Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

slowlyfading

inspirespirit wrote: »

Do many of you make your own bread? I have never made bread before, but getting really fed up with the price of bread. The one we like is now £1.35 per loaf. Wondering whether to try to get a second hand bread maker off auction site or car boot. I'm not much of a one for baking though. Is it difficult?

I make bread at a weekend by hand - I wouldn't say invest in a machine as it's just as easy to do it yourself, plus it's cheaper

tumptyteapot

My bread recipe is on whataworld.co.UK I make 3 loaves a week and they cost under 50p a loaf. I can't eat shop bread nowi overnight it so it is easier to knead and I don't use a machine

xnatalie81x

Hello

Had a lovely browse in the charity shops today after paying in some cheques and got some lovely bargains an umbro t shirt for eldest 50p, 2 baby vests (3 yr old westham ones but really thick and excellent quality and will use the backs as squares for a patchwork blanket i want to make in the winter when baby outgrows them!) 50p each, a pair of size 10 jelly sandals which are good quality ones with butterflies on £1.00 for dd and a book for son 50p and it has pictures interspersed with words so they can 'read'

Frugal life is going very well - garden looking super de duper veg n fruit wise - and alloment pear and apple trees have LOADS of fruit on them (lottie is mine and mums)

June is going to be a very tough month - all grocery budget is spent! I have been very naughty and had a few mishaps, plus car MOT tomorrow and it is not looking good! My dad does all the work on my car tho so hopefully won't be as bad as it could be

My 'other' budget (the money i have made extra to my live on 14k challenge) is sitting at £30.00 for the month :eek: - up until now i have had at least 100 so this is quite scary and i need to get ebaying asap to make a few extra pounds for treat things (i did have 65 but bought a lovely second hand car stereo for my car for 30)

rising_from_the_ashes

inspirespirit wrote: »

Do many of you make your own bread? I have never made bread before, but getting really fed up with the price of bread. The one we like is now £1.35 per loaf. Wondering whether to try to get a second hand bread maker off auction site or car boot. I'm not much of a one for baking though. Is it difficult?

Nope, agree with Moo2Moo totally - the packet mixes do make it really easy but are more expensive than buying raw ingredients. However, it may be worth using them a couple of times until you get the hang of it - we did have a few problems with our yeast when we first tried "doing it from scratch".

I must admit our old breadmaker eventually packed in and we haven't replaced it and now just make from hand - not that much harder and it feels so much more rewarding!

landregistrylass

Evening all. Yes, I know........... you thought I had emigrated! No, just been all action here. Natalie - its free listing this weekend on evilbay, so get selling! I have been trying to catch up with the thread but failing miserably. Frugalness has been on and off - but overall I am happy with the progress. We have had to give up the allotment - just not enough hours in the day, and OH did his back in, which would have left me in charge - wasn't going to happen. So tommies etc in pots on the patio instead. Yes, it curtails the volume of produce, but it also takes the pressure off, so the right decision was made. Whoopsies have been my friend - I LOVE those chaps with the sticker guns. My evilbay selling has been doing well, but it does take a long time. I know I must be doing something wrong, or could improve my speed by doing right - has anyone got any tips about listing (I suppose there must be a thread on here somewhere, but I feel a numpty talking to people who REALLY know what they are doing).

rising_from_the_ashes

landregistrylass wrote: »

its free listing this weekend on evilbay, so get selling!

Ohhh, was wondering when the next one was, took some pics ready the other day!:D

landregistrylass wrote: »

My evilbay selling has been doing well, but it does take a long time. I know I must be doing something wrong, or could improve my speed by doing right - has anyone got any tips about listing (I suppose there must be a thread on here somewhere, but I feel a numpty talking to people who REALLY know what they are doing).

It takes me ages too!

I've found that if I try to have stuff ready to list (say on a free weekend) it makes it a bit quicker.

I try to take a pic and put the items into a box as I come across them. I then do a description of each one but save them one under another in one big word doc.

When I'm ready to list, all the pics are there and I can just cut & paste the text - still takes a while but if I do a couple at a time when I'm on the pc anyway it's not as bad a doing loads straight into the listing.

Hope others have some other useful tips as it does drive me :mad: too!

When I used to sell a lot, I bulk bought clearance items which was great as it was basically the same thing over & over again & required very little effort to do!

landregistrylass

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Ohhh, was wondering when the next one was, took some pics ready the other day!:D



It takes me ages too!

I've found that if I try to have stuff ready to list (say on a free weekend) it makes it a bit quicker.

I try to take a pic and put the items into a box as I come across them. I then do a description of each one but save them one under another in one big word doc.

When I'm ready to list, all the pics are there and I can just cut & paste the text - still takes a while but if I do a couple at a time when I'm on the pc anyway it's not as bad a doing loads straight into the listing.

Hope others have some other useful tips as it does drive me :mad: too!

