Dear reader,
Happy Easter everyone.
Posting will resume tomorrow. I will be having another giveaway soon so make sure you are a follower.
News of another life changing challenge I have started today. Will update you tomorrow.
In the meantime I hope you are enjoying yourselves with family and loved ones.
FIB. X
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Are holidays on your frugal menu?
Dear reader,
Hi to new follower Thrift Deluxe. Thank you for joining me.
I have two rules for myself on this blog. If you take the time and effort to write me a comment, I always reply. I love to hear about you and your lives. Second I will follow you back as I like to know about my readers and I think it builds a nice rapport.
Yesterday I read Frugal Queens post about heating or holidays. As you may know by my moaning, I do not like my gas provider, in fact I think they are thieving buggers. It is that dislike that keeps me from turning on our central heating although we could afford to.
Last night when I got home from work the house was a fresh (read bloody cold) 13.5 which dropped to 13 at about midnight. I couldn't be bothered to light the fire as I would be off to bedroom anyway.
Big man also worked late and we snuggled into bed, fleece pj's, duvet and fleece throw. I was boiling a few hours later.
Anyhow, I digress, holidays, holiday, holidays. My favourite thing. I have been lucky enough and stupid with money enough to have been to some great places. I travelled extensively as a child although when your parents say, "Thats the Taj Mahal."when you are 8 years old, you don't really appreciate it. I used to go away, without fail at least twice a year. Dubai, Caribbean, Vegas, cruising as well at Europe. Club class for me on long haul darlings!
The credit card was well and truly bashed. I loved the spending, it was the blasted paying it back I hated.
Becoming frugal has been a major change for me. I am determined not to enter my retirement and have to worry about day to day living. That is one of the reasons I am cutting back now. As well as some debts which have paid for home improvements we have a large mortgage to feed.
We haven't had a holiday since 2011 when we had a good one for 2 weeks. We will have a holiday next year though as I don't want to feel like I'm not living or doing anything at all. We have giving up smoking and are feeling all the benefits, both financial and health. So we will bash our debts this year and see what we can save for next year. I feel another progress bar coming on,
So for me the answer is yes, I will go without central heating for holidays. I have the log burner but we have sourced about £500 of free wood.
Reader, have a happy Easter if you celebrate it, if not enjoy the long weekend here in the
Remember the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday. I am off to see if I can scratch together a breakfast in the frugal kitchen.
FIB. X
Hi to new follower Thrift Deluxe. Thank you for joining me.
I have two rules for myself on this blog. If you take the time and effort to write me a comment, I always reply. I love to hear about you and your lives. Second I will follow you back as I like to know about my readers and I think it builds a nice rapport.
Yesterday I read Frugal Queens post about heating or holidays. As you may know by my moaning, I do not like my gas provider, in fact I think they are thieving buggers. It is that dislike that keeps me from turning on our central heating although we could afford to.
Last night when I got home from work the house was a fresh (read bloody cold) 13.5 which dropped to 13 at about midnight. I couldn't be bothered to light the fire as I would be off to bedroom anyway.
Big man also worked late and we snuggled into bed, fleece pj's, duvet and fleece throw. I was boiling a few hours later.
Anyhow, I digress, holidays, holiday, holidays. My favourite thing. I have been lucky enough and stupid with money enough to have been to some great places. I travelled extensively as a child although when your parents say, "Thats the Taj Mahal."when you are 8 years old, you don't really appreciate it. I used to go away, without fail at least twice a year. Dubai, Caribbean, Vegas, cruising as well at Europe. Club class for me on long haul darlings!
The credit card was well and truly bashed. I loved the spending, it was the blasted paying it back I hated.
Becoming frugal has been a major change for me. I am determined not to enter my retirement and have to worry about day to day living. That is one of the reasons I am cutting back now. As well as some debts which have paid for home improvements we have a large mortgage to feed.
We haven't had a holiday since 2011 when we had a good one for 2 weeks. We will have a holiday next year though as I don't want to feel like I'm not living or doing anything at all. We have giving up smoking and are feeling all the benefits, both financial and health. So we will bash our debts this year and see what we can save for next year. I feel another progress bar coming on,
So for me the answer is yes, I will go without central heating for holidays. I have the log burner but we have sourced about £500 of free wood.
Reader, have a happy Easter if you celebrate it, if not enjoy the long weekend here in the
Remember the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday. I am off to see if I can scratch together a breakfast in the frugal kitchen.
FIB. X
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
They all want my money!
Dear reader,
Hello to my new follower No More Spending. I enjoy your blog and hope you will come over to mine sometimes too.
I got up this morning and started my little ritual. I have a cup of tea and retire with my I pad to the lounge. Once parked, I like to firstly, read my emails and see who has commented on my blog. I always smile when I see my blogging friends have been visiting me. I then try to muddle through the rest. After I have done the emails I check my bank account online to make sure no money has slipped away that I didn't know about. (As was the case last week of £158 taken in error)
Big man is instructed to make more tea as I finish the first. He then lights the log burner.
I noticed, this morning that most of the emails I get are all based around me spending money.
There are the usual stack of PPI ones-in the junk mailbox. The rest are from
Groupon, wowcher and other such companies. Now don't get me wrong, we have used some of these in the past and had some great deals from them so I don't mind them contacting me.
There were a load of adverts for sales, this store, that store, £3 bras and 50p knickers from M&S.
None left in the "good sizes" for me though.
There were offers of test drives, greetings cards, injury claims, films, cheap glasses (I don't wear them) and holidays.
I just felt this morning that everyone wanted my money. I checked the bank account, even they want me to pay them£15 a month for an upgraded account.
The post came, flyers for discounted furniture. The tv came on, buy this, buy that. Aaaaaggggghhhhh.
I was so relieved to catch up with you all and had a read of your blogs which kept me sane.
Do you feel like everyone is after you for your money?
Frugal Queen has written a good post about emergency savings HERE and it has made me really think. Big man and I just don't seem to have anything left at the end of the month. After the mortgage and the home improvement loans plus the daily bills and living costs we have nil.
I have added two progress bars to my blog. These are the 2 smallest ones so not to scare you! ( me really)
We will be paying these off and hopefully the bars will move quickly.
Thank you all for your kind messages via me to Thrifty Living. She has responded and is ok. She has blogged today as well to us all. I am constantly surprised and delighted to be part of this online community. The warmth and kindness that is here is a warming reminder in a sometimes horrible world.
I do genuinely feel that I know some of you and could pop round for tea and likewise.
Best wishes sent to Karen at Chelmarsh Chunterings who was not feeling too great.
To the rest, thank you for reading, commenting and for being there to help each other in this journey through life, however you do it.
FIB. X
Hello to my new follower No More Spending. I enjoy your blog and hope you will come over to mine sometimes too.
I got up this morning and started my little ritual. I have a cup of tea and retire with my I pad to the lounge. Once parked, I like to firstly, read my emails and see who has commented on my blog. I always smile when I see my blogging friends have been visiting me. I then try to muddle through the rest. After I have done the emails I check my bank account online to make sure no money has slipped away that I didn't know about. (As was the case last week of £158 taken in error)
Big man is instructed to make more tea as I finish the first. He then lights the log burner.
I noticed, this morning that most of the emails I get are all based around me spending money.
There are the usual stack of PPI ones-in the junk mailbox. The rest are from
Groupon, wowcher and other such companies. Now don't get me wrong, we have used some of these in the past and had some great deals from them so I don't mind them contacting me.
There were a load of adverts for sales, this store, that store, £3 bras and 50p knickers from M&S.
None left in the "good sizes" for me though.
There were offers of test drives, greetings cards, injury claims, films, cheap glasses (I don't wear them) and holidays.
I just felt this morning that everyone wanted my money. I checked the bank account, even they want me to pay them£15 a month for an upgraded account.
The post came, flyers for discounted furniture. The tv came on, buy this, buy that. Aaaaaggggghhhhh.
I was so relieved to catch up with you all and had a read of your blogs which kept me sane.
Do you feel like everyone is after you for your money?
Frugal Queen has written a good post about emergency savings HERE and it has made me really think. Big man and I just don't seem to have anything left at the end of the month. After the mortgage and the home improvement loans plus the daily bills and living costs we have nil.
I have added two progress bars to my blog. These are the 2 smallest ones so not to scare you! ( me really)
We will be paying these off and hopefully the bars will move quickly.
Thank you all for your kind messages via me to Thrifty Living. She has responded and is ok. She has blogged today as well to us all. I am constantly surprised and delighted to be part of this online community. The warmth and kindness that is here is a warming reminder in a sometimes horrible world.
I do genuinely feel that I know some of you and could pop round for tea and likewise.
Best wishes sent to Karen at Chelmarsh Chunterings who was not feeling too great.
To the rest, thank you for reading, commenting and for being there to help each other in this journey through life, however you do it.
FIB. X
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Lost blog please read.
Dear reader,
I have just come home from work after 12 hours. I am worn out and not in writing mode I'm afraid.
I would like to put out a call though for Thrifty Living.
Thrifty Living had just started blogging and we were njoting her post but she had A tragedy at home and now We can't find her.. A few of you have asked where she has gone and I can't find her either.
So Thrifty Living, if you read this please know we are missing you and want to make sure you are ok.
Do drop a comment so we know you are alright and please know that although we are new friends we are here for you.
Much love to you all.
Frugal in Bucks.
X
I have just come home from work after 12 hours. I am worn out and not in writing mode I'm afraid.
I would like to put out a call though for Thrifty Living.
Thrifty Living had just started blogging and we were njoting her post but she had A tragedy at home and now We can't find her.. A few of you have asked where she has gone and I can't find her either.
So Thrifty Living, if you read this please know we are missing you and want to make sure you are ok.
Do drop a comment so we know you are alright and please know that although we are new friends we are here for you.
Much love to you all.
Frugal in Bucks.
X
Monday, 25 March 2013
Better bread and frugal shopping
Dear reader,
I am back to work so back to writing in the evening. Don't much feel like it at 5am.
Two new followers to my blog are Simply Vintage and Andrea.Rey. Thank you for reading about my new life, it's always nice for any blogger to have new followers.
For those who follow me, I have joined everyone of your blogs and love reading about you. I have learnt so much in the short time I have found blog land and it has given me a huge boost of motivation to change some of the negative things in my life. For that, I am so very grateful.
