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 like to have a paper calendar near me when I’m at work so I can see what and when I’m working and what appointments and plans I have so I can see them at a glance and be as organised as I possibly can be. I don’t buy a calendar though, I have a DIY version that I use and make work for me much better.
I basically Google ‘Pretty printable calendar monthly’ and print out a year’s worth of pages. I then stick two months up next to my desk so I literally just have to look up to see my plans.
The rest of the year is on a clipboard just next to my desk so I can still add things to it and see what I have on easily enough if I look through the clipboard pages. At the end of every month, I take the month that’s ending down, pop it at the back of my clipboard and replace it with the next month.
This is the calendar printable that I used this year which I chose because it’s pretty and has a little notes section at the bottom which is really handy.
2) We had a bit of a disastrous Christmas thanks to a positive COVID test for Miss Frugal on Christmas Eve which meant that she stayed where she was and I just dropped off her presents on the doorstep in the morning (which we opened via Facetime even though she had no energy at all bless her) and then her Christmas lunch later on in the day. It was the most pathetic looking Christmas lunch ever though, served in foil containers with the addition of a tub of Bisto Gravy Granules and some crackers for her and her boyfriend.
She messaged me partway through the meal to ask If we could have a do-over Christmas when she was feeling better so last weekend that’s exactly what we did. This means that this week’s meal plan has been very leftovers focussed with the star of the show being Bubble and Squeak again. It’s the BEST way to use up any leftover mash and goes great for lunch with a cheeky poached egg on top or for a main meal with some sliced meats or whatever else you have in that needs using up.
3) I made the loveliest carrot and parsnip soup this week which did me a couple of lunches with enough leftover to freeze some. It wasn’t a fancy soup with just a few ingredients but it tasted amazing and took no time at all to put together!
The carrots and parsnips were on offer so it probably cost less than 10p a portion which made it taste even nicer if you ask me.
4) I had some bananas that needed using up and as tempted as I was to make some Banana and Baileys Bread, I decided to go for a healthier option and made them into a smoothie with a handful of black cherries from the freezer, some almond milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
I was really tempted to make some yummy banana bread but went with the healthy option of a smoothie which I drank after a quick 20-minute blast on my exercise bike. I have a drawer in the freezer with frozen fruit in for smoothies because I’m trying to have a smoothie for breakfast every day.
No banana is going to waste in this house. 😂
5) I’ve got a batch of homemade tomato sauce bubbling away downstairs which I’m making to pop in the freezer in batches.
I use this for so many different dishes in my meal planning so having a stock of it in the freezer really helps me!
Come over and join our fab Facebook group – Spend Less, Live Better! We’ve hit 35,000 members in the group now so it’s a great place to be and I’ve got Miss Frugal in there helping me out now.
As always, we’d love you to join in with us by sharing anything you’ve done that’s been thrifty or frugal from your week – whether it’s an Instagram picture (#5frugalthings), a blog post or even a video. Just add your link to the Frugal Friday linky at the bottom of this post.
You’re more than welcome to copy and paste the badge above but it would be even better if you could let your readers know that you’re linking up with the five frugal things linky by adding a little line to the bottom of your post like this one:
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
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