2021 Frugal Living Challenge

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Effician said:

Treasurequeen said:

Mummy2cheekymonkeys said:

I was just thinking yesterday that I do this with toiletries. It's almost as if I dont use up something because I dont want it to be gone and not have it anymore (especially pricier products) so I keep hold of them and start using something else which is ridiculous. I think a new years resolution next year will be to finish up all the odds and ends before starting something new.
Also with food I like the safety net of having full cupboards so as soon as I use something I replace it. With the way things have been lately I don't think its a bad idea with food.

May I ask what do frugal people ask as gifts for Christmas from others? 

I don't ask for anyting not even off Mrs E ,

We buy for the grandchildren but neither give or recieve from other family members, it makes for a much less stressed & more enjoyable Chritmas all round we find.

I totally agree with this. This year even my daughter has said 'shall we not buy pressies this year'. Its taken a long while but they are not even going to buy each other just their daughter. It saves so much money, time and stress (and money). Once you actually do it its much easier the following year etc.
p00 x 

Marghirl

zafiro1984 said:

Marghirl said:

I use vinegar instead of conditioner in my washing machine. It is a natural softener and it also helps to keep machine clean. I also use a combination of vinegar, salt and washing up liquid as a weed killer for my paths. Don’t pour it where you will grow plants but it is great for paths. It has no chemicals, and starts to work in a few hours

Thank you Marghirl; can I ask:-
How much vinegar do you use per wash?
What is the ratio of vinegar, salt and washing up liquid you use as a week killer? I have quite a large veg/fruit plot plus polytunnels. I'm reluctant to use some of the commercial weed killers but this sounds ideal.

Thank-you to everyone who posts money saving tips. As one supermarket says 'Every little helps' in my case hopefully saving money. 

I use a 2-3 capfuls per wash. When I make up the weed killer , I use an old watering can and I put in the full 5 litres of vinegar, about three tablespoons of salt and a few squirts of washing up liquid. I find on a hot day the weeds go brown in an hour or two. Be careful about where you pour it. Don’t pour it on any area that you want to grow stuff in.  My back garden is slabbed and I use it for this area. I then have loads of pots on the slabs

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

All this talk of cutting hair had me thinking so this morning I walked to superdrug and bought a pair of thinning scissors. I have the most ridiculously thick hair and when I feel the need to get a haircut its not because of the length but because it gets so heavy. I've thinned it all out and I feel like i've been to have it cut. Can't believe I haven't done it sooner. Hopefully I should only need to have it cut half as often now. 
I've made a big batch of pumpkin soup for lunch with the free pumpkin I got from topcashback.
We haven't had a premium bond win for months but this morning I found out we won not one but 2 £25 wins this month! Yay!!

tboo

RainbowHippie said:

I just re-use whatever i have to hand for packaging (for cost and ecological reasons). A member of post office staff gave me a great tip about using any opaque plastic (carrier bags, bin bags etc) to wrap things for posting as it's waterproof and very light. If i only have see-through plastic available i use a layer of (free) newspaper inside it. Before we moved when i was selling loads on ebay i printed a few pages of little notes that i cut up to include one in each parcel saying 'Thanks for your purchase, packaging is recycled where possible out of respect for the environment' or something similar, so recipients wouldn't think i was just being cheap.

That's good of the PO staff to mention it, rather than try to make you buy something,

When posting packages abroad to the DD's I also use supermarket carrier bags, turned inside out, (not a tip from the PO though), I also re-use the black/blue plastic bags that come from retailers. Just turn them inside out.

