2024 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Another £51.84 for February's grocery top-up shop and it's already clear that my £1 per person per day is going to be !!!!!! out the water. Prices are just getting beyond belief, although, to be fair, I do tend to buy basics and loss leaders which, as we all understand, can't last forever. 

The moles have been busy at Frugaldom so I'm going to start collecting the soil they are digging up so I can add it into raised beds. Even if I only grow carrots and onions in my soup garden, that would be better than nothing. Some potatoes and leeks would help but I'll need to see how time and energy levels go, as I haven't the strength I used to have. I really dislike getting older!

suzeesu2000

Oh what a day. Been that horrid waste-of-time drizzley rain. Completely messed my day up. I did manage to get one bed in place and started compost mix but had to cover and come in as I was getting quite soggy.

Hopefully I can get out there on Thursday and do the job proper. DH is going to put the sand out for me so I can lighten my compost a bit. Then will fill my seed trays and bring those in and place ready for seeds to go in. DH said he will fix the lights up for me tomorrow. Hope he can. 

Looking forward to growing food again, brings a smile to my face. Plus I need the vitamin D from being outside 😁

Siebrie

Prudent said:

I will check the YT and blog thank you. I often watch Jane, Frugal Queen in France on YT. 

An expensive day for me. The car has been flashing up 'low battery, charge by driving' a few times recently. Yesterday the blower stopped working on anything other than full power. Thinking they were connected I asked OH to take my car to the garage and explain the problem. I was unable to go and should have waited until I could as OH just asked them to put in a new battery. It was a whopping £180 and the blower problem is still there so it will need to go back in again. I do keep a 'car fund' but I don't want to spend more than necessary as I am considering replacing this car. At the moment things are a bit in limbo as I am waiting to see if my medical driving is renewed this month. I don't want to buy a new car only to find out my licence is not renewed because my health is poor just now.

Other than that most of my day has been spent on care issues for my daughter. I squeezed in a short walk before the stormy weather started and now I am thinking of making a shepherd's pie. 

@Prudent Can you call the garage and explain that the new battery was a mistake? Maybe they have the old one still there and can put it back in and figure out the issue? If you're fast enough to contact them they are likely to be more flexible.

Prudent

Siebrie said

@Prudent Can you call the garage and explain that the new battery was a mistake? Maybe they have the old one still there and can put it back in and figure out the issue? If you're fast enough to contact them they are likely to be more flexible.

Thank you I did think of that yesterday, but the stop/start function on the car is working as it should again. It stopped late autumn so I think it is probable the battery needed replacing anyway. OH went back to the garage this morning to arrange for them to look at the blower. I needed the car today, but they are going to phone me to let me know when I can bring it in. All this means I will need to keep the car longer to replenish the budget though.

I am just heading down to the allotment to do a few jobs and feed the birds. We have a fairly tame robin called Bob, who is now elderly. At the start of the winter we were only feeding him once a day, but in a cold snap we realised he was barely functioning when we arrived in the morning. Now we do an afternoon feed too in the hope it sustains him. We have lots of birds coming and the branches of the apple tree are filled with feeders and is always full of small birds when we arrive. We also have two regular black birds. 

NextToNowt

Hello 
I’ve been reading these threads for years but now need to join you all if that’s ok?
I’ve just been made redundant which actually came at a good time as I’m also a full time carer for my mother in law but I need to really step up the frugality. With time on my hands now,  I’m feeling positive.
Thanks to you all I’ve joined the library today. So easy! 

I have a quick question about sourdough if anyone knows? It’s all DH will eat so I want to make some starter today. Is tap water ok? I have plain and bread flour already.

Good to be here and thanks for all the tips 😊

Katiehound

NextToNowt said:

 

I have a quick question about sourdough if anyone knows? It’s all DH will eat so I want to make some starter today. Is tap water ok? I have plain and bread flour already.

Good to be here and thanks for all the tips 😊

When I was making Kombucha it said to leave tap water overnight (covered with kitchen roll I think) that's probably because chemicals in the water can interfere with the fermentation.

Just looked at a couple of online recipes and that doesn't seem to be a problem!

dND

NextToNowt said:

Hello 
I’ve been reading these threads for years but now need to join you all if that’s ok?
I’ve just been made redundant which actually came at a good time as I’m also a full time carer for my mother in law but I need to really step up the frugality. With time on my hands now,  I’m feeling positive.
Thanks to you all I’ve joined the library today. So easy! 

I have a quick question about sourdough if anyone knows? It’s all DH will eat so I want to make some starter today. Is tap water ok? I have plain and bread flour already.

Good to be here and thanks for all the tips 😊

I've not had a chance to try any of this out but D0ves Farm have some Sourdough guides that look good to me.

https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/hints-&-tips/sourdough-bread-baking?utm_campaign=85754_Sourdough Recipes&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Doves Farm&dm_i=7L4I,1U62,IV0A1,6WQD,1

NextToNowt

Thanks @Katiehound and @dND. That Doves guide is good because it has trouble shooting! Though it does say Wholemeal flour is needed and I don’t have any.

Anyway I’ve taken the brave step of mixing some flour and water together 😆 fingers crossed.

I watch all the YT channels mentioned and wanted mention Ardent Michelle as one of my favourites. She’s in the US but does (IMO) very interesting food budget channels.

I’ve also bought the egg sucking book for £2.90, thanks for the recommendation

Nowty x

Elisheba

NextToNowt said:

Hello 
I’ve been reading these threads for years but now need to join you all if that’s ok?
I’ve just been made redundant which actually came at a good time as I’m also a full time carer for my mother in law but I need to really step up the frugality. With time on my hands now,  I’m feeling positive.
Thanks to you all I’ve joined the library today. So easy! 

I have a quick question about sourdough if anyone knows? It’s all DH will eat so I want to make some starter today. Is tap water ok? I have plain and bread flour already.

Good to be here and thanks for all the tips 😊

Welcome, @NexttoNowt As someone who followed these boards for years but never quite got on top of her budget, the best advice I have is 'buy less'.  I used to think I was great at being frugal because I mainly shopped in charity shops, but it took me a while to realise I was still spending money on tat I didn't need  . 

The best book I've ever read on frugality was The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.  Its not in print anymore but occasionally you can pick up second hand copies quite cheaply.  I think her and her husband had 6 kids and managed to pay off the mortgage on their big farmstead sort of house on one salary. Her main points were 1) Use it less, 2) Make it last longer, and I think the third was 3) Pay less (I used to have these points on a post it by my desk, but I've just moved house and can't find the post it now!).  A lot of the ideas she gave are very much 90s solutions (eg. ideas for things you can do with cassette tapes) but the theories are still solid. She breaks things down to exacts costs and comparisons, although you have to also do your own breakdown as what might be cheaper in the US, or was cheaper back then, doesn't necessarily translate to the UK in the present day - for example she advocates using powered milk, but when I did a cost breakdown 4 years ago it doesn't really save money in the UK. 

sheilavw

Prudent, my car heater was blowing out cold air and losing coolant, it was the water pump that had  gone? It took a couple of visits to the garage to diagnose actual problem