Monthly Archives: November 2013

There’s no place like home

Uncategorized

Hello Dear Reader,

We’ve had a blissful day in our new home. We had tidied the garden and have already formed a few likes and dislikes. We love all of the built in cupboards but we don’t like the carpets downstairs. We have stored a lot of kitchen gadgets in the dining room cupboards and most of our crockery is in there too.
We love our little attic bedroom and our dogs nimbly trot up and down the narrow stairs. We don’t like the original sash windows and I can feel every draught. The sun has been on the house today and the large windows suck in the light and warmth.
We are almost unpacked and I can now get back to doing all the things I love. I can cook, sew and recyle.
I am on Radio Cornwall tomorrow and funnily enough the topic is last minute Christmas preparations on a budget. I’m all for a frugal Christmas with my family. I shall make a cake, pudding and minced pies for my extended family . I shall put up some of our decorations that we’ve had for years. We give token gifts with our children and parents but don’t gift beyond that.
For us, Christmas is all about family time, long winter walks and reading by the fire after a lovely lunch. It’s a simple day.
Jack Monroe and Tracey aka frugalmummy reminded us all “those who mind don’t matter and those that matter don ‘t mind.
Feel free to send your thoughts on a frugal Christmas or the opposite, are you frugal all year and want to splash out.
As usual, email your ideas to [email protected]
We’re about to light the fire and warm the house up. Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs x x x

Just a little one

Uncategorized

Hello Dear Reader,

I will be blogging from my phone for a few days until BT sort out our phone line.
I will update throughout today and show you all round our cottage.
My first great delight to share with you is our greatly reduced overheads.
Our mortgage debt has reduced to £82000 and all of our bills have reduced. Our council tax is £750 a year less than our own home, although offset by the fact that we now have to pay £250 a year to park our car.
This house does seem colder but we haven’t lit the woodstove yet.
My bedroom is in the attic - the house feels tiny but very homely xxx
I will keep you updated through out the day and there will be photos xxx
Love Froogs xxx

The end of one journey and the beginning of another!

Down shifting


Hello Dear Reader,

This will be my last blog post until Saturday. I won’t have either the time or the connectivity until them. I will ‘reveal’ my new beginning on Saturday.

Some of you will know my story, others will be reading this for the first time.

In 2009, I decided that I’d had enough of debt, enough of a huge mortgage, enough of car payments and paying off my credit card. I decided to change my life and aim for simplicity.

Living a simple life is all about making it myself or doing without. I’ve learnt very easily to do both and I shall continue to do so. I stripped everything out of my life that I didn’t need and certainly didn’t need to pay for. I’ve continued to do that to this date.

It took us two years of complete cold turkey to pay off all our debts and then we had to tackle our mortgage. We were tied into a fixed rate deal with £10K handcuffs that we couldn’t walk away from. Nonetheless, we still overpaid an extra 10% a year and as soon as that deal was over, we paid off some more! It meant that without any debt we could dream of living without a mortgage.

In truth, we would never pay off the hulking great mortgage hanging around our necks and needed to get rid of our current home. We tried and succeeded to sell our home in 2009 to have the underwriters pull the mortgage at the last moment. So, we stayed and paid! In 2013, a long time after the fixed rate deal was over and after a lot of over payment, we sold and are moving on.

We leave this house in a couple of days and move to our new modest home which we can afford to pay for in five years! As of Friday, we are five years from being mortgage free.

The past fourteen days of surveys and concrete screening and getting the bank and solicitors to do what they are supposed to do have been stressful and we finally exchanged contracts today.

I’ll be back on Saturday with photos of our new home and you will be able to see it in its ‘before’ state before we get it ‘the way we like it’. You’ll be able to share gardening, Christmas preparation, curtain making, home making and housekeeping with me in my own inimitable thrifty style.

If anyone is interested, you can catch me Frugal Queen, on Facebook for the next few days.

Until Saturday,

Love Froogs xxxx

Shhhh! They’re not for children!

Frugal Christmas

Hello Dear Reader,

If you ever want to cheer up a worker’s staff room, just pass round a box of chocolates and ask them for their opinions for a review!