I really am into the meal planning this week which also saw us start the enveloping system of shopping within a budget. We took out our £50 and into the envelope it went, with the shopping list written on it. Big man was not at work today and was duly sent off to Lidl to hunt and gather.
He forgot the list and I had to direct him via my mobile. He only forgot eggs, washing up liquid and shower gel. I've told him we will have to be dirty this week but I think he's got it all wrong!
He spent £16 on fruit and veg, he also had to dip into it to get the chainsaw sharpened. We have managed to get a load of free wood and needs to cut it into smaller pieces. Another £15.
We have £19 left to last us this week.
I tried three loaves yesterday and managed to get two that were edible. The first one went to the birds and some I froze for breadcrumbs for my faggots.
I am back to work so back to writing in the evening. Don't much feel like it at 5am.
Two new followers to my blog are Simply Vintage and Andrea.Rey. Thank you for reading about my new life, it's always nice for any blogger to have new followers.
For those who follow me, I have joined everyone of your blogs and love reading about you. I have learnt so much in the short time I have found blog land and it has given me a huge boost of motivation to change some of the negative things in my life. For that, I am so very grateful.
I really am into the meal planning this week which also saw us start the enveloping system of shopping within a budget. We took out our £50 and into the envelope it went, with the shopping list written on it. Big man was not at work today and was duly sent off to Lidl to hunt and gather.
He forgot the list and I had to direct him via my mobile. He only forgot eggs, washing up liquid and shower gel. I've told him we will have to be dirty this week but I think he's got it all wrong!
He spent £16 on fruit and veg, he also had to dip into it to get the chainsaw sharpened. We have managed to get a load of free wood and needs to cut it into smaller pieces. Another £15.
We have £19 left to last us this week.
I tried three loaves yesterday and managed to get two that were edible. The first one went to the birds and some I froze for breadcrumbs for my faggots.
I have stuck to our menu plan so far and last night we had the gammon, which I did for 5 hours in the slow cooker with frozen veg and Mark Spensive mash that I got for 50p. I had some homemade parsley sauce in the freezer that I loosened up with some milk. I like this on ham as it counteracts any saltiness. I often use frozen veg as because of work I find it difficult to have time to get fresh in and use it. I find the frozen quicker but we also have fresh when we can. Is there still that snobbery with frozen veg?
Anyway reader, as my menu plan says, we are having fish, veg and have done tiny roast potatoes.
Have cooked some chicken breasts for big mans lunch tomorrow, I will have some too with a salad.
How is your menu planning this week?
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Tales from the kitchen.
Dear reader,
A frosty Sunday morning here but a warm and sunny welcome to my new followers,
Foster mummy and Tasmanian Minimalist. Thank you for peeping into my life. Do say hi when you are passing by.
As you know, I don't like parting with my money to the gas company. Now I love the heating, I am a warm person, don't like the cold at all. However, what I don't like is the continual reports that the fat cats are getting mega money and bonuses while we, the little people are getting the urine extracted from us. (Posh version!)
That is why the heating is off, our house doesn't get much past 14-15. We have the log burner on at night and this heats the bottom of the house and drys the clothes. We both have fleecy PJ's and a hot water bottle for bed. It was all worth it when I looked at our online gas account and they have had to reduce our monthly direct debit again. Ha ha ha. They have estimated £44 a month for us. They will be lucky. I am determined to not pay them anything like that.
I have got off to a good start with the cooking from what we have in stock. Yesterday I cooked the pork belly strips in a Maggi so juicy BBQ bag that I got from AF. I had two, sad, sprouty spuds left in the bottom of the sack. I scraped the sprouty bits of and scrubbed them a bit. Cut them into wedges, 3 mins in the microwave, sprayed with fry light, a sprinkle of a bit of Nacho spice i had left over and put them in the oven with the BBQ pork. I delved into the freezer for the frozen veg I always have and under it I found, one organic steak and some braising beef. Result!
I decided I would do a bit of spicy rice as well so I put plain rice and the veg on to boil. Once boiled I always remove the rice and just leave the lid on tight. It cooks beautifully and much less energy use.
I still had some of the Nacho packet left so when the rice and veg was cooked I added it with a squirt of tomato ketchup. Lovely, spicy rice. The pork was cooked but I just browned and crisped it up under a hot grill. It was a very tasty and cheap dinner, with a dollop of garlic mayo for the wedges.
Sadly, my bread making has not gone so well. I had a bread mix packet for sunflower seed bread. Nothing to do except add warm water. No chance of messing that up. Or so I thought.............
I put the packet in first and then added the water. WRONG way round. Oh well, what could go wrong, it all gets mixed up. Three hours layer a marvellous smell permeated our kitchen. I rushed to the machine and pulled out what I can only describe as a paving slab.
I let it cool hoping that taste would compensate for ugliness and cut into it. It was damp and very solid. I wonder if it is because my kitchen is really cold as well?
A frosty Sunday morning here but a warm and sunny welcome to my new followers,
Foster mummy and Tasmanian Minimalist. Thank you for peeping into my life. Do say hi when you are passing by.
As you know, I don't like parting with my money to the gas company. Now I love the heating, I am a warm person, don't like the cold at all. However, what I don't like is the continual reports that the fat cats are getting mega money and bonuses while we, the little people are getting the urine extracted from us. (Posh version!)
That is why the heating is off, our house doesn't get much past 14-15. We have the log burner on at night and this heats the bottom of the house and drys the clothes. We both have fleecy PJ's and a hot water bottle for bed. It was all worth it when I looked at our online gas account and they have had to reduce our monthly direct debit again. Ha ha ha. They have estimated £44 a month for us. They will be lucky. I am determined to not pay them anything like that.
I have got off to a good start with the cooking from what we have in stock. Yesterday I cooked the pork belly strips in a Maggi so juicy BBQ bag that I got from AF. I had two, sad, sprouty spuds left in the bottom of the sack. I scraped the sprouty bits of and scrubbed them a bit. Cut them into wedges, 3 mins in the microwave, sprayed with fry light, a sprinkle of a bit of Nacho spice i had left over and put them in the oven with the BBQ pork. I delved into the freezer for the frozen veg I always have and under it I found, one organic steak and some braising beef. Result!
I decided I would do a bit of spicy rice as well so I put plain rice and the veg on to boil. Once boiled I always remove the rice and just leave the lid on tight. It cooks beautifully and much less energy use.
Sadly, my bread making has not gone so well. I had a bread mix packet for sunflower seed bread. Nothing to do except add warm water. No chance of messing that up. Or so I thought.............
I put the packet in first and then added the water. WRONG way round. Oh well, what could go wrong, it all gets mixed up. Three hours layer a marvellous smell permeated our kitchen. I rushed to the machine and pulled out what I can only describe as a paving slab.
I let it cool hoping that taste would compensate for ugliness and cut into it. It was damp and very solid. I wonder if it is because my kitchen is really cold as well?
I have cut it up to show you. There is still all the flour on the outside where it didn't mix in properly.
I was determined not to waste it so I put a slice in the toaster. I had to toast it three times to get it to crisp. It was quite nice though.
I will keep trying and I know some of you have kindly sent me your recipes so I will try them too.
We had a no spend day yesterday so that's great. I may have to go out for fruit and veg today to,last the week. The weather is rubbish and really cold. We are off on a mission to collect some free wood we have been offered but we have to chop it up to get it in the car first so that will warm us up.
You may recall, the poll I ran last week on the top of my blog? It asked the best way to save money with choices of , turn off the heating, go vegetarian, cook from scratch or make do and mend.
The outright winner with 60% of votes was............
COOKING FROM SCRATCH. Thank you for your votes.
Bread is obviously not my forte in the kitchen. I am good at other things though.
What's your signature dish? What do you make that's easy?
Have a peaceful Sunday. X
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Meal plan from stock
Dear reader,
Lisa May Walters and Counting Pennies are my new followers. Hi there and welcome to my blog.
We travelled back from rainy, cold Kent yesterday afternoon and are back in snowy Buckinghamshire. We woke to a blanket of white this morning and it is still coming down heavily. I can't believe it is April in a few days!
I decided to have a stock take of my big larder, cupboards and fridge freezer this morning and create a meal plan and shopping list around that.
I have an extensive collection of packet sauces, stir fry sauces, Thai curry pastes, bolognaise and beef stew mix. Also several Maggi so simple BBQ sauce roasting bags, cookie and muffin mixes, onion bhaji mix, a lot of dried noodles and a lot of cous cous. This is my Approved Food stash and a large sack of onions.
I also have the usual dried pulses and pasta. Red lentils, casserole mix and rice. Lots of tins of tuna, tinned tomatoes and some mandarins. Porridge oats, bread flour, plain and self raising. Some part cooked bread rolls, mini naans and a hoisin wrap kit.
The fridge is pretty bare, eggs x 5, cheese- cheddar and mozzarella, milk and condiments and lurking at the bottom a pack of beet root.
The freezer, however, is packed after a large shop at Lidl the week before we went away.
Chicken breasts x 15, the same of portions-thighs and drumsticks. A joint of ham, a joint of gammon, veggie sausages x2 packs, meat sausages, fish in a light sauce, River Cobbler fish, minced beef, a homemade lasagne, chicken Kiev, homemade faggots, a portion of M&S mash (50p) some frozen veg and frozen raspberries.
I am going back to making our own bread, so dusted off the machine today, ready to go tonight.
My menu plan is as follows. Breakfasts will be porridge and/or toast. Lunches will either be the extra from the precious night that I will cook or sandwiches with some fruit and chocolate biscuit bar.
23/3 leftover pizza-BBQ pork belly, potato wedges and veg.
24/3 sausage, egg and toast-Gammon joint, veg and mash.
25/3 ham sandwich-Fish in sauce and veg.
26/3 ham sandwich-Chicken stir fry and special rice
27/3 Leftover stir fry-Spaghetti bolognaise
28/3 Leftover bolognaise-something on toast
29/3 River Cobbler fish in a light batter or breadcrumbs and h/m chips
30/3 BBQ chicken, wedges and veg
31/3 H/M pizza-roast chicken, Yorkshire pud, veg, roasties
1/4 cooked breakfast, eggs, sausage, tomatoes-chicken curry, bhaji a, rice and naans.
