2014 Frugal Living Challenge

sparrer

lynnejk wrote: »

I am assuming you went today (Sunday) and wondered if you've thought of W**therspoons. They do a reasonable Sunday roast but also have a huge menu and the prices are good. Their coffee has also improved loads. There is bound to be one in your nearest town.

Yes we did go on Sunday lynne, as always. Unfortunately 5 of us come to a central point from different areas so the venue has to be local to our meeting place, and the nearest wetherspoons in 14 miles away. However, we're lucky enough to have Jordans Mill (of muesli/porridge oats fame) just 2 miles away and they've just opened a shiny new cafe so we'll try there next time. Should be healthy!

nsd/npd and got £8 cashback for two surveys, other than that a quiet day as I didn't go further than the garden.

Mrs_Cheshire

Morning all, having a good week so far, was at home yesterday doing some reading and note taking for my course and completing an assignment.

Shortie

ALJA wrote: »

Thanks for saying that Dawn, it's really inspiring and makes me want to save more! I'm not near to retiring (turning 25 on sunday!), but thanks to working hard and saving hard I have a good savings pot and was able to pay for a holiday to Italy with my friends yesterday. I love the idea of owning my own home and have had this goal ever since I had money to save! I would love to travel some more and retire early if possible one day...so to hear you have achieved this makes me realise that some of these dreams are possible if you put your mind to it

ALJA, you sound like you have a good balance going on - I wish I'd been like that when I was 25! It's important not to burn yourself out and to enjoy life when you're young too, some people save super hard, burn themselves out and then go bonkers and end up in debt. It sounds like you've got a really good balance though - just wanted to say that I'm impressed and hope my two boys grow up with the same mentality to saving.

I was never a spend thrift, but in hindsight I could have been a lot better from day 1 and have a lot more to show for my effort

Shortie

Really....? Take 3 at writing this post as the last two vanished when I pressed the backspace button and it took me back a page rather than deleting my typo

Okay, let's start again

Am working from home today as I feel crusty and didn't want to tackle the underground during the tube strike today (it takes me 1hr 45mins to get in on a normal day!)

So, small wins and a larger one, but we are moving forward in a more positive way which is good:


- We have written a menu plan up to next Wednesday and worked out a shopping list from that, plus other bits we need
- Mr Shortie has gone shopping with said shopping list and some coupons
- We got a large deposit refunded yesterday for something that didn't work out asplanned. So that was moved into the architect savings fund- we now have all the money needed for all the architect stages, we just need to save for the building regs bit next before we can save for the actual building work itself. Good to have one thing fully saved for though
- The letter confirming I want to pu monthly money into DS2's Child Trust Fund is being sent this morning. It means that this month's savings won't go into the account so I'll move that across to save towards the building regulations savings
- Paid the plumber for our fabby new combi boiler this morning
- Will have some dinner left overs for lunch. Yum
- We won £10 on the McDs Monolopy game - when that cheque arrives we will cash that into the building regs savings
- Mr Shortie messaged someone to see if they can rewrite a cheque that I can't find, or pay it to me by bank transfer. It's only £7 but it will also go into the building regs savings when I can get it


Quite a lot achieved this morning - Mr Shortie must hate it when I work from home, lol - I keep tasking him little jobs :rotfl:

Shortie

OOooooohhh, and Mr Shortie managed to cash in some coppers that we bags up months back but have just been sat waiting to be cashed in - £22 will be transferred into the building regs savings as well as the £68 at lunchtime

cw18

Well, this afternoon I've stretched a bag of mince further than normal !!

When I was catering for a family of 5 I used
750g value mince
2 medium onions
1 tin baked beans

and that served 5 of us with pasta

When we became a family of 4 I moved up one level of mince and dropped to 500g, and it served 4. Stuck to those quantities when we became 3 and used it all for one meal. When it became just me and DS2 I split it between 4 portions again - 2 for 'today' and 2 into the freezer. Once it was just me I didn't make it often, but still split into 4 (1 for 'today', 3 for later).

A couple of years ago I started to add a handful of red lentils, but still split it between 4 portions - which was pretty much when DS1 moved back in.

