The pauper's thrifty thread

[Jen]

Apr 15, 2013 18:09:00 GMT Blownupdolly said:

Thats great going re the Astra Jo. I am still practicing the frugal driving. The car also tells you the best time to change gear to save on fuel. Hopefully when i get that down to a fine art i am to get 50 or above.
I always try to get everything in one go doing the weekly shop. We use semi skimmed milk which is freezable so i buy big cartons and put one in the freezer. Same with bread etc. I don't have much choice other than using the car due to my disability, but i try to offset that with the driving style.

And Karma is right. The less housework you do the better

Home delivery from Sainsburys is only £3.50 in the weekday evenings, here at least. I don't drive so don't know, but that could be around what you pay for the car? I much prefer shopping online because it counts up your total spend so you have more control, and you don't get mugged by in-store offers tempting you. Personally, I can never leave a supermarket with just what I wanted, I get that plus a yoga mat and a lamp in the shape of a smurf or something! But shopping online has reduced our weekly bill by £10-£20, which is not to be sniffed at these days

And I totally agree on the housework front

[Karma]

Apr 15, 2013 18:13:15 GMT lobeydosser said:

Is that because only a man can pee high enough to get it into the compost bin?

LOL 

There is a scientific reason, but I don't do science 

Plus, it saves the men missing the toilet bowl, so less cleaning 

I'm not sure why they protest so much about it in the winter 

[Deleted]

Thanks for starting this great thread. I have very little money, struggling on a day to day basis, and I know some cynics would say why vape when you cannot afford it, so I be looking out for this thread with interest to save money down the line.

The mixing and recoiling thread have same me a fortune, Thank you members for giving me a insight of your lives. We can learn from others and that is so true on AAEC

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2013 17:48:04 GMT lobeydosser said:

Hi Darkginger, There are some excellent books around like "Food for Free" & "Seashore Seafood" to help you fill the Larder for next to nowt. A great hobby as well as some savings.

This one? www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Gem-Food-Richard-Mabey/dp/0007183038



Just came across this place. There are some good ideas on there thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/

[Blownupdolly]

Apr 15, 2013 18:13:46 GMT Jen said:

Apr 15, 2013 18:09:00 GMT Blownupdolly said:

Thats great going re the Astra Jo. I am still practicing the frugal driving. The car also tells you the best time to change gear to save on fuel. Hopefully when i get that down to a fine art i am to get 50 or above.
I always try to get everything in one go doing the weekly shop. We use semi skimmed milk which is freezable so i buy big cartons and put one in the freezer. Same with bread etc. I don't have much choice other than using the car due to my disability, but i try to offset that with the driving style.

And Karma is right. The less housework you do the better

Home delivery from Sainsburys is only £3.50 in the weekday evenings, here at least. I don't drive so don't know, but that could be around what you pay for the car? I much prefer shopping online because it counts up your total spend so you have more control, and you don't get mugged by in-store offers tempting you. Personally, I can never leave a supermarket with just what I wanted, I get that plus a yoga mat and a lamp in the shape of a smurf or something! But shopping online has reduced our weekly bill by £10-£20, which is not to be sniffed at these days

And I totally agree on the housework front

I dont think it costs us more than a £ to go to the supermarket as we are fairly close by. It also gives me an excuse to go out! I have tried online shopping but had several bad experiences with it so stopped. The most annoying things was them replacing stuff they didnt have with completely unsuitable alternatives, plus i found a lot of stuff arrived very near its expiry date. I also found i got the crappiest cuts of meat, so i prefer to go myself.

[lobeydosser]

Yes Simon, that's the one.
Mine is a tad older and well stained with berry juice and a bit dog eared, bit still a handy book to have.

[Sandra (aka Chillax)]

Growing your own saves a bundle, tastes nicer and stays fresh longer. I started about five yrs ago only last year I didn't grow much as we moved to this house in May. Every other year we didnt buy hardly a thing in the salad/veg department, all came from the garden, plus, we gave some to various people we knew and in return we had some veg and onions that I hadn't grown and I supplied one bloke with a bit every week and he gave me trout quite regular

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2013 18:36:05 GMT Sandra (aka Chillax) said:

Growing your own saves a bundle, tastes nicer and stays fresh longer. I started about five yrs ago only last year I didn't grow much as we moved to this house in May. Every other year we didnt buy hardly a thing in the salad/veg department, all came from the garden, plus, we gave some to various people we knew and in return we had some veg and onions that I hadn't grown and I supplied one bloke with a bit every week and he gave me trout quite regular

I tried growing veg last year, a variety of carrot that escapes my memory, purple cabbages, summer sprouting broccoli, purple sprouts and runner beans. Everything did so poor I might as well not have bothered, I imagine it was the months of rain that ruined everything. Even my tomatoe plants didn't do very well

I may or may not try again this year.

