tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67972944392988264352024-02-20T23:26:25.682-08:00Frugal Up NorthRamblings of a woman "up north" trying to live a more thoughtful, considered, frugal life - to reduce my debt, to create some savings (both financial and of the planet). To reduce the stresses that seem to be inherant with the modern consumerist age. In a nut shell.... stop the bus I want to get off !!Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-53474512329728634252020-07-11T08:19:00.019-07:002020-07-11T08:43:21.357-07:00Simple Days and Simple Pleasures<div>I am sure that you, like myself, have been very reflective during this period of enforced lockdown and isolation and the varying degrees in between which we have all faced during these very surreal and often frightening times. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have to admit that I have a bit of a careless side to myself, to the point of actual sabotage, c'est la vie and all that and fate will decide. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well that's all well and good for me when it's just my life and effects no one else; however as I now care for my Dad full time and I value his health and well being very highly, I find myself these days and very naturally putting someone else's wellbeing before my own and I also find myself getting scared unlike I never did. </div><div><br /></div><div>As such I have instinctively abided and exceeded Government advice regarding the health and wellbeing and isolation of those of his age (86 years old) and who have like him a myriad of health issues. </div><div><br /></div><div>So for the past 4 months (before Government dictated) myself and Dad have been in lockdown and we have now both got a little stir crazy; we seriously haven't been anywhere, well I have been out in the car about once a fortnight to pick up a click and collect food shop from Tescos, but apart from that the outside has literally another planet that we have yet to discover!!! Dad however has been in complete lockdown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things however have now changed as this week Dad became very low, to the point of depression. Sometimes you have to weigh up physical versus mental health, he told me that he's 86 years old, that he has lived his life and there is no point him living any longer if he can't see and hug his children and grandchildren. It was for me a bit of a reality check I was so focussed on protecting him from this awful virus that I lost sight of the point of living, and he's absolutely right, you really have to balance mental and physical health and determine what is most important; context being everything.</div><div><br /></div><div> So this week I decided to relax a little and took Dad out onto the sea front for an ice cream which was completely socially distanced. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also had my sister and her son (his daughter / grandchild) over for the day in the garden this week and today my brother and his daughter (son and grandchild) came for a couple of hours to see him. </div><div><br /></div><div>The result at the end of this week is that he is so much brighter and healthier and he feels life is worth living. </div><div><br /></div><div>So what I would say in the final analysis is that we all have to navigate these very unsure waters as best we can, we can take onboard the best advice, but ultimately we need to do what is best for ourselves and our own. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life is ultimately short and especially if you don't feel you have that many more years to come, you must do what is best for your own mental and physical well being without compromising the health of others. Please stay safe and do what is ultimately best for you and your loved ones. Love to all xxx</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi3QozX9zLrwWgxwkYOc3ys4vtnl3iOCZSfmCwp36bJWznetYng5gBnks_Zw19r9SBIHLMwY8xKmnMo61btyLM50S1fbaNNZnM3JROHwVqWI_e71KPJerdNbgg2ZjDzJ6gmvt_3l2BOw/s2048/Photo+Dad+June+2020.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi3QozX9zLrwWgxwkYOc3ys4vtnl3iOCZSfmCwp36bJWznetYng5gBnks_Zw19r9SBIHLMwY8xKmnMo61btyLM50S1fbaNNZnM3JROHwVqWI_e71KPJerdNbgg2ZjDzJ6gmvt_3l2BOw/s320/Photo+Dad+June+2020.JPG" /></a></div></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-53101539593020456342020-06-25T03:30:00.000-07:002020-06-25T03:34:21.516-07:00It's Been a WhileSo it has been a while in this mad and crazy COVID19 world. How are you doing? I hope you and yours remain safe and well. We have well and truly been in a lockdown bubble which I began before Government Advice when I saw what was happening in Italy. Dad is 86 and has Parkinsons, Kidney Disease and a myriad of other ailments so I couldn't take any chances.<br />
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I decided (as hubby is a key worker and has worked throughout) that myself and Dad would lock down and maintain social distancing with hubby. So far so good, Dad is well and robust helped by the good weather of late and he can sit on the patio to get fresh air with his radio and paper. <br />
<br />
But over 40,000 deaths is 40,000 too many and I feel for them and those they left behind. We can only do what we can do.<br />
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I know and understand why the Government want to restart the economy so reopening restaurants, pubs and air corridors to key countries for holidays. Personally until there is better evidence ( a single day without deaths would be great( cure or vaccine, we remain incredibly cautious. I will continue to carry out only essential shopping and we won't meet people unless its outdoors and at least 2 metres apart (in spite of the new 1 metre rule). Death is ultimately inevitable we all know that but lets not give it an upper hand. Stay safe, keep well, do what you think and feel is right. Personally gloves and mask for when I do have to go out are firmly part of my wardrobe. Every little helps I'm sure. Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-85140451733628808202019-12-25T08:52:00.000-08:002019-12-25T14:14:18.307-08:00Did You Enjoy Your Christmas Dinner?Well Happy Christmas one and all.<br />
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For most of us, the dinner is the main event, particularly after the Childhood present frenzy has left us.<br />
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In the last few days, in most of the National Newspapers, there has
been an article about a grandmother of 4 who charges her family £35 per head
for Christmas dinner (booze included).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I
was a little taken aback,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know as a frugal
person that to share the cost of Christmas is a very sound thing to do and I do applaud that, however personally I
prefer a Jacobs Join kind of affair where everyone brings a dish but if people
prefer not to, to just share the actual cost of ingredients is grand and not to make a profit. Article from one of the papers below<br />
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<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7824191/Grandmother-charges-family-35-head-Christmas-dinner-says-120-profit-presents.html%20%20%20Ch"> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7824191/Grandmother-charges-family-35-head-Christmas-dinner-says-120-profit-preshtml </a></div>
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What concerned me was, and if you are to
believe reports, she makes a £150 profit from this from 12 of her nearest and
dearest. I have a problem with this, but I also do question her actual costs and if that figure is
in itself accurate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based upon the Maths and again if its how its reported, which may not be the truth, it works out at (after deducting her profit) her actual cost being £22.50 per head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I looked at the picture of her Christmas dinner below and I
was quite frankly aghast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless each person drinks at
least 4 bottles of wine each I can’t see where the money is spent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Her dinner and I don’t mean to disrespest anyone but if I was
served that, which looks like frozen Yorkshire puds with Paxo stuffing and frozen
peas and hardly any meat and with a dribble of gravy I would send it back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So I just want to show you an actual homemade and frugal Christmas
Dinner (apologies I forgot to take photos of the puds but they were drowned in
Brandy Sauce so all you would see was white) which came in at £5.54 per head using quality products and frugal
tips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>So our starters</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Homemade Smoked Salmon Mousse Parcels with a little side
salad of cherry tomatoes, spring onion and balsamic glaze with 3 pieces of
Tesco’s French Toast came in for 44p per portion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Admittedly due to sister making the salmon
starter in return for 12 of my mince pies which cost me £5.90 to make so cost me
in actuality 94p per portion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Homemade Chicken and Ham Terrine (recipe courtesy of
Slimming World and so flavoursome and meaty) with a little side salad of cherry tomatoes, spring onion, a few pickles and
balsamic glaze came in for £1.74 per portion with two thick whopping slices of
terrine plentiful for any starter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Main Meal</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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We don’t like Turkey so I bought a medium chicken from Tesco’s
for £2.95 cooked to perfection it turned out uber Moist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gammon joint (which I glazed in Honey) was
£2.99 ( noting I still have lots of meat for sandwiches even after the main
event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought I bag of Tesco’s Redfearn Carrots and Parsnips for 19p each (Made carrot and swede mash), Potatoes, for £1.59 which provided loads for
both Mash and roast potatoes and still left over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cauliflower for 29p (Made cauli cheese).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Sausages (quality Irish sausages 12 for £2).
