2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Isnt it funny how people react when money is mentioned. I'm always called tight by my family because I am careful with money. Funnily enough though I am doing a 7 mile walk tomorrow to raise money for the national autistic society and yet none of those same family members want to part with a penny. I'm always generous when it comes to charity yet because I dont constantly buy new stuff I dont need I am labelled tight!! Makes you laugh. 

[Deleted User]

I have cancelled my TV licence after an email exchange back and forth to them explaining that yes, I am quite sure that I really don't need it! Thanks for the support & solidarity guys, it's taught me a lesson to keep quiet on all things frugal from now on. 

Can we talk water bills? We are on a meter, our supplier is Yorkshire water. They say we use 99m3 per annum, which I think is excellent for a family of three. But my bill is still £36 a month! I've tried to register for an online account so I can look at how this is calculated but the site keeps kicking me out, will try again tomorrow. A friend of mine is with the same supplier, four people at home, having baths every night, paying £29. I'm not paying back a debit balance so I have no idea where this figure comes from. We are very careful with consumption, only showers not baths, DW and WM every third day. Out all day during the week. What do you guys pay? Xx

mumtoomany

Hi, @zafiro1984, have you tried oats to stretch meat in meals. I always add a BIG handful to any mince meal, cottage pie, bolognese etc. Standard cheap porridge oats, adds a meaty texture, and looks a bit like mince if nobody knows. mumtoomany

Jazee

ASB, we're on a water meter with Yorkshire water , just the two of us and pay £23 per month.

[Deleted User]

Jazee said:

ASB, we're on a water meter with Yorkshire water , just the two of us and pay £23 per month.

Thank You xx does your most recent bill tell you your annual usage in cubic metres? X

moneyonmymindsam

@zafiro1984 maybe try cracker crumbs / ground up crackers as an idea to bulk out mince. Good way to use up the excess Xmas supplies 
Sam x

zafiro1984

Ref 'How to stretch meat'
Thanks everyone I must admit I have tried stretching it with carrots and other veg but never with grated carrot and courgette which apparently disappears, I'll try that. I've never tried oats or cracker crumbs either so I'll give that a go as well - some really good ideas, thanks

water bill: I looked up the average cost of consumption for a household of 2 adults, it's around £37-£40 a month. I was quite pleased as I have a sto for 40 a month from my household budget. The extra cost I ascribe to the business as we have a fair amount of animals. We've had two massive bills in the last 20yrs. one was when a huge delivery lorry crushed the underground pipe, it broke and we didn't discover the leak for a week, the other was when one of the horses overturned an outdoor automatic waterer and broke a 3/4 inch inlet pipe which ran for 24hrs. On both occasions the water board were very fair, they worked out the average annual cost and credited us the extra.

My current 'Must do better' is the cost of fuel, both electric and oil. I'm working on that one at the moment.

Jazee

Deleted_User said:

Jazee said:

ASB, we're on a water meter with Yorkshire water , just the two of us and pay £23 per month.

Thank You xx does your most recent bill tell you your annual usage in cubic metres? X

I'll take a look when the bill arrives.

AskYouWillGet

Jazee said:

Deleted_User said:

Jazee said:

ASB, we're on a water meter with Yorkshire water , just the two of us and pay £23 per month.

Thank You xx does your most recent bill tell you your annual usage in cubic metres? X

I'll take a look when the bill arrives.

Hi @Deleted_User , I'm with Yorkshire Water too and know they will make the adjustment if you ring them and base it on the number of people in a household. My son did it when he was in a flat single person (with no meter), they sent someone to verify if could fit a meter but they couldn't find the main water pipe so they just lowered it. His new house had a water leak that was running for a few months in lock down, he has never mentioned a big bill, so they must have written it off.  
Wonder if it is the amount of bathrooms-family bathroom/en-suite/guest loo etc. or appliances not being eco if usage seems higher than than others?
I was on a meter in the last house (new build), the monthly DD for 2-3 adults that showered/bath daily was no more than £28pm. Moved into an old cottage without meter, it has a deep bath and large cisterns on toilets and it takes about 5litres before the water runs hot (which I'm saving for the veg garden). Was being charged £49pm but they have just reduced to £41 from April based on consumption even though no change to amount of baths & showers the family takes, I've decided to accept the higher bill based on the fixtures/fittings...But I will also be contacting them to lower it as soon as either DS2 & DS3 move out to be in line as know that will be a third less usage and I will be frugal with it!     
Defo give them a ring though as that was the reason I posted! (sorry for rambling).

AskYouWillGet

@zafiro1984 I switched to Quorn mince and pieces years ago without telling anyone & no one noticed for a long time!  I would mix qourn or plant based mince with it (fresh or frozen), as the texture is the same.  My meat eating dad (76) has been happy with qourn shepherds pie, chilli, qourn pieces in stew, curries etc. he didn't even notice until I told him!
Makes nice pies out of it too which is more traditional food that maybe more in your OH tastes. 
I've always bulked out with frozen veg like sweet potato, butternut squash (frozen) spinach (frozen), peppers (frozen), Tinned sweetcorn, tomatoes and beans etc - blend them into a puree and this thickens and stretches any dish (with a gravy base) started doing this trick to get veg into one of the fussy eaters when kids were little!