2022 Frugal Living Challenge

AngieMcKPz

Please may I join? I REALLY do not to be frugal

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Kittencat said:

Happy New Year All
First use of Olio today. Almond and Coconut milk which I use all the time in smoothies but I have just realised it is Barista milk. Can I still use this in my smoothies do you think?  

I think the only difference is that the barista one can be heated to a high temperature without curdling. I'm not sure what they do to it different but it should be fine in smoothies.

AngieMcKPz

.and I'm off but with a LONG way to go!

28p TCB.

RateTartExtraordinaire

@willow_loulou, and anyone else that uses refill shops:

I have been thinking of ways to cut out single use packaging and was interested to see on 'zerowaster.com' that there are a couple of refill shops local-ish to me. 

Have you found them to be good for being frugal?
What containers are best for filling up? 

Nonnadiluca

I think with refill shops it can vary enormously. My DGD lives in Taunton which has a fantastic zero waste shop. I always stocked up on various items when I visited as the range and prices were excellent? DGD did lots of her shopping there as it saved her money eg. if she wanted to make a risotto, she could buy the amount of rice she needed rather than have to buy a 500g pack. When DD and I heard about one opening near us we took loads of containers and set off with great excitement. It was awful! Everything was really expensive and the member of staff was rude and unhelpful. We left empty handed when we saw the 'loose' special k and cocopops, not what we were expecting at all. DGD uses jars, yogurt pots with lids, any container with a lid. Hope you find a good one near you.

mumtoomany

Frugaling  along here. Spent two days clearing a small room. Listed as a bathroom when we moved in. It has a half sized bath, with a huge crack down one side, sat on the floor. No plumbing, no electric, empty really. We have been using it as a dumping ground for all sorts. Two days off clearing and we now have a bedroom for DGS2, who visited for a few days with his mum and dad.it still needs the floor replacing, curtains, plaster, carpet, electricity. But a work in progress. We also have a huge pile of stuff to eBay or car boot. OH has started putting the shower cubicle up in our ensuite. The base was in when we moved, but no shower or cubicle. Also bought a shower and silicon sealant, so should be good to go soon. We have lived here eight years! About time we tackled some more of these jobs. Only other spend so far this year, onions, eggs and chocolate, need milk too. Take care all, mumtoomany.xx

RainbowHippie

Hello all and happy new year! I'm way behind reading everyone's posts (still catching up with last year's thread!), but very impressed at the final 2021 budgets of those i've read so far. I've not tallied up our 2021 spend yet, we've had covid over the festive period which has set us back a bit so now time to catch up on work and social obligations before anything else. I know we will have been over my 'ideal' budget but probably under the more realistic 'expected costs' OH and i agreed together this time last year. I had hoped to keep my own spending (for personal and my share of joint costs) under 1,000/month on average, but since OH becoming unemployed again mid-year that's not been realistic as i'm covering everything. We need to sit down and think about our targets for the coming year as our lifestyle (and associated costs) will probably change considerably. Looking forward to keeping up with everyone's frugal ideas, plans and successes this year. You are all inspiring! xxx

mandy47

After work I popped back into the store and got a frozen extra large basted turkey. Reduced to £5.40 from £27. Dated April 2023 so It's in the freezer for next xmas. Couldn't resist
I saw reduced jars of mincemeat but the date was September 2022 so I gave them a miss.

joedenise

cybertortoise said:

Evening all.

I had a couple of successes today! I went out to get a new diary for 2022, couldn't find one with a page per day so looked in another shop. No luck so I picked up a notebook, stood in the queue for a few seconds and realised I have a diary at home I can use that lasts til end of 2022! Thankfully I remembered before I paid for it.

I was going to go to the shop to buy some chocolate, I had to spend today anyway so wouldn't have cost me a no spend day. Then I realised I spent 58p on some YS mince pies and extra thick Baileys cream earlier. I was in my coat, if my son had been quicker getting ready to come with me I would've been back from the shop before I remembered. And my supper was delicious if a bit more boozy than I'd usually go for.

Big shopping tomorrow - I'm going to have a good plan on some batch cooking recipes and try and get the freezer filled with this one shopping trip. I managed a month before with only a minimum of food needing to be bought. I need a very large stockpot, 10 litres minimum, anyone seen any at a reasonable price please? Preferably not from the big river company. Many thanks!

Procook do a 9.5 litre stainless stockpot which is currently on offer for £64 instead of £89.

My 26cm stainless stockpot is a Meyer but I've no idea how large that is in litres but I would have thought around 9-10 litres.  No idea how much they are now as I've had mine for years and their website isn't very illuminating.  Think you'd have to try and find a local stock that stocks them.  The pans are brilliant - I use the smaller ones every day and have done for more than 25 years and they still look almost new.

-taff

I think I got a massive stockpot from Asda after Christmas a few years ago. I can put about three or four whole chickens in it for size comparison purposes, cost about twenty quid I think. But we also have a shop here that like a kind of this and that shop that has a lot of large pans because of the Indian population here. Those stock pots are quite cheap.