2021 Frugal Living Challenge

YORKSHIRELASS

stymied said:

What app do you use for walks please @YORKSHIRELASS?

Komoot or Outdooractive are good to plan routes and you can use them for free, but I do pay for a subscription for Outdoor Active to get OS maps for when we are walking.  Its about £30 a year.  Sometimes I just google walks in wherever we are going, and see what comes up.  I also borrow maps from our library sometimes if we are going away but use them more for cycling than walking.

mumof3.12kindebt

Hi everyone

I haven't caught up on posts yet sorry.

Just wanted to 'show my face' 
I'm trying to be as frugal as possible, as well as try and make as much extra money as I can. 

I'm looking out on fb to see if there will be a community food waste collection this week 

Kids have their free clubs to attend after school. 

I've switched my pay as you go mobile phone deal so I'll save £7 a month for the first 3 months and then £3 a month after 

Will try and post more 

willow_loulou

Dd back at uni today. Very pleased to find I can park free with my disability badge right outside her building.  I’m not intending on driving her often but trains can be unreliable. It also means I can have an almost free day out as there is a fab library and museums here. I’m currently still sat in the car though wondering why I didn’t bring a coffee with me. 

Mrs_Cheshire

Hi all, our gas/elec supplier went bust a few weeks ago, so we've been moved to another supplier - meaning my bills are likely to increase by about £250 a year based on usual yearly figures. With that in mind, I'm trying to be as frugal as possible. Cutting down on drier usage in particular (difficult as I live in the northwest). 
My son's boys brigade had a jumble sale at the weekend so I've managed to get loads of clothes for hubby and the boys, a couple of bits for me -mostly leggings for layering under trousers in the winter. I also picked up a fan heater should I need one and a ladies bike so I can cycle some more (once I get my knee sorted from a fall earlier in the year). 

I cooked some beef ribs we had in the slow cooker today and rather than waste the liquid I put some pearl barley I'd been meaning to use for years into the liquid and cooked it. That's now boxed and in the fridge, I'm going to add it to root vegetables and make a soup using a beef stock pot/cube. 

I collected my community groceries today and have a large bag of spinach and some tomatoes along with eggs that need using so will make another frittata using up a couple of peppers in the fridge and maybe the courgette. 

enkeltliv

Yes it is the tumble dryer that is getting cut for us as well. My airer is out in the kitchen. I had good results yesterday with items taking 24 hours to dry but today it's dank outdoors so may well take longer. Leftover broth for our evening meal.

Living_proof

I have been away for just over a week in the motorhome.  The weather was mixed but it's always great to get away and see a different landscape, get some fresh air etc. We stayed in Norfolk which is lovely but very expensive with drinks and snacks around twice the price of home. Fortunately we self-catered almost all the time and a lot of the food was from Olio so it evened itself out in the end. From a financial point of view I was glad to be back to the affordable place I call home. I was fortunate to have put my normal £25 petrol in the car before the fuel crisis kicked off so I should manage to get through this month on that unless I go much further afield. I'm aiming to leave the heating off until the clocks change unless it gets really cold but I have always maintained I would rather go hungry than cold, and I do have a couple of stone to move! The news seems very dreary and challenging at the moment and the threat of looming inflation really worries me. I will now find a cheery film on Netflix and light a candle for the feel of warmth.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

Our car has broken down again.  We have spent nearly £1000 on it this year, but it only cost us the £54 MOT fee last year so we kind of thought that was bearable.  Now it's back in the garage.  I am gutted and the money I have set aside to fix the woodburner is now probably going to go on the car.

DH is not back at work properly with his back so things feel pretty rubbish.  The only good thing is that I am not spending anything and I am sticking to my mealplan!

Frugaldom

Staying positive is the main thing, @YORKSHIRELASS. You'll get organised and just knowing that you have as much control as possible over your own finances is an advantage. Good luck with car and OH.

Frugaldom

@Living_proof, after all this ends, you will need to try and get to SW Scotland for a visit in your MoHo. We have just recently made overnight parking available in response to Dumfries & Galloway's welcome adoption of private Aires. It means we can offer parking for up to 3 self-contained vehicles, off grid. We offer free parking but accept donations towards feeding the animals we have here. 😊 We are also very lucky in that the fuel crisis doesn't seem to have reached our rural idyll.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Well youngest has got over being sick and is back to his usual whirlwind self but my eldest (4yo) was sent home from school yesterday. He was sick yesterday and this morning his covid test came back positive. When it rains, it pours!!.