Super frugal week: Five frugal things

Welcome to this week’s five frugal things round-up, where I share our news, super frugal tips and money saving wins. 

Another week has flown by. We have been looking at booking a few days in a chalet in Norfolk, so will hopefully get that sorted this week. It will be good to have something to look forward to. Obviously we will go after the school holidays are over to get it cheaper. It also needs to be dog friendly!

We have money put aside for a holiday, so this is all in the budget. Still, I am aiming for a super frugal August, as I said on my recent Instagram post. I am generally going for spending as little as possible.

More DIY on a budget

I mentioned in last week’s round up that I had finally found my DIY mojo. The spare room had a repaint and we are hoping to find a new lodger soon (no luck yet!).

Now that I have the bit between my teeth, I really want to get started on the hallway. However, I have been too busy this week. Instead, one evening I touched up the green paint on the Welsh dresser in the kitchen and gave it a coat of protective wax.

There was a small amount of paint left, so rather than sticking it in the shed to dry up, I used it on an old wicker laundry basket. My friend gave me this at the same time as the pretty much brand new bed she wanted rid of.

It was rather grubby and painted a very blobby white. I forgot to take a before photo, but it looks somewhat better in my favourite sage green. It is perfect to keep our shoes in so that Archie doesn’t chew them!

Taking advantage of the sales

Having done no social events at all in months (the same as everyone else!), we are seeing both sides of the family this weekend. Not at the same time – some on Saturday and some on Sunday.

As you know, I generally try to buy as much of my clothing as possible second hand. However, I needed some smart sandals to wear over the weekend. I couldn’t see any I liked pre-loved, so I had a look online at the sales.

Debenhams had some good deals, so I bought two pairs of sandals. A silver pair reduced from £25 to £12.50 and a brown pair for £14.50, reduced from £29.

The silver pair were too narrow and uncomfortable, so they will be going back, but the brown ones will do the job. I wouldn’t have paid full price for either though!

Getting cash back

Before I bought the sandals, I thought I would check to see if Debenhams were on the Top Cashback* site. Sure enough, they were offering 5% if I clicked through from there, so that was another small win to bring down the cost of my sandals.

I try to remember to do this every time I make an online purchase. It all adds up! (*This is my referral link)

Aldi bargains

As I said, we are meeting up with family this weekend. On Saturday we are having a socially distanced picnic in the park as a belated celebration for my sister’s 60th birthday.

We are each taking some contributions towards the posh picnic. Mine is going to be this delicious looking raspberry cake – layers of sponge sandwiched with cream, mascarpone and fresh raspberries. Yum!

Whilst I was in Aldi getting the shopping, I picked up the ingredients and also some drinks to take with us. They had cans of diet Coke on offer, fruity cider, a bottle of Cava for just over a fiver and some cheap fizzy orange juice.

As it is due to be hot, I thought it was worth taking lots of things to share. This type of thing is so much cheaper in Aldi than the larger supermarkets, I find.

Simply Cook £1 box

Over the months I have recommended several people to try Simply Cook. Once they had signed up I was also entitled to some free boxes. My latest free box has just arrived. It contained Peruvian chicken, keemar matar, Malasia laksa and murgh kari – all very exotic sounding!

I have paused my own subscription for now as I have quite a few boxes kicking around and I am paring back all unnecessary expenses and being super frugal, as I said. 

However, I do enjoy these recipe kits. They have nearly all been delicious. My favourite is still the Goan fish curry, but my daughters made creamy Louisiana linguine and said it was yummy.

If you are lacking in inspiration, Simply Cook is worth a try. You can get a trial box for £1 using my referral link, which usually costs £9.99. As I say, you can pause or amend your subscription any time and recommend your own friends to get some freebies.

That’s my super frugal week, even though I did splash out on the new sandals. So extravagant! How has your week been?

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