A frugal holiday and a giveaway! #5frugalthings

Woohoo! By the time you read this we will be away! I am your roving reporter this week having a frugal holiday.

It’s a quick and cheap trip to a dog-friendly chalet park in Norfolk. We wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t too far in the car with some nice walks and beaches nearby to test Archie out and see if we can have a relaxing break with him in tow.

Before I get into my week, in case you missed it on Instagram, I have a little competition running to give away a copy of Mrs Mummypenny’s latest book. If you want to transform your relationship with money, hop over to the Shoestring Cottage Instagram page and have a look. 

Planning ahead

It turns out that Norfolk is really great for dogs and their owners, with lots to do. To help us prepare, I ordered a free publication called the Barking Bugle. It is written by dogs (allegedly) for dogs, so that they can advise their humans about the best canine friendly places.

We have found lots of dog loving cafes and pubs, great walks and tourist attractions.

If you are interested in the Barking Bugle, you can order your own copy here.

Shopping ahead

To make life easier, and to keep costs down, we did a shop at Aldi to bring with us. We will obviously top up whilst we are here, but this gives us a head start. If we only buy from the small local shops near to where we are staying, it will cost a fortune!

Because we are having a frugal holiday, we aren’t eating out every night. But we have found a few nice places that are reasonable and don’t mind dogs, so will be trying them.

Cat sitting

My daughter and her partner are coming to cat sit for us whilst we are away and look after the house. This is great because I hate putting our cats in a cattery, plus it adds a lot to the cost.

This is where having three animal loving daughters comes in handy. They are always willing to come and house sit. No 2 daughter is also still working remotely, so she can be anywhere and carry on. I think she is hoping she will always be able to do at least some home working even after things return to normal (assuming they ever do….)

We have a new lodger!

I have had our guest room advertised for a couple of months now, with very little interest. Then suddenly, last week I had a few calls about it within a few days.

We have a very sweet young lady from Portugal, who viewed the room on Saturday and moved in the following day! Fortunately, she loves animals, as Archie has taken a shine to her and follows her round the house wagging his tail. 

If I had know this in advance she could have looked after the cats, but it’s a bit soon to dump that responsibility on her!

It’s a bit relief, as it means we have another steady source of income.  I also enjoy having another person in the house, although she does work quite long hours.

Audio books

I have mentioned before that I am addicted to audio books. Because I found the most brilliant app called Borrowbox, which allows you to listen to them for free with your library membership, I haven’t paid for any of them so far.

However, Borrowbox relies on an internet connection. We don’t have wi-fi in the chalet itself, so it won’t work whilst we are away. Instead I have signed up for a free 30-day Audible trial*. This means we can download the books in advance and listen without wi-fi.

I have also taken some actual paper books with me, as I only read a lot when I am on holiday. There were quite a few on my bookshelf that I haven’t got round to reading, or would like to do so again.

I actually rather like being without internet for a while. We can always pop into a pub or cafe – or even the local library – to pick up our emails and anything else important.

*This is an affiliate link. If you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission. Thanks!

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