2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Winchelsea

Have just done my April "spending review". Have spent more than usual in the past month, mainly through being a bit extravagant with my outfit for DGD's wedding. Also have paid for lots of travel, including the hen weekend which is coming up at the end of this week. (Was surprised - pleasantly - when DGD insisted that I joined in!) Also paid to go to a 4-day festival in July.

Will update my sig now - and vow to do better next month!

Blairweech

Not sure if this has already been posted but there is currently a Groupon deal for a £5 odeon cinema ticket

SandraScarlett

By the way, I don't have a sewing machine, so I'll be doing all this by hand. :eek: I always feel like Ma in Little House On The Prairie when I'm doing my sewing.

xx

twiglet98

Sandra that's brilliant - I passed Needlecraft and Dress, as it was then called, at O level, and made a hippie-ish floral blouse and velvet trousers for that, then promptly forgot everything about sewing as soon as the exam was over. I did borrow ex-MIL's sewing machine when I moved here 20-odd years ago, and made some curtains with the help of the Laura Ashley book, but all I'd attempt now with a needle is sewing on buttons. The curtains aren't going to be replaced any time soon.

Had an awful week, the car has disastrously failed its MoT with rust in the chassis, megabucks to weld it, though probably better the devil you know, so I'm wondering where to find £800 or so for that. Also the extended end of the house has lost electricity, we haven't been able to isolate it to a specific appliance tripping the mains off so possibly mouse damage or something in the actual ring circuit. The freezers and computer are now plugged into long extension cables so at least I haven't lost a freezer full of whoopsied food - mainly meat and fish bought at 10% of marked price, and 8 loaves at 5p each - I'd intended to find an electrician after the MOT was done, now it will be one or the other, not both, until I think of some things to sell. I'm already working 60 hours a week and there isn't much scope to work even more.

slowlyfading

Twiglet - :eek: to the car cost! I'm hoping you can find that somewhere, have you got anything you could sell online to make a bit of money towards it?
Sandra - good luck with the sewing!

I'm having one of those days where I'm staaarving and it's only 9:30am I'm drinking a cuppa in the hopes it'll make me feel less hungry - it's nowhere near lunch time!

LolaLemon

Made some washing powder yesterday, from a recipe I found on the gloop thread. I used soap flakes, soda crystals, borax and I also added two spoonfuls of stardrops fabric whitening powder, just to help the whites stay white. I only made a small pasta jar full, and I crushed the soap flakes so they are smaller and dissolve better. 2 washes later and I like it. My white towles look good. No smell tho, altho I don't normally use a fragranced powder, I use ecover and add some soda crystals and borax to the box, so it lasts longer.... now the test is to see if it irritates the skin, which I don't see it doing, but who knows.....

slowlyfading

I feel as though I'm doing this :wall::wall::wall: a lot lately...

The smallest things seem to be really frustrating lately, and for the most part, there's nothing I can do the change them! Grr. :mad:

Hope everyone else is doing okay, it's very quiet around here....

Kerry_Woman

slowlyfading - Sending you hugs.

Have to really watch what I spend, as I have not temped for a month now. My agency has not been getting me any work. Have registered with another agency and going to make enquires next week to another agency - the lady who I had already spoken to is off until Tuesday.

Don't think I need to get alot of food shopping this weekend. Planning to make some scones, cakes and either a apple pie or crumble.

Got a 2 hour first aid course for my voluntary work next week. Planning to do some voluntary work next week.

SandraScarlett

Well I'm chuffed to pieces, as I've managed to cover all the box cushions, arm cushions and h-u-g-e back pieces, on 2 arm chairs and a 2 seater settee, plus a continuous chair back, and it looks lovely! :j

I've only tucked the back parts in, as my poor little fingers are sore from sewing, so I'll stitch all this later on, but it's made a great improvement, and all for 20 quid! :T I left the original material on, and stretched the new stuff over, securing it with fairy stitches by the zips, and I still have about 2 metres left.

I just love Pandora's Upholstery!

xx

mcculloch29

Oh isn't that satisfying - well done Sandra, I'm hopeless with anything like that (all my upholstery is leather as a result!). Is there anything you can do with the two metres of chenille that's left?
You're much braver than me in having pale colours; although my leather suite is cream, there is no way I'd ever have it as fabric; I'm so incident-prone. Will you use throws to protect it? Just thinking of the way dye can transfer from jeans etc.
I'm doing the 'feed yourself for a quid a day' challenge this week and was delighted (and relieved!!) to come across some yellow labels in Mr T's as well as some super bargains in the discount freezer shop, Heron Foods.
Northern frugalistas are probably very familiar with Heron already, they are a Hull based company I think.