Frugal February Challenge 2022 - Week 2

We've just finished week 2 of the Frugal February Challenge for 2022.  This week started off really well with no spending for 4 days.  

I've been dropping in the Savers op shop to donate unwanted goods and to have a quick look around.  I haven't found any knitting cotton yet but I've found cotton doona covers to make tea towels.  I've tried to stay focused when I'm in there and only look in sections where I can find things on my ' wanted ' list. 

The main objective of the Frugal February Challenge for Darren and I is to only buy essential items using our general household bank account  / debit card.  At the end of the month we are hoping to transfer a large amount into our  savings account.  We still get our monthly pocket money and can use this as we see fit.  The gift fund is fully saved for for 2022 so if I see something on special then I can buy it.   At the same time I'm trying to be really wise about what I'm buying and making sure it's the best price possible. 

Here's how our week looked -

Day 8 -  No spending 

Day 9 -  No spending

Day 10 - No spending

Day 11 - No spending

Day12 -  Spent $12  in Savers on a doona cover

Day 13 -  Spent $4 on Cruskits biscuits on sale for $1 a box. 

Day 14 -  Spent $12.20 on a Valentine's Day morning tea.

                Spent $16.20 in Big W on beach towels

                Spent $6.99 in Coles on salad ingredients

NOTES -    

*  The doona cover was paid for out of the gift fund.  I'll be cutting the doona cover up and making tea towels for presents.

*  The Cruskits are an essential grocery item.  Darren eats them often for his lunch and they were a bargain sale price.

*  The Valentine's morning tea was paid for out of our pocket money.

*  The beach towels were on clearance and paid for out of the gift fund.  They will be made into hooded beach towels for presents and to sell.

*  The salad ingredients will be used for at least 3 dinners.  

How is your Frugal Challenge going ?

Are you finding it easy to halt the spending ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 12th February 2022

 We are very grateful the hot, humid weather has disappeared and we can get back to normal living and tasks.  Our tomato plants are still fruiting although the plants themselves look like they are on their last legs.  

Here's what we've been up to - 

*  Made up a jar of French onion soup mix.  I used a couple of packets from the supermarket and added my own ingredients from the pantry to stretch it further.

*  I filled up both slow cookers with sausage casserole using the sausages I received last week.  From that one tray of sausages I made 12 dinners ( 24 serves ) for the two of us.  11 dinners were portioned out into containers and frozen for easy meals.

*  Made rosemary powder from the rosemary I picked from our garden a few weeks ago that I'd been drying.  Rosemary powder is great to use of roast potatoes.  The powder sticks far better than the usual dried leaves.

*  Refilled my herb and spice jars with bulk purchases from Hindustan Imports.  This is a huge saving over supermarket prices.

*  Made three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Upcycled 20 + department store bags by decorating over their store logo / name.

*  Darren picked oranges from Megan's tree.  Some will be used to make 50 / 50 cordial and the rest will be frozen whole to use in baking.

*  Gratefully received tomatoes from my Dad's garden.  I cooked them down and made a big pot of spag bol sauce ( with meat ).  I added grated zucchini from our garden and a couple of carrots.  We ate spag bol for dinner that night and another 6 meals ( 12 serves ) went into the freezer.

*  Found a large toy truck for $7 and two hooded towels for $6 each.  All were on clearance and will be given as presents this year.

*  Darren has been feeding the large cardboard box from our mattress into the compost bin.  We were quite surprised that our mattress was delivered flat in a HUGE cardboard box as well as being wrapped in plastic on the inside.  The plastic was saved for veggie garden projects and the cardboard was cut into manageable pieces and soaked in water before putting in the compost bin.   

*  Baked ANZAC biscuits for our snacks using dough I'd made and frozen last week.

*  Planted 7 sprouting potatoes into the veggie garden.

*  I picked raspberries,  beans,  tomatoes and a zucchini from our garden.

Upcycled gift bags

Sausage casserole

Portioned for freezing.

French onion soup mix

Processing dried rosemary

We might be getting mandarins this coming Winter.

Frugal February Challenge 2022 - Week 1

 Week  1 for our Frugal February / Spending Freeze Challenge has been fairly easy for Darren and I.  For the first few days I didn't go anywhere except to cleaning jobs.  Darren did go out to lunch with his sister but he paid for it out of his pocket money.

