2021 Frugal Living Challenge

amber03

Ellie, I’m the same with food, like to be well stocked. Which has helped this month as it’s a 5 week month for me regarding food budget which is tight. Usually I borrow from my savings and then slowly put back, but this month decided to stick to my guns and use what we have. Payday is Wednesday and I have £5 to last till then, which is doable. Also going to restock on a few bits, for next time this happens.x

Ellie79

amber03 said:

Ellie, I’m the same with food, like to be well stocked. Which has helped this month as it’s a 5 week month for me regarding food budget which is tight. Usually I borrow from my savings and then slowly put back, but this month decided to stick to my guns and use what we have. Payday is Wednesday and I have £5 to last till then, which is doable. Also going to restock on a few bits, for next time this happens.x

It is a bit of a blessing and a curse. I am not as organised as I used to be so don't have a long list of what is in anymore. However, oldest DD has just rang to request to come over for tea, easy to rejig my meal plan and bar buying some fresh carrots and some broccoli (which I didn't have planned in this week and don't have in the freezer), I can easily make us all a meal and stretch it to give her some to take home for her boyfriend finishing work. 

I always need to top up fresh veg and fruit in the week, my youngest eats it like it is going out of fashion happily but like you I normally adjust from savings/underspend elsewhere to compromise. Whilst living on a much tighter budget than I do now, I used to see stretching the food budget as a good challenge. I need to go back to that mindset! Thanks for the motivation!

Jazee

I have spent part of the morning blanching and freezing the free veg I got yesterday.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Today I got all the blackcurrants out of the freezer that we had picked from the garden. I had 1.7kg in total which has now been turned into 6 large jars of jam. It frees up some room in the freezer which will promptly get replaced with chopped apples as they are now ready to be picked. 

threepenny_bit

Ellie79 said:

Tidied food cupboards. I have enough pasta, packets of cous cous, mixed grains and rice to last a lifetime.
Next is an inventory of the chest freezer. 

Thanks for the reminder Ellie79 - I have a ton of dried stuff and have put this job on my list for the coming week. 

Tanya12345

Morning, Thanks for the reminders re inventory ! For some reason I always put it off, which is ridiculous as it has to be one of the cornerstones of Frugality !! I finally bucked up the courage to have a look at the freezers...... Oh my !! Not only do we need to clear a chest freezer - got a couple of pigs for freezer camp next week and cannot afford to either buy or run another freezer - but stuff from the homestead is needing to be frozen ! Found soooo much stuff lurking in there that I realise I need a major rethink of my menu/preserve planning - 23 bags of tomatoes and a big bag of redcurrants amongst other treasures !! Maybe some sort of a swop/share system might be an answer . .... I'm not complaining, just realising I need to change my habits.

We have spent a fortune this year  on livestock projects - a cow in calf early in the year so we could milk her and make butter and cheese (a major spend in this household) - so far not a runaway success as milking was not like the rural idyllic scene like I saw in films.... Still the Calf is beautiful and benefitting from a copious supply of milk !! The funds used for this have to be replaced to keep the old cars on the road and feed to current batch of livestock, hence the return to the mother ship of Frugality !!

Sorry that turned into a real Saga !! 

Today's jobs are finishing freezer inventory and researching ways to use up last years harvest and make better plans for this year, starting work on clearing a dead tree (this winters heating, determined to save on oil !) and works various in Polytunnel and veg plot.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone xx

mumof3.12kindebt

Shopped around for puppy food. Now paying 97p per kg instead of £2.30 per kg 

It's My manic week at work this week. But I'm going to try and squeeze in some fb selling and charity shop runs and just generally get some organisation back in the house before the kids go back to school. 

Few appointments this week. Work 4 times out of 5 days. 

I've gave everyone jobs to do while I'm at work this afternoon. 🙃  

I need to do a few  skip runsi save renting a skip 😁

And i have a whole pile of stuff to sell, which I must do this week 

angela110660

Tanya12345 said:

Going to check out the blackberries today and see if there are enough to start some wine - first time for this, but if it works I'll be a very happy/tipsy bunny !!
Have a great Frugal Friday everyone xx

several years ago we made blackberry wine and it was lovely but one year the berries were really feisty - very long time to stop fermenting and then we had 2 explosions of bottle tops in the garage where we laid them down! Hilarious now looking back but not at the time. Hope you enjoy yours. 

2Scratters

Hi Peeps,
hope you are enjoying the summer weekend.
Saved myself some money this weekend by RFTI (read the full instructions - polite version of what I say to DH frequently ) Note to self - practise what you preach!!
Was looking for a replacement refill for one of my (v expensive) pens. (purchased from insurance loss many years ago, I'm not rich) as I had put it through the washing machine and it had affected the ink cartridge. Also found replacement cartridge to another pen that needed it changing. For some reason ended up looking through the service booklet which also covers different models including propelling pencils. (love writing in pencil). Fortunately not short of replacement leads yet, only gone on to follow the guidance and found pencil has already got its own stash of leads ready
This pencil is over 10years old, says it all!!

We have been a bit lax for the past few months in certain areas. Takeaways and treats stuff. Its his birthday tomorrow so that will be it for some time thereafter. DH is onboard with making do too so that helps.
 He is retiring from his self employed job end of September due to ill health, so we will need to have Board meetings at the kitchen table moving forward to sort out finances and stuff being meal planning and other bits like writing wills, got money for the funerals sorted - just need to plan them. Sounds grim I know but its one less thing to sort when it happens, preventing any impulse purchases when most vulnerable.
I have had a thought about using all the recipe books I have purchased along the years especially when following weight loss routes. There is loads of good information and ideas to go at as I still need to make on going efforts (DH doesn't).

Have a good week Peeps
2 Scratters

balabooberlies

Scratters

all the best wishes for your and hubby's new journey.

bala

x