is most definitely in order. That always puts me in the right mindset.

Aril

I love the Tightwad Gazette. :smileyhea Even though Amy D. (the writer) has now said that the internet is a bigger tool for frugality than anything she put in there, it's a brilliant introduction to the mindset, as you say, Aril. It's unashamed and resourceful in its thinking and Amy D has got a good sense of humour. For those who don't have the TG: if you dip into it (say on Amazon) it can look pretty chaotic (it was originally a magazine, as the name implies) but it has a first-rate index at the back, so it's easy to find what you want. She does something pretty unusual in frugal books: actually runs tests to answer questions (such as, 'is it worth turning off very low voltage bulbs?') instead of just passing on the accepted wisdom, and then gives you the results. The downside is that since she's writing for an American audience, not everything applies outside the US, but most of it does.

redglass_2

paidinchickens wrote: »

I have a polti the big red one, I would not be without it. It is fab for getting into all the nooks and crannies. It takes a little getting used to as it has no smell when clean unlike when you attack things with a bleach bottle. I hardly buy any cleaning products now xx

I bought mine second hand off ebay as I wanted the heavy duty one but did not want to pay the price!!!

Paidinchickens, what can you clean with it? Would it clean tiled bathroom corners, synthetic floor tiles, wooden venetian blinds?

youngmummy

minnie2 wrote: »

not sure what type of dog youve got but bones from butchers are a lot cheaper and keep them amused for days. I bought big bones form butchers yesterday for 60p so that was their food for yesterday too and they are still tucking into them today.Even when all the marrow and meat have gone they will still chew on them. its good for their digestion, good for their teeth keeps gums healthy (you may see a bit of blood but that is healthy from the gums). Ask your local butchers.

other things we use is is toilet roll and kitchen roll inners.also food boxes, like cereal boxes they chase them around and chew on them.

margarine or butter tubs too for them to lick out. its good for keeping them in condition and will help their coats.plus they will chase it around for ages.

you can buy those toys with holes in that you squirt food into and they have to work to get it out but my dogs lose interest quickly.

i get my other toys from the pound shop raggers etc. i cant buy hte ones with tennis balls on as my dogs actually eat them.

if you have a cheap shop near you you can buy a cheap hand towel of flannel tie a knot in the middle and that makes a cheap ragger. ikea have hand towels for 19p tie a knot in the middle and youve got lots of games in one.tug of war fetch general chewing and if you have a big dog tie two together.

thanks for that hun, never thought of doing hat with a towel. i have a labrador, hes 8 months old. will do this from now on, will save me quiet abit of money, trying to cut back everywhere we can :money:thats why i keep having random questions lol. many thanks

paidinchickens wrote: »

I have a polti the big red one, I would not be without it. It is fab for getting into all the nooks and crannies. It takes a little getting used to as it has no smell when clean unlike when you attack things with a bleach bottle. I hardly buy any cleaning products now xx

I bought mine second hand off ebay as I wanted the heavy duty one but did not want to pay the price!!!

thanks hun will have a look. what do you clean with it. i've seen the ones that you can clean cooer with and windows, moreless anythink, is yours the same. many thanks

paidinchickens

redglass wrote: »

Paidinchickens, what can you clean with it? Would it clean tiled bathroom corners, synthetic floor tiles, wooden venetian blinds?

The only thing I don't clean with it is the leather sofa. Mine comes with all different attachments. There is one with a little wire brush on for tile grout and the little bits of the toilet you can not get to. We have three boys and one DH in the house and I used to bleach the toilets two to three times a week and thought they were really clean but when I used the steamer on it the muck that came off was zuckkkkkkkk:eek:

I use on laminate floors, to clean carpets, there is an attachment for cleaning windows, basically I tried a little while on different things and if I did not kill them I took it as safe to use.

Round taps to get off the lime scale.

Everything :rotfl:

I prefer it as sometimes I go a little overboard with the bleach bottle and end up burning the inside of my nose

A few friends bought the cheaper steamers you can get and they worked but not as well so may be a false economy. I bought the one I did as a different friend has had hers for 10yrs without problems and they still sell them so can't be too bad IMO lol

I rent my house out and the last tenants were filthy when I steamed the windows chip fat ran down them mixed with nicotine......without the steamer I would have been scrubbing for weeks. (it really was disgusting:()

I would say it is in my top 5 off if it died I would replace immediately. But as I said it does not smell when you have cleaned and the downside is if you have cleaned with products you can smell its clean if that makes sense!!

Now I'm rambling!

DS has got a GCSE test tomorrow so I am taking him to my mates daughter for tutoring as he is worried. Cheaper than a proper tutor but she is training to be a teacher and has just done all her GCSEs so thought it was a cheaper alternative. Will still cost me though:(

I am trying the slow cooker out today for the first time and have got a chunk of pork cooking as we speak (food parcel item from aunt) will let you know how I get on but if you do not hear from me I will have poisoned everyone :rotfl:

I have loads of washing waiting to be done but the weather is dull and drizzling so will have to catch up in the week.

My first attempt at wine making should be ready a week today (bought a kit for the first try and that's what the instructions say lol

My little baby girl is wobbling around so I don't think it will be long before we have some little kittens running around:j We are only keeping one and the name at the top of the list is Dyson but that will change many times I am sure. I just hope we don't all get a different favourite and keep them all:rotfl:

I am in a really can not be bothered mood today so I hope you all do better than me xxxxx

rubytuesday

I spend a lot more than 32 pounds on a hair cut. I get it cut at Trevor Sorbie and absolutely love my hairdresser. She does a brilliant job and I am able to leave it for six months sometimes. I absolutely hate getting my hair cut generally so I am happy to stick with a hairdresser I trust and feel comfortable with.

rubytuesday

Hope you are feeling better today Rising and good luck Puddleglum.

I have to put out a load of garden waste as they have run out of garden bags for three weeks so I have made a bulky waste collection appointment for Monday - wish I hadn't now it is all wet and bleugh out there!

Also need to go and fed the boy's cat as the girlie is doing bar work at festivals this weekend. That has resulted in the offer of a job in a bar in Hampstead so that is good.

She's really enjoyed it but says she's never felt so exhausted! Mind you I've heard that before!

rubytuesday

Lookingtothefuture wrote: »

Hi Aril,

What is the "tightwad gazette"... I am intrigued!

I asked my library to order a copy of the Complete Tightwad Gazette for me.