Welcome to this week’s Five Frugal Things round up, where I share some of the things I have done to save money. This has been a week of random money saving, plus our fabulous frugal holiday, of course.
Some of you will have spotted from my YouTube channel and Instagram that we went away for a week to Norfolk. It was a great holiday, proving that you don’t have to spend a fortune in order to enjoy a break.
I am more than happy to stay in the UK at the moment and don’t understand the rush to go abroad. The pandemic is far from over and surely we just risk spreading new variants between countries? I was speaking to a blogger friend recently (Eileen from Your Money Sorted), and she said that many people don’t think it’s a proper holiday unless it involves a plane journey. Maybe she is right.
Not for us, though! A change of location, comfortable accommodation, a short journey to get there and no massive credit card bill when you get back is my kind of holiday right now!
Booking our next frugal holiday
The chalet park we have just stayed at is totally no frills but in a beautiful, beach side location. We were told about it by some fellow dogwalkers and have been twice now. There are many similar places along the Norfolk coast offering fabulous frugal holidays. You can have a tour in this YouTube video I made recently.
I really think the key to a frugal holiday is to think out of the box and be flexible about your accommodation. We have camped, stayed in a vintage caravan on a tiny smallholding in Wales and slept in someone’s spare room via Air B&B. It’s an adventure!
We have decided to book a Sun holiday next, which isn’t something we have tried before. However, I know from comments on YouTube and my Facebook group that many of you have and found them excellent value. It’s not a paper I enjoy reading, but have dutifully been buying copies, only to find some sites are printing all of the codes you need to book anyway, such as this one.
For more tips on how to have a frugal holiday, you might like this post.
Cooking for ourselves
Another way we saved money on our holiday was by self catering. We did treat ourselves to a couple of takeaways (after all, we were on holiday), but the rest of the time we cooked our own dinners and took picnics out.
I did a shop at Aldi before we went to make sure we had the basics.
This was much easier with the dogs. As well as having Archie, we had Justin’s brother and sister in law in the chalet next door with their three excitable terriers. We could enjoy our meals without worrying about them barking or trying to jump on fellow diners!
Walking and enjoying the scenery
Having dogs with you on holiday gives you great motivation to explore the local landscape with lots of long walks. The beaches along the coast are stunning in Norfolk. We found them completely empty at times, even on the sunniest of days.
We couldn’t go into any stately homes or museums, or explore any fancy shops, because they, sensibly, don’t allow mutts. It turned out that this didn’t feel like deprivation, we saved money and there was still plenty to see and do.
One of the places I really enjoyed visiting was Happisburgh (pronounced ‘Hazeborough’), where we walked around the old lighthouse and around the beautiful village.
Eating more plants
Since we have been home, we have been trying to eat more sensibly to lose weight. We have decided to eat a generally (but not strictly) plant-based diet for a bit. I am hoping that by avoiding processed foods, sugar and alcohol, eating only small amounts of dairy, eggs and meat and eating loads of fruit, vegetables and whole grains we will look and feel better.
So far, it is going well. I had been worried it might kick off my IBS, but actually it is slightly better than usual. You can see what I bought at Aldi for our week’s meals here.
A frugal wedding gift
We have a friend’s wedding coming up at the end of July, so I have been thinking about a suitable wedding gift that won’t break the rules of my second hand year.
My friend and her fiancé live in a small flat with three children. I don’t want to buy them a random piece of stuff for their home, as I don’t know what they need. I don’t want to buy something just for the sake of it.
I decided to make a hamper of consumables, a light-hearted ‘wedding recovery kit’, in fact! I have put some gin and tonics, mini bottles of wine, bubble bath, sweets, chocolate, Alka Seltzer, etc into an old wicker hamper that my mum gave me. It is just the right size. This is what it looks like now, but I will cover it with lace and ribbons before I hand it over. Hopefully, they will like it.
Anyway, that’s this week’s random money saving. Please come over to join the Facebook chat if you like to talk about all things second hand and money saving.
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
vicki says
Sounds like you had a great holiday. We live in a holiday area so don’t really need to go away except to escape the tourists and for a change of scene! I go for a clifftop walk most mornings – it’s all about appreciating what we have here and now as , like you, I’m not inclined to go abroad at present. I was interested to see your Aldi shopping haul on youtube and compare prices with my Morrisons shop. Lots of things were cheaper such as oatcakes but I think some were about the same or more expensive eg walnuts 2 packs for £4 at Morrisons tho’ I didn’t check sizes. I have been doing a click and collect during the height of the pandemic but am fed up that they won’t allow you to buy their budget ranges this way eg own brand peppermint tea bags and now my favourite big bag of (up to 17) apples for £1.99. They’ve also started charging for the service too now. Unfortunately our Aldi is rather small and all the shops get really busy in the summer due to self catering holidaymakers! Have a good weekend. Vicki
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
We don’t have a Morrison’s here, although I have heard they are good. What a cheek not letting you buy the value ranges by click and collect!
Dianne says
Your holiday looked lovely and I love the hamper yo put together such a thoughtful gift. I think with gifts people often spend a lot of money but the items never get used because it is just more stuff. Everything in your gift will be consumed I bet. Have a lovely week.