Frugal Friday Update

Well, I missed a couple of Friday’s there – did you notice 😉

Overall the  Grocery Bill Project was a huge success. I managed to cut my overall grocery bill by £70 for the month. So that means I didn’t make my goal of £100 saving but for the first time round I’m happy with the result.

I found it to be a very enlightening experience. For example, I discovered that I really do love shopping at Aldi. They have really good quality food for a fraction of the price. At first I wondered how on earth they could offer foodstuffs at such a low price and still make a profit. Then I noticed that they don’t stock any big brands in their stores. So you wouldn’t find Heinz tomato sauce in their stores but you would find tomato sauce that is perhaps bottled especially for them under their own brand name.

Most of what I need I can get at Aldi with the exception of a few things which still  has me walking Tesco’s isles – which is fine, I know that by changing my shopping habits I am making a difference to my families budget in the long run.

Two other frugal additions, I mentioned on Tuesday that I have hung a door curtain over the kitchen door to keep out the drafts. If you live in a country that has cold winters I would highly recommend doing this. The minute the sun slips under the horizon just before 4 in the afternoon, all the curtains in the house are drawn and candles lit. Curtains keep the cold out and the heat in! It baffles me as I drive along after sunset and see peoples lights on and curtains WIDE open – allowing all that heat to escape. It has to do not-such-good-things to their heating bills!

Secondly, I have a new oven! I’m so happy with this change. My old oven’s seal had gone, so although I could still bake and roast to my heart’s content – with no flops- there was a considerable amount of heat escaping. I suppose this meant that the oven was having to put out more energy to try and keep the temperature that it was set to. With my new oven I no longer feel like I am wasting unnecessary energy. Sorry energy company, more money in my pocket instead of yours!

The Crockpot – what a HUGE success. I have used my crockpot so much over the last month. We had the most delicious meals with very little stressing and busyness required on my part. With winter making her presence known I am certainly going to keep this new frugal addition going!

So – points that I want to discuss in my next Frugal Friday post – Christmas! There is no doubt that it seems people are thinking a little deeper before maxing out their credit cards for this holiday – and Christmas fare – I have a few thoughts on that too – but more on all that next week.

This weekend we are putting up our Christmas tree! So exciting. I know allot of you have yours up already, but in our home if it is to make Epiphany, it daren’t  make it’s appearance too soon lol.

Have a fab weekend all. See you back here on Monday.