Sunday 18 November 2012

Buying and Storing

 
 
Yes, you've guessed it ..... I went back and got some more!!
 
Now I have a stash of twenty bottles of our favourite shower gel, a good mix of all the scents that we love and this should see us right through next year, after all you can't say no to a price reduction of more than half price.  Usually sold at £2.30 each, these were all bought for £1.
 
My idea of 'brilliant frugality' is to buy something that you love using, that is a good product and one you trust, at a fantastic saving and these fitted the bill perfectly.
 
In my opinion being frugal isn't about penny pinching and using products that are simply cheap it's about finding what you like to use or at the very least don't mind using that save you money, as much money as possible.  In the past I've been 'frugal' out of sheer necessity, then sometimes for experimentation's sake, this time I'm being frugal for a reason, we need to get as much cash together as possible over the next 2 or 3 years to pay for our forever home.
 
 
 
 
And if watching the pennies on a year's supply of something gets us there this is what I intend to do.  I realised yesterday that my No-November has slightly gone out of the window.  I have been spending money much more than I intended to this month, but there are two brilliant reasons for this.  We are slowly being stocked up with lots of basics that will see us through an almost No-Spend 2013 AND at this time of year when folk are going mad buying for Christmas I can feed my slightly obsessive shopping habit (that does sometimes rear it's ugly head when faced with massive over-consumerism all around me) but in a good way.
 
 
 
The bread and yeast and my 10kg of Basmati rice are now packed away and being stored in the spare room where it is nice and dry, so that's us in bread for twelve months.
 
 
 
And the handmade soap is in there too, sliced and drying out and as an added extra making the spare room smell absolutely gorgeous. 
 
A lovely bonus for me that while sorting out in the spare room to make way for all these goodies I found four boxes of bought in Lavender Soaps that I used to sell with little soap dishes on my Farmers Market stall, so now we have a stock of 90 soaps, more than enough to last us for the year, and at no cost to us whatsoever as all the soap supplies were written off when I closed my lavender business. (Pulls happy, smiley face and does a little dance!!)
 
It looks like it is going to be a lovely day here, after a frosty start the sun is shining and the world is just starting to thaw out, with clear blue skies overhead it looks like being one of those Sundays that really recharges the batteries for the week ahead.
 
Enjoy your day, I hope you have sunshine too.
 
Sue xx
 
 
 

23 comments:

  1. Well done on your bargains. That soap looks heavenly!!

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    1. The spare room sure smells heavenly!!

      Sue xx

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  2. Thanks for the info re bread flour. That has definitely saved me some dough!! blessings x

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  3. I read your post with great interest and though I am not very frugal at times I can see the benefits of this kind of shopping and may take up some of your ideas. While I was here I happened to see your Christmas cake 'recipe'. I am supposed to be getting ready to go for a long walk in Clumber Park, but am sat on my bed with tears rolling down my face! Thank you. I think I will spend the rest of the day with a huge smile on my face ( and no doubt get some very strange looks as I wander through Sherwood Forest)

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    1. I keep reading it back and having a grin myself ...lol.

      Sue xx

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  4. I remember hearing about a man who travelled a lot for work. He kept all the little bottles of shampoo & shower gel to give to his daughter at uni so she never had to buy any !

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  5. Good bargains Sue.

    I'm making a list of all the products I want to have in my stockpile and will look out for them being on offer - they're not necessarily cheap products, but like you, products I use (and trust). I am worried about this becoming addictive though ;)

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  6. I love the pleased feeling of getting a good deal...it's like beating the system somehow :)

    Have you ever tried making your own shower gel Sue? One of those bars of soap could make you two litres of it!

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    1. Hi Sue :) Here's a good YouTube link for making liquid soap from a bar of soap. The recipe used equates to 250g of grated soap (two bars) to 4.5 litres of water (a gallon). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DKT6w3AdQ

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  7. Two years ago I stocked up with a year's supply of all of the toiletries we used.I think I overestimated a tad as I am just now having to start buying shower gel and shampoo,and I still have stores of soap, toothpaste,handwash etc to use :) I just got some of the shower gels with my boots points too - great buy!

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  8. Sue, you're right. Take advantage of the bargains when they're there to be had.

    It's expensive in the short term so, like you, I only buy things in quantity that I know and trust. Especially after I once bought three large bottles of a shampoo that made my scalp itch and it all ended up in the bin!

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  9. After reading your post in the week I went down to my local Boots to see how many points I had, only £2.36. Whilst checking my points I also had a ticket on the machine for 25p or 25% off shower gel or bubble bath. I could only get it to print once but sometimes you can get it to print off several. Worth a try if anyone else is going to get any.

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  10. Lidl have got beef on offer 22nd - 28th november - 4.99 a kilo for roasting beef and 2.99 a kilo for boneless leg of pork - i will stock up - that's cheaper than stewingmet! also 20 roll pack of their best loo rolls for 5.79, onions are 20p a kilo too - i shall stock up -

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  11. Vegan products are so expensive. I bought 4 (8oz)shower gels and 4 (8oz) lotions on sale at $6.99 instead of $8.99.It's a bargain to me.
    Jane x

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  12. Hi, I'm a newbie to your blog, don't ask me where I found you from though, another blog thats for sure! I'm keen to be frugal but although the mind is willing the body seems to refuse every time I step into a supermarket! I like your idea of frugal though. I've been reading some blogs on frugality (is that a word?) where all I can think is 'life is too short to live like this'. You have got the right idea I believe. I often think I should stock up when I see something on offer that I normally use and like but then I worry about how much that costs at the time, but you're right if it would be more expensive later on then its a saving! I am currently clearing out my sons old room since he moved out this year and I intend to shelve it for storage so then I might follow in your footsteps and stockpile! Sorry to leave such a long comment! Wishing you further success. x

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    1. I know what you mean on this - someone recently described my "Frugal Friday" posts as being about saving as much as possible while living life to the full, which I was delighted about as that was EXACTLY what I was aiming for! Frugality (yes, it is a word!) and meanness are two very different things, and I sometimes think people muddle them up. Thankfully that's not the case here with Sue!
      Sue - the wretched bread flour WAS sold out by the time I got to Tesco! Got to laugh eh! I bought extra of the Seed & grain flour we mix in with the white though, and also stocked up on Muffin cases as we seem to go through those pretty rapidly!

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  13. I agree - being frugal doesn't mean cheap. It means being crafty and wise and getting what you want for less! Well done on the shower gels - great buy there. We are saving for an extension starting in March so am doing the same ! Xx

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  14. Those shower gels are a really good buy, especially as they are vegan! Off to Boots tomorrow x

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  15. I only ever buy toiletries on offer - and a really good offer at that - even though my daughter sometimes grumbles that she never gets the same product twice running!

    I tell her she has two choices, as always - take it or leave it!

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  16. Your soap looks good enough to eat :)

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  17. Thanks for the heads up on the shower gels, I've just been to stock up, I also had a 25% off voucher & was able to use that too, so each one only cost me 75p. Bargain! Some for us, some for Christmas presents. Love the blog, keep it up, x

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  18. Hi. I recently have started to do an (almost) bi-monthly grocery shops on online for all our heavy stuff. Last year I bought a wardrobe which is shelved out and kept in our dining room and is used for food storage. Although some things I am buying for two months worth I have been attempting to top up for longer when there are special offers. We have heaps of golden granulated sugar which I found in the 99p shop!
    Lisax

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