I was lucky enough to be sent the Classic Christmas Selection from Hotel Chocolat that retails at £12.50 for a box of fourteen chocolates. I don’t eat chocolate so I relied on some chocolate connoisseurs to test them for me. If you know teachers then you will know they love coffee and chocolates. They did not let me down.



Everyone liked them. It was felt that there was a real depth of flavour in the chocolate and a level of quality that was well worth the price. Everyone felt that good chocolate, like good wine has a roundness to it that rolls around the palette and that the centres all complimented the richness and aroma of the chocolate that stayed in their mouths for quite a while after they had eaten them.

There were a few let downs. The 50% chocolate bauble was flat and a bit stingy really, it could have been completely round, like a bauble, nevertheless the deeply chocolatey 50% cocoa chocolate with a lot less sugar than regular chocolate really delivered an intense hit of chocolate. This in chocolate terms was the chocolate shot although when you slammed the empty glass on the bar, you were just rewarded by the bar keep shaking his head and saying ‘that’s y’lot!”

There were mixed reception to the praline stars. One tester adored the smoothness of the praline that melted easily alongside the chocolate whilst the other thought it was bland and a ‘filler’ and felt short changed. I shared their point of view, for £12.50 you want every single one to be one of their greatest hits without any B sides.

There were many hits that would send the testers back for more.


Chambord Royale - these were a massive hit and people wanted a box just of these.

Christmas Mess - I suppose along the theory of Eton Mess but with Cranberry Ganache and Strawberry mousse with meringue sprinkles. Testers described them as fresh and not sickly but with a deep silky white chocolate.


The Pistachio Praline Crunch was described as tasting like a really, really posh Turkish Delight!

In particular, everyone loved the bitter depths of the dark chocolate, the intense cream of the pralines and ganaches and the oh, so grown up reduction of sugar that meant the depths of the cacao really came through.

These are romantic night it, robust red wine, the fire’s lit and we’ve got the place to ourselves chocolates. They are definitely not for children! When I asked people if they would buy them, they all said that as they were expensive that they would be for a gift for someone special. I then asked them if they would like them as a gift and everyone thought they would make a fantastic really special gift. I pointed out that they are all special and that they had every right to treat themselves once in a while. I also asked them if they had eaten chocolates any better and after much deliberation, no one could think of any chocolates they’d ever eaten that were better than these.

Now my opinion on them. I’m a great believer in good food and having less but the best quality that you can. Chocolate, even though I don’t eat it (migraine trigger) is the same. Don’t eat it for the sake of eating, eat the really good chocolate in small quantities and make them last and savour them. I would suggest a box of these as an adult advent calendar and have one a day leading up to Christmas. It will then make a very expensive box of chocolates last a very long time!


This week, we’re mainly eating up what is ever left in the house so instead of recipes or money saving, I’ll be reviewing a few products. I think I’m going to be really popular if I’m sent more chocolates!

Over to you Dear Reader, poll time. A lot of something or a bit of something really good? What say you?

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxx


Lots of winners!

giveaway

Hello Dear Reader,

Yesterday, someone was randomly selected and they did not respond in 24 hours so the random.org selected another and sorry to Hilda Hazel but you didn’t respond in time. The next number that was selected and the winning name was

Justine - you know who you are, you are also a blogger with a blog called Jazzy’s place - you have 24 hours to get in touch or the draw will be done again - email [email protected] and I can send you the £60 of Amazon vouchers.

I used random.org again and this time it selected two numbers and the corresponding names of

Rebecca Townsend and Retro Wren. You both have 24 hours to get in touch by email - [email protected] and send your address so I can post them gift boxes out to you.

Congratulations to Justine for winning a £60 Amazon voucher and to Rebecca Townsend and Retro Wren for both winning a Body Shop gift set.

