2019 Frugal Living Challenge

stirchleygirl

FrankieM
Brilliant many congrats.
This is where I put the celebratory emojis for you - but I can't see where you get them from in this message reply box.

Although I've been debt free for nearly 20 years I can still remember the stress and the shame of being in debt - as you say 'a weight off your shoulders'

Well done!!!!!

stirchleygirl

PipneyJane

Ouch - that's a bitter pill to swallow.
I hate it when official bodies 'just decide things' with no regard to real life and then you have to 'do battle' to get it sorted and meanwhile dealing with the consequences.

I recently had my PIP re-assessment and again they've ignored that I am unable to travel alone (as I'm unsafe - will just walk into the road - as my brain has too much to think about to just keep me upright and walking and is therefore unable to process other things like stepping off the edge of the pavement means you are in the road and there may be cars coming) so I still get no PIP mobility component benefit (I took it to tribunal last time but the tribunal was so focused on stress of travelling they completely missed the danger I pose to myself and others when unaccompanied - PIP don't want to classify the taxi driver as the person accompanying me (as it took 6 months to get to a tribunal and was so stressful I didn't take it any further last time). Also they've dropped me down to basic on personal care as missed loads of stuff I need a carer for and only allow points for some of the equipment and ignored other equipment - like my dosette box and phone reminders for my medication as QUOTE 'I HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO THIS WITHOUT ANY HELP' AARRRGGGHHH! so now I have to find energy to start the appeals process again which is so stressful and energy consuming.

stirchleygirl

CapricornLass
OUCH !!!

stirchleygirl

Does anyone have any frugal ideas for packed lunches to solve my recently developing problem.

I am still able (just about) to work part time - I do some from home but do 2 days 'on-site' - my lovely PA (Sonia) makes me a packed lunch to take on both those days. I only have 30 mins for lunch and due to my disability I am now struggling with the effort involved in the amount of chewing/crunching that I have to do for crunchy foods (e.g. radishes, celery, mange tout/sugar snap peas, those mini sweet corns you normally put in stir fries, etc...) as this is energy sapping and it is taking me too long that I only get through a few mouthfuls of my salad and my 30 mins has gone.

As well as the salad she also puts a yoghurt, fruit (e.g. banana, mini orange, grapes) some shelled and cut up hard boiled eggs, some home made egg mayo, some home made potato salad. This week I ended up eating these soft 'side portions' and not the salad (I'll have them this weekend at home as I'll have lots of time to eat them and can do it in stages so it doesn't exhaust me - so I'll avoid food waste which is something I need to work on).

So I'd value your suggestions for frugal (though I can run to not so frugal if the idea is a good one) healthy vegetarian (or vegan) non exhausting food items that can be packed for lunch. I prefer cold options as hot food and hot drink adds to my body temperature - which is broken and stuck on permanently overly hot (I sit at the library counter all day with the fan on my face regardless of the weather).

little_green

Igamogam wrote: »

Started March spreadsheet

hahaha i started my new spreadsheets (yes plural) today and love the feeling at the start of each month going in with high hopes of doing better :rotfl:
my spreadsheets are:
overall accounts/budget (everything in here)
one that tracks my "non spend days"
and one that I log "luxuries" in (ie. stuff I bought that I wanted but didnt need.
at the end of the month i'm then able to compare my total spendings vs my luxury spendings. What's sad is that most of my spends are luxury spends :eek: so i really need to start disciplining myself.

Feb went OK for me. I was over budget but less than Jan. thinking I may have to up my budget to reflect realistic living. NSD's i managed 13/28. same number as Jan but higher %. Was hoping for half so almost there.

Sky_

stirchleygirl wrote: »

Does anyone have any frugal ideas for packed lunches to solve my recently developing problem.

I am still able (just about) to work part time - I do some from home but do 2 days 'on-site' - my lovely PA (Sonia) makes me a packed lunch to take on both those days. I only have 30 mins for lunch and due to my disability I am now struggling with the effort involved in the amount of chewing/crunching that I have to do for crunchy foods (e.g. radishes, celery, mange tout/sugar snap peas, those mini sweet corns you normally put in stir fries, etc...) as this is energy sapping and it is taking me too long that I only get through a few mouthfuls of my salad and my 30 mins has gone.

As well as the salad she also puts a yoghurt, fruit (e.g. banana, mini orange, grapes) some shelled and cut up hard boiled eggs, some home made egg mayo, some home made potato salad. This week I ended up eating these soft 'side portions' and not the salad (I'll have them this weekend at home as I'll have lots of time to eat them and can do it in stages so it doesn't exhaust me - so I'll avoid food waste which is something I need to work on).

So I'd value your suggestions for frugal (though I can run to not so frugal if the idea is a good one) healthy vegetarian (or vegan) non exhausting food items that can be packed for lunch. I prefer cold options as hot food and hot drink adds to my body temperature - which is broken and stuck on permanently overly hot (I sit at the library counter all day with the fan on my face regardless of the weather).

I often take home made green smoothies in the warmer months, mainly because they're filling and quick and easy to prepare and eat/drink.

I blend various veg, a small orange, slice of avacado, an apple and other favourite flavours (ginger is my favourite). I prep it the day before, store it in the fridge, and in the morning I add a few ice cubes (they keep it nice and cool) and take it to work in a flask with a smoothie straw to drink it with.

If the idea appeals to you, the internet is full of healthy smoothie recipes and they can be customised to increase calories if needed, for example by adding a few almonds to the mixture.

stirchleygirl

Sky_
oooo! thanks for the suggestion - that's a brilliant idea.
I had to by a new blender last year (as my previous one - that I'd had for over 15 years and was a Christmas present from a friend - finally gave up the ghost) and the new one came with 2 large and 1 small container that are the things you fill with the food stuff and put on the machine base to whiz but when done they come off and have screw on lids so become portable drinking bottles (very technical description there from me 'not'!) which would be excellent to take to work with me and I do like fruit smoothies (I buy the frozen packs as they work out cheaper than fresh) not sure I'd like the green veg ones - but I like your idea of adding ginger - I'm pondering giving your avacardo idea a try - as I've decided I should be more adventurous in trying new foods.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Stirchleygirl - as to lunches I make soup but I note what you said about not having hot food because of your condition. Could you have some cold soups like Gazpacho. I tend to have soups in winter and salads in summer.


I need to work on my NSDs. I don't buy a lot but I usually seem to need to buy something even if it is something as useful as a loaf of bread. It has been a pretty awful week at work this week so I did succumb and buy myself a top the other day to try and cheer myself up but it was from a charity shop and I did need some more long sleeved tops. I had to do a big shop today as well as I had run out of lots of groceries (pasta, rice, flour). On the plus side I had £15 of vouchers I was able to use so that £15 I saved off my groceries bill I put straight into my savings account. Also I have kept within my budget of £50.00 for this week which I did find surprising.


Last month I tried following the new "Planetary Diet" that they were talking about on the news a few weeks ago (a healthy diet which is based on portion sizes and would be sustainable for the planet). I have felt better in myself, I saved some money and I lost a couple of pounds weight wise so my clothes fit better. I would say that was a success. I will try and continue with it now.


This month I am going to make sure I don't buy any luxury foods and try and make as much as I can from fresh ingredients in the hope this will be cheaper and will create less waste (sustainability is also a big priority of mine at the moment). Tomorrow I will be making veggie fajitas for dinner so I am going to try and make the tortillas from scratch - it could be an amazing success or a real flop. I will soon find out.


This weekend should be a relatively cheap one though (despite the big shop tonight). Tomorrow I am planning on working at the allotment to continue rebuilding my shed (I already have the materials it is just doing it now) and then housework and on Sunday I will probably get my sewing machine out and start a fresh project for March with my existing stash of fabrics and patterns.


Anyway I better head off to bed now. Have good weekends all.

Hettyhound

Crafty Lisa lucky you having an allotment! I’m on a 4-5 year waiting list for one and only coming up to one year in. My broad bean seeds have starting poking their way out of the loo roll inners they are planted in though so spring is on its way (and Monty Don is back next Friday so definitely spring!).

Pretty good week for me. Pay day, TCB have found my “missing” £45 and added that to my account and I’ve got £15 of Mr Marks and Mr Spencer vouchers curtesy of the SB offer that was in the weekly newsletter a couple of week ago (these are allocated to buy school trousers, just waiting for a sale which they normally do around Easter as an early bird school uniform buy). Budget worked out well last month but this month is a little more pricey so more challenging. I’ve booked a hair cut but just just have a wet trim about 3 or 4 times a year, it’s my boy’s birthday next weekend so have a crocodile cake to make with lots of green fondant and a trip out. We are going to the local wildlife conservation park which has both indoor and outdoor stuff; thinking of paying an annual season ticket as if you go 3 times it’s paid for itself. As it’s only 20 mins away and open holidays and weekends it’s a good place to go; the playground and picnic area are really good too.

Start my new job in 2 weeks, hence the haircut but as it’s at the same place there won’t be any issue with not getting paid correctly next payday. Not expecting to see any difference in salary though as pension going up in April and childcare tax credits should be reduced to take into account of increased earnings. Will need to make sure I’ve got some money put by for when they tell me they have worked it all out wrong and I owe them!:(

stirchleygirl

Crafty Lisa Hampshire
Oh wow! - cold soups what a brilliant idea :-) and I can put it in the lidded blender container to take to work.

I was given one of those soup maker machines for my birthday last year and my PA has only used it a couple of times to make me hot soup - they are brilliant as once she has put all the food in the machine it just gets on with it and she can get on with other tasks for me - also you can leave it as chunky soup or use the blender function to make it a smooth soup or anywhere in between to suit your preferences. I know they are expensive machines to buy (mine was a present off my aunt & uncle for my 50th last year) so why not let family know you would like one for your birthday/Christmas they can even all club together for it for you.

I can deal better with having hot food when I'm at home as I generally don't have any clothes on (to try and aid the heat to escape from my body)- when at work I've got my uniform on (thankfully being NHS the top is short sleeved - bare below elbows - even though I don't work in a clinical area) and it traps the heat to my body so I try to only have cold food and drink cold water at work as if my body temp increases even more it increases my other symptoms and then I really struggle cope and it's then even harder to do my work.

I'll have a look online for some cold soup recipes that I'll get my PA to do in the soup maker (as part of me being more adventurous in my food) but also the value (or any) tinned soup would be good - as even before my disability I always used to taste a bit of soup cold straight out of the can to test it - as I always went with 'if it tastes good cold it will taste even better hot'.

Please keep the suggestions coming as I really appreciate the input.

Also I must just say my writing can ramble on a bit (a lot) due to my brain problems - which also accounts for the lack of proper sentence structure as my brain is unable to structure writing in the correct way any more.