Shoestring Cottage

Money Environment Home & Health

  • Home
  • New to Shoestring Cottage? Start here
  • About Me: My best life on a shoestring
  • Fifty Ways to Save Money Now
  • Favourite Frugal & Healthy Recipes
  • My Frugal Bookshelf
  • Work with Me: Shoestring Cottage Media Pack
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Buying second hand & taming the mutt #5frugalthings

3rd July 2020 by shoestringjane@outlook.com 3 Comments

Share on Facebook Share
0
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
0

Here we are at the end of another week. I have been spending money this week, but I think I got good value on all my purchases. I have been buying second hand. Good for my wallet and good for the planet!

Sometimes being frugal means not spending anything at all. I am quite good at stopping altogether when necessary, as you will know if you joined me on my no spend January. However, sometimes purchases are essential, which is when I try to get the best price possible.

Anyway, here is what I have been up to this week.

I need frothy coffee

buying second hand

As you  may know, I link up with other bloggers for my weekly five frugal things round up. One of them is Cass from Diary of a Frugal Family, and I nicked this idea from her.  My daughters bought me a milk frother for my birthday this year, and I was loving it.

I only drink one coffee a day, but I really enjoy it frothy, like you get in Costa. However, when I put my little frother in the drawer the other day, I managed to slam it half way in and broke it. I saw that Cass had found a Bodum Milk Frother*on Amazon to buy two Bodum frothers for £5.99, which is an amazing price. I would happily have paid that for just one!

They arrived a couple of days ago and I have tucked the second one in my present box. Very pleased with this deal.

Tackling the chewing

If you follow me on Instagram or read my monthly round up post a couple of days ago, you will have seen the destruction that Archie the pup has been wreaking around the house.

buying second hand

He has chewed a huge lump off one of the banister spindles, ripped off some wallpaper and pulled up the carpet – all in the hallway. Fortunately this is the next room we plan to redecorate, but it will have to stay looking tatty until he has calmed down.

So, it felt like a good investment to go out and buy lots of new toys and chews for him this week, as well as some deterrent spray, which I have sprayed on the banisters and skirting boards. Let’s hope it works!

However, even though I looked in Poundland then the Range, none of this was cheap overall. I spent about £35! Still, this is cheaper than replacing the fixtures and fittings that he chews up.

Eating from the veg patch

We have been eating mostly our own fruit and veg this week, which has saved a bit of money. At the moment, things are trickling through. Once the bounty starts to come through in earnest, I will have to start chopping and freezing some of it.

buying second hand

The runner beans are still being attacked by the dreaded black fly, sadly. This is going to negatively impact our crop if we don’t get a handle on it. All week I have been spraying water and washing up liquid onto the plants, but it doesn’t appear to have had much of an effect. It looks as if we will have to pop along to the garden centre for something a little stronger.

I hate using chemicals as I like our produce to be organic, so will try to find something that is naturally effective. 

New storage

A while back we bought a Kallax cube storage unit from Ikea. However, we didn’t like the front opening cupboards that came with it, so they are going back.

buying second hand

I really wanted some fabric boxes that I had seen with a Cath Kidston design, but they are no longer available new. Luckily I managed to find some in very good second hand condition on ebay.

The seller only had 6 of them and we have 8 cubes, but we have put some white plastic boxes that we already owned in the bottom two. Really pleased with this as it fits neatly into a dead space at the top of the stairs and gives a handy bit of extra storage.

New (to me) trainers

As I am doing so much walking now we have a puppy, I really needed some decent trainers. The ones I already had were from Primark and had been very good value. I think they cost around £10 and had lasted 2 years.

buying second hand

However, I really liked a black Adidas pair my daughter wears. When I looked online, they would have been around £40 with postage. Instead I found a lightly used pair, again on ebay, for £11! Much more my sort of price and very comfortable.

I love finding good second hand bargains! In fact, I resent having to pay full price for anything and know that if I look around long enough I can usually find something I need in used condition.

So, that was my week of buying second hand and attempting to tame the beast. How has yours been?

I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.

This post contains affiliate links, marked with *. If you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: FRUGAL LIFESTYLE Tagged With: five frugal things

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
« 10 Ways To Get Your Home Ready To Sell On A Budget
Tips To Spend Less Time Cleaning »

Comments

  1. Becky says

    3rd July 2020 at 08:21

    Oh your naughty pup ! The deterrent sounds a v good idea!

    Reply
  2. Emma says

    8th July 2020 at 10:30

    Would it be a stretch to say that the puppy is saving you some time with stripping the paper in the hall when you come to redecorate? 😛 My dream is to be able to eat from our veg patch (hoping for some good harvest next year) so it’s great to see yours doing well! I hope your bounty continues 🙂 #5frugalthings

    Reply
    • shoestringjane@outlook.com says

      8th July 2020 at 10:32

      That would definitely be putting a positive spin on things

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • ECO FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE
  • FRUGAL CHRISTMAS
  • FRUGAL FOOD
  • FRUGAL GARDEN
  • FRUGAL HOME
  • FRUGAL LIFESTYLE
  • FUN AND TRAVEL
  • General
  • GENERAL POSTS
  • HEALTH AND WELL BEING
  • MAKING MONEY FROM HOME
  • MONEY
  • SLIMMING WORLD

About Me

Would you like to take control of your finances, pay off your debts and save for the future? At Shoestring Cottage we aim to show you that you can live a good and happy life on less than you think, you can get off the consumer treadmill and you can live more simply and healthily and not feel deprived.
We are also moving toward a less wasteful, more sustainable lifestyle and believe frugality and sustainability go hand in hand. Read More…

Copyright © 2021 · Delightful theme by Restored 316

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.