2022 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

spudsmum said:

Also want to save on my food bill - currently it's about £75 a week for 5 of us which isn't completely horrendous but I'm sure I can cut back.

I think that's an amazing figure.    I struggle to keep under £30/week just for me

Frugaldom said:

The only thing that doesn't keep well is apple sauce so I'm going to have to make apple sponge several times over the coming week or two to use it all up.

I always freeze apple sauce - but I need freezer space to be able to do that, and I've been playing freezer tetris for the last 18 months+

cw18

babs_103 said:

I need gluten and lactose free foods and these are expensive.

I'm supposed to avoid lactose, but am lucky that my intolerance is mild enough that I don't have to panic about it - just a select few items that trigger it badly I have to avoid, or general care to be taken before certain activities.

I don't buy things labelled as 'lactose free'.  My local Her0n has a very affordable dairy free spread (which I use as I prefer the texture to many cheap margarines - and I don't like butter, which is also one of my biggest triggers when hot), but I find a lot of normal products are actually dairy free anyway (athough there are also surprise products such as many flavours of crisps which have dary in them!)

cw18

EskarinaWeatherwax said:

@natnat13 do the readings help? I send mine in every month but haven’t worked out how to tell what’s good/bad

I compare to the same period for the previous year(s), whilst taking into account if I was away for part of the month for any of them.   As long as I'm not seeing big increases in usage I'm happy enough.   If I'm seeing a drop then I'm very happy - especially if it can't be linked to a particularly mild winter etc.

RateTartExtraordinaire

@cw18 I like the idea of freezer tetris I picked up a tip from another thread on MSE and froze my batch cook curry into a brick using a tuperware, then popping it out into a freezer bag . I'm hoping to save space and make it an easier shape to play tetris with!

One store cupboard meal for tonight. I've used the '00' fine flour (out of date by about 3 months) to make a pizza for tonight. Hoping it will satisfy the pizza craving from last night.

natnat13

Hi all

I have had a good frugal few days. I joined To Good to Go and got a bag from Greggs on Friday, it had loads in it! We'll often get a bakery "treat" lunch on Saturdays, that sorted that for £2.59 for 4 of us. Great for a treat, it's a shame that no where else in my town does it, we have costa, spar etc. Nothing on Olio either. 

Went food shopping, would usually spend £100 ish a week for 4 adults (DSs are 14 and 15 and eat more than me!) and the dog. Meal planned and stuck to my list and spent £67. 

I sold a book on fb - £5 and 2 tops on Vinted - £25. More money for the pot. I also put some more bits on ebay and Vinted. 

I am doing a roast today so whilst the oven was on I also made rock buns, chocolate and banana buns and soup for lunches this week, all with store cupboard / fresh that needed using. 

I also watched the minimalists documentary on Netflix, really interesting. I know this thread is about money saving but it's linked really, worth a watch if you haven't seen it, it's about 50 mins long. 

spudsmum

balabooberlies said:

spudsmum please don't beat yourself up.  Please.

You have alot on your plate and if your signature is correct your debts are moving in the right direction.  We all have setbacks.

You haven't given up it's just that your timeline has been adjusted.  You have this.

hugs

bala

x

Thanks Bala (and everyone else who commented) 

I was just feeling a bit sorry for myself I think as I was doing so well and it's scary how quickly you get back into the mindset of spending freely.

I've decided to be proactive and come up with some goals to try to help me.

Looking back now I know exactly where things went wrong. It was getting back into the habit of using my cards when everyone started refusing cash in lockdown - it's just so easy to spend on a card without thinking about it. Since trying to get my debts down I've always dealt in cash to help with my budgeting so contactless is the worst thing in the world for me.

Tomorrow I'm going back to my old ways - off to the bank to withdraw my weekly budget in cash and make it last.

spudsmum

Mummy2cheekymonkeys said:

spudsmum don't be so harsh on yourself. I have 2 children with special needs and I know how even the best thought out plans can go pear shaped in the blink of an eye. I would be annoyed with the shop at changing their opening hours without advertising it. Just this morning we went along the beach and had a lovely time out, then when we wanted to leave my eldest kept dropping to the floor, screaming and hitting himself. I then popped to lidl to grab a couple of items. It was supposed to be a cheap day out but opposite the lidl is a mcdonalds that we have been to a few times with the boys. My son thought we were going there and then a meltdown followed so we relented and got some lunch. I'm annoyed that it was avoidable but we know for next time now!

Thanks. That sounds exactly like my youngest. It's so hard. We can't drive past a mcdonald's without a meltdown and mine also wants to eat constantly and obsessively. Food is a major issue for him so we always spend a lot more on that than we'd like to. 

Poppy_Golightly

My name is Poppy and I'm a Bookaholic. There I said it!

florianatwobob

This weekend’s frugality was slow cooking a chicken. This, with the left over veggies and a few pigs in blankets from Xmas that I froze, has now been converted into two ‘left over’ pies. The remainder of the chicken and the stock I’ve made from the carcass will go towards a chicken and mushroom risotto for dinner on Monday.  

balabooberlies

Spuds !

You've changed your signature and I think you've done really well.  I am at the beginning of dealing with a massive pile of debt.  So am on this journey with you.

Lockdowns/pandemic has caused all sorts of far reaching problems apart from health.  But 'knowing thyself' goes a long long way to changing what you need to change.  Am saying this to myself too.....

bala

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