2014 Frugal Living Challenge

mummybearx

Evening all :hello:

NSD day for us, we only went out to walk the dogs and didn't go near the local shop :T

DH had a few beef links left, so I made a sausage casserole with bits of veg I found in the fridge. Had a clear out in the fridge as well, it's looking a lot better now it's not filled with out of date stuff and half eaten things :rotfl:

Made a start on a kitchen stock take, started with the fullest double cupboard, will get it finished tomorrow night. We are planning on doing a quick shop tomorrow night to Aldi then Tesco for some bits and bobs. Need to write a list and stick to it!!

hollieinbloom

Evening everyone! sat here with the zoom on my computer set to 150% because I have a blinding headache from reading such small text all day. Wanted to go for a walk whilst it was dry today so me, DD and OH took a stroll to Aldi and got some bits for DD's pack ups. Spent £12.45 and got a few bags full! very good prices. Managed to get some reduced Christmas cards whilst I was there so happy about that I added some string to my handmade christmas gift tags today too and put them away. Been meaning to for a few days but I kept forgetting! lol.

Hope everyone is safe from the bad weather and flooding! xx

bmma

Hi nephew and brother-in-law visit on a Sunday, fed them home made soup, home made bread and home made scones -had to buy the cheese (Friday and the soya milk and the soya spread)neighbour coming in for lunch tomorrow and guess what the lunch is-yes the same as today's, but will bake biscuits. x

pm2326

Hi guys

I decided to try and do a bulk buy and it's come out at £116, this is all tinned, packets, toiletries and cleaning stuff for the year + 6 months worth of cat food.

Have never done it this way before. Do you think that sounds ok for one person + a cat?

I eat very little processed food, never do ready meals, always cook from scratch. I would only need to buy fresh dairy, fruit, veg, bread, fish & meat for the rest of the year and I always look for the deals and yellow stickers.

Would need another 6 month top up of cat food in July but will use nectar points for that.

CT19720

Had another quiet day here, sorting out more shredding, and taking the Christmas decorations down.


Cleaned the kitchen, and tidied the lounge, and had a really good sort out of all my crafting stuff, and threw lots of stuff out - like of cuts of card you keep just in case but know you won't ever use them for anything.


Thought it would be a spendy day today, but it wasn't, so that is good - youngest son went to play football at the local goals centre, with some friends, and weren't asked to pay for the pitch so that saved me £10.00.


Biscuits and cakes made yesterday, so that should keep us going for a while.


Ran out of polish whilst cleaning the lounge, and wondered if anyone has any ideas for a hm one, instead of going to the shop to buy a can.


I always use a mix of white vinegar, stardrops, and zoflora to clean, but not sure what I can do to polish glass or wooden tables. Any ideas?


Youngest son has an inset day tomorrow, so am looking after him and one of his friends. Promised to take them out as a treat, and to get some fresh air, so think they have decided between them to go bowling. The £10.00 I saved today should cover the bowling.

CT19720

pm2326 wrote: »

Hi guys

I decided to try and do a bulk buy and it's come out at £116, this is all tinned, packets, toiletries and cleaning stuff for the year + 6 months worth of cat food.

Have never done it this way before. Do you think that sounds ok for one person + a cat?

I eat very little processed food, never do ready meals, always cook from scratch. I would only need to buy fresh dairy, fruit, veg, bread, fish & meat for the rest of the year (apart from another 6 month top up of cat food in July but will use nectar points for that) if my presumptions are correct (which I suspect wont be).

I regularly bulk buy different things, and think that £116 sounds a fab price for what you got, and it including 6 months worth of cat food. In the summer I bulk bought cat food from Sainsbury. Our cat only eats dry food, and the whiskas 2kg bags, worked out at just under £3.00 instead of £4.69, so I bought 10 bags for £30 and used a money off voucher. I should have to buy any food for her for at least another 4 months, so for me it was worth the money I paid to get a lot of it when it was cheap.


I've got my lot eating Branston baked beans, now instead of Heinz ones, and actually when I first served them up everyone preferred them to Heinz. I now buy these when they are half price about £1.28 for 4 cans, and have been known to buy 5 packs at once.


I used to religiously shop at Tescos, but have seen the light, and now shop every 2 weeks at Lidls, once a month I do an aldi shop, and then just top up in the big supermarkets, what I can't get elsewhere. I use the local butchers and greengrocers, and my shopping bills have halved in the last year. As a family of 4 I spend about £60 every 2 weeks. I cook from scratch, and we do have treats, but bulk buying when I see offers that I will use works for us.

pm2326

pm2326 wrote: »

Hi guys

I decided to try and do a bulk buy and it's come out at £116, this is all tinned, packets, toiletries and cleaning stuff for the year + 6 months worth of cat food.

Have never done it this way before. Do you think that sounds ok for one person + a cat?

I eat very little processed food, never do ready meals, always cook from scratch. I would only need to buy fresh dairy, fruit, veg, bread, fish & meat for the rest of the year and I always look for the deals and yellow stickers.

Would need another 6 month top up of cat food in July but will use nectar points for that.

Just working out if I buy this lot it would mean a maximum £15 top up every 2 weeks as buy a lot of 'fresh' when its reduced in price, buy 4 pint milk and freeze half, always bulk cook and freeze.

Think I'll take the plunge and see how I get on.......

mumfirst_2

wow that took along time to catch up. so nice be in the company of others with same mind set, the advice and ideas on here have probably saved me a fortune already.

today i have made cottage pie and bolognese sauce to use mince and coleslaw because for some reason.. i just had to have some!!baked flapjack - plain and some with blueberries (yum - had to test it).
Cooked a chicken and some stuffing (for sandwiches and whatever else comes to mind during the week).
been shopping for pack up stuff - DD can spend £5 a day + at college and me £2 for a sandwich at work. All in all spent £22 and my little freezer, fridge and cupboards are fit to burst.
I over bought the cereal bars/breakfast biscuits/crisps for DD as on offer but only put enough for the week in the cupboard and hid the rest and froze half the flapjack.. so hopefully can stretch to the end of January - 3 weeks until payday

Coulddobetter

Had to spend today. £9.29 at T**** I needed 2 cards 1 birthday and a sympathy card, bread, white vinegar and some candles. Didn't buy anything I didn't need. Yippee

Thanks for the posts about eBay we are going to give it a try with 1 item first. Decluttered another couple of things today.

Made leek and potato soup for tomorrow's lunch for OH.

CDBx

Just put my first item on eBay, it took me over 30 mins so decided to do 1 a week to see how it goes.

mum2one

Got some more items ready for facebook sellers
Cd system
coffee maker
2 of DDs bikes

so get round to putting them on this week, so fingers crossed.

Also got to renew my cinema card - £5.50 but it gets me a carer into the cinema with me for free (disabled) so one film and it has paid for itself. Takes about 2-4 weeks to sort out xx