2022 Frugal Living Challenge

mandy47

Made a list of cooking/baking ingredients that need using up. Yesterday I made a large fruit cake all ingredients from my cupboards. 
Dinner was fish from the freezer and a tomato, butter bean and fennel sauce. Again all from my cupboards. Today is fajitas without buying anything.
2 top up shops done this week plus I had to buy a new can opener. Total spend £26.80.
Received £9.47 from survey sites, cashed in £15 cashback and a £51 refund from a rescheduled show I can't attend due to another commitment.
Finished the week on a +.
Really noticing the price increases in the supermarkets. Looking at doing a 6-8 week run to a nearby town, they have an excellent market and the butchers are loads cheaper than supermarket. 

spudsmum
I wish we had a community pantry or olio nearby. I do manage to get a "Too good to go" bag occasionally. 

balabooberlies

spudsmum,

i don't know if this will help but last year we needed a wheelchair for my dad.  After trying everything and everyone we went onto facebook marketplace and bought one for £25.00

it was a basic one because that was all we needed.  there were others.........

bala

x

MazzieD

Kitchen looks like a bombsite!  Done all the washing up but got food and a couple of cakes cooling down so all surfaces are being used.  Slow cooker on for the second time, didn't cost much to have the oven on so it's still cheaper than buying cakes, treats or ready prepared meals at the moment.  I always make or cook from scratch  but use shop prices as a guide

@joedenise and @floss that explains why Council Tax went up by 4.99% last year.  When I was setting my budget I added all current bills up and added 10% as a worst case scenario to see how much it would affect monthly payments.  Hopefully it won't happen.....

@mandy47 you are so lucky, no markets here or nearby and hardly any butchers left, same with greengrocers.  Multiple branches of every supermarket you can think of, the discounters and at least one branch of the freezer shops like Ic*land and F*rmfoods. Best I can do is try to support the independent shops but there are so few of them.  Local high street is now full of charity shops and hairdressers!.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

spudsmum I got my sons pushchairs from here Maclaren Major Elite special needs pushchair

They were really good and delivery was super quick. 

spudsmum

Mummy2cheekymonkeys said:

spudsmum I got my sons pushchairs from here Maclaren Major Elite special needs pushchair

They were really good and delivery was super quick. 

Thanks.

That's actually a little cheaper than the one in town. I'm still going to have to go see it in person because I need to make sure he'll actually sit in the blooming thing but any money I can save on it is a bonus so thank you 

babs_103

GF lemon drizzle cake and cheese scones made, shopping came with a substitute of salt, I ordered own brand and they sent a bigger size of Sa*a so that was a bonus. I should have  enough food now for a few weeks, unless an army turns up! Only expense coming up is hairdressers for me, I only have it cut and it costs a tenner but I haven't had it done since last January so that's not too bad.

maryb

My big habit change last year was also just boiling enough.  But I did it by working out how many counts.  A count of one two three four off is perfect for the small teapot.  I count to eight for a big pot of tea  and a single mug takes a count of two. It took a bit longer to nag DH into doing it and he always seems to go a bit over just for luck but even he is no longer filling the kettle to the brim.  I think it dates back to the 1970s when early electric kettles had exposed elements inside the kettle and you had to ensure they were covered.  Old habits die hard if you don’t think about them but they can be changed

Beshki

Well I spent £2.16 this morning at a local farm shop & have made soup for two days lunches this week, and branched and frozen enough leftover to make the same amount again, so I’m pleased. Also noticed I have a couple of other soups in the freezer so I’ll use those up this week & not have to buy lunches. Could’ve made the soup cheaper if I had shopped at a supermarket instead, but am trying not to do that.  

shala_moo

Thanks JoeDenise, IntoTheForest - love sweet and sour, sadly OH doesn't i will pop a risotto night in the plan for him as i don't like that and make some sweet and sour for myself.

Spent all day today messing around on excel trying to get a menu planner/inventory/shopping list type thing sorted. I would like an app that does it all but all the ones i've checked out just aren't quite right for what's needed. Shopping for this week came to £55 which is half of the usual price as we planned better.

@EskarinaWeatherwax thanks for the soda bread idea, haven't had any in years, my Irish nanny always used to make it a lot but sadly she's not been with us for many years. I'm popping the oven on anyway for tea and to cook the gammon we got the other day so may as well use up some random bits of flour.

nannygladys

Made dd1 a new dog bed, made from old duvets, duvet cover and a fleece. I think the dog will need a step ladder to get on it, it's so big but she's old and at least it will be lovely and warm for her. I think that's all the sewing I had waiting to be done, but I have a knitting repair to complete on dgds baby shawl, the shawl I knit for her mum when I was pregnant and used loads, so it's nice dgd uses it, she's nearly 9 now but wraps herself up in it in bed!!!! 

The other frugal things done are eating from stores, so no money spent and putting more layers on to keep warm.
Nannyg