The Frugal Girl's Guide

Goal Setting

2009-09-17T13:51:00.009+01:00

Apparently this is the most effective way of achieving something.

I took myself off to see "Julie and Julia" last night. Top performances all round - if a little unsettling seeing Meryl Streep supposedly playing a woman of 6ft 1" (it was all fine until you saw the stack heels in the last scene - I'm rather sensitive about tall girls - being 5ft 11" myself) with a warble rather than a voice... but then I'm English and frankly if Julia Child was anything like Fanny Craddock - then I suppose I can relate....

Julie (played by a very un-"Enchanted"-esque Amy Adams) decides that she needs to set herself a goal. Watching her having lunch with her insanely over-acheiving friends - you can see that the poor thing feels a little inadequate - sweet (ouch). Anyway - her (heavenly) husband and she come up with this loopy idea of cooking all the recipes in Julia Child's book over the course of a year. It isn't easy - but which worthwhile goals ever are?

I've NEVER had goals - well I had one once - and I achieved it 13 years ago.... that was to go to University - I didn't really think about what I wanted to do afterwards. I would like it noted that my goal was never really to finish University or to Graduate from University (I took those as a given) - it was just to go. Then I thought - OK, now proper boyfriend - rather good one came along in between 1st and 2nd years and all looked good. Then I thought - ok might as well finish - I'll do what I have to - I proudly graduated with a 2:2 (could have tried harder).

Then... the boyfriend was back home in Mum and Dad land - so off I went back to the home turf.... thinking "Ok, so I'm 22, I'm a GRADUATE, I'm loved up with a guy 6 years my senior - I give myself a year to be decent, a year to be engaged, a year to be married and then by 25 I'll be a mother - excellent - when I'm 32 all 3 children will be at school and then I can think about possibly opening a shop......

I'm 32 now, I'm single, I live alone and I have a blackberry - for work. No kids. I'm a "Sinky" - (Single Income No Kids)..... must come up with better acronyms!

So, I did have goals, but they relied on someone else to make them come true.. or did they?

Since then, my goals are shorter term. When your roof, income and social life are all acceptable - what do you work on next? I suppose the answer to that is to make them better.

I am a regular reader of an informative blog called "Early Retirement Extreme". Jacob, the author provides many insights into life from and anti-consumer's point of view - which given the (somewhat ironic) title of this blog I'm sure you will appreciate. I love him - but I really don't want to be him. He lives in a "mobile home" as we call them here in the UK and thinks that washing your clothes too often means that they last less long - a little bit dismissive of me I confess - he's got some VERY good points. And he has an entertaining writing style that keeps me engaged. Not that I'm ever going to make my own washing powder - or have an air-conditioning unit that I'll need to learn to service - add him to your feed!

In this economic climate (who came up with that phrase? sounds political to me.....) there is a refreshing revival of the old fashioned ideas that your Granny's Granny would have taken as normal practise. And good for her! It shocks me that I'm the only one in my office that will willingly sew a button back on to the boss's jacket. Long lost skills are being revived - and I'm really quite excited about that.

The point is - if you want something and you can't have it yet - work out a way to get it and when you need to have it by. The hardest bit - is working out what you actually want and then what it is in your power to actually get.....

But I have red soled shoes...... and I've got interest free on purchases until March.....

Not frugal at all!

2009-09-17T13:42:00.003+01:00

I have bought a pair of red-soled shoes......
I've had 5 facebook status comments on this statement - and a great deal of encouragement from my colleagues (the kind of girls that wear them everyday).... it's not like me - but.... well.....

Singledom - financial independance?

2009-06-24T11:00:00.009+01:00

When I was in my 20's Bridget Jones was hilarious....... now her diary's just 'advice'.

Sex and the City was something to aspire to beacuse "When I'm THAT old I'll earn more and be able to have shoes like that too".

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a fantasy that I bought into as the single girl who always wondered what it would be like to be the most popular girl in the room who married the guy who used to go out with Carrie from SATC.... Because come on, we all know John Corbet is an actor and that SATC and MBFGW are not the same story - but when you see the guy who your saw on screen in heated athletic positions with SJP fall innocently in love with the Daddy's girl who's style sense wouldn't have rivled his old girlfriends in any contest... only the greatest of realists wouldn't believe that it could be them. (ranting - apologies - I will get to my point)

I'm single and I'm in my 30's - I am financially independant and I'm doing OK. I don't really feel like being saved from my life anymore - I'm not sitting in my ivory tower growing my hair into a rope so that a knight on a big white charger can rescue me. I'm Ok - I'm good thanks- I'm having a great time.

Little bit vino colapso the other night and was chatting to my mother - and said - "Look, really sorry Mum, but i'm not totally convinced that you're going to get your second round of Grandchildren - I'm not very sure I want to devote myslef to picking up after someone else, boys smell" (eloquence has always been one of my stronger points after a couple of bottles glasses of wine). Mother's stock answer was fairly appropriate "You just haven't met the right man yet darling - now drink a big glass of water and go to bed".

Is this a realisation that lots of women in my situation have at my age? Does it come along quite naturally when you've fought enough battles on your own to think that you're not sure if you do really want someone to go through the next batch with? All the more reason to relish our financial independance - goodness sounds like Germaine Greer.... never thought that would happen.

All this rambling results in one question..... and I'm trying to figure out exactly what that is - any thoughts?

It's Expensive Being Single!

2008-11-08T22:26:00.013Z

When I was in my 20's Bridget Jones was hilarious....... now her diary's just 'advice'.

Sex and the City was something to aspire to beacuse "When I'm THAT old I'll earn more and be able to have shoes like that too".

Little bit vino colapso the other night and was chatting to my mother - and said - "Look, really sorry Mum, but i'm not totally convinced that you're going to get your second round of Grandchildren - I'm not very sure I want to devote myslef to picking up after someone else, boys smell" (eloquence has always been one of my stronger points after a couple of bottles glasses of wine). Mother's stock answer was fairly appropriate "You just haven't met the right man yet darling - now drink a big glass of water and go to bed".

