Will be a very tight 2013

I am going to have to use all my frugal ways in 2013 - our income is going down a huge amount and its going to be a struggle. So I will be blogging more as every penny will have to be accounted for - there are going to be some very hard times ahead but I have managed on very little before and will do again.. So heres to a very challenging New Year - best wishes to everyone....

Ready mashed potato ripoff

I am on Weightwatchers (lost 2 stone and half a pound since July) so have been getting frugal with meals. One thing I have been avoiding is mashed potato - love the stuff dripping in butter (I know how I got this big! lol) and theres been grumblings from youngest dd and oh as they are sick of new pots and want mash. Had a look in Asda and a small pack of fresh mash was £1 and it would have barely fed those 2.....so I bought a bag of potatos for £1 from Asda and mashed them myself and froze them in 2 big portion sizes - so I got 5 out of the bought potato which even considering the gas it took to cook them is still a much better deal. However, I love swede and to make mine and my eldests mash I use two of the smaller ones at 85p each. I had a look at the ready prepared turnip and got 2 bags of it for £1 and there was enough for 3 of us and another 3 person portion is now in the freezer! So although it might seem cheaper always to prepare your own veg always keep an eye out for ready prepared stuff that works out cheaper.....

Freecycle comes up trumps with a dishwasher!

As my mum always says you wont get if you dont ask - as well as putting up a wanted post on Freecycle for a video player I put one up for a dishwasher as well.... Anyway, that was last week and I got offered loads of videos - got a combined video and dvd which was great and took another video player as a spare. Then - got an email from someone who had a friend who was moving to a house with a full size dishwasher and was giving away his slimline! Went up this morning to collect it, plumbed it in and it works beautifully - it should do as its a Bosch and must have been dear. Its got a digital thingy to show how many minutes are left and although its the same size as my last one i can see to get so much more in as the racks seem much better organised - I am a happy bunny to say the least!

Does it never end! lol

Went down to our caravan at the weekend - managed to bag a whole bag of videos for £1 at our recycling centre sale including the complete series of The Duchess of Duke Street and was fair looking forward to a couple of hours of watching that when disaster struck again - the video player went bang!So luckily, I put up a request on Freecycle and have had 2 offers of players - still waiting for confirmation of pick-up details but hopefully at least one will work!

And now the lawnmower....

Had gone up in smoke! How unlucky can we be???? lol - not so urgent as a dishwasher (mind you its not that bad washing up by hand...)

Update

Havnt blogged in ages so thought I would do a wee update..... Driving - still wobbly - parking is still an issue and I am driving the same roads as new roads still terrify me......did drive in the dark for the first time (terrified as dark country roads) - ongoing.... Well not only did I have to get a new washing machine (luuuurve my Beko) but a new fridge freezer too and last night - the dishwasher went poof! I got my dishwasher from Freecycle so its doesnt owe me anything but just one night without it and I realise how much I hate washing dishes! So will order one today. The joys of being frugal and always having something put by is I have paid every one of these items with cash - well, strictly not true - paid for by Tesco credit card so I could get points but paid for in total when the bill came through. Also did extra hours at work so youngest dd could have a weeks holiday in Germany with the school - shes doing work experience to help her with her Higher German. And....drum roll.....I bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers with my eldest dd - my sons wedding is 21 September 2013 and I will not be the fattest one in the pictures! I have now lost 19 1/2 lbs which sounds a huge amount but I have a lot to lose. However, I have gone down a dress size and folk are starting to notice which is nice.

New washing machine

Well I havnt been driving as much as I thought I would as I am still pretty terrified! Doing short runs - parking is still a huge problem for me as I just cant seem to get the hang of it but practise, practise! So at the moment I can only drive to places that have big car parks - cant park on streets yet! lol And at long last I am getting a new washing machine today - soooo excited its really sad! My last one was an Indesit - hated it from the moment I got it - even on a fast wash with a normal spin it took 1 1/2 hours for a 40 deg wash - there was a quicker option but the washing came out dripping and it still took an hour. I have never had a washing machine where the seal went mouldy and black. Being ever the frugal one I dropped my washing to 30 degrees and after a month the machine started to stink. It was so noisy you had to shut the internal doors when it was on - that just got worse and worse which is why we are getting a new one. Funnily enough my pal had the same one and had the same problems - its done us a turn - I think we have had it just over 5 years. I have put it on Freecycle (listing all its problems!) because at the end of the day its a washer that works and might do someone a turn until they could afford a new one. My new one is a Beko - 9kg drum so I can wash sleeping bags - apparantly a full 9kg load only takes 39 minutes and theres a fast wash option of 14 mins - bliss! I have saved up for it - bought it from Tesco as I checked out the prices and it was £2 dearer on there but I got a £10 voucher off and free delivery. I paid for it with my Tesco credit card to get the extra points too! so that will be paid off in full when I get the bill. And I just got an automated message saying it will be delivered between 12 and 3......