2019 Frugal Living Challenge

nannygladys

Hi everyone

Been shopping today and kept to budgets, so really pleased.

Hope you continue to keep feeling better Allie23.

Nannyg

[Deleted User]

Thanks Nannyg, I am on the mend. I actually got some housework done last night once I got in from work as the house was starting to bug me - this is a sure sign for me that I am getting better. Welcome welshywoo, I am sure you will get lots out of this thread.

I was inspired by some of my pupils cooking yesterday to make Rock Buns (not made them in years) for my family to have tonight with a cuppa - it's my birthday so they usually pop in after I am home from work. I am pretty pleased with my Rock Buns so I've brought one into work today to have with my morning break-time coffee.

Today won't be a particularity frugal day. We are ordering in pizza from Dominoes for lunch at work but I am really looking forward to it!

Hettyhound

:bdaycake: Happy Birthday allie23

Barbeduk

After saying I had a lot of birthdays to buy for, I discovered that I had some Nectar points. Quickly got those doubled up and they were spent yesterday - three birthday presents plus a family game for Christmas are now safely put away! The birthday budget has been lowered! Did my food shop at Aldi en route to Sains so I wouldn't be tempted

Have spent the morning listing items on various selling sites. Need bread so will time my walk around to the supermarket to hopefully tie in with the yellow stickers

nannygladys

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Allie23, I hope you are having a nice one!!!

Frugal day for me, been sitting dgd, home to a slow cooker stew and no spending at all!

Tonight Im going to sort out family Xmas cards and see if I need to make a few more (I think I will have enough now) and then tomorrow I will go through my Xmas present list to make sure Im on track with them. Again theres not much left to get but I wont be getting the chocs and other foodie items in case I eat them, so that will be done just before the big present giving time!!

I do need to find somewhere that sells house hold candles, Sainsbobs used to but I cant find any at the moment, there's plenty of tea lights and ordinary candles but I like to have house hold ones incase there's a power cut.

Nannyg

sinkorswim2018

Sounds like you need an old fashioned hardware shop nannyg.

Been running down the freezer a bit rather than hitting the shops too much. Was a nice surprise to find my bank have paid me £50 today for staying with them a year. Also got paid £35 from quidco today for an isa I started in February. Reminds me it good to plan ahead and reap the benefits later.
Was inspired last week when I visited a museum decorated for xmas with foliage, ribbons and paper chains. Planning on doing some foraging for Ivy etc.. around the house, keeping it traditional with no unnecessary plastic for xmas.
Also bought some brown paper from W1lko for wrapping presents. They are selling it in their xmas range HOWEVER if you buy it from the packaging range it is double the amount for half the price.

PipneyJane

Happy belated birthday allie23! I hope you had a wonderful day that was memorable for all the right reasons.

I've been thinking a lot about frugality and, while I don't have much time today to wax lyrical about it, I do think that one of the guiding principles is "Don't waste anything, not even your pennies".

Shop thoughtfully and buy well, even if what you're purchasing is slightly more expensive but fits better/lasts longer/is classic not trendy so that you can wear it for years. (You may be a petrol head but is the Audi version of the car that much better than than the cheaper Skoda version, which has the same mechanics but a different badge?)

Also on this theme, invest your spare cash and time in experiences that enhance your life, the things that make life worth living. These are for you to judge, nobody else. Is your morning Starbucks habit life enhancing? Usually not, but if you have a friend behind the counter and your daily chat with them sets you up with a spring in your step, then don't drop it. Find something else that's less important and cut that from your budget so that you can afford the life enhancing stuff.

- Pip

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the birthday messages, I had a great day and rather enjoyed it when one of my pupils announced to everyone who came into the classroom yesterday that it was my birthday. - he was quite excited about it!

Back to my usual packed lunch today at work. I had filled potato skins with cheese and bacon. I need to spend some time in the next week or so looking at energy tariffs. One of my fixed rate tariffs (electricity) is coming to an end so I need to look for a suitable alternative.

I have decided to create a household notebook to try and get more organised with various household tasks. OH did his best while I was ill but things did sort of go by the wayside in lots of ways as I usually 'direct operations' so to speak. I have also noticed myself less organised this year with alot of things being done more ad-hoc than I'd like. I will try out some monthly routines like end-of-month freezer/pantry inventory, freezer stock ups, cleaning plans, holiday forward plans etc. I'm not really sure how I'll set it out but I quite enjoy doing stuff like this so I will just give it a go and see what happens. I might have a look around online for some inspiration, although mine will be functional more than pretty.

I hope everyone is having a great day xx

nannygladys

Hi everyone

Sinkorswim - thnk's for that, Im going to my dd3's tomorrow and they have an old fashioned hardware shop just off the town centre so I will call in there. The shop is full to the rafters with bits and pieces, and when you ask for something at the counter (as you cant find it) they can go straight to it, even if its something obscure. Its a really blast from the past type shop but I love going in there!
Been out today but kept within set budgets, I think after the Xmas period Im going to reset my budgets lower and try to save a bit more for making a few memories with dgc.
Nannyg

nannygladys

Hi everyone

House hold candles bought - tick

Is a 'not my cat' frugal? This little cat who lives down the road from me comes to visit everyday for a little while, well until I go out and lets me fuss it etc. I would love another cat but this one is working out cheaper and I have no responsibilities to it!!!! lol Its owners work all day so its not stupid is it?

Having my eyes tested tomorrow, but I have the money for new glasses saved so Im thankful for that and I will be glad to get new glasses as I know my eyes have gone downhill since the last pair {the joys of getting older I think!)
Anyway that's it for today
Hope everyone is keeping well and warm
Nannyg