2021 Frugal Living Challenge

ldee2111

willow_loulou said:

I’m going to check on my Mr tomorrow (well today) in case we’re stopped doing so given the latest news. I’m going to stop at my favourite M&S garage to check their reduced items which are usually good on a Sunday. I admit I also want cake. I’m rather hormonal! Their cupcakes and iced buns are my favs. Maybe they will be reduced too 😂 

One of their pain au chocolats for me!

MazzieD

Just out of interest, what are people doing about Olio pick ups given that we have Lockdown restrictions and are limited in what we can do?. I've had no luck with fruit and veg but am keeping my eye on some more free plant pots.  Do you classify it as daily exercise or any idea if you can drive to pick things up?.  Not sure if plant pots are counted as essential!

joedenise

Surely it counts as "food shopping", after all you're going to get food and other things you could be getting from a SM.

Viking_mfw

Frugaldom said:

Viking_mfw said:

Olio has a stupid amount of cucumbers at the moment. Any thoughts on what one could do with a crate of cucumbers?

  @Viking_mfw or @sashacat are either of you my neighbours? Our Olio listings tonight had 49 cucumbers! I'm now stocked up with yoghurt, salad stuff, bread, sandwiches and you guessed it, cucumbers! I claimed a few as they make good treats for the ponies - extra vitamins for the rescued members of our animal family at Frugaldom.

Grocery spends year to date now at £5.20 for sugar and more milk.

I wish we lived in Galloway! Cucumbers obviously overcatered all over for some reason. I wonder why... they're not exactly classic Christmas food.

Viking_mfw

@MazzieD and @joedenise I think picking up food definitely counts as food shopping. Not sure about the plant pots but you could legally go to a garden centre? Things I'm giving away on our village fb group are being delivered on our daily exercise.

Bluegreen143

Not much to report here. Did get child benefit and UC in and our emergency fund now stands at £165, yay. Though our car needs its MOT next month so we might be needing it sooner rather than later...

We’ve started a new habit of serving a “build your own” salad as a starter most nights and it’s brilliant. Red and I are eating a full portion of salad on top of the veg with dinner. The kids are really engaged with it and mainly choose the bits they like (eg cherry toms) but seem to enjoy it. My 5yo has taken to eating some of the lettuce with dressing on which he’s not eaten before.

joedenise

That's a great idea @Bluegreen143 to get the kids engaged with choosing what to eat.  Think they're more likely to eat a range of things if they've chosen them - also means they'll be getting a greater range of foods to try without them really realising it.  Well done!

Do they eat soups?  That's another great way to get extra veg into kids if they do.  Mine used to like chunky veg soups but didn't really like smooth soups which I found a bit weird but think it might have been they could leave the bits of veg they didn't like and they couldn't see what they'd got in the smooth soups!

Bluegreen143

@joedenise funnily enough mine are the opposite. They love soup (we have it for dinner on Mondays plus some lunches) but they only like blended soup! Doesn’t need to be totally smooth or anything but so I often partially blend it. Even if it’s one that husband and I eat chunky I blend a bit for them now as they prefer it. 

rolorich

So my frugal achievements this week....
1. signed up for the 4 months supply vitamin D distribution for clinically extremely vulnerable on the LAST day NHS offer open. 

2. Took advantage of a free annual neighbourhood pass to a local Manor House gardens. 

3. No takeaways this week.  

4. Continued knitting through my yarn stash and reading books I already own.  I finished a pair of Pink socks for my 3 yr old grand daughter and I’m 1/2 way through a jacket for her 10 month old sister. Will post them out to them hopefully this week when finished. 

Not so frugal...

1. hair clippers broke so had to buy a new pair but managed to get a branded pair 1/2 price so same as cheapest pairs available. Spent £20. Still save on hubs hair cuts massively this way!  

2. As shielded can’t take advantage of yellow sticker buying.  Using Iceland’s and milkman for delivery so food bill increased. 

3. I have a passion for small indie published books and ordered an annual subscription from Peirene Press for £35.  (Next 4 books they publish) They do translated fiction which I adore. 

4. I had to buy a mouse and mouse mat. 

3secondmemory

Finally decided to do a shop in person so I caught the 9.45 to my local Iceland and went straight in, checking on the way that they were doing same day deliveries. Knowing this I stocked up on milk, long life milk, and fizzy drinks because I have an unquenchable thirst, plus lots of weight-inducing treats. 

When I got to the checkout and said that I wanted a home delivery, she said they couldn’t do it because they had too many online orders. I was almost on the verge of tears but one of the ladies who had been in at 6 to stock shelves saw my address and offered to deliver it all to my house when she finished at 11.00. What an angel! I managed to get the 10.48 bus home and arrived just as she did 😃

I bought 1kg of topside which I will do in the slow cooker. I will get a couple of roasts out of that and use the rest of the bases for my meals/sandwiches for the rest of the week.