Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

rising_from_the_ashes

Just made some burgers!:D 1st time for YEARS - found my burger maker lurking in a cupboard during the tidy out last weekend.

Popped to Mr A for some milk, lettuce etc & walked past the meat aisle (fatal mistake) and thought, I really fancy a burger. They had packs of 4 for £2.22 (56p each) but thought I'd give making them a try.

So, 1 x 730g pack of mince for £3.70 - have noticed that the supermarkets seem to be up to their old tricks of reducing pack sizes, leaving the price the same and hoping no-one will notice:eek: (these used to be 800g).

Added (from stores):
1 egg
handful of porriage oats
salt & pepper
1/2 small onion (I'm not good with onion so can only have a wee bit)
herbs to taste (I put a teeeny bit of sage in as I love the flavour)

Mixed it all up & "squashed" in the burger maker (had a wee bit of trouble as I forgot one of the dogs chewed the top so it's hard to get on/off).

Result:

14 burgers - (26p each)

Just had one and it was yummy - much better than anything you'd get in Mr McD etc!!

Others are chilling in the fridge ready to freeze.

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j
Another successful gnat bottomed day here at Aril Towers. We've been checking out 2nd hand bikes for me but no pennies escaped as yet.

OH has been busy planting different types of bean seeds- he's been using the small person's old sledge to plant in so he can save the spilled compost and has set up a temporary seed propgator using one of the cat's old empty litter bags- only in a frugaller's house:D

I've put the oven to good use- baked a birthday cake and we're now heating up a freezer dip concoction for tea, cooking the shredded cabbage in there and making our own chips from some lurking tatties on the spare shelf:D

Arilx
PS Picked up a free paper as they now do a weekly TV guide

dizzy_lizzie

inspirespirit wrote: »

Also had son in hospital having his hip replaced.

Hi inspirespirit hope your son is recovering well.
Take care
Luv Dizzy x
♥

inspirespirit

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Hi inspirespirit hope your son is recovering well.
Take care
Luv Dizzy x
♥

Thank you. Yes he is recovering quite well. First couple of days were quite traumatic and he was in a lot of pain. Once they got control of the pain, he started to recover.

Kiwisaver_2

Hi everyone, I'm just popping in to update my numbers after 'Austere April' as I'm calling it. I got a bit fed up looking in my cupboards and freezer with far too much random foods and stockpiles that I decided to go with as minimal shopping as possible this past month and see if i can get myself better organised. Everyday is a storecupboard challenge. :rotfl: Yesterday I used up a tin of coconut milk with a use by date of Oct 2008.

January 11 was my lowest spend month ever, being off work a few extra days and using up Christmas stuff and I spent then $799.33. I was using that as a benchmark and trying to match or beat that, BUT alas I was gazumped by $21.86 (about ten quid) and spent $821.19 in April This did include a small grocery shop on Thursday 28th spending $21.40, so now my challenge is to see if I can make this last the week..

I'm going for a 'Mean May' now, although I'm showing $1,000 below my budget overall for the year, so far it's been the cheaper warmest months. :T Today the weather is shocking, wet and wild and thoughts turn to some new winter clothes and boots, whilst the heating starts chewing through electricity like there's no tomorrow.:eek:

miss_empty_piggy

Have had a very frugal week. DDs have been away with their dad and in my gloom have been going to work early so I can drive slower and save petrol, having breakfast at work using their electricity, tea, coffee, computer, heat! etc. Then staying late (doing the same). Either went to DBF or home to 4 hot water bottles and a cup of tea, with a free magazine in bed before sleep. Felt abit ebeneezer scrooge but got my thoughts more clearly focused into frugaldom, plus caught up on lots of outstanding work which felt very productive. Am going to finalise the April budget and get things organised with the May one now (DDs 12th birthday!!! will be a big spend though).

Did buy 10 packets of pasta for 9p each, and Branston beans for £1 for 4 pack in Mr L (they work out cheaper than Mr T's blue stripe value packs!!!) Also bought 8p blue stripe curry sauce. I'm sure with some additional spices etc it will be lovely - although it may be lovely anyway, I'll have to try it.

Have a great weekend everyone x x x x

kittiej

Kiwi that's a really good idea - Mean May. If you don't mind I will borrow this from you and say it every day lol.

Puddleglum

Afternoon All:j
Am working on the big computer this afternoon which means that I have access to all the smilies! ;):D Just getting it out of the system!

One of the reasons for firing up the energy guzzling beast was to update the spreadsheet. I think that we are about on budget at the moment but (does anyone else have this problem) I have the spreadsheet saved on google documents so that I can work on it anywhere - all the formating seems to have disappeared. Tried to put it back but no luck. Wondering if the only way to fix it will be to bring the thing back from the "cloud" and input all the info again.

Another reason for the big computer is that I am being observed at work next week :eek:- there is a promotion and more money hanging on this one. The person observing me wants lesson plans in advance, probably just for the main event however, I am trying to cover the lessons before and after to the same level of detail. There are lots of notes and jottings on paper but the lesson plans are still - well got to get those pens in order first.....

Was looking at the price of tinned tomatoes in the shop yesterday and am very thankful that all my tomato plants bar one have survived. One of the courgette plants has already been eaten by a snail with a death wish though :mad:. The cucumber plants are doing really well though along with the aubergines.

A good drying day here. Everything out and blowing in the sun.

Recently I reluctantly gave up on our local dairy, a long story, and have swopped to having the veg box and some milk delivered direct from the farm. This has freed up quite a bit of cash each week and is allowing for more variety in the shopping budget. It is alarming the rate at which some prices are soaring in the shops :eek:
Right that's enough smilies from me, must work!

Puddleglum

SandraScarlett

May I join the "Mean May" brigade please? That's such a good title, and much better than Miserable May or Miserly May, and that could result in Jolly June! It's my birthday at the end of next week, and I always take the family out to a Harvester for a meal, so I shall have to be extra mean the rest of the month.

Wasn't the wedding luverly!! How proud Diana would have been, seeing her sons looking a real credit to her and the whole of the Middleton family looked great. I thought James read the lesson very well, it must have been so nerve wracking, and both Carol and Pippa looked lovely.

But our new Princess was a real knock out, and looked gorgeous. Nobody does pomp like us - made me proud to be Brtitish. And how nice to see so many Union Jacks waving!

B & Q had a 15% deal on last Friday, so after we saw the kisses, we went there and bought 3 x 24 bedding plants, usually £5 each, reduced to £12, less 15% so just over a tenner to pay. :j

Special Message to all the Golden Oldies out there ....... I'm going to see Marty Wilde tonight! I reckon he must be 72/73 but last time I saw him, about 8 years ago, he still had a great voice.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday everyone.

xx

chika

Puddleglum I feel your lesson planning pain. Sat here trying to motivate myself at the moment but its not happening!

Still trying to be frugal but out of necessity - My wages which were due to be paid on the 30th but because of the bank holiday should have been in on Thursday - still haven't appeared. I'm really annoyed and hoping and praying that they arrive soon as a pile of DD's are due to come out which will mean mega charges. Grrrrrrrr

I love the idea of Mean May. Its my birthday in two weeks and I was contemplating getting something ridiculously unfrugal but If I keep muttering the mean may mantra then I should keep on the straight and narrow.