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2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)
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Thanks Frugaldom, it's good to know that this is a journey and that we will eventually get to a better place!
Moneybear123 am happy to hear your news.
Blairweech - congratulations on the result, I'm astounded that your "mate" hasn't even offered to give you a tenner or anything to say sorry for their mistake! Priceless some people.
I have finally taken down the xmas decs and it all feels very flat and dull. OH has promised to decorate my kitchen for me (he is a painter and decorator) but he got the chance of paid work and we really need the money. We are currently running 2 households so that his ex witch will let him see their children. This is hopefully only a short term solution as we plan to move in together in March but we'll see how that goes.
Years ago, my darling sis always used to fill her flask up with the boiled kettle but got out of the habit (I thought she was mental at the time) however seeing my energy monitor zoom up inspired her to start doing this again. She laughed at my baby flask which holds approx 1.5 cups of water and felt sorry for me so she bought me a big one yesterday. She even came round this morning for its inaugural ceremony!!!
have a frugal day everyone, I'm off for a run/jog type thing now to get warm (and loose some pounds) OH has given me a "cuddle" ban as an incentive for me to loose weight. He says it is the only thing that I like better than food. Hate it when he's right but it's working - I've lost 3 pounds! (Hope I haven't offended anyone by saying that!!!)
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happycrafter wrote: »Strange question but since changing to ebcome more frugal, are you more tired? menatlly and physically I am shattered. mentally because I am researching and scouring the web for ideas, my brain is on overdrive and start thinking of things when I am trying to sleep.The physical tiredness maybe because of not sleeping due to thoughts running in my head about saving more money! plus I am more active with household chores, cooking etc
Just wondered if anyone else felt like this, BTW it's not putting me off changing my lifestyle Id rather be tired than skint.
Also just realised this time last year any money that was given as presents would have been now spent on food and we would have been scraping every last penny together. This year I still have a good (not brilliant but good) amount of money in my bank, plenty of food in the house and payday is Monday.:j
I feel the same way you are not alone on this one. It takes a lot of thinking / planning / searching to be frugal. The more time and effort I put into be frugal equals more money at the end of everyday for me and my family. I agree with some of the other posts that in time it will get easier.Don't give up we are all here to cheer you on. :beer:
potting#16900 -
Thank you Arrowlili! I appreciate the advice - have posted a 'wanted' on freecycle for a yoghurt maker, but if no-one replies will try the thermos trick xx0
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This should probably be on the yogurt thread so I'll keep it brief so as not to hijack the thread too much. I use a dark blue thermos and I get noticeably better results in summer when I stand it on the worktop where it catches the sun. The dark colour absorbs the heat so keeps the temperature higher for longer and makes a much thicker set. So if you are trying it for the first time in winter do it when you have the heating on and stand the container close to the radiator or put it in an airing cupboard.
Sorry to go off topic - but I know from when I started being frugal it was easy to get discouraged if I tried something and it didn't work. Even now I find making hummous is very hit and miss. But I'm quite chuffed because I managed to make a batch this week which passed the fussy teenager testIt doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!0 -
Please can you tell me how you make hummous?Lost 38.5 lb with SW so far, 56LB to go!:A
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Frugaldom - you speak such wise words, with wonderful advice. :A:A:A Because we don't see each other on here, I have visual images for a lot of people, (but not facial features) and always imagine you, marching up a hill, with a red cloak, flowing behind you, waist-length hair, waving your flag, with hundreds of us Frugalistas following behind!
Thank you so much for all you do in keeping this thread going, especially as you work full time.
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SandraScarlett, please don't follow me up the hill or that'll mean we'll all be over the hill at the same time! :rotfl: Can we frugal party when we reach the top?
Hmm... But now you come to mention it, I do like the colour red, I do have waist length hair and I do live up a hill... are you one of my new neighbours?
Sunflowa20, thanks for your PM. You have now been included in the challenger list and are officially 'one of us' - welcome to frugaldom and here's to your 2012 challenge. :beer:
(I seem to have made an awful lot of rhubarb champagne last year, so cheers to everybody who continues to pursue their frugal goals. Or should that be frugoals? :rotfl:)I reserve the right not to spend.
The less I spend, the more I can afford.
Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.0 -
There are quite a few threads about making hummous so I would recommend doing a forum search and having a look at the different recipes. Some have spices in like cumin and paprika but Fussy Piece (AKA my DD2) likes it best flavoured with just garlic and salt. I use dried chickpeas because they are very cheap from the International food section of Mr T. I use about a cupful of dried beans at a time soak them for a few hours in cold water then cook them in plenty of water in my pressure cooker (which I wouldn't be without - that's another major aid to frugality and I think there's a thread about using pressure cookers somewhere as well). I give them a good 20 minutes but I think you'd have to cook them for a couple of hours on a low simmer otherwise. Drain the chickpeas but keep the water. Whizz them up until very smooth in a food processor with a crushed clove of garlic, a good pinch of salt of salt (they are very bland otherwise) a good slug of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon ( or juice from a bottle) and a couple of spoonfuls of tahini paste if you can get it, it does add to the taste but you can skip this. It will be a thick paste at this stage so thin it down with the cooking water until it is just a little bit thinner than you would like because it thickens up in the fridge. This makes the equivalent of about 3 supermarket pots of hummous and it freezes well
As I say I find it a bit hit and miss so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work first time - it's a question of getting the seasoning right and chickpeas are cheap enough to experiment with. I do find it cost effective to buy dried chick peas and cook them up. On the other hand buying red kidney beans isn't so economic because I was able to buy a whole load of large tins from Lidl for 19p per tin and each tin will do 2 batches of chilli - I freeze the second half of the tin.
The way I look at it is I waste a lot less having a few failures with cheap ingredients than a lot of people do buying food they never get round to eating and once I have got the knack of making something I used to buy I will very quickly make up for the loss I incurred on learning how to make itIt doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!0 -
Frugaldom, when we reach the top of the hill (we shall never be over the hill! :rotfl:), there will always be fresh new recruits, anxious to march in your footsteps!
DH and I had a great free-ish lunch today.:) I received a packet of some diet company's curry to try (I must have completed a form, but I can't remember!), to which I added a tin of condensed chicken soup, free with coupons from the brilliant Printable Voucher Thread, half a can of water, and some left-over mashed potato.
I boiled some rice, to which I added a handful of frozen peas, and this looked rather nice on the plate! I put the rice/peas in a circle around the outside of the plate and the curry-ish stuff in the centre, and it was lovely!
For dessert, I split some left-over, and frankly stale, trifle sponges, widthwise, spread the upper parts with the last of the jar of mincemeat, mixed with the last of the cranberry sauce, and poured some custard over, and it was yummylicious!:)
I am hysterical with joy at the s-l-o-w-n-e-s-s of the gas and electricity meters! :j I don't know what the weather's like in other parts of the country, but it is positively tropical here. :T
Happy Frugal Day to everyone.
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Hi everyone
Thanks Frugaldom for the wise words of encouragement -
for anyone new - this is my second year and it does take time to get to grips with a new way of living - after all how long have you been living like you used to - don't be so tough on yourself - baby steps every bit helps
I had a nice suprise today before xmas I applied for one of the MSE giveaways -( receipt book one) anyway I got it today I had forgotten all about it
a NSD day for me todayEmma :hello:0
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