It seems like I’m doing these monthly rather than weekly at the moment, but never mind! Since I only post once or twice a week anyway, this more relaxed schedule seems to work for me. I still enjoy writing these when I can. It really helps me to focus on how I can cut down spending.
Recently we’ve been trying hard to be even more frugal than usual. Last month we had a family emergency and had to dip into the old emergency fund. While I was really relieved to have the savings there, it’s never fun having to spend them! We’re trying hard to get back on track now and build up the savings again.
Here’s what I’ve done this week:
- Swapped Tesco for Lidl: We usually do our food shopping at Tesco, because it’s so close to our house. Since we’re really trying to save money this month we decided to try Lidl instead. It’s a bit of a drive but so worth it! Every time we do our weekly shop there I just can’t BELIEVE how much cheaper it is. Most of that is because the products are genuinely cheaper. However, I think it’s also partly because it’s unfamiliar and doesn’t have all the products we’re used to, so we don’t fall into the rut of grabbing the things we like.
- Stocked up on books at the library. I got low on reading material over the bank holiday weekend and became dangerously close to an Amazon binge! Luckily I made it through to Tuesday and went to get some free books from the library. I usually have one non fiction and one fiction book on the go at a time. I’m currently reading I Will Teach You To Be Rich: No guilt, no excuses - just a 6-week programme that works by Ramit Sethi (actually I bought this on Kindle a while ago but forgot about it!), which I’ll write about next week on the blog, and I picked up a few new novels from the library to keep me going.
- Using a Christmas voucher for a day out: Since my husband was away for a couple of weeks, we are trying to spend some quality time together, but without spending too much money. Perfect time to cash in a voucher we got for Christmas for an activity day out! This weekend we’ll be doing a treasure hunt/race by Fire Hazard Games in London courtesy of my brother 🙂 I’m still not exactly sure what it involves but it looks fun!
- Using Tesco vouchers for free pizza: Sorting through some papers the other day, I found some Pizza Express vouchers that I’d bought with Tesco Clubcard Boost points (one of my favourite ways to save money on eating out!). The vouchers expire at the end of the month. Perfect opportunity to use them when we go up to London at the weekend! If you have a Tesco clubcard, I really recommend looking at the Boost offers to maximise your savings.
- Yellow sticker savings: This week we managed to grab two HUGE sides of salmon reduced from about £12 each to £8. We cut them up into smaller portions to freeze, and each one will do loads of meals. We eat quite a bit of fish but salmon is quite pricey, so it’s good to have some in stock.
How has your week gone? Have you got any great frugal tips or achievements to share?
I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Fabulously Frugal Things I’ve Done This Week’ linky.
