In the beginning...

Dear Readers.

2012 was an awful year for both himself and me and my long term health.  I'm self employed and the 'no work, no pay' issue meant my business was on the point of failure.  I was then living with my three adult children and my partner (to be known as 'Himself' from now on) in the 5 bedroom detached house I still co-owned with my ex husband.  I turned forty-ten in December 2012, so I'm no spring chicken by any stretch of the imagination.  Consequently, we couldn't afford the huge mortgage and running costs of such a large house, even though the children each made a contribution towards their keep we still shopped and cooked for a family of five. None of them are high earners and so income was fixed and dwindling from there on.  Happily my ex husband agreed to move back into the house freeing me and Himself to find a more affordable housing solution.

Himself and I picked up the small dog and cat and set off for our new rental apartment which, being just a 10 minute walk from his place of work, also frees us from the financial shackles of running two cars.  I work in the community with the elderly in their homes and therefore need to drive, Himself is a bus driver and has very late night and early morning shift patterns.  

Prior to health issues impacting on our combined incomes we enjoyed several take away meals each month, ready meals for speed after work and didn't bat an eyelid about the tv, computers, music and lights in the house being left on by anybody for any length of time.  The fridge was always full to brimming with ready meals and quick snacks to grab and 'heavens to Betsy' growing at the bottom and back.  After a month or so the faint hum of decomposition would necessitate a clear out.  Many a time a whole black bin bag has been cleared out comprising unopened, half used or unwanted food.  How I shudder now to recall our wasteful ways.

Our new flat, though a beautiful Victorian building with 12 foot high ceilings and original solid oak block flooring, does not have central heating and as it's a rented property we have a key meter which makes alternative heating pricey.  The outside walls of the original building are damp, black mould quickly grows inside these walls and needs regular weak bleach treatments.  We have therefore had to bite the bullet and get used to having constant heat via oil filled radiators in the sitting room and bedroom which are both badly affected.  We also picked up a silica gel de humidifying cajigger in Aldi which seems to be help with the condensation.  Never having used an electric key meter before we were both astonished at the price of using a light bulb or leaving tv and microwave on standby!

Heating is a necessity both for our health and for the furniture.  We now ensure that lights get switched off, doors closed and draft excluders are vital.  We use the halogen oven a lot as it's faster and more economical than the electric one, as is a slow cooker.  I have recently purchased, from somebody I was introduced to via moneysavingexpert.com, a thermal cooking bag.  It's well made and for an initial outlay of around 10 minutes hob time we can enjoy a slow cooked meal some 6-8 hours later.  More on thermal cooking later.

Home cooked meals are not only tasty and nourishing but so much cheaper than ready meals and take aways with the additional benefit of knowing exactly what's gone into your food.

We have invested in a small chest freezer.  New philosophy at Frugally Well 'if it isn't eaten, it's to be frozen or refrigerated for another day'.  If it's been frozen, it gets eaten on leftover night.  I'm becoming quietly obsessed with this frugality lark and I've lost 9 lbs in weight in the past 6 weeks whilst eating shedfull's of food!

And so my blog is born.

Please enjoy these courgette fritters I've made you, just gram flour, hot curry powder and water for the batter, so frugal ;)