Off to London: Five frugal things

Blogger awards

Finally the SHOMOS have arrived and I am writing this on the train to London. I am so excited to meet lots of blogger friends!

In case you don’t know, the SHOMOS are the annual awards of the UK Money Bloggers. This group are very supportive and friendly. I have learned so much since I joined them.

Shoestring Cottage is up for Best Money Saving Blog, Best Frugal Food Blog and I made it through to the last six for the People’s Choice Award. I have to thank you for the latter as this is decided on votes from readers.

A frugal trip

One of my frugal things was booking my train ticket a few weeks ago, which made it much cheaper.

Another is to bring my water bottle and some snacks.

I also have my bamboo coffee cup with me. It won’t save any money but will avoid any disposable cups.

Tea

I have mentioned my efforts to reduce waste at Shoestring Cottage and to live a more sustainable life before. To this end we are switching from teabags, which contain plastic, back to loose tea. It tastes so much better! How did we all fall for the whole teabag thing?

I found loose PG Tips in a cardboard box with no plastic, which was great. Cheaper too.

As I drink decaf much of the time, a reader on Instagram recommended the Brew Tea Company. I ordered decaf black tea as well as some ginger and lemon.

This wasn’t as cheap as the PG Tips but seems a quality product. I will let you know how I get on but it does taste lovely!

Chocolate

How is it that I have three grown up girls who feel I should still buy them advent calendars? I relented this year because there were some Cadbury’s ones for £1.99 each.

Last time! If they ever produce grandkids I will get them reusable cloth ones.

Grape liqueur

We finally bottled up the grape liqueur that has been brewing nicely for a couple of months.

It smells of strong vodka, so I wasn’t hopeful. However, it tastes really nice! It didn’t cost much to make and used up some of our grape harvest.

Crafts

I love hand crafted presents. You get a unique product without all the usual packaging and support local makers.

A colleague’s husband makes all kinds of things as his side hustle. I brought a lovely bright knitted bag for Christmas for a little girl I know. I think she will love it and it was only £8. I think this was a bargain.

Anyway, I will let you know how I get on at the SHOMOS. Have a great weekend!

What frugal things have you achieved? Have you had an eco-friendly week too? As ever, I am linking up with  Cass , Emma  and Becky in their Five Frugal Things linky.