2013 Frugal Living Challenge

tessie_bear

natalie...i love a gadget as well i have a pasta machine but find the dough gets very sticky and i end up in a mess:eek:...on the subject of gadgets what do people think to bread makers...im umming and ahring over one but they seem expensive

quintwins

tessie_bear wrote: »

natalie...i love a gadget as well i have a pasta machine but find the dough gets very sticky and i end up in a mess:eek:...on the subject of gadgets what do people think to bread makers...im umming and ahring over one but they seem expensive

Do you remeber i moved house during the year? well i decided not to bring mine we had limited space and i thought i never used it anyway but now i miss it mainly for pizza dough if i see a cheapo one on ebay/facebook pages or in a charity shop i'm gonna grab it. btw best gadget even is the slowcooker

vintagebrighton

Hi everyone I'd like to join too please...

Not sure about my budget yet but what I do know, is that I need to make my available money work harder!

I've started a debt free diary and definitely need to up my income in some way or other. Methinks I'll be spending a lot of time on here in 2013.

Will have a think about which way to go, monthly or yearly and what to include (or not)..... back in a bit xx

out_of_debt_at_last

tessie_bear wrote: »

natalie...i love a gadget as well i have a pasta machine but find the dough gets very sticky and i end up in a mess:eek:...on the subject of gadgets what do people think to bread makers...im umming and ahring over one but they seem expensive

I was like that ummed and argghed over getting one cost and where to put it mostly cost though.............. i love mine, pizza dough fab, wholemeal bread great! bought mine last May and love it!

*Jellie*

I'm another fan of our bread maker. If I tried to make it without I doubt I would ever get round to it! As it is we swapped from two for Tuesday takeout pizzas to homemade pizzas when we got it and I really think we've got our money's worth out of it.

xnatalie81x

I got rid of our breadmaker when I downsized so only have my mums 1lb machine which I use when there and try and remember to bring a loaf home lol. Approved foods have white bread mixes relatively cheaply so have stocked up as no measuring which makes life easier

Pizza dough is so easy lol. I just chuck all in a large bowl and mix - cover. Sit on heater and pretty much leave the kids to it sauce just simmered tomato and herbs and let em go mad with thinly sliced mushroom and value tinned pineapple and bit grated cheese (value mozzarella mixed with cheddar if feeling generous) its like an event for them! Last time we did it I cooked them individually in value cake tins in the halogen oven gas costs me but electric is all inclusive so I use where possible!

Only today and tomorrow and we are officially in 2013! Still have my £6 from 2012 and hoping petrol can hold out lol. Remains to be seen. Do you think we should have quick introductions? Bit about you and who is in your household, hobbies, wok, pets etc? Help the newbies (like me) a bit as quite a few faces have changed and prob situations too

littleskintdragon

just want to say well done to everyone on this thread, i recently for the first time worked out my minimum annual spend and got a figure around £24000,its amazing how little u can live on, and one day i hope ill join u x

quintwins

it's the whole mixing thing i'm not keen on or else i would just do it in a bowl, i'm considering getting a standmixer, can you make pastry in a mixer or does it have to be a food processor?

ostrichnomore_2

Frugaldom - thank you for adding me (and running this).

This is really giving me something to focus on, I've always been a bit random over money especially as I had several very hard years living penny by penny hand to mouth when I was younger, when I got a bit more money - even though it's not a huge amount - it was nice to just relax and let go of the reins a bit. But now I want to get serious again and there are so many great ideas on the old threads and the stickies, I spent a couple of hours reading through yesterday.

So, to get myself started

I've resisted the urge to go to the sales and 'treat' myself. All I need is some new work shoes so will go and find myself some today and leave it at that.

I was given some scratchcards for Christmas (at the time thought, what?!) but I've won £70! Will invest that in buying birthday presents for 2013 in the sales.

Got a few left over bits and pieces I bought for Christmas presents and didn't give out in the end (you know, those 'oh that'll be nice for someone' impulse buys) which I would usually just then keep myself, but they'll all go into the birthday present store now instead.

Bought a load of reduced soups and small quiches (now in freezer), which will do me for work lunches for 2 weeks. Cost me £6.70, whereas I would have spent £30 normally so saving £23.30. Amazing how little things like not buying a Greggs/Boots lunch deal add up, when it doesn't seem like much day by day as you buy them. And the soups and quiches are Weightwatchers and will help with my diet.

Determined to stop wasting food - it's usually only veg gone manky. Now have a blender so will start making 'bottom of fridge' soups once a week. More work lunches :-)

Savvy_sewing

Yesterday we went for a walk into Oxford (am staying at a friends) and went around the museum - free entry. When we came out popped into a Mr T express and got 5 rounds of sandwiches normally £1.80 each for 18p each. Plus the milk we went in to get. Cut them into triangles and put on platter along with the left over sausage roll and spring rolls and that was our evening meal for four of us. Although I did pay for our bus tickets back as the walking was too much for me. Had an extremely hot bath to get the joints moving. Home today and will need milk for my house but hoping there will be enough to eat in the freezer and fridge as I don't want to spend anymore then I have too until I can clear the decks.