Ilona's frugal 2014

[Meanqueen]

I try Richard. I find it's an ongoing process to keep my head above water, to keep my eye on the bottom line, there is no let up. I read on another forum of how easy it is to get sucked in to the loans trap, especially the payday loans, with horrendous consequences. People expect a certain kind of lifestyle and give little thought about where the money is going to come from to fund that. They are not prepared to make changes, to perhaps lower their expectations a little, and to try new ways of tweaking their budgets.

I dream about what I would like to spend money on, if I had it. Would love a little motorcaravan, but I can't afford it. So I live my life as best I can, on what I have.

Sorry if that comes across as a bit of a 'know it all', but living within my means takes a lot of self control, and the ability to walk away and say no to all the advertising we are bombarded with every day. I may have got the hang of it now but it is hard, and it has to be done.
Ilona

[Meanqueen]

I spent some money today, the car went for service, £70. I usually get it done at the same time as the MOT in October, but I thought I would leave it a bit longer. I had a big bill for it in June when I had to have two springs and two tyres fitted. I have only done 5,000 miles in a year, so I thought I would wait till now for the service, spread the cost a bit. Hopefully everything should be hunkydory for a long time.

I rang BritGas today about my refund. The young man said he would get a cheque sent in the post, so it will be nice to get a bit back. Though if they had waited for the final readings they could have sent me a bill for the right amount in the first place. I suppose the computers spit the bills out automatically.

I bought a big net of onions today for £1. There is a veg stall outside the £stretcher shop. They had even bigger nets of carrots for £2. I remember I bought a net once before from a roadside seller, took me months to eat them all. Looks like it's onions with every meal from now on. Good job I like them.

Dinner tonight was my usual big plate of steamed veg. Potatoes, carrots, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course, an onion. I had some salad beans which needed eating up so I chucked them in as well for good measure. All drizzled with toasted sesame seed oil. Chuffin loverly.
Ilona

[Meanqueen]

It's a week since I last did a supermarket shop. I am not a fan of any kind of shopping, I find it quite boring. I know I have to buy food for me and for the cats, and the only way to get value for money is for me to physically go the the shops and look for the bargains. I would never do supermarket shopping online because I wouldn't get the best prices. I am quite disciplined when I am in a shop, bypassing all the things I don't want.

I have got onions, carrots and potatoes left in the veg, plus some frozen beans and peas, so these will last another week. I made a two day onion curry, with grated carrots added to bulk it up. Made three portions of wholemeal rice and ate it over two days.

I am spending time indoors as the weather is not very good. The sun was out yesterday so I went for a walk in nearby Normanby Park. But today it has been raining so I have got on with my craft work. I am making a cat mat from fleecy offcuts which were donated by someone who makes soft toys. It's like a small quilt. I'm using a piece of old flannelette bedsheet to sew the fleece onto, then I will back it.

Don't expect to be spending much this month. Thinking about places to visit, once the weather picks up a bit. Toodle pip.
Ilona

[Meanqueen]

I made a lovely dinner tonight. It says Tuscan Lamb on the packet, but no lambs were killed, ha ha. I used a 20p packet of sauce mix which should have been used in one of those 'put the ingredients in a plastic bag, add the sauce mix and bung it in the oven', type meals. I don't use my oven so I made it in a pan on the top instead.
Potatoes, carrots and onions. A tin of red kidney beans, 21p. Tin of chick peas 33p. A few frozen garden peas. A third of a packet of Quorn chunks, 50p. Cost about £1.70 - £2.00 in total.



This will give me four meals. Zap a portion in the microwave, won't have to cook tomorrow or the day after. It is chuffin loverly.

Ilona

[Meanqueen]

The Tuscan lamb with no lamb in it lasted four days. I added half a tin of baked beans to stretch it out. It was tasty to the end.

There isn't really a lot I need to spend money on, after the car, my cats and a dog I am looking after temporarily, take up the biggest chunk of my money. My old cat has a dodgy tummy so he gets some chicken which does not upset him.

I went to town yesterday to pay the refund from BritGas into the bank, and also pay my credit card bill which gets cleared every month. Not much on it this time, just two T3sco shops. I get the points from using the card, I've got £42 now. Usually keep saving them until I find something I really need or want.

I checked out the prices in the Asian shop, sometimes there are some good buys. If I'd have bought 12 tins of chick peas I would have saved 50p against the HoamBargin price. I couldn't be bothered to lug them down the High Street from one end to the other. Should have taken my shopping trolley. I bought a 1kg bag of couscous for £2, haven't had any for ages, and it can be used to make a quick cheap meal. Also bought a 900g bag of bulgur wheat, and a packet of powdered garlic.

I popped into Aldiddly, free parking up to 2 hours, and I can walk into town from there. Picked a few items up, walnuts, broccoli, lettuce, mushrooms, eggs, crispbreads, chicken for Bugsy, and a pasty for me. This will see me through till I do the late supermarket shop towards the end of next week.

It was a good line drying day today, so I did a dark load. I don't have a tumble dryer, have to wait till it's sunny, windy, and not raining before I do a wash.

Washed my hair in a bowl in the kitchen sink this morning. Two kettles of hot water needed. I also wash other parts of me with the rinsing water, like to get full use out of my water.