All this rambling results in one question..... and I'm trying to figure out exactly what that is - any thoughts?

Back in the land of the living....

2009-06-23T13:46:00.003+01:00

All apologies for recent disappearance. The walk and too many other things seem to have completely taken over my life in the past few months. Now I'm back to normal service I hope.

Here's a couple tit bits for you:

Make your own Pimms.....

Of course this is hugely expensive if you need everything - but a great way to make a vat of the stuff if your bottle of Cointreau is gathering as much dust as mine. I'm sure I could dig out some vermouth and gin too.... well worth a go.... been meaning to invest in some Angostura bitters for years!

The Thrift Book:

I am totally in awe of this brilliant book - I haven't written a book report for a number of years (so I won’t – just follow the Amazon link – other people are better at that stuff than me) then - buy it. I LOVE India Knight's sharp, witty, thought provoking and engrossing column in The Times and follow it regularly online - but she's done it. She's outshone all my ideas and put them into one brilliant book. Now out in paperback for less than the price of a large glass of Chablis at C&B.

It's Fashionable Being Frugal....

2009-02-10T14:30:00.003Z

... or is it just a necessity now we're in the "Global Economic Slump"?

So, time to think about things.... I am taking stock again and looking at how not to credit card the big things for a while.

I have a few trips planned and in the past I would have just whacked them on my credit card - but I'm in the fortunate position that I don't HAVE to pay for them for a little while - so I'm working on saving/gaining £1000 by the beginning of MAY.... better be a good holiday! :)

One suggestion for a small additional income has been to make some more of the things I made as Christmas presents and to try to sell them on Etsy (www.etsy.com). I'm very flattered that my friends think that these things are worth selling and will definitely be giving that one a go - watch this space! Also, it seems to be time to bite the bullet and get listing on eBay once more.

I had a great deal of success a few years ago listing things on eBay and made a decent wedge of cash from the things in my wardrobe that I didn't wear. However, I think (please correct me if you think otherwise) that the eBay market has changed somewhat over the past couple of years. I think that the popularity of the site has driven prices down and the dearth of goods available on there has created less demand - and some people really do list items for a very small fee. But, there are benefits on both sides. It's great if you're keen to find a bargain – and even better if you shop off season. For example – buying a winter coat in June is in less demand than in October, though the range available might be fewer you’re more likely to land a bargain. It’s also very good for people like me who may not have certain kind of shops nearby. Living and working in the City makes my local fabric and haberdashery shop John Lewis, and though they stock well they don’t always have the least costly items. You can find pretty much anything you want on eBay – and a whole lot more that you don’t!

So, Etsy, eBay….. I don’t have a car. So car boot is out (but eBay’s just that online really). I’m terrified of the whole meal planning approach to food shopping. I understand that this is a necessity when it comes to family frugality –but I’m all about the single girl here! J

Which brings me to living alone, the most expensive pass-time of the lot. Some would even go so far as to say – self-indulgent. Hey, more and more people live alone year on year – evidently pooling your income becomes less and less attractive the harder you work for it! I’m not a gold-digger – I’m looking for a kind, sensitive, generous man with good looks and a sense of humour – is that too much to ask from a millionaire? Seriously though, financial independence and all the responsibilities that come with it is sometimes a cross to bear. With no one to be accountable to with your money, you discuss it less and you find that your financial freedom can be somewhat daunting.

I use some really good websites for advice in such matters: www.fool.co.uk is really helpful as is www.moneysavingexpert.com - but I would love to hear your top money saving tips to get me up to a grand in 3 months!

I’m setting the following rules:
No more than one night out per week – makes use of all inclusive minutes on these call packages I have invested in!
No more money wasted on walking kit – I can just walk!
No meat (Unless it’s free)
No eBay purchases (Help me!!!)
No fabric shopping – I must deal with the addiction and I have LOADS – will encourage me to be more creative.

Do you think I’m being too easy on myself?

After May – I’ve got the credit card debt to sort out – that’s just a little bit more.... perhaps I should do that first!!!

Frugal Fitness!!!

2009-01-30T09:57:00.011Z

It's January and it's cold!!!! I know this because I'm training for the Playtex Moonwalk 2009!!!
Given my usual activity level is something along the lines of wander the 2 miles home via the shops stopping on a bench for a cigarette on the way - I have some work to do.

For those of you that don't know, the Moonwalk is a full Marathon walked over night around the streets of London to raise money for breast cancer charities. The breast awareness is heightened by the fact the all 15,000 of the walkers are encouraged to complete the course wearing just their bras (on the top half - I hope I'm allowed to wear shorts too!!).

I applied for the event in the autumn of last year and was very lucky to get a place - as almost everyone else I know who applied didn't. I thought - ok this will take some work - but how hard can it be?

Back in 1996 (when I was a mere girl of 19) I joined my university rowing club - the first (and turns out last - to date) sports club that I had ever belonged to. I was always last to be picked for team sports at school - this was when I wasn't sitting fully clothed at the side of a badminton net trying not to fall asleep under the guise of "umpire". Needless to say, rowers, even not very good ones, are FIT! And in the true spirit of first year at university - the team was full of boys too! Yum!...... ... sorry..... phew!

Anyway - there was a true incentive then and I realised that in the last 10 years of growing up, getting jobs, finding places to live and generally getting on from one thing to the next I really hadn't had the time or the inclination to exercise. Obviously there have been crash diets for weddings and parties and things that I simply had to lose half a stone for - but really nothing but a self-esteem goal rather than something more tangible.

I'm planning a 13mile walk tonight..... this is the oddest statement ever coming from me. I'm refusing to join a gym and I've made a modest outlay on some basics. My local council gym is £34 per month, this gives unlimited access to the gym and to the classes. The corporate gym memberships I can access through work range from £45 to £98 per month - I work in the City - it's the most expensive place in the UK! Working on this basis as a member of Virgin Active Broadgate I would be forking out £1176 per year to use their facilities.

