Five frugal things we’ve done this week:

The pressure is piling on this week as we have given ourselves a deadline by which to finish the house. This comes on the heels of a spurt of decluttering, which means that I expended all my mental energy on committing to throw everything out, and now I have to find some more energy from somewhere to paint everything that’s left.

It’s been a week of spending, but here’s some of the frugal highlights:

1 – Listed one item on eBay

Well, one has to start somewhere, doesn’t one? I genuinely dislike the entire process of selling on eBay but I did start again in the hopes of getting the ball rolling again and bids are coming in.

The ball isn’t quite rolling but I do plan to add more… tomorrow!

2 – Bought pricey paint – but it was worth it!

Frugality is great, but cutting corners when you really ought to face a problem head on – and can afford to – is ridiculous. We’ve got a dreadful ceiling in the bathroom that we are finally tackling, but even after stripping the first layer of paper, the nicotine still comes through paint as clear as day.

I insisted on getting the right stuff – Zinsser Cover Stain – and the difference is unbelievable.

We would normally go for unbranded options to save cash, but I wasn’t willing to spend all my time painting and re-painting the same area for dodgy results. Time is valuable too.

That’s why we also bought Ronseal Diamond Hard floor paint – I painted my bathroom floor and Little Balders’ bedroom floor with regular satin paint a while back, and they haven’t held up well. There’s a lot of decorating still going on, so to be fair they’ve had a beating, but I want to make sure that the job I put time and effort into doesn’t need to be redone sooner than necessary.

I’ll have to report back on whether these were worth it!

3 – Bought a bath panel on eBay

Usually, we’ll scour eBay for everything we need when it comes to DIY; in fact, our entire bathroom was sourced through eBay. It makes sense that we’d finally finish by getting the last bit from there as well. Not having to try to fit it in the car was a bonus!

And of course, we got cashback for all these purchases as we went through TopCashback.

4 – Printed my 75p Holland & Barrett coupon

75p is not going to win me any prizes in the money-saving awards stakes, but usually I get these coupons by email and eventually let them expire, so actually getting around to printing one off is a step in a thrifty direction.

Of course, that’s only true if I use it on something that I actually need, but seeing as I got it from buying the ingredients for my afro hair cream, I know I can use it for more ingredients very soon.

5 – Used cashback apps to find discounted groceries

Only last week, I installed MySupermarket on my phone again, and already it’s helped me to hunt down a deal. I’ve been wanting to reduce the amount of cow’s milk I use, but replacements like soya, almond or coconut milk aren’t as cheap, and frankly, they usually taste like punishment when you put them in a brew.

At least MySupermarket helped me to see when they were on offer at Asda, so even if my coffee tasted dodgy this morning, it was cheaper than it would have been. Some comfort there.

Over to you…

How’s your frugal week been?

I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week linky.

Read last week’s 5 frugal things!