2014 Frugal Living Challenge

sparrer

Quiet day in, nsd/npd so 2/3 this month so far. Am also aiming for another completely amazon/bay of e free month, didn't even think of them last month let alone miss them.
Did the laundry on quick wash (36 mins), 30c and short spin as it was sunny enough to hang out to dry.
Just made a curry in the sc full of veg, beans and a duck breast which has been in the freezer for months, using a value jar of Korma. Should be enough for 5/6 portions.
Night all, have a sunny Bank Holiday weekend


eta - 5 peas sprouting. Think I went over the top, I've got at least two dozen on the damp paper - they'll be swallowing me if they all grow!:rotfl:

lynnejk

lovefullshelves wrote: »

Well...we grew our own potatoes and onions, so potatoes as staples saves me alot. I froze and dehydrated alot too. Tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, beans, brocolli, leeks, apples, pears, berries. Made grape juice and different cordials. We have salad leaves ready and radishes are close, and theres rhubarb. (This is why I am the wheelbarrow fairy on my blog, the fairy who does everything without anyone noticing!)
All other veg is whats cheap or on special from aldi.
I have been known to make 1lb of mince into 12 portions...and this time I'm gonna try adding lentils too
I bake my own rolls and bread a fair bit, and everyone thinks its a treat..bonus!
I bake all cakes and pies, batch bake, bulk buy, grow what I can, cost all meals, then meal plan to the max.
Last nights tea was £1.10 for 3 portions (scone pizza)
Tonights was about £1.54 for three. (omelette with veg in)
Like my dad used to say...I'm so tight I squeak!!
The live below the line challenge has really made me appreciate what I can have. And whats important. And what I'd happily do without so the ones I love can have more.
Anyway...
NSD for me Made chocolate fudge brownie, and after a week of LBTL I may eat it for breakfast! Its just sitting there teasing me!
Have a good weekend xx

Hi - thanks for all the info. I really miss being able to grow my own stuff now I live in an apartment without a garden. Was offered an allotment but not viable to get there and they aren't secure either. I do grow a few herbs, pea sprouts, cut and come lettuce etc in boxes and pots but it's not the same eh. Never mind - could be worse

sparrer wrote: »

Very briefly as it's well past bed time, just had to report that my first pea has a tiny, maybe 1/4" sprout showing. So excited :j, I really didn't have any faith in my efforts but by following lynne's instructions to the letter even I can get a pea to shoot

WOW !! how exciting :T


Been frugal so far this month - not spent a bean :rotfl: However I must go shopping tomorrow as starting to run out of stuff such as milk. Am doing a MS lunch tomorrow so 'free food' :j and then we will shop after - spend less after eating a meal anyway


Going to have to sit down over the next few days and do a big budget sort-out, move some money and double check some payments as things going to be a bit tight for a little while now. DH talking about getting on a course so we will have to see.


Thanks for the kind words about stopping smoking. I won't say it's been easy but it helps when others are supporting you. Just wish DH would make more of an effort - but at least he's cut right down and doesn't smoke in the house


Hope you all have a savvy, smiling Sunday
Lx

icontinuetodream

Had a good day in the garden yesterday....lots of weeding done but more to do today!! Aching in places I didn't even know existed!!;) On the plus side, I have flowers on my broad beans now and also on my strawberries!!:j Potatoes that I am growing in sacks currently look like triffids, not sure if that is a good thing or not!!:eek:

Well done Lynne on the smoking!!:D I really wasn't in the right place last Monday to stop I should have known better than to declare that I would.....I think the next time I talk about it will be after I have actually done it and got past the 'three-day hump' that I always have....watch this space!!:rotfl:

I am doing pretty well on the frugal front at the moment- making sure that dh tells me everything he spends from the grocery budget, remembering to turn things off at the sockets when not being used and not spending on things that I don't need....hoping to make a good overpayment on the mortgage this month which is spurring me on!!

just_the_two_of_us

icontinuetodream - others that grow veg regularly will be able to say better but when we used to grow potatoes with my late DDad we used to rake the soil up around the plant at each side so that only the top was showing - that way all the growth goes into the potatoes and not the leaves. Not sure how to do that growing them in sacks?

Becky_2

Yesterday I was also out in the garden dealing with the weed. I noticed that the container where we planted potatoes last year and consequently used up and left the soil in the container is now sprouting again. Eventhough we have not planted anything this year. Do you think this potatoes is ok to eat this year? We also 1 container with potatoes that we planted last year that we never used. Do you think this potatoes will be alright to eat?

sparrer

Becky I'm just the same, every year a potato or two sprouts from somewhere I've used the previous years soil (this year it's the rhubarb sack and the wild flower bed!). As long as they're not pitted or soft I eat them, usually with a salad as they don't roast too well second time around but taste lovely boiled or steamed with a knob of butter. Waste not want not

mrsinvisible

April was not frugal month for me, although I had a good number of nsds I also went to London for a 4 day jolly, it was money I had saved for the trip, and I brought home more than £100 I still feel as if I should have done better. The tube strike meant that we used taxis more, so expenses we hadn't planned on.
I am going to china in June so I need to save like fury so that I don't use savings. My DS1 and DDIL pay my air fare with their air miles and they pay the airport taxes too, so it is only spends I need, but as I only see them twice a year I want to spoil them all a little bit. I have done a freezer check and a stores list, so I think I can get through this week without spending anything, food wise, but we shall see. Potato and pepper bake? is it like dauphinouse with cream? or do you do it with stock instead?
Lunch will be broccoli and cauliflower soup and tea will be ys sausages with veg. may make colcannon mash, as there is a half leek in the fridge. Then tomorrow it can be used to make sausagecakes.

