My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

Rachmac3 the drystone wall might be a haven for pests, but it probably still looks fantastic. The ferns will probably enhance the look (not so much the nettles though). Glad to hear you still have some salad stuff, DH and I eat so much of it daily. 

£0

It's foggy today with no wind so the generator has switched on.

So, what have I learned from my £0 spend month? Well DH and I could live on a lot less if we ever needed to. DH can’t resist a bargain (£180 spent during the month on 1 item for his hobby), and I can’t resist if DH doesn’t resist (£15). Overall though we have done very well.

We really cut down on the grocery budget because I already had so much stuff in the garden, the store cupboard and the freezer. As to other spending we just have so much stuff we won’t actually need anything for quite a while. What we want though is a different matter.

We did miss going out to visit places, which nearly always includes buying lunch. We will start going out again.

Going forward I will continue to declutter, and DH has agreed to do the same. Time will tell.

Food for the next month will come mainly from the freezer, with some garden veg and a few tins. The only exceptions will be milk, yoghurt, margarine, bread and cheese. The freezer is packed full so DH and I will be eating down in layers. I’ve no real idea what’s in there any more so I think there are some interesting meals to come. The meals probably won’t be particularly exciting, but as long as we eat sufficient veg and fruit I don’t think we’ll come to much harm over the month.

I spent this morning looking at our outgoings and I have the best deals I can get for everything already. The only exception is, perhaps, the TV licence. DH and I don’t watch live or catch-up TV as we have Prime and loads of DVDs, so I’m considering cancelling it.

I’ve made potato salad, boiled some beetroot and used up 2 more kiwi.

Dinner was veggie burger for me and chicken burger for DH from the freezer. With salad from the garden, beetroot and potato salad, also from the garden.

AnimalTribe

My personal challenge this month is to eat from stores and I’ll only be recording what I spend on groceries.

£0 today

Overcast with no wind means that the generator has switched on.

I had lots of visitors in the yard today, about 30 of them. They were partridges, I get them fairly often, but not usually quite so many.

DH was up early this morning to cut down some willow branches that were growing too close to the wind turbine. That was an excellent job done before winter.

I was checking the vegetable rack this morning to see what I had and found a bag of ginger that I’d bought at the end of July and forgotten about. Some of it had sprouted so I put it in pots in the hope that it will grow. I put the rest of the ginger in the freezer.

Lunch was sandwiches with stuff from the fridge, and salad from the garden. Dinner was the last of a box of chicken burgers for DH and the last bean burger for me from the freezer. Salad was from the garden. I also finished off the kiwis with yoghurt and the last of the chocolate cake. I saved some kiwi seeds to see if I can grow houseplants from them next year.

All the rabbits have been sewn and I’m now sewing chicks.

[Deleted User]

Personally I think that cancelling the TV licence is a false saving. Although the TV licence is for the BBC it also legally gives access on your TV to ITVx, My4, My 5 as well as iplayer. So much to watch on those.
What I find amusing is that people moan about the TV licence but still spend pounds each month on TV subscriptions services, as well as things like Sky. I think the licence fee of about £3.35 a week is good value myself.
I continue to be impressed with all your other activities and achievements.

rachmac3

Do you have pear trees in your garden? 😂

AnimalTribe

Ordinary_Yet_Unique It's true the TV licence doesn't cost a lot, but DH and I don't watch any live or catch up TV of any sort, so we're really paying for a service we don't use. However, I've left it up to DH to decide if he wants to keep it.
Rachmac3 DH planted some wild pear trees for me, but they are just babies. If the partridges tried to land on them the trees would be squashed flat, as they are very fat patridges. 

£0 today

Some sunshine and wind so the batteries are charged.

Lunch sandwiches with salad from the garden. Dinner chicken and bacon pasta from the freezer for DH. Fries from the freezer with baked beans for me.

There was 1 lime hiding in the veg basket so I turned it into lime curd. Curd doesn’t keep long, but it is so easy to make. DH and I had some mixed with yoghurt and crushed digestive biscuit – lovely.

AnimalTribe

£0 today

Overcast and calm so the generator switched on.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before but I have a bucket in the shower to catch the cold water before it becomes hot. I use it to water plants or to flush the toilet.

Lunch sandwiches and salad from the garden. I’ve finally got round to eating the melon and I’m amazed that it’s kept so long. It was a big one so it will last for a couple of days.

Dinner sausage wrap for me chicken wrap for DH, all from the freezer. Both stuffed full of salad grom the garden. I also, found a carrot cake in the freezer so we both had some of that.

