2026 Frugal Living Challenge

dND

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160422#Comment_82160422

😱😱😱😱 It does make you wonder what she was doing with it.

Mind you I heard the explosion when a previous neighbour of mine in France doused his bonfire with petrol and then lit it!! Thankfully he used a long stick with a flame on the end so wasn't burnt. I was about a quarter of a mile away. It was a very loud bang and a big cloud of smoke. Dxx

leftatthetrafficlights

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160128#Comment_82160128

@dND, thank you! 😁

I do watch her - she's my 'wealth pantry' inspiration! 😉😁 I love her videos, she's very natural and realistic plus her enthusiasm is infectious! 😁

Finally sorted the last of my budget out this morning - I lost control a bit last month! 🤦‍♀️ Looking at my inventory, I'm pretty convinced that other than fruit, we could go a month without shopping 🤔 I'm going to keep it as low as possible for as long as I can - if I can get dh on board it will be fine but he loses interest with a few hours! 😂

2Scratters

Morning All,

I have just deleted my message🤨

I'll start again as someone could help me out and if I don't ask I won't get an answer.

I hand made a loaf of bread the other day and it was very nice, however I get the simplicity but am confused over the terminology of it. A table spoon is not a table spoon (to me that is the spoon you serve food with - which I still use today.) it is actually a desert spoon that equals 15g. Then the cup size, what size is that intended to be? There are in any ones cupboard an eclectic collection of variable sized cups. I am at this time stuck in the "old fashion" way of measuring and weighing ingredients. I have never had the eye of just putting in an ingredient and go with it.

It did rise nicely and got stuck to the tea towel as I never gave it a second thought about that 😄. I cannot really remember the last time I made bread by hand, I am over 65 so it's a very long time ago. I had been gifted a bread machine but never liked the hole in the bottom bit especially as it was never a large loaf.

I hope no one suggests I make a purchase of cup thingys as that is the point of using what we already have. I may however, look at purchasing the dough cutter or is there another way around that that I haven't worked out yet please?

2 Scratters xx

Debsnewbudget

Hope this helps

Frugaldom

@FionaandPhil I hope car MOT wasn't too expensive .

@maryb That's a very good point about how to consider things for the welfare part of POA ! Thank you for bringing that perspective into the equation.

@dND Another valid point re the jointly or severally decisions on POA ! Thank you.

@prudent I'm with you on the querying validity of DIY route but am still waiting for a response from the lawyer regarding the topic . I've also my mum, DS and DD to broach the subject with as it appears anyone named as POA must agree and provide a witnessed signature on the document. Still checking facts on that, though.

Well done @quantaga ! My £45 cashback plus £3 for using the TCB comparison search came through so I was also delighted! 😊

@lurkeralongtime thank you for the heads up on overcharges . This was a problem I often found with the local Co-op where we used to live. Well worth checking receipts.

@leftatthetrafficlights welcome back onto the frugal bandwagon

@debsnewbudget thank you for the conversion link . I tend to guesstimate but this is handy to have.

Frugaldom

Pouring rain here just now but managed to get all the animals tended to and cut the dogwoods that were over shadowing my solar panel so it's still getting sun during the winter months.

Being prepared for fuel shortages and more price increases is helped here by having an offer-grid room in the house with stand alone log burner and a leisure battery with solar panel. As the hut is fully off grid, there's always a pile of logs etc drying and we will be having the mandatory maximum 5 cubic metres of timber felled stating this winter. It's mainly softwood that will take a year or two to season but better starting sooner rather than later.

Still got apples galore so the ponies, goats and wildlife are enjoying some. I've no space in the freezer to store any stewed apples so will plan some dehydrating of apple slices.

fionaandphil

MOT was fine and within the budget set aside, we tried a new garage which was recommended to us and they are much more thorough but in a good way. The car is fairly old now but we feel that this service should keep it going for a while.

I have been in the garden today as the sun was shining, despite the weather forecast. I have moved around some of our raised beds, dug up things that shouldn't be there and generally just got a bit muddy. I picked some more tomatoes as they are still continuing to fruit, I am running out of space for them despite adding them to nearly everything and preserving them by turning into pasta sauces. I've also potted on a load of strawberries for friends as they have gone mad and are growing everywhere. We have had a rubbish year for apples with only about 20 on the tree and the bl***dy squirrels have been eating those. Luckily our blackberries have done well so that should provide desserts and breakfast toppings until the spring.

I've had a few cashbacks come through this week, some dating back to last year, so that is all going into the Christmas pot and I am also going to cash out some survey sites.

Fire is now in use at night if it is cold but I am still avoiding the heating as the price of oil is so high. I live in hope that things will settle down and the price will plummet. We have a good supply of logs and kindling so that should last us well all winter. We do need to look into a replacement for the oil boiler as it won't keep going many more years and the plumber has suggested ASHP so that is a job for the winter.

Thanks for all the top tips everyone, lots to think about

maryb

I think the supermarkets may have developed a new ploy for disguising price shennanigans. We all know how they used to hike the price for a bit then put on a price cut so that they make it look a bigger reduction than it actually was.

I bought a couple of medium chickens from Sainsbugs in September on a Nectar deal £4 instead of £5. They have another deal on medium chickens this week £3.66 which looks even better. But the ticket says the "normal" price is now £5.50 so that is what it will cost when the deal finishes. ie a 10% price hike massaged with two weeks of a price reduction. They've turned the timing around so the price reduction comes before the price hike.

If you've got room in the freezer and you've got a Nectar card that is currently a good deal

Prudent

@fionaandphil it is indeed chilly in the evenings and early mornings now. I am snuggled under a fleecy blanket on the sofa. I can imagine the price of oil heating is awful. I have gas, but my dual fuel deal ends at the start of December. I am with British Gas. I checked their new deals and I was horrified to find a £540 annual increase. The monthly direct debit will jump from £84 to £128. We are very careful with heating and fuel in general, but I am also anticipating our usage will increase this year. OH is about to have a major operation and won't be able to move around to keep warm in the day which means we will need to keep the house warmer. We looked at ASHP last year when we replaced the boiler and radiators. The costs didn't work for us, but mainly because we are hoping to move house once we find a more suitable property.

I apologise for contributing so little recently. My daughter has been extremely ill and OH is about to have a major operation, other families members are also facing significant health issues and all of this just seemed to have consumed my time. I have been trying to squeeze in some preparations for winter and rising prices. I opened the Santander current account that provides a £100 if you spend £200 on groceries for three months. I usually spend £140 to £160, so I am making up the spend with items which can be stored. This week I bought Farmfood's offer of 108 rolls of toilet roll for £20. I have put them in the loft and they will keep us going for quite a while. I also bought some other groceries bringing the total to £25 and was able to use the £2 off voucher that comes in their leaflets.

annieb64

Noticed large jars of Kenco coffee are now 190g not 200g.Will have to keep an eye open for other shrinking packages.

Went through the pantry and checked the dates on all the tins so now need to do the pasta, rice etc.There are rwo tins of grapefruit which need using up.Husband is on statins so I'll have to eat it.