Hurry up ladies or the draw will run again xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Love Froogs

Two £25 Body Shop Gift Sets to giveaway

giveaway

Hello Dear Reader,

A QUICK ADDITION! THE WINNER OF THE £60 AMAZON VOUCHER IS HILDA HAZEL WRIGHT!!!! YOU NAME HAS BEEN UP ON THE BLOG SINCE YESTERDAY! YOU HAVE UNTIL 6PM TO SEND ME YOUR EMAIL OR I WILL DRAW AGAIN AND IT WILL GO TO SOMEONE ELSE.

Recently, I received such poor service from The Body Shop that they sent me two Atlas Mountain Rose Gift sets. As an early Christmas gift from me to you - I’m giving them away!

These would make fantastic gifts for a friend or family member!

This giveaway is open mainland UK readers only, they are heavy and the cost of postage would be prohibitive.

The usual T&C’s apply and this is open to Frugal Queen followers, Twitter followers, Google+ followers and those who follow by email. If you leave a comment and tweet then you have two chances of winning. If you retweet, then you have another chance too. Leave Twitter comment, or Google+ comment, a comment here or by email.

Leave a comment about a special friend or family member that you would like to send this to.

This is a quick give away and I will randomly select two winners at 8pm on Sunday night. You will need to check here at 8pm as your names will appear in this post - you will then have 24 hours to contact me or I will redraw another name. email [email protected] with your address and I will send the gift packs out by post.


Good Luck,

Love Froogs xxxxxxx

Trouble with your water works?

Saving money

Hello Dear Reader,

What a day! My bank and my solicitors don’t speak the same language. Yesterday, my bank, you know to company totalsoddin’liars.com told me they had faxed everything over to my solicitors and I believed then. My bad! Today,I was informed by solicitors that nothing happened yesterday.Next, my solicitors informed me that the bank wanted to see the hard copy of the survey. I had then to phone the bank to be told they didn’t know what the solicitors were talking about. We were supposed to exchange contracts with all parties yesterday! Today, my legal firm utterlyincompetentidiots.co.uk told me to come in an we would sort everything out. I could pass the phone to my solicitor and everything would work like a well-oiled machine. The outcomes, after some technowizardry, the surveyors saw the survey for real, they told the middle men and the middle men told the bank and the bank told my solicitors. Dairymaids, Alderneys and a bit of butter comes to mind! You would think everything would be up and running by then but no! utterlyincompetentidiots.co.uk then went to lunch leaving me with all confidence that the exchange would take place today. So, with great expectations that something had actually been done, I phoned back after lunch to be told that the solicitor and his secretary never work after 2pm on a Friday…………………NFC as we would say round here…………normal for Cornwall! I think their waterworks were definitely on the blink as they were definitely taking the ****!

If you think highly trained lawyers, brokers and bankers can louse up your day, just think of the consequences if a someone in trade can do when let loose on your house! I am lining up work to be done on my new house. Some of which needs to be done as soon as possible. I need a new toilet and sink installing downstairs in a large cupboard in the utility room and I need the boiler and gas fire serviced before I will use them.

In fact, if you think my legal debacle is long winded my experience with a plumber in my previous home makes that seem painless. We bought our previous house for a pittance and then proceeded to spend more than it was worth making it livable. When we moved in, there were three boilers in the house all of which were totally antiquated. We decided to have everything ripped out, new boiler installed and the central heating system updated. We didn’t know any plumbers and relied on the previous version of Google called the yellow pages and phoned around for quotes. We found a plumber who was totally proficient who turned out to be totally officious in our home. It started badly with him referring it as a being ‘on site’. We were in the way, the kids were a nuisance and the dog barked. My thought being ‘so what’, we live here and so do two kids and a dog!


He made our life a living hell and we counted down the minutes until he left. Now days, his reputations would have gone round the net with reviews and we could have made a decision that he may not have been flexible enough to work around us and could have looked for someone else. We’ve been really lucky since and have used the Internet to find reviews and recommendations and can make an informed choice. I can also check out the legalities of the documents that trades folk need to carry such as a ‘Gas safe’ card and public liability insurance. Most trades can now produce a folder of all the legals and want you to check them.


We recently checked out a recommended plumber who could come and install a new toilet and sink downstairs for us and were able to feel quite at ease after checking www.watersafe.org.uk.