I should just have to buy fruit, vegetables and potatoes this week. We have loads of milk and hopefully the bread making will go ok. We have enough to eat, I just need to be organised.
Do you menu plan or just see what you fancy?
Lisa May Walters and Counting Pennies are my new followers. Hi there and welcome to my blog.
We travelled back from rainy, cold Kent yesterday afternoon and are back in snowy Buckinghamshire. We woke to a blanket of white this morning and it is still coming down heavily. I can't believe it is April in a few days!
I decided to have a stock take of my big larder, cupboards and fridge freezer this morning and create a meal plan and shopping list around that.
I have an extensive collection of packet sauces, stir fry sauces, Thai curry pastes, bolognaise and beef stew mix. Also several Maggi so simple BBQ sauce roasting bags, cookie and muffin mixes, onion bhaji mix, a lot of dried noodles and a lot of cous cous. This is my Approved Food stash and a large sack of onions.
I also have the usual dried pulses and pasta. Red lentils, casserole mix and rice. Lots of tins of tuna, tinned tomatoes and some mandarins. Porridge oats, bread flour, plain and self raising. Some part cooked bread rolls, mini naans and a hoisin wrap kit.
The fridge is pretty bare, eggs x 5, cheese- cheddar and mozzarella, milk and condiments and lurking at the bottom a pack of beet root.
The freezer, however, is packed after a large shop at Lidl the week before we went away.
Chicken breasts x 15, the same of portions-thighs and drumsticks. A joint of ham, a joint of gammon, veggie sausages x2 packs, meat sausages, fish in a light sauce, River Cobbler fish, minced beef, a homemade lasagne, chicken Kiev, homemade faggots, a portion of M&S mash (50p) some frozen veg and frozen raspberries.
I am going back to making our own bread, so dusted off the machine today, ready to go tonight.
My menu plan is as follows. Breakfasts will be porridge and/or toast. Lunches will either be the extra from the precious night that I will cook or sandwiches with some fruit and chocolate biscuit bar.
23/3 leftover pizza-BBQ pork belly, potato wedges and veg.
24/3 sausage, egg and toast-Gammon joint, veg and mash.
25/3 ham sandwich-Fish in sauce and veg.
26/3 ham sandwich-Chicken stir fry and special rice
27/3 Leftover stir fry-Spaghetti bolognaise
28/3 Leftover bolognaise-something on toast
29/3 River Cobbler fish in a light batter or breadcrumbs and h/m chips
30/3 BBQ chicken, wedges and veg
31/3 H/M pizza-roast chicken, Yorkshire pud, veg, roasties
1/4 cooked breakfast, eggs, sausage, tomatoes-chicken curry, bhaji a, rice and naans.
I should just have to buy fruit, vegetables and potatoes this week. We have loads of milk and hopefully the bread making will go ok. We have enough to eat, I just need to be organised.
Do you menu plan or just see what you fancy?
Friday, 22 March 2013
Thank you
Dear reader,
Before I start I'd like to thank you all for your kind comments supporting us as we continue to be non smokers. I'm sure it's boring for those of you who never have smoked and we know it is our fault for starting.
It's difficult but we are determined. It's given me some compassion when I see others with addictions and I feel for them.
Never judge a man until you've walked in his shoes.
It is our last day in Kent. My parents returned yesterday evening from their holiday.
I cooked for us all making our favourite faggots, boiled potatoes, carrots and peas with a thick gravy.
Aldi had 4 pork loin steaks for £3.29. I had to go elsewhere for the liver as they don't seem to sell it in either Aldi or Lidl. I got 2 packs for £1.75. I had tried to just buy organic meat for ethical reasons mainly but we just can't afford it. The supermarkets are charging £11 for an organic chicken and trying to work 12 hours a day and still find time to get to a local butcher was just not happening.
The faggots were so quick to make and I made 18 so I froze some for my mum and dad to have another night.
Mum and dad had been on a European cruise around the Med. The recession was very evident in Spain with lots of shops boarded up, which was a shame. I think some of the countries are worse off than us although our high streets are looking pretty dismal too.
Having been out to America a few time, where they have malls, I wonder if we will eventually go,this way too. It's so easy to just drive to a huge car parking area and get out to various shops all in one place. I suppose we have been voting with our feet for some years now.
I look at our High Streets and see, fast food shops, betting shops, pound shops and the occasional charity shop but even these are closing down. We live in a tiny village where there is a supermarket of sorts. I use it in emergencies as the produce isn't great, there is also a farm that sells eggs and milk that I try to use when I can. It's difficult working full time as I tend to go for the easy option and sadly the easy, supermarket option tend to be the cheapest too.
We will be travelling home to Buckinghamshire today. I've missed our house and our bed. That surely must be a sign of getting old? I'm looking forward to planning our food and using the envelopes for shopping. £50 in each one, we will be a few days short at the end but we will manage.
I think I may be ok the first week as we have a freezer full of bargains I found in Lidl before we went away.
I am looking forward to making our own bread again. Lots of you have given me recipes to try out.
We won't have the heating on at all from now on. British Gas have done a reading while we have been away. They make their bills very difficult to read don't they? We pay them £50 a month for our heating and hot water and we don't really scrimp on baths or showers. They are reducing our direct debit to £44 a month now, I suppose this is to allow for the summer months. I'd like to get this down further, the less I give to them the better. There are some things I don't mind paying for, where I don't feel the company is robbing me. I don't mind the water bill, the Sky bill, the mobile phone bill even but the gas annoys me. It annoys me to think there are old people out there too scared to put it on, freezing to death and they really are.
On a happier note, we have two more days off before we go back to work then it's a short week with the long weekend off for me anyway.
What are your plans for Easter? Will you be cooking something special?
Have a happy weekend.
S. x
Before I start I'd like to thank you all for your kind comments supporting us as we continue to be non smokers. I'm sure it's boring for those of you who never have smoked and we know it is our fault for starting.
It's difficult but we are determined. It's given me some compassion when I see others with addictions and I feel for them.
Never judge a man until you've walked in his shoes.
It is our last day in Kent. My parents returned yesterday evening from their holiday.
I cooked for us all making our favourite faggots, boiled potatoes, carrots and peas with a thick gravy.
Aldi had 4 pork loin steaks for £3.29. I had to go elsewhere for the liver as they don't seem to sell it in either Aldi or Lidl. I got 2 packs for £1.75. I had tried to just buy organic meat for ethical reasons mainly but we just can't afford it. The supermarkets are charging £11 for an organic chicken and trying to work 12 hours a day and still find time to get to a local butcher was just not happening.
The faggots were so quick to make and I made 18 so I froze some for my mum and dad to have another night.
Mum and dad had been on a European cruise around the Med. The recession was very evident in Spain with lots of shops boarded up, which was a shame. I think some of the countries are worse off than us although our high streets are looking pretty dismal too.
Having been out to America a few time, where they have malls, I wonder if we will eventually go,this way too. It's so easy to just drive to a huge car parking area and get out to various shops all in one place. I suppose we have been voting with our feet for some years now.
I look at our High Streets and see, fast food shops, betting shops, pound shops and the occasional charity shop but even these are closing down. We live in a tiny village where there is a supermarket of sorts. I use it in emergencies as the produce isn't great, there is also a farm that sells eggs and milk that I try to use when I can. It's difficult working full time as I tend to go for the easy option and sadly the easy, supermarket option tend to be the cheapest too.
We will be travelling home to Buckinghamshire today. I've missed our house and our bed. That surely must be a sign of getting old? I'm looking forward to planning our food and using the envelopes for shopping. £50 in each one, we will be a few days short at the end but we will manage.
I think I may be ok the first week as we have a freezer full of bargains I found in Lidl before we went away.
I am looking forward to making our own bread again. Lots of you have given me recipes to try out.
We won't have the heating on at all from now on. British Gas have done a reading while we have been away. They make their bills very difficult to read don't they? We pay them £50 a month for our heating and hot water and we don't really scrimp on baths or showers. They are reducing our direct debit to £44 a month now, I suppose this is to allow for the summer months. I'd like to get this down further, the less I give to them the better. There are some things I don't mind paying for, where I don't feel the company is robbing me. I don't mind the water bill, the Sky bill, the mobile phone bill even but the gas annoys me. It annoys me to think there are old people out there too scared to put it on, freezing to death and they really are.
On a happier note, we have two more days off before we go back to work then it's a short week with the long weekend off for me anyway.
What are your plans for Easter? Will you be cooking something special?
Have a happy weekend.
S. x
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Money up in smoke
Good morning dear reader,
My welcomes first to two new followers, Stretching the pennies to save the pounds and pretty vintage roses. May our journeys together be interesting, supportive and fun.
As you know, because I mention it a lot, Big Man and I were both, until recently smokers. Actually, 20 a day each, smokers. I guess that's classed as heavy smokers?
I have been smoking since I was about 16. It started at school with copying the other, naughty but therefore cooler, (or so i thought) kids in my year. My parents had had a very nasty divorce and I am an only child. I suppose it was my way of fitting in, showing I was one of them.
It was still unusual to be a child of a "broken family" as they called it then.
My father had been a domineering bully all my life and hated smoking (despite being one himself when younger) I think this was my way of putting two fingers up to him.
I continued, trying to be cool behind the bike sheds until it had taken a grip. I remember when they were a pound a packet. I used to go to the local school disco, lipgloss and my 10 Silk Cut. I was in the "in crowd" and it felt great.
My life continued, getting a job, socialising, boyfriends, holidays abroad. All the time my little friends came with me. A messy marriage and divorce of my own, they were always there, comforting me, giving me something to do when I was very low.
I knew it was bad for me, I coughed, I wheezed, I found it difficult to run. I tried the patches, hypnosis at £300 a go, twice! Sprays, fake cigarettes-they were good but too close to the real thing.
My mum begged me to stop, still I continued.
As you know, I read a lot of blogs and value what you say. I have learnt a lot from you and I started changing my life when I found these frugal bloggers. It began with SFT, saving for travel who has paid off her mortgage while still travelling to wonderful places. I then found the two Queens, Mean and Frugal. These three ladies really got me thinking about what I do with my money. I work hard to get it, as we all do and these blogs really made me watch where it was going.