Finest Tesco’s Streaky Bacon 12 Slices again for £2, ends up with whopping pigs
in blanket for 34p each (don’t do the little chipolatas).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuffing (no paxo involved ! purely pork
meat, herbs, onions, breadcrumbs, seasoning) free from Sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gravy granules (bisto finest well it is
Christmas, 25 per head) .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actual
cost of the main meal – photo below turned out to be £2.98 per head.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Dessert</b></div>
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Christmas Pudding courtesy of Iceland it was a great pudding
soaked in Cider, brandy and Sherry and was really lush, boozy, fruity and moist
for just £1.19 and will feed 4 people,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Topped off with 500ml, (again for 4 people more than enough) of Brandy
Sauce at £1.25 per pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dessert ends up
being 61p per head.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So for a fabulous 3 course meal and a couple of things I
bartered and exchanged my homemade goodies for (which I've included my costs for ) actual cost a total of £5.54 per head,
and I don’t mean to be bitchy but I think my Christmas dinner looks better than
the photo the papers provided and everyone thought tasted fabulous with very full bellies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So where did her other £30 per head go? It is reported that this includes booze and other things but
crikey unless you have 12 alcoholics around your dinner table, I can’t fathom
how its spent and I personally would be a little disgruntled if any family member of mine
tried to charge me £35 for a dinner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So what I would say is you can have a fabulous, lush,
indulgent and quality Christmas meal for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>little cost; you just have to be a savvy shopper and also share your
skills with friends/family.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps if she did a Jacobs Join as I mentioned above and
other members of her family brought a dish, even if they can’t cook, bring some
wine or cheese etc,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you can have a
lovely family meal and with booze
without it costing an earth and certainly not everyone having to find £35 each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-56878833158950748942019-12-20T07:23:00.000-08:002019-12-20T07:23:41.500-08:00Love your Library<br />
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Dad and I have just got back from our weekly trip to the
library, it’s a recent thing we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad
loves reading; my siblings and I a few years ago all clubbed together and bought him an Ipad. </div>
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He’s got a very active
mind, thank god and has always had a passion for politics and history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Via his Ipad he reads all the major
newspapers each day as well as Reuters the news agency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a great person to have at a dinner table because he is so well read, he literally will know something about whatever
any guest talks about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I love my kindle, which is my must have when we go on holiday
as in a week on holiday I can easily read a book a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However it can get expensive and I did get into the bad habit of buying about 3 books month, as via your kindle it is so easy, literally just a click but it totted up to easily £18 per month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In Lancashire our County Council was in the process of
closing all local library's to save money, it ended up losing the Labour Administration the
election as the uproar was unprecedented with the new Conservative Council
promising they will protect them and they remain open.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It really did give me food for thought, as its one of those
things that we just take for granted and one of those things that unless we use
it, we really do risk losing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> I
decided that we would support our local library as best we can and at the same time save me oodles of cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So each week Dad and I go and browse through
the shelves and pick up a new book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It really does amaze me that (and I know we all pay taxes
etc) that we get the opportunity to get books and enjoy what is a great hobby, for free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So love your library, use it, cherish it and enjoy a free hobby.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-20184697602660282872019-12-19T06:45:00.003-08:002019-12-19T06:47:38.105-08:00Left Over Roast Lamb<br />
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Last week Tesco’s had legs of lamb for half price so I
bought a whopper for £11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I slow
roast this in the oven on low heat with onion, carrot and stock for about 5 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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We have relatives coming tomorrow and I’m making lunch of shepherds
pie, I prefer to make shepherds pie with shredded leg of lamb rather than
mince.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So for this one meat joint I have
managed to make enough shepherd’s pie mix for 2 pies each feeding 6 people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad had a hot lamb and onion sandwich for his lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’ve used the rest, in a lamb and veg soup
which has made 6 portions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking into
account the cost of the veg and stock used (£3.18).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have made 13 hearty meals for 75p each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So this is my Lamb and Veg soup its one of those left over
chuck it all in meals and it really does taste delish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I start off by boiling the lamb bone in water with an onion,
carrot, herbs and black pepper with a lamb stock cube which is the basis of the
soup stock for about 40 minutes creating a really rich stock.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gently fry a chopped onion, 2 sticks of celery, 2 carrots,
one diced pototo, add in a litre of the stock you've made and simmer for 30 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> But you can add in any left over veg you have. </span></div>
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I take out half the mixture and blend to
provide a bit of thickness to the soup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Add in left over chopped lamb meat and simmer again for 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add seasoning to taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Uber flavoursome. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-75729619563103824102019-12-15T02:45:00.001-08:002019-12-15T02:45:11.100-08:00Fair Exchange Is No Robbery<br />
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My sister and I have our own skills, I like to think we
are both great cooks, we are each other's harshest critic and wouldn’t
think twice of ripping our culinary attempts to shreds (ha, ha) the fact that we both
survive unscathed is real testament.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have however our strengths, mine is primarily baking not
just sweet but savoury (my sausage rolls are legendary)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hers is wholly savoury.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So in exchange of my homemade mince pies (pastry recipe
courtesy of Paul Hollywood, really rich butter pastry and the lightest and most
delicious I’ve ever tasted, its really hard to handle due to the amount of
butter but its worth it). Mince meat courtesy of me, lots of fresh orange zest
and brandy and mixed spice hic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In return I get several
smoked salmon starters which is her homemade salmon mouse wrapped in smoked salmon like a little parcel, as well as
the meatiest pork, sage and onion stuffing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To buy the quality of Salmon starter and stuffing that she
provides me would easily cost £18 in the shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
mince pies I make her from a bakers (obviously you can get cheaper pre packaged
pies from the supermarket for a snip at the price, but not the size and
quality) could easily cost you £12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However costs me £5.90 to make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
