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Frugal Feb gives way to Money-Saving March. Now featuring austerity health and beauty tips!

725 replies

Lexilicious · 22/02/2012 09:37

Third thread after first and second

Let's get saving and enjoying our frugal wins!

summary of links so far
www.organizedhome.com
www.supersavvyme.co.uk/
womenfreebies.co.uk/
www.lovemoney.com/
www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/discount-voucher-codes/
www.poundland.co.uk/top-tips/gardening-2012/
www.purlbee.com/
www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/halfterm
www.makeupstop.co.uk/
www.approvedfood.co.uk/
www.goodtoknow.co.uk/money/cheap-food-deals
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

OP posts:
Becaroooo · 31/03/2012 08:13

I agree Aldi's cleaning stuff is good...I like their non bio gel and softner.

I also like their baby wipes etc

Perhaps I have just been unlucky wrt fruit and veg and maybe I need to try again?

I do really like the co op...I like their ethical stance and I guess that what you pay for?

roguepixie · 31/03/2012 08:59

Hi everyone, I kind of 'feel-off' the wagon a lot little this month Sad. My fault for taking my eye off the ball. So, back on the wagon in time for Abstemious April and get back to watching those pennies again.

To be honest, it's become a habit not to grab a coffee/water out and I no longer buy food out (take it with me if I think I'll need it]. DS is the difficulty - I collect him from his train and he is always starving so I take food with me for him to eat - however, there are always those days when you are strapped for time and leave without taking anything - those are the days that cost!!!

Extra costs this month include £10 donation to Sport Relief and £10 to Help a London Child (DH and I both donated £5 each without telling each other) - so although £20 extra it was for good causes.

Ebay seems to be moving along. All the items I put on last weekend have bids on them so if they all pay up I will have made a little bit of money.

Will be popping to the garden centre today for some herb and rhubarb plants and may stop at butcher for some beef bones (soup).

Hope everyone has a great weekend - although the sun seems to have disappeared here at the moment Sad.

roguepixie · 31/03/2012 09:00

Hah! 'feel-off'!!!! That's a bit freudian. I meant, off course, fell-off Grin

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/03/2012 11:01

Becaroo, I use frozen veg for things like broccoli, cauliflower, green beens, sweetcorn, cabbage and peas (obv!) and I buy the basic/smartprice ranges where possible.

I find frozen veg tastes better if you steam them (I used to have a huge one and I threw it out when I moved in with DH) but it's the kind of thing you could pick up at a carboot or eBay for not very much.

I am lucky in having a farm shop near me that sells potatoes so cheaply. I cannot believe how much the supermarkets charge for them. If you have a family you could buy a big sack of them and keep them in the garage.

I wonder if local allottment holders ever sell off excess produce?.

Rogue, how much does your butcher charge for bones? I had a ham hock bone the other day and I put it in the bin then thought WTAF have I done that for?

I found the frozen gammon joint to be excellant at aldi, I thought it would taste of cheap pork (you can tell cheap pork ime) but it was lovely.

Porks often marked down really cheaply in the supermarkets, it's not unusual in our local to see a free range organic joint with exotic stuffings for £3-4ish, DH hates pork joints so I cant make use of them.

Debs75 · 31/03/2012 13:35

My spend for the month is a bit high this month, comes in ta £1,400ish
That includes
3 fortnightly shops and top ups, £647
Eating out £160
Snacks £35
Fuel £100, no panic buying though
Extra bills, £150
then about £250 on entertaining the kids and just stuff.

On the downside I only have £100 to last me 10 days and the kids are off. I do have stocked fridge,freezer and cupboards so food wise we will be fine and the car is full of petrol.
I think next month I will start doing a shop at Aldi to see if I can reduce my shopping anymore and I must spend less on just stuff

roguepixie · 31/03/2012 16:11

fluffy, my butcher charges nothing or a couple of quid for bones. (He has known me for years though so that may go some way towards reducing the price on the bones). He sells chicken frames (carcasses with bits of meat on) for £1.00 a piece!! The chicken frames are good bases for soup as well - you could always shred a couple of chicken breasts on there for added meat. I also find that popping to the butcher Saturday afternoon is a good time to get things a bit cheaper.