I found these facts on their website

• Brits have spent a whopping £2.6 billion in the last year fixing plumbing disasters.

• When choosing a plumber, 69% state cost as the deciding factor

• 23% have been the victim of a rogue plumber, while 23% know someone who has

• Of those who have been victim of a rogue plumber, the average cost to put it right is £426

• When looking for a plumber, 68% ask family or friends, 27% ask their neighbour, 25% go on the internet

• Only 21% go on to check the credentials of their plumber.

We have an excellent plumber now and I will happily share his details if you would like to email me.
Over to you Dear Reader, who has some really good advice on making sure you find a good plumber? Who has some plumbing horror stories? I’ve heard terrible stories of bodged showers in rented accomodation and of course the heart breaking stories that surface after a tragedy when a boiler explodes.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxx


£60 Amazon Voucher prize giveaway…….AND THE WINNER IS!

Saving money

Hello Dear Reader,

THE WINNER IS HILDA HAZEL WRIGHT! PLEASE EMAIL ME ON [email protected] and I will reply with your Amazon voucher codes for £60! Well Done Hilda xxx

I love a giveaway! Today, there’s £60 Amazon voucher for one lucky reader who leaves a comment!

Well, my dear reader. It’s the time of year that any shopping that might be done needs to be well planned and if you make a list, then check it twice. It’s very very easy to succumb to emotionally led purchases. I work in a town centre and sometime have a wander around the shops. I like to sniff perfume, try make up and blag as much of a make over as I can! I like to think lots of this will be on sale for a much reduced price in a few weeks time. Me, pay full price? You must be joking. You see, I’m a Bargain Hunter Gatherer!

Here’s what I found out about the way I shop.


I’M A BARGAIN HUNTER GATHERER

You’re an expert at collecting the best tools, voucher codes and loyalty cards to make your budget go as far as possible, week in, week out. While the kids are doing their homework, you’re doing yours - grabbing the best savings for your family. Key facts about you:
  • You’re most likely to be female, married or living with your partner and living in the north of the UK.
  • You lot are busy. Two thirds of you cleverly juggle your home, work and financial life.
  • You’re not easily tempted by big discounts, only 35% of you have ever bought a non-essential item you didn’t need because of a special offer.
  • Home really is where the heart is - 42% of you selflessly save your loyalty card points up for treats for the family.
  • You’re certainly not one to rush into Christmas shopping. You’ll bide your time and wait until the right price comes up - meaning you’ll likely strike the final week before Christmas.
  • Bargain hunting’s in your blood. Once you smell a bargain, the hunt is on - two thirds of you regularly shop around different stores and websites to get the best deal before settling on a purchase.

It’s all true. I am never tempted by discounts and wouldn’t buy anything just because it’s on sale or reduced. Infact, I wouldn’t actually go out ‘shopping’ unless I actually wanted something. I am aware that bargain don’t turn up on the one day that I go shopping and have the philosophy that you have to keep your eyes open and your purse shut until you really need something and find it at a brilliant price. I really do save loyalty points and use them for something that the family needs. It’s unlikely that I will head online to get something for myself but will think of what we all need.

I have no store loyalty. I check out prices online. I even found the best prices for household cleaning products in Waitrose and popped in there on my way home from work. I check out every website from Idealo, Savoo and look out for sales to be highlighted on Money saving expert. One thing is for sure, I never pay full price.

Here’s my hints and tips for being a Bargain Hunter Gatherer.

1. Stock take your wardrobe, if it doesn’t fit, if you will never wear it or if it makes you look awful then it’s time to take it to the charity shop. Now, make a real list of what you need. I’m on the hunt for knee length skirts, preferably some kind of wool or tweed and am just waiting for that Boden sale! What do you need?

2. You don’t need two of them! Not even if it’s buy one get one free! You do not need a bathroom full of shampoo.

3. Keep a list of birthdays, or presents you need to buy in your bag. When out and about, whether that a car boot sale, charity shop or Harrods peruse the list and think of what you need to buy - stick to the plan and do not give in to impulse.

