My Frugal Life: Frugal in England

I am a hoarder and cannot throw anything away. I save the envelopes that come with junk mail and keep them in my hand bag - if I see a ripe seed pod on my travels I will pick it, put it in the envelope and make a few notes on the outside. I grow a lot of plants from seeds. I reuse old milk jugs - the bottom half as a pot and the top handle half cuts up and makes good plant labels. I buy lots of food that is reduced for a quick sale and stock the freezer up cheaply. I reuse jam jars and wine bottles as I make wines, jams, chutneys and pickles. I take cuttings of plants and so propagate new plants for free.

I knit almost anything and everything and crochet afghan shawls. There was a wool (yarn) shop that closed down - they sold all the yarn off for next to nothing and I bought about 400 balls of yarn which are in the loft and I am working my way through them. I look up Magazine websites online and they usually have a few competitions to enter - I have won several things too and they are always free to enter. I cut out money off vouchers and coupons and use store reward cards. As I am classified disabled I am lucky that many places offer concessions for disabled people. I have sourced the best deals for the phone and internet provider. I do not have ANY credit cards. If I cannot afford it, I cannot have it! If I can I will contact a manufacturer and try to buy items direct from source - even after postage costs you usually save lots of money. I buy whatever newspaper has the best free gift that day.

I am not frugal due to meanness but due to necessity. If the TV or washing machine breaks, it gets mended rather than replaced. I make compost from kitchen waste, garden waste etc. This I put back onto the soil where I grow fruit vegetables and herbs. I recycle bathwater to water the garden with. I invested in a gadget called a DROUGHT BUSTER (eBay) that siphons off your waste water. If I see something collectible in a charity (thrift) shop I buy it and sell it on eBay. Sometimes you make a good profit. If I have a good success rate with a batch of seeds and manage to rear a lot of plant. I put up a board at my front gate and sell them.

I do look on websites like Thriftyfun as you find some really good ideas and can share them with other likeminded people. I bought my Christmas tree four years ago. It was closing time at the supermarket on Christmas Eve and the tree was reduced to 2.38 (normally they are about 25-30) and it was a potted one. So each year I give it a slightly bigger pot and it stays in the garden till Christmas time when I bring it in and decorate it. In that four years it has grown by about 2 feet. I buy my Christmas decorations after Christmas when the shops sell the leftover for next to nothing. I am happy with cheap and cheerful and I like homemade and improvised.

Borasic Lint from England, UK

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