Super Frugal Things we have done this week

So this is the last full week before the Summer holidays are over and the kids go back to school and I get my house back to myself in the daytime. I love them really, but I need to get a proper cleaning going and I can’t do it whilst they are at home. So come on the weekend and two days next week and then I can put my music on really loud and clean away.

What I want to share with you now though is how we have kept to the frugal agenda particularly this week.

Tomato Harvest

We usually plant tomatoes and reap tonnes (just joking but quite a lot). This year we had a bumper crop and so far have been able to use up a lot in the kitchen, give away and we have even made sauces with some to be frozen for use later in the year. Some of our friends have benefitted from our harvest too, and they have benefitted from ours.

Pizza Diversified

 

Have you ever done this? My daughter and i went out for pizza. Im a veggie kinda lady so lots of mushroom and peppers whilst the young one wanted pineapple and lots of it. So special order prepared at an extra cost of a pound. That was cheaper than buying 2 pizzas and wasting some. Yes it was tasty. Loved it!!! #meatfree #pizza #frugal #bloggers #blackgirlbloggers

A post shared by joleisa (@joleisacreed) on Aug 31, 2018 at 3:43am PDT

My youngest and I went out one day and for our meal, we both agreed on pizza. We couldn’t agree on toppings so I asked the chef whether he could make the one pizza but put our choice of toppings on our half of the pizza. He kindly agreed that at an extra cost of £1 he could create this diversified pizza for us. It was really delicious and we ended up eating it all. It would have cost us much more if we had decided on two whole pizzas. It would have been such a waste too because none of us would have been able to eat the whole thing. So that was a big win on all sides.

Cashing in from Collecting Receipts

Maybe I’m late with this one and you are all doing it already and earning the rewards, but I recently learned that you can scan your receipts and earn points from them which translate to cold hard cash when you have enough. There are various apps out there which work in a similar way. I downloaded the Receipt Hog app and started scanning my receipts. Well, you will be pleased to know that I have now collected enough to get £5 to my Paypal. Ca-ching! Jo is trying out Snap My Eats and has already collected her Amazon gift voucher. You should try one of them as there are several out there.

Bus Pass and McDonalds Deals

Not just this week, but throughout the summer when we go out we sometimes take public transport when it is more convenient or cost effective. We have taken buses a lot this time around and we are super pleased to find vouchers on the back of the bus tickets for meal deals at McDonald’s. We don’t always buy fast food but the kids sometimes ask for this and we do indulge them. With the vouchers, we get money off when paying and luckily it’s for food that the kids will eat.

Making use of Phone Contract Offers

Most of the phone companies these days give rewards to their loyal customers. I love the deals offered by my phone contract provider Three. If you are with Three, take my advice and download the WUNTU app. It has been truly amazing! There is so much to be had including free pizzas and other food and drinks. You may be surprised to find that you can even get money off days out, movies, travel and holidays and even some cool back to school items.

After our trip to Jamaica, we came back to find some unusually high phone bills. What we didn’t realise is that when others called us (whether acquaintances or annoying call centres), we would be paying for those calls as we took the phones with us. Well, I called Three up and explained that I didn’t know and so after some time on the phone, and being passed on to the next person up in the hierarchy, the bill was wiped clean! It does pay to complain sometimes.

Summer Sale

I’m sure you would have noticed that lots of the stores now have ‘For Sale’ signs up. Well, they are getting rid of the Summer stuff in preparation for Autumn and Winter. Space is a premium for them so they will sell the stuff at reduced rates. Well, I was in Manchester and Worcester during this week and got a few reduced items of clothing that will do us perfectly well for next Summer. I have the storage space so that is fine. If you do have the space, then it’s a good idea to buy clothing on sale suitable for the next year.

The Frugal Lifestyle is Spreading

It is wonderful to see the frugal lifestyle ideas spreading. I can think of two instances this week where I saw this being practiced by members of the public. In Worcester, at the train station, there was this lady with a box of 6 cornettos individually wrapped ice cream. She gave one each to her three children and she also had one and she also offered the other two to others waiting at the station. She said it was cheaper to get a box of 6 than to get a box of 4 so she bought it and shared! Awesome! Also in Worcester this week, an elderly couple Jo and Pat (I did get to meet them) shared a burger because ‘It would be wasteful to buy a burger each when neither of us will eat a whole one’. Awww. Bless! They are a really lovely couple and I was honoured to meet them this week. If we each did our bit to stop food waste the world will thank us for it.

Do your bit to live frugally and be sure to tell us how you get on. Again this week we are linking with some other fabulous frugal ladies who we would like you to check out.

I’m linking up with Cass  Emma and Becky in this week’s Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week linky.

See you next week.