FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE part 3, July - Dec 2010

Kiwisaver_2

We had a lovely spring like weekend here, after what seems like months on end of wind, rain and gales and I'm feeling back in the groove for some Frugal doings. The clocks changed on Saturday so that extra hour of evening daylight filled me with some renewed vigour and vim.

I've only three more spending days left before down the VAT goes up, so I spent a large part of the weekend shopping like a demon to make sure I get as much bang for my buck as possible before everything goes up. It feels good to have my larder and freezer filling up nicely with 'bargains' that will help to cushion the blow when the new price regime kicks in. It feels good to know that I now have a good stock of non-perishables on hand to see me through a good few weeks, the cats have flea treatment enough to last through the summer and I have enough washing powder for the next year. It's also quite satisfying to know that my grocery bills for the next month will be just basic fresh stuff such as meat, veggies, eggs, bread and milk. :T However, the downside to this has my total spent to date has jumped quite dramatically over the past week, but still not quite over the top.

I cashed up the change in my money box and was surprised to find over $100 in there, so made a list of all the things I will need for the garden over the next few weeks of spring planting and stocked up on a couple of bags of compost, a new trowel, a large strawberry planter and ten strawberry plants which I planted out yesterday afternoon. These of course stand to rival Wimbledon for most expensive strawberries, if they don't produce any fruit or the slugs and birds get them before I do, cest la vie, we shall see.

While you're all succumbing to the heating, I am hoping we can wean ourselves off of ours over the next few days as I would ideally like to see it turned off by next weekend. I adjusted the timer so that we have at least one hour less today.

top_drawer_2

hey everyone!

Glad everyones doing well, cant believe September is here again! I spent all yesterday on the Preparing for Winter thread and think I am well prepared for it. My housemates thought it was halarious as they said it sounds like I am preparing for a second Ice Age! I love winter though when you can snuggle up in front of the TV on a cold night, but I hate being cold with a passion.

I'm struggling a little at the moment; I have a serious lack of things I NEED to do, I seem to need a deadline to work too. Its strange and bewildering getting used to not having some deadline/load of work hanging over my head. I'm also finding that my job is just boring and rubbish, it was OK while I had uni and it was low tax work but now I kind of need more stimulation. I've applied for so many different jobs though and I am becoming ept at declining being used/abused by various scams which are no better than the situation I am in at the moment.... Home care, described as "support worker" and various others are ones which have come up... I have been offered Casual work at a local disabled specialist care residential home which is great but I then have 6-10 weeks to wait for my CRB.

I've also signed upto a Spanish course at the uni (I'm on a low income so pretty cheap), I should be there tonight but I have been sitting since last Thursday for my sisters dog and she doesnt stand being on her own as it is, I feel cruel leaving her in my room while there's people around all night (her listening to the noises outside the room would make her anxious and frustrated) but my housemates wont have anything to do with her. Despite being rejected she has tried really hard with one of them in particular.... seems that there are people who just are or are not "dog people."

I still don't know what happening with moving but I am becoming more and more concerned about whether I will be able to afford it, what with heating and elec/gas but at the same time I'm not sure how much longer I can stand never having my own space/control over my surroundings. With one housemate in particular I constantly feel that I am in her way and her me to be honest........ I really need to get a decent job soon.

I'm so sorry Erme .... I missed that it was you birthday!! Happy Belated Birthday wishes - I hope you had a lovely day and lets hope this year is even better than last year.

youngmummy

hi sorry for the late reply can i put £1800 for the rest of 2010 which will include all bills exept car insurance xxx thats for 3 of us .. 1 in nappies .... many thanks..
hope everyone is doing well with there frugal challenge x

youngmummy

hi all spent £20 today on cold an flu stuff, squash and paracetamol as have came down with a bad cold feel rubbish
hope you are all well take care

NualaBuala

Hi youngmummy - what a horrible start to your frugal challenge! I hope you're feeling better soon.

Frugaldom - had just copped before you posted that this thread will take us to the end of the year. I like to reassess ever quarter anyway, it sort of motivates me to keep going.

Hope everyone is well or feels better soon.
N x

Winchelsea

Hi everyone,

Haven't been around much lately, so I'm another one that missed that it was Erme's birthday - belated birthday greetings!