I didn't manage to get back to the garden centre today as the road leading that way was completely blocked Hmm. I know it's because of the rugby but Hmm ... I want to get that thyme and rhubarb ... perhaps tomorrow. I need to get some more seedling trays as well and then clear a place in the garage.

Have spent about 3-4 hours digging the front garden today ... and dear God does my back ache. Cost free exercise Grin. Got rid of all the weeds and turned all the earth over. Made sure I covered all the worms over too ... don't like them to get eaten. I mowed the back lawn yesterday and a little robin kept popping onto the freshly mown bits and snaffling all the insects!!

Dinner tonight is homemade burgers, potatoes for DH and DS and celeriac for me and a big salad. Mmmmmmmmm.

roguepixie · 31/03/2012 16:12

Btw, I am NOT totalling my spend this month. It will be huge and horrible. I am starting again on 1st April. Grin

duchesse · 31/03/2012 16:56

It's not chicken pox after all! Just a really nasty bout of hand foot and mouth. I absolutely had no idea, as my older children never got it. But then they didn't go to nursery until they were older either. It was the pattern of spots- it was all wrong for the pox- all over her arms and legs, starting at the joints where she has patches of eczema, and all over her chin, but nowhere on the trunk or upper half of the face.

Did I mention my second approved foods order of the month at 43 pounds on Thursday? Blush

Anyway, I sent DH shopping on Thursday night because I couldn't face infecting half of waitrose with shingles and he spent 60 quids.

Also I had to buy more chicken feed yesterday: 14.75. The chickens pretty pay for themselves though as DH sells enough of their eggs at work to cover their feed bills.

As I was leaving the shop I noticed that they had dog food on sale at 5 pounds/15kg bag (usually around 30-40 pounds depending on brand) It was bags that had been hanging around for a while so not looking pretty but frankly my dogs do not care... I bought two bags (10 pounds), so a saving of 50 pounds instantly.

DH has however had to take the car for a new tyre as one of our builders noticed a nail embedded up to the head in one of them. Angry Don't know how much that will be but can't imagine much change from 100 quids.

Am about to do totals for the month now.

duchesse · 31/03/2012 17:15

DH just got back and announced that the good news was that both rear tyres were nearly illegal anyway. The obvious bad news is that he had to replace both. So 230 pounds later...

Also forgot to mention my little spree trip to TKMaxx yesterday: a spring form cake tin, a bbq brush and cute little petit bateau summer outfit for DD3: 23 pounds.

Total spend for the month, including the tyres: 1224.46 pounds. Not brilliant, but would have been under a thousand without the tyres.

spewgloriousspew · 31/03/2012 17:23

Yes, coop is more expensive and sadly we can't afford to do our weekly shop there anymore. It's a real shame, but that's the way it is, unfortunately. Meant to say, Aldi's cereals are also great. We just have their shredded wheat, weetabix, instant porridge and bran flakes, but all as good as their branded equivalents.

Just got back from doing the shop there and came to £26.something.

I'm scared to add up how much we spent on hols, but was over £100, which is a lot for us. But we had a great time and we aren't going away again this year.

Doing a research thing for Ox uni later this week on energy usage. I get some money as reimbursement for my time, but not sure how much. Research projects are a good source of extra cash if you live near an academic centre.

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/03/2012 18:18

I cant think of much that I have had from Aldi that hasnt been good. DH has but his mother is a brand person and if I say it's from aldi there will be a problem but if I say it is from asda/sainsburys he doesnt comment on it. I have been known to swap stuff into different packaging to get it past him.

I tried their basics spaghetti this week and it was better than branded imho.

DH had a Mcdonalds today and won a free apple pie. Then promptly lost the coupon so he had to buy one. I had been thinking about that pie all afternoon driving around staffordshire looking for a special type of screw. So technically a free apple pie for me.

