2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

slowlyfading

Thanks everyone - can't quite believe it!

lizzie - sounds great! any chance of seeing a pic of it? and syrup pudding sounds great!

dizzy_lizzie

Hi Slowly. Will deffo post a pic when he's properly finished. He's got no eyes or nose yet
x

tylersbabe

Congratulations on your new job Slowlyfading :beer:

Well I am clinging onto my budget here, think I will go £30 over so not too bad, I should be able to sort that out with proper menu planning next month,

As overspent on food but underspent on petrol, mind you that might change when they move my job 10 miles further up the road lol

On the slimming front I have only managed to lose 1.5 lbs in my first week, BUT, have discovered mushy pea curry sounds awful but tastes really nice and cost next to nothing to make :rotfl:

Savvy_sewing

Supposed to have been some one clapping on the little motifs? oh well.

My lovely Dad has sent some funds to my daughter for us to spend on our holiday. I dont know how much, but he sent me a text to telll me, that we must treat ourselves. So thats lovely of him.
I put an extended couple of days on to the holiday, after negotiating a deal., well Biggest of Mooloo did the negotiating, I just paid the final amount. First of all they said that the extra two nights, and the upgrade would set ups back around £260!. So we said that it wasnt worth it. We had only paid £118 for the 4 nights/5 days. So the guy disappeared off for a bit, came back with a deal that gave us the upgrade for £56, and the extra two days for £50, I think it was. Anyway, with the fee for using my Credit Card it came to £114.70. So I was pleased enough with that. It has given us from Monday to Sunday now. So we can have a good holiday in Cornwall. Really starting to look forward to it. And for the first time, I am able to say, I can cover the card payments on my return, and that I have savings to do so. Yipee. All this being as frugal as I can is starting to work. Except I am sure I could easily have done better. But there is something still inbedded in the brain that will not just spend for the sake of it. (except sometimes on Fabrics....my downfall.) Although I would never buy any if there wasnt funds.

Savvy_sewing

Cut on the Fold, means that you fold the fabric in half, then you place the section that says cut on the fold, up to the fold, and pin it from there. So that when you open it up it is one continuous piece.
A lot of dressmaking is done with cut on the fold, or cut on the bias, or follow the grain.
The bias is against the grain. usually at an angle across the fabric.
The Grain is the way the fabric threads are. Up and down to you and me. The straighter the fabric is on the grain the better the garment will hang. etc.

Right I am off to have my shower and start packing.

cuddlymarm

Good morning everyone:hello

I tend to lurk rather than posting but have fallen off the bandwagon recently so I thought I would pop by and say hello

We are now both clear of our BRs and are both working so it is now time to get down to it and rebuild what we have lost so (sorry but its a list of what I plan to do please feel free to comment )

So far I have
Got round to joining the company pension scheme
Started putting regular ammounts in my ISA
Not saying no to overtime even if my feet are whinging
Starting menu planning and doing an online shop when needed (and only when delivery is free) I find I spend much less if I don't go in the supermarket)

I need to
Start cooking cheaper meals
Cooking from scratch more
Rebuild my credit rating
Get my housework under control (my house always seems to be a tip these days)
Get fitter (we both do WW but there is a way to go yet and hopefully some of the above won't be such hard work if we were fitter)

I know these aren't all frugal aims but I work on the theory that if I get my life more under control my future will stand more chance of being safe and comfy

Anyway enough of my waffling
I hope everyone is keeping safe and dry (its extremely windy here and dry but doesn't look promising)

Have a good weekend moneysavers
Cuddles:)

slowlyfading

:hello: cuddly and welcome to the thread!

Sounds like you've got off to a great start - one thing that really helps minimize food costs is to menu plan and then only buy what we need once you've got the hang of that, batch cooking and cooking from scratch should follow on relatively easily

Keep posting on the thread - there's lots of friendly people on here with some great tips

slowlyfading

Well the weather here is absolutely awful; chucking it down and really really windy. Don't think we'll be going far today unless it changes drastically!

Hope everyone has a good Saturday, and stay safe in the winds

dizzy_lizzie

Mooloo wrote: »

Cut on the Fold, means that you fold the fabric in half, then you place the section that says cut on the fold, up to the fold, and pin it from there. So that when you open it up it is one continuous piece. .

I just couldn't fathom this out at all. OH ended up working it out. I should have asked you earlier Mooloo. Tar chick.

Hello Cuddles. Look forward to reading more of your journey into frugalism

Mousey now has his new shorts on and looks super sweet. I'll post a pic later.
I have written a to do task list for today. I've called it my
'Achievable to do Saturday jobs that are niggling me list'
I've already crossed one of them off. Better be of now so I can do a bit more.
Weather here is windy and cold but for now the rain is holding off.
Have a lovely day everyone
x

mcculloch29

I'd been toying with the idea of putting in an Approved Foods order, but many of the products that I would definitely use seem to feature on the shelves of BM Bargains and Home Bargains. Our Town Centre has been run into the ground by ridiculously high rents (they have now dropped but it's all too little too late) so we have neither. However as I am disabled I do have a bus pass so I used this to shop in the nearest BM Bargains this week - then on to the nearest Poundland!
I found that although not all I would have bought was there, a lot was, and I was also able to pick up a couple of chilled food bargains in continental cold meat. I tried a 'season and bake in the bag' product I bought in BM Bargains last night on skinned chicken thighs. It worked beautifully well with the meat succulent and healthy too, having near zero fat .