Stef's Frugal 14

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
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Stef
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Stef's Frugal 14

Post by Stef »

Thanks Richard. This is just what I need to help me think out loud.

I have already made the start. I am amalgamating my life into one doable lump. So my weight loss has lead to my Charity Shop Challenge. My inability to love my job has pushed me to actively look for an escape route. Both the Charity Shop Challenge and the Escape Route require me to do something other than veg out of an evening - which may help me lose yet more weight and may even make the day job easier to put up with. Does that sound convoluted?? It feels great :-D

I will be back! I have some blog sorting to do...
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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Right. So what am I aiming for? Well, the landlord's agent just put the rent up (OMG!!!!). So we really do have to start thinking about it - buy somewhere smaller, lose the chickens :? , lose the relaxed, stress free lifestyle or plug away at saving and accept the situation?

He may have just quit smoking - he is doing really well with the vape thingy he bought himself. So that money will be available to save every month.

I've given myself a really small weekly budget to live off and a lot of restrictions on what I can buy for me. Essentials only and most of them must be pre-loved or Freegled.

I shall carboot the junk I have cleared and that cash will support the crafting hobby-cum-business I am endeavoring to grow a little this year.

Then we must really concentrate on the small things, magazines, books etc. We spend far too much on them. We've joined the library and taken out 2 more magazine subscriptions. If we stick to them we will have saved 40% of the cover costs.

We'll try the pocket money thing again. A specific amount of cash each week and a jingle jar. Any money left over at the end of the week goes into the jingle jar and is used over summer for holidays - usually a drive out and a meal or two. Though it is our 25th wedding anniversary this year..... mmmm!
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
Scrambled
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

Post by Scrambled »

Stef wrote:My inability to love my job has pushed me to actively look for an escape route.



Good for you - very best of luck with it. Miserable existence in a hated job impacts so drastically on all parts of your life (speaking from experience here!!) so I really feel for you on this and wish you every bit of luck with that. The spanner in the works is the rent rise, of course, but for what it's worth I would urge you to look at trying to do what you want to with your personal aims (re job etc) as well as dealing with this. You may just find somewhere lovely, smaller but cheaper and which will allow you to keep your hens (sorry, I don't know how many you've got....).

You're right to think about the small things - the differences you can make can be surprising in terms of monetary benefit. We cut down from having a newspaper both days at the weekend to just the Saturday one. Peanuts? Maybe - but it halved the paper bill each month. Any trip out in the car (we're middle of nowhere, can't walk anywhere unfortunately) is planned to make best use of fuel and combine trips to wherever I need to go in one journey. Shopping at an A..i, getting clothes second hand on e..y, being savvy with shopping generally, using home made cheap as chips cleaning products...etc etc.

And I'm with you on the library - I get five books at a time and renew online so I'm not traipsing back and to the library til I've read 'em all.

I really wish you luck and will follow your diary with interest )t' >fi<
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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Thanks :-D

As soon as the target town is accessible, i.e. there is no water between here and there and the Abbey car park is not flooded, we will start house viewings. We need to know whether the houses are too small, cramped, lacking in parking spaces etc. At the moment we just have a sort of idea that it might do as it is reasonably cheap and is small enough not to be too much of a change from the silent, people free existence we currently enjoy.

It would be further for me to drive to work but would put us in walking distance of shops. At the moment it is a 15 - 30 mile round trip to get to a shop, depending on which way we go, or which place is actually accessible during the winter floods.

We shall see...
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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So, I took the 30 mile detour for my haircut, madness. Last night the chicken water feeder magically broke in half, so yet another detour is required (not quite as far this time).

The upside is I have ordered one magazine, 52% saving, and discarded the other.

I have decided Aldee's is no good, we prefer Leedl, but that is miles away. I have booked us in for 2 house viewings next weekend. I also had a good look at the 'local' shops and they are really nice. Fruit, veg, good bread all sorted. Plus an emergency butcher or two.

I also booked flights to Spain - oh what a frugal start. Mind you the difference in prices from one airport to another is stunning. yike*
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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I had a rummage through the freezer (I remembered, once a month have a rummage) and listed all the bots and bobses hiding in there.


I had a look in the hutch and the fridge too, all sorts of things lurk in there.

I had found sheets of lasagne were really close to their use by, so I had bought 4 boxes for £1 - and does pasta go off? Nah! So into the hutch it had gone. This stuff was dated last August and cooked up really well.

I had a jar of peppers lurking n the darkest recesses of the fridge, some squishy and very tasty tomatoes, some old garlic, no idea how long either had been lurking int the cupboard There was a bit and a bob of carrot and celery also in the freezer, so they got chopped up and chucked in. Mince beef came courtesy of our regular butcher and his 'sod it I'll mince it' box. Some of the Christmas cheese came out of the freezer for the white sauce and the last nubby dry bit of parmesan topped it off.

It went into the oven with a mince pie and a chicken and leek pie and stayed in after the oven was switched off. Packaged it into 2 small tubs and 4 double ones. I reckon that cost about 40p per portion. The pies were made up from freezer leftovers too and possibly cost about £2.00 each, they should each make 2 meals for 2 people.

So we now have 8 meals for 2 that will only need to be matched up with the veg in the freezer. Yay! I is being frugal :-D
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
Scrambled
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

Post by Scrambled »

Stef wrote:Yay! I is being frugal :-D


You certainly is :-D )t'
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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Well I went shopping today. I needed ratty treats - they were on a twofer!

I had to have a large cork display board - I will be making it into a jewellery display thing. It is 60 x 90cm and cost £2.50. Even after I have added the fabric covering it will only cost £2.50 plus the staples for a staple gun. The hooks will be made from broken jewellery and panel pins. Jewellery and fabric came from a Freegle shout and the panel pins were in one of Climber's job boxes. He usually brings home anything he thinks will be usable, it gets binned otherwise.

Needed something to store my small fabric bits in and was given 4 blue mushroom crates. All is now ironed and stored :-D

I was also looking for clothes. But saw nothing I liked, so that saved me a packet {rofwl}
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

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Yowser. 2 no spend days - OK £1.35 on coffee.

That's cos yesterday was supposed to be a Down Day - 500kcals only - so I had an omelette when I got home.

Today has become a second Down Day - definitely unintended, fortunately I am not feeling hungry. I have been invigilating exams all day, 9 - 5pm solid, blech. So I have just put some pasta on, crushed tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Tomorrow I'll have to remember to eat. That'll cost me :)
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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Stef
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Re: Stef's Frugal 14

Post by Stef »

Great week. £20 for petrol and £7.20 for food.

Tonight we are having steaks a la Bernie Inn :-D

Tomorrow we go looking at houses again and Sunday I will have to buy some clothes. My jeans just won't stay up and I have to visit the APs in Spain in a couple of weeks! Outlet shop here I come (Gap maybe. I haven't shopped there for decades :-D )

We even saved on leccy - they switched us off for 8 hours to do some maintenance work yike*
1 dumbo rat still without a name; 2 top eared rats Octavia and Ursula
1 Rhode Rock, 1 Sussex Star, 1 Blue Ranger - The New Monochrome Set

My crafty blog, it's Frugal too http://relovedremnants.blogspot.co.uk/
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