Well, this week has been an interesting one. On Monday I did a 1 hour phone interview with a reporter named Emily from Channel Nine's online content team. Emily came across my name in a Facebook savings group, then researched my stories from A Current Affair in 2014. She wanted to do an update story on where our family is now and how we are coping with the cost of living crisis.
It was wonderful to chat with Emily and she was all ears when I shared the many ways we save money. I think she almost fell off her chair when I told her we only spend $150 a month for our groceries, including basic toiletries and cleaning ingredients. For those of you who have followed our journey, you'd know that my budget was $120 at the start of the year and gradually increased as grocery prices skyrocketed.
It was planned for the story to go online either Thursday or Friday. On Wednesday (two days after the interview ), I was out shopping for the end of season clearance bargains when my phone started dinging. I didn't pay too much attention to it until Darren messaged me to say I'm famous again ( I always joke back to him that I'm only famous in my own backyard ). I still had no clue what was going on until I went on Facebook. As you can imagine, things got busy for the next few hours.
If you are one of the people who read the Channel Nine story and joined our thrifty community this week WELCOME !!! I really hope this blog is a source of inspiration to you. We are a happy bunch of people who love to live our best life and encourage each other.
With all that being said, here is my frugal tasks list for the week -
* I made a big pot of veggie soup using some of the pumpkin we grew. We had soup for dinner that night with homemade flat breads. The leftover soup went into the freezer in single and double portions.
* I used Magic Eraser ( the cheap version ) on our kitchen sink to make it shine. This was a much easier and less time consuming way compared to using Jif and a non scratch scourer.
* We gratefully received a few lemons, mandarins and oranges from 2 different families. We also picked one mandarin from our tree.
* I made lots of choc chip biscuit dough for the freezer.
* When the Sun was shining, we charged the solar lanterns and used them in the loungeroom at night.
* Darren made more flat breads with some Greek yoghurt we were given. I used a cut up cereal packet to go between each flat bread ( stops them sticking ) and froze them.
* We used the thermos each day to store boiling water for our cuppas. This saves the kettle being boiled 2 - 3 more times.
* I made a pumpkin loaf ( bread ) and 18 muffins using some of the pumpkin we grew. I'll be posting the recipe in 2 weeks time so you'll want to keep a look out for it. The bread is absolutely delicious. The rest of the pumpkin was steamed, drained and frozen for future pumpkin bread making. I'm now on the hunt for a good price on pumpkin so I can cook and freeze more.
* We gratefully received lots of paper supermarket bags from a friend. We use them under the kitchen sink for our household / kitchen rubbish.
* I baked 3 loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness. I used saved / recycled bread bags to store the bread in the freezer after I'd sliced it.
* I made 2 kilos of brown sugar to replenish the brown sugar jar.
* Darren made mini lamb and vegetable pies using a tray of lamb mince he got on clearance for $1.90. He added potatoes and carrots to the meat mixture ( plus seasonings ) and the 500g stretched to make 12 pies. Very yummy indeed.
* We filled the compost bucket a few times this week and Darren emptied it into the compost bin outside. As soon as the weather warms up a little he will be emptying one bin onto our veggie garden.
* We kept the curtains 90% closed on the really cold days to keep the warmth in. Yesterday ( Friday ) the Sun was shining so we made sure the curtains were open on those windows to capture the heat streaming in.
LINKS -
Wholemeal Bread With Extra Goodness
 |
| Darren's mini lamb pies |
 |
| Pumpkin loaf / bread |
 |
| Pumpkin bread made into muffins |
 |
| Making biscuit dough |
 |
| A pot of veggie soup with the pumpkin. |
 |
| Making brown sugar. |
We also made soup in the slow cooker using one of our own grown pumpkins and some bendy veggies in the bottom of the fridge. We had it over two nights with some home made sourdough
ReplyDeleteI just picked some tomatoes from the garden which we will have on sandwiches for lunch today
I am planting some sweet potato slips later today
Making some pies for dinner with the leftover soup with some leftover bolognese added too
I love your frugal list. Homemade soup is so delicious and super cheap too.
DeleteHave never tried home made brown sugar, but will now! Just last Thursday I purchased a kilo of it from Aldi (home brand) $2.99. So definitely a saving.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoy your posts, thank you for sharing. 🤗
Making brown sugar is so easy but made even easier if you have a food processor.
DeleteHow do you make brown sugar, Are you using sugar can blocks?
DeleteThere is a link to the brown sugar recipe above.
DeleteCan you share your recipe for pumpkin soup please ?
ReplyDeleteIt was veggie soup with pumpkin included. I used soup mix, cauli, pumpkin, carrot, celery and potato.
DeleteI'm not a fan of risotto, but I once made a great pumpkin risotto. Unfortunately my husband is not a fan of risotto, so that was a one off! Since then I have mainly used them in traybakes. This week I harvested my home-grown shallots and pickled them for the winter. I like them much more than pickled onions, but they are always hard to find ready-made. I only ended up with one jar, but that is enough for us.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the pickled shallots. I'm not a fan of risotto either.
DeleteI love risotto, but I’m the only one, so sometimes I make a batch and they get a freezer meal instead. It’s a good frugal meal. I find fried rice a little dry, and that touch of added moisture in risotto makes such a difference.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy. Do you have a meat pie recipe you could share? And pastry too if you make your own. They are a favorite of my family but I’m yet to find a recipe I really love.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a meat pie recipe in the recipe section under main meals. I don't make pastry.
DeleteBoth of you are an inspiration 😍
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteOur local greengrocer has cheap pumpkins so I sometimes get one when I shop. I used pumpkin a lot! We love roasted pumpkin and I also add it to frittatas and quiches too. We've been picking cherry tomatoes, silverbeet, herbs and a few stalks of celery (it's not doing great in the garden this year). I've cooked a big tray of lasagne, choc chip and coconut cookies and a weetbix and oat slice. I also made a double batch of pear pancakes. So, lots of goodness in the freezer!
It's forecast to be quite cold again next week so we'll be keeping warm with extra layers, blankets and hot water bottles instead of using our oil heaters.
Have a lovely week,
Meg
Hi Wendy, I did read the article you were interviewed for, and having followed you for about a decade now, I know this to be the truth of how you live and what you do. I was disappointed to read some of the negative and nasty comments from people, I wish for them that they may listen and learn instead of grumbling. Keep up the wonderful inspiring work that you do and have always done. Myself and others have learnt so much 🙏❤️ From Cheryl
ReplyDeleteThankyou for your kind words Cheryl. The regular readers like yourself know how we live. Unfortunately any sort of publicity attracts the keyboard warriors. I've never had anything to hide. Nor have I made anything up for clicks and likes. I think those who grumble are the ones who need help with their budgets. They can't believe someone can live well on a low income.
Delete