As I write this, it is a beautiful, sunny September evening. The weather has been odd this week – really chilly and wet one day, warm and dry the next. One of my five frugal things should be that I resisted putting the heating on one cold night! I refuse to do that in September.
I’ve been taking care of my Mum for the past few weeks. She is between homes, as she sold her lovely (but impractical) cottage and is waiting for the purchase of her new retirement flat. She will be bouncing in between me and my sister for a few months, I think.
So I have been fairly busy and we have had a few non-frugal lunches and coffees out, but have agreed that this spending needs to stop! For one thing, our garden fence is in such poor condition the neighbours said they were worried it would fall into their garden. There are things I would rather spend money on, but unfortunately, we have had to get some contractors in to replace it. This is an expense we hadn’t expected, so it is coming from our emergency savings. So, they now need topping up.
Another consideration is that Christmas is on its way. We always aim for a relatively frugal Christmas, but it will still cost us. The belts need to tighten, and here are some things I have done to save money this week.
1# Making yogurt
I have been getting back to making my own yogurt after quite a few years. We all know that yogurt is good for our gut health. I tend to buy the Greek strained variety from Aldi or Lidl. It is cheaper than other supermarkets, but still quite an expense when you eat it most mornings.
Initially I attempted it in my Instant Pot, but found it a faff (you can see how I got on in this video). So now, I make it in my Wonderbag! I bring whole milk to the boil, let it cool to about 45 degrees C, add a couple of spoonfuls of live yogurt from the previous batch, then put it into the Wonderbag for six hours.
This makes lovely, mild yogurt and pretty much halves the amount of plastic from buying smaller pots.
2# Finding free entertainment
We are always on the lookout for interesting local events, as we are lucky to live in a community where there is always something going on. Last week, we had a little event at the local church, with a bric a brac stall, refreshments and a dog show. There was also a fete in the local park, with tons of stalls and live music.
At the weekend we took Mum out on her new granny-mobile and had a trip to a small museum of local history. It was fascinating and she really enjoyed it. She does need to practice on the mobility scooter, but the pavements round here are a bit hair-raising at times!
3# Going old school vegetarian
I have made a point of eating vegetarian at least some of the time for many years, but recently I decided I don’t want to eat animals any more. It doesn’t feel right from a moral or environmental standpoint. However, I haven’t gone vegan for now and still eat fish occasionally. I’m easing myself in!
I have been enjoying revisiting some of the old-school vegetarian recipes from the 1980s and 90s, when I gave up meat for 16 years. A benefit of these types of recipes is that they are much cheaper!
We enjoyed pasta cheese casserole at the weekend. It’s a simple dish, which benefits from the addition of some white wine or cider. I didn’t have fresh tomatoes, so I used tinned, but it is much nicer with fresh ones.
4# Secondhand September
I have been embracing Secondhand September, with a few purchases from Vinted. This is a site I don’t allow myself to go on as much, these days, but as I am selling quite a bit it’s hard to avoid altogether. It is too tempting to buy things I don’t really need!
However, I did need some tops for the autumn, and bought this Joules one and a velvet Joe Brown’s top that I am saving for Christmas. I have sold so much that I used some of the money I had made to pay for these.
5# Finding free food
I miss having an Olio distributor in our village! Before we moved, I used to collect at least once a week, getting bread, treats, vegetables and fruit for free to stop it going to waste.
I have considered becoming a Food Waste Hero and doing a collection myself, but I don’t think it would work with the dog. People often visit quite late and he would bark the neighbourhood down.
But this week I have managed to pick up windfall apples and pears on a couple of occasions on my walks with Archie. We love stewed apples on our breakfast yogurt!
Every little helps the saying goes, and I firmly believe that by saving small amounts it soon adds up to something significant. Have you managed some frugal things to save money this week?
Carolyn says
We are nearing the end of our gardening season, but we made 18 quarts of taco sauce. This was our second batch as the first was more of just a tomato sauce. We got the tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and other herbs from our garden. We made about a dozen batches of wine from berries and fruit from our garden that will last us until next year.
We burn wood to heat our house, so my husband is cutting and splitting wood from the farm. I do help with stacking, but when it comes to bringing bags of wood into the house, that is just too heavy for me.
Archery season starts next weekend, and we are seeing a lot of deer on the farm. I would like to put at least two, more preferred in the freezer this year. We both love venison.
I gave my husband a haircut Sunday afternoon, I usually cut his hair and trim his beard about every 4-5 weeks, but this was close to 7, because we have so many things going on. He was overdue, and I told him I needed to do it that day. I usually have him trim my hair every other time I cut his, so either we get of sequence or I just wait a little longer. My hair is long, so it won’t look out of shape waiting an extra three weeks.
We planted the garlic, and now the leaves are starting to fall. I help my husband with that by driving the tractor as he vacuums them up and loads them on the trailer. It is great fertilizer for the garden and we get plenty for free on the farm.
Still have not turned on the heat yet, and we aren’t ready to be using the wood stove yet. But when the weather cools, we will be making pizza, Strombolis and other delicious baked foods.