2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Sallyp2

Deleted_User said:

Frugalling continues to go very well here. We are making around £14 per week from egg sales, which doesn't sound much but covers nice treats some weeks and the food shopping bill other weeks. 

My June goal is to leave what remains in my current account (most of it is transferred straight to savings on payday) where it is, and use egg sales money only for anything we need. I get paid in a fortnight, at which stage it will again mainly go to savings. My small collection of direct debits go out on the 1st of the month, I have just checked and all done & dusted there. I will also be going to both food waste share groups this week, which will help me with my second June goal 😉.

Here are my frugal June pledges:

1. Use egg sales cash only, no debit card, for NEEDS only
2. Keep food budget for the month to £45 (this will include a bag of chicken feed) 

Amazed at your egg sales. If you can use the egg sales cash only for shopping that would be amazing! That is basically free groceries

fionaandphil

Great to hear you are all getting on so well, lots of inspiration every time I login  Just totted up this months food spend and have managed to get it in at £140 as we're still working our way through stores.  Won't be as low next month as we stocked up at the butchers this morning and DS is just starting a growth spurt!  Hopefully in another few weeks we will have more salad growing so that will save us a bit.  It was really struggling jwith it being so cold but I think now that its really warm its in danger of burning!  I've fixed our electricity prices for another two years after the warning on MSE last week and thankfully with this good weather have got lots dried outside in the sunshine.  Wishing you all a frugal month x

willow_loulou

MazzieD said:

girlybags said:

MazzieD said:

Had to laugh at your post @willow_loulou, I have a strimmer lurking in my shed...  My awful neighbours are now avoiding me and not speaking so I'm actually quite pleased.  Wonder if they have used the brain cell they share and realised that their behaviour is totally out of order and might actually be worried about what they've done and more importantly what I'm going to do about it.  I find controlled anger is a very effective tool, I never react straight away or say anything but think carefully about how to deal with the problem.

I wish my anger was as controlled as yours, I tend to fly off the handle instantly and then regret it later on. I've got slightly better as I get older but still got a ways to go

This is the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life.  I don't get angry often and used to erupt like a volcano!.  In my case it's always neighbours who judge and cause problems, this lot are the worst I've ever encountered.  I'm very lucky with my friends, they accept me as I am.

I feel your pain, mine are so judgemental and questioning when it’s none of their business. Especially considering their drug taking smell, cigarette smell and noise! 

willow_loulou

@Living_proof

I just got a cordless g tec strimmer from their eBay page, reconditioned one. Comes with loads of blades and everything you need - for half the retail price of new. It’s immaculate (well was til it got grassy lol) and very light. 

QueenJess

I was growing some ginger in a pot (leftover from cooking that I didn't need - just from the supermarket) quite successfully pre-baby, but it was neglected and not watered whilst I was in hospital and was withered up and dead.  I pulled out the dead green bits and composted them.  The pot has been empty for a couple of months and so I thought I'd try and sow some mint seeds in there instead (although they never seem to germinate for me for some reason).  Whilst I was sowing the seeds I saw something green and pulled it.  For a second I was confused as it looked like a bulb and then I realised it was the ginger root and it was growing again!  It still looks a bit withered, so no idea how that will turn out.  I left it in there to see!

girlybags

MazzieD said:

girlybags said:

MazzieD said:

Had to laugh at your post @willow_loulou, I have a strimmer lurking in my shed...  My awful neighbours are now avoiding me and not speaking so I'm actually quite pleased.  Wonder if they have used the brain cell they share and realised that their behaviour is totally out of order and might actually be worried about what they've done and more importantly what I'm going to do about it.  I find controlled anger is a very effective tool, I never react straight away or say anything but think carefully about how to deal with the problem.

I wish my anger was as controlled as yours, I tend to fly off the handle instantly and then regret it later on. I've got slightly better as I get older but still got a ways to go

This is the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life.  I don't get angry often and used to erupt like a volcano!.  In my case it's always neighbours who judge and cause problems, this lot are the worst I've ever encountered.  I'm very lucky with my friends, they accept me as I am.

I don't envy you, my immediate neighbours are great, in fact the majority of them are. There are maisonettes opposite and the guy who lives directly opposite my house has his moments. When him and his girlfriend argue the whole Street knows about it. I can hear them clearly from my house with all the windows closed while they're arguing in their house! He is so loud and very aggressive when they get started, I suspect he may have a mental illness tbh because when I've confronted him he doesn't seem to understand what he's done wrong. Anyway it's not a regular occurrence but still not nice when it happens (usually around midnight when I have a 7am start the next day 🙄).
I hope you get sorted with your neighbours one way or another

girlybags

I spent more than expected at the condemned food place today, I blame it on taking my son and nephew with me, they fleeced me for a load of sweets and rubbish that I wouldn't normally buy but I did want to treat them. Got to the till and my bill came to £50 😳 I'm kicking myself now for not putting some stuff back but it's a lesson learned, they won't be coming with me again!

The trip to the vets with the bunny left me £60 lighter but that could have been a lot worse so I'm 'happy' with that. Said bunny is not speaking to me now and he has to have eye drops 4x a day so I don't think he'll be my friend for quite a while!

QueenJess

I envy all your tiny food bills... mine is pretty high each month!  I do have some vices and refuse to give up my expensive organic fruit box, but I don't get it every week.  Difficult and frustrating for me to do much about the cost when DH does the shopping and we are currently forced for various reasons to shop in an expensive supermarket.  Would love to try Olio, but no capacity right now to pop out anywhere to get anything with a new baby!

Anyway... I guess I can only do what I can do.. At least I try to make sure absolutely nothing gets wasted and batch cook where possible.  I've also managed to convert us to two no meat dinner days (and sometimes 3!), which is frankly a miracle with a DH who insists that it isn't a meal without meat!  I'm hoping that will start bringing the cost down, along with growing my own salad.

zafiro1984

Deleted_User said:

Frugalling continues to go very well here. We are making around £14 per week from egg sales, which doesn't sound much but covers nice treats some weeks and the food shopping bill other weeks. 

My June goal is to leave what remains in my current account (most of it is transferred straight to savings on payday) where it is, and use egg sales money only for anything we need. I get paid in a fortnight, at which stage it will again mainly go to savings. My small collection of direct debits go out on the 1st of the month, I have just checked and all done & dusted there. I will also be going to both food waste share groups this week, which will help me with my second June goal 😉.
Here are my frugal June pledges:
1. Use egg sales cash only, no debit card, for NEEDS only
2. Keep food budget for the month to £45 (this will include a bag of chicken feed) 

I'm afraid keeping hens and selling eggs becomes quite addictive. I started with 12 hens, realised there were too many just for us so started selling at the gate. The 12 grew to 650 over three years and it was now a business and very time consuming. I sold to local pubs, restaurants - and being quite rural - local village shops. The problem was they all wanted the eggs cheap, and I'm afraid life got a bit too stressful and I wasn't enjoying it. Now I only sell at the gate, I have housing for 800 hens so I'm able to move my 99 hens onto fresh grass quite frequently, I really enjoy having them, they're very funny and entertaining, also I'm able to keep them until the end of their days and not be commercially minded. it costs about £60 a week to feed so I make about £60-£70 a week, enough to pay for food and this year I'm putting the rest towards the council tax.

one trick with hens, add a little cut maize to their corn, ratio of about 1:4 maize to corn and you will get very very yellow yolks that taste a little silky/smooth.

[Deleted User]

@zafiro1984 yes they are highly addictive aren't they! Ours are our pets and the eggs are just a by product which we happen to be able to make some money from. Thanks for the tip x