Frugal Living

I'm trying my hand at being frugal, it's harder than it looks. For years I've had a good job with a decent wage and I take that too much for granted, I don't shop for a bargain, I'm too quick to go for named brands instead of supermarket's own. I eat too much convenience foods and rarely bake anything from scratch. So, as my part of saving for the economic downturn, I'm trying to live on less money and eeking out bargains wherever they may be.

Things I've done so far:
1. I've swapped my ISA savings to one with a better interest rate. OK, that's not saving money but just gaining a little extra.
2. I've set myself a food budget of £25 a week (previously I'd have quite happily spent double this).
3. I'm cooking from scratch and using up left over food (today I had a pasta salad for lunch made with pasta left over from Saturday and I'm also cooking a potato bake with mince left over from Saturday too).
4. I've had a clear out and found some forgotten gifts which can be given to someone else (I bought them for myself but chucked them in a cupboard and forgot until now).
5. I've read all my meters (gas and electricity) and sent them off to get an actual bill instead of an estimated one - why is it that nPower think I use £40 of gas a month?
6. Compared my usual Body Shop face wash (£6) to Simple from Boots (£3) and used my Boots points to get it free.
7. Written a shopping list and compared prices on www.mysupermarket.com to find the cheapest place to shop.
8. Trawled around Asda (yes, I have downsized my supermarket from Sainsbury's) with a calculator to make sure I didn't go over budget (actually spent £3 under and bought some extras which weren't on my list).
9. I went into town with Pete at the weekend and didn't buy anything!
10. Joined the library so I can still read loads of books but not buy any.

Things I'd like to do:
1. Re-use where possible - everything from old clothes to cardboard boxes. Old clothes which aren't good enough for charity can be cut up into dusters or odd cloths. Cardboard boxes can be cut up and made into a cat scratcher - I bought one (before my frugality) for £5 and it's just some cardboard strips wrapped around each other.
2. Buy supermarket own brand everything where possible - OK so Asda's own margarine might be pushing it but own brand flour, sugar etc is OK.
3. Make my own - chutneys, jams, biscuits, cakes etc. Although I did compare Nigella's Breakfast Bars to Frusli ones and they only work out 7p cheaper each and that's not taking into account the energy used to cook them.
4. Not turn the heating on - OK this is a little too easy over summer, but come winter I'm not going to turn the heating on until I've layered up on clothes and gotten under a blanket - sorry cat.
5. Make presents - I'm knitting now, so expect blankets and other wonderful things made from squares of knitting. I can make my own candles which are pretty decent and I've been busy making some cross stitch things (bookmarks etc) which are useable. I'm also going to bake biscuits and chutneys for Christmas and hope my family appreciate them.

I think it's possible for me to live on about two thirds of what I have been spending on junk. I'll try it for the next few months and maybe some of the habits will sink in and stick with me.

Pig racing, lots of dogs and some knitting

I went pig racing on Friday with a friend from circle, I had no idea what the expect. We arrived half way through the second race (of six), lots of people were crowded round a table on which 5 fluffy, oinking pigs were slowly making their way across. The basic premise is that at the start of each race you can buy the pig (for £3) and get a share of the winnings if it comes first, or you can bet on one or several pigs (£1 a go) and get back around £2.50 if it wins. I placed 5 bets and won on 2 of them. There was also a raffle which I won 2 prizes in and a 'name the pig' game which I didn't win, even though my preferred name of 'Peter' was an excellent choice. It was a really good evening hosted by Junior Chamber which is an organisation like circle but for men and women and more business orientated.

I'm learning to knit. Well, I say learning, I actually mean re-learning as my Mum taught me to knit when I was young. I've decided to practise by making squares, then building them into something, so mostly blankets. I bought some lovely raspberry coloured wool and made a start at Pete's house on Saturday, I thought I could spend an evening making one square a week and pretty soon I'd have a decent sized blanket. Well, that was the plan. Having to take a break every 3 rows cos your fingers ache, slightly marred my progress. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday knitting (or taking breaks from knitting) and have managed a grand total of 25 rows ... that's half a square ... in 2 days.

In one of my many break from knitting, Pete and I went to Burghfield Fair. It was full of doggies! They had two large roped off areas where they were constantly having dog shows (waggiest tail, cutest bitch, handsomest dog etc), agility courses and dog tricks. It seemed everyone had brought a dog and there were so many springer spaniels (which is the dog Pete wants). There was also a hog roast which looked delicious but had a huge queue and lots of other stalls with tombolas and crafts. It was gorgeous weather and a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Plus we made it back in time for the Spanish F1 which Pete was so looking forwards to that he slept through most of it.

Welsh Holiday

I'm back!!

Wales was lovely, we were lucky with the weather and only had a few days of rain. This didn't stop us bouncing out of bed at the crack of midday and strolling around Gower. Pete and I were the first to arrive and we stocked up on essentials (tea and biscuits) and waited for everyone else to arrive. We did a walk onto the Gower Way with some lovely views down to Oxwich Bay and Three Cliffs Bay. We also walked from Rhossilli to Worms Head at low tide which was a bit tricky across the rocks but well worth the views back to the mainland. Lots of games were played by the boys, lots of reading by the girls and lots of eating by everyone.

We got back on Friday with a long weekend ahead to still enjoy. My cat was in a mood with me for 2 days until she decided I wasn't about to leave her again and now she lets me tickle her (I am honored).

As usual I'm finding new things to start and not finish, namely candle making and knitting, inspired by Kirsty's Homemade Home. I would really like to find a big knitted throw with lots of bright colours, but I think I might have to make it myself to get what I want. I got out my old candle supplies and had a dig about, I'm practising today with the two types of wax I have to see what the differences are.

Back to work tomorrow, in London worst luck. But I have next Wednesday off to take Pete to his first triathlon. Must think about my next holiday .....

Easter Tidings

Forgive me blogger for I have sinned, it is 1 month since my last post.

Bookclub is off to a good start, we had our second meeting last week and 10 people turned up! The discussion was much more highbrow than my last bookgroup, but that's mainly because we just drank wine and gossiped. I love the way other people make me see a book in more depth than I can imagine, comments provoke thoughts and I end up liking the book even more. Maybe I'm not intelligent enough to think up these things on my own so need other people to inspire me! I've started the next book which is going slightly slower than I would have hoped. It's a true life story but is quite interesting.

I went home to Leeds over Easter to see the family. I haven't been back since Christmas so it was nice to have a face-to-face catch up. Went out for the obligatory Indian which was yummy and also had a pleasant evening at the pub with Karen and Magnus - we even did quite well in the pub quiz 24/36. Did some gardening with Mum, bought some sunflower seeds for Pete's garden and some cat grass for Lily. Did some car washing with Dad, now my car is sparkly red but will soon be covered in Welsh mud.

The Wales holiday is next week! My that's come up fast. I'm already compiling lists of everything I want to take, not sure if it will all fit in my car though as I'm taking all Pete's stuff, his bike and a few boxes of games too. I'm really looking forwards to the break and plan on reading lots, relaxing lots and laughing lots. I'm making Nigella's chilli as my meal contribution which is always yummy and will also be baking brownies, flapjack and muffins on random days.