I have 3 exceptions ( other than bills ) for the challenge -

*  If I see grocery items that are bargain / clearance prices then I will be stocking up.  Otherwise I will be limiting grocery spending to essential items.

*  I'm looking for knitting / crochet cotton in op shops to make more dishcloths.  This is something I'm always on the lookout for and it's much cheaper than buying retail.

*  Buying presents or items to make presents that are bargain prices and cannot be made by myself. These are paid for from the gift fund which is fully saved for for the next 12 months  I've been waiting for beach towels to go on clearance so I can make hooded towels for Luka and Bryson. 

Here's a breakdown of how our week panned out with spending -

Feb 1 -  No spending

Feb 2 -  No Spending

Feb 3 -  No spending

Feb 4 -  Petrol for Darren's car $39.00.  

Feb 5 -  No spending

Feb 6 - No spending

Feb 7 -  Petrol for lawnmower to mow our lawn and Megan's $10.96

             Hooded towels x 2 and a toy truck  on clearance ( presents ) $19.00 

             Doona cover at op shop $14.99

NOTES -

*  It worked out cheaper to buy the beach towels already made into hooded ones instead of me making them.  They were on clearance and needed for a present.  Towel stocks are so low in department stores it's hard to find anything that is suitable for little boys.

* The doona cover was a surprise find.  It's a 100% cotton waffle doona cover that will make lovely tea towels for presents and to sell.

Large truck for $7

Hooded towels $6 each.

How is your Frugal February Challenge going ?

Is it hard to stay away from the shops or internet ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 5th February 2022

The weather has been quite warm and humid over the last couple of weeks.  During this time I try to find less strenuous jobs to do like decluttering,  filling up cleaning spray bottles and tidying up a cupboard or two.  At the end of the day I get great satisfaction knowing I've made my home cleaner,  tidier and a little more thriftier.  

Here's what we did this week around our home and garden -  

*  Scraped out some of the dirt from the chicken run and added it to a veggie garden bed. The soil level in the chicken run was getting too high.  The dirt is a combination of grass,  chicken poop and kitchen scraps that have composted down over a long period of time.  I'll be letting this veggie bed rest for a while in case the added dirt is too strong for seedlings.

*  Gratefully received a box of mixed lettuce.  We gave lots to our chickens and the rest went into the compost bin.

*  Sold a dishcloth to one of Jessica's friends.

*  Gratefully received about 3 kilos of plums from my Dad.  The weather was too hot to make them into jam so I frozen them for future use.

*  Made two jars of pita chips using pita bread from the freezer.

*  Gratefully received an ergonomic office chair and face masks from a friend.  Darren is using the chair for his new job.

*  Picked raspberries,  a couple of lemons,  beans,  a zucchini and tomatoes from our garden.

*  Dug up 13.3 kilos of potatoes from our veggie garden.

*  Took up 3 pairs of jeans ( the legs were too long ).  I also converted an old pair of jeans into shorts and added a decorative stitch to the edge of the shorts.

*  Planted more bean and tomato seeds with the hope that they will grow and it's not too late for another crop.  I've also sown lettuce,  broccoli,  cauliflower and brussels sprout seeds for Autumn planting.

*  Made a quadruple batch of choc chip biscuit dough and a double batch of ANZAC biscuit dough.  Some biscuits were baked to have with cups of tea and the rest of the dough was frozen for future baking.

*  Gratefully received a tray of sausages that were leftover from a community meal.  Darren cooked them on the bbq last night.  Today I have both slow cookers going to make lots of sausage casserole.  We will be having some for dinner tonight and the rest will be frozen into portions for 2 people.

*  Darren and I tied up the raspberry plants  growing a little wild behind one of our sheds.  Now it's easier to pick the fruit without getting caught on the prickly canes.

*  Darren fed the compost bins with kitchen scraps.  He churns the contents quite often to help everything break down quickly.

*  Picked up quite a few 500g trays of beef mince heavily reduced to $1.60 in Coles.  Their regular price is $8.  Each tray was divided in half and frozen.  Each half ( 250g ) will feed 4 people or give us 2 meals.  Such a blessing as I was getting low on beef mince.

Our raspberries are finally ripening

World's smallest tomatoes - Tom Berries

The beans are growing.

The corn growing in leaps and bounds

Our meat bargain.

Are you starting to plan / plant seeds for the next growing season ?

