As part of my year of thrift one of the most obvious outgoings to look at was how much I'm spending every week on supermarket shopping. Loads of people have told me that they'd saved quite a lot by swapping to either Aldi or Lidl instead of one of the main supermarkets so I thought it was worth a go myself. There is no Lidl close by so instead I headed to Hatfield and our local branch of Aldi. Before going I asked some of my blogger friends for their hints and tips and was fascinated to hear what they had to say - so much so that I hope to demystify the whole experience of shopping at ... read more
Featured Post: Controlling your heating to save money
We're now nearly a whole month into my year of thrift and I'm noticing that I'm constantly on the look out for ways to save money. As well as cutting down how much I spend on the weekly shop I've also become obsessed with how to our minimise gas and electricity bills. Not only am I running a spreadsheet keeping track of how much gas and electricity we use every day, but I'm also regularly turning things off and reducing the heating by a degree or two. As well as saving a bit of money, it has also become obvious that doing little things like this and checking the meter daily ... read more
Magpie Monday – Why it never hurts to ask
In addition to 2014 being my year of thrift, I'm also making a point of trying to finish off the million and one craft projects I have half completed and also actually trying all the things that I've been meaning to do for ages. Top of my list is making my own homebrew wine. Mr C has been making beer for a few years now, but after Liz from Me and My Shadow presented me with a bottle of her homebrew when we appeared on BBC3CR together I've been keen to try myself. A while back I picked up a kit from the local chemist that sells homebrew supplies and the only thing that was ... read more
Magpie Monday – Very early birthday gifts
I'll let you into a little secret. I actually started my year of thrift a bit early. So early in fact that when I was in a charity shop just before Christmas and saw something that I knew Little Miss C would love I just had to buy it there and then as an early birthday present for her. A very early birthday present when you consider her birthday's not until June, but I figured Father Christmas would already be bringing her plenty of stuff so why not just get a step ahead of myself in the gift planning department. So, what was it that I just had to buy there and then? Well, ... read more
Making Do
Well, we're five days in to The Year of Thrift and I'm pleased to report that things are, so far, heading in the right direction. I realise it's only five days, but in that time I've put in place quite a few different ways of doing things and I'm hoping that by the end of January at least I should be seeing some real differences. Being a project manager at my core I'm very much of the opinion that you've got to take stock of where you are to be able to tell if you've made a change or not. I'm therefore starting the year by making a real effort to keep track ... read more
2014 – The Year of Thrift
Even if you drank enough over Christmas to spend the last few days hidden under a duvet, it can't have escaped your notice that we're in a new year. 2014 is here and from what I can gather hanging around for another 365 days, so I guess we'd all better make the most of it. Last year I wrote about the resolution to end all resolutions I which I pledged to give everything I do 110% over the year. I tried to do that, but I have to be honest and say that I don't think I always managed it. I did learn that to give 110% to everything it is very easy to forget yourself in ... read more
Thrifty Mrs C Review: Wilko Cleaning Range
I should start this review by telling you that I am a HUGE Wilko fan. My family has lived near their HQ for years and my mum even lived in the same village as one of the Wilkinson Family for quite a few years. I've been to their shops all over the country and I love the range they sell and the quality of their own brand lines. Here in St Albans we have quite a large branch which I probably go into about once a week and buy everything from chocolate bars, to moisturiser, to cold and flu treatment, to fish food to kids craft materials. Where else can you get all that under one roof and at ... read more
Thrifty Friday – Making the most of vouchers and couponing in the supermarket
This week saw my return to the Nick Coffer show on BBC Three Counties radio and this time round I was talking about money saving vouchers and coupons and getting things for free. If you'd like to listen then the show is available on iPlayer here until next Wednesday, 28th August. Today's Thrifty Friday is going to look at coupons and vouchers, in particular for supermarket shopping. The first thing to point out is that "couponing" as it's known is a completely different ball game in the UK to what it is in the USA. Over in America there is even a TV programme devoted to ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – My go to thrifty books
Something a little bit different on today's Thrifty Friday Five. Instead of giving you five top tips I'm instead going to share with you the top five books on my bookcase that I go back to time and time again for thrifty tips. 1. Practical Self Sufficiency - Dick & James Strawbridge It was the Strawbridge's TV series It's not Easy Being Green that first started me off on my green journey several years ago - and that in turn was what lead to me starting this blog. When Dick & James' Practical Self Sufficiency came out in 2010 it became my bible for ... read more
Thrifty Friday Five – Children’s Clothes
There's no doubt that having children can be a costly business. Clothing them is one big expense, especially as they just seem to grown over night. There are ways to save money though through buying second-hand and here are five top tips as to where to pick up children's clothes. 1. eBay As the best known online auction site, eBay still can hold a few real bargains if you know where to look. In amongst all the "seconds" and brand new listings you can often find job lots of children's clothes in a certain size range. The good listings will detail what is in the ... read more