really feel I’m up on the deal ;)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> , so share your skills and save some cash </span></div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-17540419330672819602019-12-12T03:22:00.003-08:002019-12-12T03:22:52.947-08:00Make It Yourself and Save PoundsWe have four graves which we visit at Christmas of parents and grandparents we have sadly lost. My hubby likes to lay a Christmas Wreath as a mark of respect and in previous years I have bought these. This year I looked in our local garden centre where they were retailing for a startling £26.99 each yikes. Even the cheapest at Aldi which I didn't like as it was a bit too jazzy were retailing at £9.99 each.<br />
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So I decided to bite the bullet and make my own. I bought 4 rattan wreath rings from Ebay at 99p each and used foliage, holly and berries from our garden. I am lucky in that respect, we have a very mature garden with big evergreen hedges, trees, bushes and shrubs and 3 very large holly and berry bushes which look lovely at this time of year. <br />
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I bought 2 oranges and sliced these and put them on a baking tray on a low heat in the oven for 2.5 hours to dry them out. I added a bit of old ribbon (I always save ribbon and wrapping paper etc from any gifts we get over the years) and e voila my own hand made, home made wreaths. For a bit of my time and at a cost of £1.14 each, £4.56 for all four. Hubby is delighted and I have to say so I am I, I've made 4 for half the price of one of the cheapest ones I could find, now that's a saving. <br />
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-80048511338510685292019-12-10T08:24:00.002-08:002019-12-10T08:24:27.090-08:00It's Minestrone TodayGosh we are having a storm and a half, the rain is lashing down and the wind is well very windy. So another day to make some nourishing soup. This is my recipe for a very rustic, chunky Minestrone, it's really filling, makes 4 very hearty portions but can be stretched if you have a smaller appetite. It's practically a stew hence why it's so filling. Total cost of all ingredients was £2.86, so 71p a portion but as I say can be stretched to 6 portions particularly if you have a sandwich with it. <br />
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So chop 1 large onion, 2 celery sticks, 2 carrots and a pack of smoked bacon and sweat this on a hob for about 3 minutes. <br />
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Add some garlic, 3 tablespoons of tomato puree, herbs (whatever you have in the cupboard, I added Oregano) and mix and fry this for another minute. <br />
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Add a can of chopped tomatoes and a litre of chicken stock (made with 2 chicken stock cubes. Add some seasoning and pop a lid on and simmer on low for about 50 minutes. </div>
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Then add in 50g of any pasta you have in the cupboard and a can of cannellini beans and again simmer for about 20 minutes. Check the seasoning and e voila </div>
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It really is scrummy and whilst not the cheapest soup recipe due to the smoked bacon but as I say its more like a stew and is really filling so for 71p it's not too bad. Enjoy</div>
<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-48371268570771169352019-12-08T10:11:00.000-08:002019-12-08T10:11:04.089-08:00Deck the Halls ......<br />
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Well this time of year can be a financial minefield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stores are bursting with goodies and if you
were to believe the adverts, you can’t have a great time without spending
oodles of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I once was hooked in, ship,
line and sinker when it came to Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I could easily spend a couple of thousand on gifts, decorations, food,
drink, entertaining, new outfit, parties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crickey it was a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So can you have a cracking time and still be frugal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of
course you can, because somewhere along the line some of us in this consumerist
age have lost the true meaning of Christmas and with just a little bit we
can have a cracking time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Today we decorated the house, we used to buy a real tree
(hubby wanted to this year but I said no (I know how mean) I’d buy a real wreath
for the door, I would always buy different decorations etc and a few hundred
pounds later…..<o:p></o:p></div>
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This year however it has cost us zero, as we have decorated
the house with all our old decorations, 2 artificial trees (which I bought in
the sale years ago) and an artificial wreath I’ve used year after year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It really doesn’t have to cost much, I have made decorations
in the past, and if you’ve got little ones it’s a great activity on the run up
to Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve embedded a link to
making decorations from recycled materials again no / little cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://diytotry.com/25-christmas-decorations-made-with-recycled-materials/">http://diytotry.com/25-christmas-decorations-made-with-recycled-materials/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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So reuse, recycle, make and mend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your home may not look like the inside of a
glossy magazine but it will be fabulous and it will be you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-2417176998477652582019-12-04T09:15:00.001-08:002019-12-04T09:16:01.525-08:00Getting my craft on<br />
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Well the weather is a little milder today, just a tad, so I
wrapped up warm and ventured into my workshop in the garden, just a fancy
shed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A colleague of hubby sells
homemade bags using old curtain material at craft fairs and sells my cards as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave her a box full for last
weekend and they went down a storm and she asked for some more for this weekend
at another Christmas Craft Fair she’s attending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I make these as a hobby mainly and its
cheaper than buying cards for friends and family, it is also a little bit of
pin money, not a huge amount but pays for my hobby and allows me to buy crafty
stuff.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I really need to tidy up my crafting area just been so busy
making so much on the run up to Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know no excuse ;)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">My messy Crafting area, making my Christmas Stocking Cards</span></div>
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Pricing up my Heart Tree Cards and my Scandinavian Heart Cards </div>
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Gingerbread Man Wooden Tree Decoration</div>
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Felt like work today ;) perish the thought. </div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-43181924243828605962019-12-03T09:46:00.002-08:002019-12-03T09:47:09.449-08:00Budget Booze<br />
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Now to be completely frugal I should be tee total but life
is short and I have to be honest that I do like the odd glass of wine or two on a Saturday evening
whilst watching Strictly on the telly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was also thinking of Christmas and New Year with friends coming over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now my favourite wine costs £9 a bottle (I know very expensive tastes), you can buy a
perfectly nice Chardonnay in Aldi for £4.99 and that is what I usually do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However it is Christmas and I thought I would
treat myself to my favourite as it is smoother and tastes so much more lush but
£9 is a tad steep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However Tesco currently have it on offer at £7 a bottle and
if you buy 6 bottles or more they also have a 25% off deal at the moment so I
did treat myself and got my £9 wine for £5.45 a bottle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Whilst still 46p a bottle more expensive than the very palatable Chardonnay on offer at Aldi the quality is worth it. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It is a treat at a much discounted rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I no longer go mad at Christmas and will
detail my spends in a later blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
will have a great Christmas Lunch with homemade Christmas Cake and homemade
mince pies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not going too mad and
keeping spends in check but we will be well fed and a little merry and so the budget booze I've stocked up on I don't feel too guilty about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-52231594848410143322019-12-01T08:21:00.002-08:002019-12-01T08:21:44.231-08:00Souper Sunday<br />
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Well I don’t know what the weather is like where you are but