I didn't want to do that, the council gym is good (it is in fact the one where Bridget Jones was filmed falling over after peddling madly on the exercise bike) - but it's seriously dull and the treadmills face the weights and so you either stare at your stats on the treadmill's little LED displays or watch sinewy men gurning away while giving themselves a hernia! For £408 a year - you can keep it.

So, I decided the virtues of shank's pony were to be explored. On New Years Day I walked home 7 miles across London from my friend's house. I thought - New Year, New Start - and these boots were made for walking and all sorts of other motivational cr*p brought on by long sleep, not too bad a hangover and sausage sandwiches...... My boots are stunning (see investment buying post) but, they're not really made for 7 miles of hard pavement - by the time I got home my right little toe hated me so much that it decided to burst.... sorry too much information - it put me out of walking action for a couple of days. Schoolgirl error I decided so I started to walk everywhere in my trainers.

I bought my trainers 3 years ago, about the same time as I bought my Lateral Thigh Trainer - any insomniac with freeview will know what I’m talking about (but I did get it on eBay for £40 instead of the £90 in three easy instalments as advertised on the shopping channels). They had seen a little bit of action - a few walks to work and the odd jaunt a little further - definitely NO running and certainly no team sports. They were old and dirty and past their best. My back started to hurt - all this walking and now I was starting to waddle - oh no! How was I going to face 26.2miles walking like a duck? I needed help.

Someone told me about Runners Need - a shop where they actually video you walking on a treadmill to assess your gait and therefore supply you with shoes that do something wonderful and technical to your running ability. Lost me to be honest - not that interested in such things - you know these fit freaks that sit around in their size 0 leggings and complain about not having enough time to run the 20miles a day they need.... (please please let me be one one-day!). I decided to go, be brave and face it, the chap who helped me out was so lovely - and I ended up with a pair of the ugliest shoes I've ever owned! They do have pink bits on them, so that made them appropriate for the Moonwalk.

I also forked out for a nike-ipod widget thingy (technical jargon hey?) - it turns out that you don't have to have nike shoes to use one - they sell these little pouch things that go through the top of the laces of any trainers and it works just as well. It attaches to your ipod nano - I've got one - is that frugal? Perhaps I should do a post on cheap downloads and filling your ipod for free one day..... - it's ever such a clever gadget. It tells you how far you've walked (or run - weirdo), how long it's taken you and how many calories you've burned.

The lovely chap at Runners Need showed my where to put my battered old trainers so that they could be recycled and off I bounced into the cold air of a January morning in the City and into a totally new fitness regime. I did spend about £90 in there - and I did pay £20 extra for the trainers with the pink bits, convincing myself that they were a better fit than the £50 ones with the peach flashes (who designs these things and where did they get their taste from??) - but I really feel like I've got the good deal here.

I know I'm very lucky living in Central London and being able to walk pretty safely (touch wood) in the dark as there are lots of people around in most places and CCTV covering every inch of the place. I know too that a £90 outlay in January is something few people could relate to - but in the long (walk) run I think I'm doing pretty well. There is a brilliant free tool for mapping routes around the city - it covers the whole world so you can use it where ever you are - http://www.mapmyrun.com/. I managed 45miles around the big smoke last week, the big smoking is lesser and lesser everyday and the thighs are shrinking - do I need anymore reasons - besides raising money for such a good cause?

Next - frugal weightloss - surely not eating is not spending? (joke!).

Homemade Christmas - bit late but I couldn't spoil the surprise!

2009-01-26T19:49:00.010Z

Above is the pile of some of the stuff I made as Christmas presents (I so wish I had the talent to make these pictures good!) Mainly thanks so to the Pink Penguin and to the fabulous tutorials posted by Sew Mama Sew. For my mother I made this fabric basket and a lavender eye pillow inspired by this brilliant idea - I did the same for my sister - and I filled the baskets with their favourite cosmetic ranges - bought as gift sets on eBay for a fraction of the price that they were in shops - particularly proud of the Body Shop Vitamin E bargain, please don't be offended dear sister, but I halved the £20 max and got 4 full size products that retail for £5-£8 each and a pink facecloth to match!

Again I wish I was a photoshop whizz - but here's a close up of the baskets I gave to my Mum and my sister as they were filled with stuff. The funky fabrics were fat quarters bought on ebay for between £2 and £3 a piece and the natural tone fabric is the trimming from my old Ikea living room curtains.

I discovered a whole new world - and a new hobby this Christmas and I'm really having to reel myself in from buying lots and lots of fabric on eBay! However, trawling the internet for patterns, advice and ideas is a free past time and really you can do this with old clothes and other bits of fabric you may have lying around. Plus I have lots ans lots left over so I can make things for my Mum and sister that carry on the theme.

My friends got an experimental range of made up gifts as well as a number of variations of this. Once you get the hang of this idea you can really run with it - and I think that's where a lot of my confidence came from. For colleagues and the Boss's wife I made a small drawstring bag with a lavender eye pillow and a lavender bag inside - all matching. I also worked out a very basic lined tote pattern using some Cath Kidston napkins and some old curtains - everyone got
one in some form or another and I am so bored with them now that I think I could make them in my sleep - I might do a tutorial - if I can ever work out the light in my dingy little flat! This is the first one I made - for a collegue who is a big Elvis Fan, I used the Cath Kidston red star fabric and got a small "Elvis Lives" iron on patch on eBay - she cried when she opened it - she's quite emotional sometimes!

For those that I couldn't really sew something for - I know you can sew something for every one - particulalry if you look here - I decided to flex my culinary muscles!

