2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

findingmyfeet

Well monday morning again, where do these weeks disappear to ?

Monday mornings i have been taking the gas/electric metre readings or at least i did until christmas , this morning i have been out for the first time since and low and behold the gas one has tripled for the last month:eek:. Had a ten minute hissy tantrum with myself and switched off the heating, cardy back on, electric slightly up but to be expected as i had dd home for a month (hairdryer/straighteners/laptop/music player etc etc), so gas texted DH who was a little sheepish and admitted he had been leaving it on all night because he thought it was cold.!!! He comes to bed after me and gets up just before me so i hadnt taken much notice. rant over.

laundry gloop- is washing crystals the same as washing soda because thats all i can find around my local town??

My luxury in my frugal life has benn my nes*afe coffees columbian and gold b*end. This is extremely expensive so i have been stocking up when its on offer at around £4 a jar but this is geting more difficult to find. so i need to cut down on the amounts we use instead. already using a level teaspoon instead of heaped to stretch it further but have now found a tea i quite like 50 bags for 99p. Having tried it i can get 2 mugs out of 1 bag if i use the teapot. so intend having a couple of teas a day to help eek out the coffee.

Gosh i think my way off thinking is starting to change its quite scary.

cleaning /stardrops- sourced a shop now selling stardrops, can this be used for most cleaning tasks and can i stick it in a spray bottle and use to squirt on surfaces etc in the kitchen and bathrooms? do i add water or use neat? any help appreciated.

Handwash is now running low and need to find cheapo bubble bath or something to refill them, my mission for this week.

On the grocery side off things i will be doing my final count up tomorrow night but at present looks good, have £60 in a tin that has been the left over every week-( i allow £50 a week shopping and am saving anything i can out of that to allow us to do other things), so shopping good, cupboards reasonably stocked and freezer full, plus i have another £5 off coupon to use in a*di on thursday.:A

sorry for mega post- good luck all, hugs to all who need one

cw18

I've only used St@rdrops neat with a cloth, but there's an entire thread dedicated to it here which may answer your questions
(I've just never got around to reading it all!)

stitching_witch

I use diluted Stardrops in a spray bottle for most uses - kitchen worktops, doors, bathroom, mirrors, glass etc. And of course the kitchen floors are done with a squirt of Stardrops in a bucket of scalding water. I'm sure the Stardrops bottle has the dilutions on the back - I'm at work so can't look it up.

I needed to put diesel in the car today (and I fell for the charms of an almond croissant in the bakers :mad:) so I will need to revisit my budget for next month as I am £21 over this month. I've decided to do without my prescriptions and move that £10.50 onto the fuel budget to see if that helps.

SandraScarlett

Having read all the stories about letting the petrol tank run dry, and also the horror stories about Essex being bereft of supplies, I decided to get some, if there wasn't a queue.

I bought 26 litres, which I think is a little over 5 gallons, and it was £35!! :eek::eek: I took DH along for the ride, and then popped into Mr S for a "few bits", mostly fruit and veg, that came to over £20! Then when we got back, DH was shivering so I've put the heating on, and I don't care - I am such a rebel!

xx

cuddlymarm

Hi everyone

I've had quite a good month with thinking twice on everything that I have spent. I now have £20 in my pound coin pot and I have only given in and bought a lovely latte twice ( and both times I was absolutely freezing and needed warming up) Normally I would have bought one every time I go into town (usually with a muffin or cookie too) I came in under budget foodwise and have managed to fill my cupboards and freezer ( I did one big shop so didn't pay delivery) We are both doing weightwatchers so have made sure I have a mealplan for at least a week ahead but I have been terribly tempted when I went into M and S cos there are some lovely clothes coming out (I've lost just over a stone so far so when I lose another I might treat myself but as it is I keep finding clothes that now fit so don't really need anything.)
It is absolutely freezing here today so have been keeping myself moving and will only put the heating on later when I really need it.
For February I aim to keep plodding on and spending as little as possible and am going to see how long I can go before I need another big shop (we are getting through fruit and veg at an alarming rate but it is balancing itself out cos we aren't buying sweets and biccies)
Hugs to everyone who needs one
Have a good month
Cuddles:)

Kerfuffle

findingmyfeet wrote: »

Snip

laundry gloop- is washing crystals the same as washing soda because thats all i can find around my local town??

sorry for mega post- good luck all, hugs to all who need one

Hi findingmyfeet,

I believe washing crystals are the same as washing soda. I think the only difference is the soda is more 'ground up' than the crystals, I used to get washing soda from Mr T's as I couldn't find crystals. I'm sure someone will come along and correct me if I'm wrong :rotfl:, I hope so anyway.