Wouldn't use bin bags though as too flimsy.

summertime_2

my frugal day has gone well today.
*did  morning shopping with hubby and saved approx £10 from my usual supermarket shop as l went with my price book and found quite a brands cheaper in B&M, Heron foods etc. Long expiry dates so put in my store cupboard.
* l made a price book many years ago listing all the products we buy (food, cleaning items, toiletries etc )and l keep it updated with prices so that l can check when out any good bargins on offer.
*came home to frugal lunch of bake potatoes and slow cooker ratatoullie. Cost only pennies as the toms, cougettes,onions and baking spuds were home grown. We grow our potatoes every year  in wire cages that we fill with fallen leaves. We just bury  2 supermarket potatoes  per cage in The Autumn and harvest next Autumn. lv just  got 5lb from each cage( we have 4) and the rest from the veg plot and we got 50lb of free potatoes plus  the free leaf compost now spread on new veg plot. edit ;we plant the cages in Autumn as the leaves keep the 2 spuds per cage from rotting over the winter,but the veg plot potatoes get planted March/April. We do same with the tiny new potatoes thats in supermarkets in March, we just plant them in containers  we use for our salad crops and harvest in Summer.
* we also sow and plant spring onions and salads all the year round in 6 large containers by our back door in free  very rich compost soil l make using the lasange method from kitchen waste,shredded paper ,garden soil and garden leaves. In Winter the continters get emptied on to main veg plot and l start the lasange soil all over again for nk Spring.The  seeds only cost me  every year approx 99p for 600 to 1,000 seeds, So we save a fortune on our salads.
* l close all curtains at sunset in Autumn /Winter ( here its approx 5pm in Autumn) and we light living room by lots candles,.It seems extreme but l love lots of candle light at night and they actually warm the room as l use pottery candle holders that heats up.They get so hot you cant touch the candle holders and we dont need heating on till very cold in Winter. Even then its on low as l make  chunky crochet blankets for tv watching.
* lm making winter crochet socks from a recyled chunky jumper (last winter charity shop buy £2 ) l will un pick charity shop/cr boot jumper which  l make my warm winter house socks every year this way. l should get about 4pr of chunky winter socks  per recycled jumper. Takes me only 2 hr to make a pair. They are very warm and like slipper booties which would cost me ££s in the shops. l have loads in Autumn and Winter colours.
* will also tonight make my list for frugal meals for rest of week as supermarket delivery tomorrow  which l only buy items (and stock up on) when products on sale.
*we have lived a very frugal life for now 50 married years . 5 years ago we had saved enough to buy outright our retirement cottage in the countryside. It can be done plus its a very contented life style to be thrifty and frugal.

Marghirl

Interested in these socks. Do you have a pattern?

summertime_2

Marghirl said:

Interested in these socks. Do you have a pattern?

hi, l make mine that l adapted from the free pattern on Ravely, just put in  'Samantha socks' in their search box... but l use super bulky wool and a different hook size plus a longer ankle length to make mine warmer. If lv only got DK wool l use 3 or more strands together to get the right tension for my foot size.

meanmarie

Happy to be back with my friends but am having to fumble my way around as I did when I first joined. 

skogar

Marghirl - Sorry for the delayed reply. Many thanks for that slipper pattern suggestion - an excellent present make idea - but also because I could do with some new slippers - and I am pretty sure that I have some suitable super chunky wool. I was just about to type that unfortunately I don't have any suitable needles when I remembered that I had been given a very large sized circular needle - by someone who usually knits double knit with the comment that as I knitted chunky things sometimes I might have a use for it. I remember thinking at the time it was unlikely that I would knit with anything that large. anyway  I have just been and checked and I have 1 10mm 80cm circular. That should do nicely to try out the pattern.

skogar

Treasure queen -- bit late replying to your question about what frugal people ask for for presents. Luckily we only buy for immediate family so OH, parents, 2 sisters and sister's child. I have suggested previously not buying each other presents (one year when I thought one of my sisters would be struggling to afford it) but she wasn't keen. Hence I usually make a note of anything that is wearing out / has broken and needs replacement as requests because it means that I will get something that I will use and no additional clutter or sometimes I have asked for things that I need for craft projects / hobbies or perhaps things that will be consumed / used up. I also usually ask if there is something particular people would like as it avoids them getting something they don't want or have offered to buy things that I think would be useful. They either get the item or a contribution towards it. Hopefully then there is no additional clutter. Sometimes I make things for presents.