2026 Frugal Living Challenge

Arrietty

Good morning all & welcome to @Bean_humane

I'm a recent addition to the challenge this and still trialling and erroring my way 😊

I am already 65p in debit of my budget this month. I went to do a stock-up shop at Sainsbugs yesterday evening and nearly fell over at some of the prices. I wanted some hairspray and it must be a very long time since I last bought it as the price of £8 per can/tin, yes EIGHT pounds made me gasp out loud. Obviously I did not buy that brand, I went down the selves until I found something slightly more palatable. It will be a few years until my next purchase I expect.

I bought a few staples and included a couple of tins of fruit (never buy it usually but have been reading articles that suggest I should) and they were £1.15 a tin! I bought a block of 5 % fat mince and that was £9 😰

I live on my own, have a pretty basic diet and still seem to be spending a fortune on groceries!

Read that the boss of Filippo Berio olive oil is annoyed that despite the price of the product itself coming down, that reduction is not being passed on to consumers. He was surprised at how resilient to price increases British consumers have been. I say we need to stop being so resilient and start being more resistant!

fluffycatling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81961994#Comment_81961994

Thank you so much for your comments ☺️☺️☺️🙏🙏🙏

Frugaldom

@Arrietty I just stop buying 'whatever' if it gets too far out of budget. There is such a huge choice nowadays that there is always an alternative. We have too much choice, in many ways, which leads so many astray in their budgets.

Busy and productive day here. After this morning's work, it was still dry and quite sunny. It makes an enormous difference in how we feel about working outdoors. I got the first of the herb beds weeded, picked some nettles, chives, garlic shoots and lemon balm to have with pasta/spaghetti, and then picked some dandelion heads that got baked into cookies. I even managed to do a photo blog of it all, if anyone is interested in reading it. (I'm trying to rekindle my old frugaldom blog here.) Friend was saying how others she knows pick and freeze the young nettles but I'm sure they will be ok cooked then frozen in ice cube trays to fit even more into the freezer. They cook down like spinach.

Frugaldom

Good morning from rain-lashed Frugaldom. I had got my hopes up for some dry weather but, unfortunately, it's not going to be this morning. I'm now trying to replan the day with inside jobs as garden work isn't looking good. Maybe rain will stop... Oh, the joys of working outdoors. I'll pick some ground elder when I get the chance, as that's growing in abundance and it seems daft to weed it out to plant a different leafy green edible. Foraging at Frugaldom needs to feature higher up the priorities list if food prices are going to keep escalating. I also want to try a new pasta recipe so watch this space while I drag out the pasta maker.

Prudent

@Arrietty Your post made me laugh thank you! I am glad I am not alone in my shocked expressions at the supermarket. Like @Frugaldom I do refuse to buy things if the price is silly. I am also making use of the start of the growing season. I made cheese and chive scones and pea and mint soup last week from allotment herbs. The forecast next week looks a bit better so I am going to start some salad leaves in the polytunnel. We won't be growing much this year as OH needs a major operation and I have health challenges, but all small contributions will be welcome.

Does anyone have any tips on filtering water? There have been several major water pipe bursts in my area recently, leaving people without water. I will buy in some bottled water to store, but I am wondering if it would be possible to filter water from the water butt?

MayDogsandCoffee

I am thinking someone may come back on this one and say I have just poisoned myself but: Used a butternut squash and saved seed to dry (theory is I can buy pumpkin seeds), I have just cooked in touch of oil and harissa seasoning. WOW WOW WOW.

Bean_humane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966385#Comment_81966385

Hello Frugaldom

Thanks - I am only on briefly but I will have a browse later today.

I'm still checking my bills and managed to cancel a subscription for £75, annual not monthly luckily, which is why I missed it. Crafty auto renewal...

Bean_humane

Thanks Arrietty

I feel the same way looking at prices. It's now put it back on the shelf time, or, is there a cheaper option.

Bean_humane

I'm in awe of everyone's foraging and baking. I see I have a lot to learn. 🤞👍

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966741#Comment_81966741

Not me. I’m in awe of your ingenuity @MayDogsandCoffee . I don’t have the patience to clean off the seeds for storage.

Just had to share something that happened to me yesterday, Thursday is one of the regular days my team goes into the office, rather than work from home. Yesterday afternoon, I reached the point where I was going brain dead from spreadsheets, so I washed out my travel mug and did a general tidy-up of the kitchen. (I am convinced that several of my colleagues have slaves. Putting stuff in the dishwasher is beyond them.).

Anyway, look what I found in the food waste bin:

Two perfectly good, ripe bananas. I rescued them, washed the rubbish off them, and have brought them home.

How anyone could think that these were “passed it” is beyond me. When I showed them to my colleague, she was equally astonished.

• Pip