2022 Frugal Living Challenge

Tanya12345

Hi Everyone, been ages since I was here.......
Back to Frugal Life with a bullet ! Various issues and situations have resulted in us having to rely on 1 part time income until April. We have a homestead so grow plenty of veg, have our own meat and now a dairy cow. That being said we still need money, our aim is to get by with earning enough to pay the absolute necessities and cutting everything else out. Kids are mostly away so 80% of the time its the 2 of us. Difficult to set a budget as there is no cash to budget with but going into debt is my main fear. Looking here for inspiration etc as you all seem a positive and supportive lot. 

Soontobeoap

Good luck @Tanya12345. Hopefully you will fimd inspiration here. Have you looked at the grocery challenge too. There are some good recipes and ideas for making the most of what you have. 

Cheery_Daff

Welcome Tanya, and good luck! Sounds like you're in a good position with growing food etc, but as you say, some money is indeed useful! 

My relatively frugal weekend activity is laying a second hand carpet. I've spent about £100 on underlay, grippers, tools etc, but the carpet itself was from Freegle. Never done it before so goodness knows how it'll turn out. However, it's the room I work in, it's currently got ceramic tiles on the floor and rarely gets above 16 degrees, even in the summer. Any improvement will be fantastic, and will hopefully stop me plugging in the oil filled radiator!

mumtoomany

hi @Tanya12345, welcome aboard. Have a look over at the boost your income board. Might find something there to help you. Are you in the UK, or across the pond? Notice you said homestead, rather than farm/smallholding. What veg are you growing this time of year? I've just put in some onion sets, also have onions, shallots, and brassicas coming up from seed, to plant for over winter in the polytunnel. We are in south Wales. Hugs, and good luck, mumtoomany.xxx

Tanya12345

Thanks All,
Will check out the boost your income board and  grocery challenge - sounds like  life savers !
I am in UK - north cornwall - just always loved the word Homestead (Little House on the Prairie dreams from years ago). Got Brassicas, parsnips, carrots and drying beans in the garden, onion seeds planted in polytunnel, last of peppers, toms also in polytunnel. Got some more brassica seeds in the Tunnel but they seem a little slow. What's surprising is that even with all our produce, we still need money ! Deffo not part of my fantasy - ha ha real life interfering again.
Good Luck with the carpet Cheery_Daff.
Off now to look into freezer, fridge and cupboards to plan........
Have a lovely day all xx

mumtoomany

@Tanya12345, I don't know if you do this already, or even want to,but I put surplus veg and eggs on a table by the gate. Price list and honesty box. Not much but I've taken around £300 this year, for almost no work. Every little helps. Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx 

Glittering_M

When looking up ideas of what to do with crab apples, I came across a link that suggested apple cider vinegar.

Has anyone tried making apple cider vinegar (ACV) (crab apples or normal I have both)?  I'm intrigued. I'd be interested how you did it. The bit of reading online I've done seems mixed as to whether you add a bit of existing ACV with mother to it or not. 
I'm also interested in the type of jars and where might be a good (and not too expensive) place to get these from. 
Or, is it just overall, cheaper and easier to buy it? I don't use it lots but it is something I want to start using more.

Also, has anyone got any tips re hair washing more naturally. Ie without standard shop shampoo and conditioner. I received a bar for Christmas last year and it says to accompany it with a ACV rinse. Reading online, some people say you can just use ACV and water without anything else. I tried the latter but my hair just ended up looking really greasy and worse than I started with (although I may have not got the ratio right). Or is this greasiness part of the transition period? Or if not, what can you expect in the transition period. I'm conscious I don't want to be spending lots trying to make stuff that could be a failure, particularly when the shampoo and conditioner we buy from the supermarket is so cheap, but I am keen to try something more natural.
Thanks in advance!

Sweetlittledaydreams

Picked up a dozen eggs from olio, especially good as my girls are stopping laying as the weather is changing. Attended a free foraging course today and going to another free one next weekend. Interesting and one idea that was shared was to use ivy to make laundry wash, basically boil the leaves in water which will release sapin which has a natural 'soapy' quality, then strain and use the liquid in place of liquid detergent - but word of caution was that it will dye lighter fabrics green so is best only used on dark clothes - I haven't tried it yet but am planning to give it a go tomorrow. Will be great if it works as I have loads of ivy in the garden and like the idea of free laundry soap. I'll report back with the results.  

Primrose

That,s interesting. Never heard of that one.  I,d be careful first time though and not wash anything special in this solution in case it gets damaged!

London_1

How long would you have to boil them for I wonder and whether it would be financially viable taking into account the cost of boiling. Interesting experiment if it works though.I'm all for finding different ways to make things from natural ingrediants, and ivy is pretty prolific in most places.

I only wish I had my late husbands Gt.Grandma's book of recipes as it was my late ma-in-laws 'bible'
She had this big thick book from the late 19th century written with recipes from 'Granny Bea' it the most beautiful copperplate handwriting I remember seeing my ma-in-law showing my children back in the 1970s.Sadly after my ma-in-law died it was thrown away when my brother-in-law sold the house  

My children were convinced it contained 'spells' as my ma-in-law had all sorts of remedies that seemed to work very well if the children were poorly.

But then she had been widowed in 1937 with three children under 4 and only a very small widows pension to bring her boys up with so 'Granny Bea's' book was a godsend to her.
My husband never ever saw a Dr until he was 18, and going into the RAF as a young serviceman in 1951. My ma-in-law just didn't have the spare cash, as until 1948 there was only Drs that you had to pay for ,no NHS or free medicine. Even when the NHS began she was very wary as to her there was no such thing as anything 'free'

I often look in old bookshops in the hope of finding a treasure like that book

JackieO xx