2022 Frugal Living Challenge

sunshineli

Thanks for having me. Another NSD today making a grand total of 4 NSD’s within 6 days. Not bad! 

I was in the office today which makes not spending slightly more difficult. I walked to and from work, had a coffee from a coffee shop which was free (using my partners health insurance he gets through work), and I brought in a packed lunch.

I always have a lazy tea on the day I have to go into the office, so oven pizzas and salad it is tonight.  Not exactly healthy, but healthier and cheaper than a takeaway! 

Frugaldom

WELCOME NEWBIES! 

It's been another busy week but I've started crunching the numbers before the next set of increases - it's scary! The most disappointing thing I am noticing is the restrictions being imposed on basic foodstuffs when you order for home delivery from the supermarkets. I've just done a minimum order from Asd@ and notice they have capped tinned tomatoes to 3, which will never last me a month! Prices are still relatively low on most things compared to some years previously but there's nowhere left to go if you are already a basics shopper. Homegrown and the likes of the Olio app help but who knows how the latter will go. My £1 per person per day for all meals challenge may well be busted already - I haven't got that far in counting things up yet. All I do know is that I haven't set foot in a shop the past year (using home deliveries) and have been making the absolute most of leftovers, gifts and less-than-frugal friends' fridge clearances. In their defence, they see this as a bonus as they are no longer binning food so it all counts.

Having completed the Ration Challenge in the past, I took another look back at the basics required to participate: 

420g white rice
170g red lentils
85g dried chick peas
400g tin of kidney beans
120g tinned sardines or tofu
330ml vegetable oil

A further 1.5kg of white rice and 400g plain flour could be bought with vouchers but after that, you are on your own, fundraising to afford anything else. Things like salt, herbs, sugar, milk, tea or coffee, veg, fruit, meat (or veg equivalent). It really made me think and reconsider all my eating habits. I needed to substitute sardines with tuna in brine but the diet was more filling than nutritionally balanced and taught me a lot about how others have to live. I'm hoping that these basic foodstuffs don't escalate in price too much because these are the staples needed in every store cupboard. It's about needs and wants... I have allowed my eye to come off the ball in that department but the luxuries have mostly come via Olio and I haven't had to bake a loaf of bread this year at all. More and more, I am edging towards being off grid as much as possible.

Is anyone on here fully off-grid?

Siebrie

@Frugaldom in our supermarkets quite a few products are limited, as well. We can only buy 3 items of tomato-anything, 3 boxes or bags of pasta, 3 of any type of flour, 3 bottles of oil. I take 3 tomato-y items and 3 pasta-somethings every time I shop. We are okay for flour and oil at the moment. I don't have a good place to store the flour, so that's limiting, but we should be okay for a few months.

mumtoomany

Morning all, I've been missing from here most of the summer. As well as the normal animals, veg, etc; we've had a great niece and great nephew staying for seven weeks. They are one and two years old. Their baby brother was in hospital. They are now back home and all are well. Having them here and the DGC off school for the holidays has left me with no time at all to do anything. I did learn that there are two five o clocks in every day! 
Still being as frugal as we can here. I've lost track of spends, so can't update my signature, but have only bought essentials, and have more in savings than we had in January. The food spend is almost on track, £1935.28/£2640. This is even with buying nappies for two over summer. 
We are eating plenty of home grown fruit and veg, and have two pigs booked in for the abattoir. 
Welcome to all the new people, since i was here last. I think this thread is going to be needed more than ever over the coming months.
Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

Beshki

I’ve totally lost track this month. Writing it off and will start again once I’m paid. 

London_1

Not too bad this month as I have been extremly frugal both in my shopping and everything else I can think of, only spent £4.89 so far this month leaving me £55.11 for the rest of the month .

Hoping to streetch things until next Tuesday when I will probably have a larger shop to do, but keeping a sharp eye on the prices all the time.

Gathering plenty of blackberries from the local country park where there seems to be quite a good crop this year and they have been washed dried and stored for the cold winter days in January and February when I need a bit of this years summer to brighten up my day

JackieO xx

annieb64

The blackberries have been lovely this year. I've just made some jam and managed to run out of jars so now have a large mug full of jam as well as 4 jars. I'll use the jam in the mug over the weekend. 

I keep telling DH I'll stop picking blackberries but every time I go for a walk I come back with more.There are so many and very few people seem to be picking them.

ladyholly

The local  blackberries have been very slow to ripen this year but with the rain in the last fer gays they are now going great guns.

fionaandphil

We are the opposite with blackberries, ours have been getting picked for weeks and continuing to keep growing and producing - long may it last!

Glittering_M

L1dl had signs around not bulk buying but didn't specify amounts so that is very subjective so not very helpful.

Also in L1dl, as you may know you get a free bakery item if you spend over £50 in the app. We did our shopping, put it in the car then activated the free bakery item (or did whatever was needed, that is my OHs domain) and went straight in as we won't be going again before it runs out. I had just been expecting to get a croissant but some of the loafs were in the offer so got a loaf of rye 'sourdough' so worth bearing in mind.