I started to begrudge spending the money on smoking, on something that was killing us. There was no point, saving, scrimping and trying to,pay off our mortgage because we probably wouldn't be around long enough to enjoy it. We knew we wanted to stop but it was always tomorrow.
£400 a month we were smoking! I used the mortgage overpayment calculator and if we paid this off our mortgage it saves us about 8 years.
About 2 days later, Mean Queen did a whole post on not smoking. I read it and watched some clips she had added. I showed it to the Big Man who did the same.
I'm not sure if it was seeing it printed or the clips or that is was within my precious blogging community but we have stopped. Cold Turkey!
I want to say a huge thank you to Ilona at Mean Queen and also to SFT who always makes time to send me supportive comments and ideas and to all of you who drop in, leave a comment or follow this blog. It keeps me strong and committed.
My welcomes first to two new followers, Stretching the pennies to save the pounds and pretty vintage roses. May our journeys together be interesting, supportive and fun.
As you know, because I mention it a lot, Big Man and I were both, until recently smokers. Actually, 20 a day each, smokers. I guess that's classed as heavy smokers?
I have been smoking since I was about 16. It started at school with copying the other, naughty but therefore cooler, (or so i thought) kids in my year. My parents had had a very nasty divorce and I am an only child. I suppose it was my way of fitting in, showing I was one of them.
It was still unusual to be a child of a "broken family" as they called it then.
My father had been a domineering bully all my life and hated smoking (despite being one himself when younger) I think this was my way of putting two fingers up to him.
I continued, trying to be cool behind the bike sheds until it had taken a grip. I remember when they were a pound a packet. I used to go to the local school disco, lipgloss and my 10 Silk Cut. I was in the "in crowd" and it felt great.
My life continued, getting a job, socialising, boyfriends, holidays abroad. All the time my little friends came with me. A messy marriage and divorce of my own, they were always there, comforting me, giving me something to do when I was very low.
I knew it was bad for me, I coughed, I wheezed, I found it difficult to run. I tried the patches, hypnosis at £300 a go, twice! Sprays, fake cigarettes-they were good but too close to the real thing.
My mum begged me to stop, still I continued.
As you know, I read a lot of blogs and value what you say. I have learnt a lot from you and I started changing my life when I found these frugal bloggers. It began with SFT, saving for travel who has paid off her mortgage while still travelling to wonderful places. I then found the two Queens, Mean and Frugal. These three ladies really got me thinking about what I do with my money. I work hard to get it, as we all do and these blogs really made me watch where it was going.
I started to begrudge spending the money on smoking, on something that was killing us. There was no point, saving, scrimping and trying to,pay off our mortgage because we probably wouldn't be around long enough to enjoy it. We knew we wanted to stop but it was always tomorrow.
£400 a month we were smoking! I used the mortgage overpayment calculator and if we paid this off our mortgage it saves us about 8 years.
About 2 days later, Mean Queen did a whole post on not smoking. I read it and watched some clips she had added. I showed it to the Big Man who did the same.
I'm not sure if it was seeing it printed or the clips or that is was within my precious blogging community but we have stopped. Cold Turkey!
I want to say a huge thank you to Ilona at Mean Queen and also to SFT who always makes time to send me supportive comments and ideas and to all of you who drop in, leave a comment or follow this blog. It keeps me strong and committed.
 |
| We save this £100 each week. |
Wow.
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
My frugal clothes.
Dear reader,
Thank you to my new followers, Jo, Nim Scutt, Scarlet and Finn. It's lovely to have you visit my blog. I have only been blogging for a few months and its all new to me. To get people actually following the frugal living of my life and debts repayment is extremely motivating.
I can thank the blogging community for the following.
Seriously sorting out our debts-sitting down and listing the exact amounts
Arranging repayments that are manageable yet effective
Finding Approved Foods
Building up a store cupboard with a small stockpile
Knowing the price of items I buy and shopping for the best deals
Budgeting for things we know will happen- gifts, car maintenance, insurances
Growing our own vegetables
Making do and mending what we already have instead of throw and buy again
Cooking all our meals from scratch
Taking packed lunches and drinks to work
Cutting down our energy bill by using log burner
Realising that we have enough
STOPPING SMOKING- big letters as we are so pleased and this has the biggest benefits to us.
Back to realising that we have enough has made me look all through our house as the things we have.
We have an awful lot of books. Big man has a huge collection of DVD's and I have an awful lot of clothes and shoes. The trouble is we don't like getting rid of them. There is only the two of us and we have plenty of storage so that's not an issue. Big man watches the DVD's and we both love to read, we lend our things out too so they get lots of use.
The major thing I have done is not buying any clothes or shoes. I have two huge bags of clothes that just don't fit as I've gained weight. So at the moment I have a very frugal, basic wardrobe. It consists of
1 black jeans
3 blue jeans (one slim fit, one smart, one just plain ugly-good for dog walks)
Various tops-smart and casual
I have several pairs of flat shoes, highs, walking shoes and boots. Luckily I have not "grown" out of these. I refuse to buy clothes and I'm hoping this will spur me into losing weight. I've done it before and I've kicked the smoking so I'm hoping the fat is next.
It's payday for us both today. We both put a set amount into our joint account to pay all the bills, food shopping and car fuel. After that there is nothing left to play with. No treats, no days out, no clothes. Anything we want has to come out of our own accounts and we have set aside a frugal amount this month for treats.
We decided this was just a bills account. I also started my car account which I will put £100 into every payday as I had big bills in the last few months for car tax, insurance, and servicing.
I also put £100 into another account for gifts and general emergencies. Other than that we have no other savings. If anything goes wrong with the house or cars we will just have to find it.
I have a credit card which I have had to put an unexpected bill of £3,000 on. I never have anything on it, if I do, I pay it off straight away. This time, we won't be able to do that so I got onto Money Saving Expert and found the best interest free cards. I have now swapped this onto my new card so we can pay if off with no interest.
We have eaten all the food in my parents house so will have to go shopping today so they have full cupboards when they return from holiday.
This month I am going to try the envelope system, which some of you use with great success. I will have 4 envelopes each with £50 in. This will be our shopping money and I will take each one out with me and it will have to be enough. This does all our food and packed lunches and household cleaning items.
We have also decided that each of us will have £40 for the month for us to spend on what we like.
Treat money-yippee!
We have saved £225 now by not smoking for 15 days now.
Do you store clothes you are waiting to fit into? How frugal is your wardrobe?
Thank you to my new followers, Jo, Nim Scutt, Scarlet and Finn. It's lovely to have you visit my blog. I have only been blogging for a few months and its all new to me. To get people actually following the frugal living of my life and debts repayment is extremely motivating.
I can thank the blogging community for the following.
Seriously sorting out our debts-sitting down and listing the exact amounts
Arranging repayments that are manageable yet effective
Finding Approved Foods
Building up a store cupboard with a small stockpile
Knowing the price of items I buy and shopping for the best deals
Budgeting for things we know will happen- gifts, car maintenance, insurances
Growing our own vegetables
Making do and mending what we already have instead of throw and buy again
Cooking all our meals from scratch
Taking packed lunches and drinks to work
Cutting down our energy bill by using log burner
Realising that we have enough
STOPPING SMOKING- big letters as we are so pleased and this has the biggest benefits to us.
Back to realising that we have enough has made me look all through our house as the things we have.
We have an awful lot of books. Big man has a huge collection of DVD's and I have an awful lot of clothes and shoes. The trouble is we don't like getting rid of them. There is only the two of us and we have plenty of storage so that's not an issue. Big man watches the DVD's and we both love to read, we lend our things out too so they get lots of use.
The major thing I have done is not buying any clothes or shoes. I have two huge bags of clothes that just don't fit as I've gained weight. So at the moment I have a very frugal, basic wardrobe. It consists of
1 black jeans
3 blue jeans (one slim fit, one smart, one just plain ugly-good for dog walks)
Various tops-smart and casual
I have several pairs of flat shoes, highs, walking shoes and boots. Luckily I have not "grown" out of these. I refuse to buy clothes and I'm hoping this will spur me into losing weight. I've done it before and I've kicked the smoking so I'm hoping the fat is next.
It's payday for us both today. We both put a set amount into our joint account to pay all the bills, food shopping and car fuel. After that there is nothing left to play with. No treats, no days out, no clothes. Anything we want has to come out of our own accounts and we have set aside a frugal amount this month for treats.
We decided this was just a bills account. I also started my car account which I will put £100 into every payday as I had big bills in the last few months for car tax, insurance, and servicing.
I also put £100 into another account for gifts and general emergencies. Other than that we have no other savings. If anything goes wrong with the house or cars we will just have to find it.
I have a credit card which I have had to put an unexpected bill of £3,000 on. I never have anything on it, if I do, I pay it off straight away. This time, we won't be able to do that so I got onto Money Saving Expert and found the best interest free cards. I have now swapped this onto my new card so we can pay if off with no interest.
We have eaten all the food in my parents house so will have to go shopping today so they have full cupboards when they return from holiday.
This month I am going to try the envelope system, which some of you use with great success. I will have 4 envelopes each with £50 in. This will be our shopping money and I will take each one out with me and it will have to be enough. This does all our food and packed lunches and household cleaning items.
We have also decided that each of us will have £40 for the month for us to spend on what we like.
Treat money-yippee!
We have saved £225 now by not smoking for 15 days now.
Do you store clothes you are waiting to fit into? How frugal is your wardrobe?
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Where did our money go?
Dear reader,
I would like to welcome two new followers, Trudie and J Stevens. Thank you so much for following.
I can't promise you a fantastically exciting life or wonderful pictures of exotic places but I can show you our hopes and dreams, our journey to debt and eventually mortgage freedom. I will be sharing with you our day to day life, the things we do to save money, the food we cook, the reduction of our debts and the path we travel on to do all this.
The debts we have are from renovations to our house. We moved in a year and one month ago and set about improving and decorating. We did a lot, from new windows, new walls, removing the 70's crazy paved fireplace and installing a woodburner. Peeling off 4 layers of wallpaper, ripping up old carpet, replacing the whole central heating system. I could go on but you get the picture.
