2020 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

I think the soapmaking is a great idea if it is going to save you money over the longterm. I'm not a toiletries buff at all, so the cheapest of the cheap is what we tend to use but there is something special about handmade soap - so many varieties once you get into the herbal. I did consider making my anti-midge products, but time just does not permit. Well done soapmakers and prospective soapmakers
Not muchu to report here as I haven't been any further than Frugaldom - in between seeing to animals, we do gardening, so the raised beds are starting to get filled, ready for transplanting seedlings. My kitchen garden by the door is growing - radishes, spring onions, salad leaves, some perpetual spinach beet, a bucket with a potato in it, various herbs and a few strawberry plants. Still can't find anyone selling compost nearby so it's a case of making the most of whatever I can find as growing medium.
As ever, at the start of every new month, I hope for a windfall win on the Premium Bonds but my luck never seems to be in on that count.

Numbercruncher_mfw

Hi Frugaldom just wanting to stop by and say hello to you all on this thread. This thread along with your frugaldom blog posts (how to be a frugal living expert) have given me inspiration to cut unnecessary spending where I can and fight my mortgage debt. 

mumof3.12kindebt

Hello everyone , 
We have had quite a few no spend days this week. 
The one thing I miss during lockdown is being able to buy things we need from sm sale pages or borrowing off family instead of buying something. 
We are currently working on the space at the front of our house. Making it into a grow your own area. 
I'm saving the seeds from peppers and tomatoes.  To hopefully get plants from them. It's a fun experiment for the kids too 😁 

I'll keep you updated 

Nothing much to report. Trying to be resorceful and save money in all areas possible . 

Have a good frugal weekend everyone 

frostie101

Hi 
Hope everyone is keeping safe and well.
I am shielding at the moment so there have been quite a few NSD's although we are having most of our food delivered which has made out food bill increase, not what I really wanted this year.
I am trying to be more eco friendly my sister-in-law has crocheted some face scrubbies for me so I no longer use cotton wool pads for my face.
Has anyone used an ecoegg for washing? How did you find it work and the cost compared  to regular liquid etc.
Any other money saving eco tips out there.
So looking forward to a hug and seeing my mum when this is over.

Frugaldom

Numbercruncher_mfw said:

Hi Frugaldom just wanting to stop by and say hello to you all on this thread. This thread along with your frugaldom blog posts (how to be a frugal living expert) have given me inspiration to cut unnecessary spending where I can and fight my mortgage debt. 

Hi there, glad you have found something of interest that can help. Keep up the good work and keep on crunching those numbers. Loads of links in the introductory page in posts 1 or 2 tat may interest you, too, as all our previous MSE challenges are linked. Good luck paying down your mortgage   

Frugaldom

Mumof2 if you have any whole dried peas, you can soak those overnight then leave them on damp paper to see if they germinate, then plant out. Ive used the peas from broth mix in the past but sadly, my current packet has only split peas in it. I was disappointed.

Frostie,  I have never tried ecoegg but we do have many, many moneysaving tips, including how to make homemade laundry liquid. If you take a look through some of the previous posts you will find several links and listings, and if you want some free reading material, there are 13 years' worth of challenges all linked to page one. Hope you find plemty of helpful information.

Frugaldom

Lockdown has brought 18-hour days for me so I apologise for my absence or delayed presence. I've no volunteers or students staying and no weekenders visiting  so hep is a bit thin on the ground and I'm trying to make the absolute most of all the dry weather to get as much digging, barrowing, sowing and planting done as possible. There are never enough hours in my days but this means I'm never out and seldom spending on anything except absolute essentials. I still haen't been in a supermarket this year.
Hope you are all staying safe and behaving yourselves as best you can during these strange times. I think what I notice most is the increase in traffic, with more walkers and cyclists passing our road end. Most things around about me here are still running pretty much as normal - farming, forestry operations, post, deliveries, feed/agri merchants, but the local village store has partially bare shelves and limits on amount of certain items we can buy. The holidaymakers are about the only thing missing but I'm stayng positive and hoping for the return of a semblance of normaliity before the end of summer.

mumof3.12kindebt

Hello everyone , 
We spent some money today on our garden 
But other than that the last week has been no spend days apart from our food shop. 

Over the last few weeks we have dug out the front garden to be a fruit and veg patch. 
It was overgrown with bushes unfortunately I didn't get a photo but here is our progress so far. 
I've got an apple tree for each of the kids coming. It will be a memory in the future to commemorate the first year after we brought our house and got on the property ladder 


Here's some photos so far. All the plants we have here are what we brought from our flat. 

Hope everyone is well and had a lovely frugal weekend xx

willow_loulou

Hello x sorry I have been Mia, I’ve just not been in the right frame of mind to post. Not ashamed to admit my mental health is poor and I’m lurching between high anxiety and a total loss of patience. It’s not fun. 

I’ve tried to refocus this last week, I’ve veggies growing and I’ve cleared loads of paperwork out (rolled into loo rolls for firelighters next winter) 
All the student finance stuff is done for my youngest, I just need to send evidence of my marital status off. So that’s a relief, top tip for next years parents keep all your p60 and benefits info from this year! 

My loan is under 1000 at last, but I’ve not paid any more off my credit card. I’ve had to buy things in a more expensive manner with delivery rather than pop to cheaper shops. Plus getting a few bits for youngest for uni.  I’ve put some money in her uni fund though as we got her lunch money sent - I decided better to save it for next year as we’re managing. It’s not a huge amount but it all helps doesn’t it. 

Frugaldom

Still gardening here, I've started filling all the new raised beds but it's going to take a while, as they are so big and so... empty!  I planted the first of the herb cuttings and have one bed of garlic, The back row along the fence is going to be a crab apple hedge and then each of the beds, if I am able to dig out enough compost, will have a different veg or herb in it. it's a longterm project and one I have been looking forward to getting started. I had been expecting help in the shape of students staying from Easter onwards but lockdown happened so its taking much longer to do as the work is heavy and I'm getting old & achy.

 
Willow_loulou, don't beat yourself up about how you feel, I think almost everyone is suffering in some way or another, either stress, anxiety, fear or just plain fed-up with the whole situation. It doesn't help when you have to lump on financial worries or family-related issues. 
Mumof3, your garden is going to look great - what type of apple trees did you order? I managed to miss this year's supply frm the supermarkets as I haven;t been in a supermarket since last year. 
Like many others, the lockdown is beginning to feel like it's settling in forever here. With nobody allowed to do much, its making for very long days and as it's working with animals and plants, it's 7 days a week without pay (self-employed, not-for-profit, social enterprise relying on holiday visitors). I feel sorry for all those little charities, pet farms and zoos etc as I haven't heard of any help or compensation to keep livestock, ponies or pets fed during this crisis. I fear for all those animals who may end up dumped, or worse!