Frugal Living 2010 - the final stretch

pink_numbers

ok I'm quite depressed now.

We spent the morning, going through the budget for 2011, and our joint budget, all in, is just shy of £12,000... I want to cry!!! I thought we were doing so well, but alas, it appears that we have A LOT more cutting down to do

Fishcake_Random

Afternoon all,
Woke up early this morning with a horrible cold, the kind that makes you want to sleep upright. I have had so many colds and coughs ect since having the Fishfinger, I think pregnancy must have really wiped me out more than I realised, I must try and get some mulivits and boost my fruit and veg eating.
OH is playing football with his mates in a local park even if this horrible icey weather so I've taken the oppertunity to sew a few more strips onto his blanket I'm making. Fingers crossed I can get it done by the 8th as Im staying overnight at my mums that night and she's promised to help me back it. Then he can have it for xmas as planned.
We did a stores shop yesterday just in case of bad weather and I now have plenty of pasta, noodles, baby supplies and 2 cartons of UHT milk for emergancy cups of tea (in case the queen should pop in ect). So I feel much more prepared with the little things. I also have a freezer full of various meals and puddings I've frozen down and a cupboard bursting with baking things so we can survive a snow in lol.
Off to dose up on flu tablets, I need to survive a Christingle late this afternoon.

X X XX

cw18

FR - sending you some 'get well soon' ((hugs)). Hope the Christingle goes well

pink_numbers wrote: »

ok I'm quite depressed now.

We spent the morning, going through the budget for 2011, and our joint budget, all in, is just shy of £12,000... I want to cry!!! I thought we were doing so well, but alas, it appears that we have A LOT more cutting down to do

As long as your joint income covers it, then I wouldn't get depressed

Just have a long hard look at your budgetted out-goings, and take baby steps at reducing them.

There'll be some (like council tax, mortgage/rent, road tax/mot and water if you're not on a meter) that you can't do anything about.

Then there's those where you have some control, but not to a huge extent (home/car insurances, which you can shop around for but have to battle the huge annual increases we keep seeing)

And then there's those you have more control over - water (if metered), gas/electricity, food, clothes, etc.

The latter category is the one I would (personally) suggest taking a closer look at. If you really think you've cut them back as far as you can, just leave them 'as is' for now - then set yourself some mini-challenges each month to try and spend '£5 less' than your budgetted figure for that month (or than the previous month - which is even better if you continually managed to meet your mini-challenge, as your budget will be reducing month-on-month)

Kerry_Woman

Fishcake_Random - Hope you feel better soon.

slowlyfading

fishcake - hope you feel better soon x

pink_numbers

Thank you cw18, your are as always, full of encouragement and wisdom

I need to keep reminding myself that I've already come a long way from having outgoings of £24k a year on my own! Looking at things that way, £12K a year for the two of us doesn't seem so bad.

I will still go through my budget again as you have suggested and see where I can make some cuts

thank you.

NualaBuala

Pink_numbers - you are doing great!:T A 50% cut is not to be sneezed at!

IMHO the main thing is to live within your means but everyone has different circumstances so will need a different budget. Obviously if there are debts that need to be paid or savings need to be increased, then it is worth pulling the belt as tight as possible!

I have been gradually shaving bits off here and there and dropping things (like Sky) that used to be basics but I now view as luxuries. I am still hanging on to some luxuries though (like chocolate and TV licence) but my budget for next year is going to be very tight so they may have to go.

slowlyfading

I'm at home today - snowed more over night, and keeps snowing on and off so feel it's not worth the risk of getting stuck. Brr. So, need to be productive today! Going to wrap some presents up later and get those sorted - right now I'm snuggled up on the sofa with a cuppa

the_cat

Hi everyone

I started doing this challenge at the beginning of the year but fell by the wayside. Although I have been fairly frugal, I know that it could definately be improved on and am hoping to set a yearly budget for everything

I have a bit of a problem though with deciding how much (if any:eek:) to allow for luxury items etc. I am lucky in that I have surplus cash and want to save some/pay off the mortgage. I have found in past years though that if I set too low a target I get disheartened and give up..... willpower is not my strongest point!

Therefore I was wondering if I might be better off either setting higher targets and have the satisfaction (hopefully:o) of coming in under budget or set savings targets instead. Does anyone else work their budget in either of these ways? Or do I just need to knuckle down?:D (Apologies to those of you working to a budget without flexibility though, my post must seem pretty self indulgent and spoilt when you aren't lucky enough to have that slack )

It may have been mentioned in one of the many pages I have missed out on, but will there be a challenge here next year?

enjoyfinancialchallenges

Hi everyone.
The-cat re: your wanting to allow yourself the odd luxury I understand about the falling by the wayside when it all gets too tight bit and I get stressed as well so I need to watch myself about that. I seem to have been watching the cash flow and being frugal for ever but now allow myself to slip a bit and not feel guilty. As long as I don't go into permanent debt that I can't pay in the next few months thats OK with me. Sometimes I fiddle around and borrow from myself and that debt could extend into the next month but usually it all comes right in the end and I suppose I'm lucky that I can put an amount by for annual bills each month, otherwise I would not be able to pay for those extras. I think that allowing for the odd luxury is fine as long as you can afford it so yes set your budget a bit higher and enjoy achieving it, you can cut down as and when you need to and can cope with it.

This month is going to be an expensive one for me, as well as Christmas being around the corner I have to have the roof of my porch stripped and the tiles replaced because it was leaking, the roofer said they been put on wrong and the valleys are not wide enough.......but he would say that wouldn't he?.....Then the car needs its annual service and MOT and the cat needs her booster jab. Plus I had 700 litres of oil delivered an hour ago .....and......my credit card is a bit heavier that usual because my DS and DIL moved last Friday and I said I would pay the removal fees. I keep on telling myself its only money and people are more important. I do have the cash put away for these events so am not panicking too much...... One bright star on the horizon is that I've found out how to get lost/ shredded T***o vouchers replaced, its only £5.50 but every little helps.Yesterday I bought a small chest freezer for £15.00 plus I gave the man £5.00 because he delivered it and lifted it into my conservatory, a bargain I thought and its just what I need for the summer when I cook my scones and biscuits for sale. I end up with my kitchen freezer full of margarine and butter etc which I buy when its on offer so more space will be welcomed. Plus I can cook ahead of time and not exhaust myself the day before I set up my stall.

Well keep warm everybody especially those of you in the far north.