There are still things we need to do but for now, for my sanity and purse and just for a break to enjoy our house as it is we have stopped. There is nothing drastic that needs doing. Yes, it could do with a new kitchen, I'd like some long curtains in the lounge, the porch needs replacing, as does the fascia and guttering, the chimney stacks a bit wonky and the garden needs a bit of a rethink. But we have no more money and I need a break from house stuff.
I have gone through every part of our lives to see where we can cut down.
Food shopping-old ways £100 pw. New ways £50 pw
Eating out-takeaways at work £30 pw (for both of us) New ways £0
Meals out at restaurants £100 New ways £0 (we have had treats over the past 2 weeks holiday)
Hairdresser for me £80 every other month =£480 a year. New ways £0
I wanted my hair to grow anyway and have just used the occasional home dye kit.
The gas bill remains to be seen as we have really cut back on heating. We use our log burner whenever we can and turn the gas off. It does heat the water so we try to shower instead of baths.
I used to holiday upto 3-4 times a year. We haven't been since 2012 and we won't go until at least 2014, if we can afford it. I do miss a proper bit of sunshine and heat.
When I get a bit down with having no money I look back at old photos of the house and they cheer me up.
This was the crazy paved fireplace that we photographed on a viewing. We were pleased to find a real fireplace behind that electric fire.
I feel happy knowing we are in debt for our home and not for a depreciating car on the drive or a holiday or clothes that are no longer in fashion. Some people don't mind getting into debt for those things and hey, they were VERY important to me when I was younger.
We will pay these debts off, it will be hard sometimes, We will feel frustrated and cross, hard up, poor and cheesed off but we WILL get there we WIlL be debt free and hopefully you will watch our
journey as we travel it.
Drop in, say hi and let me know how you are doing.
Much love
S. x
I would like to welcome two new followers, Trudie and J Stevens. Thank you so much for following.
I can't promise you a fantastically exciting life or wonderful pictures of exotic places but I can show you our hopes and dreams, our journey to debt and eventually mortgage freedom. I will be sharing with you our day to day life, the things we do to save money, the food we cook, the reduction of our debts and the path we travel on to do all this.
The debts we have are from renovations to our house. We moved in a year and one month ago and set about improving and decorating. We did a lot, from new windows, new walls, removing the 70's crazy paved fireplace and installing a woodburner. Peeling off 4 layers of wallpaper, ripping up old carpet, replacing the whole central heating system. I could go on but you get the picture.
There are still things we need to do but for now, for my sanity and purse and just for a break to enjoy our house as it is we have stopped. There is nothing drastic that needs doing. Yes, it could do with a new kitchen, I'd like some long curtains in the lounge, the porch needs replacing, as does the fascia and guttering, the chimney stacks a bit wonky and the garden needs a bit of a rethink. But we have no more money and I need a break from house stuff.
I have gone through every part of our lives to see where we can cut down.
Food shopping-old ways £100 pw. New ways £50 pw
Eating out-takeaways at work £30 pw (for both of us) New ways £0
Meals out at restaurants £100 New ways £0 (we have had treats over the past 2 weeks holiday)
Hairdresser for me £80 every other month =£480 a year. New ways £0
I wanted my hair to grow anyway and have just used the occasional home dye kit.
The gas bill remains to be seen as we have really cut back on heating. We use our log burner whenever we can and turn the gas off. It does heat the water so we try to shower instead of baths.
I used to holiday upto 3-4 times a year. We haven't been since 2012 and we won't go until at least 2014, if we can afford it. I do miss a proper bit of sunshine and heat.
 |
| Before we moved in |
This was the crazy paved fireplace that we photographed on a viewing. We were pleased to find a real fireplace behind that electric fire.
 |
| After |
We will pay these debts off, it will be hard sometimes, We will feel frustrated and cross, hard up, poor and cheesed off but we WILL get there we WIlL be debt free and hopefully you will watch our
journey as we travel it.
Drop in, say hi and let me know how you are doing.
Much love
S. x
Monday, 18 March 2013
A one dish dinner.
Dear reader,
Good morning and welcome to a new week. It is a brighter day here on the Kent coast where I am temporarily staying with my other half, Big Man. So called as he is very tall and well, big but in a muscular way! We are here to look after my parents four dogs. They are more like babies so we don't put them in kennels. Sadly, this means we don't get to go away together.
We find it quite demanding as we are only used to the two of us and doing as we please, not having to get up and let them out or go for walkies at a certain time and the hair!!!
My blog has seen an increase of readers and followers and it really means a lot to me. I love to read your comments and hear your views. I would like to say a big welcome to my new followers,
Bernard, Justine, Kittykittyweaselfish, Morgansmother, Nevertooold, JulieAndres04.
Yesterday we wanted to have another no spend day. As you know we are down to our last £20 until payday on Wednesday. We will have a bit extra as the council tax gives us a break in Feb and March and also the smoking money. We will still have debts to pay off so we won't be going mad.
We went off in the car to a place called Samphire Hoe. It's 86.5 acres of land created from the land dug to create the channel tunnel. Samphire because of the plant that grew on neighbouring cliffs and how meaning a spur of land.
Good morning and welcome to a new week. It is a brighter day here on the Kent coast where I am temporarily staying with my other half, Big Man. So called as he is very tall and well, big but in a muscular way! We are here to look after my parents four dogs. They are more like babies so we don't put them in kennels. Sadly, this means we don't get to go away together.
We find it quite demanding as we are only used to the two of us and doing as we please, not having to get up and let them out or go for walkies at a certain time and the hair!!!
My blog has seen an increase of readers and followers and it really means a lot to me. I love to read your comments and hear your views. I would like to say a big welcome to my new followers,
Bernard, Justine, Kittykittyweaselfish, Morgansmother, Nevertooold, JulieAndres04.
Yesterday we wanted to have another no spend day. As you know we are down to our last £20 until payday on Wednesday. We will have a bit extra as the council tax gives us a break in Feb and March and also the smoking money. We will still have debts to pay off so we won't be going mad.
We went off in the car to a place called Samphire Hoe. It's 86.5 acres of land created from the land dug to create the channel tunnel. Samphire because of the plant that grew on neighbouring cliffs and how meaning a spur of land.
For dinner I had a couple of chicken breasts which I had defrosted. They can be a bit dry and boring so I did an old favourite which I call all in one tray chicken. First, get a large oven proof dish, something that you might use for a lasagne. I have used a large roasting dish previously. Spray some oil or a light drizzle in the base. Slice some potatoes, not too thin and layer the bottom of the dish. Layer sliced tomatoes and onion on the potatoes. You can add any vegetables you have. I used a red pepper and some carrots yesterday. Put the chicken in last, any joints are nice, thigh, drumsticks or breasts. Lastly, make up some stock, chicken, veg or whatever you have. A little thin gravy will do, just something for the vegetables to cook in. Pour into the dish, it should come up to touch the veg.i add some dried herbs and spices, then cover with foil and leave it at about 180-200 for an hour and a half. It comes out very tender and moist. I served with cauliflower cheese and roasted parsnips.
Today is 2 whole weeks since we stopped smoking. We are saving £98 per week between us.
We took our £20 and went to the morning cinema and watched Red Dawn. We were the only people in the cinema and it was like a private viewing.
That was our treat. The cinema is not cheap, about the same price as a DVD for 2 adults £15.
The same price as us both killing ourselves for a day.
Have you got any one pot meals that you cook? I would love to know.
S.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Frugal fritters and our last £20
Dear reader,
Good morning from a slightly sunny Kent coast and a warm welcome to a new follower Hard up Hester.
You may have noticed in the top right hand corner, I have added a small poll about the best ways to save money. I found it when I was messing about on the blog layout tool as I am new to blogging and haven't sussed it all out yet.
I thought it would be interesting to get your votes on this and see what you think.
The cook from scratch option looks like its leading the way.
As you know I hardly eat out now and we have had a good look at what we spend our money on.
I laugh at the prices charged for takeaway food such as £15.99 for a pizza? Dough, tomato paste a few topping and some cheese. Lots of people must still be buying them as those annoying little hair dryer mopeds keep whizzing past me on the inside with a hot one on board.
I looked up some interesting facts about food, here's some
40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
Pasta and pizza were once peasants food as they are so cheap to make
A bottle of wine in a restaurant has at least 200% mark up
Yesterday we fancied a cooked breakfast (I blame the cold weather). I had seen a tin of sweetcorn in the cupboard and it was more brunch time so I made, for the first time, sweetcorn fritters which I found on Frugal Queens blog.
So easy, so quick, so so tasty.
Blitz a tin of sweetcorn
Add 1 tablespoon SR flour
Add one egg
Drop tablespoonfuls into very shallow oil.
Served with crispy bacon and poached eggs and toast.
I also totally picked all the meat from the chicken we had left and did a huge chicken and avocado salad. I put all the bones in the slow cooker and made a hot and sour Chinese style chicken soup with spring onions and shreds of chicken. Our chicken has been well and truly used.
No spend day yesterday and today looks the same. We are enjoying a simple break from work, dog walking, cooking, reading and blogging. The best things in life are free.
We are counting the days till payday. I am checking the bank account daily to make sure nothing forgotten goes out. It's not a feeling I like being so short of money. We have a £10 note in cash and £10 in the bank account. The car has fuel and we have food and we will just have to survive.
Even when we get paid, there will be nothing left after everything has been accounted for.
How about you, do you count the days till pay day?
Have a relaxing and restful day.
Sarah x
Good morning from a slightly sunny Kent coast and a warm welcome to a new follower Hard up Hester.
You may have noticed in the top right hand corner, I have added a small poll about the best ways to save money. I found it when I was messing about on the blog layout tool as I am new to blogging and haven't sussed it all out yet.
I thought it would be interesting to get your votes on this and see what you think.
The cook from scratch option looks like its leading the way.
As you know I hardly eat out now and we have had a good look at what we spend our money on.
I laugh at the prices charged for takeaway food such as £15.99 for a pizza? Dough, tomato paste a few topping and some cheese. Lots of people must still be buying them as those annoying little hair dryer mopeds keep whizzing past me on the inside with a hot one on board.
I looked up some interesting facts about food, here's some
40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
Pasta and pizza were once peasants food as they are so cheap to make
A bottle of wine in a restaurant has at least 200% mark up
Yesterday we fancied a cooked breakfast (I blame the cold weather). I had seen a tin of sweetcorn in the cupboard and it was more brunch time so I made, for the first time, sweetcorn fritters which I found on Frugal Queens blog.
