Frugal Living: Looking Back at The Good, The Bad, The What Was I Thinking

Clothing.  Can't live without it.  Can't buy all the pretties because I would be seriously broke if I did.  So instead most of my wardrobe is made of bargain buys courtesy of bargain basement shops that sell everything cheap (aka The Warehouse and K-Mart) or charity shops.

I love charity shopping.  It's like the best thing.  So many good bargains.  And all of the things that you just need and which cost an arm and probably your soul if you ever dared to buy them new. I've been a fan since forever.  And with money being even tighter it's definitely something that I want to get more into for the things we need.  

As for the bargain basement stores, well they fill a gap and even better I've been using them without spending any actual money.  I know right?  How is that even possible? The answer my friend is...

Vouchers.  From doing surveys. Who knew that was even a thing.  Certainly not me until about 6 years ago.  And now I'm hooked and madly earning dollars which then translate into to vouchers which I can spend at a variety of stores.  So easy and all free.  How awesome is that.

 

So what bargains worked and what bargains were bad choices which hopefully I've learned from and will never repeat.

Best Buys

 

$10 floral sneakers from The Warehouse

 

Love times 100.  Brought in 2016 and lasted me 4 years.  I so wish I had brought 2 or even 3 pairs of these.  That way they would have kept me going for a few more years.  Sob.

$5 pink satiny skirt from TradeMe

 

One of my all time favourite skirts that I brought about 6 years ago and have only recently gotten rid of.  So pretty, so comfy and just perfect for me.  Worn many, many times.

$5 floral A-line skirt from Hospice Charity Shop 

 

6 years on and I still have this and wear it regularly (despite it now being a little loose in the waist).  Who knew a grandma looking skirt would be just the thing.

$10 grey skirt from Factorie 

 

The absolutely perfect winter skirt in every way.  And one I love so much that I still have it even though it is now super loose on me and looking a bit sad from overuse.  That I can't wear this anymore is a tragedy.  As with the floral sneakers I really do wish I had brought more than one of these skirts.

$5 pink sneakers from K-Mart 

Worn pretty much constantly for the past 4 years and have only just recently thrown them out.  Super comfy in every way.  And another item I wished I had brought extra of at the time.

Worst Buys

 

$2 Beige...ish  knit top from Red Cross Charity Shop

 

I really thought I would wear this more.  But after a couple of wears it ended up just sitting in my wardrobe looking all sad and unloved for a few years until I recently donated it back.  Hopefully someone else will give it a little bit more love that I did.  Beige is so not my colour. 

$5 navy blue skirt from Hospice Skirt

 

I loved the look and feel of this and got so many complements when I worn it.  So on one hand this was a great buy.

 

But on the other... not so much as it kept getting caught on cupboard handles all the time and ended up constantly getting rips and tears it which no amount of mending could eventually cover up.  A gorgeous skirt that was sadly completely impractical for someone like me.

$9 Stripe t-shirt from K-Mart

 

What was I thinking.  Like seriously this is the worse t-shirt and just made me look like an old lady.  With no fashion sense.  Never worn (thankfully) and ended up being donated. 

$3 Black and red floral skirt from Salvation Army Shop

 

Gorgeous skirt that sadly I never wore.  Mostly because I could never find a top that worked with it colour wise.  Donated back.  As I do.

Upon A Solstice Day

Hello, it's me.  Yes I'm still alive.  Yes it's still winter.  And yes my brain is still weird and sometimes just won't let me write.

 

Other than that life is good.  Because what's not to like about winter.  Hot drinks, warm socks and all the snuggling.  If only it didn't rain I would be one very happy camper.  Even so the weather hasn't been all that bad what with lots of cold crispy frosty days and warm sun.  My kind of weather.

 

As for the Solstice...

8.30am

 

What I am doing out of bed at this time of morning is a mystery.  Especially as it's my birthday.  But up I am.  At least the weather outside isn't looking too bad.

Nudge seems to like it.  

