Frugal Friends Facing Forward with Fortitude

[Happierwithouthim]

Here's a friendly space for new and existing frugal friends.

We have all different types of incomes and lifestyles but with a common goal of making the best of the money we have.

Many of us have experiences of becoming debt free or being in difficulty with money for one reason or another so there's no need for embarrassment, just join in, post as little or as often as you wish.

Some record daily spends, some record only spends that are unplanned, some don't record spends at all, the choice is yours!

Ah Chile not so far, though I am round the other side of London. We too will now really enjoy how we live in this house, I feel extremely lucky to have that opportunity. The whole family hangs out in the open-plan kitchen and it’s just lovely.

The painting on the bank holiday is motivated by the fact that I need to set my desk up to work in that room (from Thursday!) as I have moved DD into the big room which used to be our guest bedroom, which had my desk in. No sorting and painting, nowhere to work 😂. The box room was piled to the rafters with boxes which need unpacking tomorrow, and another round of decluttering will need to ensue. I am really excited to have my own space too, even if it is teeny, so that has motivated me! Must buy those bookcases though as I can’t unpack without furniture.

I have used IPSEA in the past, and have heard of SOSSEN but never had personal experience of them - will look at them again, thanks for reminding me. We’ve had a good few years with DS at a mainstream primary with a really good SEN team and a brilliant 1:1, so it’s been lovely and calm. Now comes the storm 😕

Now I fancy quiche, Nellie 😂

Happy new year frugaleers! Hope 2024 is a prosperous one for you all.

NYE I spend about £85 in the end which felt not bad at all.

Today is a no spend day and like other posters I am putting my sourdough starter to the test. The dough is currently rising and should be good to bake at some point tomorrow. The starter recipe I use says that once the starter is up and running you can keep it in the fridge and feed it once per week 🤷‍♀️ Hopefully this is right as work travel means that it won't be tended too when I am away.

Congrats on the builds - agree it is better than moving. I'm always think you will inevitably want to change and upgrade wherever you move to anyway so it all becomes a lot more expensive after stamp duty and paying to have something done to someone else's taste and needs.

NSD here.
Been out for a lovely NY day walk, albeit very muddy! Managed to avoid buying the obligatory hot chocs & coffee at the ridiculously overpriced hut as the queue was so long so probably saved at least £12 there.
Loving the idea of a store cupboard/freezer challenge to use up what's there and reduce the shopping list/cost. I did our weekly shop on Friday and felt quite disheartened by how expensive it was despite shopping in Aldi and being quite a savvy shopper. For 4 of us (2 adults, 2DC with good appetites), it came to £172!! There was no alcohol in that but there was some party food, toilet rolls, cleaning stuff and dishwasher tablets plus a 2 pack of light bulbs that wouldn't be in every shop.
Meat and fish is so much more expensive than it was. Don't get me wrong, I want to pay a reasonable price to the farmers and so that animal welfare is ensured but who can honestly justify spending £6-10 on meat/fish per meal?! We'll definitely be eating more veggie/plant-based meals this year for our pockets as well as our health.
I've already been through my Jack Monroe cook book for ideas and will be doing a meal plan and shopping list later. Really need the weekly shop to be under £100 most of the time.

Loving the idea of a store cupboard/freezer challenge to use up what's there and reduce the shopping list/cost.

I've posted my inherited pantry items on a separate pantry challenge thread. I'm hoping that other people will look at some and share good ideas that don't involve me feeding everyone a very high salt diet. I'll be combining those with my own stores (pantry, freezer and remaining fresh items).

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/4974829-pantry-challenge-2024?reply=131877013&

I'm looking forward to learning from everyone during 2024.
My WFH office was set up in the living room. We've had to move it to make room for someone who is recuperating and needs that room as a bedroom and sitting area (luckily, we have a downstairs bathroom).
I'm working from the (now) unoccupied bedroom and I might need to get some repeaters in if the signal isn't suitable for Zooms | MS Teams etc.
Another family member is unwell so we've worked out a care rota. We'll need to save some money to:

• cover those petrol expenses (they're a distance away and have a lot of hospital appointments)
• bring along food for the freezer to make it easier for everyone
• pay for extra heating both in our home and in the other family member's home.

DH's team is now expected to be in for 2 days a week from 1 up until now. This will mean a substantial rise in commuting costs after the latest fare increase (it's @ £40 per day). Overall, it looks like our weekly expenditure will be going up by @ £80-120 per week so we need to be able to cover most of that by cutting down elsewhere.

I hope your relative sees some improvement in their health this year @FestiveHackathon.

@R00tat00tt00t that price beggars belief! I am due to do my Aldi shop tomorrow and now rather worried! 😂

I've just made breadcrumbs out of some stale baguette that I had brought for Christmas festivities and shoved those in the freezer to use for making chicken schnitzel in the next couple of weeks.

I've been working on the pantry for a while and a couple of the drawers are much lighter but still need to make proper in roads into the pasta and rice drawer so will make that a priority to try to keep the food bill as low as possible.

May I join? On the surface we have a lovely lifestyle and home. Beneath this we are in so much debt that one mini crisis could bring the whole house of cards down. I need to earn hard, work extra hours to throw at credit cards and spend minimally. It's fixable, but I don't dare let this drift any further. Also on a weight loss/healthy living mission this year after being very ill with covid complications in October.

