Saturday 20 October 2012

And now it really starts......

 
And now - TODAY - it really starts .... the truly frugal living. 
 
Once again my cupboards are full, not purposefully filled up, things have just crept up on me as usual.  Before I went away on holiday I placed an Approved Foods order with that weeks housekeeping money, they had tempted me with Ryvita of all things, but at 33p a pack who was I, nay how was I to say no!!  We both love them, all the different flavours, with butter with jam, with spread, with pate etc etc etc.  Of course I totally forgot I was still doing the Dukan diet and they are totally carbalicious!!  I will be able to re-introduce them soon though as long as I stick to my diet a little bit better and get to my target weight by the end of November.  It really won't matter if they are a little bit more out of date!!
 
 
 
 
The stash in this cupboard has gone down quite a bit and more room is now taken up with home produced stuff, pickles beetroot etc.
 
 
 
This cupboard is looking much clearer too now, you don't have to be ready to catch falling contents anymore as you open the door!
 
 
 
This cupboard has all the bottles of juice and olive oil bought when they were on offer, the juices make for a much cheaper drink for Lovely Hubby instead of the flavoured waters he used to drink.  The big mixes are all from Approved Foods and save us a fortune.
 
 
 
Although this one came as a bit of a shock. 
 
 When I spoke to LH while I was on holiday he said "what have you ordered from Approved Foods this time,the box weighs a ton" and I honestly couldn't think of anything that would be that heavy.  Then I came home and saw this, it is 12.5 kg of Chocolate Sponge Mix and not the 2.5 kg bag I thought it was!!  But at just £4.99 for the bag it was a real bargain.   LH will be enjoying chocolate sponge in many many guises for months to come, I may even have to help him a little bit, even though I'm not that keen on chocolate cake I can eat it with custard now and then.
 
 


This weekend I'm going through the household expenses with a fine toothcomb and whittling away at anything not totally necessary.  Our lovely little red Fiat 500 went back to the lease company yesterday, it was simply one car too many and now that we live so close to where LH works we have no need for this little fuel economiser.  So although we loved it we didn't need it anymore and with that gone we have almost £200 extra to add to our savings each month, it was sad to see it being driven away though.
 
Now it's time to get back to the arithmatic, I need to be so strict next month with the housekeeping that it is a good job we are so stocked up, we will be living off the stores for at least the next six weeks looking at my rough figures.  I guess it will be another How Low Can You Go type challenge.
 
Have a nice weekend everyone.
 
Sue xx
 


13 comments:

  1. Comments on how you get on with the sponge mix, I have a bag and have never got a decent sponge out of it yet.

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    1. Hi, I made up 1kg of the mix the other day, had to use my large roasting tray to cook it, but it turned out fine.

      Now Lovely Hubby just has to work his way through all the cake, up to now he's had it with custard, with jam and cream and this morning for breakfast (!!) with milk....I know!! Very strange, seemingly it's something he's always loved cake and milk!!

      Sue xx

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  2. That cake mix looked like a massive bargain - would keep us in chocolate muffins for a year I think!

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    1. You know I hadn't thought of making muffins with it.....duh!! I shall make the next batch a tray of muffins, thanks for the idea.

      Sue xx

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  3. Do I see shelves sagging under the weight there?

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    1. Tee hee.....just a little bit, I could always move a taller jar down there to support the shelf above!! Maybe I should go shopping and buy somethng the right height.....or maybe not...Lol!!

      Sue xx

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  4. Dear Sue, I am totally gobsmacked at the amount of comestibles you have in your cupboards. No wonder you are able to have some No Spend times. I really think you are stocked up for a siege!! Seriously though, We seem to leave our cupboards until they are nearly empty and then do a shop. I'm afraid that if I stocked up so much, I would find stuff at the back that I had not managed to use up and which was growing hairs!! (We still do that anyway!) and I hate throwing stuff away. You are obviously extremely organised. Ann x

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    1. 'Comestibles' a brilliant word, and one I've never heard of before - dictionary definition 'anything that can be eaten' for those of you who also have not heard of it.

      Yes, there is a lot and that's why we are going to live off the stash for as long as possible, definitely for these next 6 weeks as I have hardly any money for housekeeping.

      Even then there won't be much money for a re-stock so I am having to think about what we use and use it well.

      Sue xx

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  5. Wow, what an amazing amount of stocking up you have managed to do. If I had the storage I am sure that I would enjoy stocking up that much. A great bargain there with the sponge mix too. Mint sauce with chocolate sponge pudding was my favourite at school. I struggle with the word frugal. It has so many negative connotations for me. Reading your blog and Essex Hebridean is helping me to open my eyes. I have a saying "I have more than enough for my needs" well, more a mantra really. If I had cupboards like that I certainly would have more than enough.

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    1. The dictionary definition of Frugal

      frugal [ˈfruːgəl]
      adj
      1. practising economy; living without waste; thrifty
      2. not costly; meagre

      I too don't like the final word 'meagre', although I'm frugal I'm never meagre, we don't suffer for our frugality.

      Dictionary definition of Frugality

      'Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.
      In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as the tendency to acquire goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourceful use of already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.'

      Much more to my style!!

      Sue xx

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  6. Am definitely going to have to get more organised in my cupboards after looking at yours.

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    1. It is good to have a little organising session, as well as fitting more in you get to see what you actually have, which was quite a lot in my case !!

      But at least now I know what we will be living on for the next six weeks.

      Now I just need to do a good stocktake of the freezer, I've been blanching and throwing things in there pretty willy nilly so I need to have a good rummage around and a proper stack of boxes.

      Cold hands here I come.

      Sue xx

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  7. I look forward to hearing how you go with your challenge :) You have inspired me to firstly tidy my pantry, and secondly to take another good look at our finances and tighten up our budget again, need to get morty paid off!

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