For the Boss who has everything a bottle of spiced Arancello and a bag of orange and Hazlenut Biscotti I bought soda bottles from Lakeland - they were cheaper than on eBay and some cellophane bags on eBay - this took a few goes for size! The smaller ones were fine really! I used my daily grind sectrearial skills for the labels - just a word template and a google image search and put a list of ingredients on the back. I ran out of hazelnuts and couldn't face zesting another orange so I just chucked in some almonds and cocoa instead - they were everyone's favorites! I would say though - if making biscotti make sure you have a VERY sharp knife for the cutting - I had bits everywhere!

I was very pleased with the way everything turned out. And I think my firends and family were happy to recieve something I had made. Goodness knows what I'll have to come up with next year!

Sorry!

2009-01-22T14:05:00.003Z

So sorry for lack of posts - it's all down to the postal system - rather ironically.

I made so many of my Christmas presents and dutifully took photos before sending them off to their new homes.

I waited patiently for the calls of thanks and letters of gushing gratefulness..... several came though - it's the best part of giving don’t' you think. BUT! My mother's gift didn't arrive in time for Christmas; in fact it arrived yesterday..... 21st January - it did have to get to Portugal but I was genuinely heartbroken. Now she has it - pictures and comments on all that I made will follow (once I figure out how to make the pics look half decent!!!)

Lots of love!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T12:05:00.001Z

Wishing everyone a VERY Merry Christmas!
Lack of posting is due to mass prep of home-made Christmas presents! Photo's coming after tomorrow - don't want to spoil any surprises!
Have a great time!

More Frugal Christmas Tips

2008-11-03T13:58:00.003Z

I have been sewing all weekend! I have had a wonderful time with the Pink Penguin's tutorials.

Very inspiring and I'll be doing matching lavender bags just a soon as i figure out what they're going to look like! I'm holding back on showing you the fabric baskets and patch work bags.... just in case at some point those that they are intended for might actually have a look at my site!

(just liked this picture - I'm not growing my own lavender)

Been thinking further about other things that can go in jars as Christmas presents and have come up with a few more ideas:

Bath Salts - easy to follow instructions here
Lemon Curd (my granny used to make this.... a proper old fashioned treat)
Mincemeat - a good festive present - particularly for those that you'll see in the run-up rather than on the day

I've since realised that I don't actually have any jars - I have been very conscientious and managed to take them to the recycling..... this poses an issue - do i a) clean out my cupboards and throw out all the stuff currently in jars that might possibly never get eaten or do I buy some lovely kilner jars on eBay?

I definitely know what the right Frugal decision is.... and at the end of the day - I could probably pick up a kilner jar of lavender bath salts in a £1 shop.... but it wouldn't have the same significance now would it? oh dear..... can you advise please?

Tips for a Frugal Christmas

2008-10-30T11:18:00.005Z

I'm becoming more and more aware of how relevant my ramblings are - (not trying to sound up myself - I'm well aware of my blow-out on boots) given our changing times. I'm 31 and have been a child of the "boom" in available credit. I'm not badly off - not struggling in some ways that others are (I'm sincerely sorry if you are reading this and have real problems in this area) but I do need to be sensible and try to put a hold on being extravagant this Christmas. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I become terribly over generous at Christmas - last year I racked up further debt in finding all my friends and family the very best presents I could. I forked out well over a £1000 in total and genuinely embarrassed some people who simply couldn't afford to reciprocate.

I'm really glad that I don't have a mortgage - but I'm not in the black either - I have credit card debit that needs no more help to expand.

This Christmas my lovely big sister has been great in enforcing the following mantra on us all "we can only spend a maximum of £20 on each other" - this is fantastic because Mum and Dad retired this year and she has 2 boys who love video games.

There will be 7 of us on Christmas day - 6 presents to buy from my end. With a total spend of £120 on gifts. This is 12% of how much I spent on them all last year.

I believe that the key to a frugal Christmas is thoughtfulness and preparation.
So, START NOW!!!

I am planning on putting my recently bolstered sewing skills (see post on Recycled Clothing) into play and will be (at the risk of ruining all surprises) happily taking on the wonderful tutorials posted on the Pink Penguin I love everything about her blog - it's pretty and it's inspiring - what more do you need?!

I will also be eBaying like mad. I have already bought a number of things on there. The wonder of eBay never ceases to amaze me I will search and search on line for present ideas - find the perfect thing and then I'll search for it on eBay. It has pretty much everything you could possibly want on there. Beware though - it's not always such a bargain when you add on the postage and packing costs. you also get a lot of things on there that are the same price as in the shops and when you whack on the postage charges it's a false economy.

I will endeavour to make most of my gifts, or at least include something I have made for all of my close family. They key to a homemade gift is confidence. Make something you know is good. You know if you're capable of creating something that is pretty high quality and you'll be proud that you did. It doesn't have to be something they can keep forever it can be something edible or disposable.

I also have colleagues to buy for - as a PA "it's all about the perks" and I do get very generous presents - however, reciprocation though not expected is, in my book, only polite - but what do you get them?

Here are a few ideas for classy homemade gifts that are not too complicated and will not break the bank too much:

Fudge – you’ll have lots of fun trying out recipes!

Your favourite biscuit (cookie) recipe in a box with some to sample

Vanilla sugar (in your own recycled jars) lovely one here

Lavender Bags (you can hand stitch and they’re great for the more mature women in your life!)

Lavender Sugar (for the foodie in your life) another great one here

You can find instructions for making all of these things by simply Google searching. There are lots of different sites with tutorials - recipes for EVERYTHING and you can buy pretty much all the bits you need on eBay.

For those of you who are a bit more confident in your creative abilities, blog’s like the Pink Penguin are a fantastic free resource. I love her patch-work drawstring bag – which if you’re not planning on making patch-work a habit can be made from old clothes and scraps of fabric (the original thinking behind this lovely craft).

I’ll let you know how I get on with my Pink Penguin projects (but won’t let you know who they’re for until the New Year!).

