2022 Frugal Living Challenge

never_too_old

pelirocco said:

never_too_old said:

pelirocco said:

never_too_old said:

I am an Olio volunteer and collect from a supermarket once a week,used to do 3 but on some weeks i dont get 1 request for food.

How do find being a volunteer ?
 I've signed up ,but yet to commit to start collecting  

Hi go on the app,click on the 3 lines top right hand corner and go to volunteer hub to see if any available near you,You will have to do a few quizes but nothing taxing,

I mistyped it eas supposed yo say how do you find being a volunteer 
I've signed up ,done the endless tests  bit have yet to jump in as I'm not sure if it's too much of a commitment

I like being a volunteer,Its definitely better now i only have one local store .I would say do an express or coop or Pret as big stores have lots and you need to store it  

never_too_old

RateTartExtraodinaire said:

@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? 

I love a refill shop,great for only buying what you need,I use jars,tupperware etc.Prices arent much different for basics i find.

nannygladys

Frugal things today have been:

A small meet up for coffee at friends house so no money spent.

Went to our local food hub for veggies and came away with some nice bits and all free.

Lunch and dinner are hm, and made a big pot of leek and potato soup for the next couple of days.

Also one load of laundry washed whilst and and very nearly all dried outside! 

Nannyg

bargainbetty

Sweetlittledaydreams said:

Pondering if there will be another lockdown, if there is I might see if my friend would like to rent my spare room for a fixed time period and a low price. She has hinted about moving in previously quite a few times but now I'm living on my own it's the first time I've started to consider it seriously. It could be nice to have the company especially if we go into lockdown, and a little bit extra money coming in would help, but I would have to consider how much bills would increase and if there is enough space, plus I would only want it to be short term which could become awkward with us being friends. Has anyone had experience of friends as lodgers and how did it go? 

If you are going to invite a friend to move in, you will need to have a very frank and complete conversation about house rules, privacy, rent money, visitors etc. That is on top of fixing a time frame and making it clear that it would only be for a fixed period until she finds a permanent situation.  

I had two lodgers, both of whom became friends and then occasionally weren't. Bringing people I didn't want into my home when I was unwell... eating the food I had set aside and claiming that he had no idea I was 'restricting the fridge'... having him walk into the room and change the channel on the TV because he didn't fancy watching his preferred programme in his bedroom when my bedroom was bigger so I should give up the living room TV to him if there was conflict (it was my home, and all three were my TVs) ... on the flip side, I had wonderful chats, all-nighters on Lego Star Wars, someone who brought me unlimited cups of tea when I was ill... so much fun and support at times. 

It can be fabulous, it can be a nightmare. Think hard about all of the red flags you have ever had with this person, and any that you give out - we all have our quirks. Be honest about if you can share your home with her. Once she is in, it will be hard to remove her sooner than agreed without losing the friendship, and you shouldn't have to pretend in your own home. 

I have a bigger spare room now. I live alone.  

nannygladys

I've joined 'fashion on a ration' on the boards, I've never done it before but I'm hoping it will help me frugally, I do sew and knit etc but I would really like to be more sustainable so I'm going to try and make new clothes from old ie using material from cs goods to make something new to me. Not sure how I'm going to get on, but I will try.
Nannyg

mamashaz

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!

If you have a Chinese or Asian supermarket near you, they should stock very large pans. The ones near me certainly do

never_too_old

nannygladys said:

Frugal things today have been:

A small meet up for coffee at friends house so no money spent.

Went to our local food hub for veggies and came away with some nice bits and all free.

Lunch and dinner are hm, and made a big pot of leek and potato soup for the next couple of days.

Also one load of laundry washed whilst and and very nearly all dried outside! 

Nannyg

What is a food hub please?

weenancyinAmerica

sweetlittledaydreams - I agree with the post on roommates, I started off with just me and two cats. I now have four permanent and one occasional roommate. Sometimes I feel like running away from home (and it is my home). Make sure you work things out in advance. And even then there will be problems - people are just different. Good luck.
Nancy

natnat13

Can I ask please - when you take your own pots or jars to a refill shop do they weigh your jar first then deduct it from the total weight when you've filled it or do you pay for the weight of your container too? I hope that makes sense. 

Back to work now which helps me to be frugal because I work 12 hour days Mon - Fri, although I discovered I owed over £20 for lunches from last year! Debt paid and have taken my own lunch so far this year. 

Nonnadiluca

natnat13, at the ones I've been to you weigh your empty container and put the weight label on it , that weight is deducted from the filled weight,.