2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Blackcats

Tightpants - I agree - who will know?  You liked the outfit and I'm sure the recipient will too.  

I've only recently felt comfortable with re-gifting but if I genuinely think the recipient will like it or enjoy it more than me then I'm ok to do it.  It's a form of re-cycling I suppose.

ancientmum I've also got my water bill down a bit by more careful usage.  I'm a late arrives to a more frugal lifestyle and it still pleases me that careful usage really does mean less used and therefore less cost.  Better late than never though 😊

QueenJess

@Tightpants24 I don't see anything wrong with that.  It's the quality of the item that counts, not whether it is second hand or how much you paid for it.  The pressure to buy new stuff all the time is the success of consumerism...

I wanted to try out having a bird feeder in my front garden as well as the back garden.  When I looked online, I thought they were all (a) too big as my tree is still very small and (b) really expensive.  Instead, DS and I made one together out of a small plastic bottle I was going to recycle, 2 old pencils and a length of string which I saved from some packaging.  Looks fine out there and was a nice thing to do with DS (he's 4).  Just waiting for the birds to find it now.

Also swapped a kitchen cleaner I don't use for a plant to fill a pot on the patio with a neighbour. I like these kind of swaps 😀

willow_loulou

I agree the gifts origin is irrelevant, most people I know would be just glad if the gift! 

I’ve spent an absolute fortune on food yet there is little to show for it. We braved Sainsbury’s as my planned Ocado shop had to many things unavailable. The cost of everything is rushing up. 

I did manage to get to the food share this morning. I got some crisps and 3 cans of pop. I’d not buy them often so they made a nice treat. I was surprised they were left and all the bread gone! 

I did get the last 2 packs of ryvita in Sainsbury’s, the last pack of my coffee and one of the 3 remaining jars of marmite. I’m getting a tad concerned about empty shelves. Anyone else seeing it? 

skint_chick

willow_loulou said:

Had an interesting shop trip yesterday, youngest is having to remove some things from her diet as she’s had an upset tum for ages. 

If you are on Pinterest check out some of the bread recipes with cassava flour and sweet potato flour. I follow the autoimmune diet, which is free from gluten and dairy so make my own bread and flatbreads. You can get pasta made from pea flour (Sainsburys and Waitrose) and bananas and plantains can easily be made into cakes and breads. Coconut flour is great for cakes but need a different level of moisture than regular flour. Try A Squirrel in the Kitchen, Adventures in Partaking, autoimmunewellness.com and thepaleomom.com for recipe ideas as well. I tend to make my own noodles with courgettes, sweet potatoes, carrots etc and eat a lot of stir frys because they're so quick and easy, and A LOT of salad this time of year.

Tightpants24

Thanks for the reassurance about my frugal gift.  It is a brand new item with labels but just bought 2nd hand.  The recipient will never know 😉

On another matter....I have had a terrible habit of buying craft stuff but not getting round to making them 😕
So yesterday I made a list of these and decided to set myself a challenge to complete at least one a month.  So first I need to finish making the cushion covers I started about 2 years ago 😆

willow_loulou

@Tightpants24 I’m the same! I have a fair few projects I want to do. I now take them when i stay with my partner. I’m starting to get through them! If I don’t set time aside I don’t get it done at all! 

Thank you @skint_chick that’s really helpful, dd does Pinterest so will get her to check it out. 

We’ve discovered Sainsbury’s own gf brown sliced is good enough and it’s not too expensive at £1:80. I’m off bread entirely so only getting a small 50p loaf for DS which pretty much works out to what we were spending previously. 

Sallyp2

Started reading a book "The No Spend Year" by Michelle McGagh. Its 2017, so not a new book. Am using local library much more to avoid buying books that are read once and gather dust on shelves!
Anyway ... part one is "The Grocery Challenge". Lots of you on here may find it covers what you already do. But I liked these 2 ideas:
1) The Shopping List: Treat your trolley like a nightclub. You are the bouncer. If its not on the list, its not getting in!
2) Its about balance. Eat well and cheaply for the majority of the month, so that the occasional takeaway or meal out is guilt free. 
3) Napisan Powder  ... bear with me. It costs £4 for 800g in Sainsburys. It is used to treat stains in baby nappies / clothes. Its a fraction of the price of Vanish per 100g

willow_loulou

I used to use Napisan on chef whites! 

fionaandphil

Just finished totting up grocery spend for June and came in at £262.22.  Freezers are full, got some bargains last month and the fresh produce is really getting going in the garden this month so I'm hoping to get this down further.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Living_proof

I have been getting into the routine of looking at Olio, local food pantry and Too Good to Waste as well as Lidl reductions and fruit and veg boxes and have got it down to a fine art now and have only bought a stir fry sauce and vegan nut roast at full price in the last week or so. Total about £12 for all other food and there are many future meals there currently frozen or dehydrated. I am noticing a lot of empty shelves in supermarkets these days and rising prices as well. Food has been really cheap up to now, compared to 50 years ago when I first bought food for myself.  I have also started selling some unwanted items on Marketplace and Gumtree, so feel frugal enough now. Just as well as I have a year of significant extra expense coming up so I feel more in control of the situation taking these various measures.