Frugal Fashionista - Investment Buying

2008-09-24T21:46:00.005+01:00

I'm the Queen of Primark - OK maybe not the Queen of Primark - but if you look at the labels in my clothes you will find a selection of things from Primark, Tesco, New Look, H&M and if I'm pushing the boat out - Dorothy Perkins. Hurrah!

My working wardrobe has two pairs of identical pinstripe trousers in it.... I've been wearing the same uniform to the office forever... relieving the boredom with a new £1.50 vest top in a colour I'm fairly comfortable with under all the black.

When I was in my early twenties I worked in a high-end dress shop. When I say "high-end" I don't mean scary high-profile designer labels. This shop was a unique boutique (there's the poet in me again!) selling clothes designed by an independent designer with her own workrooms and a small chain of shops. Selling ladies suits retailing over £750 for living is a real education and I swear it's a major contributing factor to the way I approach my life today. When you can talk a rich middle aged lady into the outfit she'll be wearing to her son's wedding then you've dealt with "over-coming objections" in their most extreme form (trust me they're worse than the Brides). It's sales in it's rawest form and all the skills apply to what ever you selling.

My mentor on this journey (which was a little under 2 years of my life) was the designer herself. A formidable woman brimming with innate style, class, guts and sophistication - I'm tall and I was completely convinced she was taller than me - I didn't realise until I had worked for her for a year that she was actually 4 inches shorter. She gave me some advice on how to pick my buyer. How I would know who wandered into the shop would be a sure fire likely purchaser. I have lived by this - and I know it to be true.... you're going to like it too..... it's all about your...... SHOES!!!! (and handbags)!!

Accessorise ladies! it's all about accessories! You can make a plain white shirt and black trousers look something special by adding something as simple as a bright square scarf at the neck - co-ordinate this with a matching belt and you're really cookin'! These can be picked up for a matter of pence in places like Primark - both together easily less than £5 and I challenge you not to find a small scarf somewhere in your stash!

Aside from the cheaper aspects of style - investment buying is about spending money on the right things and keeping them for a long time. Buy when the going is good an buy the best you can afford.

Frugal Girl has a confession here - I have been spending.... and I'm actually not all that sorry - and I put it on my credit card - the one without the 0% offer.... but hey ladies I have BOOTS!!! This has opened up a whole new world of dressing for me, especially into the Autumn/Winter. I have never ever been able to buy knee high boots before - obviously these are usually made for people who are thin and have money - (not usually me). A colleague of mine told me about a company in the UK called Duo boots who retail boots that are sold not only on shoe size but on calf measurement (www.duoboots.com - mail order too!). They're also fairly reasonably priced (well not over priced compared with other retailers) - from £100 - £195 - I can hear your bottoms clenching... :)

I am justifying this purchase the following way - they look fabulous with my £3 eBay dress, my £22 in the sale Whistles Dress and my £8 Primark Jeans..... so in real terms I could have spent £60 on one dress, £85 on the Whistles dress full price and I could have bought 7 for all mankind jeans (if they made them in my size) for £180 - so I could have spent another £325 as well as the (ouch) £170 on my boots..... but instead I actually spent £33- a saving of £292.... which makes the other pair a bought practically free!!! (Hey I try - but nobody's prefect!!!).

;)

Beautifully frugal - Olive Oil

2008-07-28T10:18:00.005+01:00

Another store cupboard beauty essential!!!

I have really dry skin, I'm pretty sure that this is as a result of too many cigarettes, too much dehydrating wine and living in a city atmosphere as well as a fiercely air conditioned office.

i was standing in my kitchen making my weekly batch of soup to take to work for lunch on a Sunday afternoon and my face felt tight and dry - I remembered reading this article:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/me_oliveoil.html and proceeded to put a little olive oil on my finger tips and streak it across my cheeks.... it wasn't as greasy and horrible as I first thought!

In fact by the time I was using my hand blender to whizz up my soup my skin was fresh and glistening in a really healthy way. I'm sure that, just like the aqueous cream, this is an old fashioned and well known beauty phenomenon, but I thought - ohh yet another fantastic thing I must put on the Frugal Girl!!

I have since indulged in a body scrub of olive oil, sea salt and few drops of lavender - which was effective - if a little messy in my shower. A face pack of egg, honey and olive oil which healed all the dry spots, did not aggravate the black heads (combination skin is evil) and left my skin feeling fresh and healthy.

I'm now using olive oil as a body lotion - it's slightly more intense than the aqueous cream/aloe vera combo and seems best when used in the manner as described in the old baby oil adverts. I.E. massage onto wet skin when getting out of the shower then towel off! Lovely soft skin all over! YUM!

Have to say though - I'd avoid the extra virgin stuff, it's terribly fruity and the smell can really stay with you. i go for bog-standard Tesco Olive Oil (1 Litre is £3.41) and decant into a small travel bottle for use in the shower (the big bottle lives next to the cooker, just as it should).

Vino Colapso

2008-07-22T17:33:00.000+01:00

Vareity of elderberry..... OR...... ouch the next morning?

Vino Colapso is a true City-Girl state usually a Thursday night thing now - but often witnessed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, tonight.... erm... off point.... soz....

Okay, okay - my point is - how do you go out frugally? It's payday on Monday and I've got two "drinks" meetings, one dinner out and a "Big night out" on Saturday - and I've got £50.....

Now, I'm a bit old for a half bottle of vodka in my handbag.... and I live in Central London - I would be SO grateful if anyone out there could help me out with some ways to keep it clean, keep it special and induce just small amounts of "Vino Colapso" (just to point out this is a GENUINE variety if Elderberry.... I think... you never know with the internet these days :) )

How to be a Frugal Fashionista - Recyled Clothing

2008-07-22T13:15:00.000+01:00

This is such a HUGE subject that I think this will be a series of articles to do with clothes, shopping and generally looking fabulous!

I've sorted out your skincare regime so now it's time to take a look in your wardrobe.