 

This has become one of his favourite spots lately.  Mostly because he can see all the other cats wandering past as our place seems to be 'cat walkway' for some weird reason. Looks like birthday cuddles with the boy is not going to happen at the moment.

9.30am

 

Dressed and out of bed.  Psychedelic socks for a wintry pick-me-up.  Pink AND daisies.  Two of my favourite things.  As for the rest of the wardrobe it's sweatpants, long sleeve t-shirt and jumper.  Because yes it is that chilly. 

 

A few minutes later... 

... a cup of blood orange tea to start the day.  All in a pretty daisy cup.

10.30am

 

Walk time.  

 

Off into town and a nosy around the Op Shops while I'm there.  Although looking at the floor in our utility room I really need to give it a good scrub.  Maybe another day.  Like when it's not my birthday.  My shoes are also looking a bit sad.  Guess it shows how much walking I've been doing.

1.30pm

 

Finally back with my charity shopping haul.  A new bag for me as my only other bag is badly fraying on the handle.  Even better it only cost $4.  I also treated myself to a $2 jigsaw puzzle which I hope I can get stuck into it and cross another thing off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.

 

All courtesy of Other Half who gave me some loose change he had found in the car and told me to 'treat myself'.   Frugal living for the win.

2.00pm

 

Courier parcels arrived and look it's presents from my mum and exactly what I wanted and needed. 

Several minutes later...

Trying out the new hot chocolate mix and it smells like marshmallows.  Having a mug of it with soy milk and some of my favourite biscuits which Other Half gave me as a surprise present.  The sweetie.

And shortly after that...

On the sofa about to watch one of my favourite rom com's.  Perfect birthday viewing on a misty day.

5.00pm

Is this wool awesome or not.  So pretty.  Now that I've had a short break from knitting for the past couple of weeks I'm ready to get back to it.  This is going to be a sweater vest.  Something to keep me warm down here in the boondocks of the South.

6.00pm

Mince on toast.  I love mince on toast and haven't had it in ages.  Being totally spoiled by Other Half who made this.

9.00pm

Oops forgot to take photo of dessert or anything else for the last few hours.  Good food always distracts me but I'm pretty sure you don't want to see a photo of an empty bowl.  The chocolate steamed pudding was good though.  Beside that we just finished watching the last couple of episodes of The Drowning which was really good.

10.00pm

Here's a candle.  Well an artificial one anyway.  I got a packet of these given to me at Christmas and finally remembered that I had them so it seemed appropriate to switch them on for the first time today.

Happy Solstice Everyone :)

November's Plans and What Ever Happened To Those Outcomes?

I really shouldn't make plans.  Because my head is seriously the worse and suddenly it's like 'oooh let's write 8000 words and watch Downton Abbey from the beginning'... again.  'Oh and by the way those others plans lets just forget all of those.'  

See the worse.

Which pretty much explains why September's plans went out the window and why I didn't even bother making any for October.  

Sometimes you just have to know when to quit.

Still I'm not giving up and plans are back on the board... even if my stupid brain is probably just going to ignore them once again.

Crafting

Can we just not even talk about this.

I pulled it out.  I tidied it up.  I even downloaded some patterns.  And that has pretty much been it.

I'm never going to finish this cross stitch thing am I? 

Gardening

OMG this one is actually going well.  Which just goes to show that I have been doing something other than writing and staring at a computer screen.

The greenhouse is totally rockin' what with all the tomatoe plants.  Plus there's peppers and lettuces and strawberries.  And none of them have died... yet.

Outside it isn't looking too shabby either with flowers popping up everywhere and the new bit of lawn slowly taking off.

Green Goddess for the win.

Get Fit and Healthy

And another one that is still going well.  Even with this totally weird up and down weather I've managed to fit in quite a bit of walking and my eating has improved heaps.  Mostly because I've got this weird swallowing/throat problem thing going on which means that I'm pretty much living on smoothies, mashed veg, yoghurt and scrambled eggs.  And even more on the plus side I've lost some more weight so yay me.

I'm just sussing out new recipes of things I can eat and I'm good to go.

