Sensibly Frugal Living

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3 Ingredient Cookies

My family loves these 3 ingredient cookies, and I wanted to share this simple, budget friendly recipe with you.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
2 tbsp of peanut butter
100g of Oats

Method:

Heat your oven to 180
Mash or blend the bananas
Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine
Line a baking tray with baking paper
Using your hands, shape the cookies into 1 inch balls and flatten them a little with a fork on the baking tray.
Cook for about 12-15 minutes and allow to cool.

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7 Grocery Shopping Mistakes

With the cost of living crisis fully raging, we all need a little help to curb costs where we can. Groceries can be a huge expense if you’re not vigilant with your spending. Here are my 7 grocery shopping mistake to avoid!

Not Working Out the Price Per Unit

Divide the price by the unit/ quantity to work out what is really the best deal.

Buying Items Purely Because They Are On Sale

Would you have bought the item if not for the sale price? A bargain is only a bargain if you’re saving money.

Shopping Without a List

Meal planning and shopping from a list prevents you purchasing too much or items you don’t need.

Not Using Loyalty Cards

No loyalty card = no freebies. Build up points on store loyalty cards and gain in-store cash, deals, or vouchers.

Buying Out of Season

Out of season fruit and veg costs a lot more than whatever is currently in season in your area/country.

Not Looking Down

Stores place the most expensive items at eye/ grab level. Look down for cheaper options.

Not Using Receipt Apps

Market research apps will exchange info from your receipts for points. Once you have enough points, you can cash out.

‘This post was featured by Twinkl in their Cost of Living Crisis blog‘

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The Stigma Around Buying Second Hand

With people being more environmentally conscious and looking to live more sustainably, the world is slowly moving toward being more frugal in the way we buy i.e. buying second hand over new items. However, there is definitely still a stigma around buying second hand items.

Where does this stigma stem from?

I believe that the stigma dates way back to when buying second hand or receiving hand me downs was associated with your financial situation and class. In other words ‘poor’ people had to rely on second hand items to get by, clothe themselves and their children etc. The idea that used items were ‘lesser’ was a very real assumption for many.

Peer pressure was definitely a contributing factor. Even in the 90’s and early 2000’s when I was a teen, I would never have openly stated that my clothes were second hand. I would have been ridiculed for it.

How Is the stigma changing?

I am so glad that over the years, buying second hand has come back into fashion with the words ‘vintage’, ‘pre-loved’, and ‘sustainable chic’ making the concept of buying used seem more appealing or mainstream. The idea of sustainable fashion relates to the current climate, and now you are not classed as ‘poor’, but ‘environmentally minded’. Not that you need a label for buying used items whatever your reasons.

How can we continue to change the stigma?

I feel the best way to change the stigma is through talking. Let people know that the shirt they just admired on you was from the thrift shop. Talk to your children about sustainable fashion and the benefits of buying second hand. Also donate good quality items to the charity shops etc yourself. Make it the norm for you.

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15 Items to Repurpose into Planters

This is the time of year when many folks tend to focus on starting their spring gardens. I wanted to re-share this blog wit useful repurposing ideas!

Do you want to liven up the garden, but don’t want to splash the cash on planters and pots? I’m here to tell you it can be done. You may have a potential planter sitting in the garage, or be able to pick something up for free that someone is throwing out. Giving items a new purpose is not only frugal but environmentally friendly.

Tyres

Tyres can be easy and cheap/free to get hold of. You can paint them or leave them as is. Just place where you want it, fill with compost, and plant.

Plastic Paddling Pool

You know the ones I mean, the hard plastic ones that could been used for sand or water. Inflatable pools will not work in the long run.

Wooden Crates

Wine crates are perfect for this. They do need to be treated or they’ll rot. Also, if your crate doesn’t have holes in…

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Treat Your Time Like Money

Isn’t it quite something that we’d happily waste time but not our money? This post is all about appreciating what is the most important of the two, and how we can stop wasting our own time.

‘There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.’ -Brian Tracey

How Can We Stop Wasting Time?

Know What You Value:

Are you after a rewarding career or a better work and home life balance? Knowing what is important to you, helps you plan how you use your time better. Do you need to take an extra class in the evenings or make sure you all spend a weekend away as a family each month?

Learn to Say No!:

If work is asking to much of you, or you feel like your family and friends are pulling you in multiple directions, remember to value yourself ad say no. It’s okay to need to do something for yourself. You wouldn’t let others force you to spend your money, so why your time?

Do What Makes You Happy:

Life is to short to be stuck in unhappiness. A toxic relationship, a job where you are being taken advantage of. Know your worth and get out of bad situations. Make room for hobbies, fun, and good people.

Don’t Procrastinate:

Start today. Whatever that means for you, don’t put it off until tomorrow. Someday may become never in a blink of an eye.

Create Deadlines & Time Limits:

Do you fall down the social media rabbit hole, or end up taking your work home with you? Set deadlines and time limits to ensure you’re not wasting time on your phone, or turn off email notifications after work and don’t turn them back on until your scheduled work time the next day.

Finally, take time today to do the most important task. Tell those close to you that you love and appreciate them!

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Spring Family Bucket List

A spring bucket list for the family- some great ideas for Easter weekend too!

Sunny spells, sudden showers, Easter holidays, and a sense of new life. That is what spring means to me. Get out and enjoy the warmer weather, even the wetter days, by creating a Spring bucket list! All of your activities can be free or inexpensive and you can still make the most of springtime as a family.

Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

Here’s my family’s Spring bucket list for 2019. It may be a little optimistic as my husband works full time outside of the home, but we’ll try to tick off as many activities as we can. Feel free to copy our list, or adapt your own list for your family.

Let me know if you plan out your family time for the weekends/ holidays. Will you be creating a bucket list this Springtime?

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Easter Tree

A cute, Easter craft idea!

It is Easter weekend, and I wanted to do a big, impressive craft with the kids. Easter won’t be the same this year for any of us due to social distancing, and as we usually have a family trip out on the Easter weekend, I am trying to think up lots of fun ways for us to get in the spirit this year.

A big craft idea for this year is to make an Easter tree. This is basically a painted branch to hold lots of fun crafts such as paper eggs etc. We were fortunate to have lots of old branches and sticks in the bottom of our garden, but there is no reason why you can’t make your Easter tree out of pipe cleaners or craft wire etc.

We first spray painted our branch. We only had purple spray paint, so that is what we used. I stuck…

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30 Easter Activity Ideas

A great time to reblog some past Easter related posts. Enjoy!