I touched on this in the last article, applying Adrienne's principles to my holiday wardrobe. What I didn't say was that the week after my frugal holiday I did a (not so very but it will pay for itself in the end) frugal summer school.... at the London College of Fashion.

The course cost me more than my holiday to Portugal - but it was the most fun I've had in a really long time. I have a creative streak - which doesn't get much attention in the office world so it was a real "change is as good as a rest" week - and it rocked.

The course I did was called Recycled Clothing and it runs as a 5 day course, Summer, Autumn and Spring - the Autumn 2008 course fees are £330. I paid £400 as the teaching house in the summer are longer.

The purpose of the course is to show you how to take your existing wardrobe and make it into something you actually want to wear by either altering it to fit you properly, customising it to update it or cutting it up and making something totally different. I chose 3 pieces (and stupidly did not take before shots - so you'll have to take my word for it!) a beautiful cashmere jumper given to me by a friend as one of her boss's cast offs (love being City PA sometimes), a skirt from a suit which I always suspected made me look old and a bodice top which fitted me about 2million bars of chocolate ago!

The Jumper was a man's 50" chest roll neck in grey marl. So soft that I used to wear it to cuddle up on the sofa with no one watching. The roll neck at the top and the welt at the bottom were so tight and the middle so baggy that I took on the look of a boiled sweet, twisted tight at both ends - not for public consumption! I was gutted about that because it was such a beautiful jumper and I really wanted to show it off a bit. Looking at the course tutor's samples I got the idea to make it into a jacket - and being on the course gave me the confidence to just go for it with the scissors...

it's now this:

I cut off the welt at the bottom, the neck at the top and straight up the middle of the front.

I then, very carefully seamed the from by rolling the cut edge back and hiding it under a length of ribbon.

The trim around the neck and the down the front is slightly stretchy so it was easier to shape it round the neck.

The frill at the sleeve cuff is what used to be round the bottom.

I'm thrilled with how this turned out - I just wish I had the time in real life to be able to do this kind of thing will all my clothes. The difficulty with frugality is the time it can take to go the frugal way round.

I am definite that I WILL get out of the habit of going out on a Friday lunchtime to buy a top for a night out. It's a dangerous trap of desperation that can prove expensive when your mind does that - I really need it and it's £45 so I'll just have to get it.

The resolution now is that I will only wear things I own or have really thought about buying. And if I don't like what I've already got - what can i do to make it work. Thinking beyond adding a broach or a funky necklace and actually looking at things in my wardrobe that I've discounted due to a minor flaw and trying to fix that is defiantly what I should do first.

A brilliant US site - Thriftiness becomes us

2008-06-21T08:38:00.000+01:00

http://adrienne22.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/changing-the-way-i-think/

I like to think that I do my research... a media degree and a life spent sorting out other peoples lives means that the more information I have to back up my actions the more comfortable I feel.

So, when the frugal girl came into my life I said "Oh hello.... did you bring anyone with you?"

The times they are a changing and the boom we have all enjoyed with limitless credit, cheap borrowing and easily maintained credit scores is fading. It remains to be seen where this is all heading and getting into the political arena isn't something I'm comfortable with (too much research to do!). I often find myself looking back at women who have had to deal with so much harder times, who approached the whole situation with style and stamina. My Grandmother's (well probably your great-grandmother's - feeling old today) generation had to make do and mend - they had no choice - post war there really wasn't a lot of anything to go round and my mother generation struggling with the 3-day week and strikes in the 70's and 80's it's pretty clear that we've got no idea what struggle really is.

I know this isn't really fair to all and this really does come from a middle-class university educated stand point. But I've earned at the bottom and the middle of the scale and I've taken advantage of the "free" credit and I've got myself in a mess and back out again. Which I think most of us can say when we come out of the other side of our 20's.

Being terribly serious - but I guess I'm illustrating the real reasons behind this site. I'm feeling the squeeze - my food and fuel bills are effected - just as everyone else's are and that means that our fun money is shrinking. The idea behind this site is that your fun money can still be fun, just because there's less cash, shouldn't means there's less fun. Money is useful, but it really can't make you happy - so why should you let it make you miserable?

I have digressed enough - I have been scouring the Internet for fellow frugal girls - having some issues finding fellow Brits! It seems there is a dearth of fab, fun women all across America who are keen to live life taking a creative approach to how they use their resources. This seem to be a key theme, it's not really about how much money you have - but about how you use it.

The link at the top of this post is to a really clever article written by
Adrienne on her site "thriftiness becomes us" (see link to her home page on the right hand side of this page). It's all about how she approached the problem of her bookshelves.... I love it - the basic principles can be applied to everything really....

She is looking for more storage space for her books. Already owning 4 sets of shelves, but needing more room. She takes us through 3 steps:
1) look for shelves in the thrift store
2) look for shelves in yard sales
3) make the shelves I have work.

I love this approach - she has never once thought "go to IKEA and pick up some new shelves" - even though IKEA is a cheap option - she's looking at minimum spend!!!

The main parallel I found with this approach is - my WARDROBE!!!! It's the time of year when we're all packing our bags to spend some time away from home (my thrifty holiday involves Ryan Air - calling in a favor and staying with relatives who happen to live abroad) and the holiday wardrobe is always a good excuse to go out and by a themed set of brand new clothes and accessories - usually "hanging" the cost of some items - simply because they match.

I was researching the holiday capsule wardrobe in a forum on the moneysavingexpert site and I can see - we're all similar - a good pair of trousers, couple of skirts, swim wear, couple of pretty tops etc etc.... all with a similar colour theme in order to get the most our of the fewest clothes. GREAT!!! in fact LOVE IT!!!

I'm applying the two principles above to my holiday packing firstly:
1) can I make what I have work?
2) can I borrow anything from my friends?
3) does Primark or eBay have an alternative for less than £2.50?