Being Frugal

I've finally got the cuttings thing figured out and now have a small tray of plants slowly growing so I'm super pleased about that.

I am just need to get organised and sell some things before Christmas.

Kondoing My Way

So never happened so naturally it's still on the list.  

My wardrobe is starting to look like World War 3 has been declared and that the clothes have gone on mutiny.  I really do need to get in there and have a major clean out.

Reading

Amazingly I've managed to read the odd book or two.  On the downside I downloaded a ton of new ebooks so once again that TBR pile has gotten out of control and threatening to explode.  In my defense the books were all lovely Christmas reads so really they were totally justified and can I truly be blamed for getting them when they lured me with all their pretty covers and enticing blurbs.

Writing

I actually don't need to plan for this at the moment because the brain and the fingers are on fire at the moment.  8000 words and counting.

Can I just be all smug now

Augusts Plans and Julys Outcomes

Urgh.  August.

If I thought July was wet August is definitely going to show me what rain really is.  Definitely not the kind of weather for making plans and doing things.  Which on the plus side it means I can do a lot of reading and movie watching and not feel even remotely guilty about it.  So that's a win right there.

Maybe I can just forgo all the plans for this month.

No?

Okay then.  Plans it is. 

Crafting

Does looking at it and taking it out of its hiding place count?   Probably not which means that this definitely has to stay on the plans list.  I've even moved to the top of the page just to show how serious I am.

Gardening

This is going so super well that I really don't need to do that much this month.  All the garden beds have been weeded, the compost laid out and I've even got some cuttings in pots which will *cross fingers* shoot out some roots for me so that I can plant them in the garden.  So tasks for this month is basically just turning over the compost.  Now that's my kind of gardening.

Get Fit and Healthy

Another plan that is so far going well.  The new sneakers have been taken out and finally gone on a few morning walks... in between the rain of course and I've been mostly eating healthy.  Or at the very least attempting to.

Now if I could just give up chocolate...

Being Frugal

Kind of way of life for us on the whole but as always I'm always on the look out for ways we can cut our costs even more so that we have more money to spend on the things that we really want such as travel, etc.

As part of this I've started taking cuttings from some of my existing plants in the hopes I can grow some new ones from them.  I'm really hoping this works as it will save me heaps on buying plants for our rather barren and empty looking garden.

Learning a Language

Konnichiwa.

Ta da.  I'm learning Japanese.  I know, right?  So cool and totally unexpected but as my local library is offering free classes I decided to give it a go.

It's mostly spoken Japanese as learning to read and write it is apparently really hard.  Though I did learn how to write my name in Japanese which was kind of neat. 

Watch this space to see how the rest of the lessons go.

Reading

I probably don't really need this on the plans list as it's always a thing.  But since reading is kind of what I love and do it's going to stay here. And with all this wet and wild weather coming I'm more than likely going to be doing plenty of it.  All with a hot cuppa on hand.

Can I just sigh now.

Buyer's Archive: A Year Of All The Spending

More like the year of very little spending which is actually a good thing since I wanted to get my spending down.

Life goal achieved.

It also explains why there have been so few of these Buyer's Archive posts in the past few months.  No spending equals no posting.  Or something like that.

So how much did I spend and on what...

Well the total for the year (May 2018 to April 2019) was exactly $100.  I know right?  I'm kind of amazed myself.

Even more amazing is that I was able to buy all of this...

1 pair of slippers             
1 pair of hat and mittens 
1 dress                           
1 bottle of shower gel     
2 skirts
2 pairs of shoelaces
3 pairs of socks
4 books
5 bottles of nail polish 

So much better than last year and the year before.  I also brought more second hand items than new which was another goal I had set myself so I'm pleased on that front too.

Somehow I'm thinking that next year's spending might be just a little bit higher, hopefully though I can stick to buying mostly second hand again.

Augusts Buyer's Archive

I'm really trying not to spend too much this year particularly on myself.  Which of course is always hard because of so many things that are out there tempting me with whispered words of "buy me" and "you know you want to" all in the sexy voice of Richard Armitage because yes my head likes to torment me even further.  