I'd like chickens but they stink lol.

[lobeydosser]

Ofcourse for those that want to go "the whole hog" there is only one book to buy.

the Complete Book of SELF SUFFICIENCY by John Seymour.
ISBN 0 571 11095 9

Mine is the 1978 edition so I am sure it has been updated since then, but I got mine back in the days when I was considering taking up a job in Benbecula and I would have been supplimenting my income wth a bit of Crofting.

I have regretted not taking that job ever since.

[womble]

Apr 15, 2013 19:15:36 GMT @simate said:

I tried growing veg last year, a variety of carrot that escapes my memory, purple cabbages, summer sprouting broccoli, purple sprouts and runner beans. Everything did so poor I might as well not have bothered, I imagine it was the months of rain that ruined everything. Even my tomatoe plants didn't do very well

I may or may not try again this year.

I'd like chickens but they stink lol.

It was a very very bad year for alot of fruit and veg last year, everyone had problems, so don't be too despondent about it.

Chickens are a bit more like a way of lifestyle I always think, they do involve being there every morning and night. And tbf, you don't save that much money on decent eggs if you are starting out and have to buy everything.

I'm really into self sufficiency

[Jen]

Apr 15, 2013 18:31:31 GMT Blownupdolly said:

I dont think it costs us more than a £ to go to the supermarket as we are fairly close by. It also gives me an excuse to go out! I have tried online shopping but had several bad experiences with it so stopped. The most annoying things was them replacing stuff they didnt have with completely unsuitable alternatives, plus i found a lot of stuff arrived very near its expiry date. I also found i got the crappiest cuts of meat, so i prefer to go myself.

Fair enough - we get our meat from a local farm shop near hubby's work, so it's all free range and much more delicious, non-watered and guilt-free-er, I'm very picky when it comes to cuts, so I'm with you there! Otherwise we just put everything on 'do not subsititute' and very rarely have problems. If anything arrives with a stupid date on it, it goes straight back! On basics and cupboard stuff though, you can't beat it for money-saving IMO

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2013 18:33:29 GMT lobeydosser said:

Yes Simon, that's the one.
Mine is a tad older and well stained with berry juice and a bit dog eared, bit still a handy book to have.

Thanks. I downloaded it (saves money )

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2013 19:19:52 GMT lobeydosser said:

Ofcourse for those that want to go "the whole hog" there is only one book to buy.

the Complete Book of SELF SUFFICIENCY by John Seymour.
ISBN 0 571 11095 9

Mine is the 1978 edition so I am sure it has been updated since then, but I got mine back in the days when I was considering taking up a job in Benbecula and I would have been supplimenting my income wth a bit of Crofting.

I have regretted not taking that job ever since.

Just got that one too, having a read now. Thanks for the info

[lobeydosser]

Aha, you'll be skinning Hogs and smoking them in your wood burning smoker before you know it.

Just remember that you canny Vape a Pig.

Well not all at once anyways!!!!

[Darkginger]

I've just ordered some of that nicotine base, both PG and VG, and a pile of flavourings to have a play with They'll be waiting for me at Dad's when I get there, and if you're very unlucky I may bring some of my first efforts along to the next LSE meet. You have been warned!

Somewhere I have an ancient copy of the Seymour book, plus Food for Free, and a few others along those lines - when we first moved here I was all for self-sufficiency, but never really got as far into it as I would have liked. This morning I found that all my courgette pots had blown away in the gales, so am going to have to start again!

We have a smoker for smoking fish that my husband is supposed to catch - IF he ever gets out there and tries, plus a load of sausage skins and a stuffing gun (oo!) for making home made sausages, if I ever get around to it. I used to bake my own bread, but since I started eating low carb last August, I don't eat bread, so have stopped making it. We're full of good intentions when it comes to home made stuff, but also expert procrastinators, unfortunately. Must do better!

My general frugality took a bit of a hit today, 'cos I had to order a couple of new batteries and stuff for Carl (that's the husband's name, easier than continuing to type 'my/the husband' all the time!) since he's turned to vaping. Of course, I also had to order a Kanger Protank for me at the same time...just to try, you understand? Oh, and a few more juices to keep me going <eyes box full of juices and tries to pretend they're all running out>. Honestly, we ARE saving money, I'm sure we are - this is just initial investment, right?