Here's my frugal list for the week -
* Made a whole orange cake using oranges given to me a couple of weeks ago. At the time I couldn't bake or blitz them into portions for cakes so I froze the oranges whole. The cake recipe makes a large cake so this time I divided the batter. I made one medium cake for eating through the week and nine mini loaf cakes to take to church for morning tea. The little cakes were frozen so that they didn't spoil in the heat.
* Fed lots of snails, weeds and grass to the chicken. They absolutely love snails and I detest snails in my garden so it was a win, win situation
* Took up Darren's new jeans for work.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Sold three more decorated hand towels.
* Topped up my car with petrol just before the price went up. At the moment Coles petrol stations have been the cheapest in our area so we've been using the discount fuel voucher to get it cheaper and to get Flybuys.
* Darren converted more Flybuys points into $10 on the card. We might use some of the saved money / points to buy a few treats for Christmas Eve munching.
* Sold two pamper packs to a friend.
* Started picking raspberries a couple of days ago. As soon as the fruit comes in abundance I'll be freezing them to make jam and muffins.
* Picked 355 grams of beans from the garden in two days. I can see heaps more beans coming along so I'm sure I'll be busy freezing them shortly
* Made 1 kilo of yoghurt using 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt I froze a couple of months ago. This is the recipe I used.
* Cleaned the kettle using citric acid.
* Hand washed the dishes most nights instead of using the dishwasher.
* Saved washing machine water, shower warm up water and drink bottle water to reuse on the garden and in the washing machine..
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| First beans of the season. |
This year's Christmas cards I've been making.
Your cards are so lovely, Wendy. I think the gingerbread man card is my favourite! It was a less than frugal week here and I think that's because I felt like I was running short of time all week. Having said that, I did get these things done:
ReplyDelete* planned out evening meals we will have while on holiday.
* purchased food we will need on our beach holiday. Food is more expensive where we stay so I take it with me. I had things in my stockpile to take too.
* mixed up dry ingredients for biscuits and slice. All I do is add melted butter and then bake them in our holiday kitchen.
* made extra big batch of spaghetti bolognese sauce and meatballs which I portioned out and froze. This makes for a quick meal when we get back from the beach and I don't want to cook.
* bought sausages for lots of barbecue dinners at the beach.
* borrowed lots of books from local library to read while away and a few dvds too.
* resisted the "want" of a new swimsuit for I think mine will last one more year!
Have a lovely weekend, Wendy.
Meg:)
Enjoy your holiday Meg. Where will you be going ? I know you'll enjoy the food because it didn't cost a fortune and it tastes the same as you cook at home. We try to take as much as possible with us too.
DeleteHi Wendy and I love the new cards you are making. It is so lovely to pick fresh produce from your gardens to use in meals and nothing tastes as fresh as homegrown.
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday we move into our own farm too but it won't reach settlement until the 17th of December as the owners are away overseas. We have moved all of our manure, hay, firewood and all the gardening equipment out to the farm sheds and yard so far.
We will be so happy to have more room to move in the new home and will have a 5.5 x 3.5 m food storage room and another 4 x 4 mt ventilated meat shed for storing grains and wheat in too.
Our Vicky challenge added up to $1071.47 in savings last week.
Purchases -
- Purchased 6 shave sticks from our local pharmacy on a 15% off sale saving $3.54 on usual prices.
- Bought a 280g jar of vegemite on special saving $1.50 on usual prices.
- DH purchased a 250m roll of 8mm sisal rope using a $10 off purchase saving $93.50 over buying it locally in shops here per metre.
- Purchased a pole chainsaw/circular saw/hedge trimmer on a 20% off special with a voucher on eBay saving $519.75 on usual prices in the stores here.
In the kitchen-
- Made a lemon cheesecake saving $69.78 over buying them in the local cafes here.
- Made a quadruple batch of oat, honey, almond, coconut and sultana granola saving $27.85 on buying it.
Insurances -
- By asking further questions about our home insurance I found our our ride on lawnmower would be covered under our accidental damage house insurance saving a further $270.33.
We are truly exhausted now but will keep pushing on until Tuesday for our move and will take out further loads of our bed and other items on Monday to the farm.
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna)
Wow, you have been busy Lorna. What a time to be moving too. I can say that because I 've had a few family members move just before Christmas or just after.
DeleteYou've made good savings on baking and cooking at home. It surprises me that people pay so much for a cheesecake.
Those cards are so beautiful.. What a talent.
ReplyDeleteThankyou. I'm learning something new all the time. These cards are pretty easy to make once you know how.
DeleteHi Wendy, Liz here from WA. We have been having odd weather here too but the veggie garden loves it and is thriving!I even lit the fire this week!
ReplyDeleteI have 11 tomato plants ( 3 self seeded), lots of zucchini as I grate it to freeze for slices, dwarf beans, lots of cucumbers to make pickled cucumber, sweet corn, butternut pumpkins, capsicum, chilli and lettuce. I also grow herbs, parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary! Its all mulched so I only water in the evening using dam water, and chose a cool day this week to feed them Seasol. We have oranges still on the tree (it has fruit all year round), and one of our cherry tree's is supplying us with beautiful juicy cherries, the other cherry tree should be ready at Christmas.