18 months ago I moved up to a much leaner cut of mince, dropped to 400g, started to add a few more lentils and a second tin of baked beans, and still split into 4 (sometimes 5).

About a year ago I started to add oats as well as lentils, upped the lentils again, and regularly added a tin of chopped tomatoes as well. This always gave me 5 or 6 potions, but DS1 recently started to make odd comments about it not tasting very meaty and I was barely seeing the baked beans

So today I used
400g lean mince
2 medium onions
0.5 yellow pepper (diced. previously sliced and frozen)
45g oats
50g red lentils
2 tins baked beans
1 small tin tomato puree
1 rich beef st0ck p0t (have a load in to use up)
and some water

but I really couldn't see the baked beans, which have always the thing to tell the 'kids' what the meal was (it's the only way I eat baked beans) - so I then added another 2 tins of baked beans.

That gave me 2 portions for tonight, and 8 portions for the freezer.... just not sure how I'm going to squeeze them all in, so it's probably just as well my meal plan has me using up a couple of larger volume items out of them tomorrow night :rotfl:

It also tasted a lot richer, so I think I'll be sticking to that mix from here on in

DawnW

Thanks for all your good wishes, frugalites one more day to go

I was presented with some lovely gifts from colleagues at work today, which was unexpected as it wasn't even my last day

Lunch to work, only spending was on car parking and train fare...

All good so far, the on the way home from the station, a bl**dy bus hit my car while I was sat in traffic and ripped off one side of the back bumper :mad: It was trying to squeeze past a car parked on the double yellow lines on its side of the road, and didn't quite make it.

I put on my hazard lights expecting it to stop, and it didn't. I didn't know quite what to do - there was traffic everywhere, so I turned round and followed the bus back to the station where I knew it would stop, and went to speak to the driver. His English wasn't very good, and he didn't seem to have noticed he had hit me, but I showed him the paint from his bus all over my bumper :mad:. He was at least apologetic, and gave me his details, and I was able to get through to a manager at his depot. There must have been tons of witnesses, but I wasn't able to get any names and addresses

My insurance company warned me that bus companies often try to deny liability for these incidents, and when that happens it gets settled 50/50 Hopefully they will be honest and admit liability, especially as loads of people must have seen it. Have to hope for the best.

Last day at work tomorrow, and out to lunch with lovely colleagues, but I will be glad to be able to stay home the next day after all that!

alja

Shortie wrote: »

ALJA, you sound like you have a good balance going on - I wish I'd been like that when I was 25! It's important not to burn yourself out and to enjoy life when you're young too, some people save super hard, burn themselves out and then go bonkers and end up in debt. It sounds like you've got a really good balance though - just wanted to say that I'm impressed and hope my two boys grow up with the same mentality to saving.

I was never a spend thrift, but in hindsight I could have been a lot better from day 1 and have a lot more to show for my effort

Thank you so much! I'm quite good compared to some of my friends, but it's my parents that have helped me to be aware of the benefits of saving, using ISAs, using a credit card properly etc.

Today was a spending day as I've bought some treats to take in to work on Friday as it's my birthday at the weekend. Got my payslip today and found out how much student loan money I pay each month now. It's really jumped up! Another reason watch the pennies!

lovefullshelves

cw18, I like the sound of your mince mix, i always add oats but think I'll have to try the lentils too.
NSD #20 today. Mainly as I've been busy putting things where they should be on the farm!
DS was talking about leaving home tonight and it made me quite sad. I do worry about my little boy in a big city but know theres no prospects in the country
HM bread and HM soup and no butter. £1 a day each for food is a toughie! I miss butter and coffee!
x

skintygerlinky

Evening Frugalites xxx


NSD! Been working on Uni stuff at home all day. Leftover HM soup for dins and a portion of fish pie out the freezer with carrots and peas for tea. Had some leftover mash that Id made to go on top of the pie so I'm going to chuck a small tin of salmon in there tomorrow to make fishcakes.
Hmmmmm. Im so ladylike, chucking the salmon around. Visions of me at one end of the kitchen, launching it at the bowl of mash, screaming 'how much do you bet I get it all in??!'


ANYWAY....off to bed now as am really tired. Payday tomorrow! Perfect song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuVhm8qT8RQ