So easy, so quick, so so tasty.
Blitz a tin of sweetcorn
Add 1 tablespoon SR flour
Add one egg
Drop tablespoonfuls into very shallow oil.
Served with crispy bacon and poached eggs and toast.
I also totally picked all the meat from the chicken we had left and did a huge chicken and avocado salad. I put all the bones in the slow cooker and made a hot and sour Chinese style chicken soup with spring onions and shreds of chicken. Our chicken has been well and truly used.
No spend day yesterday and today looks the same. We are enjoying a simple break from work, dog walking, cooking, reading and blogging. The best things in life are free.
We are counting the days till payday. I am checking the bank account daily to make sure nothing forgotten goes out. It's not a feeling I like being so short of money. We have a £10 note in cash and £10 in the bank account. The car has fuel and we have food and we will just have to survive.
Even when we get paid, there will be nothing left after everything has been accounted for.
How about you, do you count the days till pay day?
Have a relaxing and restful day.
Sarah x
Saturday, 16 March 2013
A very frugal dinner.
Dear reader,
A massive welcome to the wonderful Frugal Queen. I'm sure you will agree she is an inspiration to us all. Also another huge welcome to Ruby Tuesday who has also joined my humble blog. Thank you ladies.
Yesterday I had yet another bill, this time for a car service, £131. The car has been expensive this month. It shows that I haven't been organised with my money and need to budget for the car as the same bills come round every year. Mot, tax, insurance, service and tyres. I have therefore set us an account and will put £100 in every month. Anything left can be rolled over and monthly amount reduced or saved for a new car when the times comes.
I had some braising steak, onion, carrots and potato in the slow cooker which I used as a filling for pasties. Not my own pastry just some puff I had in the freezer. They turned out well and we had them for lunch with a few left over which I will freeze for packed lunches.
The beef left a lot of nice gravy in the bottom of the slow cooker along with a few bits of veg and beefy bits. Determined not to waste it, I left the slow cooker on and added a handful of dried, red lentils, some curry powder and a few Indian spices that lurk in the cupboard.
Here is the crock pot (boot sale bargain £4-still in the box)
I served it with plain rice and garlic and coriander flatbreads. Recipe above. I never measure for these I just add more flour if too wet.
I am chuffed that I made a whole dinner for two out of what was left. Since becoming more frugal we hardly have any food waste. Any left over veg goes into stir fries, soups or curries. Any small bits of meat get added to lentils for curries. Bread ends are frozen for breadcrumbs. We don't have waste as I now meal plan and shop for what we need rather than what the supermarkets want me to buy.
We have £20 in our joint account last till next Wednesday when we get paid. This account is just for food and bills so there is never supposed to be anything left anyway. We have managed to pay for Big Mans car tax and my car service from here as we have a surplus. With no cigarettes to buy we just don't go in shops much. It used to be a packet (or 2 of cigarettes =£14) plus little extras, perhaps a packet of gum, a drink. £20 had been spent on nothing.
Have a great weekend, your comments, as usual will be received with thanks and replied to.
A massive welcome to the wonderful Frugal Queen. I'm sure you will agree she is an inspiration to us all. Also another huge welcome to Ruby Tuesday who has also joined my humble blog. Thank you ladies.
Yesterday I had yet another bill, this time for a car service, £131. The car has been expensive this month. It shows that I haven't been organised with my money and need to budget for the car as the same bills come round every year. Mot, tax, insurance, service and tyres. I have therefore set us an account and will put £100 in every month. Anything left can be rolled over and monthly amount reduced or saved for a new car when the times comes.
The beef left a lot of nice gravy in the bottom of the slow cooker along with a few bits of veg and beefy bits. Determined not to waste it, I left the slow cooker on and added a handful of dried, red lentils, some curry powder and a few Indian spices that lurk in the cupboard.
Here is the crock pot (boot sale bargain £4-still in the box)
Flour- any sort
Tablespoon oil
Teaspoon salt
Warm water
Form a dough, divide and roll out.
Get a hot frying pan, no need to oil.
Few seconds on each side till lightly brown.
I served it with plain rice and garlic and coriander flatbreads. Recipe above. I never measure for these I just add more flour if too wet.
I am chuffed that I made a whole dinner for two out of what was left. Since becoming more frugal we hardly have any food waste. Any left over veg goes into stir fries, soups or curries. Any small bits of meat get added to lentils for curries. Bread ends are frozen for breadcrumbs. We don't have waste as I now meal plan and shop for what we need rather than what the supermarkets want me to buy.
We have £20 in our joint account last till next Wednesday when we get paid. This account is just for food and bills so there is never supposed to be anything left anyway. We have managed to pay for Big Mans car tax and my car service from here as we have a surplus. With no cigarettes to buy we just don't go in shops much. It used to be a packet (or 2 of cigarettes =£14) plus little extras, perhaps a packet of gum, a drink. £20 had been spent on nothing.
Have a great weekend, your comments, as usual will be received with thanks and replied to.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Do you feel ripped off at the shops?
Dear reader,
Have woken up this morning to grey skies and drizzle. Yesterday was sunny and we managed to get the dogs out for 2 hours. We are both trying to eat a little more healthily and fancied chicken salad for dinner last night. We went into Sandwich which is a beautiful little town with some unusually named streets. I like No Name Street.
We picked up some chicken breasts that were £4.50. I then saw some hot chicken on the rotisserie which had been reduced from £5.00 to £2.50 so we got two whole cooked chickens which will last us a couple of days for lunchtime sandwiches and salads.
Big man likes to eat a lot of tinned tuna and has it in salads, sandwiches, jacket potatoes and with pasta so I always try to have some in my cupboard. I buy it so often I know that 4 tins in the plastic wrap is always about £4. I was therefore horrified to see it for £7.99 in the Co-op.
I always hunt for the best prices and Poundsavers have it for £3 for 4 tins so I have stocked up with 16 tins. John West either in brine or sunflower oil.
What a price difference, it annoys me as I don't like to feel ripped off. We also bought a loaf of bread, I like the seedy stuff. It was £1.60 a loaf! I think the time has come for us to try again with the breadmaking machine.
I have some braising beef in the slow cooker with carrots and onions and will be adding some cooked, diced potato later and attempting some pies. I was inspired by a lovely fellow blogger who is an expert pie maker. http://chelmarshchunterings.blogspot.co.uk/
She has some lovely recipes, do pop in and have a look.
What food prices shock you reader? Is £1.60 a lot for our daily bread and do you use the pound shops for any food purchases?
Have a good day hope its better weather where you are.
Sarah x
We picked up some chicken breasts that were £4.50. I then saw some hot chicken on the rotisserie which had been reduced from £5.00 to £2.50 so we got two whole cooked chickens which will last us a couple of days for lunchtime sandwiches and salads.
Big man likes to eat a lot of tinned tuna and has it in salads, sandwiches, jacket potatoes and with pasta so I always try to have some in my cupboard. I buy it so often I know that 4 tins in the plastic wrap is always about £4. I was therefore horrified to see it for £7.99 in the Co-op.
I always hunt for the best prices and Poundsavers have it for £3 for 4 tins so I have stocked up with 16 tins. John West either in brine or sunflower oil.
What a price difference, it annoys me as I don't like to feel ripped off. We also bought a loaf of bread, I like the seedy stuff. It was £1.60 a loaf! I think the time has come for us to try again with the breadmaking machine.
I have some braising beef in the slow cooker with carrots and onions and will be adding some cooked, diced potato later and attempting some pies. I was inspired by a lovely fellow blogger who is an expert pie maker. http://chelmarshchunterings.blogspot.co.uk/
She has some lovely recipes, do pop in and have a look.
What food prices shock you reader? Is £1.60 a lot for our daily bread and do you use the pound shops for any food purchases?
Have a good day hope its better weather where you are.
Sarah x
Thursday, 14 March 2013
What I will and won't do to save money.
Dear reader,
The sun is shining and the birds are singing. It's a beautiful morning here in Kent.
I was reading about the couple who turned off their heating three years ago. They had enough of the price hikes and wanted to make a small protest. There were pictures of them sitting there in a freezing house and I thought there are some things I will do and some I will not in the name of energy saving.
The I wills
Just heat our lounge with log burner
Wear more clothes around the house
Have a throw over me on the sofa
Shower more bath less
Go to bed earlier to be warm
The I will nots
Won't get so cold I have to wear hat and gloves indoors
Won't totally suffer, if I am really cold and just need heat now-will turn on heating for a short while
I figure that I have a lot more wills than will nots so must be a good thing.
I have been reading a lot of blogs lately and trawling other sites since I am not at work. I have a large credit card bill as we had to put something unexpected on it. I hardly ever use it and when I do I pay it all off in one go. Because of this unexpected amount we wont not be able to do so this time. Therefore, I took some advice and applied for an interest free card which is approved and no interest for 2 years. The amount will be paid off long before that but it's nice to have a breather.
I'm enjoying the MSE forums as people write about becoming mortgage free, they are inspiring me to keep going.
After your supportive comments yesterday I have decided that in 2014 we are having a holiday. I am going to try to save the non smoking money, £400 a month and use some of it for going away somewhere hot.
Yesterday was a No Spend Day-yippee. We took the dogs to Pegwell Bay and they had a great run and dipped paws into the sea. Did a bit of spring cleaning for my mum then relaxed. Watched a recording of Superscimpers but didn't think much of it. Need Ilona back on it-she's hardcore. If you haven't already dropped in her blog is called Life after money.
What will you do to save energy? Is there anything else I could do without causing too much discomfort?
Sarah x
The sun is shining and the birds are singing. It's a beautiful morning here in Kent.
I was reading about the couple who turned off their heating three years ago. They had enough of the price hikes and wanted to make a small protest. There were pictures of them sitting there in a freezing house and I thought there are some things I will do and some I will not in the name of energy saving.
The I wills
Just heat our lounge with log burner
Wear more clothes around the house
Have a throw over me on the sofa
Shower more bath less
Go to bed earlier to be warm
The I will nots
Won't get so cold I have to wear hat and gloves indoors
Won't totally suffer, if I am really cold and just need heat now-will turn on heating for a short while
I figure that I have a lot more wills than will nots so must be a good thing.
