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2015 Frugal Living Challenge
Comments
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It's definitely been getting tougher for our household, but then we do have kids. I agree with you, his missus, that it is easier to cut back if you don't have kids, but I can't look at my shopping list, for example, to see what the most expensive items are and, based on that, decide to stop buying nappies (I could use reusables, but I'm just too squeamish). Of course, I'm using nappies as an example, but I just wanted to back up your point.
Plus the Commons voted for the reduction in child tax credits today. We all knew they would, but I hoped it might have been defeated. Sorry to go on about tax credits again, but until I can get my budget to a place where I don't need them, I won't be able to stop worrying about it.
I'm just trying my best to make savings where I can, and up my income, if only by a few pounds, wherever possible. I have been using coupons where I can when shopping, plus I have signed up to loads of freebie emails. I am doing surveys when I can fit them in (not always that easy with a 6 year old, 2 year old and an 8 month old). I use cash back credit and debit cards. And I don't know if I'm allowed to mention this, but I have been boosting my N3ctar points with a coupon sight for Mr S. If I am allowed to mention the name of the sight, or post the link, please let me know.
None of these things are going to make me millions or allow me to retire early (if only), but for me they are a place to start. Plus I enjoy the fact that it feels like a personal mini rebellion against these austere times. Anyway, they count as frugal activities, right?2016 MFW no. 47 £0/£3,000
MFiT T4 no 26 Start bal £149,294, Current bal £149,294, Target bal £134,294
Make £2,016 in 2016 £1180.550 -
It's getting very tough now, I'm always looking for ways to cut back but I'm running out of ideas. I've just spent my last Nectar points replacing my worn-out microwave, don't know how long it will be before I have another decent amount as most of my shopping is done in Aldi these days and I only use the car a couple of times a week.
I do surveys and instead of using the profits for presents I buy essentials. I only use coupons for the things I buy but seldom see any for my cheap shopping! I do use candles a lot in the Autumn/Winter, they make the room feel warmer so I don't turn on the heating so much. Probably psychological but if it saves a few pennies I'm happy
The most valuable thing I have is my sc (bought for me) which I use to cook cheap cuts, and make my dog and cat's food. A bag of economy chicken and trimmings of veg pulped and added to rice will last them a week and costs less than tins with all their unpronounceable ingredients.
My family are used to me asking for unusual birthday/Christmas presents, a sack-barrow, plant pots, slow cooker etc., all very useful and much appreciated but then I'm single. I don't know that a younger couple would be thrilled with them :-)0 -
Hi sparrer, although I do not need to be extra frugal old habits die hard. I am also a single and love my SC. I find I can make a pot of something and it last for about 3 meals. A tip I picked up elsewhere was to buy your mince (beef/pork whatever) lay it out in a ziplock bag about 10in long, flatten then mark it into about 6 blocks, individual size portions. Freeze flat and when frozen bend the marks so they can break like a block of choc. When you need to use is is easy to get 1 portion, if you want to brown before SC its easy although I use from frozen. Less room in freezer and no longer getting a lump of mince out. I also did this with a pot ful of caramalized onions and some left over chicken mince cooked with left over diced veg. This made an extra 2 meals from the original potfull 4 meals in total.0
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Sparrer,
I have 3 cats, and I little jack russel x puppy
I buy tinned, and dry cat food, and I also buy fresh liver, heart etc when it's reduced to feed them something raw and fresh.. I bought 6 months worth of tinned food from lidl but one of the cats must have an alligy to it as it was licking/ hitting itself raw, cost me an arm and a leg at the vets, now that food has been used up I am using a dearer supermarket brand, and now no problems.. But would love to know how you make your pey food in the slow cooker..
It is hard, when you have cut back on things and after a few weeks/ months you feel the pinch again...
