2020 Frugal Living Challenge

Nonnadiluca

I've just done my meal plan and shopping list ready for my weekly excursion this evening, I go at about 7pm and find it really easy - I haven't had to queue and the shop is not too busy. I find having a plan and list is saving me quite a bit as there are virtually no impulse buys, (obviously enough chocolate for the week is included on the list!), and what we haven't got we do without. The best thing though is not standing in the kitchen at 3pm thinking, " What the **** are we going to have for dinner?"
This is definitely going to continue, another thing to make life easier!
Hope you are all safe and well.

Thrifty_Taylor

Hi All, I'm an avid lurker but haven't posted yet. I love reading everyone's posts & picking up lots of tips. My mum & I have always been quite frugal, but I know of late, that I've been letting things slide a bit. Being furloughed from one of my jobs has meant that I've got lots done that have been on my to do list for a long time, including levelling off ground (which meant moving 10 tonnes of soil), hubby making frames, then me filling them for raised beds. He is currently making our youngest his own greenhouse! Mum had a call last Tuesday to go & get her cataracts removed on Friday, so I'm just home from spending a few days with her. We have spent a great time watching programmes I recorded for her years ago, including Make Do & Mend, & Superscrimpers, picking up more great ideas & inspiration. Keep up the good work frugalites! 

[Deleted User]

Potatoes, celeriac and carrots dehydrated this weekend to store for autumn casseroles 😉 I need to sort the freezer out this week- I've got quite a few freezer roulette boxes in there at the moment so need to use those up and it will save me cooking for a few days while the weather is hot 😉 

2Scratters

Afternoon Peeps,
only been dressed for a couple of hours today, there is no rush to is there and my dressing gown is quite warm too. Frugaldom you don't need to worry about people not being here, they sure are. I have been on here for many many years, I too messed up my previous Sign in name sometime ago.  I have found that the lockdown has not changed much about how we life our lives. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. DH managed to redeem himself on my birthday last week, he had purchased a party sized chocolate cake (there is only the 2 of us) and a very large box of chocolates for me!!! I unfortunately can't disguise my disappointment (nor did I choose too as am trying to control any weight gain!!) he vanished out the house for sometime and managed to redeem himself by bringing home a pear tree with some small fruits on. Future proofing another tree for the garden.

stay safe peeps

2Scratters x

Frugaldom

We finally have some rain to refill the water barrels and water the seedlings, yeah!   It means working in wet weather but it's quite warm and there's a bt of a breeze.  Hay delivery got here just before the light showers turned to actual rain so that was handy and the little shed is now filled with enough to last until next month.  
Cooked a chicken (shop bought) and we've had that the past 2 nights so I've frozen what was left of the meat and put the rest n the slow cooker to make stock. Any little bits of chicken in that will get used in curry then the rest made into soup.
Well done to everyone who is persevering with gardens, reduced spending, making, baking and lockdown. To all of us still working,  whether we get paid for it or not, life carries on regardless. We will come out the other end of this lockdown and many of our priorities may change but for now, it's total lockdown for us in Scotland and I'm not sure where they're at with the other nations within UK as I haven't had a minute to check any news.

nannygladys

Hi everyone,
 Just caught up as I haven't been on for a nearly a week, no reason really just not doing anything interesting!
All my neighbours around here have been taking an interest in gardening, not my sort but decking, lighting and fire pits etc. At night if I look out of an upstairs window its like Manchester runway! So no 'proper' gardening happening, just more consumerism! 
Anyway I thought I would join in with the titivating so picked up some fence paint from the lottie and painted one fence today, also have some masonary paint to brighten up a wall and the old wood from a previous fence is in the process of being turned into edging on a couple of borders - not a penny spent, just time and energy! The lottie is now taking off (and so are the weeds) so feeling much happier now. Still a lot to sort out but it will get done all be it slowly.
On the food front, I went to the SM last Wednesday so not going until a week this Wednesday, I will keep this up now until the foreseeable future as its saving me quite a bit, as I do a menu and if I eat the 'goodies' up in the first couple of days its my own fault!!! Im really dreading everything going back to 'normal' as my normal has now changed big time, and Im enjoying it! I have come to realise I don't need to go far to do everything I want to, although I do miss visiting my kids and dgc. To me being frugal isn't just about not spending but includes saving the planet one plastic bottle at a time as well, to make it a better place for all. So off to make a cup of coffee and get a bit of embroidery done before its bedtime.