4. Shop online and find what you need. 4b Now search for discount codes for what you are looking for. 4c. Look for free postage deals. 4d. Check out topcashback and quidco and see if you can get cash back. If none of those are available use price comparison websites such as idealo and make sure you are getting what ever you want at the best price.

5. When food shopping and looking for the best deals, remember that the supermarkets are trying to fleece you! Look down to the lower shelves and not just the ‘deals’. Check out price per kilo or 100g and then make a proper comparison. Look beyond the supermarkets and check out local markets and shops, you’ll not only find good prices but it’s great to connect with your community.

Now Dear Reader, I want to find out what sort of shopper you are.

To take part in the £60 Amazon voucher give away, all you have to do is take the quiz HERE and then leave a comment telling all of us what type of shopper you are. It’s that simple. I’ll run the giveaway until 8pm on Saturday night.

How simple is that?

Have fun with this one and get commenting to win a £60 Amazon voucher. I’m sure it will come very handy for Christmas!

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxxx

T&C’s - You must take the quiz and leave a comment about the type of shopper you are. This prize is open to Frugal Queen followers only. If you are not a follower then sign up and join in with the giveaway.





Freecycling and recycling

frugal home

Hello Dear Reader,

Tonight, we’ve been weight training! Actually, I’ve helped Dearly Beloved. We’ve disconnected the gas cooker and taken a three seater sofa and arm chair onto the drive. All three items have been on Freecycle and other that people who couldn’t collect them, no one wanted them! It breaks my heart, it really does. We’ve had to get rid of them early as ‘bulky waste’ is only collected on a Wednesday in my area and I had to book the collection and pay for it in one go. We move out next Thursday and I didn’t want to leave the recycling until the day before. They are all covered in a tarpaulin and will be taken to the recycling centre tomorrow (Resource in Bodmin) where they will be put up for sale for a small cost. It’s a shame as people could have had a Parker Knoll sofa and chair and Smeg cooker for nothing!

With less furniture, I’ve been able to have a thorough clean where such items once stood. I’m certainly looking forward to a smaller house and having a lot less to clean! I may do a lot of housework but I’m no fan of it and I could think of a million other things to do instead!

Sorry for the short post but I’ve got more cleaning to do.

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxx

What motivates me?

frugal weightloss


Hello Dear Reader,

Well, I should say, hello the reader who wrote this.

” Could you write a post about your epiphany, how you decided to lose weight and get fit and what were the first steps you took, along with other bits of Froogs wisdom, please please please pretty please ?”

I love new starts. I love the New Year, the new seasons, a new book, a new challenge, somewhere new and most of all I love a new day. The greatest thing about a new day is that yesterday is totally gone and we can all start again. I am at my best between six in the morning and midday! It all goes down hill after that BUT if it doesn’t go well, there’s alway another day (Thanks for that one Scarlet). I have lost weight before and got all the way down to almost a size 10 and bit by bit I ate all the weight back on. The weight did not creep on without my permission. I made it welcome and even though I didn’t want it, I made it comfy and kept on feeding it!

I had a personal, deep and very real self loathing of my entire body! I’ve always hated it! I hated every bit that droops, sags and wobbles. Fat is not a feminist issue, fat is the issue of a greedy human who just ate too much. I’ve never read fashion mags and couldn’t care less what anyone else looks like. I physically hate myself and have now declared war on my whiny, pitiful miserable self loathing and I’m not prepared to put up with the wobbles or sags anymore!

I’m 5’10” and far more suited to being an Amazonian warrior than a passive dainty and submissive waif. I will never simper, tousle my hair, lick my glossy come and get me lips. I’m a big, strong and healthy woman who birthed her children as easily as popping peas and got up and got the dinner on the table a few hours later. I may hate the sight of the bingo wings, saddle bags and roly poly thighs but I am not letting them stay any longer. I was never every going to get there by moaning, or talking about it………….I just had to do it. I know this all sounds very Dr Phil but I needed to put some verbs into my life!

