2022 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

newlywed said:

I am currently trying to use more of the economy 7 hours (we seem to be stuck on e7 meter because bulb are awkward)… so washing machine is going on at 7 am each morning, rather than just whenever I feel like. Will see what change that makes

What times does your cheap rate run between?   I had a property with E7 from 1987 until 1992 (it had storage heaters), and my cheap hours were midnight-7am for half the year or shifted by an hour for the other half (can't remember whether 11pm-6am or 1am-8am, but I think possibly the latter).

I had a washer/dryer at the time, but the dryer would only dry half a wash load.   If I set it to wash just before the end of the time (so it was done for when I got up), I then couldn't dry it cheaply until the next night - so I only washed half loads which could then go straight into the dry cycle without me needing to do anything.    But the dryer wasn't fast, so I had to set the timer to start the wash cycle at around 3am!

newlywed

I think we may have the silly split hours but still haven’t managed to work it out.  Night rate finishes some time between 8 and 8.30 (meter time is not right). I guess I need to check it at random times to find out the exact times. 

We don’t have a dryer so am just putting a wash on at 7 am so it’s done by 8.

Sweetlittledaydreams

I got a little wine making book from a 2nd hand book shop a couple of months ago,  think its almost time to go blackberry picking here, so will be trying blackberry and apple wine this year 😀 already have sugar so will just need to pick up some wine yeast. 
I think I underestimated how much wood I would need for a log burner, think I'll stick with having the central heating on the least possible and using an electric throw on the sofa and bed or hot water bottles. Picked up some fluffy socks which where better than half price, got one pair to give as a present and got the other pair on my feet now! Also got some sports wear at 90% off, so that's some more presents sorted. Going to have a look through what else I've already bought this year because I tend to pick things up for people as I see them especially in the sales but van then end up with buying a bit much and don't want to do that this year.
Work have offered me today to do oncalls, so I would be oncall for 24 hours and get £40 plus an enhancment when you get phoned for advise. Need to have a think about it, because I've done oncall before and I feel unsettled for the whole time but this is only going to be every 8 weeks or so, so could be a nice little extra especially with all the bills going up.  But it's to cover a big area, I think 5 hospitals and all spread out a bit so need to think about it properly before I say yes, plus it would limit what I do on my days off in terms of picking up shifts elsewhere. 
Cheap tea tonight of yellow sticker soup and a sandwich, sometimes the simple meals are the best. Definitely a feel that autumn is approaching, foggy on my way to work this morning and almost dark by the time I was home tonight, nights are drawing in and the bills were already high enough when the evenings were being spent outside not using any electricity! 

Frugaldom

@mumof3.12kindebt I've only just managed to retrieve my old spreadsheet so if you private message me, I'll try to send you it via that. I've been using mobile phone for most things over the past months but managed to find a load of old files on the laptop. Have you changed your username since clearing the debts?

Frugaldom

Hello to all and, once again, hige apologies for being absent for such long periods of time. It's very much a case of trying to get as much as possible done outdoors during the longer daylight hours and now it's already time to prepare for what's shaping up to be a rather scary winter, based on the current state of the UK's financial helterskelter. 

Can someone / anyone do a quick summary of what's been happening in here recently? I'll have a scroll back through as best I can to see who is still with us but please tag me in on any important posts that I may have missed and feel free to private message me.

Frugaldom life is hectic now that we have the sanctuary plus our frugal campervan stopover and the start of our hutting community project. Costs have spiralled beyond all recognition so frugal living is even more important than ever, especially with energy prices and fuel prices escalating. I haven't updated my own spreadsheet in quite some time but have been keeping records of every penny earned, raised and spent. The challenge now is to finally get more enterprising to ensure our goal of self-sustainability is achieved and maintained. We are currently stock-piling manure in the hope of composting it for veg growing.

Olio has been not too bad recently and we had so many blackcurrants growing that we couldn't even give them away. Brambles/blackberries aren't ready here yet but I see a few wild raspberries. Birds got the gooseberries and the cherries but there will soon be plenty of apples. Rhubarb needs split up and spread out, tomatoes are still flowering here and there are a few peas needing picked soon. The only thing going crazy is the herbery, which is there for anyone to help themselves to whatever they need. The elder trees we planted a few years back are absolutely dripping in berries this year so I'll probably offer those to anyone who wants to make wine.

I'm already planning ahead for 2023's challenges and trying to work out how best to help those who need to escape for a break but don't have the finances to do so. I've a few ideas in my head but funding them is the main obstacle. I'll keep on frugaling for now.

Primrose

we've made blackberry wine in the past and found it very disappointing in taste. - you may be luckier.  After a couple of unsuccessful attempts we found we did much better in converting our blackberries into Blackberry Syrup.

Floss

Primrose said:

we've made blackberry wine in the past and found it very disappointing in taste. - you may be luckier.  After a couple of unsuccessful attempts we found we did much better in converting our blackberries into Blackberry Syrup.

It also takes a good 12-18 months of waiting to be palatable. 

wort

I have got a piece of beef which had been left out of fridge for several hours! I put it in the freezer when I got home and it has sat there for a few months, would you cook it and hope any bugs are killed in the freezing and cooking or would you throw it away? P.s. I was given it, so haven’t paid for it but hate to waste something.

florianatwobob

@wort it’s probably fine. I’d ‘sniff test’ it once it was defrosted and up if it just smelled bloody/meaty I’d then cook it well. 

London_1

Definitely do the nose test, it should be Ok depends on many things how warm it was where it was stored etc, But I would definitely sniff well, and if it smells ok then cook and enjoy 

JackieO xx