2024 Frugal Living Challenge

RateTartExtraordinaire

Hi all, 

I have just been catching up on a few weeks posts. I read Chris van Tulleken's book on Ultra Processed Food last year. It did make me read all the ingredients labels on my usual purchases very carefully and I have changed our shopping habits based on it.

This weekend I discovered a local market stall holder who bakes rolls and loaves of all sorts, sourdough, rye and spelt etc. and not at inflated prices. She offer does a good deal on rolls. I like to support a local business. I occasionally bake my own, but we don't eat enough to make it worthwhile. Mainly rolls for burger night. One other change was making my own soups from scratch and making my own bean burgers over vegan shop bought. 
A few things that we like and are ultra-processed have stayed as they are small things.

In other news, something fell down the chimney. When we came back from a weekend away the living room was full of flies...it wasn't until I saw where they were coming from that I realised. I need it swept and caps put on the pots. We don't have a log burner or a use the fireplace for anything other than decoration, so I'm planning to block it off with a chimney sheep (a wool based purpose made plug with a pull cord for removal) as I've read this is good for draught proofing. Does anyone have experience of these? 

slm6002

We had the same issue with birds falling down the chimney each year and DD1 having to rescue them from behind the built in gas fire (which we don't use.  Thankfully we never got to the fly stage.  When we had the solar panels put on the roof I cheekily asked the fitters to pop the topper on the chimney for me.  Since then (touch wood) it has been ok.  I did pop a couple of old pillows up the chimney too and a note in the controls panel to remove if ever using, just in case we forget or move house.  I think the house felt warmer this winter, but might all be in my head.

Frugaldom

Prudent said:

I have nine bunches of spring onions between two boxes too! Today I got 12 baking potatoes, a small packet of new potatoes, 2 packets of doughnut peaches, 3 packs of bananas, 2 packets of apricots, 2 nets of tangerines, 1 mango, one small cauliflower, 4 peppers, 1 pack of salad tomatoes, 2 packs of cherry tomatoes, 1 pack of little gem lettuces, 1 avocado, 1 pack of mini cucumbers, 1 aubergine, 1 courgette and 9 packs of spring onions. All of this cost £3. 

Like @kayannie, I can see them before I go into the store. I usually buy my boxes first, put them in the car and then do the rest of my shopping.  

Wow! Absolute winner on the fruit & veg! Well done. 😁 I guess a few of you could be doing spring onion soup or... Don't quote me on this... Planting them to grow them into bigger onions. I don't actually know if this works but have tried it and will let you know if they grow.

I managed to get a £1.50 delivery slot from Morrisons for tomorrow (or later today) to stick up on absolute essentials like coffee, milk, tinbed tomaties, pasta and not much else but i wad horrified at some of the prices. How they expect frugal living folks to consider inflation at the rates they say it is, is beyond me. The absolute essentials are soaring in price. Not sure what the answer is because the weather isn't doing us any favours where growing our own is concerned. We are still in single figure temperatures through the night. Olio is my salvation when it comes to food but it makes for so much packaging waste and some very unhealthy meals.

Cheery_Daff

RateTartExtraordinaire said:

Hi all, 

......

In other news, something fell down the chimney. When we came back from a weekend away the living room was full of flies...it wasn't until I saw where they were coming from that I realised. I need it swept and caps put on the pots. We don't have a log burner or a use the fireplace for anything other than decoration, so I'm planning to block it off with a chimney sheep (a wool based purpose made plug with a pull cord for removal) as I've read this is good for draught proofing. Does anyone have experience of these? 

I have a chimney sheep 😊 I love it. Neat and sturdy, easy to install, not intrusively visible (just a bit hanging down which ensures you don't light a fire with it in). Made a big difference to the room temperature and draughts for us. And it's really easy to remove when you do want a fire - just pull on the stick, don't need to get your hands grubby. I love it! 😊

Prudent

I wish I had thought of a chimney sheep before we blocked up the fireplace, it might have given an extra level of insulation. We took out an elderly gas fire about ten years ago and had the fireplace bricked up and plastered over. We put a vent in the bottom, but I noticed we were getting a little bit of damp around the chimney. Putting a topper on the chimney has solved the issue. 

@Frugaldom food prices are still so high compared to a few years ago. I rely heavily on Aldi veg boxes, their 60% reduction labels, a wee community shop and Farmfoods. 

kayannie

I was lucky enough to get to Lidl yesterday morning at the right time to have a choice of the £1.50 fruit & veg boxes. I didn't get as many items in the box as I have had in the past, but it was definitely a bargain at £1.50. (6 perfect pears, onions, 5 bananas, blackberries, 2 x iceberg lettuce & a bag of slimy salad leaves that I left behind in the shop). I noticed that the shelf price of the blackberries was £1.99 & when I used them today there were just 19 of them! I saw the first ripe blackberry on the hedgerow last week, can't wait to start foraging!

Last week I picked samphire off our local salt marsh, also found a few wimberries & raspberries, but they are very poor this year. The wimberries appear not to have been pollinated, as a while ago there were plenty of flowers on the bushes. It must be down to the dreadful weather we've been having.

KA 

Prudent

@kayannie the berries are definitely a bonus in the veg boxes. Yesterday I got one with three packs of raspberries and one of cherries. I am growing berries at the allotment, but as we are just getting it established there hasn’t been many. The weather has held everything back. Yesterday’s box also had a bag of pears, two packets of lettuce, two packets of tomatoes, more peppers(!), a butternut squash and some broccoli that is well past its best. The broccoli will go in soup along with some allotment courgettes. 

fionaandphil

We have blackberries growing and when we have huge gluts we open freeze them.on trays and then put them into zip lock bags for using over winter. Down to my last half bag just as this years are nearly ready. We share with neighbours and friends and still have too many. A nice little treat in winter though and the family love blackberry crumble.

suzeesu2000

Fridays I get my pantry delivery(delivery is free by electric bike people called Kleert), got
2 x tins fruit salad
2 x tins pineapple
2 x tins peaches
bottle washing liquid
2 x jars jam
4 x tins cat food
1 jar tomato pasta sauce
2 packs micro pilau rice
1 tin mushroom soup
1 box breakfast bars
1 washing up liquid
and a few other bits I can’t remember all for one clean crisp £5 note.

AnimalTribe

The weather in the NE has been pretty poor too and I didn't expect to be able to harvest much. I've had a raspberry patch for years - all self seeded from the original bushes that were planted by the previous owners. They've never done very well, but this year has been a bumper crop. I've no room in the freezer and I've already got so many jars of various jams so I've put them in the dehydrator. It's lovely to have such an unexpected result with a fruit that I love.