up north its blinking freezing and then some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On days like these we yearn for hot comfort food and homemade soup is
the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I make soup most weeks, it really is a great way to
prevent food waste, any vegetables or bits of meat lingering in the fridge and you don’t think you will use up in time before they go off can be chucked into a
stock pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So today I went out and bought a ham joint, I cook one each
week, it’s only £2.99 in Aldi and lasts us for the whole week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So today’s recipes are Leek and Potato Soup
(6 hearty portions) and Pea and Ham soup (4 hearty portions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Total cost of ingredients was £2.49 (I only used about 50p worth of the Ham joint in the pea and ham soup), equating to 25p a portion, for a big bowl of soup which tastes far better than any tin you can buy in the shop, I promise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know there are lots of recipes for both but these are mine
and really yummy<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Leek & Potato</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Into 2 litres of ham stock I put in (I did add in about
500ml of water to make up the 2 litres and crumbled in a chicken stock cube)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 roughly chopped onions (I also added in a few spring
onions as these where looking past their best)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 roughly chopped large leeks<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 roughly chopped baking potatoes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Add a few herbs, salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil
and simmer for about 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As we like our soups smooth I then but it in the blender,
check the seasoning and e voila<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDFfIvQFKrnzZ_3bN4Qz862EzqYPcw_JoVZj5kU44DL4kSdu3EYtzThccaTXEM04Ov5zYo-NaFlvaDwXdr7FyKRfaoovKtVJL1MJ2Cqt43HsvmuFLATvvWNTDggdB8zQsWEro3oExvxw/s1600/Leek+%2526+Pot+Before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDFfIvQFKrnzZ_3bN4Qz862EzqYPcw_JoVZj5kU44DL4kSdu3EYtzThccaTXEM04Ov5zYo-NaFlvaDwXdr7FyKRfaoovKtVJL1MJ2Cqt43HsvmuFLATvvWNTDggdB8zQsWEro3oExvxw/s320/Leek+%2526+Pot+Before.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6D4WKucw-kmbV6I8o-Lp5O0V-rEW66KNam3NFAP-bREJ69X01OVuaPczvY4i20lhBMVbkJXpPVvMwqLj0WNF9utS9LKM_cG7TbXV3OrDDqgXWvZ9_M7mPhLXH96w4wCXqZsOm5VxQzY/s1600/Leek+%2526+Potato+After.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6D4WKucw-kmbV6I8o-Lp5O0V-rEW66KNam3NFAP-bREJ69X01OVuaPczvY4i20lhBMVbkJXpPVvMwqLj0WNF9utS9LKM_cG7TbXV3OrDDqgXWvZ9_M7mPhLXH96w4wCXqZsOm5VxQzY/s320/Leek+%2526+Potato+After.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Pea and Ham soup</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Into 1 litre of ham stock<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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1 roughly chopped onion (again added in a few spring onions)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 roughly chopped potato<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few herbs salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I then put in 500g of frozen peas from the freezer, I don’t
cook these just leave them in the hot stock for a few minutes this ensures that
after you’ve blended you have a luscious green colour and a very pea
flavour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Photo doesn't do it justice due to poor lighting)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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From the ham joint I chop up a couple of slices of ham, I
then check the seasoning and again e voila a fab soup.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In this weather hubby likes to take soup to work to reheat
for his lunch, filling, nutritious and on cold days like this feeds both body and
soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-2089223904432328582019-11-30T01:33:00.002-08:002019-11-30T01:39:16.466-08:00Black Friday - Did you survive?<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image result for black friday" src="data:image/png;base64,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" 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So yesterday was a bit of a shopping frenzy, a recently
adopted annual tradition that we have to thank our American cousins for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stories peppered the papers of people queuing
in what was sub zero temperatures at 3am in the morning waiting for stores to
open so they will hopefully get the gadget or goody they have their eye one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I suppose it is quite frugal in one respect, if there is
something that you need and you can get it at a hugely discounted price then it
makes sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do wonder however how
many in the queue fell into the really "need" category as opposed to the “want” category and
just got caught up in the consumerist madness. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have to say I very nearly embarked on my own online Black
Friday journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like shopping,
and if I have to its normally online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My lovely microwave is in a perilous state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The internal
white enamel paint has flaked away and it has gone rusty underneath; courtesy of advice via google this is a
potential danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can create hot
spots and even fires, yikes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I do use my Microwave daily, I heat up milk in it for Dads daily
lattes and nightly hot chocolate and I also heat up left overs frequently, so
whilst I don’t cook in it per se, it is well used.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now the old me would have just ordered whatever I wanted online
and despite the Microwave working perfectly fine apart from this, it would have
gone into the bin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I perused through
online shops to see their Black Friday deals and I couldn’t find a microwave
that I liked or was willing to pay for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All my white goods are integrated in my kitchen, all hidden away and
those on show have a vintage / retro feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My microwave wasn’t on sale and online it ranges from £70 - £75
depending upon where you shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes tis
a bit steep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So again thanks to google I found a step by step guide on
how to sand down and repaint the interior and I found some specialist paint made for the
inside of microwaves for £10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So instead of £70 I should end up with a “new” Microwave for a tenner, I
can live with that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once I get the paint and I do my little bit of DIY I'll share to see if it works. </div>
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<br />Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-77263516812553420822019-11-29T02:18:00.002-08:002019-11-29T02:18:35.403-08:00Hello - I'm Back !!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmCdPhp7W44tdb8erx96ZFTM5xtRfHS2rRLYb0uGQq0kzpCHbPBA7Oc1cdkwQo66XjLhInD3PGz6CuW1DP-eT5hIHKSG88S86RSXT-AsN8hyxhPF5ZKZuPeD9y9Ils5JjHBXq2oFFwQc/s1600/I%2527m+Back.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="331" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmCdPhp7W44tdb8erx96ZFTM5xtRfHS2rRLYb0uGQq0kzpCHbPBA7Oc1cdkwQo66XjLhInD3PGz6CuW1DP-eT5hIHKSG88S86RSXT-AsN8hyxhPF5ZKZuPeD9y9Ils5JjHBXq2oFFwQc/s320/I%2527m+Back.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So where have I been, now that is a story and a half which I won't bore you with now, but one of the biggest changes is that I have "retired". I say retired as I'm only 47 years old, can you retire that young? But the reality is that I no longer work for "The Man" anymore and I don't get any state benefits, I live off (like a 1950's housewife) my husband and no we didn't win the lottery. <br />
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It wasn't an easy decision but one that was necessitated by family circumstances and my darling dad who has many health issues coming to live with us full time. He's a full time job in the nicest way.<br />
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So with a considerable drop in our income how do we survive? I'm happy to say we are surviving and thriving and we really couldn't have done it without embracing frugal living.<br />
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I budget within an inch of my life, I have lots of time to make home cooked meals daily, so not having to rely upon any expensive convenience food. I make do and I mend and we are debt free.<br />