Frugal dressing is a whole different ball game - I'm enlisiting some of my wonderfully trendy friends in order to create the "Frugal Fashionista" - watch this space - and watch out of Gok's new programme on the subject - he's my hero!!!

Thanks to Adrienne for the inspiration and thanks to all the fellow frugal girls who are spreading the love! :)

Beatutifully frugal - wipe away - the frugal way

2008-05-20T10:14:00.000+01:00

Couldn't resist the rhyme. Sorry.....

Aren't face wipes brilliant? LOVE them - they're SO not a frugal thing though - especially with the best selling one on the market retailing at £2.99 for 25 - so in just under 2 weeks you've spent nearly £3 on simply wiping your face twice a day.... think about it - there HAS to be another way (isn't that a certain bank manager talking?).

I took it upon myself to tackle this issue single handed about a month ago. I thought I would be a big brave consumer tester and try to approach the idea from a slightly different angle.

I thought - well I could go down the traditional magazine route and try out the top ten best selling and try to persuade you that cheap was as good as Clarins (Which, let's be honest is seldom really is) OR I could look at other effective methods of cleansing your face in wipe form.

So, here's what I tested:

Simple Cleansing Facial wipes: £2.99 for 25 - the nation's (UK) favorite

Boots Vitamin E wipes: 99p for 30 - this is Boots' own cheapest range (cheaper than the basic fragrance free and cucumber range and definitely worth a look for other frugalsential bits and bobs)

Simple Baby Wipes: £1.99 for 64 (yes I know I've gone a bit branded with the "Simple" but i couldn't bring myself to actually buy a product with a baby on the packet - the man of my dreams might have been in the queue!)

Aqueous Cream (You know you LOVE it - well you know I love it - see prev. Beautifully Frugal posting) with a muslin cloth.

Here are my conclusions:

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - Simple doesn't necessarily equal frugal (it's not always complicated). These are lovely, soft to the touch and they do get all the make up off - but I did feel the need to wash my face afterwards and they're more of a quick fix after too many cosmos to be bothered. No perfume (obviously) but a good standard basic product - well done general populous for choosing a decent "control" for my experiment. NB: Simple do a wide range of different wipes focusing on varying different skin types ranging from £2.99 for the basic wipes to £5.99(!) for the regeneration plus.

Boots Vitamin e wipes - definitely as good as the Simple wipes - not much in it at all (apart from £2 and 5 wipes). Other than the "no nasty chemicals" thing I don't understand why these don't outsell the Simple brand . I have sensitive skin and took the risk. They smell nice, they're lovely and soft, they do the job well and left my skin feeling softer. Honestly - not as good with the waterproof mascara as the Simple's and I still felt like I needed to wash my face.

Simple Baby Wipes - these are designed to get poo off babies bottoms - not make-up off ladies faces. Simple. (If you don't think laterally how do you ever move sideways)

And the winner is......................................................... how did you guess?

Aqueous Cream with a Muslin Cloth

this minor miracle of a frugalsential nature deserves a posting all of it's own.... but no, I will regale you of the virtues of this combination.... now:

This idea is to mimic Liz Earle's (absolutely wonderful and completely natural as well as industry revered) hot cloth cleanser. When King Gok (of "How to look good naked" fame) surveyed Britain's top beauty editors Liz's innovative cleanser was top of the polls. I couldn't resist - I bought some. One of the virtues - or pitfalls - of living in Central London is that it's fairly straight forward to walk into a shop and buy the thing you saw on TV the night before.

I loved it - my skin was CLEAN and fresh and smooth and yummy. The principle is that you smear the cream all over your face - make-up and all - then wipe it off with a muslin cloth that's been run under the hot tap. It gently exfoliates as you go. Result - yummy skin for £11.50 for 200ml.

It ran out....

Inevitably just too far from payday to rush out and buy some more.... gutted. I tried to do the same with my facial wash (that had been relegated half-used to the back of the bathroom cupboard) it was disappointing - the froth that's made by the soap made the cloth ineffective and slid all over my face polishing it to a dry yet shiny tight bowling ball with freckles. Not good.

Cutting to the chase - you guessed it - my wonder product (Aqueous Cream!!!) saved the day! It was a very close mimic of the very expensive alternative. It's a given that it didn't smell as nice - but it WORKED!!!! Yummy skin - that's the idea right?

Beautifully frugal - Body Butter

2008-04-05T22:02:00.000+01:00

Jo Malone, that's my favourite! It's heavenly body moisturising cream is over £40 a pot. It's divine.

I had a pot. Actually, I still have the pot, I cannot bring myself to part with the pot. It's still half full....

I discovered the miracle that countermands the above in a fit of frustration that my skin wasn't helping me to be as beautiful as I could be - well not all over. Thanks (sort of - I'm still in two minds) to the lovely nurse practitioner who informed me that I have very sensitive skin and all my "highly perfumed" products would "have to go". She handed me a utilitarian looking tube of Aqueous Cream.

Apparently anyone who's ever had a baby knows about this stuff - they give it to you to lather up your nethers - ENOUGH!!! All you need to know is that it's one of the best basic moisturisers around. It has the consistency of body butter and is less than £4 for 3 times as much as Jo's heavenly concoction.

Too good to be true? Well... erm.... a bit.... It doesn't smell horrible but it's not glamorous.... frankly.... it's just, well...dull.... Am I convincing you? to rush out and get some yet?!!!! (Please bear with me)The second secret is Aloe Vera Gel, not a greeting for a Coronation Street character but the jellied juice of a spiky plant found in parts of the world more exotic than here. This is wonderful stuff - promoting healing, having an emollient (moisturising) effect, it firms your skin, soothes it and leaving you feeling generally wonderful. It's excellent used neat between cleansing and moisturising. I read somewhere that it acts as a conduit for other products. So it's great to use under moisturiser if your skin is particularly dry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe_vera

I’m cutting to the chase here – the two products together are a minor miracle for the skin. I use this as a rich night body lotion after a hot bath – it’s major moisturisation and great fro the winter months when skin’s been dried out by central heating and cold weather - it’s also a GREAT base for self-tan – less nasty over dyed dry bits as you’re soft all over before you start!

