My Abundant Life

Saturday, 2 January 2016

This Week's Frugal Tasks 2nd January 2016

During the week we spent some time revovering from all the Christmas festivities. I made my way to the Boxing Day sales at 8.05am to pick up some fabulous bargains. Darren sorted out his garden shed and started painting Megan's room. I tried not to cook or clean too much so I could have a little break. We also had a heat wave that encouraged us to get the Christmas tree down while it was slightly cooler on the 29th of December. Here's what else we got up to -

* Made a batch of vanilla yoghurt using a frozen starter.

* Picked a handful of beans every few days. I started freezing them for future meals.

* Made a big batch of pita chips.

* Made chocolate truffles to go to a New Years Eve party. I used homemade sweetened condensed milk from the freezer.

* Gratefully accepted a bag of shredded paper for my chickens.

* My family ate leftovers for dinner two nights running after Christmas. By doing this, we didn't waste any food.

* Both the girls took advantage of the sales and bought some presents for next year. I was so proud of them for thinking ahead and saving some money.

* I bought lots of hand towels from Spotlight for $4.19 a pack of four. I also bought some Christmas material at 60% off to sew on the towels.

* Used scraps of material to make some other hand towels into presents too. I was on a roll and made 14 in one afternoon.

* .Made two large dishes of zucchini slice with the last of the zucchinis from Cath. The slice was cut into single portions and frozen.

* Picked a couple of handfuls of strawberries. Jessica enjoyed some with the homemade yoghurt.

* Bought a Tupperware lidded container from the op shop for $4.50 It looks new so I'll give it a wash and fill it up with homemade biscuits to give as a present. Tied with a matching bow, it will look beautiful.

* Megan got her ears pierced ( seconds ) and handed over a coupon she found online for $5 off. So proud of her for researching this herself.

* I used a Spotlight gift card ( Christmas present ) to buy a big pad of 120 Christmas papers for half price. This will be great for card making.. I also found some craft ribbon at 75% off.

Our Christmas Eve platter

Leg of lamb with rosemary from the garden

Our lunch table

Our beans

Christmas lunch

Megan's custard tarts with our raspberries

Jessica's present she wrapped.Annabel style

Op shop bargain

Pita chips

Choc truffles

Zucchini slic

Decorated towels for girts

Bargain Christmas material

What was on your frugal list for the week ?

Saturday, 26 December 2015

This Week's Frugal Tasks 26th December 2015

This week has been busier than usual. Last minute Christmas preparations have been completed, fruit and veg shopping was done as well as all of us working. I was worried I'd have very few frugal tasks
to share. It just goes to show that everyday living can be frugal without trying too hard. Here's what we got up to -

* Gratefully received some zucchinis from Cath. They have been made into a zucchini slice and frozen.

* Made 21 jars of jam from peaches and apricots bought at $1.69 a kilo The sugar used was given to us and the lemons came off our tree.

* Bought a doona cover for our bed for $20. The quality is excellent and such a bargain price.

* Saved the shower warm up water to use on the garden. Saved the washing machine water for each next load.

* Made lots of chocolate cupcakes for a church morning tea. They were decorated with Christmas cupcake toppers bought on clearance last year for 5 cents a packet of 12.

* Made a trip to Hindustan Imports to stock up on herbs, spices, chia seeds and walnuts. They are so much cheaper than any supermarket.

* Darren made white Christmas and rocky road to give as presents to friends at church and the cafe. I bought all ingredients at half price a couple of months ago.

* Picked up some perfume and aftershave bargains at Chemist Warehouse. These items have been put away for birthdays and Christmas next year.

* Bought some great bargains at Savers op shop. I was after a slightly bigger teapot. I had my eye on one in Kmart and was waiting for the Boxing Day sales. When I was in Kmart on Tuesday, they only had one left at full price ( $10 ). I found the size I was after in a color I love for $5.59. I also picked up a beautiful jug for $3.19, a Decor storage container for $2.38 and a veggie steamer for $3.19. These are all things i can use in my kitchen.

* Started picking beans this week from our dwarf bean plants.

* Picked lettuce from the garden for a couple of meals during the heat last weekend. I used some lettuce for a garden salad for Christmas dinner.

* Sold two dozen eggs, a jar of tomato relish and a jar of jam.

* Gratefully received a parcel from my blogger friend Mimi. She found a cake mould that would be suitable for making soap. She included so rose pictures for card making. Thankyou Mimi. I'll be making more soap in the new year.

* Planted the Loganberry plant I bought on clearance a few weeks ago. I wanted to wait until it was looking healthier. I also planted some silverbeet seedling my Dad gave me

* Saved all gift bags, ribbon, tissue paper and Christmas cards to be recycled. The Christmas cards will be made into gift tags for next year.

* Did the usual water saving tasks. We dried most of the washing on the line. Some washing was put into the dryer so that we didn't have clothes horses all around the house during Christmas.