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So I'm back to sharing what I have learned, the mistakes as well as the triumphs, lots of recipes, frugal tips and bits. I will be throwing in a bit of crafting tomfoolery when I can, along with odds and sods as it comes to mind. Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-49542040400355442182012-07-16T11:07:00.001-07:002012-07-16T11:07:15.512-07:00Devil of a Den<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our Second Reception Room is a bit of a multi-purpose room, I suppose many are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in the main Hubby’s den and had become a bit of a dumping ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is his room to practise his musical instruments (piano, guitar, flute, very talented) and also play his big boy toys (or not so big) Wii, PS3, as we have no children it is in effect his play room </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I spent a good portion of today deep cleaning/ tidying the room so it went from this</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To this</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fPa6EwrzDtav4AG2uQ5-mnicaIRMd7_uYKT7WlN5vvOLSgQGKKKsYKG-qL0k17ntVde4Iwr-Dm98AuIzai5NlwIVbzPh1GLI30FxuK2GwavtPU75Sp4am5yg_0U4D0F5MU3IlNpR4-o/s1600/den6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fPa6EwrzDtav4AG2uQ5-mnicaIRMd7_uYKT7WlN5vvOLSgQGKKKsYKG-qL0k17ntVde4Iwr-Dm98AuIzai5NlwIVbzPh1GLI30FxuK2GwavtPU75Sp4am5yg_0U4D0F5MU3IlNpR4-o/s320/den6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today has flown by quick clean/tidy of the house, stripping bed, laundry and a jaunt into town to collect mum and dad’s 50<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are impossible to buy for but enjoy going away on short breaks with a local coach company who are excellent at providing holidays for pensioners </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and we have all clubbed together (thank fully we are a big family) and bought them a short break away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then popped to the bank to pay in a cheque and then to Sainsbury’s to buy some cake making ingredients in preparation of the great bake on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It really was a day for ducks today hopefully it will be a tad better tomorrow </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-20991176100284754882012-07-15T09:03:00.003-07:002012-07-15T09:03:46.045-07:00Organisation is the Key<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I firmly believe this, if you are organised, know what you have and plan what you will do / need then you wont needlessly overspend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been and continue to be guilty of this as in my bid to conquer the world one cupboard at a time I have unearthed things that due to my disorganization I would have been oblivious to owning and bought more that I didn’t need i.e. the small pharmacy of plasters and cold remedies, as well as enough pens and stationary to rival a local WH Smiths </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am on a weeks leave (yeah) I’ve taken this leave as the Golf Open is coming to town and I can’t face the huge traffic jams the 40,000 plus anticipated daily visitors will create on top of a long commute, so I’m avoiding it all and having a week pottering around the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So my agenda for this week is tackling all those jobs that I don’t normally have time to do </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Monday</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<sup>nd</sup> reception room, this is hubbies den, also clothes drying room on rainy days when I cant get the washing on the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to sort out cupboards and drawers and deep clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the menu</strong> – from the freezer homemade cottage pie and veggies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Tuesday</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kitchen – spring (well summer) clean, emptying all the cupboards/drawers and deep cleaning from top to bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ebay auctions will end so will spend the evening, parceling up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the menu</strong> – left over cottage pie and veggies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wednesday</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upstairs or the guest suite, we live in a dorma bungalow and don’t actually use upstairs with the exception of the small bedroom which I have turned into my hobby / craft room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other larger bedroom and bathroom are saved for guests, so I will be giving it a good clean and make up the bed etc and also sort out my card craft stuff </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus trip to the post office to post ebay items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the Menu</strong> – Pasta Amatriciana</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Thursday</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">House clean – just the normal weekly cleaning of the house from top to bottom, laundry and ironing, all ready for the weekend</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the Menu</strong> – From the freezer homemade chilli and rice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Friday</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to Baking – its my parents 50<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary on Saturday and we are going out for dinner as a family at my friends Italian restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am making the cake (yikes) well lets hope it goes better than my nephew’s birthday lol – so I have set aside this day just to devote to creating the masterpiece and I will also do some card making and make them their anniversary card.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the Menu</strong> - From the freezer homemade veggie curry and naan bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Saturday</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My whole week will be a no spend week as I am safely ensconced at home and whilst I normally cut my own hair, hubby has convinced me to have a little pamper and get my hair professionally cut and coloured for the evenings celebrations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is money from a little win fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hubby gives a <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>1 a week to the church by his school 49 club, half this money goes to St Vincents De Paul who run a daily soup kitchen for the homeless and those on low income and the other half goes to the winner of the Saturday lottery bonus ball – there are several hundred people in this club and hubby won this week <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>170 – we gave half of that winnings <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>85 to St Vincents De Paul as an additional donation and hubby has insisted that I spend the rest on me – incrediably indulgent and took some convincing on his part, but it will be lovely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>On the menu</strong> – ummm mouth is watering at a meal out </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-63476150683194020682012-07-12T11:06:00.001-07:002012-07-12T11:06:14.023-07:00Part Two - Conquering the World .....<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">...one cupboard at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today I decided to tackle my wardrobe, I don’t have masses of clothes but crickey a very messy wardrobe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided to embrace the tried and tested filtering system of if you don’t wear/use it or you don't love it/sentimental then it has to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A large bin bag full of rubbish/ torn/ broken, and one large bag of items to be listed on ebay and another bag straight to the charity shop, whatever doesn’t sell on ebay will also be donated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Order is once again restored</span></div>
