2021 Frugal Living Challenge

apple_muncher

Frugaldom - if you want some rasp canes, I would happily send you some. Autumn fruiterer, no support needed (though they grow up to 6'!), Cut back to ground level each year. Message me if I can help.

welshspendthrift

@leftatthetrafficlights and @mumtoomany  that’s a relief thank you. I am going to put a bucket on it and some compost too 😀

MandM90

We are in rented right now and I can't wait to have rhubarb again. So easy to grow and so expensive in the supermarket! Looking to complete on next home either Feb or March, wahey!
@OLaney well done for facing this. In 2015 we found ourselves with ~£40k of debt. We used YNAB (budgeting system with envelopes, not dissimilar to the one above) and getting reeeeally into frugal blogs and podcasts to dig us out. Laser focus is key, but also making sure you have lots of (free/cheap) fun. Set a walking challenge, pick up puzzles/books from local freecycle, learn a new language with free apps...life can be colourful and cheap at the same time.
Frugal wins this week:
- Adding water to the last of the shamp and cond in DD's bathroom to sttttretch it out (hid the new ones she'd started using back in the cupboard until then)
- Topped up my Tesco gift card which gives me a 4% uplift. I have £75 on that and £6 left in the general kitty. Plan is to go for a mooch at M&S, Spar etc at weekend to see what yellow stickers I can find. I need to be careful as the £75 is to last me a week and I find it easy to get carried away in lockdown.
- Managed no takeaways so far this week. Yesterday was tempting as I was on a partner mtg until 6.30, DD had piano, baby was grouchy...but DD threw together a tomato sauce which we had on wholemeal spaghetti, and an apple after. Not fancy but filled a hole!
- Root veg stew with parsley dumplings tonight. Cheap, healthy and satisfying. Has mushrooms, swede, parsnip and carrot in it and the baby LOVES it.

Frugaldom

welshspendthrift said:

@Frugaldom or any other green fingered gardeners. Does rhubarb disappear underground in the winter? I had a lovely rhubarb plant last year and lots of fruit but went looking for it yesterday ( haven’t really ventured out in the garden this year) and there is no sign of it? 😢

Yes it does. I mulch it over with some straw or you can cover it with an upturned bin to protect it and force it into growing quicker in spring. The leaves all die back and the crown kind of hibernates like a bulb. 👍

Frugaldom

Oops, sorry, I replied via the email alert without checking to see other responses to the rhubarb question. 😊

Hughesfamily

Just caught up on your posts - it's great - like sitting with like-minded and non judgy friends!
@apple_muncher would you mind telling me the name of the raspberry canes and best place to purchase please? DD has developed an expensive habit of eating a punnet to herself as often as I buy them but I have a big garden (112 feet x 23 ft) with a quarter set up as a growing patch so would like to get some canes in this year - even after the initial outlay, it has to be cheaper than several punnets a week. 
Still clearing the freezer out of FIL's house and have used it as the basis for meal plans from now to Feb 21st - will need about £20 for fresh milk, veg and crisps (a necessary food group apparently according to my ten year old) but that will leave at least £50 - £70 in the food envelope. I'll use this when the car gets its MOT in March and it's DD's birthday so will contribute to that. I am working from home four days a week so still have lots of fuel in the car from Dec pay packet refilling, that's another £50 in the envelope that hopefully I won't have to touch this month.
I think this is the first January in ten years that I have not stressed about money, its also the first time in ten years that I have not mooched round the shops in the sales to buy things I don't actually need. I cleared my DMP last year - put the final bit onto my mortgage to have more working cash each month and pay stepchnge off.  I had been paying the DMP for 10 years and when it was cleared, went  a bit spend crazy on my credit card - think it was relief / reaction - hence my current credit card bill of £1600. My credit history is not too bad now so I have transferred balance onto a 0% card and am throwing money at it until it's gone. Transferred 83p across to it today in my tilly tally balance rounding and I do this most days to bring my bank balance to rounded figures, plus I don't miss it and it brings the CC balance down. 
Am going to sort through my seeds tonight and see what I have or need to buy - only thing I cannot grow here is carrots - we get terrible carrot fly.

MazzieD

Just been looking at my January budget, it's going to be very tight due to unexpectedly changing Broadband supplier mid contract.  They hiked line rental prices up and said if you want to leave there will be no early penalty charge so off I went.  However, new supplier charged up front and had to pay final bill for old supplier.  Not ideal but at least I saved money on groceries this month.  Think I'll be about 54p under budget! 

welshspendthrift

@Frugaldom

the_cross_rabbit

hi someone asked for the fudge recipe I used the other day.
A tin of a well known condensed milk 397g, 150ml of milk, 450g of sugar and 115g of butter. Put all the ingredients in a pan and heat through until all the mixture is liquid (you can check all the sugar is dissolved by checking the back of the spoon thats been immmersed in the liquid.) Steadly boil the liquid for about 10-15 minutes at 115c. Take the mixture off the heat and beat until it starts to come away from the pan for smooth fudge. If you want crumbly fudge beat until it looses it gloss. Pour (if you want a smooth version) ot tip (if you want a crumbly version) into a parchment lined pan and leave to cool.
CRx

apple_muncher

Hughesfamily - I think the rasps are Autumn Bliss. I bought them so long ago I can't remember! They send out runners underground, are really hardy and sooo fruitful. Hmmm, maybe they thrive on neglect.... One year I didn't cut them down and had rasps from June to October as the old canes grew early and the new ones came up at the usual time.