Every week I share five frugal things that I’ve done during that week just to show you that the small things you do all add up to a great frugal lifestyle where you can learn to live a fabulously frugal life.
Hey! 👐
1) I renewed my membership to Costco a couple of months ago after letting it lapse during COVID. I can’t remember if I didn’t renew because it was closed or because I forgot but either way, it ran out and I never got around to renewing it until this Summer.
I did share a post about my experience of Costco shortly after I first joined listing all the benefits of joining but I missed out on one key saving that I only realised when I rejoined this year – the fuel is so much cheaper than anywhere else!!!!
My nearest Costco is about 30 miles up the road but it is quite close to where I work and I often pop up to the Metrocentre or Ikea if I need something so I’ve just been making sure that I time my visits to when I need petrol and filling right up when I’m there. I also have an old petrol container that I fill up when I go so I get as much as I can at a lower price.
Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t realise how much cheaper it was – right now, it’s between 7 and 11p per litre cheaper than the prices in the closest petrol stations to where I live which represents a big saving when filling up a full tank and a spare container.
2) I went for a bra fitting at M&S to make sure I was spending my money on well-fitting bras. As someone who is quite large in that area, I’ve struggled to find a bra that fits comfortably and have never enjoyed shopping for bras, more often than not just buying the first one that looks like it fits me.
All of the weight I’ve lost recently seems to have come off my boobs so the bras I do have were gaping at the edges of the cup and I felt confident enough for the first time in a long time to go get measured so off I popped to my local M&S for some new better-fitting underwear.
I didn’t hate the experience although it’s not on my want to do again soon list if I’m honest but I did learn what size I am and how you should be wearing your bra. Now I didn’t end up buying a bra from M&S because even though they’ve shrunk, they’re still large and all the bras in my size felt like old women’s bras. Instead, I went to where I bought my last lot of bras and ordered three new ones in my new smaller size.
I bet you can’t guess where I buy my bras from!
I buy them from Ann Summers who do a surprising (well I was surprised) range of day-to-day underwear that’s perfect for everyone from smaller-sized busts to plus-size curvier ladies. They’re super affordable and come in all sorts of colours so whether you want to be practical or playful, they’ve got what you need.
I’m fully aware I sound like a marketing campaign and this definitely isn’t sponsored or anything, I just love that the range makes me feel good even wearing larger sizes and I don’t have to spend a fortune to get a selection. I think the ones I just bought were £17 each and they’re so pretty and comfy that I wanted to share.
And the moral of this story is that you don’t have to buy your bras from M&S just because they measured you – go get measured and if they have something you love at a price you’re happy with then buy it but if not, don’t settle for the first thing that fits like I always did – go elsewhere and find something you do love.
(Also, I’m trying to link to the Ann Summers website but I keep getting an error to say it won’t load but I can see them on Amazon here if you want to have a look (aff) they work out to £19 on Amazon including delivery so I would keep trying the Ann Summers website to save a couple of pounds. If I remember then I’ll come back and update the link when I can get on the site though)
3) You know how much I love a good charity shop bargain, right?
Well, I just bought what looks like a brand new, never used Dune handbag for £3.49 which I thought was a fab little bargain as it’s super cute and definitely my style. When I got home, I had a quick Google and not only did it cost £70 to buy new, but it was also included on a couple of fashion lists when it was released as one of the best Spring trend bags to have in your collection.
It also still had the shop security tag on too which I’m hoping means that the shop assistant just forgot to take it off rather than the alternative that my handbag was obtained illegally before it came home with me. It just snipped off with a pair of scissors though so we’re moving on swiftly from that. 😂
4) Whilst we’re on the subject of pre-loved buys – did you see my post on Tuesday about my big buy?
I’ll not go into too much detail as you can read all about it if you want to pop over but essentially, I got the best deal ever on a tent!
5) I got some rough-looking bananas in a Too Good To Go Magic bag so I decided to make banana bread! I’ve made banana bread loads over the years (hasn’t everyone after the lockdown banana bread craze) but I usually try and go all fancy and add something extra in but this time I went back to basics and made plain old banana bread and it was AMAZING! I was considering sharing the recipe here but I think the world has enough banana bread recipes at this point. Here’s my fancy schmancy ones if you fancy a look though:
Banana bread with Cinnamon Drizzle | Banana bread with Baileys | Nutella banana bread | Pistachio banana bread
Also, if you’re not sure what a Too Good To Go Magic bag is then you’re absolutely missing out by the way! I’ve shared more here in the past and I’d definitely recommend having a look!
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