2024 Frugal Living Challenge

Madbat60

I use my air fryer a lot.  It's a bit hit and miss with timings but I'm used to it now

Cas

@Madbat60 fingers crossed that your PIP is successful and you don’t need to appeal. 

On the airfryer debate I have a N1nja 15-in-1. It’s a beast of a thing and sits out on the worktop as if I managed to find a space in a cupboard for it then it would never be used. I’ve not used all of the functions yet, mainly yoghurt, saute, slow cooker, steam roast, airfryer, dehydrator and pressure cooker. I found the airfryer function takes a bit of getting used to as it cooks quicker than a conventional oven but there’s some useful guides online about how to convert a conventional oven temps and cooking times to the airfryer equivalent. For me it was worth the cost because it cooks meat the way we like it and doesn’t dry it out, frozen fish in breadcrumbs comes out hot inside with a crispy outer coating and the roasties are great! I don't know how much it costs to run it but given that my main oven is rubbish it's a big improvement! @Herbyme thank you for the tip about using it to toast nuts, I didn’t think of using it for that. 

Some small successes this past week. Got my tax refund cheque and some free hair care samples (all FB finds from reputable brands) through the post. Cleared the clutter from our display cabinet in the dining room and turned it into a drinks cabinet which frees up some space in the kitchen cupboards. Dumped some spring onions in a vase of water and they’ve tripled in size! I thought at best it would stop them wilting! Spring is definitely on the way as the wild garlic in the big pot under one of the conifers has some shoots poking through and the I had a peek under the rhubarb forcers and some some nice health growth. Still eating out the cupboards and freezer and keeping spends mainly to milk and anything fresh that's on offer. And best of all, a couple of dry mornings let me get my washing dried on the line!

suzeesu2000

Been good this week. Used food from the freezer. Stocked up on Teabags cos of the Red Sea hijackings and violence. Cant go without my tea.

NextToNowt

Hope you’re all having a good weekend.

In my news I’ve realised we could have been getting a council tax discount so hopefully that will be backdated and I’ve read about “free” (£30 admin fee) holidays for unpaid carers so I’m investigating that too.

I’be been able to dry bed sheets outside this week which is a god send when caring for the elderly!

wild garlic is quite abundant now here so eating plenty of that.

Best of all is my sourdough experiment! Here it is with lentil soup. I’m really getting the hang of it. Today I’m making cheese and jalapeño flavour to have with “tapas” for tea, which I do most weekends with a glass of vino to use up odds and ends. Champagne lifestyle…….
😊

Katiehound

^^^^ Bread looks good- I'll be round later... ha ha!

Cas

@NextToNowt that sourdough looks amazing! Yum, yum!

Kitchenbunny

Just wanted to add about solar panels and power cuts. We have them and a battery, but I think it’s only with certain gateway type products that you can use the battery in a power cut (it switches from mains to use the battery). I’m not technical and the power cuts we’ve had have only been for a limited time but it does switch over. There used to be a green money saving board which may have more info on that - sorry I can’t be of more help 😊 

Prudent

I agree the bread looks fabulous! I had wanted to bake today but OH was planting fruits trees at the allotment so I went down to help. Well if I am honest, I just held them upright while he did all the digging and infilling of the hole again. 

Nexttonowt what part of the UK are you in? I am an unpaid carer for my adult daughter and have had a few free breaks over the years. In Scotland we have the Respitality Scheme which provides a break from caring. That might just be a meal or tickets for an event or it could be a stay somewhere. The first stay I had was in a static caravan for four nights on a posh caravan site and it was lovely. I had a couple of nights in a youth hostel (not so lovely as there were noise issues even in a private room) and most recently I had a week in a cottage, although sadly had to leave after three days as I was at risk of being snowed in. I also had three nights in a hotel through a temporary scheme and a few lovely meals out. There haven't been so many opportunities since covid though. If you are in Scotland you can also apply for the £400 time to live grant and spend that on a break. 

There is a national scheme which allows one stay a year for a maximum of two nights. I signed up late last year but both of the breaks that I tried to book came back as no longer available. At the time it was £25 which I had to pay on booking. I now have credit to use. I have noticed there is a hotel in the scheme within a reasonable distance from Frugaldom, so when I feel well enough (I have health issues too) I would like to use it to visit that area and hopefully visit Frugaldom.

NextToNowt

Thank you for the kindness about my bread 😊I’m really not much of a baker but think I enjoy the science of it. Just flour and water and it’s developed into yeast! It’s 27p per loaf roughly and it’s so filling just one piece is enough! 

@Prudent, thank you. I’m in England, the organisation I’ve been looking at are called Carefree.

Prudent

@Next to nowt Carefree is the national organisation that I mentioned. I just couldn't remember the name, sorry. I see it has gone up from £25 last year to £33 this year.