I have been reading a lot of blogs lately and trawling other sites since I am not at work. I have a large credit card bill as we had to put something unexpected on it. I hardly ever use it and when I do I pay it all off in one go. Because of this unexpected amount we wont not be able to do so this time. Therefore, I took some advice and applied for an interest free card which is approved and no interest for 2 years. The amount will be paid off long before that but it's nice to have a breather.
I'm enjoying the MSE forums as people write about becoming mortgage free, they are inspiring me to keep going.
After your supportive comments yesterday I have decided that in 2014 we are having a holiday. I am going to try to save the non smoking money, £400 a month and use some of it for going away somewhere hot.
Yesterday was a No Spend Day-yippee. We took the dogs to Pegwell Bay and they had a great run and dipped paws into the sea. Did a bit of spring cleaning for my mum then relaxed. Watched a recording of Superscimpers but didn't think much of it. Need Ilona back on it-she's hardcore. If you haven't already dropped in her blog is called Life after money.
What will you do to save energy? Is there anything else I could do without causing too much discomfort?
Sarah x
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Can you have treats when you have debts?
Dear reader,
As we are off work I feel like we are on holiday, a bit. This is my excuse for spending yesterday.
The trouble is, most of the time I am really good. Very frugal with food, heating and I never buy any clothes or get my hair cut. In fact I am looking a bit scruffy at the moment.
I don't want to buy any clothes either because I am too fat!
Anyway, yesterday we decided to drive to the shops and we treated ourselves to, wait for it.................
A bath mat. £16
I also bought my mum a new kettle. She lives in a hard water area here in Kent and the filter had disintegrated. I had tried to descale it and gave it a bit of a scrub on the outside and torn all the colouring off. £25 reduced from £50
Then, as it was cold and wintery, I got hungry. We didn't want anything junk foodie so we drove past a Toby car very and popped in. As you know we don't eat out and we hadn't had a Toby for some years. It was packed when we went in, retired people, groups of friends, families with pre school children. I was surprised for a Tuesday. It was ok inside, tables all clean, no frills but it was fine.
The carvery was brilliant, there was a choice of four joints, Turkey, gammon, pork and beef. A huge selection of vegetables, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower cheese, peas, mashed potato, roast potatoes and huge, fluffy, fresh Yorkshire pudding. Also a large bowl of crackling for non dieters!
I am ashamed to say, I deemed myself a non dieter yesterday. I had the lot, piled it up, lashings of hot gravy and I ate the lot. I think I got my £6.25 worth. The meal for two of us with drinks was £16.
So our spend yesterday was £57. I feel a bit naughty.
Sometimes on my frugal journey I feel hard done by and that I'm not getting much out of life. I miss the nice things, I miss the perfume, the hairdresser, the meals out, the holiday, the shoes the clothes.
I do have down days like this but I have to be strong and remember the dreaded debts. How I won't have to pay them every month, no more interest charges, no more worrying and checking accounts and shuffling money around.
So yesterday we had a treat, a bath mat and a cheap meal. We work hard, long hours. We no longer smoke so that's a huge saving and I want us to have a bit of a treat now and then to make it all feel worthwhile.
Does it sound bad, am I making excuses or should we have a few treats?
What do you do reader when you feel like this or is it just me?
Let me know. I read and reply to every comment.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah x
As we are off work I feel like we are on holiday, a bit. This is my excuse for spending yesterday.
The trouble is, most of the time I am really good. Very frugal with food, heating and I never buy any clothes or get my hair cut. In fact I am looking a bit scruffy at the moment.
I don't want to buy any clothes either because I am too fat!
Anyway, yesterday we decided to drive to the shops and we treated ourselves to, wait for it.................
A bath mat. £16
I also bought my mum a new kettle. She lives in a hard water area here in Kent and the filter had disintegrated. I had tried to descale it and gave it a bit of a scrub on the outside and torn all the colouring off. £25 reduced from £50
Then, as it was cold and wintery, I got hungry. We didn't want anything junk foodie so we drove past a Toby car very and popped in. As you know we don't eat out and we hadn't had a Toby for some years. It was packed when we went in, retired people, groups of friends, families with pre school children. I was surprised for a Tuesday. It was ok inside, tables all clean, no frills but it was fine.
The carvery was brilliant, there was a choice of four joints, Turkey, gammon, pork and beef. A huge selection of vegetables, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower cheese, peas, mashed potato, roast potatoes and huge, fluffy, fresh Yorkshire pudding. Also a large bowl of crackling for non dieters!
I am ashamed to say, I deemed myself a non dieter yesterday. I had the lot, piled it up, lashings of hot gravy and I ate the lot. I think I got my £6.25 worth. The meal for two of us with drinks was £16.
So our spend yesterday was £57. I feel a bit naughty.
Sometimes on my frugal journey I feel hard done by and that I'm not getting much out of life. I miss the nice things, I miss the perfume, the hairdresser, the meals out, the holiday, the shoes the clothes.
I do have down days like this but I have to be strong and remember the dreaded debts. How I won't have to pay them every month, no more interest charges, no more worrying and checking accounts and shuffling money around.
So yesterday we had a treat, a bath mat and a cheap meal. We work hard, long hours. We no longer smoke so that's a huge saving and I want us to have a bit of a treat now and then to make it all feel worthwhile.
Does it sound bad, am I making excuses or should we have a few treats?
What do you do reader when you feel like this or is it just me?
Let me know. I read and reply to every comment.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah x
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Ten frugal tips.
Dear reader,
I said I would list some money saving, frugal living tips and ideas. Thank you for sending them to me, there are loads. In no particular order.
1. A drawer/box in the freezer for bones and veg peelings for soups.
2. Grow as much as you can, I did lettuce last year as we eat a lot of salad, very easy and a big saving.
3.Forums on money saving expert to see what offers are in the shops, then bulk buying, if you would normally use it.
4. Using the cheaper supermarkets. Aldi and Lidl both have some quality goods and I notice a huge saving compared to regular supermarket.
5. A lot of you now do this one......Eat less meat. Have a few veggie meals instead, I like butternut squash and chick pea curry at the moment. Very filling.
6. Freeze the ends of bread. Great when you need breadcrumbs.
7. Many of you now.........make your own bread. At about £1 a loaf in the shops a lot of you DIY and say its much cheaper.
8. Some of us.........forage for fruit and then freeze it. I will be doing that this year. Lots of blackberries near me for crumbles.
9. Very popular with a lot of us.......Approved Food. A discount, online food seller.
10. Many people use the envelope system. At the start of the month or whenever they get paid they separate cash into envelopes for their regular shopping each week and don't go over.
Will you use any of these tips?
I will be doing , 2,3,4,5,6, trying 7, 8,9 perhaps 10 .
How about you reader, will any of these work for you or perhaps you are a 1-10 already. Let me know, I always love to hear from you.
Sarah x
Temporarily in Kent
Cold, gales and slight snow
4 cross dogs waiting for walk.
I said I would list some money saving, frugal living tips and ideas. Thank you for sending them to me, there are loads. In no particular order.
1. A drawer/box in the freezer for bones and veg peelings for soups.
2. Grow as much as you can, I did lettuce last year as we eat a lot of salad, very easy and a big saving.
3.Forums on money saving expert to see what offers are in the shops, then bulk buying, if you would normally use it.
4. Using the cheaper supermarkets. Aldi and Lidl both have some quality goods and I notice a huge saving compared to regular supermarket.
5. A lot of you now do this one......Eat less meat. Have a few veggie meals instead, I like butternut squash and chick pea curry at the moment. Very filling.
6. Freeze the ends of bread. Great when you need breadcrumbs.
7. Many of you now.........make your own bread. At about £1 a loaf in the shops a lot of you DIY and say its much cheaper.
8. Some of us.........forage for fruit and then freeze it. I will be doing that this year. Lots of blackberries near me for crumbles.
9. Very popular with a lot of us.......Approved Food. A discount, online food seller.
10. Many people use the envelope system. At the start of the month or whenever they get paid they separate cash into envelopes for their regular shopping each week and don't go over.
Will you use any of these tips?
I will be doing , 2,3,4,5,6, trying 7, 8,9 perhaps 10 .
How about you reader, will any of these work for you or perhaps you are a 1-10 already. Let me know, I always love to hear from you.
Sarah x
Temporarily in Kent
Cold, gales and slight snow
4 cross dogs waiting for walk.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Walkies in Kent
Dear reader,
A massive welcome to my new follower, "Everyday life on a shoestring"
Big man and I have taken 2 weeks off work to come and look after my parents house and dogs as they are going away on holiday.
I have always been brought up with dogs and I love the but I have to say I don't miss the hair.
She has 4 dogs white, black and white, ginger and creamy coloured so whatever you wear it gets hairs on it!
They demand a walk every day for at least an hour at the exact same time (which is now and I have 16 brown eyes looking at me).
The weather here on the Kent coast is foul, snowing and blowy and freezing. Sadly the walk is most definately still expected and will be done shortly.
Despite us not going away abroad this year ( or last year) I really feel that I am on holiday. I suppose the change in surroundings has helped. I did a cooked breakfast this morning and have indulged myself in an early glass of wine this afternoon.
Still not smoking, neither of us and I have worked out we have saved £98 this week!
We have had to pay out a load of money this month so sadly this will not be saved as it has already been spent. I did find money this week on the floor and as I am doing the sealed pot challenge over at SFT's blog, I can report that the grand total of 36 pence was picked up and potted and found £2 in an old purse. How funny that these little finds make me happy.
Have to dash, am getting those " looks" from the below.
Sarah x
A massive welcome to my new follower, "Everyday life on a shoestring"
Big man and I have taken 2 weeks off work to come and look after my parents house and dogs as they are going away on holiday.
I have always been brought up with dogs and I love the but I have to say I don't miss the hair.
She has 4 dogs white, black and white, ginger and creamy coloured so whatever you wear it gets hairs on it!
They demand a walk every day for at least an hour at the exact same time (which is now and I have 16 brown eyes looking at me).
The weather here on the Kent coast is foul, snowing and blowy and freezing. Sadly the walk is most definately still expected and will be done shortly.