How have you saved money this week ?

Frugal February Challenge 2022

Over at The Cheapskates Club,  many members are participating in the Frugal February / Spending Freeze Challenge.  This is a challenge where all non essential spending is halted for the month of February.  After watching this challenge for many years,  Darren and I have decided to give it a go.

During January we had expenses for our trip away to Tasmania.  We also had to buy a new mattress and a new laptop.  None of these expenses could be avoided but our savings has taken a huge hit.  Mattress prices have increased enormously since we bought the last one 10 - 12 years ago.  This time round we only replaced the mattress and kept the old base to save costs.  Let's just say if you want a comfortable mattress,  there's nothing much under $2000 and that's the sale price.  

Darren needs two computer screens for his new job so he took my old laptop that was running a bit slow.  Thankfully laptops were on sale for the ' Back to School ' season and we got a good deal for my new one.

As you know,  we are very frugal ( most of the time ).  We are not perfect with our spending and do like to have morning tea or a lunch out every now and then.  This spending freeze challenge has got us excited about increasing our savings account.  

The rules for this challenge -

*  Continue to pay all household bills as per usual.  This includes gas,  electric,  water,  rates,  insurances,  medical ( if needed ),  food,  petrol and mortgage / rent if you usually do this.

*  Only spend money on absolute essentials

You can't spend money on - 

Takeaways

Eating out

Going to the movies

Buying magazines

Entertainment

Clothes / shoes

Toys

Homewares  

Here's our plan of attack for a successful challenge -

* For us personally we will not be eating out at all for the entire month of February.   We are just going to resist the urge.  I'm happy to make hamburgers,  nachos,  pizzas and fish and chips at home all from scratch with what we have on hand.  

*  Making sure we take water bottles and muesli bars wherever we go as a back up for hunger pains.

*  Combining errands in one trip and when we are already on the road for cleaning jobs.

*  Using the seeds we already have to plant more veggies and flowers instead of shopping at Bunnings.

*  No birthdays fall in February but I will be looking ahead to future months to try and make the presents.

*  Using the homewares we already have and perhaps rearranging them for a new look.  

*  When the urge strikes us to go shopping at department stores, we will be writing a list of what we THINK we need and revisit the list at the end of the month.  Maybe we won't need that item after all.

*  I will only be buying essential food items.  My stockpile is very healthy.  Now is the time to live off it.    

I hope to give you a weekly update of how the challenge is going for Darren and I and how much money we are saving or spending.

We hope to have lots of this at the end of the month.

Using what we have.

Making our own takeaway / fast food

Baking from scratch.

WHO WILL JOIN ME IN THIS CHALLENGE ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 29th January 2022

 Welcome back to a new year of thrifty living.  It's been about 5 weeks since I last posted but both Darren and I have kept very busy.  We had a lovely Christmas Day at Megan's home.  We opened presents with Jessica,  Megan and the grandbabies - Luka and Bryson.  Then the extended family came over for lunch and more present opening.  Luka was beside himself with all the presents that arrived under the Christmas tree.  In his words " more presents  ".

A few days later Darren and I sailed over to Tasmania for a week to help Darren's Dad celebrate his 80th birthday and see in the new year.  We enjoyed lots of good food,  stayed in a heritage building converted into a Bed and Breakfast and did a few day trips.

While we were in Tasmania a family member sent Darren information regarding a new job opportunity.  Darren applied for it,  organised references and had a phone interview just two days before returning home.   I'm pleased to say that Darren got the job and he's really enjoying it.  He's working from home which is a lovely change and is saving on our petrol costs.  Although this job is a temporary one,  there could be more opportunities within this company.  We are praying that this is the case but know that God will provide no matter what.

Here's how we've saved money this year -

*  Made 15 jars of apricot jam using apricots from our tree.

*  When we were in Tasmania,  we went to a local Kmart and they had heaps of Christmas decorations on clearance.  Darren picked up big containers of baubles for 50 cents a container.  I found beautiful Christmas tea towels,  a table runner,  Christmas wall art and a few other things.  Thankfully we took our car on the boat to Tasmania so we could load up on all the bargains.  We've done this a few years running as it seems Kmart there overstocks or the locals just don't buy.

*  We took water bottles wherever we went in Tasmania.  We also took muesli bars and Darren's step mum gave us lots of baking for our day trips.