Shouldn't need to spend any money till near the end of the week. £1.50 needed tomorrow for the craft and chat club. Toodle pip

[Meanqueen]

As my hobby of crafting is money saving I thought I would post this here. I like to make things out of something that would normally be thrown away. It's money saving because I can usually source materials for nothing, or very little if I buy from car boot sales. Crafting can be done on the cheap with very little outlay if you look around for materials to work with. My friend gave me a bag of fleece off-cuts, she was given them by someone who makes soft toys. These would normally be thrown away.

Anyway, I've made a cat mat, and it cost nothing.



It's 22 inches by 20 inches. I hand stitched the pieces onto a piece of worn out old bed sheet. The backing is two layers of old curtain lining given to me years ago. The binding is one leg from an old pair of pyjamas. George the model cat is the one which was dumped at my front door. I am fostering him till we find a home. The cat mat will go to our pens, we have five cats waiting for re homing at the moment. Toodle pip.

[Spreckly]

Beautifully colourful mat, Ilona, and George is gorgeous.

[mrs boodles]

Really like that Ilona.
I love your craft projects.

[Mo]

Beautiful cat. I like the way all those different sized off-cuts are fitted together.

[Meanqueen]

I went to town today and spent some money, £15.51 on animals, and £10.14 on me, in five shops and the Cash and Carry. 3 tins of chick peas for £1, broccoli, 8 bananas, cheese, and flapjacks. The super six in Aldidly were not what I wanted so I gave them a miss. I treated myself to a bottle of chardonnay for £3.49, I will sip this over three days, I limit myself to a bottle of wine every three to four weeks, then maybe a can of cider in between times.

I bought a four pack of kitchen towel, not that I ever use it in the kitchen. It's to wipe my constant cold and wet nose. I find that tissues are no good, fall apart in no time, toilet paper is the same. Two ply kitchen roll is very thin, so I am trying three ply which should be better. These rolls will last a year, won't need them in the summer, so I'll still have some left next winter.

I put £10 of petrol in the car as it was hovering on the red. If I go on a long journey I will have to put some more in, but for just pottering about this will be enough. I will do a supermarket late shop sometime next week, probably Wednesday or Thursday. Must go a bit earlier next time because I missed some of the yellow stickers last time.

I am finding I don't need the heating on hardly at all. I am plenty warm enough with my dressing gown over my clothes. The scrimping continues.

[Meanqueen]

Good morning. It's bright and sunny here, a good day for a walk, costs nothing to put the boots on and have a bimble around the village.

Yesterday I made a big stew/hotpot/curry/casserole, whatever you like to call it. I just chop up the veg I have, (plenty of potatoes, carrots, and onions ), and put it in a big pan with some spices. I found a tin of tomatoes in the cupboard which I have been meaning to use up but never got round to it. Dated December 2012, oh dear, not like me to miss that. Shove it in. Then I added a tin of vegetable soup which my friend gave me after a cupboard tidy, dated August 2013. Shove it in. I wouldn't dream of buying tins of vegetable soup now I make my own from scratch, but never one to pass up a freebie.

It has worked out very well. Three days of meals in one pan. Quids in
Ilona

[anglynn]

George is beautiful. The last George I 'knew' had a last name of Harrison. My first true love! Ha ha ha. I was 13.

[Meanqueen]

My six weeks of money off vouchers have arrived from the BIG supermarket. The ones where you have to spend a certain amount to get the discount. It's usually £4 off the first £30 shop, then £3 off the rest. I only ever use the first voucher because I struggle to get my spend up to the required amount. I think they have noticed, so now I have a voucher for £3 off a £20 spend. I will use it this week, my fridge is bare so I should find £20's worth of groceries that I need. I probably won't use the other five vouchers for £2 off, unless I stock up on tins and packets, or if they have an offer on cat food.

My bank statement arrived today. Thankfully more went in that what came out last month. I don't have many entries on my statement because I keep my direct debits to a minimum. It's easy to check it. Only broadband/home phone, and house insurance on this one. There are two cash withdrawals from the machine in the bank, which gives me enough for purchases at different shops around the town.

I don't have separate pots for different things I need to save up for, it's all in the one pot in the bank. I keep in mind what I need to be paying and make sure the money is there. April is RAC, an annual payment. The first bill from Ebico, the new utilities provider, will arrive before that, possibly next month. I haven't used hardly any heating in this mild winter, so I am hoping it will quite low.
Ilona

[jackian]

Good morning. It's bright and sunny here, a good day for a walk, costs nothing to put the boots on and have a bimble around the village. :-s in
Ilona

Nothing like a lovely sunny day to up lift a persons spirits!
When it is nice and you can get out and about I don't think food is thought about so much .it is also a time to start thinking about seeds and growing ..which saves ££££ even in just a small space .

Jackie x

[Meanqueen]

Had a stroke of good luck today. I was visiting my friend in the next village and thought I would take a look at the new Tes&co Xpress store which has been open for a week, before I came home. I timed it just right, went straight to the reduced, yellow sticker section, and found loads. I filled my basket, then wondered if I had enough to pay for it as I had only put a few coins in my pocket. I watched the totals as the items went through the scanner. Yipeeee, only £2.66, I had enough. Sixteen items, with a value of £19.55 if sold at the correct price. I was well chuffed.

I had planned on going shopping tonight, but not sure if I need to now. I have loads of broccoli to get through. There are carrots, spring onions, yogurt, mousse, clotted cream, milk, and some ham for the cats. I think I will go though, I might be on a roll, I feel lucky.
Ilona