2013 Frugal Living Challenge

[Deleted User]

Evening All, we just got home from Skye this afternoon and we have used the last of the holiday money to buy a takeaway tonight. Need to focus on being more frugal this week.
1. Need to spend some time organising shed ready for growing plants from seed for the garden this year. Need to keep an eye on Lidl and Aldi seed offers.
2. Packed lunches organised for work - sandwich tomorrow and then HM tomato soup for the rest of the week.
3. Eating out of the freezer for the rest of the week.

Have got some money due soon as I have sold some books on Amazon and that will go straight into the savings account.

lbnblbnb

The curry in a hurry paste worked really well although I adapted it using a JO recipe we like. I have six lots in the freezer now for future curry nights.

I need to meal plan for our trip away next week, partly to keep spends low but also so I don't spend too much time cooking. I love cooking but I want to start an art journal with the kids and I want to begin running again, as well as spending time playing card games with the kids and visiting castles (son is obsessed with knights, English Heritage membership has been a bargain for us).

[Deleted User]

Baking night tonight - HM choc muffins to take to work as snacks. Mmm. all made while watching Chocolat on TV. Happy Wednesday!

dizzy_lizzie

lbnblbnb wrote: »

I need to meal plan for our trip away next week, partly to keep spends low but also so I don't spend too much time cooking.

Have a lovely break lbnblbnb

[Deleted User] wrote:

Evening All, we just got home from Skye this afternoon and we have used the last of the holiday money to buy a takeaway tonight.

Hope you had a lovely time allie

Not much to report here. Same as usual, plodding on, but plodding's good I guess.
GD is here today so we've had a craft afternoon, making Valentines day cards and biscuits.
I must get out of this down mood I seem to be in. It's not like me. Is Spring around the corner yet...?



x

lbnblbnb

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Have a lovely break lbnblbnb

Thank you dizzy lizzie I know what you mean about needing Spring, it seems pretty grim at the moment doesn't it? Hope you feel a bit better. I would use the hugs smilie but it always looks a bit wrong to me...!

Baking_Mad

Hi all, I've just been catching up on your posts after my lengthy absence.

Love all the posts about cooking from scratch. I love cooking and especially baking and we never buy ready meals these days. That said we do like to treat ourselves to an occasional take away! We are a family of 4 and have a dog. I've been amazed to see how frugal some people are on here when it comes to food shopping. Last month I spent £285 which included food, nappies for the youngest, toiletries and dog food. My OH thinks I'm doing very well but I can't help but think that more cutbacks could be done.

allie23, could I please ask how many people you shop for? Your budget of £120-£150 sounds amazing!

On another note, we have a couple of very tough months ahead. Both of our cars are due for MOT, road tax and insurance. I hate this time of year as we always seem to spend a fortune, but we do need two cars...

I'm going to do my best to list some stuff on eBay this week and you are all allowed to shout at me if you don't do it.n:rotfl:

dizzy_lizzie

lbnblbnb wrote: »

Thank you dizzy lizzie I know what you mean about needing Spring, it seems pretty grim at the moment doesn't it? Hope you feel a bit better. I would use the hugs smilie but it always looks a bit wrong to me...!

Definately a dodgy one that
Oh I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment. I'm up and down like a fiddlers elbow. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
I'm sure I'll be ok in a couple of days.
x

[Deleted User]

Baking_Mad wrote: »

allie23, could I please ask how many people you shop for? Your budget of £120-£150 sounds amazing!

Hi Baking Mad. There are just the two of us. On a good month we can usually send some of the food fund to the savings account but is does mean being quite focussed with planning and shopping for bargains. The £7 a week thread is brilliant for insipration (sorry can't do a link - on my phone during lunch break!) and the OS Grocery challenge. I could probably get the cost down even more but I do like the occasional(!) treat and I do have weeks where I just can be doing with all the planning so I have a break and then watch our spend go up (so get back on it the next week).

LolaLemon

Happy St. Valentines Day.
My son only has 5 girls in the shared class he is in (3 years, 1,2 and 3 - total of 8 kids ). so last night i got out lilac paper i had from random packs of stationary, they taht inserts for fancy cards, i have 2 sizes, small and big. of the big ones i taped two sides together (these are already folded over) so it leaves one side open, the smaller ones, my son got a nice bright red crayon and drawed the outline of a love heart - used a cookie cutter, and inside the heart he wrote out each girls name then coloured the heart in. On the inside i wrote 'Happy St. Valentine's Day.'
It did only start with 5, but then he wanted to give one to the 3 teachers he has, and then he said 3 more. The three more was for my mum, my sister and me! He only told me because he needed to know how to spell each person. Sometimes my boyis too cute for his own good!
Rather glad that i had all the craft stuff in my box or that would have cost a pretty penny for 11 cards!

natnat13

Gosh its quiet on here, where is everyone?
I have had a fairly frugal weekend. Half term this week, not got a lot planned so hopefully will be quite cheap. I am off on a hen do at the weekend though which won't be so cheap but I knew it was coming so its ok. We are having a meal then out drinking, I will probably only eat one course and I don't want to drink too much (famous last words) because I have to drive the next morning.

Anyway, whats everyone else been up to?