2022 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugalista

wort said:

@MazzieD I have my cat on raw food, 80% meat 10%bone10% organ , this is around a £1 for 500g which does 2 days of 2 meals . He is a big 🐱 not sure how that compares to what you feed now. 

That sounds good.  Where do you get that from?

mumtoomany

EskarinaWeatherwax. I've always thought that boiling water on a gas hob is cheaper than using an electric kettle. Gas is cheaper than electric. Also a gas hob kettle does not need a minimum amount of water in it, unlike an electric kettle.
Just found this online:- 'One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions’ Grace Murray Hopper Using a ‘plug in’ power meter I have measured the efficiency of boiling 1 litre of water in a two types of kettle (stainless steel and plastic) and a microwave. I have also measured the gas used to boil a pan of water on my gas hob. The sums are the sort you learn for GCSE science. Kettles; 65% Microwave: 30% Gas kettle: 25% You have to remember that gas is about a third the cost of electricity per kWh (or Unit or Joule) and also has a third of the CO2 emissions. In this test gas has a small advantage, which may be improved with a lighter more efficient kettle. The electric kettle has the advantage that it turns itself off automatically. While the microwave was inefficient bringing water to the boil, it was more efficient when only warming it to 50 degrees C at 45%.
Hope this helps, mumtoomany.xx

SuperSecretSquirrel

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case - if boiling water on the hob, be sure to put a lid on the pan, the water will heat up more efficiently (less time, less fuel).

The flask idea is a great one, especially if there's potential for water supply issues or power cuts!

willow_loulou

So after a miserable January worrying I’ve decided to rip up the budgets, the log of spends etc and start a fresh and it’s absolutely revitalised my attitude! 

Trying to keep to a low budget for food is not viable with the variable prices. 

So! We went to food warehouse (Iceland) last night and spent £37- 70 on filling the freezer and was super pleased to see a branded dishwasher tablet for half the price if Tesco! 

I also stopped at home bargains for instant noodles, dried hard cheese and tinned fish/meat. We now have a months main meals and weeks lunch stuff.  

I’m only going to shop for needs - which will be milk and any veg type stuff I can’t get on olio. 

I also bought a pack of noodles extra to put away as a store for next winter. At £1 it’s affordable to start future proofing for the squeeze on my pocket. 

I put £50 in my various Jars and because I got my warm home grant the money for that has gone in my saving account. I may well put the next paydays allocation on the meter anyway and try and keep more of a buffer on it. 

Januarys Jars still had £10.20 in so that’s been moved to my holiday jar, if nothing else it will pay for a day out in the summer. 

Feeling more positive, mainly because the alternative was making me miserable! 

elbree

Good plan @willow_loulou! 

Can anyone recommend a really good flask for keeping water/tea hot? 

Tanya12345

Ah Willow I hear you !! Decided to start again in Feb as last years overspending made Jan's budgetting  a nightmare....
So whole new month, new regime, come Tuesday - it's made it exciting again. Am going to use pots and envelopes, at the end of the month any excess will be divvied up amongst EEK fund and general savings (may need to subdivide but am aware of making life too complicated). Got some big spends coming up - paint for outside of house, glasses - so need to budget for those as well as those inevitable things that side swipe you from time to time !

IntoTheForest

@willow_loulou if you use Iceland/food warehouse often you should check out the Iceland bonus card if you don't already have one. You get £1 back for every £20 you top up and you can use the money all year round. The money isn't protected so I don't keep a balance on mine but just top up and use straight away. 

@elbree I have a Stanley flask that is amazing. 

Frugalista

elbree said:

Good plan @willow_loulou! 

Can anyone recommend a really good flask for keeping water/tea hot? 

IntoTheForest said:

@elbree I have a Stanley flask that is amazing. 

I also have a huge Stanley flask (I believe I posted about it earlier in this thread when someone else asked the same question) and would 100% recommend them.  Keeps water red hot for hours.

Floss

elbree said:

Good plan @willow_loulou! 

Can anyone recommend a really good flask for keeping water/tea hot? 

I have a 1 litre stainless one from Asda, my son has a Thermos one of the same size & reckons mine stays hotter slightly longer.

LegitTrying35

Well I braved Aldi today and found most things I needed. I can never seem to achieve a whole shop at Aldi as they don’t have what I want. But I’ve made do AND stuck to my list. I didn’t buy any “middle” stuff. The food shop was cheaper than Mr T or Mr S where I would normally go. So £66 spent would have been £120-150 easy. That’s about ten days covered and think can stretch to 14 with what’s in my stores. 

Super pleased with myself.

No other spending today and none planned for tommrow. 

Managed to keep the heating off so far. Going to see a friend tommrow but doesn’t involve spending. Woohoooo.