The Diary of a Frugal Family | Living a Fabulously Frugal Family Life

Eight ways to use up Mashed Potato…

44804Leave a CommentEight+ways+to+use+up+Mashed+Potato...2026-02-09+10%3A36%3A19Cassandra February 9, 2026 By Cassandra
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I've got another post to share today from my Love your Leftovers series of posts and this week, it's all about how to use up mashed potatoes!I don't know what it is about mash but I seem to have an inability to guesstimate and actually make the right amount of mashed potato whenever I make it. In the past, I've under-estimated how much we would eat and made too little so now I tend to go too far the other way but I'm not entirely mad about it because I've found so many ways to make the post of any that we have leftover. Mashed potato is so versatile, so budget friendly and so easy … [Read more...]

Five ways a VPN can make YOUR family life easier….

45172Leave a Comment2026-02-08+10%3A42%3A45Cassandra February 8, 2026 By Cassandra
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I’ll be honest, for a long time I thought VPNs were one of those things that only people who work in IT or wear headsets for a living needed. It sounded complicated, a bit intimidating, and definitely not aimed at normal family life. But it turns out, I was wrong. A VPN is actually one of those quiet, behind-the-scenes things that just makes being online a bit easier and a bit safer, especially when you’ve got kids, multiple devices and everyone doing different things at the same time. I have used VPN mobile for years now and have only ever used a company called Surfshark but … [Read more...]

How Family Safaris Help Children Learn About Nature and Conservation….

45169Leave a Comment2026-02-08+10%3A02%3A15Cassandra February 8, 2026 By Cassandra
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There’s something genuinely magical about the first time a child sees a wild animal properly wild. Not behind glass. Not in an enclosure. Just out there, living its life. Of course there’s excitement in spotting a lion or an elephant, but what really lingers are the quieter moments. Watching how animals behave when no one’s directing them. Beginning to notice how everything fits together. Realising, maybe for the first time, that humans are only one small part of a much bigger world. It’s something no textbook can quite capture.This is where Tanzania safaris really shine. From that very … [Read more...]

Small Win: Plan tomorrow’s lunch today….

44844Leave a Comment2026-02-05+11%3A21%3A12Cassandra February 5, 2026 By Cassandra
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I’m really enjoying putting this Small Wins series together because it’s all about those tiny habits that make life feel easier without adding anything overwhelming to your week. These first few months of the year can feel long and a bit draining, so gentle, realistic wins feel like exactly what we all need right now. 😀 And if you’re already doing this week’s small win anyway, then you get extra brownie points and can absolutely feel free to skip this one and move on. Sometimes it’s nice to realise you’re already ahead!This week’s small win is one of the simplest of the whole … [Read more...]

What’s a Realistic Food Budget in 2026?

44936Leave a Comment2026-02-03+13%3A26%3A03Cassandra February 3, 2026 By Cassandra
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It’s around this time of year when lots of us start thinking about our food budgets again.I'd much rather review our food spending in February because just getting through to Payday in January is an achievement in itself for us with the combination of an early December pay and the inevitable overspend of Christmas. So for me, February is that lovely reset month where everything settles back into a routine which makes it the perfect time to get a clear picture of what we’re actually spending on food because it’s so easy for the weekly shop to creep up without us even … [Read more...]

Eight ways to use up Roast Potatoes…

44800Leave a CommentEight+ways+to+use+up+Roast+Potatoes...2026-02-02+10%3A24%3A27Cassandra February 2, 2026 By Cassandra
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I'm continuing my Love your Leftovers series with today's post all about how to use up those leftover roast potatoes!Leftover roasties are already full of flavour, already crispy on the edges and they’re just what you need to create a whole new meal with hardly any effort at all. Whether they’re left over from a big Sunday dinner or you’ve accidentally made enough to feed a small village (we’ve all done it 😂), leftover roasties are pure gold and I guarantee you can transform them into so many other meals! Here's some of my favourite ways to make the most of them… 😊 1. … [Read more...]