Frugal Friday

A busy week here with a couple of days away for training so heavy reliance on the slow cooker and packed meals ! The end of the month is so close now, where did it go ? Here's a list of the thrifty things we did this week.

I got some reduced potatoes, 2.5 kg for 62p, we haven't used them yet as we dug up some from the garden but they will come in handy next week. We also picked blackcurrants, courgettes, lettuce and onions from the garden and a few raspberries and strawberries, I love this time of year !

We made tortillas, salsa, yoghurt, jam, quiche, potato salad, soup and spaghetti bolognaise and planted some more lettuce to keep the supply going. I needed some more felt tip pens and found some around the house rather than going to buy them. We also downloaded some more free books and ordered a new strimmer for 1/3 off because the box was damaged !

The garage came and repaired the car for free, which was amazing and I used a training day to enjoy a mini day out in the lovely Chiltern countryside. We ate pancakes every day for breakfast and re-used the same foil to keep them warm !

I'll do the reckoning up for June spending today and post the results tomorrow but so far it looks like a pretty frugal month ! How has your week been ?

A Very Helpful Garage

It is always a good idea to find a helpful, cheap garage to do the work on a car which you cannot do yourself. A few years ago we started using a local independent garage who were cheaper than the main dealer and always very good about letting you find parts yourself etc. We have used them for a few years now and have always been very happy with them.

However, on Monday they went above and beyond to help me out with the car and did not charge me anything for the fix ! They are in the Good Garage scheme so I have left some very positive feedback by way of a 'Thank You ".

I was driving on the school run about 10 miles from home when 3 engine warning lights came on and I got MasterShoestring to read the manual whilst I continued on the way to school. It said to get the car checked straight away. I drove home, as I did not want to be stuck waiting for the breakdown truck, then called the garage.

They said that they had no spaces that day but they could send a technician up after lunch to have a look at it. When the technician arrived he used his computer to discover a faulty sensor on the camshaft. He fixed the wiring and the fault was gone. He charged nothing for this service or for his time and the car was fixed in time for collecting MasterShoestring. I was so grateful !

Needless to say we shall keep on using our great garage, Oakleigh in Chesham !

Living on a Shoestring - shoestring tools

It might seem funny to talk about 'shoestring tools' but there are various things which will make 'living on a shoestring' easier.

The first tool is a kitchen big enough to cook in, when we are travelling I always try and stay somewhere where we can cook as it just saves so much money. The second tool I think is essential is a means to get around, whether you live close enough to walk to everything you need or use a bicycle, scooter or motorcycle being able to get to jumbles sales, charity shops and to collect items from Freecycle will save you a lot of money. The third tool which won't cost much but will help a lot is a library card. Membership of the library will give you access to books, lots of reference materials, the internet and maybe CDs and DVDs to watch. Some libraries in the USA even loan out membership cards to local museums and art galleries and we took advantage of this when we lived there. The final tool in this basic armoury is an attitude of contentment, look around you and think of all you have rather than envying others or wishing your situation were different.

On the next rung up for tools would come some more items you might like to acquire such as indoor drying racks for clothes drying in the Winter and a slow cooker for easy meals on busy days. Some basic tools for gardening such as a trowel and spade would also come in handy if you want to grow a few herbs and vegetables. In this category wold come a good, frugal cookbook and possibly some other books about budgeting and frugal living. I keep mine to give me inspiration and encouragement when mine is flagging. I also think a washing machine saves a lot of money at the laundrette !

In the third tier of items to acquire are things which will allow you to do jobs which otherwise you would have to pay for, such as chimney cleaning rods or car repair equipment. Barber's clippers have saved us a lot of money in haircuts over the years as have various items from jumble sales such as a pressure cooker and a bread maker. I also like to have a printer at home as it saves me dashing out to print things and then buying other stuff on the way.

I'm sure that there are lots of other things which I have forgotten so please add to the list in comments, what do you find most useful on your 'shoestring' journey ?

New Potatoes

Mmm ! Don't they look delicious ! We have been digging up the early potatoes and enjoying then at nearly every meal ! We didn't plant any potatoes this year as we had decided just to get a big bag from the farmer, but it turned out that we had lots of volunteer plants so we just let them grow !

We've had about 3kg so far and have just been washing then and boiling them or roasting them. Either way they taste very good ! These really are free potatoes as we didn't even have to buy seed potatoes to get them !

Blackcurrant Jam

The blackcurrants are ready and we are spending quite a bit of time picking them before the birds get to them !

One of our favourite ways to use them is in jam. This is very easy because blackcurrants are high in pectin so you don't need to add it and can just use ordinary sugar in the jam. The only thing you have to be careful about is not over-boiling it. I had to throw out 2 jars last year because the jam was so sold I couldn't get it out of the jar !

You need:-

1lb blackcurrants

1/2 pint water

1 1/4 lb sugar

Place the blackcurrants and water in a large pan and heat slowly until the skins on the berries are soft. Only then add all the sugar and stir gently until all the sugar is dissolved. Then boil until setting point is reached. Put a saucer in the freezer and you can test for the setting point by dripping a tiny bit of the boiling jam on the frozen saucer and if it makes a wrinkle when you push the dab of jam then it's ready. This usually happens after 5-10 minutes of boiling. Or you can use a thermometer and wait for it to reach  220F !

Enjoy your jam !

Frugal Luxuries

The venue yesterday had a sweeping stair case with a thick, red pile carpet all the way along it and walking up and down it made me feel like a film star even though I was dressed in trousers and a blouse rather than ball gown ! The experience made me realise just how many luxuries the frugal lifestyle affords so I thought that I would put together a list of my top ten !

Number 1 - a shower as long as I like with hot water heated by solar power !

Number 2 - a slice from a fresh baked loaf slathered in butter.

Number 3 - coming home from a long day to find someone else has made supper.

Number 4 - getting a phone call from friends or family and being able to chat for as long as we like.

Number 5 - getting an unexpected letter or card in the post.

Number 6 - fresh flowers from the garden.

Number 7 - fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden

Number 8 - a weekend lie-in.

Number 9 - an hour to read a book without thinking about the 'to-do' list.

Number 10 - enjoying a sunny day.

What would be in your top ten ?

A Trip Out

I'm off to this rather splendid building today to do some training for children and young people. There is a free lunch, which unfortunately I can't eat, but I shall enjoy a picnic in the 12 acres of National Trust grounds !

The site once housed the workhouse for the surrounding area and specialised in inmates who had escaped from other settings as it is far away from everywhere. I hope that we are treated with rather more hospitality !

I always enjoy a trip out and since this is to a rather lovely place and includes free training, I'm looking forward to a free day out !