A simple happy life on less: This week at Shoestring Cottage

Welcome to my review of my frugal week. Here I show you all the small, money saving actions I take day to day and how we live a simple happy life on less.

A walk by the sea

We are lucky to live near to the coast, so we started the week with a trip to the seaside. Our destination was somewhere we hadn’t been in years – Cudmore Grove Country Park in East Mersea. 

It’s a really beautiful place. We had to pay £2 for the car park, but took our coffee and some cereal bars and had a good long walk along the water’s edge. The weather was cool when we arrived, but by the time we had been walking a while the sun was out and it was really warm.

It’s funny how you forget about lovely places in your local area. It’s really nice to rediscover them and a walk like this is so relaxing. I’m a big fan of exploring locally and appreciating where you live. It costs little if anything to visit many places and allows you to live a happy life on less money.

Selling on Vinted

When it first arrived, I enthusiastically listed some things to sell on Vinted. However, this was early days, before the TV ads, and I found it hard to shift anything. However, now that it has grown so much and become popular, I thought I would try again. I spent several hours photographing and listing a pile of clothing, and cross listing them on eBay.

The next day I sold two items! I was chuffed to bits. And the best thing is that, unlike when you sell on eBay, there are no fees to pay. I am newly enthused and plan to list more things that are already on eBay to see if they sell more quickly.

Charity shopping

I finally got round to visiting our £1 clearance charity shop this week. Sometimes I find some real treasures in there. This time I wasn’t so lucky and only found three things. 

One of them was this unusual and quirky jacket, made from wool and mohair. It was really tatty though, with fringing around the sleeves and collar that was very ragged looking. So I trimmed it off! I think it looks good, especially for £1. I am unlikely to wear it, though, so it will probably go on Vinted. Even if I only get a tenner for it, it will be worth listing.

Growing our own

The pot of salad leaves I sowed a few weeks ago looks almost ready. In addition, the tomatoes are doing well, as are the courgettes and runner beans.

I am waiting for Justin to make the bean frame, which hopefully will happen this weekend. In the meantime, I have put some tomatoes in big pots, which they will stay in now. We are experimenting to see if they do better than just straight in the soil. I have also potted up and started hardening off the courgettes.

With food prices rising so quickly, every little we grow will help!

A bit of drama

I am always amazed at how good some amateur theatre productions can be – and they are somewhat cheaper than the West End or the big city theatres.

This week we went to see Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, which was full of blood and gore. It was like a Hammer Horror! Our lodger was in it, playing the tragic Lavinia, so we thought we would support her.

It was a great show – so many very good amateur actors. They did such a great job. 

Our lodger will be leaving to go to her new job in London once the show finishes, which is a shame. However, the good news is that we have found someone to take her room and they will be moving in with us in a couple of weeks.

So, that’s me for this week. If you want to see some of the other stuff we have been up to – and view our walk to East Mersea – check out this video on YouTube.

I hope you had a great week. What frugal things have you been up to to help you live a happy life on less?

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