Friday 30 November 2018

Frugal on Friday

With Christmas fast approaching, it can be easy for money to flow out faster than usual. My strategy has been to minimise the expense of this festive season by making many of the gifts we will give to our loved ones, teachers and neighbours. Little gift tags have been made from scrap paper and old Xmas cards. Gifts that need to be sent to family far away are ready to send and I will post these in the first week of December to avoid paying express post costs which can be very expensive. (I have not always been this well organised!!) I have been planning what we will have for Christmas lunch and simple homemade salads, cold roasted chicken and a delicious dessert will be shared around our old wooden table.  

There is too all the little things that we do, that regularly save us a few $ here and there. We don't stop doing these things just because the "silly season" is upon us. I really think it is these small things, done often, that keep more money in our pockets. Here's a few frugal things from the past week:

Meat Free Meals
It has been very hot of late so we have mostly been having salads with quiche or cold meats.  Though, on a cooler evening, I made a meat-free meal to use up a tub of ricotta (close to its use by date) and the remnants of a few veg - a sweet potato, a piece of pumpkin, a chunk of zucchini and one lone carrot. Drizzled with olive oil and roasted, it is just delicious!

 Baked ricotta and roast vegetables.
(Ready to go into the oven.)

No Waste
I bought a tray of 20 mangoes from a little local shop. When I calculated the cost, per mango, it worked out cheaper than buying them singly at a local supermarket. So none of these gorgeous ripe fruits were wasted, I peeled, sliced and then froze most of them for smoothies and desserts to enjoy during Summer. The peel was composted.

Delicious mangoes ~ peeled, sliced & frozen.

I also discovered an open packet of Mountain Bread in our freezer. Just a few thin sheets but they had split and broken under the weight of what had been stacked on top of them! So, I defrosted them, finished the process of breaking them in to bits, and then baked them until dry and crispy. Now we have a container of yummy bread chips to dip into the half bottle of salsa in the fridge.

Bread chips
(Made from Mountain Bread I found in the freezer.)

Handmade Gifts
I have continued making small and simple handmade gifts to give for Christmas. I am on a roll with these tea towel tote bags:D  The bag below was made from a touristy tea towel I found in my favourite little antique shop, it cost me $8 which is more than I would normally pay, but I was after something very specific for a beautiful lady who is a proud New Zealander.

A  tote I made from an op-shop tea towel.
(I love the flax linen!)

Op-Shopping
Next year, I will return to permanent, part-time work. Rather than spend lots of money on new work clothes, I have been sewing my own and rummaging through op-shop piles. This flow-y, versatile top cost just $3. It just needs a good iron!

A dressy new-to-me work top.
(Bargain!)

I love reading about what others do on the frugal front. I get so many ideas about different ways to save money. Have you done anything particularly frugal this week that you can share?

Meg

20 comments:

  1. All wonderful ideas there Meg.
    One of our regular Summer treats is to buy a few boxes of Mangoes throughout the season. We all love mangoes, so a box is the way to go, they don’t even make it to the freezer in our house! We’ve already polished off one box, it must be time for another one 😉
    I love your tote bag! ❤️
    Have a lovely weekend Meg.

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    1. I saved a couple of the mangoes from our tray, Cheryl, and happily sat out of the deck messily eating it. Nothing like mango juice dripping down one's chin! Have a lovely weekend too! Meg:)

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    1. Me too!! I am not a big fruit eater, but mangoes are one of my favourite. They are synonymous with Summer here. Meg:)

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  3. That NZ tea towel is perfect....it feels good to be organized around the busy season.

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    1. I am much more organised around Christmas than I used to be, Kathy. I think it's the key to saving money at this time of year. Meg:)

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  4. Beautiful, feminine top! I think simple is more profound. (And less wasteful!) I'm finally learning to cook simple and to cut out silly purchases that I have done year -to -year. (Why should we need the same type of candy, etc, each Christmas, especially if it gets hard to find and you have to pay for shipping!) and if you make it yourself you know it is fresh and good! Andrea

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    1. Shipping can be very expensive, can't it! It is very hot here over Christmas time usually so salads are perfect for our family lunch. I like that they can be prepared the day before to save work on Christmas morning. Meg:)

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  5. Very clever savings, I love your home made bag, often when I give bags I make they are received with pleasure.

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    1. Thanks, Marlene. I have tried to personalise the bags I've made by using a tea towel that has meaning for the recipient. I think this New Zealand bag will be a hit! Meg:)

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  6. I often buy a couple of mangoes per week. I didn't think of freezing them. Thanks for the idea Meg. :)
    I love your blouse and the tote bag. Both are very pretty.

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    1. There were many ripe mangoes in the tray I bought, Nil, so I felt freezing them was the best option because we couldn't eat that many all at once. I add the frozen mango to smoothies and make a kind of mango 'soft serve' ice-cream with them in my Thermomix. Meg:)

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  7. Ahh, you have given me a brilliant idea to use up errant, slightly out-of-date tortillas in my fridge. Crispy olive oil tortilla crackers are in my future!

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    1. Sounds like you'll be happily munching on tortilla crackers very soon, Jo.

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  8. I give a lot of homemade soap as gifts. I try to make most of it months in advance. I print out the labels at the library. They let me do twelve each day for free! Living frugally pays off in so many ways. Those mangoes look delicious!

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    1. I love that you have a little cottage industry where you make and sell your beautiful soaps from home. Being able to print out your labels for free at your library is an amazing bonus! Meg:)

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  9. We do a similar trick with bananas, you do with mangoes. Bananas go off pretty quickly in this heat. If it looks like we won't get to them, we'll peel and freeze them for smoothies, or baking. I also like to make ice-blocks with manago or bananas, that we need to use up.

    I have to say though, this Christmas has caught up with me and I'm not prepared. There's no feigning ignorance either, because it happens to me every year. I know it's coming, yet I still procrastinate! LOL. Good for you, being so organised. Your totes would make such wonderful presents too. Especially since plastic bags are being discouraged at supermarkets now. Enjoy your festivities Meg, and Family - from ours!

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    1. Thanks, Chris I have to be organised, Chris, because we go on our annual beach holiday and don't get back until just before Xmas. I don't want to be madly rushing around when we get back home because that would undo all that relaxing!

      We hope you enjoy your family celebrations and the upcoming school holidays too. Meg Xx

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  10. Your ideas are all inspiring! I'd never have thought to bake ricotta, but I can imagine it would be yummy. I do bake more and more things, it seems, because it's an easy way to process or deal with foods at least temporarily when I don't have time for an elaborate recipe.

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    1. Baked ricotta is delicious, Gretchen Joanna. It's even nicer with roasted veegetables! I love being able to bake one-tray meals like this, so very simple. Meg:)

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