I hope you are all safe and well as we acclimatise to the new lockdown. We are just grateful we haven’t been personally badly affected by the virus thus far, although my daughter’s boyfriend has it and she is awaiting her test results.
I would have said I have have had an annoying week, but these are just minor irritations in the grand scheme of things.
I managed to spill a cup of tea on my precious laptop. Immediately I dried it off and turned it upside down to dry. It seemed ok and was working, but the next morning it had died.
I use it daily so this is a bit of a disaster! It is currently at the repair shop and I am hoping it is repairable. As I have pledged to start buying only second hand this year, if it can’t be mended I will have to find a reconditioned one online. What a pain!
Some people are facing some tough challenges. Home schooling for one. I’m not sure me and my daughters would have survived that. Add job insecurity, worries about the health of ourselves or our loved ones and money troubles and I understand why the nation is struggling with mental health.
We have been lucky so far and, as I say, I am grateful for that. we are chugging along and hoping for the best!
Here are five frugal things I have achieved this week.
A new to us microwave
My daughter was warming some leftovers up a few days ago when the microwave door jammed and refused to open. We managed to force the door but each time it was closed it jammed again.
Mr S tried a repair but the door was beyond salvation. We could have managed without a microwave, of course, but we use it a lot so it seemed worth replacing.
A quick peruse on Facebook Marketplace and I found this one. It seems in very good condition and is working well. Long may it last! It would have been £75 new, bit I paid £30. Buying second hand will definitely save us some money.
A mystery box of goodies!
Occasionally I do an order with Approved Food*, a company that sells food near or beyond its best before date at bargain prices.
There is an awful lot of tempting snack food and chocolate on there, so never order when you are hungry. You will bust your diet as well as your budget!
I tend to stick to staples and handy items like cook in sauces. This time I added a mystery box for just £1 and here is what I got for my money. Not items I would have chosen as a priority, but amazing value for £1!
This type of box would be very useful for someone with kids at home during lockdown I think.
If you want to give it a try, here is my refer a friend code. (*I earn a commission to spend at Approved Food if you sign up and place an order.)
Stretching the meat
We made an old favourite for dinner this week, Smoky chicken with chick peas.
I forgot how much I enjoyed this recipe so will make it again this week. The addition of a can of chick peas means that you can get away with less meat. Great if you want to feed your family on a budget.
More free food
I said I would try to use the Olio app to get as much free food as possible as part of my mega frugal 2021, and it’s not let me down.
This week, there has been loads of bread and pastry items available. I avoided the cakes and pastries, but picked up several packs of rolls and a couple of loaves of bread, which are now in the freezer.
It’s such a great app!
How to get free stuff
A member of my Facebook group, Charlotte Bayford, shared her You Tube guide to getting stuff for free this week. Check it out here. She gives lots of ideas for getting all sorts of things for nothing, and recommends installing the Trash Nothing app on your smart phone, which I did this week. It aims to bring together all of the different groups local to you where you can give and receive stuff for free.
Do come and join in the chat. It’s a great little community of money savers.
How has your week been to kick off the new year? Are you buying second hand as much as possible to save money and be more eco friendly?
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
Jo Law says
You are doing really well with Olio. I am finding that there is a lot of stuff out there but it is not particularly close to us and it would cost too much on petrol to go and get it. I have only had two things which were within walking distance in the last three months. I am glad it works for you : )
Linda says
As far as I know that app doesn’t work where I live but I haunt the reduced items wherever possible. I did a very sensible ALDI shop last weekend, and have meal planned the next couple of weeks. I thought I’d manage to do a no-spend January but decided to take advantage of local clothes sales for cold weather gear. My house is for sale, I plan to move to a colder climate, and where I live now has crazily low sale prices on coats etc. I’ll definitely use everything I bought and doubt that I’ll see such low prices again . When I lived in the UK I hardly ever shopped new, and only then in the sales.