Every week I share five small things we’ve done to save a bit of money, make life easier or help us spend more intentionally.

None of them are usually huge on their own, but that’s kind of the point. Those small choices add up over time and give us more room for the things that really matter — whether that’s days out, holidays, home projects, treats we’ll actually enjoy or just a bit more breathing space in the budget.

Five Frugal Things I’ve done this week

After almost three weeks off work and a very busy few weeks of holidays, days out and generally being out of our normal routine, this week has been all about getting back to normal.

I shared recently that our budget had gone a bit out of the window over the last month and that we were ready to get back on track. We had absolutely no regrets about spending more while we were having fun, but we also didn’t want those more expensive habits to become our everyday normal.

So this week has been less about making huge savings and more about getting organised again, using what we already have and making some sensible choices.

1. We got properly back into meal planning

The first thing we did before going food shopping was have a proper look at what we already had in the house.

We went through the cupboards, fridge and freezer and then planned as many meals as we could around what was already there. There was actually quite a lot that we could incorporate into this week’s meals, which meant we needed less from the supermarket and hopefully nothing that’s been sitting around for a while will go to waste.

We also got our meal plan board back out and filled that in for the week, which feels like a very definite sign that normal life has resumed. 😂

After the amount of times our meal plan was abandoned over the last month in favour of eating out, something quick or yet another round of picky bits, I’m quite looking forward to getting back into the routine of knowing what we’re having every day.

I’ll share a photo of this week’s meal plan board because there’s nothing particularly exciting about it, but that’s kind of the point. It’s realistic, uses plenty of things we already had and should make this week much cheaper than some of our recent ones.

2. I got myself organised before going back to work

Wednesday was my last day off after almost three weeks away from work, so I deliberately used some of it to get myself organised rather than leaving everything until the last minute.

I checked how much petrol I had and realised I needed to fill up, so I used the app I normally use to find the cheapest petrol in our area rather than just stopping at whichever petrol station was most convenient.

I also sorted my frozen fruit into portions so they’re ready for my breakfasts. I can just get one out on a night and have it with yoghurt the next morning, which makes life much easier when I’m getting ready for work and means I’m less likely to end up buying something because I haven’t organised breakfast.

I ate something similar on holiday for breakfast and enjoyed a little scoop of granola and seeds with it so I portioned up a small amount of some really nice low sugar granola into some sprinkle sized portions. 

All our holiday clothes were washed and put away and I made sure the house was nice and tidy after all our time away too. It meant that when I started back at work yesterday, I could just crack on rather than feeling like I had three weeks of life admin waiting for me.

None of that saved a fortune on its own, but being organised is probably one of the things that saves us the most money without us even really noticing it. Convenience gets expensive very quickly when we’re busy and haven’t planned ahead.

3. I checked on our holiday cashback

I had a quick check through the cashback from some of our recent holiday spending to make sure everything had tracked as it should.

Our TUI cashback hadn’t updated, so rather than forgetting about it and potentially missing out, I put a query through to get it looked at.

Cashback can sometimes take a while to become payable, so I don’t count it as saved money until it’s actually there, but I do try to keep an eye on anything I’m expecting. There’s not much point going through a cashback site in the first place if I don’t notice when something hasn’t tracked properly.

It only took a few minutes to check and submit the query, so hopefully that’s some money that will find its way back to us eventually.

4. I resisted the urge to fill my last few days off work with plans

It was quite tempting when we got home to think that I still had a few days off work so I should make plans and do something with them. Then I realised we’d done more than enough over the last couple of weeks and actually, staying home and doing very little sounded pretty perfect. 😁

So I mostly just pottered around at home, unpacked, got the washing done and tackled a few of those little jobs around the house that have been sitting on my list for ages. I even finally painted the picture rail in the dining room, which I’ve been meaning to do for far too long.

After such a busy few weeks, it was actually lovely just being at home and getting things done. We didn’t need another day out or another meal somewhere just because I wasn’t at work, and I went back yesterday feeling much more organised because I’d given myself those couple of days to get everything straight.

5. We had a proper look at our budget for the rest of the year

We also sat down and had a really good look at our budget this week because it’s definitely gone a bit mad over the summer.

We’re absolutely OK with that because we’ve had a great summer and we’ve chosen to spend more on holidays, days out and having fun. Life is too short to stick rigidly to a budget all the time just for the sake of it, and I don’t regret the money we’ve spent at all.

But we’re ready for things to settle down a bit now. We want to get back to being more intentional about what we’re spending and, dare I say it in August, start getting ourselves ready for Christmas. 😉

This will be our first Christmas in our new home and we’re both ridiculously excited about it. We actually bought a 10-foot Christmas tree just after Christmas last year, before we’d even moved into the house. One of the first things my partner said when he saw the high ceiling in the living room was how good a huge Christmas tree would look in there, so clearly it was an essential purchase. 🎄

Last Christmas wasn’t exactly miserable, but I wasn’t well and I definitely wasn’t myself, so this Christmas feels a little more important than usual to us. I want us to really enjoy the build-up as well as Christmas itself, and getting organised with the money side of things now means we can hopefully do exactly that without everything costing a fortune at the last minute.

So that’s where we’re at this week. Summer has been brilliant, the budget has had a lovely time spending itself and now it’s time to get back to normal – with one eye already on that ridiculously huge Christmas tree waiting to make its debut. 😂

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