We had a very exciting week, with hubby signing the paperwork for his new promotion at the mine (2nd promotion in a few months), and he is now Production Superintendant of the mine! A massive pay rise, lots more employer superannuation contributions and unlimited use of the work ute! We are thrilled and have been discussing how we will continue to live frugally and semi self sufficient, growing our own food, and not waste any of the pay rise!
Otherwise, this week I used a fuel voucher to fill the 4WD.
My son is home for the holidays from boarding school and we went out and found a great Christmas tree in the forest down the road and decorated it with our 28 year old decorations, they still look great! We also brought back a Christmas tree for our neighbour!
Bought a lovely box of chocolates 1/2 price at IGA as a thankyou gift for the man my son did work experience with! Made up for the price of the thankyou card though, hubby didn't have his glasses with him and thought the price was $1.50 (as if :) ), it was actually $10.50!!!! You save a lot Wendy making your own cards!
So a great week, enjoy the week ahead everyone!
Congratulations on your husband's new promotion Liz. That's such wonderful news. Living frugally can be such a joy especially when you appreciate all you have. Bet it feels great to pick your own fruit and veg too. I know I feel rich when I pick from our garden. Free food !!
DeleteDear Wendy, I love the cards! It amazes me with sought culture that it doesnt die in the freezer but it obviously doenst! I make yoghurt most weeks. It is so good and useful too. Left overs I also freeze. There is a cake recipe that uses both fruit and yoghurt and I make that in summer with any left over fruits.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a lovely Sunday! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, I couldn't go back to eating store bought Yoghurt. It's too sweet and runny.
DeleteI'm trying to figure out which I'm more shocked by....the cost of a cheesecake being nearly $70 in the original post or the card being $10.50 in the comment section!! Good grief!! I've been making cards so many years. I had no idea they'd gotten so pricey.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cards, those are beautiful! Are the gbread & tree suspended by thread at the top and bottom? I'm partial to gbread so that's my fave!
Yummmm, fresh green beans! Everything here is frozen just now so our gardens are sound asleep.
Speaking of weather, I've learned such an appreciation for the seasons since moving from Southern California to a place that actually has seasons! I look forward to every season now because there's a uniqueness to it, whether it be the food or the activity. Our yard was a year-around job in Cali. Here, we put it all to bed in November and can use that time on indoor activities like rug weaving, baking, or any cozy project. About the time I feel like I'm never going to be warm again, a warm sunny day pokes out in late March or early April and I go sit on the patio barefoot and let the sun warm me all around. As I'm now in the Autumn of my life, it's really interesting to see how our lives are seasonal, as well.
Debby, I wish we were neighbours. I love the seasons too for their different activities. God certainly knew what he was doing when he created the seasons. We'll never get bored.
DeleteYes the gingerbread man and tree are suspended by fishing line. They are called Spinner Cards if you'd like to do a Google search. They are quite easy to make once you've made a few and you can adapt them for any occasion by changing the papers and shape in the middle.
Cards have increased in price quite a bit over the last few years. That's why I took up card making. It was cheaper to make than buy. Even our cheap stores no longer sell 4 for $2. Now they are $1 plus
Wow Wendy, you had a fantastic frugal week!
ReplyDeleteI love how yoghurt can be kept fresh by freezing a couple of tablespoons instead of using the leftover yoghurt. I am now making soy yoghurt using the same method. I cant get powdered soy here, so I buy the cartons (organic and Australian) in bulk when they are on special and use them. It is a massive saving because buying soy yoghurt is very expensive! I also freeze excess sourdough.
My budget took a big hit with the new veggie garden shade area out the back, so I am not spending too much for Christmas this year. We were meant to go travelling but instead decided to use some of that money for the build. We usually have a really simple Christmas anyway, this year it will be enjoyed with family at our sons place.
I have bought a raspberry plant and will put it in a large pot and place in the veggie garden area. I feel it will do okay there. I have also bought a blueberry and will do the same. Fingers crossed that they survive our heat.
Your cards are beautiful, I wish I had more time to make them. I think I will make sure to schedule them into my to do list for next year. I still haven't made soap although it was on my list of things to try this year, but here we are at the end of the year once again and no soap lol!
The savings here are the usual things like saving water, power and;
*I am using rain water in the veggie beds now so they should do really well :)
*I have found another cleaning job, that makes three per fortnight (it all adds up). I save this money for travelling and special purchases.
*Making most of our meals at home, but we do eat out very occasionally.
*Baking at home.
*Make all hubby's meals to take to work.
*Bought almond milk and soy milk on special.
*Bought fuel at nearby town (20c/litre cheaper than here). I buy fuel when I visit with my parents.
*Did a shop at the new Aldi in Port Pirie on our way through.
Have a great week,
xTania
Tania, your veggie garden looks fantastic. One day I'd like to do a tour of it.
DeleteWell done on getting another cleaning client. Those jobs certainly do add up. My cleaning work helped to pay off our mortgage in record time. Do you take Miracle Spray with you to use ? Most of my jobs now either have Miracle Spray in the house because I sell it to them or I just take a spray bottle with me.
I look forward to seeing your cards next year.
Yes Wendy, I definitely do take Miracle spray to my cleaning jobs. I do not purchase any other cleaners except a spray bottle with metho and water. That's about all I use, no need for any high smelling, cough inducing mixtures from the supermarket.
DeleteEnjoy your weekend,
xTania