Has anyone else tried the aldi body lotion in the blue bottle for very dry skin? I like it because it's not just cheap mineral oil/water emulsion but natural oils so it soaks in better. £1.39 a bottle. Lasts me ages.

Rogue, I am goint to start going to my butcher more then, I could do with some free suet for dumplings. Someone on the recipes board said she gets it for free in a big lump and grates it herself. Dumplings are lovely and filling.

I wont have veg suet as I suspect it's palm oil and I dont like it that the palm oil plantation owners offer a bounty for each orangutan killed. It really is better to cook from scratch, not just for us either!.

Homebargains do herbs for 30p or thereabouts compared to supermarket ones for a £1!

Becaroooo · 31/03/2012 18:22

No butcher here sadly Sad

I really like the seasonal stuff aldi does...like xmas stollen, pannetone, marzipan etc Oh, and they do manuka honey for under a £5!!!!

You have convinced me...will try aldi again Smile

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/03/2012 18:36

Do you have a lidl? we are getting one in the summer (not just me I think other people get to go in too) some people prefer Lidl.

There was a woman in chat the other day who says she went for an interview there and that they place large orders with the brand suppliers who dont want to publicise that they supply aldi.

I personally dont believe there is a findus factory/bird eye factory/ sainsburys factory/waitrose factory/morrisons factory/tesco factory/asda factory etc. But I am very cynical about food provenance.

My local butcher has it's own slaugheter house for all its meat so the animals dont have long travels which I hate the idea of, the pigs are literally down the road.

I'm drinking a aldi south african sauv blanc which is a darn site better than the £8 rolled back to £4 asda french sauv blanc I had last week. Now theres something I never thought I would type.

DH bought heinz beans recently and spent sunday morning saying "these are shit, never run out of beans again. Cant believe I paid 70p a tin for this shite"

I've told mil she has to learn to do sainsburys online shopping before fil stops driving because I cannot take her to sains and see her fill a small trolley 2/3 full and pay £60 for it. I just cant bite my tongue that well. I wouldnt mind if they ate loads but it's all little portions! I like a full tummy.

YY to aldi cereals, I dont like the cornflakes much but the square weetabix a great. The posh museli isnt too dissimilar to dorset cereals but you dont have to take out a personal loan to buy a box.

E-Cloths are great for cleaning, I got a box set of four cloths and a polishing cloth in TK Maxx for £10? and I havent bought multisurface cleaner since.

Becaroooo · 31/03/2012 18:49

I WILL NOT shop in tesco or asda (much to dhs disgust) but I just wont do it.

I would rather pay a bit more at the co op and get british produce that the producers get a fair price for and fairtrade stuff, but I may have to stop doing a weekly shop there...its just too expensive Sad

roguepixie · 31/03/2012 19:55

fluffy, it is worth building a relationship with your local butcher as he will often pass on savings to you - or if you ask for bones, suet, pig fat for crackling - they give it to you for free. Also fruit and veg stall and fishmonger if you have them are all useful 'friends' to have as they will generally pop extra in, round prices down or add a little over the weight.

spewgloriousspew · 31/03/2012 19:58

Becaroo, I completely agree and I try to buy local when I can but sadly it comes at a premium (stupid, when you think how much less it costs to transport than green beans from Kenya etc). I used to have a veg box, but had to stop as it was too expensive and only lasted a few days. If money weren't a concern, then I'd go back in a flash.

Actually, Aldi are pretty good for using British suppliers (British Cox apples, British spuds, British asparagus, British swede and even carrots with fronds sometimes). And they do fairtrade bananas at a reasonable price. Think they're the only ft produce they do sell though.

Local markets are worth a visit too, if there's one nearby? Oh, and I recently got LOADS of Jerusalem artichokes, freshly dug, from a local lady on freecycle, so it's worth keeping an eye on that. Our local group actually has surplus fruit/veg on quite a lot.

It's none of the more exciting stuff, but, tbh, things like kiwis, mangos etc aren't going to come from the UK wherever you choose to shop.

Have you got space in your garden to grow a few veg/fruit? Strawberry plants are very rewarding and you can't go wrong with salad leaves and courgettes.

