2022 Frugal Living Challenge

zafiro1984

soosiejq said:

Hubby has decided we are going to go back to making our own wine.    Wish us luck!!

What a good idea. I'd totally forgotten about making wine and cider. I just happen t have all the stuff even a apple/pear crusher/masher when used to make cider. I'm pretty sure I know where everything is.

In the post yesterday, nectar coupons, spend £40 at sainsbury and get £6 off, Two weeks like this and 2 weeks of £8 off.
Now to make the most of this - I'm only going to buy things not eaten, like cleaning things, laundry, dishwasher, toilet rolls - you know the sort of things. Even better if some of the things on offer as well.

I noticed on another thread someone who put any 'savings' made this way into a piggy bank (or in my case into a cracked mug) so there was a bit extra at Christmas. I'm thinking about giving that a go.

London_1

I think we are all tightening our belts fairly firmly this year. For my friends whom I buy for, and who are in similar circumstances to me I am making up baskets of tinned fruit and tea bags and biscuits etc .
No point buying slippers or cosmetics as you can't eat a body wash but  a nice jar of jam/marmalade to have wwith your morning toast in January is a lot more useful. 

My DDs ma-in-law is a dear soul of 85 and doesn't get around much as she doesn't drive, so I know she will appreciate some nice 'goodies' in her basket. Last year my granddaughter who has a cosco card managed to get me a huge bag of Yorkshire tea bags i think there were about 1000 in there and she is still drinking them now.I also added some packets of ginger nuts as I know ,like me she likes them with a cuppa first thing in the morning. 

My Christmas presents are going to be useful ones this year, and definitely not boxes of Celebrations as they seem to be getting smaller and smaller in size ,but not price 

I have been stocking up on tinned veg more this year as I think the fresh stuff will definitely be expensive this winter due to the drought

My upstairs bookcase is beginiing to look like a shop now that one shelf is full of tinned bits and I shall start on the next sshelf down soon  
Not going near a shop now unti hopefully the start of September and my purse is firmly shut  

JackieO xx

RateTartExtraordinaire

My dad used to brew his own beer and wine in the 70s! I remember being fascinated by him sucking on the end of a plastic tube to get the liquid flowing from one container to another and the smell that filled the house. I would be tempted to try wine making. Do you need lots of space though? I live in a small house and storage is not great.

I've been following petrol prices this month. Was hoping not to have to put any in until September but it was getting low and I passed one petrol station offering 169.9 per litre unleaded, so I went for it. The cheapest I think since mid-June!
 
Frugal things done this month so far:
I'm trying to declutter and make some money by selling what's still in good nick. Made about £30 this month.
I mended some jeans that had a hole (not in a fashionable way) instead of buying new ones.    
I am walking instead of using the car for journeys when I have time and the energy.
I took my energy provider to the ombudsman and this month they ruled in my favour. They have until 28 Aug to pay up £75 compensation for poor customer service. I'm not holding my breath though as I've seen on other forums that they may decide to drag their feet.

I'm stocking up on long life milk, cooking oil and pasta, etc. I'm adding a little to the shop each week just incase food prices soar in the winter.

Thanks to all for all the tips. It is really helping me focus and prepare.

Primrose

I think the cost of funding Christmas  this year is going to be a massive issue for many families so it would probably be a huge relief to many stressed people if as  many of us seize the initiate now and agree no presents, maximum of £5 useful gifts such as edibles, etc up front.  So many people are tempted to overspend to keep up with traditional customs and it just makes life miserable for anybody.

For those who feel embarrassed about taking the initiative,  why not say something along the lines of "we,ve decided no presents/minimum of £x per per person gift this year (or whatever) a nd would feel more comfortable if everybody else would do the same"

I grabbed this nettle some years ago with family and friends .  Everybody nearly bit my hand off with relief as they were all thinking the same but nobody wanted to appear looking like Scrooge for coming out and being the first to say it. They also found the whole present buying thing too stressful on top of all the other family stresses Christmas often brings. 

YoungBlueEyes

My father had a rule for presents (a good one now I realise it) - “If I can’t eat it or wear it I don’t want it.”

Thrifty_Taylor

I often make a lot of my presents, from things in my very large stash! But agree with setting a figure on the ones I don't make.

My frugal win today - saw 2 deckchairs advertised on a local selling page for £10, said we'd have them. The woman was advertising them for a friend, when I phoned the friend, he said they had slight woodworm, so I could have them free or he will dump them. We have some preservative in the garage, so snapped his hand off! Just need the weather now to use them....

JinJinBlue

 

My Christmas presents to my family are all things to wear. Fingerless gloves and neckwarmers all picked up at craft fairs. I like Jackie O's idea of food baskets but my family are all in the South East and it would cost a small fortune to send. 

JinJinBlue

Neckwarmer from  a local  craft fair. 

Onebrokelady

Sweetlittledaydreams said:

Been a bit under the weather since the end of last week, bonus is I've hardly eaten so hadn't had to do a food shop until tonight when i bought a yellow sticker ready meal, but then didnt feel like eating so it will keep for lunch and dinner tomorrow. Got a refund of £27 for some plants I ordered months ago which never arrived, glad I pestered for the refund as the company ignored me when I contacted them directly so I had to go through the payment company who were really helpful. Previously I wouldn't have followed it up and would have written it off as lost money, I'm glad I've changed! Still working extra hours most weeks to make extra cash so it would be crazy to let it slip through my fingers like that. Got my eye on a few second hand jumpers online because I haven't had a chance to get to the charity shops yet, I should say it's the wrong time of year to be looking but I think it's exactly the right time actually because they're much cheaper now. Don't think you can beat a good dressing gown though for keeping warm around the house. But I am armed with an electric blanket (present), lots of normal blankets (presents and collected over the years) and an electric throw (cheap last year from the supermarket), but am a bit interested in how it would work to have a log burner fitted because I live close to a few woodland areas and like the idea of free firewood! 

You would also need to check who the woodland areas belong to and if they have any tree preservations orders on them, most woodland is owned by somebody 

ladyholly

JinJinBlue said:

My Christmas presents to my family are all things to wear. Fingerless gloves and neckwarmers all picked up at craft fairs. I like Jackie O's idea of food baskets but my family are all in the South East and it would cost a small fortune to send. 

You could send gift cards for whatever is their preferred supermarket.