Every drop of sweat, every stride on a pavement gets me closer and closer to having a lean, strong, long and muscular body. I like to work my legs the hardest as that’s where the most over fed areas of my body harbour past cakes, pies and pasta! I like to use the Myride bikes at the gym and set myself a mountain bike ride and push myself to the point that sweat is literally dripping off my tits! I like to get off and mop the floor where I have splashed sweat. In fact, the more I sweat and stink, the better I feel! I also like to push big weights around! I love the way my legs and push a ‘full stack’ on a leg press, I love the way I can squat 40kg and I love the way that every step down stairs after a really hard ‘leg’ session’ is a reminder of the tone and strength of those incredibly strong and powerful legs of mine.

Whilst I was over my happy weight and size, I beat myself up all the time and all it gave me was a headache! Now, I actually beat my body and it makes me feel incredibly positive about all the new tomorrows. We are spending slightly more on food and I am making the most of smaller but really healthy food. We deserve to be fit and well, we deserve to be well fed and we deserve to be happy.

 I started the gym and a new year’s resolution. I love new resolutions. No one who makes them actually just falls off the wagon. The consciously stopped. They actually said, stuff the diet, stuff the exercise or stuff the money saving. It didn’t just happen that they opened their mouth and a Hobnob fell in, they walked to the shop, bought the stuff, opened the packet and then their mouths and they made it all happen. There are no reasons for not exercising, there are no reasons for eating too much or eating unhealthily and there are never any reasons to not live well and to make the most of our lives.

As a woman, I know all the excuses that I could use. I could make excuses that my husband doesn’t support me. I could make excuses that I have joint pain and IBS. I could make excuses that my family needs me. I could use the excuse that I don’t have time. All of those excuses made by anyone are the reasons you have personally chosen because you actually don’t want to do something and are not ballsy enough to just say……………actually, I’m just lazy. When I was over my ideal size and suffering from joint pain, I walked. I added hills and took them slowly to begin with.

I went to a gym! Me, who had decided that she couldn’t afford to spend any money on myself and as I’m frugal with my money and have to get my money’s worth…went every day! In the beginning, I walked on the treadmill and I graduated to walking on it set on a hill programme. I progresses to weights, interval training and after a few months of working indoors, set food outside for the first time to run. I hadn’t run in years and I had two massive fears……………wobbling and pissing myself! The secret is to stop and pee if I needed to and wear compression leggings………..nothing wobbles in them.

I would also like to point out the gyms and pavement pounders are full of people full of every shape and size. I often pass larger people running and every time I just wish I could run as fast as they can! I’ve gained an incredible respect and appreciation for anyone who works hard at anything. Getting a leaner and stronger body takes years. There are no quick fixes! It takes repetition, repetition and repetition and really hard work.


I’ve always known that when I was debt free, when I had reduced my mortgage and when I had plenty of savings that I would be able to afford to make different choices. I don’t buy many clothes, I’ve only recently been to a hairdresser and now my investment is in myself. I no longer loathe my body, infact I am incredibly proud of what it can do! I’m proud of the fact that it gets lycra on and gets out in the cold, gets sweaty and is improving my life chances!

I’m going to reveal my secret weapon! My biggest investment in my health was in getting professional help. I hire a personal trainer. It would be an understatement to say his expertise have changed my life. No shouting, no driving me on just the quiet affirmation that I am getting fitter and healthier with every step I take.
Paul Penrose (I have his number and he’s available in West Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall but he’s moving to London next year) is a triathalete and iron man who has competed for team GB and continues to train university teams, Plymouth tri-club and is a highly sought after personal trainer. Yes, it costs what it costs, but it’s cheaper than Lighter life and fraction of the price of the ruinous misery I was suffering when I hated myself!


Now lets get this straight! I’m not suggesting anyone does as I do. You need to find your own personal motivation. No one wants to hear their own whining or self pity any longer. I was sick of my own negative self talk and had to do something to make my own life better. Remember though, if you do nothing to improve your lot, it’s not fate - it’s your own choice!

On that note………….I’m off out for a run round the block!

p.s - it’s not too late to go out for a walk - set yourself a mile a day - that’s how I started!

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs