2020 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Good evening, frugalers, how are you all doing?

Another fairly dry day here with just a brief shower, but not quite enough to water in the latest seed sowings. If everything sown here grows, we may be supplying the neighbours as well as ourselves if we're still on shutdown by then. I dug out some compostt, turned part of the dung heap, then sowed another tray of salad leaves. 

My 'babies' are really missing getting out for their walks but they are always at the gate waiting for their dinner and then try to help when I'm mucking out and filling hay.

 
To cut down on feed costs I have opened up a little bit more space to let them graze a patch that had been set aside for the past year. They are really funny little foals, so hairy and so cheeky.

Nile mince chilli lefovers ended up in the freezer and I made some mixed 'slaw - cabbage, carrot, apple and cheese with sultanas. I love it and can eat a bowl of this as a meal on its own so it is frugal and healthy. 

cw18

Frugaldom said:

and I made some mixed 'slaw - cabbage, carrot, apple and cheese with sultanas. I love it and can eat a bowl of this as a meal on its own so it is frugal and healthy. 

Every now and again I make a big pot of a mixed bean casserole that's equally as good on it's own cold for a snack meal as it is hot alongside a couple of sausages or a piece of chicken.   I haven't costed it up properly, but when I'm really organised and make it with dried beans I know it works out much cheaper than when I used tinned.  Very, very filling and incredibly healthy (fab veg count and fibre intake).

Frugaldom

CW18, I have beans soaking, ready to boil up tomorrow. I decided against freezing the leftover chilli so it will become chilli bean stew tomorrow

Treasurequeen

I planted some garlic today in my pots on my balcony, my herbs are doing well and my chamomile cutting is well established in its pot. 
Im working my way through books I’ve bought over the months in charity shops as I can’t stand anymore TV. I checked my meter and my electric use  has gone down even though I’m at home more. 

Hope everyone is well xx 

Frugaldom

HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND! 
It's a strange time with no holidaymakers around, no events and no picnicing parties but that shouldn't stop us having virtual frugal fun. I hope everyone has someone they can chat to online, on phone or even just a shout out the window. We should all certainly be saving money as there's nothing much to buy other than the actual essentials. For many, this should be a good lesson in learning the dfferences between needs and wants - unless you're an onlne shopaholic, of course.

Sunshine has kept me outdoors every day, planning and preparing this year's food growing. H build 2 new raised beds today and I've started to create a raised border for fruit, veg & herbs. Quite a few seeds have germinated - onions, salad leaves, peas, peppers, tomatoes, kale and spinach, so far. I have had to put more buckets and barrels in place for rain harvesting as it's now becoming a bit of an issue that there's been so little rain over the past couple of weeks. Here's hoping we get a good downpour soon (and that t remembers to stop quickly).

Is anyone going to be painting hard boiled eggs for Easter?

Treasurequeen

Happy Easter everyone x 
A NSD for me today, I have worked out I have enough frozen food to last a good two weeks. I bought some frozen fruits before lockdown and they are actually very nice, no-waste either. 

Frugaldom

Hi Treasurequeen, nice to see someone posting in here - it has become scary-quiet, all things considered. Ive never tried the frozen fruit but have some homegrown rasps and blackcurrants in the freezer that I need t start usng up - perhaps I could make some sort of compot for having witj my porridge in the mornings, rather than honey and sultanas. That would save a few pennies more and stretch my last bag of sultanas further, as I've no intentions of going into town to get to a supermarket.
This afternoon, I spotted the first swallow swooping over the barn! We also have quite a few butterflies fluttering about the place and many bumblebees so I hope the sudden drop in temperature doesn't upset them.


CHEERY EASTER PHOTO OF PEACOCK BUTTERFLY ON DAFFODIL

mumtoomany

Good morning all. It has been quiet on here. Maybe you are all being so frugal, you don't want to use the electric or broadband too much! Hope everyone is keeping well.
Very exciting here. The lambs have started arriving, this of course means wandering up and down the fields at all hours, checking on them and the ewes still to deliver. Hope this warm weather stays. Also planting hundreds at seeds, only to find that mice are digging them back out! Nine chicks hatched and doing well. Keep safe everyone, mumtoomany.

Frugaldom

Good luck lambing, it's always good seeing the fields fill up with new life. It is really surprising how quiet it is in here, the absolute opposite to what I'd expected now so many people are said to be struggling financially through no work / no pay. My guess is that non-essential businesses being closed may equate to massive savings for those used to shopping.

Still seed sowing here and have the remaining few crab apple trees to plant along edge of field. Most things running as normal for me, except visitors and holidaymakers are nil. 

Keep on breaking the chain of infection wherever you are. The basic hand-washing should be standard practice but the confinement is driving a weird rebellious streak in some that I find quite disconcerting. Thanks should go to our food producers, processors and suppliers, delivery networks, postal workers, utilities workers, sewage and water treatment workers, shop workers, cleaners, anyone associated with medical services, emergency services, prison services... The list is huge, so best support one another regardless of profession. Home working looks to be the new norm for many more people than ever before so we may see a revolution in spending habits and a renewed surge in environmental awareness.

Stay safe, frugalers.

cw18

Life here continues much as normal - although I'm not getting to see my OH and I have to queue to get into shops.

But work is manic (lower than normal volume of letters which is nice, but parcels busier than at Christmas and we're having to cope with just over half the staff we should have), so I'm pretty shattered when I get in   I've got this week and next week, and then it's officially my rest week - but people are being asked if they can/will work them due to the staffing shortage.    I have to be honest and say the extra money would be useful, but I'm also aware that if I get too tired I'm more likely to fall ill (and we can't observe the 2 metre social distancing inside the office, even with only half of us there!).   So I'll likely say 'no' to Monday (which gives me a 2 day break), 'yes' to Tues & Wed, 'no' to Thurs (Wed & Thur are our longest - and normally busiest - days), 'yes' to Friday, and then 'no' to Saturday (to give me another 2 days break before my next run of five 6-day weeks).    That's almost an additional 16.5hrs pay, which will actually nudge me into the overtime rates (I get flat time until my hours exceed 38 in a week - my contract is 27.5), and I'm generally clocking 2 hours overtime each day which could be another 6 hours?   So I won't be far off an additional weeks pay for working 3 days.......       Or I could say 'yes' to Thur and 'no' to Friday, which would give me a 3 day break before I go back (and my contracted hours mean Fri is actually only 14 minutes shorter than a Wed or Thurs) - though I'm worried I may start to go stir crazy again with three days straight of only being allowed out for one exercise session (it was bad enough when I was off ill a couple of weeks ago, and I'm starting to feel it today which is only day 2 thanks to Sunday & bank holiday).