2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Living_proof

My local Olio food heroes have had masses of potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, clementines, etc. and I mean crate-loads. Usually bread and rolls are the most frequent items in bulk, but I guess the transport crisis means that sometimes too many of certain items turn up at once for the store to stock.  Another week it might be brussels sprouts and veg trios so you can never quite be sure of what will be on offer. There have been a lot of vegan items this week and it's great to be able to try them before actually buying them. In fact I am hard-pressed to think of a single food or drink item I have bought this week and will be steadily working my way through freezer and larder stocks for quite a while yet.

Wraithlady

I'm seriously disappointed in Olio - nothing is offered that is less than 10 miles away, and it tends to be the 'half a packet of biscuits' variety of offer.

Maybe no shops in my part of the country are interested?

joedenise

Feels like that here @Wraithlady.   Definitely not worth bothering from my point of view.  I've given up bothering even looking now.

Living_proof

Olio relies on volunteers who not only pick up and distribute the food items but also encourage the stores and supermarkets to join their system. Normally stores have to pay (not sure whether by weight or volume) to dispose of unwanted goods so if Olio distribute it then it's much better for their bottom line (not sure about mine!) and for the environment because this stuff is not all going into landfill. So many threads have mentioned how badly the staff have been treated at supermarkets offering YS items and how badly behaved the minority of shoppers have been, so the Olio system requires effort from everyone and also some sort of mannerly behaviour which is all for the good. I would become one myself except I don't drive at night as have poor vision and also my fridge is rather small for the venture, but this would suit a lot of people with large cars, big fridges and a social conscience.

[Deleted User]

Hi frugal friends, 

Lovely to "see" you @Frugaldom xx

I have been keeping on track with our £5k budget, and food spends have been very low indeed thanks to our two local food waste groups. I cannot imagine actually paying for bread anymore, given how much of it is destined for landfill each week. They have also had hundreds of unsold eggs to give away, which makes me very sad. As a chicken keeper, eggs are such an important commodity and it saddens me to think those chickens who have laid eggs, to ultimately end up in landfill, have had short, unhappy lives to produce something that we have a glut of and no-one wants. 

My own hens have been loving the bags of salad waste from the food share, and we have raspberries in abundance in the garden now which they, and DD, love to scoff as well. 

The one thing I am struggling with is the rising cost of electricity. I keep our usage as low as I can, but our dependence on it means costs are always creeping up. Our gas usage is basically nothing at this time of year, but electricity goes up inevitably during the school holidays.

Kerry_Woman

Was slightly over my food budget this month.  Not going to get stressed as I have been under budget for food for quite a few months.  Unfortunately had to throw away a couple of items of food.  Was under/on budget for the rest of my categories.  Still temping and got shifts until end of August.  Just waiting to hear further news regarding work situation.  Used up 3 of items of toiletries.  Still bringing my own lunch into work.  Work supplies tea and coffee.  I bring in my travel mug and make tea - the tea stays hot for quite awhile and metal water bottle - which I refill in work. 

Frugaldom

@Deleted_User I have long debated the differences in cost of heating versus eating over the years and the two are now at a point of being incomparable.
Previous years showed similar patterns of prices with electricity costs averaging approximately the same as my grocery costs but not any longer. There have always been ways to minimise food costs by sharing, scratch cooking, store cupboards, yellow stickers, foraging, food gardening, and now the likes of olio but energy & fuel costs are a totally different ballgame nowadays. Reducing use can only go so far when we need to cook, heat water and stay warm or cool. I don't know what the answer is but as soon as I have the hut built I will begin again trying to work stuff out. It will be completely off grid and won't be a main residence but for recreational purposes I will be making it my challenge to make it comfortable on a very, very tight budget for running costs. Given the price rises in fuel, I'm thinking smaller is better, therefore treating each room in the house as an individual living space seems like an option. Tiny house living may be the only way forward while restricted by tiny budgets. Plus, it can make otherwise dire-looking situations almost seem fun! I love my fleecy blankets and mini solar is becoming ever more affordable. Shame batteries cost so much!

willow_loulou

I’ve been looking at solar for a while @Frugaldom I don’t want traditional roof panels but I’d like a way of charging phone banks that’s actually effective. I’ve not yet found one that actually works. 

There is so much I use that could be charged in this way so if anyone has a phone bank solar charger that works I’d love to know. 

fionaandphil

I was inspired by a programme on TV a few years ago with !!!!!! Strawbridge and his then wife Bridget.  There is an accompanying book called Its not easy being green.  They installed some type of solar tubes on the roof and used that some of the time to heat a shower and also used things like sheeps fleece for insulation, they also had a running stream in the garden so set up a water wheel!!  We have friends who have set up a grey water harvesting tank under their patio and this is used to flush their toilets, its a modern house.  We looked into solar a number of years ago but our roof doesn't face the right way and the chimneys and trees create a lot of shade too.  There are some solar tiles on roofs in the local area but I have no idea whether these are better or worse than the panels.  We have been asking our plumber about air source heat pumps for a number of years but he still thinks these are pretty inefficent and would also involve pulling out our old system completely and redoing the whole house including radiators so we are holding off on that.

Frugaldom

@willow_loulou I'm using small solar panels and car or leisure batteries to power my electric fenced, water pumps and charge mobiles etc. I've just bought cheap 50w panels complete with controllers that have 2 usb sockets for mobile and camera charging so I'll let you know how they go. At £25 each, I'm hoping they at leas keep plants safe from ponies and my mobile recharged when needed.