*  We used our saved Flybuys dollars to buy meat and salad items for one dinner and a few lunches.

*  I made four bottles of air freshener using cooled boiled water and essential oils or fragrance oils.

*  Made 2 x 2litres of double strength Miracle Spray.  I will dilute it down when I fill up the spray bottles.

*  I made up two bottles of surface spray using cooled boiled water and dish washing liquid.  One bottle is for our home use and the other I use at my cleaning jobs.

*  Added water to the bottom of the shower gel bottle and poured it into the foaming hand wash pump.  Not a scrap was wasted.

*  Picked rosemary from our garden and dried it in paper bags that I hung up.

*  Adjusted two dresses that didn't fit well.  One was slightly too big and the other was too long.  The dress that was too long was used as a template for the dress that didn't fit well.  

*  I made cushion covers out of European pillow cases.  Our loungeroom couch really needed new cushions but I couldn't find ones I liked.  I bought cushion inserts from Big W and the pillow cases from Spotlight ( on sale ).

*  Made a half batch of yoghurt.  With just the two of us at home,  we find the one kilo batch is too much to eat in a week.

*  Picked raspberries,  apricots  beans,  tomatoes and strawberries from our garden.

*  Made a triple batch of laundry powder.  Although I used homemade laundry liquid for the washing,  I do like the powder for soaking soiled items.

*  I knitted many dish cloths and face washers while we were on holidays.

*  I made 24 Christmas cards on the boat over to Tasmania.  I like to keep myself busy when travelling and it keeps my mind off the rocking  of the boat.

*  Bought lots of knitting cotton on clearance at Spotlight in one of the Tasmanian stores.

*  Recycled Christmas cards into gift tags or made them into new cards.

The first bowl of apricots from our tree

Home grown beans

The tomatoes are finally ripening

Pizza subs on Turkish bread for dinner

How have you saved money over Christmas and the school holidays ?

  

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 18th December 2021

 The Christmas season is upon us and the last couple of weeks have been super busy.  I finished Christmas shopping a few weeks ago and the presents are all wrapped up and cards written and sent.

On Tuesday Darren's work situation changed drastically ( feel free to read between the lines ).  As a result our budget now consists of essential spending only (  food,  petrol and bills ).  We are grateful for full freezers,  a very healthy stockpile and a veggie garden that is producing.  Although the timing was poor,  we know God is in control and we will weather this storm.

We have a short holiday coming up soon which was booked and paid for early this year.  We will use this time to rest and when we get back we will regroup and plan our future going forward. 

Here's how we saved time,  money and energy over the last two weeks.

*  I picked beans,  silverbeet,  strawberries and raspberries from our garden.

*  Sold a dozen eggs to a friend.

*  Made mixed berry jam from berries I found in the freezer. They were odds and sods of strawberries and raspberries.  I forgot to weigh the berries when cooking them so I had to estimate how much sugar to add.  It ended up being some of the tastiest jam I've ever made.

*  Baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  I used recycled bread bags to store the bread in the freezer.

*  Our grandsons came over for a swim in our toddler pool.  We saved the pool water and used it over several days to water our garden.

*  Baked choc chip biscuits for our afternoon teas.

*  Sold a few apron greeting cards.

*  Gratefully received a handmade apron from one auntie and a bunch of  flowers from another auntie's garden when we held a family gathering out our home.

*  Picked more mandarins from Megan's tree.

*  Gratefully received quite a few packets of lamb chops from a friend.  Our friend was moving house and we were there to do a vacate clean for her.  She allowed us to pick bunches of beautiful hydrangea flowers and to take cuttings.  Darren has planted the cuttings and we are eagerly waiting to see if they strike.

*  Sold lots of dish cloths,  face scrubbies,  jam and hanging hand towels to a cleaning client.  She is adding all these goodies to her Christmas gifts for her family.

*  Fed silverbeet,  weeds,  bread crusts and snails to the chickens.

*  I planted cucumber,  zucchini and more bean seeds in our garden.

*  Used cut up old socks as garden ties in the veggie garden.

*  Saved shower warm up water and washing machine rinse water and reused it around our home and garden.

*  Gratefully received 8 mangoes from a new cleaning client ( who is also a regular blog reader ).

