2014 Frugal Living Challenge

DawnW

Morning all :j Brrr it is freezing here today, really cold wind :eek: so no gardening today. Nipped out to feed the chickens and soon nipped back in again to sit by the woodburner!

We did pop out to a couple of local car boot sales earlier this morning, I didn't buy anything, but OH got a small calor gas bottle as a spare for the camping stove. Needless to say we didn't stay long, just dashed round quick. Unsurprisingly there were not many sellers.

It is so cold I think I will make some soup for lunch in a minute. Dinner at DD2's later as my brother, who is staying with us for the holiday, is going to put in a power point in her OH's garage (bro is an electrician). So I will get to cuddle baby GD , whom I gather had them up for most of the night

No sign of forecast rain yet, just a really, really cold wind - cold enough to snow :eek:

Frugalsod

optimistic-mummy wrote: »

Thankyou for the tips ... i already use cloth nappies with washable wipes and liners ... was BF too but due to TT and lack of support had to put baby on formula i do pump but cant get my supply up enough so combination feed.
we buy 99% of asda or asda smartprice or that type ... no finest or branded in this house lol
im planning on baby led weaning when the time comes
im cutting corners slowely as much as possible have canceled some unnessesarry DD
currently re writing out my budget as i stupidly forgot to save it and my laptop crashed :mad:
ive also done a meal plan and list for the week

You are doing the right things already. I might suggest if you use ready meals that you look at if you can make them instead. I used to live off them entirely and found that many of them can be made far more cheaply and more healthily for less. I can make an apple crumble for £3 which is the same price as the supermarkets but mine is twice as large so is really half the price. All very easy to do as well. So I now have a personal mantra of if "I can make it, I do not buy it!"

Take it in small steps. I found that some home made alternatives saved little money but were healthier, for example home made pasta. I can make it for the same price as the dried pasta in the shops. Though since they charge a lot more for fresh pasta I am effectively getting a lifestyle boost without spending any more. I found that breaking problems into parts and tackling them in sections is helpful. I love Banoffee pie but have cheated with my version, the caramel filling is replaced by using a ready made can of it instead. It might not be as cheap as the proper home made version but it is a lot simpler and tastes just as good.

Just do whatever works for you. It will come in stages, so tweak any idea that you think might work for you and be ready to change it if you find a better way.

WizzyPop

Hi all Hope you are all enjoying the Easter break.

I hope you don't mind me joining in, I've been very inspired by all your frugal activities since the new year and really want to give this a go. I'm prepping to start properly for the 1st May but using the last few days of April to prep spreadsheets and review current DDs.

First few months this year were a big struggle as it was just my income as OH was out of work for nearly 6 months which included the xmas period too. But putting that all behind us now and planning on clearing my debts within the next 18 months well excluding the mortgage that is. :rotfl:that will take considerably longer than 18 months.

So aim this evening is to set up my spreadsheet, swagbuck, and my nectar adpoints and points2shop.

Apologies for my ramblings

sparrer

lynnejk wrote: »

Have you tried led lights as even cheaper to run. It made me laugh about your ironing - I only iron about once a month maybe, then just a few shirts or tops that really need it :rotfl:

For those with a garden, I only have a balcony, but I found those cheap bags of dried peas can be used to grow pea-shoots for a salad and you get LOADS. Just wondered if you could actually get pea-plants from them a bit cheaper ?

Hope you all have a super Easter Sunday
Lx

I have box full of low power bulbs given free when they first came onto the market so should use those up first, then I'll look into LED ones.

Can you explain more about the pea shoots please lynne? Would be very interested to grow anything that saves money. Thanks

eta welcome WizzyPop

lovefullshelves

Lynne - looks like I'll just have to perservere with OH! I love him to little bits but I get so infuriated then I can't talk to him for fear of exploding!!
Well, I saved money today by not exerting any energy and sleeping alot!! I may have overdone it yesterday!
A year older tomorrow, and for the first time ever I asked for 1 dvd, thats it, that I have wanted for ages, and wasn't tempted to buy it for myself! Makes it more of a treat!! (Believe it or not its Robocop! the original!)
sparrer - I don't iron anything!! Does that make me bad or just wrinkly!!!
xx

sparrer

lovefullshelves wrote: »

sparrer - I don't iron anything!! Does that make me bad or just wrinkly!!!
xx

Absolutely not bad or wrinkly LFS, it means you work extremely hard every day while I apparently have far too much time on my hands

In case I forget (it's an age thing :cool:) Many Happy Returns for tomorrow, hope you get your dvd gift wrapped! And lots more besides x

lynnejk

pelirocco wrote: »

If a driver hasn't got his cpc by September he won't be allowed to drive . This new regulation was planned at least 3 /4 years ago to enable drivers time to complete the module hours required.

That is one of the things about the whole loss of job which is sooo infuriating. DH has been there for three years and the boss had set up DH and another agency driver to do their driver cpcs NEXT MONTH and then it all got thrown out the window.

sparrer wrote: »

Can you explain more about the pea shoots please lynne? Would be very interested to grow anything that saves money. Thanks

Just thought I would try it as love pea shoots in a salad and sooo expensive. Got a bag of cheapest dried peas from discounter, laid on some damp tissue for a couple of days in kitchen and then planted some sprouted ones in a large pot on balcony. Once they come through they grow really quickly and produce loads of shoots. I just kept using until growth slowed and then planted some more. Lovely :T


Hope you all have a marvellous Monday
Lx

lynnejk

lovefullshelves wrote: »

A year older tomorrow, and for the first time ever I asked for 1 dvd, thats it, that I have wanted for ages, and wasn't tempted to buy it for myself! Makes it more of a treat!! (Believe it or not its Robocop! the original!)
sparrer - I don't iron anything!! Does that make me bad or just wrinkly!!!
xx

HAPPY BIRTHDAY :bdaycake:
Hope you get your DVD and it's WRAPPED .


PS. I only iron if absolutely necessary - eg an interview :rotfl:
Lx

rogueylawyer

Picklepot wrote: »

I have been lusting after a steam mop for a while.
I have never quite 'got' floor mopping. The swishing luke warm water round my floor with a mop that i can never wring out properly and takes ages to dry and ends up smelly only for me to use the same manky mop next time and with a dog can never get the floor dry.

Anyhow DH wants to know once the cloth is dirty are you not just swishing the dirt about?? Cant answer that can anyone?

I think i have a multitude of jobs it could tackle but fear i may have been brainwashed by the shopping channel!

We have a steam mop, as we have three lino floors and one very large tiled floor. I despise normal mopping, but the steam mop is almost a pleasure. Plus - you just take the micro fibre cloth off and chuck it in the washing machine. All the mops I've seen come with two cloth 'heads' and mine has two sides to it. I just chuck it in with the white wash once every week or two, depending on how grotty the floor was :rotfl:
It may be more expensive than an OS mop, but it gets the job done in a quarter of the time, and no more floor soap.

Of course, I now have two part filled bottles of wood and floor soap if anyone wants them :rotfl:

Mrs_Cheshire

Happy Birthday lovefullshelves. Hope you have a lovely day!