The Frugality Thread

[PeteXXX]

I often have Bitsa for lunch or dinner.
All the bits of this & bits of that that need using up before their expiry date. (expiry dates are a whole topic on their own!)
Any of the loaf getting a bit stale ends up as bread pudding or bread & butter pudding.. 👍

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Hot water bottle under a blanket on your sofa rather than keep heating going. Heat the person not the the empty space around them.

Electric blankets are brilliant for this purpose, both in bed and on the sofa, if you want to avoid or minimise heating.

 

[Reynard]

I often have Bitsa for lunch or dinner.
All the bits of this & bits of that that need using up before their expiry date. (expiry dates are a whole topic on their own!)

Yup, not wasting food is a big one. Apparently, the average household throws out about £60-worth of food a month. That's £720 a year. It's probably a bit more than that now, with prices having gone up, but £60, that's close to two weeks' worth of groceries. When you visualise it as twenty four trolleys of food, it is VERY sobering indeed...

Any of the loaf getting a bit stale ends up as bread pudding or bread & butter pudding.. 👍

Or french toast, or breadcrumbs, or queen of puddings...

 

[winjim]

In public buildings and schools, yes. But otherwise not. It's a good idea, but it doesn't solve the (plastic) waste aspect.

Not so here in England. And it's only been recently that the VAT was removed from period products. Which is scandalous when you think about it, as it's not exactly a luxury...

We moved to reusables mainly to try to reduce our plastic waste footprint. Reusable nappies, DE razor, plastic free toiletries, soap refills. A lot of it is also on subscription and delivered to the door which is great and gives you one less thing to think about. I don't think all of it is necessarily cheaper than the alternative but you need to balance economy with ethics and also with convenience to an extent. Cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Sometimes more expensive things are more economical in the long term (Vimes boots theory) and sometimes they're better in terms of things like environmental impact and fair conditions for the workers who make them.

I have extremely strong opinions on VAT related to period products but I think they're really best aired on a different forum.

 

[All uphill]

I'm very aware of airflow and temperatures in our home, and free heating from sunshine.

Warm air rises so open doors and an open window upstairs allows all the warm air to escape.

We have a small porch and try to use it as an airlock when coming in or out - not having both doors open at the same time.

 

[Reynard]

We moved to reusables mainly to try to reduce our plastic waste footprint. Reusable nappies, DE razor, plastic free toiletries, soap refills. A lot of it is also on subscription and delivered to the door which is great and gives you one less thing to think about. I don't think all of it is necessarily cheaper than the alternative but you need to balance economy with ethics and also with convenience to an extent. Cheap stuff is cheap for a reason. Sometimes more expensive things are more economical in the long term (Vimes boots theory) and sometimes they're better in terms of things like environmental impact and fair conditions for the workers who make them.

I have extremely strong opinions on VAT related to period products but I think they're really best aired on a different forum.

Likewise here - in terms of trying to reduce plastic use. I've invested in metal water bottles (both insulated and non-insulated) and a bamboo coffee cup. Well, I use it for tea, but semantics...

My grandad Arthur was famous for saying "I'm too poor to buy cheap stuff" so yeah, I subscribe to Captain Vimes' theory too. My gripe there is fast fashion. I buy good quality clothes (new and used) and I'll mend them to extend the mileage. Knackered stuff gets relegated to gardening / mechanical tinkering clothes, and when they're too knackered for that, to rags. Or in the case of denim, for patches to keep other denim going.

 

[Cycleops]

Hot water bottle under a blanket on your sofa rather than keep heating going. Heat the person not the the empty space around them.

That means you have to heat water, far too expensive. Much better to suck an extra strong mint.

 

[winjim]

Likewise here - in terms of trying to reduce plastic use. I've invested in metal water bottles (both insulated and non-insulated) and a bamboo coffee cup. Well, I use it for tea, but semantics...

My grandad Arthur was famous for saying "I'm too poor to buy cheap stuff" so yeah, I subscribe to Captain Vimes' theory too. My gripe there is fast fashion. I buy good quality clothes (new and used) and I'll mend them to extend the mileage. Knackered stuff gets relegated to gardening / mechanical tinkering clothes, and when they're too knackered for that, to rags. Or in the case of denim, for patches to keep other denim going.

Yeah I'm like that. There are a few expensive items of clothing that I want, I've got a group of browser tabs dedicated to it on my phone, but I'm desperately trying to wear out some of my existing clothes so I can justify buying them. I end up wearing the clothes I like the least in the hope I can get round to relegating them to the DIY pile. I've got unworn clothes in my wardrobe that I can't quite justify putting into use until I've worn out their predecessors.

On a related note, the mannequin in the local charity shop window is currently sporting a jacket of mine which I donated, which is quite fun.

 

[Reynard]

On a related note, the mannequin in the local charity shop window is currently sporting a jacket of mine which I donated, which is quite fun.

Now THAT is weirdly cool

 

[Kingfisher101]

Flushing toilets @ 1½ gallons a time!

If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down (as Ken Livingstone (remember him!?) once said)

I've knocked almost a ⅓ off my water bill doing this.

Doesnt the bathroom/toilet begin to smell though? Our toilet is flushed after every time and various things thrown down like bleach/ zoflora etc as I hate funny nasty smells. Urine does smell, theres no two ways about it. Also what if a guest came and saw a loo full of urine? Its not very nice and they would tell people as well.

 

[winjim]

Now THAT is weirdly cool

Well it looks better on the mannequin than it ever did on me.

 

[bitsandbobs]

For anyone who shaves and hasn't already tried it I would absolutely recommend switching to a DE safety razor. As well as being cheap as chips, the blades cost pennies, they're a much better shave and a nicer experience than plasticky cartridge razors. My lifestyle means I use the first half hour in the morning as a bit of self care so I'm a bit ritualistic and buy fairly fancy shaving soap and aftershave but it lasts for ages. I reckon I'm still better off than if I used disposables or cartridges with cheap and nasty squirty foam. Bar soap and shampoo as well, instead of shower gel, I much prefer it as well as it being cheap.

Couldn't agree more. Invested a couple of years ago: Merkur razor, decent brush and a shedload of derby blades.

Even if you buy some fancy soap, you'll always be ahead cash wise.

And fark it, it's just nice to take some time. What was a chore is now something I bizarrely look forward to!

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Must admit to not having been frugal since a couple of years after I moved out from my parents to start on my own in life and could well be classed as one of those who p my money away.

I have made some changes though, in the last year, as I wanted to grow my my savings for a significant purchase.

Gone are a lot of the impulse buys and I’ve been selling things I no longer use but still have value. I moved away from Gillette, or similar, for my shaving products to Harry’s. Whilst still disposable they last longer than Gillette, are significantly better value, and are much better in use.

Biggest ’food’ waste area was with milk as my wife and I prefer different types. She - skimmed, me - semi skimmed. We would end up having to throw out a lot as it went off before being used. We’ve agreed to now buy semi skimmed only, or Arla’s BOB if it’s on offer.

 

[PeteXXX]

Doesnt the bathroom/toilet begin to smell though? Our toilet is flushed after every time and various things thrown down like bleach/ zoflora etc as I hate funny nasty smells. Urine does smell, theres no two ways about it. Also what if a guest came and saw a loo full of urine? Its not very nice and they would tell people as well.

No smell, unless artichokes have been eaten, just a bit of bleach. We don't leave it there forever, just flush it less often.
What's the sense in using 6,000 ml of potable water to flush away a small amount of pee that is mainly water, too. When we do have guests we'll give the chain a yank..

 

[Chromatic]

I now get three cups of tea out of one teabag rather than throwing it away after the first brew.