*  I made hooded towels for Luka and Bryson as Christmas presents.  I'll be sure to take photos on Christmas Day and share them with you next year.  The towels were $4 each and I needed 3 to make them.  I was also able to make one hand towel and two face washers from the towel I cut the hoods from.  Not a scrap was wasted.

*  Took up a couple of pairs of jeans for a friend who paid me.

Here are some photos of the lovely hydrangeas we picked at our friend's place -

The gifted mangoes

Mixed berry jam

This will be my last post for 2021.  It has been a difficult year for many of us right around the world. Thankyou for all your support,  messages and kind words,  especially when I couldn't post due to our challenges.

Many your Christmas be filled with joy,  peace and love as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The greatest gift ever given.

Wendy  xoxo 

I'll Be Back Next Week.

Due to life being super busy right now,  I' won't be able to post my frugal list this week.  Darren and I have had lots of cleaning work and social occasions to attend.  

Thanks for your understanding  xoxo 

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 4th December 2021

Life certainly has become very busy since coming out of lockdown.  Our days are full,  work has picked up and our flower and vegetable gardens are almost in full swing.  Some days I don't stop until 9pm.  

Here's our frugal list for the week - 

*  Dug up 4 kilos of potatoes from our garden.  These were grown from store bought potatoes that had gone soft and were sprouting.

*  Made a bottle of surface spray with kitchen detergent and cooled boiled water.

*  Baked 3 loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Made up a jar of gravy mix using ingredients I had on hand and a small amount of bought gravy powder.

*  Bought more meat bargains from Coles just as the meat manager was marking them down.  I now officially have no more room in my freezers.

*  Saved and reused bread bags as bin liners,  to double wrap meat ( to prevent freezer burn ) and as kitty litter rubbish bags.

*  Used cut up old socks to tie up standard rose bushes and tomato plants.

*  Planted more beans,  zucchini and cucumber seeds in our garden..  Up until recently it's been too cold and not enough sun for some of the other seeds to germinate. 

*  Dug up a few flower seedlings I found in the garden and relocated them to fill in empty spaces.   There are now very few empty spaces left thanks to the garden freebies.

*  Picked a handful of strawberries from the garden.  I'm freezing them until I have enough to make jam.

*  Our cheapest meal this week was chunky chicken and veg soup from the freezer that cost about 15  cents per serve.

Strawberries from our garden

Meat markdowns

More meat markdowns

Digging up potatoes

Hydrangea cuttings are growing well.

Color everywhere in the garden.

The tomatoes are growing.

Do you have a favourite flower growing in your garden ?

How have you saved money this week ?

5 Christmas Gifts That Save Money

 Over the last few years we've tried to purposely give gifts that can be used on a regular basis,  used up or save the recipient money.  Gone are the days of giving ornaments,  platters or junky knick knacks that clutter up people's cupboards.

Here are five items that make fabulous money saving gifts.  Personally I've given four of them.  I haven't given a coffee machine but I have given coffee pods to go with the Aldi coffee machine when I knew the receiver had one.

*  A yoghurt maker.  These can be bought new from supermarkets and department stores for about $25 or occasionally half price.  Otherwise you can pick up new or near new ones in op shops for about $5.  Either way they make a fabulous present that will save the recipient quite a lots of money and doesn't use electricity.  A 1 litre batch of yoghurt made from scratch using the Easiyo maker costs just over $1.  I personally have given yoghurt makers to family and friends.  They have been so impressed with the gift that they've gone out a bought more to give to their own friends and family.

*  A popcorn maker.  Prices start at $19 in Kmart or you could pay up to $90 elsewhere for the fancy movie theatre style ones.  They all make popcorn and will save quite a bit of money on snack foods.  We've had a cheap $15 one that we used for years.  

*  A gardening hamper that includes flower and veggie seeds.  Growing your own veggies is quite easy and personally,  it saves us hundreds of dollars a year.  

*  A folder of recipes that are family / personal favourites.  I'm talking about the tried and true ones,  not the fancy magazine / celebrity chef ones.    Sometimes simple recipes are the best and can be all the encouragement a new cook needs to have a go.  Maybe add a silicon muffin pan to get them started.  Kmart sells fabulous silicon mini loaf pans for just $5.

*  A coffee machine.  If you love to drink good coffee then this could be a big money saver   Aldi sells a coffee machine for $79.99 that has rave reviews. 

 

What money saving gifts have you given ?