Being frugal does not mean being stingy. Both Darren and I try to be wise with what we have and what we use. Now that the weather is much cooler, keeping warm without blowing the budget is our priority.
Here's how we saved money this week -
* Picked the first of many broccoli heads we have growing in the garden. I should be picking another one next week.
* Gratefully received a bag of feijoas from a friend. She moved to Geelong last year and found strange looking fruit under one of the trees in her backyard. After messaging Darren to find out what they were and how to eat them, she dropped of the bag on Mother's Day as a treat. So delicious.
* Baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Enjoyed an afternoon tea at our place for my extended family. So much nicer, cheaper and quieter than going to a restaurant. My antique cups and saucers came out for use and the men were really good sports sipping their tea oh so daintily.
* Picked white roses and yellow chrysanthemums from our garden to place in vases around our home for Mother's Day prettiness.
* Fed the compost bin with kitchen scraps and garden clippings. Darren is so proud of all the compost he makes. For many years we bought mushroom compost every couple of years to top up our veggie garden beds. Now that we make our own we save about $40 - $50 a year and it's better quality.
* Baked ANZAC biscuits and scones for the Mother's Day afternoon tea. I also used my homemade plum jam on the scones.
* Ate meals from the freezer a few nights as well as fried rice which fed us two nights. Fried rice is a super cheap meal to make and doesn't need too much meat ( if at all ). I add about 100 grams of roast chicken finely chopped and it seems to go a long way.
* With the cooler weather I've been drying the washing on clotheshorses over the ducted heating vents. One clotheshorse is in the main bathroom over the vent with the door closed. The washing dries in less than 24 hours.
* Now that we use the ducted heater often, the two spare bedrooms, laundry, toilet and alcove area to the laundry is closed off. This prevents unused areas being heated and reduces our heating bill.
* Gratefully received lots of bread bags. We reuse them as the second layer when freezing meat. We also use then as bin liners and to cover bowls in the fridge.
* Stuck to the two light rule at night but mostly only had one light on.
* Used blankets to keep warm in our chairs when watching tv at night. Our ducted heating turns off at 9pm. With blankets close by we are not tempted to turn the heater back on.
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| Getting out the pretties for Mother's Day |
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| Getting ready for afternoon tea |
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| Almost ready to pick |
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| Sunshine from the garden |
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| Mother's Day flowers |
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| Sleeping over at Nana and Poppy's |
How have you saved money this week ?
Congratulations on your efforts. This week I found some produce marked down. For example I bought several bags reduced to 50 cents from $5. As a result we have made some very cheap meals. I did have to turn the air conditioner on during the night because of the thunderstorms. The humidity was so very high. I am using my stash to create things.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Wendy, your Mother's Day table looked lovely. A cup of tea always seems to taste better in a pretty cup doesn't it. That picture of cheeky smiles is priceless!! Keep warm, accidentally saving money here as the thermostat switch not working on our heating,so on our coldest weekend we are wearing coats and beanies, we also have a leaking balcony tarped up awaiting builders, I will just keep knitting and try to ignore our transient crisis.
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy, Your tea cups are beautiful. You had a busy week. Your broccoli is much better than mind. I dont get big heads on mine... I will keep working on my soil. Your Grandsons have really grown up! xxx
ReplyDeleteI love the first sentence of your post. Too many people turn frugalness into tightwad tendencies.
ReplyDeleteHusband and I have office jobs, and are currently working from home.
ReplyDelete- We have the heating at 18C and put on sweaters and cardigans, because 18C is rather cool when sitting all day behind a computer.
- husband has moved from our office (no windows...) to our guest bedroom, and I'm working in our kitchen, so we don't need artificial lights on during the day.
- our coffeemaker has a grinding option, which I use with free-after-rebate or free-with-voucher beans. For the second, and occasionally third, cup I grind just a little bit on top of the ground beans from the first cup. This gives me a proper tasting second or third cup. The used ground beans are added to our garden.
- we went to visit my parents in The Netherlands last weekend, which was allowed without Covid testing under current covid restrictions, as long as we were back in Belgium within 48 hours. So, we made sure we were back in time and saved 4x €70.
- We went supermarket shopping there, because it's all so much cheaper! And my parents subsidised some of our shopping to the value of about €50.
- My parents (80 and 85) are still in relatively good health, but they also know that most of their time on earth is done, and they are clearing out their house. They recently switched to an induction hob (because a gas hob is dangerous as you get older) and gave all their old pans to us. We took what we liked, and donated the rest.
- Two large plastic containers (formerly containing 100kg and 120kg of olives, drained weight) were filled with stuff we no longer need - mainly dds' clothes - and will be shipped to husband's relatives in West-Africa. The containers cost €10 each, but shipping is free, because husband is buying a secondhand truck for someone in West-Africa, and the buyer allowed us to add our stuff to the truck when shipping.
- Husband makes some money buying this truck and secondhand cars for people he knows in his mother country. Not often, and not very much, but it's a nice extra, and it funds his IT hobby, which I don't want to pay for from our normal incomes.
- I have sown some seeds, and they are growing! I love the miracle of new growth!