2014 Frugal Living Challenge

zafiro1984

I have quite a lot of hens and they are laying like it's going out of fashion so I have about 200-250 eggs spare - mega baking session. One cake takes 4 eggs or 6 small ones, lemon or orange curd takes more eggs. I had the same problem last year and made just over 100 cakes, froze them undecorated and used them over the year.

Just been to the shops and bought extra SR flour, flora, caster sugar, walnuts, spices etc. Got home and what I thought was a new roll of baking parchment in the larder turned out to be foil very annoyed as the shops are a round trip of 12 miles, how could I been so stupid as not to check first.

Mrs_Cheshire

Morning all, had a good morning today although I now know why I avoid Te*co! I went in to buy apple squash, pickling vinegar and the mirror(for the £5 of £40 spend) ended up spending £30, did buy razor blades for huubby which cost £20 (he needs them but just hadn't thought about it), got some reduced price spices to put in a hamper for my brother-in-law for his birthday! I also bought some spices for myself, so hoisin sauce as I can't get it at Aldi and some reduced priced Bisto Gravy Granules, huge pot for £1.50.

Just got to decide what I need to buy in Aldi, I've not been spending more than £30 a week but obviously with the spend of £40 for the voucher I need to buy some things in bulk to make up the extra spend, but this should reduce the cost for the rest of Feb. Thinking of buying toilet rolls, cereal, some tins (I already have a stockpile of beans, spaghetti hoops and passata), pasta and rice!

Mrs_Cheshire

zafiro1984 wrote: »

I have quite a lot of hens and they are laying like it's going out of fashion so I have about 200-250 eggs spare - mega baking session. One cake takes 4 eggs or 6 small ones, lemon or orange curd takes more eggs. I had the same problem last year and made just over 100 cakes, froze them undecorated and used them over the year.

Just been to the shops and bought extra SR flour, flora, caster sugar, walnuts, spices etc. Got home and what I thought was a new roll of baking parchment in the larder turned out to be foil very annoyed as the shops are a round trip of 12 miles, how could I been so stupid as not to check first.

Where do you live, do you know anyone you could do a swap with say fresh veg in exchange for eggs!

TM6

TM6 wrote: »

In need of TLC today - 4th anniversary of my darling Dad's death and I am feeling a bit weepy.

Hope you don't mind me sharing :A

Thank you SO very much for your hugs, kind words and best wishes - I really struggled yesterday but was comforted by your kindness


I REALLY enjoy being part of this frugal community, great advice, great inspiration and great cyber friends :T

his_missus

zafiro1984 wrote: »

I have quite a lot of hens and they are laying like it's going out of fashion so I have about 200-250 eggs spare - mega baking session. One cake takes 4 eggs or 6 small ones, lemon or orange curd takes more eggs. I had the same problem last year and made just over 100 cakes, froze them undecorated and used them over the year.

Do you need a live-in cake tester?:D

Have you tried selling the eggs locally? A few people around us who have allotments just sell from their front door.

mummy2threeboys

zafiro1984 wrote: »

I have quite a lot of hens and they are laying like it's going out of fashion so I have about 200-250 eggs spare

:T wow thats amazing! i agree could you sell them/swap or do a farmers market?
Like you say loads of cakes lol..and no shortage of testers im sure!

How many hens do you have?

Well decided our dining room needs a big overhaul trying to do in keeping with the victorian house we are in, want to put a picture rail up as well and decorate it just over the top, but seen some lovely wall paper but its £50 for 2 rolls..soo much hunting about and found one very simular on ebay for £13 with delivery for the 2 rolls . Will keep my curtains but dye them instead £15? (very long windows so new curtains are dear..hopefully something will turn up in a charity shop)..want a big guilt mirror but even wilkos want £150 ish?! maybe thats just online and i need to go instore. They do thier own olive coloured paint so thats not very bad, hoping to do the whole thing for around £80 with the mirror, paint paper and rail. Which is quite a lot , but we only decorate every 10 years or so, and normally then its just new paint, so kind of feel the shabby dining room deserves it! Have a good day all .

Frugalsod

vw_campervan_mum wrote: »

Like many of us I find January dragging! Identifying with all the ups and downs. Thanks to everyone who is passing on positive vibes it really helps.:T

Going to walk into town for exercise and look round the fleamarket as a cheap outing.

Have spent £120 on food so far this month and was aiming for only £100 - it's going to be a very tight month to make up for it in February. Thank goodness February is shorter than January

January is 3/4 over. We've broken the back of the greyest month of the year :j

If you can batch cook you can make some savings. I make soups from any vegetables before they start to turn. So home made bread and soup is a cheap and delicious meal or snack. Also when you are trying to change your lifestyle it is actually more expensive for a while. You need to build up a stock of condiments etc and maybe buy the odd gadgets all before you can start to make the savings. When I made the change I bought a Kenwood Chef, and a lot of accessories. So I was immediately down £900 but then I was able to make my own bread saving me £2 a week, then able to make soups saving me another £2 a week, making my own pasta would save me nothing from switching from dried pasta but was worth a few quid every week in a quality of life boost, I would never have bought fresh pasta for £3. The fact that I do not need to use ready meals now means I am saving a fortune every week. Pizzas are now even cheaper to make from scratch and taste even better than most shop pizzas saving me £2 a time. I now make my own baileys saving me £7 a throw. I can also make my own apple crumbles saving me £2 a time. So all these little things add up and some might save me nothing but would mean that my quality of life has improved. I know that my diet now barely has any additives in and I do feel better for that, my salt levels are lower and consequently my blood pressure is lower. So do not fret yet.

kb_soma

I'm thinking of investing in a breadmaker, how much does it cost to make a loaf, out of curiosity, and is the bread freezable?

zafiro1984

mummy2threeboys wrote: »

:T wow thats amazing! i agree could you sell them/swap or do a farmers market?
Like you say loads of cakes lol..and no shortage of testers im sure!

How many hens do you have?
.

327 hens at the moment, I supply pubs and restaurants with eggs as well as sell at the gate. One is a Michelin starred restaurant.
The problem is that in Jan, folk don't go out as much and therefore the pubs don't order as many eggs as in the summer but the hens still lay. I will only sell eggs that are under 3 days old so I end up with a backlog - same happened last year.

his_missus

kb_soma wrote: »

I'm thinking of investing in a breadmaker, how much does it cost to make a loaf, out of curiosity, and is the bread freezable?

I've never worked out the cost of making a loaf, it would depend on whether you used branded bread flour etc. I suppose. I've always thought of it as I'm eating better quality bread rather than the cost of it.

I've never successfully frozen my home made bread, it turned really dry after freezing. Forunately, with Hubby, it's never around long enough to be frozen :rotfl: