2026 Frugal Living Challenge

fionaandphil

@dND Great box there, what a good find. I would grate the carrot for Bolognese or chop it for soup, both can go in the freezer and be used at a later date. I think the marrow would also freeze for soup? We are going through lots of carrots at present, grated for salad or coleslaw and sticks for having with humous.

Frugaldom

Good evening and welcome to our newcomers and delurkers.

Thank you for all the suggestions regarding finding help for the project - sadly, we are not in a position to have youths or children volunteering as we have zero facilities available, no public transport nearby and, basically, no groups of any description within 5+ miles.

Found the latest Lloyds 8% regular saver offer also on BoS so have set that up to replace last year's 5.5%. I don't have the wherewithal to switch and ditch accounts so this, plus PBs, will need to suffice. £50 win this month, better than nothing.

fionaandphil

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82097670#Comment_82097670

@Prudent check out the weekly money tips this week. £100 supermarket voucher for opening (not switching) to Santander basic account. You have to spend £200 on groceries/supermarket from September to November but I think that could be achieved with standard expenditure. Do check out the exact terms so you can achieve this.

t14cy_t

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82099788#Comment_82099788

i opened the santander account last night. £100 supermarket offer sounded gooe. also i didnt want to change banks or move direct debits etc.

Prudent

@fionaandphil thank you so much. This is a good option. I read the T&C and it looks like the £200 is per month, which is more than my usual spend. I could do some store cupboard type shops though and stock up.

Edit today to say I opened the Everyday account and was able to open the linked 8% monthly saver too. I will transfer a couple of direct debits too so that it can be a burner account in future if needed.

butterfly2507

hello, it's been a while.

i wanted to paint my nails today and had to say goodbye to a soldier: the nailpolish was gooey and separated due to the extreme heat we've had for WEEKS 😅 i mean, there wasn't much left to begin with but still. i guess i can buy a new one now if i find one that i like (i think my go-to supermarket has a sale on beauty items but i'm not sure)

C_J

I find adding a few drops of nail polish remover to the bottle and giving it a really good shake will often thin the polish enough to get another couple of applications.

ET22

I haven't done it but Ive heard about putting contact lens solution in mascara that's starting to dry up

mandy47

Just escaped being made redundant. Some colleagues weren't so lucky. At 62 with health issues I wasn't confident on finding anything else . I'm so glad I know how to live frugaly. Make my own, make do, mend, repurpose, grow my own, bake, cook from scratch etc. It made the prospect of redundancy far less daunting. Thanks to MSE I've picked up loads of tips over the years.

dND

@mandy47 I'm so glad you still have a job - being on these forums really does help you prepare. I'm a WASPI; I thought I was retiring at 60 so stopped working in this country thinking I would only have to fund myself for a year. Retirement age went up and I looked at the extra couple of years and tightened the belt a notch. It then went up nearly another 4 years more or less wiping out all my retirement savings! I wouldn't have survived the 6 years without all boards.