2022 Frugal Living Challenge

nannygladys

Poppy - I gave the cs depot a week or so ago loads of dress patterns I won't ever use or won't suit me!! It felt good to give them away, hoping that someone will use them and enjoy what they make,  I'm gradually going through all my crafting stuff.

I went to the food hub this morning and acquired enough cereal to last me the rest of the year, but I will be giving some away to dds (there was loads of it and I checked first). I couldn't really carry much else but I did get some blueberries, fudge, truffles (the last two are going to dds), marmalade and peanut butter, oh and courgettes and spring onions!!! I still have quite a bit left in the fridge so will be meal planning from the fridge, I've already used the courgettes making courgette and potato soup, that will last three days. So tomorrow I'll be meal planning. I'm hoping the community pantry is on tomorrow for a few more bits, but they have been shut since before Xmas, I'll have a look on fb in the morning. 

It was nice to get out and have a day to myself after I'd been/done everything. The weather has been lovely but oh so cold. I'm trying to cut down on g&e usage now with the impending hike in prices coming along and I've started to put more away in the bills account to help when the direct debit goes up!!!!! But I will not be down about it all, as we don't know what's going to happen yet.
 Off to make a bit of supper, cheese and crackers I reckon, LO from Xmas
Nannyg

spudsmum

Happy Wednesday all.

Afternoon off today so I went to the community eco pantry. No meat in there today which was a little disappointing but I got a box of rice krispies, a box of special K, 8 muller corners, a 5kg bag of instant bread mix, 4 tins of peas and carrots, 2 packs of uncle Ben's rice, 2 boxes of Yeast, a big bag of fruit and veg including potatoes, carrots, shallots, peppers, chilli's and apples.

I more or less resisted going in any other shops other than to buy my youngest his Crisps and cheese as he's run out again. Also needed a thankyou card for a relative that sent the kids a gift - found a lovely one in the card shop bargain bin for 35p. Total spend for the day - £4.85 including pantry fee of £2. Very pleased with that as I normally spend £20-30 on a Wednesday afternoon.

Tea was suitably frugal. Visited MIL with the younger kids after work and she fed them. Older cooked himself YS eggs and beans on toast and we had curry made with more of the  monster pork joint (there's still enough left for at least 3 meals) some pantry veg, some 15p noodles and dregs of curry paste and cream from the back of the fridge.

Earned £3.50 on online surveys so paid it to CC.

Plodding along nicely 

natnat13

Morning everyone

I hope all those who are poorly are feeling a bit brighter today.

Sold some books on ebay so that's £15 in the pot, when it's transferred it goes straight on my CC debt. 

I haven't spent any money since shopping at the weekend apart from a TGTG bag for £2.59 which will last me a couple of days. Got to post the books too but the buyers have paid postage.

My partner and I are arguing about cars, he wants a flashy one, I'm happy with 4 wheels that do the job, we're meant to be saving to move. His views on money are very different to mine which is hard sometimes

Have a nice day everyone 😊 

Ellie79

Morning everyone! Hope all are well. Had a nice bit of news which means time to tighten belts (hopefully because I've lost some weight for said nice news) because we will need new outfits and to hire my graduation robes. I didn't get to graduate from a post graduate qualification a couple of years ago, for reasons obvious, I've been granted a one off agreement to do so in March. So that's a lovely thing but will incur cost and some very healthy eating to lose some pre and post lockdown pounds. Meal planning again with budget and diet in mind!

balabooberlies

Congratulations Ellie

bala

x

MazzieD

Ouch!.  Decided not to leave filling up the car any longer as it was getting quite close to empty and went to an out of city supermarket petrol station this morning.  Much cheaper than buying locally but even there E5 is 7.9p per litre more expensive than E10!.  Already noticing an improvement in engine performance so the extra few pounds spent could be worthwhile.  Seemed sensible to get some cat food and a few essentials whilst there.  First proper grocery shop since 20 December so that is a record for me.  'Normal' would be weekly. Starting to run out of things where I've done all the batch cooking!.

Also managed to get a L*dl F&V box this morning on the way home, they have changed the time they put them out yet again.  Now earlier in the morning.  

A community pantry has opened near me so might check it out next week as it's within walking distance so lunchtime will be ideal as open 11-3pm.  Anyone can use it, they ask you to make a donation rather than a set amount which I'm slightly uncomfortable about but I suppose it depends on what you buy.

Hope everyone is managing to keep warm, it's got really cold again with a thick frost on the windscreen this morning.  It's been really mild in recent weeks!.

shala_moo

@Baxtersmum - could you let me know what cat food it is that you get? I'm lucky that my cats eat anything and like the idea of the insect food but it always looked more expensive than the Iams we use currently.

Frugalling this week
- sent back some items that i had bought on a whim before Christmas, they would have usually ended up in the loft never to be seen again so wasted money
- stuck to the meal plan religiously this week
- finished up some xmas party food from the freezer for lunches
- accidently signed up for kindle unlimited yesterday for 99p (3 months), but will only use it for the free books and it will keep me occupied for free
- completed all my competitions and online surveys

You all do so well with Olio and food hubs, unfortunately there is nothing around here like that good on you all for helping to reduce food waste!

Ellie79

Thank you @balabooberlies

CraftyLittleLisa

I have a mini success to report.  My home insurance was up for renewal.  I go through a broker (who I have been with for years) for all my insurance - its just how I prefer to do it.  They gave me a quote and I did a search which came up with some a little bit cheaper (not much in it really).  I gave them a call and managed to negotiate it down to the same amount because "you are a long term customer".  I was rather pleased with that.

Jellytotts

My frugal win today is my parents deciding to drive to see us (dad has been poorly and not up to the drive for nearly 6 months), I got a few hours notice but was able to pull together a nice lunch from olio and Lidl veg box items.  In the past I'd have rushed out to buy something in but they were happy with their jacket spuds, hard boiled egg salad and fresh fruit salad for pud.

Jackets we're cooked in the halogen oven so much cheaper than the main oven and as it was so sunny the solar panels took the brunt! Free electricity is always good.