The smell, mmm….. now I can cope with it – but if you’re a major olfactory nut then I would suggest adding either a little of your favourite perfume or even better a couple of drops of essential oil. I have been known to add lavender oil to mine for a lovely restful bedtime body butter.

I would mix as follows:
1 part Aloe Vera Gel to 2 parts Aqueous Cream - add as much pure essential oil of your choice as needed – you need around 2 drops for every “heaped tablespoon” of the mixture. Be careful with this as the essential oils can be the thing that people with sensitive skin can react to.
Have a look at this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatherapy#Popular_uses for some popular/suggested fragrances to suit your mood.

Domestic Frugalness - Bicarbonate of Soda

2008-04-23T13:53:00.000+01:00

This does absolutely EVERYTHING!!!!There are lots of books and websites with hints and tips on how to use this minor miracle:

Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought of

http://www.bakingsodabook.co.uk/ (Highly comprehensive website on the subject)

Here are the ones I have used it for:

Cleaning a stainless steel hob - wet sponge, bit of time and very little elbow grease = great result!! works on bathroom tiles, most surfaces too: I have sensitive skin - see post No 1. - and whenever I use "Cif" (When did they replace the J?) I get very dry hands and have to sleep with cream lathered hands in gloves (hmmm sexy!). bicarb is so gentle that you hardly notice that your hand don't give you away for the "scrubber" that you are!
Getting rid of horrid smells - I was sceptical about this one - a dish of powder in a room makes smells go away without making the room smell of anything other than fresh air seemed a far-out claim. It worked though! My little flat had a leak last year - the boiler decided it wasn't properly sealed and leaked through the floor boards and soaked and buckled my laminate flooring as well as my bedroom carpet. It takes a long time for the damp smell to come out - but it did - and under my wardrobe too. All my lovingly washed and ironed clothes were starting to smell so I harked back to the "book" and put a ramekin dish half full of bicarb under the wardrobe then went away for 5 days. I walked into the flat and the whole place smelled so clean and fresh i was genuinely surprised.
Smelly washing from an old machine? - do you or have you ever rented? Fully furnished? I have and though I still rent I'm self-furnished now. My last flat's washing machine came with a note on it "descale me" - it was also a model from the year before I was born. The machine and I didn't really like each other much. She was old and smelly and I was young and fragrant - or at least I was until I started washing my clothes in her! Stale I think is the word - or sour to be more accurate. I tried lots of things - hot wash no powder, hot was lots of powder, cold wash with bleach, hot wash with bleach, hell, I even tried de-scaling the thing! Then I read somewhere that running the machine with a "cup full" of bicarb should do the trick - 40 degree wash and a cup full of bicarb (I even bought American cup measures for this purpose - one of the best purchases ever made) as simple and basic as that - all sorted.
It makes cakes rise! - nuff said.

Surely 4 minor miracles is enough - if not - check out one of my favorite books on how to do everything a frugalsential - "Trade Secrets" - from the BBC2 series of little programmes of the same name. Here's the link to the UK amazon page: Trade Secrets (Revised Edition): Everything You Will Ever Need to Know About EverythingWhere to buy it in large quatities is a bit of an issue (well for me as I have no car, live in Central London and never get to cash and carry's) I'm working on some online sources - but Tesco have included a 500g pack in their "naturally" cleaning range for 99p - this is a bit better than buying little pots from the cake baking section (200g 37p on Tesco.com).

Seriously give this one a go - or be like my big sister and say "can't you buy cif for like 29p" - yeh sis - in 1974 perhaps!

Frugal Living - Breakfast

2008-05-01T17:37:00.000+01:00

City girls like me need their latte's to get them going in the morning.... and if the night before has involved a glass or two of the old "vino blanco" then you'll be "el desperado" for a carb fix.

I used to regularly buy a Grande Skinny Mocha (no cream) and a Skinny Blueberry Muffin from a certain coffee shop with a green disk logo on the way to work EVERY morning. At the time, the coffee was £2.90 and the muffin £1.45... that's £4.35 per day on breakfast or £21.75 per week. During a five week month (don't you HATE those?) that's £108.75 per month on breakfast alone (not including weekends). ….

So, when I tightened my belt I considered the following:

The coffee in my office (I'm a pretty lucky girl) is from a machine that grinds the beans especially for each cup (coffee shops don't do that) and although the milk isn't steamed, there's no harm in it making the coffee colder so you can drink it right away. It doesn't come in a paper cup - so it's eco-friendly and it doesn't foam up through a lid and drip down your hand. I'm not certain - but I'm sure it's not nearly 300 calories either (Skinny eh?!). It's also....FREEEEEEEEE!!!!! as we all know FREE is totally frugalsential!!!

If the coffee in your office isn't free then resign - it's simply rude. If it's horrible - buy your own - if you're too good for Gold Blend then you're not a proper Frugal Girl! 300g jar - 30-60 cups of coffee depending on your idea of how strong a mug full should be - is £6.92 - which is the equivalent of less than 3 Grande Skinny Mochas. If your office has no milk - drink it black - it's much better for you! :)

Now... the carb kick..... I take my own cereal and I buy in bulk - a 500g box of Special K is £2.79 and should last you for 2 weeks (it’s also NOT the cheapest cereal in the supermarket). Again - no milk at work - just buy your own – 40p from Tesco – and you’ll need about 3 week

So, 2.5 boxes of Special K in a 5 week month = £6.97 + FREE coffee - that's a saving of..... wait for it...... £101.78!!!! in one month!!!! On breakfast!!!! Even if you buy a big jar of coffee and your own milk you're only spending £19.89 a month, including the - a saving of £88.86!!!!!!!

So what are you going to spend it on?