Is it really cheaper to light a chunky candle than have a light on???? If so, how much have you got to buy the candle for?? Before it is not cost effective iyswimWork to live= not live to work0 -
A tip I picked up elsewhere was to buy your mince (beef/pork whatever) lay it out in a ziplock bag about 10in long, flatten then mark it into about 6 blocks, individual size portions. Freeze flat and when frozen bend the marks so they can break like a block of choc. When you need to use is is easy to get 1 portion, if you want to brown before SC its easy although I use from frozen. Less room in freezer and no longer getting a lump of mince out. I also did this with a pot ful of caramalized onions and some left over chicken mince cooked with left over diced veg. This made an extra 2 meals from the original potfull 4 meals in total.COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »Sparrer,
I have 3 cats, and I little jack russel x puppy
I buy tinned, and dry cat food, and I also buy fresh liver, heart etc when it's reduced to feed them something raw and fresh.. I bought 6 months worth of tinned food from lidl but one of the cats must have an alligy to it as it was licking/ hitting itself raw, cost me an arm and a leg at the vets, now that food has been used up I am using a dearer supermarket brand, and now no problems.. But would love to know how you make your pey food in the slow cooker..
Is it really cheaper to light a chunky candle than have a light on???? If so, how much have you got to buy the candle for?? Before it is not cost effective iyswim
whm I portion mince into 4 oz blocks before freezing but I like your idea of flattening and marking it in a ziplock, I'll have to try that. I never waste food, any left-overs go in the freezer to add to another meal or the animals food.
COOLTRIKERCHICK Both my animals are prone to skin infections, we live in a rural area so when the farmers are spraying they suffer enormously. I used to spend a fortune at the vet on special food and prescriptions until a friend told me about feeding natural food.
For the dog I save all the odds and end of veg in a bag in the freezer - carrot/potato/peelings, outer leaves of cabbage/leeks etc but not onion skin as it doesn't cook down. Cook in the sc til soft then mash down. Meanwhile cook a bag of basics chicken fillets (Aldi, £3.99) in mw and chop til it's in small pieces. Mix veg and chicken together and stir into as much plain cooked unsalted rice as you like, I use 1 kg uncooked weight, again cooked in the mw. When it's I cold portion into ice-cream tubs and freeze, one tub lasts the dog 4/5 days and you can add any hm cooked meat or veg to it.
The cat will eat it sometimes but he's very fussy and won't eat the same thing twice, so I buy basics white fish fillets or any ys ones, a small one will make a decent sized meal. He has a bowl of dried on his 'table cloth' all the time, that doesn't cause any reaction for some reason.
Dog biscuits -
2 packs of liver
4 eggs
A good glug of olive oil
3 chopped cloves garlic
Any odds of veg, apple peel, meat trimmings etc
Plain flour
Pulp the liver with a stick blender. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Oil a roasting tray, put the mixture in and bake in the oven for 10 mins on 175c, take out and score into 1" squares, a pizza wheel is good for this, then bake for about an hour. If still very soft in the middle turn it over and bake for another 20 minutes. Cool, break into squares and freeze, keeping some in the fridge. One tray will last 3/4 weeks if you feed 2 or 3 pieces a day.
I costed it out to about £7 a week for the two of them which is reasonable for fresh food with no additives and unpronounceable words on the ingredients list.
Re the candles they replace the heating, not the lighting but only until it gets very cold of course. A bag of 100 tea lights costs £3, they last about 5/6 hours if kept in the freezer for a day before using, I use 4 in the evening. I never buy pillar candles unless they're on offer, and often get them as gifts, and the £ shop sell 10 table candles in a pack. Again put in the freezer for 24 hours they last at least three evenings each.
Hope all of this makes sense0 -
Got my quote for the double glazing, which is £2850. Just waiting for them to be made, then get a date for them to be fitted. It is a small independent company. Spoke to a neighbour who had their windows done by a well known company and were charged £8000. The company I picked did two neighbours windows and there have been no problems. Did manage to see the work that was done in one of the flats and was happy with the work.
One of my diy jobs that I wanted done after the windows fitted was done yesterday. Managed to get someone from the Church I go to who is a plumber to do the work. It was just for new taps for the bath and sink in the bathroom and the sink in my bedroom. Charged £170.78 - parts and labour.