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<br /></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-47594216688208372332012-07-03T07:24:00.002-07:002012-07-03T07:24:52.794-07:00On the menu this week<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A little late this week </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well it’s the usual for breakfasts and lunches, however on the teas menu this week</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mushroom Risotto</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tuesday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cottage Pie, cabbage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wednesday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Homemade Veggie Pizza</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thursday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sausage and Bean Hotpot (hubby won’t be home until 9pm so it’s an easy click </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> ping for him at work and me at home)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Veggie Curry and Naan bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saturday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Fish fingers, oven chips and beans (niece is coming for tea, it’s her choice and I </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> can’t be bothered cooking another meal for us)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Going back to Sunday's blog I don’t ever judge, we all walk our own path but I am lucky that I am still in a financial position to be able to buy the best meat I can, however I manage to do it financially and still remain within my frugal constraints due to a change in how much we eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did use to eat meat 7 nights a week, I can’t believe it actually however as part of my journey to consume less as well as save money I now pepper my week with vegetarian meals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This week sees 3 nights wholly vegetarian and one night fish (can you call fish fingers fish lol </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) thus reducing my 7 nights of meat down to 3 and I can honestly say we don’t feel as though we are missing out or even consciously realise the meal is vegetarian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-55990614506986672582012-07-01T07:20:00.000-07:002012-07-01T07:31:38.356-07:00Days without agenda<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love days like these, free days, days when I am committed to no-one but me, a day to do exactly as I please (well kind of).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started the day early, cut hubbies hair, now I am no hairdresser but he is, shall we say, folically challenged ha hum <span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J </span></span>and all it takes is a number 3 over his barnett once every 4 weeks, it looks grand after and saves an easy <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£70 - £80 per year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whilst hubby was in the shower I whipped through the downstairs with the hoover, tidied the house, loaded the dishwasher, made the bed and generally put everything in order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then showered and got ready before we went to mass.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Returning home I decided to do some batch cooking, I made cottage pie and sausage and bean hot pot to stock up the freezer, along with making hubbies couscous salad for this week’s lunches (only 4 this week as he’s taking his kids on a field trip on Friday so I will be making him butties for ease), before tackling the ironing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now all of this may not be everyone’s choice of a free day, but whilst I have been as busy as the busiest bee it has been completely my choice, I could have just curled up with a book – something I plan to do after posting this, it was the choice that is the liberating thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Cottage Pie</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are a million different tweaks to this recipe, this is just mine, I love cottage/shepherd’s pie, its filling, hearty and nourishing, real soul food and considering we seem to be still in winter, is a suitable recipe for this time of year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I start by gently sweating one large chopped onion</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Slowly add 800ml of stock (2 beef stock cubes with boiling water) mixing all the time</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Add seasoning and some mixed herbs, pop the lid on and simmer on a low heat for 30 mins before portioning out into dishes</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now you can make a batch of mash, but I really couldn’t be bothered and decided to top the pies with thinly sliced (half a cm) potatoes, bake in the oven for 25 mins, quick, low fat and easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This batch has made 7 hearty portions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Sausage and Bean Hotpot</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I really enjoy this recipe, again hearty winter food; it’s healthy, nourishing, and low cost and tastes so good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes 2 meals (4 portions) on the ratio of hubby has 3 sausages to my 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All you need to add is a wedge of bread and you have a cracking supper,</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Select 10 sausages, try and make them quality sausages, I would rather eat less meat i.e. reduce the quantity of meat and have several veggie meals a week than reduce the quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mine are finest pork and herb</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKa79zE0tOCt33dporEPggK2KrpP3oyJLaNMgs8H8VE5VJbUj8RQlTyoA38qPWfmjaAMbiHjP5C6zjxvMp4JpWUuuy-AHtBkb-ZIrkivmD7KxW_OXmjbjOoPzBlQR14hsldfcBOvA0nwU/s1600/sausages.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKa79zE0tOCt33dporEPggK2KrpP3oyJLaNMgs8H8VE5VJbUj8RQlTyoA38qPWfmjaAMbiHjP5C6zjxvMp4JpWUuuy-AHtBkb-ZIrkivmD7KxW_OXmjbjOoPzBlQR14hsldfcBOvA0nwU/s320/sausages.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gently colour in a pan with 2 large onions sliced</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjl2hbiBhcNanx4GjnPQidIEZwOZ4tvJ1gfAHsV8Sx4D2u4C8JcsO63InSY9OpgAPUEuNyI8rR-xtREUKGKQvIYZfFtYEFHEVCVIhjb7Bg6eALuYRCVN1dd8DAuok5QPzlJPBeaom-5A/s1600/sausages+and+onions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjl2hbiBhcNanx4GjnPQidIEZwOZ4tvJ1gfAHsV8Sx4D2u4C8JcsO63InSY9OpgAPUEuNyI8rR-xtREUKGKQvIYZfFtYEFHEVCVIhjb7Bg6eALuYRCVN1dd8DAuok5QPzlJPBeaom-5A/s320/sausages+and+onions.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, chicken stock (400ml made with one chicken stock cube), herbs, a good pinch of chilli flakes and seasoning</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjli2gAGnUO7OcAnDGGui0ao3Jc2HtvKwup8Jbgc7XZCMCYpVHKzFGvpCbYt6ZtbTPwebroQEK4Fgm8AnsBGwrbNYUJ7C254skm4w6U9l9_5_xDOieGiTrFid6GoewdLKIvJ6o5YpH-c/s1600/with+chopped+toms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjli2gAGnUO7OcAnDGGui0ao3Jc2HtvKwup8Jbgc7XZCMCYpVHKzFGvpCbYt6ZtbTPwebroQEK4Fgm8AnsBGwrbNYUJ7C254skm4w6U9l9_5_xDOieGiTrFid6GoewdLKIvJ6o5YpH-c/s320/with+chopped+toms.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rinse two tins of Cannellini Beans and add, stir, cook without lid on for 20 mins</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH1ZMyJ80VN_AB4N55GovKME3fww8AsPO0eqdcgFgtffy4HRPk3PyJB0touHJ5mU3z9TJ5Op-Sr7-Q5zI5pNQ2rKDqPRASn7odRUa5Y2pYBqWWEC6qKgAvJegcjn8C6kpPKDlpDX-O3g/s1600/hot+pot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgH1ZMyJ80VN_AB4N55GovKME3fww8AsPO0eqdcgFgtffy4HRPk3PyJB0touHJ5mU3z9TJ5Op-Sr7-Q5zI5pNQ2rKDqPRASn7odRUa5Y2pYBqWWEC6qKgAvJegcjn8C6kpPKDlpDX-O3g/s320/hot+pot.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZA4AtohrYLnppvrGm2DNaWgLGyNwnWJVDw4qkoNKzin-OUhrjPDiTa1ebON-Ff9RX4Fz-qLtJrNQ-5IcCqR6uKmX_6Qn7lhv0u3_vJKgONQE0kvqKclu_tJR8EWKNs5v08n2NVzTtGw/s1600/sausage+and+bean+hot+pot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZA4AtohrYLnppvrGm2DNaWgLGyNwnWJVDw4qkoNKzin-OUhrjPDiTa1ebON-Ff9RX4Fz-qLtJrNQ-5IcCqR6uKmX_6Qn7lhv0u3_vJKgONQE0kvqKclu_tJR8EWKNs5v08n2NVzTtGw/s320/sausage+and+bean+hot+pot.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now time to just curl up with a book, you will note that I don't advertise, no ad ons, no advertisements, if I recommend anything its just a genuine post I am not nor will I ever be paid to recommend anything, I see this as just two friends chatting over coffee <span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J </span></span>I am currently reading Emma Kennedy's The tent, The bucket and me - if you were a working class child of the 1970's it will completely resonate, it is a cracking read, I picked up a copy from the library yesterday and have struggled to put it down, its funny, real and warm, so if you are popping to the library I would recommend picking up a copy - Have a great week CxxFrugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-10951551718223446792012-06-30T11:19:00.001-07:002012-06-30T11:19:43.863-07:00Day of Reckoning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Wc5YqClPqatZZxyiiBaXuVTIwXvwS2gzZxEri4QgXwUgzPs56p2CAxVqkoW36OXJeimk7WsvYg8QRriEapkNIhwGBfINpHaRjPHGtxAsF8Id2qotAexCK1QuU7g_3vpg-dSzmK9tAI/s1600/Journey.