Frugal Living this week May 25

I am trying hard to think if I have managed to make any frugal living deals this week and I must be honest, it’s hard. I know I always have at the back of my mind, that I must stay within my budget, and not make any foolish money decisions.

 

May I just point out that I don’t think that frugal living means that you starve yourself or that you don’t buy anything others would consider to be nice. So now that I’ve set the record straight, I’d love to share some of the things I did this week that has some element of frugal living involved.

Makeup

Can I share a secret? We are not really makeup fans. Yes, you read that right! We pride ourselves on being naturally beautiful. LOL. Anyway, this week we had a photoshoot and filming session booked. When we arrived at the location (a large shopping mall), we noticed several makeup stands and thought right away that we could get a free makeover from the MAC counter (I once bought a MAC face powder in New York and they matched my skin and showed me what was the right shade for me) to hide our oily skin.

Well, the MAC counter representative told us that we would have to book an appointment in order to get it done. Not wanting to put off any longer, we declined and went over to the Lancome counter. We told the attendant that we wished to have a natural look makeover, just to hide any blemishes and oily skin.

 The Before…

And the after…

We felt really good, as, not only did she match the products to our skin tone, but she also was patient with us in explaining each step and the use of each product. Although she did have to rush a bit (doing both of our faces in the time it should take to do one), we were pleased with the end result.

I would suggest this if you have a special day coming up, and have the time to stop at one of these stations as the service is free and you get good service from the attendant who is hoping you will buy the products they’re selling.

Meeting new friends

On the set of the filming, we met quite a few people who asked us about our blog and what we blog about. There were some big wigs there too and when we spoke about frugal living, we were surprised by the number of people who said that, despite their salaries, they enjoyed shopping in charity/thrift shops especially for clothes.

One even told us that since she found out where some celebrities donate their used clothes to, she has frequented those charity shops, bought clothes, and then resell them on eBay as the sizes are usually too tiny for the average woman! There’s a top tip for you!

 

Charity cakes

This week, a dear friend asked me to make some cupcakes for a charity sale they were having. I love supporting charities as I always believe in being a good neighbour. Afterall, we never know when we will need to be helped by a charity.

I was able to use the Cake Angels icing I got as part of my goody bag at the recent Blogon conference. The quality was quite rich and the chocolate and lemon flavours were amazing.

Here’s another top tip for you: when you are finished decorating a cake and you have bits of fondant icing left after decorating a cake, cut out and shape little letters and flowers that you can use later on other cakes. As long as you leave them to dry, they can be stored in an airtight container and can last for quite long. That way, I always have letters to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY when I need it for a cake.

Sharing a taxi

We also shared a taxi with a lady this week. Although we hadn’t met before, we introduced ourselves and found out that we were heading in the same direction. We ended up paying £4 each, rather than £12 each.

A positive was that we also got to learn about each other, our families, and our values. We learnt about someone else’s culture and religion and it was, indeed a wonderful occasion that we don’t always get to experience.

And a thought for the little ones

I’ve been reading up a lot lately about children and savings. I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about pensions and how we will cope financially in later life. The fact is, the earlier you start to prepare, the better.

I was quite impressed this week with this lady who says she has started her kids’ pension funds by putting away £50 each month per child. There’s something about setting your child up for a sound financial future. I will continue to share this thought and hope you will too.

 

Sometimes you can’t put your finger on the frugal things you’ve done. It really doesn’t matter that you can’t specify what individual things you’ve done. Living a frugal lifestyle and earning the benefits is what is important. The savings you make now will ensure that you can have enough for a wedding, the deposit on a house, a family vacation, or any major spending of your choice.

Do let us know how you got on this week, on your journey of living a frugal lifestyle. You are welcome to join our Facebook group Penny Pinchers’ Paradise where you can share and learn from others about frugal lifestyle tips, tricks, and wins.

 

We are linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Frugal things I’ve done this week’ linky. Do check out their awesome ideas too!