I wish I could buy more 'ethical' produce, but I just do what I can, and that eases my conscience.

Chilenachica · 01/04/2012 04:11

We can't buy much in the way of organic or fair trade here. 1 supermarket chain has organic fruit & veg, and health stores have sprung up in the last couple of years, but the best I can get in terms of meat or poultry is a lack of antibiotics and added water. Having tried the chicken and found it off I gave up. They do grow a fair amount of organic produce tho, for the UK supermarkets.

Anyway, today's outlay was more than anticipated. Road tolls £6, cinema with popcorn £15, McDs £10, sunblock and lipsalve for DD1 £18 and then I decided to get most of next week's shopping while I was there, to save on fuelGrin so that was another £75. Vanish was on offer so I bought loads. The polution here means that shirt collars are bleedin' hard work. Still need to get dog food and then some salad and veg towards the end of the week.

I'm also not totalling for March, too tired to sort through bits of paper and I haven't kept any kind of tally apart from on here.

Must remember to get Easter eggs, too hot to hide them in the garage and the monsters DDs have discovered all my other hiding places

Mrbojangles1 · 01/04/2012 09:05

Went to farmers market yesterday and to be honest I was shocked it is so expensive I could only afford to buy one thing which was homemade katup £2:30 for a small bottle

No wonder why people won't buy British it's just not cost effective

Even if I wanted to pay more it would simply mean we would just have less food evey week

Debs75 · 01/04/2012 12:23

I have just washed and sorted the DD's old baby clothes. I have 2 huge bin liners full of 0-3 stuff, 1 bin liner of newborn/small baby and 1 binliner full of 3-6m. Still got the 6m+ to sort out. They are mostly Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco and some Botts, Mothercare and Next stuff.
So how would you sort them to sell them? and is Ebay a better bet then car boot?

Started April with a £30 spend at Morrisons. That will last me till Weds at least. the dc's always eat loads when they are off. Must try to stop treating them so much until I actually have money to spend

I like to buy local and organic/fairtrade but they are really expensive, especially the meat. Fruit and veg is getting harder to buy as more people grow at home so the producers think it isn't selling well so will produce less. I do buy a lot from Asda as it is always cheaper for me then Tesco/Sainsbury or Coop, although our local coop do some very good reducing. I think they sell the wrong stuff for the people who shop there

Becaroooo · 01/04/2012 14:19

yeah...its a problem.

I bought mince for mince pies, some relish and some tomato sauce from the local farmers market at xmas...cost me over £10!!! Wont be going again!

roguepixie · 01/04/2012 18:20

It's so hard to eat well and eat ethically. And don't get me started on bloody farmers markets ... prices hiked through the roof because it's been grown on a bloody allotment.

I do my best and always go for the ethical/organic option if I can, but don't beat myself up if I can't.

calzone · 01/04/2012 18:27

Went to Waitrose and bought

pizzas down to £1.49 - Pizza Express pizzas too!
roast potatoes which were down to 59p and as I bought 2 I got £1 back so 2 packs of Menu roasted potatoes for 20p!!
Pre packed pasta bake 30p
Lasagne 59p

lots of other stuff too but freezer is now packed!

duchesse · 01/04/2012 23:04

Ladies, I know we're all frugal and everything, and wouldn't dream of simply throwing away a thread with space in it, but shouldn't we start an Abstemious April thread now that this one is last month's fashion? Or does it fit with our ethos to make maximum use of this one first?

Chilenachica · 02/04/2012 03:13

I'm happy to squeeze out as much value as poss. from this one, and would also be more than happy to move on. This fence is so uncomfortable, I need to climb down but which sideConfused

NSD here today. Lunch and dinner at home, watched a DVD with the DCs followed by them having a dip to cool off. Tomorrow will be road tolls and dog food if I can be bothered going out, and DD1 needs a new crochet needle.

roguepixie · 02/04/2012 08:27

Ok, ladies. You ask and you shall receive ...

New thread here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1441341-Abstemious-April-the-trials-continue

New posts on this thread. Refresh page