TIME FOR THE THERMALS!!! AND SOME FRUGAL COOKING

Woke up to a heavy frost that was still lingering at 10.30am so dug out the thermal vest (very glam). We have been very lucky with the weather this winter, which has meant we haven't had to use the heating as much. Still I was pleased to see we had used  less than half the amount of gas in 2011 than in 2010 even with that terrible price hike. British gas have announced a 5% drop in the price of their electric but not the gas. WHY NOT???? Wholesale prices have dropped but yet again they have another excuse for not lowering the price.
Decided to do some batch cooking and unusual for me a bit of home baking. I can cook quite well but have never done much baking. Made a large batch of spag bol, usually the amount of mince makes 4 x 2 person meals but I added extra veg and stretched it to 5 meals which look and smell just as good. I made it using the last jar of the aldi pasta sauce which was reduced to just 18p it then went back up to 25p and now is 28p, still good value  but how prices keep rising.

I had a couple of bananas and a few dates left over ( the dates were a little dry and not nice enough to eat on their own) so I decided to make banana and date muffins. Used an easy banana muffin recipe I found on allrecipes.co.uk , stoned and chopped up the dates and stirred in. I have tried one since I took the photo and it was really moist and tasty. They freeze well so that's handy.Also had a little bit of puff pastry that needed using so cut out in circles and added a little jam, folded over and had little bite sized jam puffs.

Off to have a cup of tea and put my feet up for half an hour, well it is Saturday.
Bye for now Wannabe frugal

SQUEEZING THE BEST OUT OF A GOOD DEAL

Aldi's current super 6 offer ends on Sunday so now is the time to check what you can use over the next week and stock up before the offer ends. I'm looking at tomatoes, onions, carrots and cabbage. I will be able to use all of these and then next week I will be looking at the new offer. This way I stretch the offers over a longer period and get  a good selection. I won't be buying the celery or swede as we don't eat them very much and it would be a waste to buy just because they are cheap.

Well i am off to have a wander around the internet to see what other offers there are and plan the menu for next week.

Oh nearly forgot "my shopping transport" coming soon.

Best wishes  and happy bargain hunting to all, wanabe frugal

DO I HAVE BRAND LOYALTY - NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!

How can you just buy from one store or stick to one brand, this will only cost you money.

Take laundry liquid, when there are no offers about I buy Aldi's own brand and am quite happy with that. But if like today I see a good offer I go for it. Had to go to Morrisons today and always have a little look around and there was their own brand bio at £1.62p for 980mml ( half price). I have tried it before and was happy with results so I have bought it again. 

Own brands and cheaper brands are a matter of personal taste and are always worth trying. Some you will like and some not. But do try as it could save you a lot of money.

I actually went into Morrisons for their own brand thin bleach at 29p for a 2 litre bottle. I use some of this to refill the Domestos spray bleach bottle. The best price I ever found for this was £1 for 500ml, now I use the own brand bleach and can refill the bottle 4 times saving £3.71p. does the same jobs for me so I'm happy. You could use a refillable spray bottle but do remember to label it well to avoid accidents.

Well that's all for now but soon be back with my shopping transport!!!!

best wishes wannabe frugal

RE-ORGANIZING MY NIGHTMARE CUPBOARD WITH ZERO BUDGET?? PART II

Well I tackled  my nightmare cupboard today. first emptied the cupboard out and there was bits everywhere, had to wonder how it had all fitted in!! Next I washed all the baskets  and I had rounded up some unused boxes from around the house.

While these were drying I began sorting out and getting rid of the rubbish (and there was too much) and putting items back where they belonged but not in this cupboard. I used the lidded box to hold spare items that are not needed very often and put a list on top to save opening everytime. Because I binned so much rubbish I only needed to use this box and one smaller one.
Anyway here is the finished result -

I could have done more if I was going to spend money but the idea was to re-organize with a zero spend which I have succeeded in doing. It's amazing how many useless items I had accumulated which "might come in useful one day" and of course have never used. Just like clothes I think I need to go with the adage that if I havn't used it within 6 monthes  then I never will.
Well off to get dinner ready, chicken and mushroom pesto  and I think I deserve it!!
Bye for now Wannabe Frugal

RE-ORGANIZING MY NIGHTMARE CUPBOARD WITH ZERO BUDGET??

This year I am determined to have a major declutter and get my home sorted out once and for all.
We had the loft insulated this winter and everything in there had to be taken out. That turned into a very mucky job as in the depths we found stuff left by previous owners. You hear stories of people finding treasures but in our case it was just dirty broken junk. Some of it must have taken a lot of effort to get up there so why was it just not thrown out with the rubbish. Anyway it is now clear and I don't like keeping things in the loft except maybe Christmas decorations that only come out once an year.
I have started in the kitchen and most of the units were not too bad to clear and organize but the photo above is of my understairs cupboard which has become a dumping ground. It is supposed to be for cleaning items and hoover, ironing board etc. As you can see it has become my nightmare and i am about to tackle it tomorrow which is why I am posting now. I will take photos as I go. Am off upstairs now to look out any unused storage boxes and baskets. I don't want to spend anything on this project and I am sure I have items that are around and can be put to better use.
See you all soon wannabe frugal

CAN WE LIVE OFF THE STORE CUPBOARD FOR A WEEK??

