Happy Frugal Holiday!

Tomorrow we are off on a super frugal holiday; the accommodation is free! Big thanks to my mum's friend who is letting us stay in her house at Bempton near Bridlington.

So, how else do we make this a really cheap holiday without feeling like we're going without?

My sister was in charge of food, and came up with a menu and shopping list which works out at £11 each for a week. We're going to eat out one night, but otherwise we'll take it in turns to cook. Jacket potatoes, bolognaise, fajitas. Nothing extravagant but nice homely meals. And plenty of cheese for the evenings! We'll take picnics if we're out at lunchtime I think. Lunch out, even if just sandwiches, can end up costing a fortune.

Activity wise, well if the weather is nice we're not far from the beach.

Last time we went, we visited a place called Dane's Dyke. There's a woodland walk to a small secluded beach. The great thing about that is there are no rides, or amusements for the kids to want to spend money on. And no temptation to buy tat which will probably not even make it home. We have loads of buckets and spades etc from previous holidays, so just need to be organised and find everything before we go!

 

There's an RSPB place just around the corner from the house. Although there is an entry charge; £8.50 per family, it's really reasonable and going to support the work of the charity. I've had a look on their website and there's a free puffin trail which might be nice for the kids to do. Both Flamborough Lighthouse and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Living Seas Centre are not far away and free to visit. I am a bit of an organiser so need to hold back from dictating a schedule but I do have a few possibilities on the 'to do' list!

I love holidays in the UK. There are so many beautiful places whether it's beach, woodland, moorland, or mountains you're looking for. The only problem is the unpredictability of the weather!

The house itself is full of books and board games, and we might take a few of our own for rainy days. And the kids have their bikes in case it's dry. If you have any ways of keeping kids (5 - 14) entertained either indoors or out, please do share!

So I guess I should stop blogging and start packing!

Hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend and fingers crossed for good weather for all of us!

What's in the cupboards?

We are in desperate need of some shopping. For breakfast this morning Little Miss Poppins had vegan hot dogs and ketchup. Which is not the end of the world but not exactly the preferred start to a Monday!

So, in the spirit of spending less, I decided to go back to basics and do a food inventory. If you've never done this before it can be quite an eye opener!

Go through the cupboards, fridge, freezer, and see what you already have. If you're anything like me there will be stuff lurking in there you forgot you had. I found a tin of pease pudding (really!) which went out of date 3 years ago! I think that one might just be beyond saving.
But isn't it crazy how much food we buy then try to cram into already full fridges and cupboards!?

Here's what I found we already have...

 

I hope you can read that ok! It's probably fairly standard, with a few random things which I bought thinking I'd use then never got around to.

 

Next step is making a meal plan.

 

Using Google, recipe books, or just inspiration from your list of potential ingredients, come up with a list of meals. There may be things you want which you don't have in, so you can add those to the shopping list, but using what we have as a base has got to result in a lower bill.

 

So, from the stuff I have in, here are my options for the week -

 

Pork chops and mash

Gammon and chips

Jacket, cheese and beans

Lasagne

Chilli and rice

Iroog (Iraqi mince patties)

Cheese and spinach omelette with chips

Egg fried rice

Gammon and pea risotto

Minced beef and dumplings

Pork chop fajitas

Cottage pie

 

That is a ton of meals we could make without buying a single thing!

 

The pork fajitas was an online recipe I found, wouldn't have thought to use anything but chicken usually. Do you have any other ideas we could try? I'd love to get your recipe ideas, especially if it's something quick to make!

 

Car booty

This morning we decided to go to a car boot sale. Now I am a totally sucker for a bargain, regardless of whether I actually want or need it sometimes. So I decided to do a quick clothes inventory before we went. The idea being I wouldn't buy anything we didn't need.

I was a bit horrified to discover that I have 30 dresses hanging in my wardrobe. Plus the one I was wearing. Plus another 4 in the washing cycle.

 

However, when I looked at them more closely, I only paid money for 12 of the 35. And only 4 of THOSE were bought new. It really doesn't help me to declutter my life but if things haven't cost anything, or very little, then really where's the harm?!

 

Almost my entire wardrobe comes from swishing. Or clothes swapping. Sometimes done between friends, or sometimes bigger events for charity. It's such a fun, environmentally friendly way to "shop"!

 

Anyway, back to the car boot. I was very restrained. I only bought 3 things!!! And thanks to my reality check, none of those were dresses.

 

First up was a board game. We're going away next week with my whole family to a cottage with no TV and no Wi-Fi! So I thought this would be a good game for us to play in the evenings over a glass of wine. This game is currently £29.99 in W H Smiths! So for £1 I figured we can't go wrong. The box is a little worn but the contents are immaculate. We have a LOT of board games, almost all were bought for a couple of quid from charity shops, and are just as good as buying new.

 

 

Next were these Laura Ashley shoes. Now I don't need shoes it has to be said. But, shoes wear out. And I think it does make sense to buy things when you see them if you are going to need them in the future. And these really were a bargain. They are pretty much brand new and were £5. It has got to be at least 5 years since I put new shoes on. So bedding them in is proving a little uncomfortable. Pretty though!

 

The last thing I bought was a little gift for my friend who's starting her own toddler group. So I better not show it in case she's reading ;)

 

Sophie had £2 spending money and came back with a  sleepover kit, a notebook, some glittery makeup, a glitter filled ball, and change!

 

All in all not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning. 

 

While we were at the car boot I bumped into a friend, Lucy, who had a stall there. She had made £110 in just over an hour! And it didn't even seem that busy. So I am inspired now to gather our clobber and have a go at one ourselves. I don't know why we've never done it before, it's a bit daunting. But I think we might arrange to go with Lucy, who is obviously a bit of a pro! And she can show us the ropes.

 

So not only have we got some great bargains, we have a new money making avenue for our house fund :)

 

Introducing Curly Poppins!

Hey!

Welcome to Curly Poppins.

This is my blog about frugal living; about making the most of what we have, which will then allow us to save our pennies for the things we really want!

I'm a mum of two, one teen, and one who thinks she's a teen. I work, I volunteer, and generally I'm busy. Super busy. So this blog is not going to be full of homemade bread and sock darning. But, with a bit of organisation (not my strong point!) and determination we can make small but worthwhile changes to our behaviour. Thoughtfulness in our spending is vital. I regularly see things on my bank statement and think "I'm sure I didn't shop there". Or I pop into the co-op for a loaf of bread and come out £20 lighter. So step one is be more aware. The envelope method is a great way of keeping track. I'll do a blog post specifically about that later but feel free to google it in the meantime!

I wanted to do this blog in part because I love writing, and maybe I could share some ideas which might help others. But also, to keep myself accountable. The next thing on my wishlist is to buy a house. Which costs ALOT! And the 2nd thing on my list is 3 years at Uni. So, I am challenging myself to get thrifty, I can do it. I just don't always have the willpower! I have been a single mum relying on benefits and a part time bar job. And we were fine. So I know it's possible. But it's not easy. And spending money, even if it's not ours to spend, (credit cards, overdraft...) is very easy! Hopefully sharing ideas here will help to keep me on the straight and narrow. The other huge advantage of blogging is that readers can share their thrifty tips too! So please, please do. I definitely don't have it right all the time, and I'm sure there are loads of people making their money go further than I know how to. So get involved!

Thanks for reading! I will be posting at least weekly, maybe more frequently if I have something worth sharing :)