2014 Frugal Living Challenge

icontinuetodream

I'm doing pretty well at the moment....I have been using my washing line daily (actually, that's a major achievement for me!!:o), dd's bf brought over a cut up tree that will be ideal for logs for the fire once it is chopped and seasoned, I am still living predominantly out of store cupboards and freezers and throwing nothing away!!

Greenhouse has been turned and cleaned, I have tomato seeds, potatoes, salad, broad beans and sweetpeas ready to be planted and not too long now before I can get all the rest of the veg on the go!!:j

I have decided that the most random food I have cooked was last nights dinner.....I made hm pizzas on Friday and had pineapple and a tomato base for it (tomatoes, garlic, onion, black olives, capers and basil) still leftover. Sunday, I cooked a chicken and still had a leg and a bit of breast meat left along with some peas, sprouts and mashed potato.. I mixed up the mash with the tomato base, chopped sprouts, peas, a chopped raw onion and a spoonful of mixed herbs - topped with shredded chicken and then finely chopped the pineapple and spread that on top.....drizzled with olive oil and put in the oven for half an hour, served with puy lentils that I cooked in chicken stock which I made from the carcass......nomnom!!!:D

Dh reckons that out of all my bizarre concoctions this was one of the weirdest...however, he loved it and has taken the rest of it for lunch today!!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

happybird71

Nearly at the end of the month! My spending app is scaring the life out of me! I get paid this week so I'll know whether we break even or not. DH was paid last week and we're in minus money on the app.

Just back from a weekend in Northern Ireland. Busy but good. Did the usual trek round all the rellies. Bought up half the contents of a farm shop! Carb heaven! DH and I were like kiddies in a sweetie shop - scones, soda farls, pies etc etc. I would be incredibly fat (but happy!) if I lived there! Yummmm

Goldiegirl

Not the frugalest of days today.


My grocery shopping was delivered - my store cupboard is building up nicely now.


Then I went to the hairdressers and had my hair coloured - it's really perked me up.


Then on the way back home I paid my car tax.


Still, it's all things that are included in my budgets, but a bit painful to pay out all at once.


Have a good conversation with my hairdresser. I've known her for about 30 years, so she's a friend as well as a hairdresser. She cooks from scratch. They are a family of 4, including two teenage boys, and she spends £60 pw on food, which I think is pretty good with two teenagers.


However, the teenagers have their computers on all this time, and never turn lights out. They pay £150 per month on electric. Bearing in mind they heat their house and cook with gas, that's a large chunk of money to be paying for your electric.

DawnW

Managed a NSD today - first this week

Free lunch at work, as we had a meeting for external people. Boring sandwiches, but still, saved me taking my own

Leftovers for evening meal, and I am currently eating the last of the charity cake sale chocolate cakes from the weekend with my coffee

Unfortunately it isn't a cream egg brownie (wow, they were AMAZING! Daren't make those, I would eat all of them :eek:)
Early night tonight as it was a really full on day at work, and the alarm will go off again all too soon

happybird71

Ooh. Do you have the recipe for cream egg brownies please?

Florenceem

Frugal non spending day here. I found some fabric in my stash and using an old apron as a pattern - made myself a new one. I have a second apron cut out ready to sew as well.
I need to get started on a costume for book week - have to make crown, sceptre and turkish delight box - witch from Narnia.

evuka

Hello All,

It's good to read how everyone is going on, really motivating!

For me Saturday was a big spend day, had to pick up my coat from the drycleaners. I thought it to be Ł15-20 - the cleaners also thought along the line of these numbers but instead of 15-20 they had 15+20 in mind, so I had paid Ł35! :eek: But that's it clean and sparkling now:T
Also bought a lawnmower for my wee garden and some stationary stuff for new job started on Monday.
...and...
two NSD's in a row!!!
Not a particularly big achievement one may say but I NEVER had 2 NSD's one after the other when at work
Trying to stick with my already spent grocery budget for this week/month, already ran out of bread and very low on oatflakes but just came to my mind, I still have porridge stuck into somewhere in my cupboards.
(Cooked main meals are frozen - only need to cook rice or pasta to go with them and still have some salmon, chicken, liver in the freezer plus enough ingredients for a lentil soup) I can also do smoothies for breakfast/dinner - 4 beetroots, apples, tins of fruit and powdered milk stocked up. Hm, I look better than I thought! Foodwise, I mean. :money:
And if really keen on carbs, I can do some hm pizza. Or even a plain bread.
Will do my online grocery shopping for the whole month soon (still living on my savings after being unemployed), thinking of A$DA instead of Sainbugs but haven't made up my mind yet. I like S's.

lovefullshelves

Goldiegirl, poor hairdresser, we have £150 electric bills through the winter, but thats for 2 businesses and a home!
Still not bought the solar lights..yet!
Next month wanna get the savings tin up to £1000, definitely by my birthday in April. My menfolk are trying their hardest to scupper my attempts at spending less on groceries, and as I know they don't get many treats i frequently give in.
I am soft!
Oh well, today I'm up to 6 NSD in a row
xx

Coulddobetter

Sorry not posted recently. Have lived up to my name, bought a new dress and bag for holidays later in the year :mad:
Had a NSD yesterday but needed fruit and veg today.

CDB x

TM6

lovefullshelves wrote: »

Goldiegirl, poor hairdresser, we have £150 electric bills through the winter, but thats for 2 businesses and a home!
Still not bought the solar lights..yet!
Next month wanna get the savings tin up to £1000, definitely by my birthday in April. My menfolk are trying their hardest to scupper my attempts at spending less on groceries, and as I know they don't get many treats i frequently give in.
I am soft!
Oh well, today I'm up to 6 NSD in a row
xx

Wowser - 6 NSD in a row - I bow down in your presence - that's amazing :T