I’ve made potato salad that will last a few days and there were some pears in the fruit bowl that have refused to ripen so I’ve cooked those with a little sugar and that will provide something sweet for the next couple of days too.

The sheep that surround us like to scratch themselves against our gates. Today they managed to break a wooden one. DH has managed to fix it, but eventually we’ll change all of the gates to metal as they need very little maintenance.

I’ve done a bit more sewing. These are the rabbits I finished recently.

AnimalTribe

£0 today

No sun, no wind plenty of rain so the generator switched on

Lunch the same as yesterday. Dinner the same for me, but at least that’s a packet of veggie sausages used up and a teeny, tiny bit of freezer space liberated. DH had bacon and chicken pasta from the freezer. Dessert was carrot cake and the last of a tub of ice-cream from the freezer.

DH and I look in the freezer eacg night and decide what to defrost for the next day. Today we found another small tub of chicken, ham, bread and cheese. I had bread and cheese on the grocery list so it was good to find out before I went shopping.

Today was a lazy day of reading, catching up on phone calls, mooching about on the internet. I did manage to pickle some more cucumber and re-pot some cacti.

AnimalTribe

£0 today

No sun, no wind - generator on

It has begun to be a bit colder here, so I’ve had to put an extra blanket on the bed.

Lunch the same as yesterday. Dinner beans on toast for me, chicken burger (another box finished in the freezer) and salad for DH. Pear, carrot cake and yoghurt.

I’m going into the city tomorrow as I have one of my twice-yearly dental checkups. As I rarely visit there (120-mile round trip) I will be doing some shopping. I already have a £20 Tesco voucher, but I redeemed a £5 voucher today.

DH has been doing some electrical work around the house, and I’ve been doing a bit more crafting.

[Deleted User]

How long do you keep meals in the freezer? I am paranoid about becoming ill from off food and never put anything leftover or batched cooked (something I have never done) in the freezer. I also double check anything that has been in there a while and dispose of it if it has been there longer than the packet recommends. 

Fortunately I live within ten minutes of the supermarket and tend to eat fresh or chilled food within days of purchase. I appreciate that you are unable to do this in your situation. I am only asking as so many people on here talk about their freezers and how they use them. 

I also know exactly what is in the freezer so there are no surprises lol. 

Fortunately I am not in debt and don’t have to be frugal. Even if I was, I would find it difficult to use the freezer as extensively as many do. For example the idea of freezing milk in a freezer and then thawing it for use literally makes me feel physically sick.

I am the same about chilled food and check the dates very carefully. At times it drives my relatives mad lol.

I do enjoy reading your diary and about your alternative lifestyle. However, I know I would only last a few days!

Best wishes.

AnimalTribe

Ordinary_Yet_Unique My sister-in-law is the same and I'm sure lots of people feel that way. I've probably got stuff in the freezer that's been there over a year (which is why I'm trying to eat my way through it). Once something goes in the freezer the clock stops on any decomposition and will be fine even though stuff may be in there beyond the date on the packet. I try to make sure things are properly wrapped to avoid freezer burn and changes in taste or texture which can happen. I have rarerly had stuff where the texture has changed too much and I've thrown it out, but even then it isn't actually off.

I don't have any debt either and own my own home with no mortgage, but I still like to be frugal as that gives me more choices as to what to do with my money. For example, I will buy cheap tinned tomatoes because I don't think they are any different from more expensive ones, but I buy expensive, speciality cheeses. The same with things like jeans - I don't think there's that much difference between cheapish and expensive brands, socks though I'm willing to pay more for.

The generator switched on today.

The Forestry Commission are logging trees not far from us, and the road has been covered with bark. DH has been out to collect some as he reckons it will make great fire starters. 

I had forgotten about the trip to the city for the dental checkup appointment when I decided to minimise my grocery spends and eat out of the freezer. DH and I only visit the city twice a year for dental checkups and I make the most of the long trip by stocking up on difficult things to get locally eg soya mince, vegetarian jelly etc. So yesterday, I spent £75 buying various things. I had £25 of Tesco vouchers, so the actual cash spend was £50. The only thing I bought to go in the freezer was a BBQ chicken pizza for DH. The spend also included bottles of de-ionized water for the battery bank as the acid cells have to be kept topped up with water. The plan is to still eat out of the freezer going forward, as the stuff I bought yesterday has a long shelf life.

The dental checkup was fine – no problems found.

Today DH and I went for an amble to a local village which included lunch and a trip to the charity shop. I bought 4 DVDs for £1 – so not bad at all.