Still trying to be careful with the spending. Have managed to use up some of the creams that I have.Frugal Living Challenge 2025 Mortgage free as of 1st August 20130 -
Re the candles they replace the heating, not the lighting but only until it gets very cold of course. A bag of 100 tea lights costs £3, they last about 5/6 hours if kept in the freezer for a day before using, I use 4 in the evening. I never buy pillar candles unless they're on offer, and often get them as gifts, and the £ shop sell 10 table candles in a pack. Again put in the freezer for 24 hours they last at least three evenings each.
Hope all of this makes sense
Hi sparrer, I'm really intrigued by this. How much heat do the candles give out? It's starting to get chilly at night, but not cold enough to put the heating on. Do you group all of the candles in one place, dot them around the room, or does it make little difference? Finally, I never use candles, I've always sniffingly considered them to girly (yes, I'm female, but not girly),"so where do you buy them from? Sorry for all of the questions, but I've never considered candles as a temporary alternative to heating.2016 MFW no. 47 £0/£3,000
MFiT T4 no 26 Start bal £149,294, Current bal £149,294, Target bal £134,294
Make £2,016 in 2016 £1180.550 -
Good luck with all of the work, Kerry Woman. We had all of our windows and external doors replaced earlier this year. They look great, but they were very expensive. However, we had a damp problem, particularly in the kids' bedrooms, so they needed to be done. Unfortunately we could only afford it with a loan with a high interest rate. We'll be sorting that out later this year, though.
We are also getting quotes for the bathroom and kitchen. We bought this house at the beginning of 2014. The previous owner had died, but he had lived in the house since the 1980s, and the house hasn't been redecorated since then. We've put up with it for as long as possible, but it is now getting too impractical with the amount of kids we have and storage space we need in both rooms. I'm just hoping that the quotes come in low enough that we can afford to pay for the work using savings (which would, however, wipe out our savings), because I'm not sure that we can borrow the money, particularly as we are due to remortgage in January. We are trying to get the cheapest bathroom and kitchen possible, though, so we are hoping to still be frugal if we do manage to get the work done.2016 MFW no. 47 £0/£3,000
MFiT T4 no 26 Start bal £149,294, Current bal £149,294, Target bal £134,294
Make £2,016 in 2016 £1180.550 -
Wombatchops - Wishing you all the best with the work. It always takes time and money to do the work. Doing the work will be done when the timing is right for you. My Mum and I are hoping to spread the work to be done to the flat from this year and next year. It can be stressful when getting things done. Getting the windows done will be a blessing as they really need doing, as they are single glazing and it gets cold in the flat and get condensation.Frugal Living Challenge 2025 Mortgage free as of 1st August 20130
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:mad::mad:I have done something very stupid, the result of tiredness due to a poorly 2 year old, and a stressful and very long day. Went food shopping last night, put my bags in the boot (those re-usable Hessian bags with the really thick handles), and managed to get one of the bag handles caught in the boot door where the locking mechanism is. If I hadn't been so tired, stressed and absent-minded, I would have checked that nothing was in the way before closing the boot. It meant I could neither open the boot nor properly shut it (I had to get the shopping out by going through the parcel shelf, and the bag that was trapped had to be emptied item by item in the back of my car in the dark, thank goodness we have a street lamp right outside our house).
I took it to the garage today, but because the strap was so thick and caught tight, they couldn't open the boot without ripping the trim (or something like that). All I know is that it meant the boot needed to be mended, and I had to fork out £235 for parts and labour. I'm so annoyed with myself. What a stupid thing to do. I'm just grateful that we had the money, but unfortunately that money was meant for something else, so I need to replace it ASAP somehow.
:mad::mad::mad:2016 MFW no. 47 £0/£3,000
MFiT T4 no 26 Start bal £149,294, Current bal £149,294, Target bal £134,294
Make £2,016 in 2016 £1180.550
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