Five frugal things I’ve done this week:
1. You might have read my post yesterday about our weekend of family fun in Manchester last weekend and if you did then I’m sure you’re wondering why on earth I’m referring to out not-so-frugal annual trip in my five frugal things post. It’s actually because, whilst our trip was far from frugal because of the things we did while we were away, it was more frugal than you might think all things considered. Firstly, we saved before we went so we could do everything we knew the kids would want to do and then on the morning we went, we withdrew the cash so we didn’t need to use our debit cards to pay for anything. Cash is so much easier to keep track of when you’re on your jollies (and anytime actually) and I also think that handing over actual cash rather than paying on a card makes you think more about what you’re buying. So, even though the weekend wasn’t particularly cheap, it was budgeted for and we stayed within our budget.
2. It’s not been great weather this week but yesterday was lovely and we actually felt like it was Summer for the first time for a week. Master Frugal suggested we went to the beach for ice creams but I said no because (a) I couldn’t be bothered and I knew the promenade would be packed as it always is when the sun comes out, (b) a round of ice-creams is almost £10 and (c) I’d not long been home from Tescos where I’d bought a load of fruit reduced to make some fruit smoothies. As a compromise, I decided to try making some refreshing slushies instead.
Turns out that watermelon blended with ice makes a super healthy and extremely delicious slushie which is extremely refreshing and perfect for warm Summer nights in the garden!
Top Tip – a blueberry slushie is neither refreshing nor tasty (unless you enjoy bitter tasting purple slush)!
3. I’min the middle of a bit of a batch cooking session so I’ve just made a a huge batch of mince and onion in my slow cooker using up some mince that I bought reduced at the shop last night. I’ve made a family sized cottage pie for tea tomorrow night already and I’m planning to make some small cottage pies to pop in the freezer for homemade ready meals along with a pie or two as well if I have enough left. I think I’m going to make up a batch of macaroni cheese sauce in the morning too and some chicken dump bags.
It’s times like this when I’m glad I have two slow cookers!
4. When Miss Frugal’s friend came for tea I served up a party tea. Or at least I told them it was a party tea, really I was just using up the random food that seems to have accumulated in the freezer. There were 3 fishfingers, five garlic bread slices, a couple of waffles and some random chicken dippers and nuggets among other things. I made it more appealing by making it a back-to-front tea and letting them have the last few choc-ices while the rest of the randomness was cooking.
5. Miss Frugal has had her braces fitted this week and although she was quite excited to have them done, I’m not sure she’s a fan right now as her mouth has been aching a bit since she’s had it done. She’s not wanting to eat much right now but one thing she is loving is her fruit smoothies. I thought I’d try coconut water as an alternative base for her smoothies but I was a bit shocked at how expensive it was when I was shopping so I decided not to bother. Then I found it in the ethnic foods aisle for around half the price which seems ridiculous but I got 2 cans for £1 as opposed to buying a 1 litre carton for £3.49 from the chiller section!
Good job I bought them cheap as it turns out we’re not fans of coconut water after all, even in a smoothie.
What frugal or thrifty things have you done this week?
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