Don't apologise for the mega post, I enjoy a good read, and you sound to have been very productive, well done.

Blairweech

Hm, I just tried to be frugal by going to L1dl instead of Mr T...but then I bought a load of 'treats' that were not on the list! :mad: I have no willpower - does not help that I literally live behind Mr T, so anytime I fancy something, off I go.

Dreading totalling up this months figures - think I may be in the region of double my budget :eek: And I am having some issues with my wisdom teeth - not anymore painful than normal but my face has swollen up on one side so thinking I should probably go and get them looked at again Plus car tax is due tomorrow - not a good start to Feb!

rising_from_the_ashes

Evening everyone ..... Blairweech hope the tooth's OK (I think only earache even comes close to comparing with toothache - they're really 2 things that there's very little we can do ourselves to help ease the pain).

I've posted an end of month update in my diary .... I'm sure you'd be pretty bored with the post but I find it does help me to put down a capture moment of how the budget's looking each month and some thoughts.

If you fancy seeing it ... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=50646637&postcount=75

SandraScarlett

findingmyfeet wrote: »

My luxury in my frugal life has benn my nes*afe coffees columbian and gold b*end. This is extremely expensive so i have been stocking up when its on offer at around £4 a jar but this is geting more difficult to find. so i need to cut down on the amounts we use instead. already using a level teaspoon instead of heaped to stretch it further but have now found a tea i quite like 50 bags for 99p. Having tried it i can get 2 mugs out of 1 bag if i use the teapot. so intend having a couple of teas a day to help eek out the coffee.

Gosh i think my way off thinking is starting to change its quite scary

No I think your way of thinking is great! :j My luxury is Nescafe Alta Rica, also £4, and because we're home all day, we get through a jar and a half a week. :eek: I wait until there's a bargain going, last Autumn somewhere had an offer for 2 x jars = £5, a £3 saving so I bought dozens, and now have 6 left, so am on the coffee hunt again.

That's why I don't have a regular outlay, cos one month I might stock up on toilet rolls, another one might be dog food, November was laundry stuff (notice, all really glamorous things!), but it all evens out in the end. You enjoy your coffee or tea sweetie, cos it's still cheaper than gin!!

Blairweech wrote: »

Hm, I just tried to be frugal by going to L1dl instead of Mr T...but then I bought a load of 'treats' that were not on the list! :mad: I have no willpower - does not help that I literally live behind Mr T, so anytime I fancy something, off I go.

Dreading totalling up this months figures - think I may be in the region of double my budget :eek: And I am having some issues with my wisdom teeth - not anymore painful than normal but my face has swollen up on one side so thinking I should probably go and get them looked at again Plus car tax is due tomorrow - not a good start to Feb!

Oh dear, you poor thing! There is nothing to compare to toothache, and I'd rather give birth to an elephant than suffer with my teeth. They're a problem from the time you cut them, till the time you lose them.

It sounds like you might have an absess, with all that swelling, and the dentist can give you a prescription for anti biotics - that's what I was given.

Oh and then you have your Road Tax due, what lousy timing. If you've really overspent, have a look in your stock cupboard, fridge, freezer, before you tell yourself off and stand in the corner. Your stock is probably worth a lot, and perhaps you hadn't accounted for that.

Flora was 2 x for £2 a few weeks ago, a real saving from £3.40, like my coffee, so I have enough Flora light, Flora ordinary and Lean Cuisine Flora stuff (half price :j) to last me until the end of February. And my toilet roll and dog food stocks are to be admired!! Look at the state of me, getting excited cos I have ample toilet rolls - sad or what!

xx

rising_from_the_ashes

SandraScarlett wrote: »

And my toilet roll and dog food stocks are to be admired!! Look at the state of me, getting excited cos I have ample toilet rolls - sad or what!

:rotfl:Not sure if anyone else has been on the Preparing for Winter thread? (I've sadly lost track the past month or so as all "my regular" threads have been so busy - and I guess with winter not really arriving yet!)

Anyway, in autumn time, the thread was really busy and everyone was posting up what they had / needed to get etc (some brilliant tips btw) and one of the absolute essentials was a loo roll mountain.

I thought mine was bad at *I think* around 180 rolls at one point - however, some more hardened members have enough that it's providing extra insulation in their lofts / spare rooms / in fact just about anywhere!

Others were saying they only had a couple in the house:eek:, which brought on fainting fits from some of us.:o

The other week I was worried I was getting really low on stocks as I'd got down to 6 x 18 packs :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I have since managed to talk myself out of buying more atm......