Today, spent £10 on some heavy brackets to stop part of the garden falling down. No other spending so far. :)

Happy new year to you all. We had a relatively quiet night at our cricket club, spends just on drinks which aren't too pricey at members rates.
Lovely to see the thread with more posts, but harder to keep up!
Meal planning going well so far, eating down the freezer & cupboards. Mum & dad came for lunch today which was fish pie & cottage pie & some veg that definitely needed using. Enough leftover for my lunch tomorrow & a portion of each to be boxed up & frozen for DD to take back to uni.
Decs are being taken down now.
Need to sort our budget for the year ahead.
Not sure if any of you follow Frugal Queen in France but her videos are definitely worth a watch. 2 of the most recent cover meal planning & budgeting.

I know @tuttifritti - that's why I was so shocked. I've noticed the shopping bill going up over the past year even with some frugal swaps, but it's never usually over £125/130 with the odd bottle of wine or cider thrown in...Going to to try and eek it out over 2 weeks with store-cupboard stuff and just a few fresh items topped up (bread, milk, fruit & veg) to balance it out.
I sense a lot of risottos, soups and veggie/lentil curries on the menu...

lavender that is why I joined this thread originally. I am not going to tell you that it is easy but the feeling of not having that debt / precarious house of cards hanging over you is worth the effort.

Sourdough starters are almost impossible to kill. I have had mine for a good ten years. It can get a dark hooch liquor on the top but still comes back. I keep it in the fridge in a spring top jar.. it get fed every month or so. The advantage of being mean to it is that it is really vigorous... almost as lively as bakers yeast.

Today is a no spend day.... Just running around after people.

Love the sound of your yellow stickered vegetables Sandy. They’re the best kind.

Sorry about the COVID Tayto. Hope you feel better soon. Am feeling slightly jealous of your extra holiday.

Oh Half - I feel the same at not being frugal. I try but am failing. Hoping things go your way Re the potential dispute over the renovation. Sounds like you have a big year coming. I’m sending you the bestest of wishes (and am so sorry it’s not anything practical) for your son and school. Glad you’re enjoying the kitchen.

Great news on the childminder Time.

Spending has been £1.98 in Lidl. I have so much Christmas vegetables left I should be good for a while. I just need to keep out the supermarkets. Haven’t made anymore progress with budget planning. My current reason for procrastinating is that things will be clearer when I sit with the solicitor. Not sure if it will or not but my poor head can’t cope.

Lots of posts - I’m sure I’ve missed things. Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2024 brings us all wonderful things.

Just milk from the village shop today. Supper is a weird mix of crispy fried tofu, brown rice, sauerkraut and beetroot😳

Still being frugal here - made a salad for next door neighbour and myself with cold turkey and ham left from yesterdays' Sunday roast for this evenings' tea. DH did a bubble and squeak with the extra veg for himself but also had the extra pigs in blankets and stuffing!! 😡Yesterday's trifle went three ways too for dessert!! 😇and the last of the mulled wine has gone today too!! 😜
We had part baked rolls with the plentiful Christmas cheese for lunch so we are well on our way with eating from the pantry (so to speak!)
Still need to get on with writing a list of what's in the freezer to menu plan for January - and also need to get on with emptying the fruit bowl as only the bananas have gone (with cream of course)!! I have enough ingredients to do another trifle which will use up milk and cream tomorrow along with some Amaretto - DH is very happy with that suggestion!! Happy frugalling!!

Jumping back in, Happy New Year all! Resolution is to post daily to be accountable. I'll read back going forward too but place marking here! Hope you are all okay, welcome new and old posters.

Spends today
£6 local shop for fruit, we have lots of everything else until about Wednesday when we will need milk etc.

Menu plan
Creamy coconut and chickpea dhal.
Turkey chilli.
Red bean ragu
Nut roast.
Kimchi fried rice.
Veggie shepherds pie.
Some form of soup.

Love bubble and squeak @Rainbow1901, we had it for lunch on Boxing Day! I'm going to use some Christmas Stilton to make broccoli and Stilton soup too - hate food waste. We've so much in!

Ooh! That's good idea, we have broccoli in the freezer and two huge wedges of Stilton - do you think DH would notice if some disappeared?? 😏

He wouldn't know a thing I reckon! 🙃

I'm hoping that some of the weird cheese powders I've inherited will make some tasty cheese dips and spreads. These will be good for sandwiches, crackers, and vegetables.

Having thought about it, most of our vegetables stocks are dried and they're in small dice so won't be suited to scooping or even a dip.

I might have to think of making dried vegetable crackers with a base of flax/linseed. (I've just discovered 11kg of brown and golden linseed.)

That is a LOT of linseed!!!

It is! I can make a decent 'bread' roll out of linseed, salt, and water but they're very high calorie. People claim they're filling but I don't find them particularly satisfying.

I've also just discovered a cache of lupin flour so I'm going to look up some recipes for that.

I’ve just looked at your list and that’s a hell of a store cupboard hack

lavender do you have some plans for clearing the debt? We can try give loads of tips in top of the earn more / spend I ess

i can easily spend £150 PW on food

Happy New Year all!

Aaah nice to see catface em 😍

Need to start tracking my spends, I won’t try and keep track of wider household spends (eg if H does a top up shop) and I won’t post my direct debits etc so this is just any spends I make myself in person/online

Monday 1st
£20.84 NYD breakfast

I need to edit the tesco order. I want to get back in the routine of two small shops a week.

as of right now I’m no alcohol until dsis wedding in March. I can do this.

it’ll help with sleep and weight loss and general feeling well. So yay.

nsd for me. Woop.

Happy New year everyone
@northender l follow the Frugal Queen she is so good at budgeting !
Spends today Amazon £15 on books for my Mum's and Dd1 birthday .