Have just found out what I'll have to pay for DH's nursing home - and have smiled sweetly and paid the first bill - ouch! To be fair, it's not as bad as I feared, but at just under £600 a month it means that frugalling is the top priority. Oh well, i'm an old hand at it. Have always been careful, so we have in the past been able to have some nice holidays, good enough to make people think we were earning far more than we were. And I still mean to have holidays - am off to France by train for 5 nights in a couple of weeks, and will be doing beach clearing in Cornwall with BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) in the spring.

Anyway, now I know what I have to set aside each month, for the fees and all the usual standing orders etc, so I know what I have left to live on. My plan tomorrow (first of the month) is to withdraw the month's available cash and portion it out in envelopes etc. I already have a separate purse for food money, so am used to this sort of thinking.

I'll see how it goes! After the first month I can make more definite plans.

NualaBuala

Hi Winchelsea, I just wanted to say I admire how well you're coping.:T £600 is a lot of money in anyone's book but worth every penny for the peace of mind your DH is being properly cared for. I'm so glad you've budgeted from some breaks for yourself too.

I've done my sums and I'm under budget - have been able to put a bit extra to rainy day savings and paying off the loan. Of course the month isn't quite over yet but any spends today are budgeted for. :A

danielley

Hello all!

I just wanted to pop in and say hello, its been months since I last posted on here, but I lurk regularly and I have a stack of back reading to do in order to catch up, but I will!

My original challenge which was nowhere near Frugladom's amazing £4k budget, it was about £9k and I will definitely be over, but I have saved so much money this year by being a lot more thoughtful about how and when I spend money.

I dont feel like I have missed out on anything at all, infact I am going on a wonderful holiday next week, but by being more careful over the year it means I still have money in savings which usually gets wiped out by holidays, so I feel great!

The biggest break through has happened in the past month when the penny has finally dropped for my OH; now the fun can begin!

I will be back soon to update the budget/actual and my plan for the rest of 2010 is to be as frugal as possible and to continue in that vein in 2011, when I am hoping to have a little Frugalmite, which means I will need to save all the money I can.

Lots of Love to you all.

Frugaldom

CONGRATULATIONS, DANIELLEY!

It makes such a fantastic difference when others in the household are on board and you'll soon be saving an absolute fortune.

My grocery budget is running a tiny bit over, at £21.48 per week instead of £21 but the house is chocabloc full of food, the freezer's full and there's enough bread mix, thanks to Approved Food, to last me into the new year.

I'm really, really hoping to make savings on the electricity now that I have the logburner (George) installed - it's already making a huge difference as I still have over £40 in the meter from September alone.

Decluttering big time here, as the kitchen is almost completed. Had some spends, like paint and the bench set, but stuff like shelving, rug etc have been traded via LETS.

Have hit my savings target for the year, so anything else is a bonus. Updates on my spending show that I've now got £1,501.98 left of my original £4,000 for running household of 3. This equates to £65.05 per week, so I'm slightly under average budget at the moment but stocking up n coal & logs plus Christmas shopping will see that reversed, no doubt.

Hope everyone is doing well and thanks to all who are still frugaling. It's a lifestyle you should grow to love.

danielley

Thanks Frugladom, but if your congratulations is about the Frugalmite, we are only planning on having a little one, we haven't actually made one yet

I have just tallied my figures and they are quite scary I have spent so far this year £9746.66 .... I was only supposed to spend £9430.00 and there is still 3 months to go.

But due to detailed receipting I can easily pinpoint the area's that I underbudgeted

The main ones are
Car Costs- did budget for service, mot, insurance etc, but I needed a New clutch and exhaust and brake pads on top :mad:
Vet Bills - £257 worth of exploratry tests that found nothing wrong (thank goodness!)
Gifts - already £300 over my £450 budget and that does not include Xmas :eek:
Holiday - Going on a much more expensive then planned holiday, but will be worth it as I am going to meet up with my cousin who I haven't seen in 17 months :T

But realising that I am actually 'under' in a few area's is encouraging.

I did always say that 2010 is my practice year, 2011 is the proper start...