* Used my flyby dollars to buy some Christmas Eve snacks.

* Wrapped up five hand made soaps to be given as presents next year.

Thursday, 24 December 2015

A Small Blogging Break

Hello and Merry Christmas to all my blog readers and friends. I'll be taking a very small break over Christmas and the New Year to enjoy my family. During this time I'll be working on some new and exciting topics to share with you next year.

Please keep checking in as I will still be posting the Frugal Tasks for each week. If I see any super duper specials I'll be sure to let you know. Please feel free to read over some older posts and maybe try a recipe or two.

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Grocery Specials Wednesday 23rd December 2015

I just wanted to let you know I won't be posting the grocery specials this week. I have a big cleaning job on Wednesday and Thursday will be spent getting ready for Christmas celebrations in my home.

There were a couple of specials I wanted to share with you though. Coles has celery for $1 a bunch. It is a fantastic price and well worth getting a couple of bunches to chop and freeze for stews and casseroles when the weather cools down.

Coles also has Praise salad dressings for $1.74 and mayonnaise for $1.69. These are half price sales.

For those who are wanting to start on next year's present shopping, Chemist Warehouse has a big sale on perfumes and fragrances. I'm not sure how long this sale is on for but it's well worth having a look at. I was in a store today with Jessica and we picked up very well known brands for under $20. Here's the link to their catalogue

http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/Shop-Online/542/Fragrances

Monday, 21 December 2015

A Year In Review And Merry Christmas 2015

As Christmas draws near, it's good to look back on the year that was. We've had a fairly busy year in the Gower home. In January Jessica started Year 12 and Megan Year 10. Within days of starting back at school, they were both on camp.

During April Darren and I went to the Melbourne Flower Show. I also took up card making that month with a special thanks to Annabel from The Bluebirds Are Nesting blog. She greatly encouraged me to have a go and boy, did I have a go !! I find myself racing through my housework to get a few spare hours to craft away. Card making was one of my goals for the year.

In May I spoke at a Cheapskates Club workshop in Knox. I was suprised to see a few friends from school there. I also got to meet Maureen and Anne for the first time.  Both are lovely blog readers who have become friends. During this month Jessica turned 18 and had dinner with friends. As a family we went to see Strictly Ballroom the musical I also started dental treatment to give me a beautiful smile. This was such a big step for me as I'm not that fond of dentists.

In June Darren turned 50 with a big birthday party in our home and a dinner at the Titanic Restaurant. Two days later my smile started to transform with continual dental work over the following six weeks. I ended up spending over 20 + hours in the dentist chair..

In August, Cath and I made a trip over to Adelaide in South Australia for our first ever interstate Cheapskates workshop. We had such a great time with the 25+ people who attended. plus the camera crew from Today Tonight We got to meet Annabel and Tania for the first time. Cath and I were so excited we were beside ourselves. We hardly slept a wink but that might be because we talked so much.

During August Cath started the Cheapskates card making group in her home. We've created such a lovely group of like minded people and learnt some new skills. We also do a lot of talking, tea drinking and eating - hehehe !!!

Around this time I finally got up the courage to try soap making ( another goal for this year ). I must say, it was much easier than I first thought. It's wonderful to use around the home and to give as presents. A very special thankyou to Phil from the House of Simple blog for allowing me to share his soap recipe. Your encouragement has allowed me to learn a new skill.

Just last month I started loosing most of my cleaning work ( for many reasons ). I've learnt to cut the family budget yet again and live on much less. At times it's a challenge but I love a challenge.

This year has bought many new friends into my life through my facebook pages, the Cheapskates Club and through this blog..I'll be forever grateful to everyone who reads my posts and to those who are brave enough to comment. You have bought so much joy to my life. More than you'll ever know.

Thankyou so much to Cath from the Cheapskates Club who has become a firm friend to myself and my family. Your support and kindness is overwhelming. Thankyou for believing in us,

Thankyou to my fellow bloggers who continue to support each other. Annabel from The Bluebirds Are Nesting for you beautiful friendship and gorgeous craft posts. Thankyou Tania from Outback Tania blog for your veggie garden posts. You inspire me to grow more. Thankyou Joolz from Simply Joolz blog for all your cooking pictures. You are truly an amazing cook. Brandy from The Prudent Homemaker has inspired me to think more about how I spend my money. Brandy does an amazing job of feeding her family well on much less than the average family does. Mimi from A Tray Of Bliss encourages us to think about how much our frugal tasks are worth in dollars
.

This year I've connected with many lovely ladies in America through A Working Pantry blog.  Their pantries are amazing as they stockpile for extreme weather conditions. I love to stockpile too so it's wonderful to see how others do it.

It great to know there are like minded people who care about each other.  This blog has been a vehicle for connecting people who are seeking to live a better life on a budget. The world seems a little smaller when we can chat and share ideas.

Darren, Jessica, Megan and myself would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May you enjoy the season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus - the greatest gift ever given.   .

Our year in photos -