Grass Skirts and Flower Garlands

Our older girls were recently invited to a Hawaiian party which was great fun for them! Actually it was great for me too, as I already had a box of grass skirts and flower garlands in the attic from a previous party several years ago now. They had been put away neatly and stored well, they came out looking like new. The girls had a lot of fun too playing with the limbo game which also came out of the attic, plus the hoop. At the party Daughter aged 11 managed to win the limbo as she had practised at home, is light and she seems to be quite double jointed! There were a lot of young people there so it was quite an honour for her, she got a prize for this. A family sized bag of sweets to share!

- Cheese + Chicken = Chocolate Dessert

Usually for lunch we have cheese sandwiches. As there are several in our family we can easily munch our way through half a pack of mature cheddar in one lunch time, that costs about £2.50 for 250g. Today we had sliced chicken which I managed to get 30 slices of for just 69p. They were small round slices so the children had one slice and my Husband had two slices but that still leaves enough for tomorrow's lunch too and more besides. We had sliced baps with them today to make them more special which cost £1, so rolls and meat together cost about £1.25 instead of the usual £2.50 for cheese plus the cost of bread - 40p, so instead of £2.90 it was £1.25 saving about £1.65 on usual cost. (Tomorrow we will just have it in our normal bread so save the £1 on the rolls - that will save another £2.25!!). We still had other sandwiches and cake as usual but it is savings like these which help the weekly budget. Actually today's and tomorrows savings, £3.90 combined, will go directly toward and actually completely pay for all of us to enjoy the special Cadbury's Chocolate dessert we are having after dinner tonight which admittedly was reduced a little bit, enough to make a difference but not nearly as much as I would like :-D

You can't price a friend...they're priceless!

Our postie brought a nice surprise this morning, a Hallmark card addressed to me. At first I was puzzled, it's not my birthday I thought. When I opened it I found it was from my friend who said she had seen the card and thought of me, how sweet! This friend is so special, always on the end of an email and so encouraging to me. The card was from the Forever Friend range and the bear was holding a large golden heart. The words said, "Friendship is like a big hug around your heart". I was rather touched and kept looking at it throughout the rest of the day. You so can't put a value or a price on friends and friendship, it's priceless.

Frugal Food Gifts

Looking through bargains at the supermarket can lead you to share your finds with friends and family. Recently my Husband and I were shopping together and found a couple of wholemeal fresh tin loaves that his Mother likes for just 5p each, so we bought them and gave them to her. She was really pleased to get an unexpected gift and it cost just 10p! Another day I went shopping alone and found a single solitary fresh jammy and sugary doughnut for 5p, no good for our large family (about one bite each perhaps) but perfect as a surprise supper for my Husband! I took it to him with a cup of hot coffee and he was pleased, I didn't tell him it was only 5p though...secrets out now if he ever reads this post!! Oh well, he'll probably be pleased that I didn't pay too much and anyway it's the thought that counts.

Frugal Food Prices

I love looking through the bargain shelf at our local supermarket. There is always something reduced in there, sometimes lots of the same product. Not always greatly reduced but if you were going to buy that product at full price anyway it is a saving off the bill or if you can replace a more expensive meal with it then it is a saving too. Sometimes you can get silly prices, I have had a few of these lately. One thing I regularly find reduced is bread even if its only 10p off per loaf it still helps. I have started to take note of the cheapest price I have got it for. My cheapest price for a loaf of bread is just 3p!! I just couldn't believe it! For milk my cheapest price was just 11p per pint and it was local too! That's two ticks in the box, frugal and local.