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Wc5YqClPqatZZxyiiBaXuVTIwXvwS2gzZxEri4QgXwUgzPs56p2CAxVqkoW36OXJeimk7WsvYg8QRriEapkNIhwGBfINpHaRjPHGtxAsF8Id2qotAexCK1QuU7g_3vpg-dSzmK9tAI/s1600/Journey.bmp" vca="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been 6 months since I started in earnest my frugal journey; I had been a mere dabbler before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kicked the year off with just over <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>18,000 of debt (apart from the mortgage) and a steely determination to not only clear this debt but to make a conscious and permanent change to my consumerist ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a novice and I’ve had good days and bad days but that steely determination has remained, admittedly waivered occasionally but thankfully it still remains)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On 1<sup>st</sup> January 2012 my debt was thus:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Credit Card <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>5294.54</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">DFS<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>678</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Car Loan <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>5000</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Student Loans<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>7240 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Total Debt <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>18212.54</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So 6 months in:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Credit Card <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>0.00 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">DFS<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>0.00 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Car Loan <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>2000</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Student Loans <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>7240 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Current Debt <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£9240</span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My credit card for the first time in years is clear and so it shall remain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have made the final installment on a sofa from DFS and I’ve cleared (by overpaying) <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£3</span>000 off my car loan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I purposely chose a car loan that allowed you to pay early without penalty, the interest rate is slightly higher (put it was only slightly 0.25% higher) and I am determined to clear this loan by September and by paying early (4 years early) will have saved over <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>1200 in interest!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what’s left, well <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£2</span>000 on the car loan and <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>7240 student loan (sorry the Government is last on the list).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The car loan due to it being a higher interest rate takes precedent so I will be throwing everything at that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now whilst I will throw as much as possible, I won’t forget to add to my working capital savings, the little pot of money which will ensure I don’t have to rely upon my credit card when the unexpected happens, i.e. the bed breaks </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span>and I can get off the merry go round of getting into debt whenever a big bill either planned or unplanned drops on the doormat.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reflectiing upon the first 6 months ..... I have survived, I haven’t bought any new clothes; apart from my 40<sup>th</sup> birthday (and most of that was courtesy of Tesco clubcard vouchers) we haven’t eaten out; there has been no weekends away, no expensive day trips; I haven’t shopped for anything that hasn’t been an absolute necessity, always asking the same question whenever I consider a purchase do I want it or do I need it – if it falls in the former it remains in the shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have made do and mend and I have fallen back in love with baking, we have eaten incredibly well whilst reducing the grocery bill by 2/3rds, we have enjoyed such simple pleasures, walk on the beach, browsing for a new book in the library, watching an old movie curled up on the sofa, gardening and crafts and I honestly feel richer for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> So its more than I've survived the past 6 months I honestly think its been one of the most liberating experiences of my life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here’s to the next 6 months, I hope to continue to learn and I thank the other frugal bloggers and you my dear followers for your inspiration and ideas, as I continue my journey to financial freedom – Happy Days </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-67884466222801446182012-06-17T10:55:00.001-07:002012-06-17T10:55:39.300-07:00Where did it go?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a usual question on a Sunday evening, where did it go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It, of course, being the weekend, which seems to have disappeared in a haze of hospital visiting, cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing, shopping and entertaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today being Father’s Day mum and dad came for the day, they have just left and I am finally settling down at 6.30pm zapped of energy, trying the muster up the enthusiasm to get organized for the week ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I need a weekend to recover from my weekends </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So with a full and busy work week ahead I need to get busy this evening to ensure we are ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just starting hubby’s Couscous to ensure he has his lunches for each day, it’s a pain on a Sunday evening but making batch lunches saves a headache through the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then checking the freezer and cupboards to ensure I have all our teas sorted for the week:</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Weekly Menu</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Breakfasts </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hubby - Weetabix, skimmed milk and Cranberry juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me – Porridge and Coffee</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lunches</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hubby- Couscous Salad, 2 apples, 2 bananas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Me – Soup and granary bread</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dinners</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Chilli Con Carne* and Rice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tuesday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pea and Ham soup* and bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wednesday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pasta Amatriciana*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thursday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Scrambled egg on Toast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Curry* and Naan Bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saturday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Homemade Pizza</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Steak pie*, veg </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*All homemade but courtesy of batch cooking and the freezer, ensuring we have nourishing, homemade but quick to prepare evening meals </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-21718715724245149252012-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:002012-06-15T11:47:53.616-07:00Banking, Beds and Bartering<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I wholly agree with most sound financial advice in that it is madness to have savings while you are in debt, you should throw everything at your debts to clear them, as paying interest is quite literally throwing your money away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However it is important to plan and bank some working capital, this is money put aside for big annual bills as well as a contingency fund to pay for the unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we had to pay for the unexpected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Wednesday I broke our bed, now I say I broke, obviously this is our marital bed which gets equal amount of usage plus a doggy who normally sleeps at the bottom, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the fact is the bed broke but as it was on my side of the bed, it has been agreed I broke it </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A comfortable bed is an absolute necessity in my world and we decided to take the opportunity to upgrade from a king size bed to a super king size bed (divan with a quality pocket sprung mattress).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now it pays to do your homework, I checked out all the main bed company sites, plus wholesalers and for a quality super king with a good mattress we were looking at around <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>1200 yikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On checking out the deals on Bensons for Beds I found a bed in the “sale” (I am always dubious about so called sales) for <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>799.99 which seemed perfect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On checking the small print they charge <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>39.99 for delivery, some companies do offer free delivery but again I always believe nothing in this life is free and they just add that cost onto the goods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example Dreams offer free delivery but the nearest bed for spec / quality that I could find was <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>400 more expensive so they can keep their free delivery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we were anticipating paying <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>840 inclusive for the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We decided to pop along to our nearest showroom to test the bed out to make sure it was right for us and the price in store was <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>840.99 plus delivery on top so <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>880.