A Few Frugalities

Being frugal hasn't exactly been top of my agenda so far this year, as I explained in my last post. However, having put the brakes on any spending, I've finally gone back to being a little more frugal lately in a few areas.  So here's a few frugal things that I've been doing to save some money.

1  I had an afternoon of baking and making some desserts, using up a creme caramel mix  and a pastry mix I bought very inexpensively from Approved Foods.  I made us 24 mince pies/lemon curd tarts/jam tarts which was also great for using up the last of the mincemeat left from Christmas. (I always buy too large a jar - Note to self:  Buy a smaller jar next year!)  There's still some pastry left which I'm thinking of turning into a quiche later in the week to use up some eggs in the fridge.  With the creme caramel mix I didn't use the caramel, as I don't like it, so just made it into egg custard type desserts using a pint of milk. These cost half as much to make as buying similar pre-made desserts would cost and are very popular in our household.  Needless to say, I don't expect them to last long.

2  Whilst picking up a few groceries from ASDA, I found a couple of thermal tops in their half price sale rail.  Two long sleeved thermal tees from my wishlist replaced at a cost of only £4 each.  Result.

3  A friend emailed me to say she'd recently had an operation.  I promised to put a card and a few bits in the post for her in an attempt to aide her recovery and managed to find one I had bought quite a while back in a very reasonably priced and good quality box of mixed occasion cards from the Book People.  This saved me the hassle and expense of going out to the shops to  buy one.

4  I once again managed to acquire free tickets to the Ideal Home Show at Olympia via Moneysupermarket.com, which will mean an inexpensive day out for a friend and I later this month.

5  I received a very nice 98% natural Balance Me tinted lip balm (RRP £12) for just £2 when I purchased Glamour magazine this month.  I do quite like this fashion magazine. It's rare for me to actually purchase a magazine, but I treated myself and my post op friend to one (she got a body wash from the same brand with hers).  Sometimes magazines are worth buying for the free gifts.