A few weeks ago on May Bank Holiday it was a sunny day so we suddenly decided to go out for a family picnic. As we weren't prepared in advance and it takes a while to pack lunch for a large family we decided to pop into the nearest supermarket on the way. I picked up the things I wanted for the picnic but couldn't resist peeking in the bargain shelf just in case...There were loads of boxes of Mr Kipling Jammy Sponge Finger Cakes for just 10p! There were 6 in a box which works out less than 2p each so I picked up a few boxes. While I was at the till unloading my trolley onto the conveyor my brain was ticking away as to what I could use these cakes for if I bought some more? Then I got it, trifle sponges!! I quickly grabbed a box, checked to see if they could be frozen, they could - so I asked the assistant if I could go get some more and came back with an armful. We had never tried these particular cakes before but have always liked Mr Kipling cakes before and you couldn't go far wrong for 10p a box. Later we tried them in trifle, they were gorgeous - much nicer than the usual sponges which are much more expensive and actually can be a little dry. The jam made the difference, it was sweeter too.

Since then I have bought packs of 6 pitta bread for 6p just 1p each. Custard doughnuts in a pack of 5 for 17p which is roughly 3p each and chocolate chip brioche rolls which should cost £1 for 5 but I got them for 25p just 5p each. All yummy bargains especially as they replaced the cake we would have eaten anyway.

Frugality has different meanings

Being frugal means different things to different people depending on their unique circumstances. For someone like me who has a lot of demands on their time due to the combination of managing a large family and paid work, frugal can't just be about saving money. For instance, I have to take into consideration the time involved in order to save the money. Time is just as precious to me as money so I have to weigh it all up first before committing to milking a family cow everyday or raising chickens etc. (By the way I decided against both those options, cow and chickens, just in case you were wondering!). So sometimes I save time and sometimes I save money. The ultimate is when I manage to do both in one swoop!

After all, everytime you manage to get something that you were going to buy for more money then you have saved yourself the extra hours of time working to earn the money for the purchase! Too many people don't factor in the cost of earning the money for the item they want to buy. If we learnt to look at our money in terms of how long it took to earn it rather than just pounds then things would be in context a lot more. How many hours work will it take to buy that item?

Another important thing that I factor in when tempted to buy expensive items is how long is this item expected to last? Nine years ago I was on a shopping trip with my family at what is known as the English Riveria, the seaside town ofTorquay. I spotted 'IT!' A light caramel coloured leather jacket. To me it was just perfect for those British Summer days when it was meant to be warm but wasn't, it may even be raining as well as cold! It would also go well with deeper coloured outfits as it would contrast. The jacket was in a fancy boutique and it was almost £100! I had never spent so much money on a jacket in my life but I knew my Husband's leather jacket had lasted years and I believed this one would too. I swallowed hard and bought it. Now that sounds like a crazy purchase but it was love at first sight, I had been wanting one anyway and once purchased it would be very practical I believed. That jacket is one of my most treasured items in my wardrobe still today. I even love the gold lining. Next year I will have owned it and worn it regularly for ten years!! If you divide the cost of that quality jacket over 10 years that is just £10 a year. Considering how much I have worn it and the great condition it is still in I still consider it a good buy for me. The other thing I purchased at the same time was a matching leather handbag, this is still going strong. It used to be for best only but now I take it everywhere and it is still my best bag too!

Another thing I ask myself before purchasing an expensive item, "is it a need considering my circumstances rather than just a want or a whim?" For instance, having a large family doesn't lend itself very well to doing all the family's laundry by hand so I consider my washing machine to be a need rather than a want! I could do it by hand but I would spend several hours of my life doing this which could be used in paid work or other productive ways. We have to be sensible here or we just become a slave to frugality!

I will attempt to record some of the savings I have made of money or time here in my blog as they will encourage me when I look back over it in future months and hopefully it will inspire you as a reader in your own attempts to live a simple life or have frugal fun.

Working and Learning from Home

My Husband and I are very privileged to work from our home. We can enjoy the benefits of living in the country on a daily basis but still work hard to earn the money we need to live comfortably. My Husband and I have an online business, he also farms part-time while I manage the home and children. We have several children whom we love dearly and home school them all, so our family are all at home together. This suits us well as we have quite a large home and plenty of space outdoors.