2022 Frugal Living Challenge

YORKSHIRELASS

joedenise said:

Do you have any space under your bed, in your wardrobe, on top of cupboards @YORKSHIRELASS?  I use some of the shelves at the side of one of our wardrobes to store tins, dishwasher tabs, laundry liquid, shampoo, conditioner etc.  Can't use the underbed storage as we have a waterbed which is heated which I don't think would be good for food or toiletries!  I do however keep things like wrapping paper and bubblewrap under there.

Thanks for the suggestions but I really cant think of anywhere where I have spare storage space, and I am not one for keeping a lot of stuff either!  When DS1 gets his own place I might do but at the moment I dont have anywhere to put spare supplies. 

Long day at work, took lunch and my evening meal with me so only spent money on diesel which I needed.  Hoping I might be able to cycle in to work on Wednesday but it looks like it might be windy, so we will see.  Fed up with winter now.

EskarinaWeatherwax

Happy to report a no spend day here, after a meal out with a friend yesterday. I’m refraining from alcohol after feeling so good in dry Jan - I’m more interested in the extra pennies than an overpriced beer! 

Everything within my category budgets for the money so far, and I’ve a We Buy Books collection tomorrow. Big grocery shop is being delivered this weekend so that will be the next big chunk spent. Another £200 transfered to the mortgage overpayment though. It makes me so happy! 

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
Thanks Joedenise The card I’m paying off now is 0% until the autumn so hopefully I’ll have paid most of that off by then.
Beshki If you put the celery in a jug with water and ice cubes it should perk up and last a bit longer.
I’ve been wading through my freezer soup collection and will be having the last tub for lunch then will make more later in the week as all the veg looks ok at the moment. My soup maker makes 3 decent portions, so eat 1, 1 in the fridge and one in the freezer. Today I’m going to make cheesy pasta with a pack of Boursin cheese from Xmas that I popped in the freezer.
Sad I know, but I’m very excited that my new slow cooker arrives today. I’ve already got a big one I use loads but I decided to get a small one, only £15 and free postage too. I used to have one but gave it to DS1 when he left home. It will be handy for smaller meals like rice pud and smaller amounts of meat that look lost in my bigger one.
My online delivery arrives later so I need to rotate the cupboard and freezer. In the freezer everything moves up and in the cupboard everything moves down to make room for the new stuff. I’ve also still got space in a lower cupboard where the Xmas stuff was. I work on the theory that every price rise I miss ( only on the stuff I normally use though) is a bonus and if I need extra money one week we can manage without shopping.
All the reports of price rises makes me feel for young families. As oldies, we’ve been through things like this before but not this bad I don’t think. We’re lucky that we both still work part time alongside OHs pension so we have a bit of wiggle room but it’s scary times if you’re on a tight budget.
Anyway time to get on
Keep warm and well guys
Cuddlymarm 

peony40

Morning all,

Still plodding along here. Apart from planned expenditure for grocery shops and OH non prescription med on three days the rest have been NSD.

Yesterday, I made soup from leftover cooked veg, some ham and two not particularly tasty apples, the soup tasted surprisingly good and it has now been portioned up and in the freezer for our lunches.

Today I will be cooking a pork casserole/stew on the gas hob, which will do us two days worth of dinner at least.

Apart from this, it’s all quiet here, my budgets are up to date, which is good for me.

Take care all.

spudsmum

Well all my plans of sorting the garden at weekend fell by the wayside when it started hail stoning!

I really must get round to it so I've pencilled it in for this weekend. Other than potatoes I'm not sure what to plant though - I don't really seem to have a lot of success with other stuff so it can be a bit disheartening.

Everything else still going well. Spent a little more than I planned to at weekend so I only have £19 left in my spend budget until Friday. I should easily be able to do it but won't be much left over. Must try harder! 


Going to do a balance transfer later now my dd payment has cleared - that means my total debt will increase in the short term due to the charges but I'll hopefully save £50 in interest going forward. 

Beshki

spudsmum said:

Well all my plans of sorting the garden at weekend fell by the wayside when it started hail stoning!

I really must get round to it so I've pencilled it in for this weekend. Other than potatoes I'm not sure what to plant though - I don't really seem to have a lot of success with other stuff so it can be a bit disheartening.

Everything else still going well. Spent a little more than I planned to at weekend so I only have £19 left in my spend budget until Friday. I should easily be able to do it but won't be much left over. Must try harder! 


Going to do a balance transfer later now my dd payment has cleared - that means my total debt will increase in the short term due to the charges but I'll hopefully save £50 in interest going forward. 

Dwarf beans are pretty failsafe, as well as cheap, prolific and delicious

Also cucumber, one plant in a big pot should be plenty. Courgette? Again you’d only want one plant. Calabrese is a good, easy and fast version of tender stem broccoli. 

mumtoomany

Hi all, @spudsmum don't know where you are or the type of soil but, beans seem to do well here, also swiss chard and Brussels sprouts. How abut things that, once planted, just get on with it? Rhubarb, currants, raspberries, strawberries? 
Frugal win today. My wellies are leaking again, I've patched them 3 times now but the bottoms are starting to go. So I delved under the bench in the "potting shed". The previous owners left us around 50 wellies, most but not all were pairs. Range from size 2 to size 7. All barely worn, (the present pair were some of these.) So now have a "new" pair, steel toecaps too. Should last a year or two.
Won £25 on the premium bonds.
Dug out a box of turkey curry from the freezer for tea. Made potato cakes with left over mash, most have gone in the freezer.
Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xx

Primrose

Spudsmum. - sowing mixed lettuce seeds will save you money.   If any of the supermarkets you use sell those "living lettuce" punnets, buy one, split them and plant them out.  They provide a lot of salad plants and are cheaper than buying strips of salad seedlings in garden centres.   They also give you a good start! 

Beshki

Primrose said:

Spudsmum. - sowing mixed lettuce seeds will save you money.   If any of the supermarkets you use sell those "living lettuce" punnets, buy one, split them and plant them out.  They provide a lot of salad plants and are cheaper than buying strips of salad seedlings in garden centres.   They also give you a good start! 

Oh yes, definitely lettuce and salad! I can’t believe how expensive it is in the supermarkets so these are well worth growing, and easy too!

spudsmum

Thanks for the replies all. 

Were slightly limited in that I have to grow what I know will get eaten (which are not necessarily the easiest things to grow) 

We eat mainly potatoes, carrots, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and Brocolli but aside from potatoes I've never had any success with any of those they seem to start off OK then die. Husband will eat the occasional sprout but the rest of us hate them. Beans or calabrese might be a go-er though or even a cucumber or two as 2 of the kids love it. 


I suppose worse case scenario I just fill all four raised bed with potatoes but it's a bit boring!