But I am being strong *cue sobbing* and resisting all the pretties *even more sobbing* and telling Richard that he can take his seductive tones elsewhere... okay maybe not the last bit but you get my meaning.  

The resistance is so far paying off as I spent just $5 dollars this month on myself.  And it was on something practical which makes it perfectly justified.  Right?
 
So what did I buy...

Yates Garden Planner - $5 from TradeMe

I've mentioned before that I just had to have this book and since buying it I have already been using it heaps.

Practical and useful... how awesome and frugal of me.

As for August last year?  

I spent absolutely nothing.  August seems to be the month for me being frugal.  Can I keep up the good work for next month?  We'll just have to see.

June's Buyer's Archive

A new year of doing Buyer's Archive and so far I managed to spend nothing in May and nearly everything that I brought in June was second hand, so go me.  Even better as it was my birthday in June I asked everyone to give me either money or vouchers so all my spending was courtesy of those gifts.  How cool is that.

So what did I buy?

Black pleated skirt - $1 from the Salvation Army Shop

I made a spur of the moment visit to a local Salvation Army store and ended up coming away with a ton of goodies as they were having a massive clear out of stuff due to being overfull.

This skirt was on a under $5 rack and it seems virtually brand new.  It's a little light weight for the winter but I can wear tights underneath so it's totally versatile which I"ll be able to wear it year round.

Green floral midi skirt - $3 from the Salvation Army Shop

Another awesome bargain and this one really was brand new never-been-worn as it still had it's original pricing tag on it.

I love the buttons up the front.  Pockets would have made it even better. 

One I will probably wear once the weather is warmer. 

Snow Fairy shower gel - $1 from the Salvation Army Shop

I love this so was utterly thrilled to find an almost full bottle sitting on the shelf.  Normally this retails for around $22 so doubly thrilled.   Pink and smells like candyfloss.

5 bottles of nail polish - $1 from the Salvation Army Shop

I know right?  I couldn't believe my luck either.  These are all nearly full and in like new condition i.e. no clumpy bits or hardening so I'm super pleased. 

3 books - $1 from the Salvation Army Shop

Another awesome buy.  I don't normally buy books but these were in excellent condition and all are something that I will definitely use.

3 pack of socks - $5 from Cotton On

You wouldn't think I would need more socks.  Seriously.  I'm starting to think I might have a problem.  Still how cute are these.  And they were on sale so totally justified, right?

2 packs of shoelaces - $5 from Cotton On

Another sale item and in pink so there was no way I was going to resist them.  Definitely a way to bright up my winter black sneakers.

Total spend for the month  - $17.00 (wow I can't believe I got all the above for just that- best birthday shopping ever)

As for previous years buys...

May 2016 - I still have the bangles, the green cardigan, the camisole top and the beige top, all of which I still wear.  But I had to throw out the nightie (got too loose) and the orange jumper (developed a hole right on the front so that was the end of that).

May 2017 - The purple t-shirt is still in my wardrobe but I never did end up wearing the stripe one so it's currently sitting in my To Be Sold pile.

Buyer's Archive: A Year Of All The Spending

And the total for the year is... 

$670.91 for 31 items, not including beauty products and stationary.

Okay then.  Definitely a bit of a blow out compared to last time.  I also brought less second hand items and lot more newer items which is most unlike me.  I'm definitely going to try to buy more second hand and spend less this year - cross fingers.

Even though I brought mostly new I have given my wardrobe I major clear out and gotten rid of quite a few things that I had had for years.  Some I threw into the rubbish due to having holes etc in them and others I have put into a pile ready to sell.  So even though I spent more than the year before I'm looking at it on the plus side, especially as I brought things that I am hopeful of getting a lot of wear out over the next few years.

So here's what I brought...

1 lot of bangles
1 pair of socks 
1 pair of sneakers
1 nightie
2 bottles of nail polish  
2 camisoles 
2 jumpers
2 knit tops
3 dresses 
3 long sleeve t shirts
5 cardigans
6 short sleeve t shirts
6 skirts.

