Welcome to this week’s frugal round up, where I tell you some of the money saving and thrifty things we have been up to. I enjoy saving money on the little things because it means we have some to spare for other important and fun stuff.
A trip to the cinema
We haven’t been out and about much this week, although we did go to the cinema on Sunday at a bargain price.
Before I left work I took advantage of the cheap cinema tickets I could buy as a member of staff and got about four pairs. It costs £12.50 to see a film in our local cinema usually but only half that with my employee benefit.
We went to see Le Mans ’66, the story of Ford’s attempt to beat Ferrari in this classic race. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it that much as it’s more Mr Shoestring’s type of film than mine, but actually I really did. It had a good story line and was well acted by Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
It was flipping dangerous to be a racing driver in those days, though. I don’t know how any of them survived it!
We popped into Poundland for snacks on the way and took our own drinks in. Not paying cinema prices – total rip off!
Once we have used all of these tickets, I will be back to checking on cash back sites like Top Cash Back* and Quidco* to see if they have offers to make cinema visits cheaper (*these are my referral codes).
Yellow sticker bargains
I walked to a different post office than usual on Monday as I fancied a slightly longer walk. This one has a newsagent combined and they always have a good ongoing bargain bin.
I couldn’t resist these yellow sticker snacks. They were so cheap and will last us ages. Where else would you find four Mars bars for 75p? I have had to hide them from myself though! Otherwise I will eat them out of boredom…
Computer repair
I have only had my laptop for a couple of years, so I was really disappointed when it suddenly died in the week. A call to Acer confirmed a) that it was out of warranty and b) that the hard drive needed replacing.
This is where I appreciate the power of social media. I put out a call for recommendations for someone to look at it who would be cheap and reliable, and got a few. But an ex-colleague spotted it and offered to replace the hard drive for me. We ordered one on Amazon for £56 and it was all done in a couple of days.
I think it would have cost a lot more if I had paid for someone to sort it. Thank you Cat if you are reading my blog! What a hero.
Selling our old clutter
My parents are big fans of selling at table top sales. They used to have a little business selling antiques and collectibles and still have loads of bric-a-brac that they would like to clear. As they were doing a table top sale I went along to help out and as an opportunity to get rid of some of the bits and pieces left over from the car boot we did in the summer.
We managed to get rid of quite a few boxes and it was quite good fun. Much less busy and stressful than selling at a boot sale, but that also meant fewer customers. I think we will be doing another one some time! You don’t make a fortune at these things, but every little helps. It’s good to find new homes for old stuff as well.
Keeping warm
It has turned really cold! As I am working from home these days, the heating is on more often than it used to be. I do layer up and only put the heating on if I really need to though. Sometimes I just put the wood burner on.
I had a comment on Twitter yesterday from a lady accusing me of being environmentally irresponsible for lighting the wood burner. ‘Don’t you have central heating?’ Well, yes, we do have gas fired central heating and do put it on, but when I am home alone I think it makes more sense, both environmentally and financially, to use the wood burner. We are still using waste wood from a couple of trees Mr S helped to trim down (they were a hazard), so it is waste wood. Wood is carbon neutral and we aren’t in a highly polluted city area.
I know there is a debate about wood burners because they do produce local pollution, but so do the plants that produce gas. To me, it makes sense to heat just the one room I am in with waste wood that put the heating on to heat the whole house!
Most of our actions have some sort of environmental consequence, unfortunately. All we can do is keep our impact as low as possible. What do you think? I always try to do the right thing, but it isn’t always obvious what the right thing is!
Have you achieved any thrifty things this week to help you save money?
As usual, I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
Four Mars Bars for 75 cents! Bargain! I absolutely would have bought them too … and probably eaten them far sooner than I’d like to admit.
Wood burners use a renewable resource – I don’t know why people are so against them. We had one when we lived in the rural US, and we ran it entirely on wood salvaged from neighbours (there were always people cutting down or trimming trees in our area) or the dump. It’s the only thing I miss from our house there!
I understand the issue in a built up area though. They do produce local pollution but wood is a renewable resource as you say and carbon neutral
I worried about the use of wood burning stoves, but this post explains them pretty well,. For example, I didn’t realise they trap a lot of the pollutants before they can be released into the atmosphere – unlike open fires & bonfires.
https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/are-wood-burning-stoves-eco-friendly/
I’d love to be able to get rid of gas central heating. Our front room doesn’t have a radiator, only an open gas fireplace which we only have on 3-5 times a year when it’s really bitter.
The room is open plan to the dining room & hall which do have a radiator, but it’s still always the coldest room in the house – not just due to the lack of radiators, but because of the cold air that comes down the chimney. Not good for the room you spend most time in!
Yes I also read that article . Have you got a wood burner, Julia?
I don’t know about woodburners being good or bad for the atmosphere, what I do know is that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way be be green. We all have to make the best decisions we can. I also believe that a lot of the appeal of them is a deep, primeval love of the naked flame, just seeing it helps one feel safe and warm. Also, some people just need to pick arguments and the internet is a safe place to do it.
You are so right. Actually she immediately backed down when I pointed out that it was greener than heating the whole house with fossil fuels
I would love a wood burning stove! We have an open gas fire, and I’m not fond of the lighting method which involves kneeling in front and twisting a stiff knob, while making sure one’s hair is safely tied back! So I turn off the radiators in the rest of the house and use the gas c/h to heat the one room, it’s economical but not as welcoming as a real fire.
That sounds hazardous!