Well the holidays are well and truly over and now we face January. Money is tight what with Christmas and buying a couple of major items for our beautiful grandson. So now we are looking to the next payday and I don't want to go into overdrive.
The menu for this week is all based around what we have in the cupboards, freezer etc.  In no particular order here is the menu for the week ahead -

Chicken casserole ( thighs from freezer) + veggies (fridge)

Quiche (freezer) + salad (fridge)

Chicken and mushroom pesto (freezer)

1 piece fish + fishfingers (freezer) + mashed potatoes and peas

2 Different curries + rice

Chicken stirfry (chicken from freezer)

Chilli (freezer) + jacket potato

I was hoping to get through without spending anything but I will need milk and a few veggies and also cat food as Baby doesn't do budgeting! Not too bad.

The bills are all paid and next week I have some vouchers I can use and then it will be PAYDAY.

Back soon wannabe frugal

CAN I MAKE A WINTER WARMER MEAL FOR 2 OUT OF THIS?

I have had to amend my menu for this week as I had a burgher left over (one person didn't come to dinner).
Today the weather has been dreadful with high winds and lashing rain so I wanted to make a comfort meal.
Pictured above are the ingredients I used. Since I am trying not to waste anything I needed to use up the burgher so I've added a couple of sausages with potatoes, carrots and green beans and half an onion to maked onion gravy and made the one burgher into two small ones.
To save gas I used my stacking pan for the potatoes with the veg steaming above. Fried the sausages, burghers and onions, made some gravy with gravy granules and a touch of chilli, added to sausages and burghers. Mashed potato is made with semi skimmed mild and a spoonful of plain yoghurt instead of butter.

And here is dinner (sorry not the best picture but I didn't want it to get cold). Costed out at approx 80p for person and no waste.
I have taken the fish finger meal off the menu (just as well -  chips twice in a week is a bit naughty!!!!)
Back soon
best wishes wannabe frugal

DE-BOBBLE AND BUTTON AFTERNOON

With  clothes becoming ever more expensive it pays to look after the items we already have. A lot of people are having a "no spend year" for clothes  and I am not sure I can go the whole year without buying anything but I am trying not to fritter money on impluse buys that often end up in the cupboard unworn and wondering why I bought it in the first place.
A couple of years ago i bought one of these at an open air market for a couple of pounds -

Battery powered (solar rechargable batteries of course) it removes bobbles on knitwear and other items. works best on woollen and mixed fibres. And has helped to keep jumpers etc looking good when otherwise I would have not worn them anymore.
So this afternoon I got out all the knitwear, scarves and a couple of coats and checked them over, de-bobbling where needed. I also checked buttons and looked for seams that needed any attention. Shoes and handbags have had a good polish and I sorted some of my costume jewellery into this recycled chocolate box.

The box just seemed to good to throw in the recycling so I removed the label and have used it to house small bits of jewellery. The clear lid means I can see what is inside and it is small enough to fit in a dressing table drawer.
Still a lot to organize but it was a good start for me anyway!!!!
See you all tomorrow
best wishes wannabe frugal

WEEK'S MENU WITHIN BUDGET THIS WEEK? YES YES YES

Well here we are in 2012 and quite handy that it starts on a Sunday. I have been through the fridge, freezer etc to see what I still have to be used before putting my menu for this week together. I don't do it in day order so it can be moved around to suit.And of course if any bargains turn up then items from the freezer can stay there and be used at a later day. So here goes -

Cheeseburgers, chips, sweetcorn and tomatoes

Ham and mushroom carbonara (ham left over from Christmas)

Smoked salmon and prawn salad (small amount of each)

Quiche and salad (reduced quiche bought before Christmas)

Chilli in a jacket potato and onion and plain yoghurt (batch cooking)

Fish fingers chips and peas (O/H loves fish fingers)

Chicken stir-fry with noodles (stir-fry sauce free with token)

Any puddings we have are just yoghurt or fruit

or as at the moment the odd mince pies and bits that are left over

One or two items look expensive but they are left over from christmas, such as the smoked salmon and prawns not a lot of each but together will make a good salad, nice and light. Breakfasts are usually toast and lunches soup or a sandwich with banana.

Very little to buy, just milk, vegetables, bananas and cat food so well within budget and using up all the left overs.

See you all again tomorrow wannabe frugal