Miss Thrifty

My Frugal Grandma has been cleaning up recently! Her top frugal recipe is featured in the 42nd Money Hacks Carnival at the Financial Wellness Project. And her old school tips popped up in the 41st Money Hacks Carnival, at Ask Mr Credit Card.

In other news, my hotlist of Favourite Frugal Twitterers was featured in the 155th Festival of Frugality, at Greener Pastures.

I’ll be hosting the Festival of Frugality later this month, on 23 December, so if you aren’t yet familiar with it you’re in for a (lengthy) treat…

I asked my Frugal Grandma if she would provide holiday cover while I am away on my Thrifty Roadtrip this week. Frugal Grandma can do anything…

When you make fruit pies put the bottom layer of pastry in the tin, paint with egg and leave to dry. This stops the bottom of the pie from becoming soggy with juice. Use the rest of the egg to paint over the top of the pie before you sprinkle with sugar, and this will make it nice and shiny. Try not to put too much juicy liquid into the pie as it will make its own when it cooks.

When you make a bread and butter pudding, put a smear of marmalade in the bottom of the dish. This greatly improves it.

At Christmas, mince pies are often a bit rich when you have been stuffing yourself. So in our family we always make a lot of little apple pies, which seem to go much faster. Don’t forget to make the tops of the mince and apple a bit different so you know which is which.

- Frugal Grandma

I asked my Frugal Grandma if she would provide holiday cover while I am away on my Thrifty Roadtrip this week. Frugal Grandma can do anything…

When someone gives you a bunch of carnations or chrysanthemums, take off the little 2″-3″ shoots and grow your own.

Wet the shoots’ bottoms, dip in root powder and plant in a small pot (several to a pot as they won’t all take).

Do not try to root any with a flower bud on them as plants do not like to make flower and root at the same time.

- Frugal Grandma

I asked my Frugal Grandma if she would provide holiday cover while I am away on my Thrifty Roadtrip this week. Frugal Grandma can do anything..

Biscuits gone a bit soft? Use them as a crumble topping over fruit, sprinkle with sugar and cook.

Don’t throw away the chicken carcass: boil it with the skin, then strain it off and pick out any pieces of chicken meat (horrible job). Bung them in the stock with salt and pepper, tarragon, dill, garlic and anything else that’s handy. (more…)

I asked my Frugal Grandma if she would provide holiday cover while I am away on my Thrifty Roadtrip this week. Frugal Grandma can do anything..

Frugal Dinner

This recipe is called Beef Collop; it was first made by my mother when she ran a small London cafe in the late 1940s. Meat was rationed at that time and my ma never liked to waste anything, so she invented this dish. It became so popular that she ended up having to buy meat especially for it.

If you have very little meat left from a roast, say 2 slices of beef (or lamb, pork or chicken), then do the following: (more…)

In last week’s vintage shoe shopping guide, I argued that 1940s shoes weren’t worth bothering with. Here’s the evidence.

It may have been different in other countries, but in Britain clothing was strictly rationed during the Second World War. By the time the war ended, there weren’t many pristine shoes left sitting in closets. Everything - including footwear - was taken in a bit here, turned out there and worn to death. Quality and luxury were low on the priority list.

The photograph above was taken in Mayfair at the turn of 1940s/1950s. It’s deliciously Mad Men though, isn’t it? The bright young thing on the end of the row, clutching her glass of champers for all it’s worth, is my Frugal Grandma. Anyway, they all look glam and stylish, from their hairdos

down to their ankles. And then…. (more…)

UPDATE: If you are visiting from MSN Smart Spending, welcome to Miss Thrifty! My passion for fashion knows no bounds, but neither does my craving for saving…  Bargains ahoy! I update my blog daily with all the latest frugal tips and red hot discounts. Please have a look around; if you like what you see, subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for stopping by  - Miss T.

Now this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this behemoth of the frugal motoring world, so I thought that proper introductions were in order. Please allow me to present to you…

(drumroll)…

The Thriftymobile!

It’s a Mazda 323 and it rolled off the production line in 1985 - so it’s only a few years younger than I am.

You may think look it looks like a little ol’ banger (and what’s more, it’s teeny-tiny by US standards). But trust me: this humble motor is one of the best financial decisions I have ever made.

Here’s why:

1.   It didn’t cost me anything to buy. Back before Chernobyl and the Oprah Winfrey Show, when this 323 was at the cutting edge of automobile technology, the car was bought brand new by my 77-year-old great-grandmother. Twenty-odd years later, she couldn’t drive it any longer and it began to pass down the family. It came into my hands in 2005, after I finally passed my driving test.

2.   Despite its age, the car was in pristine condition. When we climbed into it, it smelled new. Don’t believe me? Here’s the odometer now: (more…)