What a good week we have had, both weather wise and money wise. We have been able to get outdoors and do a few jobs, get the washing on the line and I managed an amazing charity shop haul too.
Every week I like to share some of the things we have done to help us save money wherever we can, so that we can spend what we have on things that will add value to our lives. That doesn’t equate to being mean or stingy; just to living well within our means, as well as saving money for a rainy day.
You can see all of our frugal activities on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and on my Facebook group, where you will find lots of friendly frugal folk.
So here is my charity shop haul and some other frugal things I have done this week.
1# Mega charity shop haul
I absolutely love the new Cats Protection shop that has opened round the corner from us. They used to be in the town centre, but have moved to get a bigger space with some storage.
They don’t charge stupid amounts for the items they sell, and as a result they sell things quickly and have a good turnaround. Because they are situated in a reasonably well-to-do area, they have some lovely items donated too.
This week, somebody had clearly been having a clear out of unwanted wedding presents or something, because I spotted three brand new items from Laura Ashley, in a lovely duck egg blue. There was a three-tier cake stand for £4, a set of placemats and some matching coasters – they only charge me £1 for all of them!
Another huge bargain was a pair of hardly worn Hotter suede boots. I know they are out of season, but who cares? They set me back just £7 and would be a lot more expensive new, around the £100 mark I reckon.
The dog bowl and the macrame plant hanger were £1 each, I got a pair of unworn flip flops for 50p and two packets of birthday candles for 25p. The final thing I paid for was the little knitted cat, which still had its tag and was 50p.
The necklaces were supposed to be 50p each, but they gave me them for free as they had so many. I also picked up some clothing, which you can check out on my YouTube channel (this should appear on Tuesday 15th June. Subscribe so that you don’t miss any of my videos!).
Hugely pleased with my charity shop haul, especially as I found some items I had my eye out for. As I am buying only second hand during 2021, I can’t just go to a retailer and purchase something new. Sometimes it takes a few weeks or months.
2# Saving money on insurances
Our household insurance came up for renewal this week. I had put it in a pile of things to do and almost forgot about it. Then I realised it had become urgent so hopped over to a couple of comparison sites to see if I could get it cheaper.
To my utter amazement, I managed to save myself around £120 a year! I can only assume I let it roll over last year instead of shopping around. This shows that it always pays to compare prices on any annual expenses.
I also managed to bring the cost of my car insurance right down. Usually I add my youngest daughter a few times a year. She is a young driver and it has so far been way too expensive to have her as a named driver, especially as she lives in Brighton so doesn’t need to be on the insurance full time. However, a comparison site allowed me to add her this time and it was cheaper than my previous car insurance without her! Partly because she is a year older and has another year of no claims, but she is still under 25.
3# Batch cooking and careful shopping
I have heard reports that food prices will be rising quite sharply in the near future – they already are, actually. Meal planning, writing a shopping list, cooking from scratch, etc all help us to keep our food bill fairly low. However, I am going to strive to make sure it stays as it is and doesn’t rise with the cost of living. This might mean eating different types of foods, portion control, cutting back on anything that isn’t essential and shopping very carefully to get the best prices.
You may also have seen in my meal plan last week that I am aiming to do some more batch cooking. This means that I can buy larger packs of things like meat and vegetables more cheaply without worrying about wasting them. Batch cooking also saves time and cuts the risk of succumbing to a ready meal or take out.
On the subject of food, did you see my post about buying vegan food at Lidl and Aldi, and which was best? Check it out!
4# A day at the seaside
It was my mother’s 86th birthday at the weekend. To celebrate (and because we are allowed to get together at last), we decided to have an impromptu family gathering at Frinton on Sea, a rather nice, genteel town on the Essex coast.
Being frugal and thrifty, we packed up flasks, drinks, snacks and sandwiches. We also took some fold up chairs and a bat and ball for the kids (and Archie) to play with.
We are lucky to live close to the sea – we can reach various bits of coastline within 30 minutes. This means that we can have a cheap day out for pretty much the price of our fuel to get there.
It felt like such a treat. One of the upsides of a global pandemic is that is has helped many of us appreciate the simple pleasures of life.
5# Freebies
I picked up two folding chairs and a small table that my parents no longer wanted when I popped there in the week. We are short of garden furniture for occasions, and have a small gathering coming up.
My intention is to paint them. I will do the table the same pale green as our bench, which desperately needs repainting too, using the paint that we got for free outside someone’s house. I will do the little chairs pink with the remainder of the Frenchic dusky pink that I got for my hallway cupboard makeover. Hopefully, there should be just enough!
I will let you see the after photos once they are completed. It’s good that they fold away nice and small for the winter.
I hope you have had a good week. If you have had a good charity shop haul recently, come over and share it on my Facebook page, My Second Hand & Frugal Life! Until next time, au revoir.
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
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