Freebies, Frugal Measures and Frugal Fails 18

This post there hasn't been a lot to report lately, as I've been working quite a lot and have not had much time for being as frugal as possible, although I guess working does help, as I don't have the time to go out and spend money either for the most part. Here are the frugal measures and fails that have occurred recently:

Freebies and Frugal Measures

1) I used £7 and £5 off a £50 spend vouchers at the supermarket for my first two grocery shops of the month.  They were both pretty big shops, mainly so that we'd have plenty of food in the house for when I got busy at the CS, to provide lots of options for quickish meals when I got in.

2) OH repaired the worst of the rotten decking in the garden to help make it last another couple of years or so and prevent either of us falling through it. He's also done a couple of other niggly outstanding jobs around the house recently, which is good.

3) OH bought me some new trainers for my birthday, plus another item from my current wish list, which meant that a couple more things were crossed off it without my having to spend anything from my budget. I asked for quite an inexpensive pair of trainers, so I got a few other small gifts too which was, lovely.

4) I managed to buy LB some cans of Arizona Iced Tea at Lidl for 79p each, that she had asked for for Xmas. We paid over £2 for one of these when we went to the cinema the other week.

5) One pack of Cherry Tomato seeds from a gifted magazine subscription.

6) I've sold quite a few items on eBay in the last month, which has provided a bit of extra income.  Some, of course, went on fees and postage costs, but some is also straight profit and adds to the coffers. I'm happy to sell as much as I can at the moment, as it declutters the stock from the house. I'm no longer buying any new stock in a concerted effort to reduce the stock I already hold.


Frugal Fails

1) I forgot to cancel a class at the gym one Sunday when I was working and incurred a £3 fine, which really annoyed me.

2) I didn't take enough bags to the supermarket on a few occasions and had to spend money for a strong bag and three 10p plastic bags to carry shopping home, which I almost never do normally.  Another very annoying oversight, that I'm conveniently blaming on being so busy.

3) A virtually new pair of brogues that I bought a couple of years ago, but have hardly worn, had to be donated to a CS. After trying to wear them for work one day, they hurt my feet so badly, that I had to take them off and borrow some boots from the shop. Said boots felt so comfortable by comparison, I was almost tempted to buy them, but they were just so ugly. Anyway, the offending shoes just aren't worth keeping if I can't wear them for work, so away they go to a new home. My feet incidentally were still recovering two days later. Not good.

4) I treated myself to a new silver ring on eBay, but when it came it was a touch small and not comfortable to wear.  I was a bit disappointed, but I'm keeping it to see if after I lose some more weight it might fit better.