Things that I preserve in my ice cube trays
My ice cube trays used to sit at the back of the cupboard all winter until I discovered that I could use them to reduce waste. Using ice cube trays and then freezing is a [...]
A beginning of June meal plan
It is the weekend tomorrow and this is when I do my meal plans and preparation. Every week I make a loose meal plan by looking at what I have in the cupboards, what is [...]
Why I take being frugal to the extreme
I have been accused recently of being too extreme and fanatical about my frugal habits. Why do people think that they can comment about my life when it is not impacting on theirs? I am [...]
Making a planter out of some pallets.
A few weeks ago Mr S made me a raised, box tub out of some pallets that we had been given. Previously he had made me a box out of some scaffolding planks that had [...]
Another meal plan (adapting to what I have)
This is my third week of just eating what we already have in, except for milk. I have still been buying some staples and some reduced meat with my food budget, but have only been [...]
Different ways to serve one dish to add variety
About 3 times a month I make what I call a pauper's stew. This is a stew that I make in the slow cooker with any thing that I have that needs using up (or [...]
My 7 day meal plan using as little as I can
I am living out of the cupboards, fridge, freezer and garden at the moment. I am buying some food like flour and oil, but it is not for use this month. It is to replace [...]
Savoury Nests from leftovers
We never buy food especially for lunches. We use what we have in. Often this means using left overs. The other day we had a bit of spicy stew left and some mashed potatoes, There [...]
Our recent meal plan
I get asked almost weekly for our meal plans or what kind of things we eat on such a low food budget. I think that we eat really well, considering. Our meal plan varies every [...]
20 ways to save water
My water bill is one area that I have been able to reduce my bill over the last 4 years. Saving water is not only good for the environment, it is also good for my [...]
A new raised garden bed
Mr S built me a raised bed that is quite tall to save me bending when I am gardening. I could not afford to fill it with compost and so decided to fill it using [...]
Thinking about food security.
I think about food security a lot at the moment with everything that seems to be happening in the world. My time line, the media. and my YouTube seem to be filled with scary stories [...]
Batch cooking
Batch cooking is great for saving time, saving waste, and saving money. It gives me the ability to have a nutritious meal on a day when I don't feel like cooking. I also don't want [...]
Things I no longer buy from the supermarket
Over the last few years I have become more and more aware of the chemicals and rubbish that is in the food that we buy from the supermarket. I used to think that I was [...]
A bag of flour can fill your bellies
People are always asking me what are my priority ingredients when building a prepper pantry. If I could only have 5 ingredients to feed myself, for me, one of them would be a bag of [...]
How I organise my cupboards, fridge and freezer to save on waste.
One of the things that has had the biggest impact on our food budget has been reducing food waste. I will do a separate post on the ways that I use items that I used [...]
Living on a low food budget
People often ask how I feed the two of us on such a low food budget. I don't have a weekly or a monthly food budget, but have an amount I am able to spend [...]
How to store 15p Christmas vegetables so that they last a few months
In the UK all the supermarkets compete with each other and a way they tempt people into the shop is to sell cheap Christmas vegetables. Most things are 15p each. I take advantage of this [...]
Christmas left overs meal plan
We had our family Christmas last weekend with my side of the family, and have another one on Christmas Day with the family of Mr S. This week we have therefore been living on the [...]
Affording salmon on a low income
I love salmon, or any kind of fish, but the price of it means that I can not eat much of it out of my £750 a year food budget. However, Mr S and I [...]
Getting ready to build my food store for next year.
People who have followed me for a while, know that I have a stock of food that really helps me to keep ahead of inflation, but is also there for the months that we have [...]
Is ego stopping you being frugal?
I do not understand why there is a stigma about saving money. In this cost of living crisis, people are trying to hide that they are struggling. They carry on with habits that are making [...]
Teaching children to be frugal
One of the hardest things I found about living on a low income was that I couldn't treat my kids to everything they wanted. When I split from my youngest's dad we had gone from [...]
4 emotional blocks to overcome in order to reduce spending
Spending money is often linked to our emotions, and how we are feeling. These emotional triggers are what make us feel compelled to spend. In order to stop spending it is important that we recognise [...]