Despite us not going away abroad this year ( or last year) I really feel that I am on holiday. I suppose the change in surroundings has helped. I did a cooked breakfast this morning and have indulged myself in an early glass of wine this afternoon.
Still not smoking, neither of us and I have worked out we have saved £98 this week!
We have had to pay out a load of money this month so sadly this will not be saved as it has already been spent. I did find money this week on the floor and as I am doing the sealed pot challenge over at SFT's blog, I can report that the grand total of 36 pence was picked up and potted and found £2 in an old purse. How funny that these little finds make me happy.
Have to dash, am getting those " looks" from the below.
Sarah x
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Saturday, 9 March 2013
Men and proper dinners.
Dear reader,
I was just having a little wonder about frugal living and all the great blogs that I read and get tips from and a thought crossed my mind. Are there any men out there?
I read one blog that is a man, frugality living.blogspot.co.uk but all the others are women. What's going on?
The tips that you publish and have shared in this wonderful blogging family that I feel I have joined all seem to be from us girlies and usually about girlie stuff, cooking, household savings and the like. (That sounds sexist, but you know what I mean)
A lot of us mention our partners, particularly Frugal Queen who often shares pictures of her great husband. I know they must also be partaking in the frugal life or do they just go along with it?
Is it us woman leading the way in saving?
Are there any men readers out there with blokey frugal tips?
Today I came home from work at 1530 and despite my good intentions I have had to turn on the heating for a short while as it is so cold in here. I have definately become used to having the house cooler and I now moan at work as I find it too hot and have to wear a t-shirt in the office.
I also have the log burner on as I am drying some heavy clothes and towels in front of it.
I did a huge shop last week and the freezer is fit to bursting. Big man and I take lunches into work, usually sandwiches but as he is working late into the evenings I try to do him a proper dinner to take.
I got some Maggi so juicy roasting bags with BBQ seasoning from Approved Foods last time and I put some chicken thighs and drumsticks in the oven last night. I wouldn't normally buy these at normal price but I have to say they are very good. No mess in the roasting tin and very tender and tasty. Although I did crisp them up a bit under the grill as they kind of just steam in their own juices.
I made a huge soup last night of all the veg I had in the fridge. Cabbage ( yes, I know and yes it did!)
Carrots, celery, peppers and a handful of basil and parsley from the window herbs. I gave it a dash of hot sauce and it was great.
A big thank you to Emma who has sent me her bread recipe for my bread maker as mine comes out a big cake like. Also, an appeal to K2D who won my first giveaway. Please email me your address so I can send you the book.
All the best for the rest of the weekend.
Sarah x
I was just having a little wonder about frugal living and all the great blogs that I read and get tips from and a thought crossed my mind. Are there any men out there?
I read one blog that is a man, frugality living.blogspot.co.uk but all the others are women. What's going on?
The tips that you publish and have shared in this wonderful blogging family that I feel I have joined all seem to be from us girlies and usually about girlie stuff, cooking, household savings and the like. (That sounds sexist, but you know what I mean)
A lot of us mention our partners, particularly Frugal Queen who often shares pictures of her great husband. I know they must also be partaking in the frugal life or do they just go along with it?
Is it us woman leading the way in saving?
Are there any men readers out there with blokey frugal tips?
Today I came home from work at 1530 and despite my good intentions I have had to turn on the heating for a short while as it is so cold in here. I have definately become used to having the house cooler and I now moan at work as I find it too hot and have to wear a t-shirt in the office.
I also have the log burner on as I am drying some heavy clothes and towels in front of it.
I did a huge shop last week and the freezer is fit to bursting. Big man and I take lunches into work, usually sandwiches but as he is working late into the evenings I try to do him a proper dinner to take.
I got some Maggi so juicy roasting bags with BBQ seasoning from Approved Foods last time and I put some chicken thighs and drumsticks in the oven last night. I wouldn't normally buy these at normal price but I have to say they are very good. No mess in the roasting tin and very tender and tasty. Although I did crisp them up a bit under the grill as they kind of just steam in their own juices.
I made a huge soup last night of all the veg I had in the fridge. Cabbage ( yes, I know and yes it did!)
Carrots, celery, peppers and a handful of basil and parsley from the window herbs. I gave it a dash of hot sauce and it was great.
A big thank you to Emma who has sent me her bread recipe for my bread maker as mine comes out a big cake like. Also, an appeal to K2D who won my first giveaway. Please email me your address so I can send you the book.
All the best for the rest of the weekend.
Sarah x
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
What what have you stopped to save money?
Dear reader,
I asked you for your money saving ways and the things you do to avoid waste.
You didn't disappoint!
You have some ingenious ideas and I will be publishing these at the weekend.
I have listed some of the things I have stopped below.
I have not been to the hairdresser since last July. I used to have my hair hi lighted blonde in a longish, straight bob.
This cost between £80-£100 every 8 weeks and a lot of conditioning, blow drying and straightening in between. My hair is brown and curly so it was a constant battle.
I got so sick of the reverse skunk look of the roots and my hair never seemed to grow probably due to the bleach. I have now let it grow au natural. I needed a trim recently but just didn't fancy paying £25 for someone to cut a tiny bit off the ends. Big man did it instead and the end result was the same except it was FREE.
I do colour it occasionally due to a couple of greys but only every 2 months or so and just buy a dye from the supermarket.
Eating out is another of my stops to save money. As you know I'm a girl who likes her grub. A big old curry, rice naan and a few vodka and diet cokes is what I like. (Yes, diet coke because you could have an onion bhaji for the saved calories you see.)
A meal out for two as a local curry house with drinks would have been £60 for the two of us.
£60! That's more then my weekly shop now.
We are paying back our debts and have had a couple that have had to be paid now before any fees apply. Both car taxes were due this month as well as the house insurance so we are actually, totally skint this month. The gas is off, except for hot water, we have a few more logs to last us. My car needs fuel so I am driving really slowly. On the good side, we get paid in 2 weeks and the freezer is full for the rest of the month, we just need bread and milk.
Please send me your tips for money saving to go on my list.
Thanks
Sarah x
I asked you for your money saving ways and the things you do to avoid waste.
You didn't disappoint!
You have some ingenious ideas and I will be publishing these at the weekend.
I have listed some of the things I have stopped below.
I have not been to the hairdresser since last July. I used to have my hair hi lighted blonde in a longish, straight bob.
This cost between £80-£100 every 8 weeks and a lot of conditioning, blow drying and straightening in between. My hair is brown and curly so it was a constant battle.
I got so sick of the reverse skunk look of the roots and my hair never seemed to grow probably due to the bleach. I have now let it grow au natural. I needed a trim recently but just didn't fancy paying £25 for someone to cut a tiny bit off the ends. Big man did it instead and the end result was the same except it was FREE.
I do colour it occasionally due to a couple of greys but only every 2 months or so and just buy a dye from the supermarket.
Eating out is another of my stops to save money. As you know I'm a girl who likes her grub. A big old curry, rice naan and a few vodka and diet cokes is what I like. (Yes, diet coke because you could have an onion bhaji for the saved calories you see.)
A meal out for two as a local curry house with drinks would have been £60 for the two of us.
£60! That's more then my weekly shop now.
We are paying back our debts and have had a couple that have had to be paid now before any fees apply. Both car taxes were due this month as well as the house insurance so we are actually, totally skint this month. The gas is off, except for hot water, we have a few more logs to last us. My car needs fuel so I am driving really slowly. On the good side, we get paid in 2 weeks and the freezer is full for the rest of the month, we just need bread and milk.
Please send me your tips for money saving to go on my list.
Thanks
Sarah x
Monday, 4 March 2013
Frugal life changes
Dear reader,
Since starting our more frugal life I have compiled a list of the things I do or have done to save money.
1. Stopped smoking
2. Wash our clothes now when they are marked or smell less than fresh. (Don't get me wrong, I don't let us stink and Big Man gets his stuff washed more, being a man but we let towels dry rather than keep washing them and wear stuff longer than I used to)
NOTE: this does not include undies!
3. Shower instead of bath. (Bath is a Sunday treat)
4. Shop at Lidl. (Much, much cheaper)
5. Bulk cooking. As we always have something in the freezer no need for expensive takeaways.
6. Drive much more slowly. Safer, cheaper and more relaxing. Did you know the safest lane is lane one as you always have an escape route?
7. We do "free" days out. More country walks thus excersising more and we now take a neighbours dog out with us who never went out before.
8. Eat less meat. I now do a few more veggie or rice dishes. (Helped by meat scandal)
9. Our heating is now off. Completely off, no one or two hours in the morning. We have the log burner if needed and just get into bed at night. I feel much more rested for it too. Mega plus is that B. Gas (and we know what that stands for) gets much less of our money.
10. Big saving made by taking packed lunches and a drink to work.
If you have just one thing that you do to save money please send a comment and I will compile and publish them at the weekend. I reckon we could share our tips and all save a bit more.
All the best for the week ahead
Sarah x
Since starting our more frugal life I have compiled a list of the things I do or have done to save money.
1. Stopped smoking
2. Wash our clothes now when they are marked or smell less than fresh. (Don't get me wrong, I don't let us stink and Big Man gets his stuff washed more, being a man but we let towels dry rather than keep washing them and wear stuff longer than I used to)
NOTE: this does not include undies!
3. Shower instead of bath. (Bath is a Sunday treat)
4. Shop at Lidl. (Much, much cheaper)
5. Bulk cooking. As we always have something in the freezer no need for expensive takeaways.
6. Drive much more slowly. Safer, cheaper and more relaxing. Did you know the safest lane is lane one as you always have an escape route?
7. We do "free" days out. More country walks thus excersising more and we now take a neighbours dog out with us who never went out before.
8. Eat less meat. I now do a few more veggie or rice dishes. (Helped by meat scandal)
9. Our heating is now off. Completely off, no one or two hours in the morning. We have the log burner if needed and just get into bed at night. I feel much more rested for it too. Mega plus is that B. Gas (and we know what that stands for) gets much less of our money.
10. Big saving made by taking packed lunches and a drink to work.
If you have just one thing that you do to save money please send a comment and I will compile and publish them at the weekend. I reckon we could share our tips and all save a bit more.
All the best for the week ahead
Sarah x
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