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where it pays to do your homework, when I pointed out the online price the sales assistant immediately said they would honour that (too right) now down to this delivery charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am married to a husband who believes there is always a deal to be done and a haggle is to be had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say we left the showroom with a bed, to be delivered in 12 days with a mattress protector and 4 pillows for <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>800 all in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best of all it wasn’t put on the credit card (like days of old) and sinking us ever further in debt, it was paid for in cash from our working capital fund.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That will ensure I sleep like a baby </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-45645735215204200292012-06-14T12:09:00.000-07:002012-06-14T12:09:00.639-07:00Crafty Moments<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am still trying to get back to normal (well as normal as I ever am) however still not quite back to my usual organised self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a long day at work, got home and made tea (on tonights menu was pasta amatriciana homemade sauce from the freezer heated through and just had to cook some pasta, easy peasy </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) The realisation dawned that tomorrow is the last posting day to ensure that hubbys dad would receive his fathers day card on time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally I look forward to my card making sessions but this was literally grabbing a few crafty moments to quickly make his card.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whilst I was there I quickly made a card for hubby from DD our Cavachon – I know sad but it makes us happy cxx </span></div>
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<br /></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-29562723679239343942012-06-12T12:52:00.001-07:002012-06-12T12:52:59.197-07:00Not the C word again!First of all thank you so much for your kind messages, they meant a lot xx<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now regarding the C word - Yep I know I should be banned lol but you can’t say I didn’t warn you </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> L</span>ast night I was reviewing my gift spreadsheet, this is the spreadsheet where I record the stock inventory of my gift cupboard and I list all the people I need to buy for and try and match gift to person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also list what I need to buy or make, obviously as frugally as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my favourite gifts to give are hampers (not just for Christmas) which can cost anything from <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>5 upwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sum of their parts are far less than the final gift and I will share with you one of my tried and tested ones, my girls night in survival kit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The great thing about this one is that you can tailor it for any age or interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one I will be doing for my sister will contain the following</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A <strong>magazine</strong> – now you can buy one or if you have a friend or colleague who does, you can recycle </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> so this can cost you anything from zero to about <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£3.99.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However for example woman magazine is £1.80 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A <strong>Bottle </strong>– again depends on your budget and the favourite tipple of your recipient for my sister I will put in a can of the made up Gin and Tonics that the supermarkets do which at Tesco’s are currently <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>1 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chocolate – large bar of favourite chocolate currently on sale <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£1</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">DVD – you can either recycle, check out poundland and home bargains – I have picked up sex and the city 2 for £2.99 – sister saw the first and loved it but never got around to seeing the sequel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now as I say you can spend as little or as much as you want, if I had found a DVD at poundland this would have been well under a fiver, rather than £6.79.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another hamper could contain some bubble bath, a face pack, a candle, magazine and chocolate and again you can get it in for around the £5 mark dependent upon where you shop etc <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can either put these in a pretty box, basket or gift bag (I keep all packaging and recycle) and as I say the total effect looks far more expensive than the sum of its parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also attach a label with the following message – my feeble attempt at poetry, no copyright so please feel free to plagiarise </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">"In this parcel you will find</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some essential goodies to ease soul and mind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you need to be pampered, need time to simply be </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dive into your girls night in survival kit, with lots of love from me xxx "</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I get towards Christmas and I start making up my hampers and I will take lots of photos to share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797294439298826435.post-9903630920827824842012-06-11T09:16:00.000-07:002012-06-11T09:16:27.280-07:00AWOL<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Apologies that I have been missing, we have had a bit of a family emergency which has meant that every waking hour I have either been working or sitting by my brother’s bedside in intensive care, fitting in disjointed sleep and eating when I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully he has now been moved to a normal ward and whilst he has a long road ahead and predicted to be in hospital another 6 months, he is, thank the lord, on the road to recovery and life for me is starting to return to something slightly resembling normality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When life throws a curve ball of this magnitude, best intentions and plans go out of the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing that frugality always needs is time, time to plan, time to be organized, time to do / make do rather than buy and sadly time has been an absolute luxury that for the past 4 weeks I simply haven’t had and time is something that I doubt I will ever take for granted again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I adore my brother and while he fought for his life, my time was the only thing I could give him, my time to hold his hand, my time to make sure he was never left alone, I would have never forgiven myself if the worst was to happen and he was alone, the very least I could do in the long hours when I felt helpless was just to be there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So the remainder of May /beginning of June was not frugal, the daily <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">£</span>3 car parking charges and the extra petrol, coupled with the grab and go easy meals, from grabbing sandwiches on the go to grabbing a ready meal/ takeaway to nourish the body have taken their financial toll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say also that I feel like crap, partly I’m sure due to lack of sleep and I am just getting my body clock on an even keel again, but huge part to not eating <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>properly, relying on expensive, additive ridden, processed food, my body has been craving my homemade cooking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I made a batch of homemade pea and ham soup which is on the menu for tonight’s tea and I know will taste like absolute heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to press the pause button on my frugal life but oh so glad for oh so many reasons that I can now press the play button again </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>Frugal Up Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13795067689668171984noreply@blogger.com2