[Deleted User]

Had a good day in the kitchen today - large pot of spag bol made to divide into portions for the freezer, meatballs made for todays and tomorrows dinner. Also assembled some strawberry and marshmallow kebabs for tonight's pudding (with some melted choc for dipping).

I am off tomorrow for the bank holiday so I am hoping to get some baking done.

This won't be a frugal week for me. I am going to a wedding on Friday so have appt to get hair done on Thursday and then need to get gift and possibly a new outfit for going. Not sure about new outfit though - I will have a rummage and see what I have already that will do or that may just need one thing added to it.

pm2326

Had a bit of a clear out in spare room today as thinking about changing bedrooms.

As I get older I'm turning into a light sleeper and while my neighbours are not noisy I can hear them and it's starting to disrupt my sleep (I'm in bed by 10.30 at the latest).

I'm going to need to decorate both rooms as they haven't been touched for a few years. My current bedroom has the least furniture in it and I don't intend replacing the carpet or curtains so I'm thinking I should do that one first as only need to move a chest of drawers, cabinet and bed (don't want to move everything in there only to move it back out again to decorate). Just needs wallpaper and a bit of paint.

Once that one's done, I can move everything from the spare room in and decorate an empty room. That room needs everything as carpet is threadbare and doesn't have any curtains up.

So challenge is to do it on as small a budget as possible :money:

As noted above, I've started to have a clear out of the spare room and I have a big box full of rubbish and a pile of stuff for the charity shop. I've got a little pile of stuff for fleabay so have listed some of it today to see if it sells.

While tidying up I also found 2 pairs of curtains that would fit that room, they're cream but thought I could dye them once I choose a colour scheme. I know I have a big tub of white paint, which should do the ceilings and there's a tin of gloss somewhere, just have to find it!

Has anyone bought carpet online before?? I bought my stair/hallway carpet from one of the big stores 2 years ago but I've just seen the delivery charge is £30 :eek: I can get cheaper carpet and delivery online but not sure ....

cw18

It's not likely to be a very frugal week (or even month) for me either

I've got an appt for an eye test on Wednesday - final had to admit I'm having problems again, as after a couple of months of fairly regular 'issues' I've had a couple of weeks of not being able to read type on my laptop screen (forum posts or emails) without squinting for anything up to 2 hours after getting up in the morning and again when the light starts to disappear in the evenings (as it is now, but I'm reluctant to turn on lights when I can still see everything else)

It's about 15 months since my last test / change of glasses, but that's better than the previous one (12 months) and the one before that (14 months).
At least I don't have to pay for the test - that's free because I pay monthly for contact lenses. That scheme also gives me a discount on glasses I've not had before, and I have a voucher for extra points on a spend of £20+ that I hope I'll be able to use (assuming I'm right in thinking I'm going to have to change glasses again!)

Then on Thursday I've got to shop for any groceries I don't have in but need for the long weekend away with OH and my two youngest GDs (shouldn't need anything much for the baby as she's only just started weaning, so probably a bit of mashed banana at most). But after a food festival outing yesterday I'm already almost 37% of the way through this month's grocery budget, and we're only about 13% of the way through the month :eek: All down to the fact I set a lower than normal monthly budget to try and make sure I stick to using up the contents of my freezers / cupboards / boxes.....

And a fortnight on Tuesday I've got a dental checkup I'll have to pay for, although I thankfully have an NHS dentist so don't get hammered for private prices I had a window of about 18 months after all the 'reforms' when I had to go private as my dentist switched and I couldn't get in anywhere else, but then (as I started on a period of being entitled to free treatment due to being off work on long-term sick) a dentist closer to home put a sign in the window saying they were taking on new NHS patients so I shot in and signed up

DS1's mechanic friend has sorted a headlight that blew on my car today (hard to access bulb, and then it transpired the bulb blowing also blew a fuse in the dashboard). But I don't think he's looked at my exhaust which is letting fumes into the car (which is the main thing I wanted sorting), so I could also be looking at a repair bill at my normal garage this week as I want it sorting before I put the little ones into the car on Friday. I also need a spare of the bulb (not one in my 'kit'), and having seen the fuses I've also realised they're different sizes to my last car meaning I've no spares of those either - so more money to spend getting those for my car's emergency kit.