2023 Frugal Living Challenge

sunshineli

I had a no spend weekend made easier by the rainy weather as I didn’t want to venture out! It was really nice to just potter around at home, rest, read my book and finish some of my uni work. This past week I spent £50 on groceries (2 adults) and I’ve managed to not do a top up shop which I’m happy with. I just need to be a bit inventive now with what’s left in my fridge before the next shop comes on Wednesday. 

I’m also starting to thinking about Christmas as I haven’t started a savings pot for it yet. Think I’m going to start putting £30 per month away for it 

Frugaldom

obscuredbyclouds said:

Hello all, are you ok if I join in? I've been lurking for quite the while and would like to really have a go at being frugal next year, so thought if I joined in now I can do little bits to get ready for the new year.

Welcome on board - it's always good to know we have lurkers being tempted into joining us here. 

Frugaldom

Pennypincin said:

Can I join please.

Of course you can join - the more, the merrier and five full months still left of 2023!to get in some practice. 😁

Frugaldom

sunshineli said:

Do you mind if I join? I was doing quite well being frugal at the start of this year but slipped up a bit over the past few months. I really want (need) to get back into it now. I currently work full time but I have various chronic illnesses meaning I doubt I will be able to continue with this forever. My main goal at the moment is to pain down the mortgage as much as possible so I can eventually afford to reduce my hours at work. I’ve been reading this thread since the beginning of the year and I’m really inspired by all of you

Welcome back on board the frugal wagon. We all slip up now and again but I look on those more as opportunities to restart and improve on previous attempts. 😊 Good luck paying down your mortgage and teaching your goal of reducing work hours.

Frugaldom

Good evening from Frugaldom and the continuing quest for self sustainability. I hope everyone is well.

Cheryl @cw18 - I'd bite the bullet and get the valve fixed by a plumber as it may just need a simple drain down of the pipe and a new part fitted. If you tell them on phone what's needed, they have the opportunity to say sorry, you need a heating engineer. Hope it's a simple fix for you.

Next up, stores... My absolute basics are pasta, rice, lentils, flour, sugar, oil, UHT & powdered milk, sultanas, porridge oats, salt, pepper, tomato.puree and a few tins of tomatoes, various beans and tuna (as I don't like sardines). I find the above gives me plenty of options based on whatever fruit and veg is available.

Berry foraging is well under way here with raspberries and gooseberries ripening and the blueberries looking to be next. I've been eating stewed rhubarb and there were strawberries but they've all gone. Apples and blackcurrants are growing and I spotted a few hazelnuts. I'm going to have to learn to love runner beans as there are plenty of flowers on the plants but I've had no time to do much else by way of food growing. Potatoes have been drowned out by nettles. Olio is still my best friend.

The Frugaldom project continues to develop, still run voluntarily by anyone who cares to share it so once again, I extend an open invite to anyone on this challenge thread to come visit if you can. We've now got campervan park-up space, huts for cabin camping, a holiday caravan for visitors, and a lovely gypsy bowtop wagon for solo campers. Frugal living over the years has made all of these things possible and I'll continue to scrimp and save to plough every penny possible into making this a place to retreat into nature, off grid and as frugal as possible.

Time to start chopping and stacking wood for winter fuel and I've already collected a big bag of cones to use for kindling. The log stores are made from old pallets  and I'm currently building another pallet fence. Next year, I'd love a greenhouse by the hut but that's another savings challenge in itself. 

Any questions, please ask. You can tag me in or message me direct. Making frugal living fun is what this challenge is about.

willow_loulou

 @Frugaldom I am not a runner bean fan either, but I had some free last year - a ton of them -so I thinly sliced and gently griddled them in butter and salt. Much more appealing! I think they make good chutney but I’ve never tried it. 

Lots of hospital & Dr appointments this week, my crochet is coming with me as I wait around. I’m currently making flowers to hold gift tags for Christmas. The idea being they can be hung on the tree or used as a book mark after. Certainly get a lot of waiting around time being a carer! 

Frugaldom

@willow_loulou I think thinly sliced will definitely be the way to go. If there are too many grow for us to use - I encourage visitors to help themselves - then I'll put them out at the Trading Post by our main gate for locals to pick up. I finally got my little stand built (from pallet) and it's been great so far - honesty box getting a few pounds and today there were a few potatoes (now cooked, had half for dinner tonight and the rest saved for tomorrow) and a courgette left by way of a swap. I have plants and bags of manure out there just now as a way to earn a few extra pennies for the project.
😁

obscuredbyclouds

Morning all,

So this is the first payday within our new frugal challenge, whilst I said I was going to start next year, I am wanting to really get a good handle on things now. Anyhow our spending for shopping this month is £200 so I'm hoping to utilize our slow cooker and I'm going to do a big batch of jacket potatoes tomorrow to have in the fridge ready for the rest of the week. I started doing this a good few months back and it's one of the best things I've done. It's amazing what you can do with spare jacket potatoes, I loved adding some cheese and re-cooking them till crispy or chopping them up and frying with spam or taking the inside for mash and crisping up the outter to have as a crisp. Lot's of options and it does save that, what should I cook fatigue.

@Frugaldom, I can see the blackberries coming out, still a few weeks till they get ripe and I absolutely cannot wait. We used to have a PYO place here but it shut down and since then I've not made any jams or anything, so this year I'm going to make sure I make a years worth of jam from the blackberries, possibly some cordials to as I don't like the sugar free ones and when you get the actual "proper" cordials, they cost more than a new born child! 

I am slightly worried about spending more this month as I've got the Festival of Quilts next week, I've set a budget and I've got a shopping list but as we have no fabric shops here, I do get very excited to feel and touch and then tend to spend way to much. So any ideas on how to manage this would be great.

obc x

cw18

obscuredbyclouds said:

I am slightly worried about spending more this month as I've got the Festival of Quilts next week, I've set a budget and I've got a shopping list but as we have no fabric shops here, I do get very excited to feel and touch and then tend to spend way to much. So any ideas on how to manage this would be great.

obc x

Take cash and leave your cards at home?

obscuredbyclouds

Thanks @cw18 because we’re traveling from so far I’d hate not to take my cards just encase. It’s a super good idea though!