The Diary of a Frugal Family | Living a Fabulously Frugal Family Life

10 ways to keep cool on a budget….

286213 Comments10+ways+to+keep+cool+on+a+budget....2026-05-25+13%3A26%3A31Cassandra May 25, 2026 By Cassandra
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I originally published this post a few years ago but with the heatwave we’re having at the moment and the fact that our new house seems to hold heat like an actual greenhouse, I’ve found myself coming back to it and looking for every possible way to keep cool again. 😂Our old Victorian house is lovely in lots of ways but once the heat gets in, it really likes to hang around which means we’ve been trying all sorts over the last couple of weeks just to make things a bit more comfortable without relying on fans running constantly. Some of these are things we’ve done for years, some … [Read more...]

I Got a Pie Maker for Free… Sort Of…

45465Leave a Comment2026-05-25+09%3A23%3A40Cassandra May 25, 2026 By Cassandra
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One of my friends popped round for a catch up a couple of weeks ago and it was the first time they'd been since we moved house so they got the obligatory tour of the house, ending in the kitchen where we put the kettle on and chatted while we waited for it to boil. She spotted a couple of my kitchen gadgets which got us talking about some of the random gadgets we both own and as we chatted, we both realised that we had a stack of kitchen gadgets each in our kitchens - some of which we use all the time and some are just gathering dust at the back of the cupboards. Somewhere in the … [Read more...]

My much-needed refresh day….

45660Leave a CommentMy+much-needed+refresh+day....2026-05-24+19%3A44%3A47Cassandra May 24, 2026 By Cassandra
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Since going back to work, I feel like I’ve been permanently just a little bit behind with life. Not in a dramatic way where the house is falling apart around us or we’re surviving on takeaway every night 😂 but more in the way where all the little jobs that normally make life feel calmer have slowly started piling up in the background. Have you seen that meme that says, “I’m not an early bird or a night owl, I’m a permanently exhausted pigeon”? Well, that has very much been me lately. The human equivalent of a permanently exhausted pigeon.I had seven months off work and, if I’m … [Read more...]

Understanding HbA1c vs blood glucose (and why they’re not the same thing)….

45342Leave a Comment2026-05-24+09%3A54%3A06Cassandra May 24, 2026 By Cassandra
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First up, I get that this is a post that's probably only useful to you if you're diabetic so please feel free to move on if you're not diabetic 😁But if you are and you're struggling to understanding the difference between your HbA1c and your finger prick testing then this could be a pretty helpful post for you.Understanding the difference between my HbA1c results and the blood glucose numbers from my daily finger-prick tests is something I really struggled to get my head around when I was first diagnosed and for some time afterwards. It feels like there are so … [Read more...]

Five little things that have saved us money this week {22nd May 2026}….

45578Leave a Comment2026-05-22+08%3A49%3A15Cassandra May 22, 2026 By Cassandra
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Every week I share five small things we’ve done to save a bit of money, make life easier or help us spend more intentionally. None of them are usually huge on their own, but that’s kind of the point. Those small choices add up over time and give us more room for the things that really matter — whether that’s days out, holidays, home projects, treats we’ll actually enjoy or just a bit more breathing space in the budget.Hey! You might want to grab a drink and a snack for this week's post as it's a looooong one! 🥤🍰1) Last week I bought a car which I am fully … [Read more...]

A Pre-loved home office {on a budget}….

45560Leave a Comment2026-05-20+10%3A58%3A58Cassandra May 20, 2026 By Cassandra
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For the first time ever, I have an actual office at home.In our old house, my “office” was basically just a corner of the dining room and honestly, I didn’t mind it at all. I loved being downstairs in the middle of everything. I worked long hours back then and quite often ended up logging back in on an evening or over a weekend to help someone or deal with something urgent, so having my desk downstairs meant I still felt part of whatever was going on in the house while I worked. I could answer emails while tea was cooking, quickly check something while everyone else was watching TV … [Read more...]