Now that I brought some new clothes and have had a clear out of my wardrobe I can definitely see the odd gap in my clothing selection and that I also need to do some replacement buying for some of the things I threw out.

Who knew I could get more shopping out of spending money last year?

Six Month's of Buyer's Archive: November Through to April

How I've gotten behind on these posts I have no idea, so welcome to a serious catch up on what I have been buying for myself over the past six months.  Once again I'd like to thank Elise the inspiration behind the Buyer's Archive posts. 

As usual my spending was very up and down, with me doing a bit of a spend in November then being completely frugal and not spending a cent in December, January and February but having a mini blow out in both March and April.

It will be interesting to see how I've done in the last 12 months.  But more about that in a future post. 

As for how the year befores buys held up I'm actually really pleased.  All three items from November's have been heavily used and are still part of my wardrobe; from March only the floral A-line skirt remains as sadly the camisole got a stain on it that wouldn't come out and the gorgeous navy swirly skirt kept getting hooked on things and being repeatedly ripped until no amount of mending could hold it together; April's faired a lot better and all four items are still in use.  So all in all some good buying.

Now on to this six month's buys...

Orange Floral Dress - $5 from TradeMe

A super pretty dress that was an absolute bargain.  Less red and more orange than the pics show.

Black Floral Dress - $10 from TradeMe

Another super pretty dress that I've been wearing at special occasions like lunch with friends. 

Black and White Gingham Dress - $79.99 fro Max

I normally don't like to spend quite so much money on clothes but this was on sale and I just loved it.  It also looked amazing on AND it had pockets.  Pockets I tell you.  The absolute heaven of dresses and one which I worn heaps this summer.

Soap and Glory - $45 from Mecca

I've been wanting to try Soap and Glory products for ages.  Finally I did just that and treated myself to a small selection of items.  I loved the scrub but sadly was allergic to the body butter which made my eyes water.
 
And that was November's purchases.  After that it was no spending until March when I brought myself these.

Pink Sneakers - $5 from KMart

Would you believe these were just $5?  $5 for a brand new pair of sneakers.  And they are pink.  So course I had to get them.  And of course I love them.  Super comfy and super pretty.

After that it was April's big pre winter splurge.  Everything I brought was new which was a first for me.  Luckily I had some vouchers so it meant everything I brought I got for half price. 

Green Short Sleeve Knit Top - $25 from Jacqui E

I really wanted some colour in my wardrobe for winter so I was really pleased to find this which I loved so much I got another one.  Even better it is a gorgeous emerald green which makes a nice change from my usual pink.

Dark Pink Short Sleeve Knit Top - $25 from Jacqui E

Speaking of pink I got one in that colour too.  Though it's more of a purple pink.  Either way I love it.

Long Pink Cardigan - $49.99 from Just Jeans

Having seen this in the shop window I couldn't resist it.  Even more so when I tried it on.  Super soft and comfy and swirly.  It's so me.

Blush Pink Cardigan  - $14.99 from Jay Jay

I know.  It looks exactly like the one above but trust me it is different.  Shorter and a much finer almost see through knit in the palest of baby pinks.  And at that price how could I not get it.

Grey Cardigan  - $39.99 from CottonOn

Yes more cardigans.  What can I say except I am a cardy person.

Bright Pink Cardigan - $39.99 from CottonOn

Yes I know.  Another pink cardigan.  Hey at least it's darker.  Seriously love this and the above cardigan, both of which I have already worn.  Pretty sure they are going to be this winter's favs.

Silver Blue Pleated Skirt - $49.99 from Max

Love, love, love.  So soft, so swirly, I just wish I could wear it all the time.

Bunny Rabbit Nightie - $5 from The Warehouse

Brought in preparation for the colder weather we have already begun to experience in our new home.  Warmer clothes are definitely going to be something that I will be wearing a lot more of.

Total spend for the six months - $394.94