My frugal week 22/10/20

It doesn’t feel as if much has happened this week. I have been madly listing winter things for eBay, like coats and jumpers.  My front room looks like a jumble sale (as usual)! Nevertheless I have managed to save some money here are there, so here is a summary of my frugal week.

I have bought a few more Christmas presents, mainly online. If you missed my posts, I have one with ideas for presents that save money and another with suggestions for eco-friendly gifts.

Essex has moved into tier 2 for corona virus. This has made me worried about an even more stringent lock down, so I have been getting out to the charity shops as much as possible to stock up on things to sell.

Scary hairy times

I managed to get my hair cut for the same reason in case the hairdressers have to close. Last time, I went so long between hair cuts I ended up with the same messy, shaggy hair do as the dog!!

I am trying to grow the layers out in the hope that the extra weight will stop it going so frizzy, then hopefully I won’t have to get it cut as often anyway. Even though this hairdresser is bang in the middle of town, they only charge £28 for a cut and blow dry, which I think is quite reasonable. A good start to my frugal week, but then….

Archie decided to chew the plug off my very expensive GHD hair straighteners. My fault for forgetting to put them away. I thought they were going to be hard to repair as the plug was kind of built in. Fortunately, my handy man Mr S trimmed them off and wired in a new plug, so disaster averted!

Bargain footwear

Whilst I was in the charity shop one day, I managed to find a pair of size 10 Nike trainers in really good condition for Mr S. They were only £3 and fit him perfectly. As his others were falling apart, these were a good find for when he goes to the gym.

I also found myself a pair of great quality, brand new leather flats on eBay. They are by Josef Seibel, which is a rather expensive brand, so I was chuffed to win them for just £11.50. They are a tiny bit too big, but will be fine with a pair of insoles in them.

I mostly wear wellies and slippers these days (!) but do occasionally need to look a bit smarter. Forget heels, though – they are uncomfortable and we don’t get on. I don’t understand women who wear them every day.

In the pink

Another charity shop find that I am really happy about is this beautiful, large pink bowl, originally from Waitrose. It is currently housing fruit, but would be nice as a salad bowl too.

I seem to be finding a lot of this pale pink at the moment. You may remember a couple of weeks ago, I found two lovely Ikea mugs the same shade. This is good as pink goes with the shades of green in our kitchen.

I am going to keep my eyes open for other bargain bits and pieces of china in this colour.

Another shaggy dog story

The weather has been so wet of late, we seem to spend a lot of time drying off the dog. His shaggy coat just absorbs mud and water and takes ages to dry off. We end up having a struggle to get him dry and stop him shaking muddy water all over the house.

A fellow dog walker recommended a Ruff and Tumble coat. At £40 a shot, this can’t really be described as frugal. However, if it works as well as people say, it will certainly save a lot in terms of time getting him dry after a walk or a bath, will save the car upholstery if we are out and about, and will stop him shaking muddy water everywhere in the house.

This means I have actually spent way more on the dogs clothing that I do on my own! Hopefully it will last many years and prove a good investment. It certainly feels very thick and nice quality.

Lidl app

I mentioned that I had downloaded the new Lidl Plus app a few weeks ago, which gave me £25 off my first shop. This week I used it again and got a £2 discount. Not a huge amount, but every little counts, as they say.

You also get a digital scratch card after each visit. As  you can see, I didn’t win this time, but it’s a little bit of excitement at the end of my shop!

You get offers and discounts every week and can view all the specials too. This app is worth getting if you shop at Lidl.

Low carb bread

I am still following a largely gluten free and low carb diet. It’s hard to be really strict, but I don’t sweat it too much. If I have lunch out and there is only a sandwich, then I have one, but most of the time I avoid carbs.

The Lo-Dough pizza bases I have mentioned a few times are very handy for lunch, either as a pizza or as a wrap. I even had a very messy (but delicious) egg and bacon one the other morning.

When I run out of those (and to save money), I usually make quick keto bread. It comes out like a high protein, moist muffin. I like these with melted cheese and tuna, or just the cheese if I am in a hurry.

They are surprisingly filling – even Mr S enjoys them. We have had those twice this week. This is the recipe I use most often – it is very quick to make. Cheaper than most gluten free or keto bread that you can buy.

So, that has been my frugal week, apart from the expensive doggy coat anyway. Have you had any frugal wins, or been a bit spendy?

Finally, I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIA! One of my longest readers and commenters who deserves a good day 🙂

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