When I used to sell a lot, I bulk bought clearance items which was great as it was basically the same thing over & over again & required very little effort to do!

Yes, prior planning would be good........... am not very good at that LOL! Will try to be more organised, but thanks for the tips.

minnie2

paidinchickens wrote: »

Morning peeps!

Spent last night with hubby writing down the contents of both the freezers. Have come to realise I must have a fear of running out of sausages as I found 5 packs:rotfl:

I have decided that there will be not shopping done apart from packed lunch and milk until everything has been used up and then we will start again.

Also found 5 large bags of blackberries and four large packs of rhubarb so when i finally get the demijohns clean I will be sorting the wine going to try a kit first though lol

Sat and sorted my bills out the other day and apart from a gym membership I can not get out of until November there is nothing much I can do. I have a credit card but it has some mortgage on it when I needed 40% equity in the house to get a super duper rate (so it is a debt but not a shopping debt its a mortgage debt) going to chip away a bit quicker before the 0% runs out. Nothing unexpected.

Then sat and worked hubbys debts/bill:eek: (we rent my house out and live in his)

Took all night but finally have every bill - amount - and when term/deal runs out for each thing.

Gas and Electric we get £100 back once a year which is due anytime so will be sat tonight going through the cheapest deal for us (understand your pain Tumpty) I think you need a degree to understand your usage or they make it that complicated you do not bother to change. I used to work in accounts and still can't get my head round the figures:rotfl:


Water £45 a month:eek::eek::eek: we are on a meter, try really hard not to waist. Have two showers one bath and three loos. Three children and two adults, Can't see how we can get it down any further. We have two large water buts for the garden, a grade appliances, shower saver thingy, and block things in the loo. Have been battling with Anglian Water for years as our water tastes of chlorine and have had it tested several thousand times, had a chlorine filter fitted and there answer "run the tap for a few minutes before drinking":mad:
Sat and thought how glad i am there are three boys in the house who do not like washing or brushing their teeth:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Virgin media (we are on the lowest pack) quidco have £150 cashback and £50 off your first bill so trying to decide if it is worth taking out of hubbys name and putting into mine. They said I could but maybe without service in between for a little while, need internet for ebaying stuff.

TV licence. apparently if you do not watch live feed and only watch on demand, dvds, and play games with no INTENT of watching live feed tv you do not need a licence. Well I never watch anything live as I always forget when things are on and end up watching catch up! so could possibly save £12 a month there.

Mobiles we pay £28 a month for two contracts and three sim cards through virgin. We can ring each other and ring the kids for free. Get loads of mins and the kids get £5 a month free as long as they have a little credit on their phones. I can not find a better deal but still have 6 months left of contract.

On a plus side I have not spent a single penny for days as my toe is still poorly and I can't get my shoes on :rotfl:


The water bill is getting to me as we have the highest bill in the street!!! apart from using buckets of bath water to flush the loos I do not know what else to do. Maybe the neighbours have wired up to our water supply??????

Not going on holiday this year, have told the kids I do not want to get stranded because of the volcano :T;)

Sorry for the exceptionally long post but hubby fed up with listening to me after all night of going through bills

Help I need ideas 2yrs 5mth 3 wks til hubby comes out:eek:

will have a proper think later but initial thoughts are have you put bottles of water into your cisterns instead of the blocks or as aswell as? im not sure how much the water blocks displace so i might not be being helpful here.i have two 500ml bootles in mine upstairs havent got any in downstairs one but we never use it.we too are anglian water although technically we are ministry of justice still at the minute all very complicated.But once anglian take over everything i will be getting a meter fitted but we are having terrible probs getting people to take responsibilitiy and bill us and bill us fairly!! anyway my prob i may explore later on here see if anyone has any thoughts!! erm what about the old not flushing the toilet during the night trick? filling the sink for OH to shave rather than letting tap run.Showers and no baths.cut shower time by 5mins.if they are young children making it a challenge to was a shower in 5mins etc ready steady go all of that.After one of my moaning sessions about my husbands baths(i was on solow rate paying £38 every six months for water and sewerage before he came along and whacked it up to over £100 £170 once)he then suggested that he would do the washing up while in the bath so he wouldnt be wasting as much!!! if they do have baths fill them up an inch less etc.im sorry i may have been no help but i will have a think!!

gingerandrubarb wrote: »

:j Hi,
I'm new to this thread and really want to be apart of this challenge for the lifestyle. Also the extra money and reduced stress doesn't go amiss :rotfl:

I plan to do my spreadsheet tomorrow :cool: Which is scary as i honestly don't know how i can reduce anymore than we do?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated... Here's how it's difficult for me.

Were on benefits :mad: not ideal but i am disabled which i hate. My husband had to give up his job to help care for me and my 3 sons when my youngest was just about to be born.