Nannyg
 

sashacat

It has been hot and dry here. I think it was the hottest day of the year so far.
Planted my leeks and some more radishes andvspring onions. I have no more room in my raised beds or in the fruit cage. My soil is blue clay. You could make pots from it so I put in as much organic matter as I can get my hands on. Hence my interest in compost. Nothing gets wasted. 
In the autumn I wait until the last of the runner bean pods have shrivelled and then harvest the beans inside them. Nobody wants them as they are ropy if you try to eat them in the usual way.  Last year I got my neighbours as well.
I spread them out to dry which does take a month or two depending on the weather. But I put them in a spare room so it doesn’t matter. I soaked them overnight and cooked them this morning in the pressure cooker and now have lots of cooked runner beans in portions in the freezer. They will so in soups or stews. It is so much cheaper than buying tins of beans. 
Any spare wood or pallets I manage to get all goes on the fire. And the ashes go in the compost or around the fruit trees because it contains potash.

Shopaholic_no_more

Hi everyone
I have not posted on here for yonks. Have been a bit blown away by the whole situation we find ourselves in to be honest..I was furloughed for 3 weeks as soon as the lockdown was announced but the company I work for fell off a cliff edge (we supply haberdashery goods to shops) and they just could not keep up with demand as people tried to keep themselves occupied during this insane time..the shops diversified and went online or did click and collect ...
I got called back to work but things changed immensely and we are doing shifts we have never done before to make it safe to work so in all honesty I have been truly shattered these past few weeks and unfortunately this forum went on the back burner! However, I have just been reading through some of the posts and just want to repeat the same sentiment to you Frugaldom...we will always need you to keep us focused and for your wisdom so please don’t worry...I have gone off the rails a bit as well regarding food as it has been about being safe and supermarkets are just not safe!! I would dearly love to start up on an allotment but sadly I just don’t have the time. Maybe in the future. I look forward to keeping up with everyone from now on! Keep well and stay safe xx

Frugaldom

nannygladys said:

Hi everyone,
 Just caught up as I haven't been on for a nearly a week, no reason really just not doing anything interesting!
All my neighbours around here have been taking an interest in gardening, not my sort but decking, lighting and fire pits etc. At night if I look out of an upstairs window its like Manchester runway! So no 'proper' gardening happening, just more consumerism! 
Anyway I thought I would join in with the titivating so picked up some fence paint from the lottie and painted one fence today, also have some masonary paint to brighten up a wall and the old wood from a previous fence is in the process of being turned into edging on a couple of borders - not a penny spent, just time and energy! The lottie is now taking off (and so are the weeds) so feeling much happier now. Still a lot to sort out but it will get done all be it slowly.
On the food front, I went to the SM last Wednesday so not going until a week this Wednesday, I will keep this up now until the foreseeable future as its saving me quite a bit, as I do a menu and if I eat the 'goodies' up in the first couple of days its my own fault!!! Im really dreading everything going back to 'normal' as my normal has now changed big time, and Im enjoying it! I have come to realise I don't need to go far to do everything I want to, although I do miss visiting my kids and dgc. To me being frugal isn't just about not spending but includes saving the planet one plastic bottle at a time as well, to make it a better place for all. So off to make a cup of coffee and get a bit of embroidery done before its bedtime.

Nannyg
 

This above - this is exactly what I think will happen, thank you, NannyG, and welcome back again. I see an even bigger future divide where part of the population will turn even more to consumerism on a 'we need it now, just in case' basis because they will remember the lockdown. For some this will be a time to buy what they want, regardless of cost or debt. Then those others who were already quite frugal will become even more cash conscientious and aware of their environment. I can't see any major shift in the overall lifestyles moving in one direction, only a widening of the gap. 

Frugaldom

sashacat said:

It has been hot and dry here. I think it was the hottest day of the year so far.
Planted my leeks and some more radishes andvspring onions. I have no more room in my raised beds or in the fruit cage. My soil is blue clay. You could make pots from it so I put in as much organic matter as I can get my hands on. Hence my interest in compost. Nothing gets wasted. 
In the autumn I wait until the last of the runner bean pods have shrivelled and then harvest the beans inside them. Nobody wants them as they are ropy if you try to eat them in the usual way.  Last year I got my neighbours as well.
I spread them out to dry which does take a month or two depending on the weather. But I put them in a spare room so it doesn’t matter. I soaked them overnight and cooked them this morning in the pressure cooker and now have lots of cooked runner beans in portions in the freezer. They will so in soups or stews. It is so much cheaper than buying tins of beans. 
Any spare wood or pallets I manage to get all goes on the fire. And the ashes go in the compost or around the fruit trees because it contains potash.

I love reading about how everyone else lives frugally - even just a mention of pallets is exciting for us die-hards! My own veg-growing project is extremely slow, having had to start over and over again with so many house moves and changes of cir umstances since I first began this journey and this is the first year we have built all the raised beds at Frugaldom after concentrating on clearing the ground, fencing, getting the water problems resolved and finding suitable ground for planting the fruit trees and bushes, willows and our little woodland. I guess it feels like year 1 all over again, so it's quite exciting. I can already see blackcurrants, rasps, white currants and gooseberries coming and the first flowers have appeared on the strawberries, even though they still aren't in a proper strawberry bed yet... this year's runners will become next year's strawberry bed.