Anyhow here's the difficult part.
*All of my sons are 5 years and under. Toilet training, still in nappies, drinking nearly a whole cow a day :rotfl: and ridiculously fussy eaters (that's if they even eat)
*My husband is also a ridic fussy eater. (Strawberry mullerlights, scottish plain bread or hovis brown, hp brown sauce, potatoes, pastry,heinz spring onion soup, roast beef or homemade steak pie or roast chicken with only potatoes is ALL he eats)

*We buy the basics just now. foods as above and nappies, milk, yoghurts, juice etc..pay for our gas and electric by meter which weve found alot easier and cheaper and use milk tokens or any other tokens where possible.
*We switch off lights and plugs to save energy and get as many freebies off the internet as possible.
*I always use amazon for books and then re-sell huge bundles on Ebay making nearly my money back, everything gets Ebay'd or Carbooted :rotfl::rotfl:
*I don't buy clothes (charity shop vintage chic :rotfl: or Ebay or Primark)
*Same goes for hubby he hardly buys any clothes, aftershaves etc...
I do smoke but none of us drink. Hubby doesn't smoke or drink coffee or tea etc..

We are still struggling to get by. Really struggling Any ideas what we should do to become Frugal??? xx

Again i will have a think seems like you are doing quite a lot already! have you done a spreadsheet and worked out where a lot of your money is going? have you had a look at all you direct debits and bill insurance etc and see if they are cheaper with someone else? the other question is are you receiving all the benefits that you are intiltled to? might be worth making a few enquiries.ive been involved in this process quite a lot recently and many people are not getting all they support they should be and they will not back date. Also sometimes it worth having a look at your mobility rate both cases ive been involved with they have been on a much lower mobility than they should have and it is not purely based on how much you can walk and get around etc there is other criteria they take into consideration.Also your husbands carers money might be worth looking at the banding for that.Again i may have not been at all helpful but i will have a think!!

[Deleted User]

gingerandrhubarb, just some ideas you could consider.

1. Give smoking the boot (I did a quick search and it looks like they cost at least £4.80!) That's nearly £20 per month if you only smoked one packet per week! That's nearly £5 a week to spend on food, or charity shop clothes etc. and find another thing to do with your hands that'll keep them busy and that will be enjoyable and relaxing for you instead. Sewing, growing thing in pots, making foraged fruits into jams, preserving veggies. Maybe making little board games or puzzles for the children, or writing stories for them

2. As your sons are as young as they are, you can gradually put nutritious food in front of them and change their fussiness slowly. ALL children would like to be long-term fussy, but I belive they can easily grow out of it if food is given until they become familiar with it. Sadly, no one did this for your hubby or he wouldn't be afraid to try new foods now and be on such a restricted diet.

3. Water - Instead of bathing (Bad for skin) Give the children and yourselves a good wash every day. A quick shower every so often if they really need it.

4. Make your own laundry gloop using a bar of cheap soap and some soda crystals. Saves ££. Instead of shampoo, use bicarb and vinegar rinse. Instead of cleaning materials, use old cotton clothing cut up and hand hemmed for flannels, dishcloths. Cheap vinegar washes windows, descales kettles and toilets, softens fabrics

4. Meal-Plan every week. I know I go on about it at the moment but the CFR (cheapfamilyrecipes) will feed a family really well for a fraction of what you'd think. The costing are 80p per person per day (Oct 2010) so I reckon it would now be 90p ish

5. Make your own bread. four loaves at a time using a no-knead recipe. The loaves will be smaller but more filling and if you get cheaper value flour it will work out very cheap. Carrot loaf can go in oven at same time and that is a nutritious staple too.

.Hubby and you will have to talk about things you CAN try and not what you WON'T. The thing is that if you're really struggling and you've done all the things you can think of, then you need to do things you hadn't thought of, if you see what I mean. It's a bit scary to change things that you've never considered before, but sometimes it can be liberating and not 'terrible' like you thought it would be. I know people who have got rid of their TV and the whole family has been happier, they get closer and have more fun as a family with a bit of inventiveness fromm Mum and Dad. I'm considering doing this, not for necessity but because we hardly every watch it nowadays.

Learning to be frugal - I call it rich yet frugal, can become fun and have many blessings that are not apparent at the beginning of the journey :beer:

tumptyteapot

5th June is when we are in the paper talking about being frugal - I found this when I was googling myself (as one does :-) ) http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/8246006.Frugal_Blackburn_friends_living_on___1_of_food_a_day/ they tried to live on £1 a day for food for a month, they have a blog too which I can't get to work.

I'm having a frugal fail moment, been away at my folks for the weekend and just spent money! I'm in denial until the claim for disability benefit either comes through or doesn't then I'll know where I stand and I'll have to face the music. Off to London next Sunday to see my sister and that won't be cheap and it's my son's birthday on Wednesday so I am not in a scrimping mood.