Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

never_too_old

l.m.hart wrote: »

:money:Some advice is needed please, i have read through most of these threads and am shocked at how low somepeoples gas and electricity monthly payments are.
i always compare suppliers and have changed when necessary but am currently paying £ 95 month elec, £ 65 gas.
i live in a 4 bed semi with gsh and cook with gas. 3 of us at home now, heating not on all the time, water heatedtwice a day for an hour.and thermostate set at 21 degress.
am i doing something wrong and how do i cut it down,

checked online today to see if i could get a better deal, checked my bills and was in credit not by huge amounts, so phoned up and they checked amount being paid and by changing to paperless billing managed to drop payments to £77 per month for both gas and electricity, not going out tonight so heating turned down to 19 degrees and wrapped in the duvet, dont think dh will ever stop moaning about it being cold but its worth it if i can get some debts paid off:D

NualaBuala

cw18 wrote: »

I'm partying with the NSD Challenge folks

And waiting for someone to get home from a walk (in about 15-20 mins), when the emails will start flying again. "Chatted" for just over 2 hours this morning before I had to get ready for work......

Now that's another challenge I should join - although to be fair the majority of my spending is budgeted for - bills etc.

cw18

NualaBuala wrote: »

Now that's another challenge I should join - although to be fair the majority of my spending is budgeted for - bills etc.

I still count a Direct Debit as a spend, but it gets me trying to keep as many other spends as possible to those days - and stops a lot of the impulse buys
I don't think there are actually that many of us on there that count D/Debs though, and I know of at least one who doesn't count groceries as she accounts for them elsewhere.

Blairweech

Had my first spend of next years budget today...£3 on toilet rolls I had a money off voucher

Have done my sale shopping now...so next year I DO NOT NEED ANY CLOTHES

Jacey53

I'm getting very excited about this now - my official start day is tomorrow.

I have listed all my stores in the freezer and cupboards, have started meal planning for January and will be doing lots of batch cooking over the weekend.

If I can make a good start in January it will, with the encouragement I get from the participants here, keep me motivated to continue.

I have picked a range of spends that I hope I can reduce - I haven't included things like gas, electricity and water as i dealt with those last year. I overspend on petrol by driving to the shops where I overspend on groceries.:mad: then i end up wasting food or eating too much.

I'm hoping to cut down in all those areas and perhaps lose a few pounds in weight.

I get a really positive feel to thsi thread - despite health and other concerns there is a real "can do it" attitude.


happy new year everyone:T

cw18

Jacey53 wrote: »

I get a really positive feel to this thread - despite health and other concerns there is a real "can do it" attitude.

Most definitely

itsallinthemind

xnatalie81x I found a cool trick with the flat bottom ice cream cones. You are probably going to tell me you already do this though or it is a mad idea! Co-op had a box reduced to 9p. Still had three months on them? Anyway, make up fairy cake mix(put lemon zest in mine), pop the cones on a fairy cake tin in the holes. Pop enough cake mix in each, cook normally. After they cooled I did 2 types, One lemon curd mixed into the cream, piped on top then thin piped(squiggled really) some lemon curd over them. Other half lemon icing, then decorated with coloured yellow icing sqiggles. My eldest does not do cake, did these Was thinking at one of their birthdays this year I may send the little people home with one that has a coloured sponge mix, coloured icing or frosting with hundreds and thousands on top? Sure this has been done before, but I felt creative anyway lol:rotfl:


Co-op-Nouvelle are 9 for £2.55 till 18 Jan to confirm. Masses of reductions as they are closed tommorow. Will be keeping an eye out till the 5th as I think there will be more same as with the Christmas closure

I hope everyone has a good NYE/Hogmany whether you are celebrating or not. For those who find it a difficult or sad time of year, I pass a virtual hug. Obviously completely futile, but the sentiment is there!

romylou_2

Hi I am going to take up this Frugal Living Challenge for 2011. Our living expenses are quite high so if I set myself a £20,000 limit, hopefully that should cover it. If I come in below this, all well and good.

Good Luck

Aesop

l.m.hart wrote: »

checked online today to see if i could get a better deal, checked my bills and was in credit not by huge amounts, so phoned up and they checked amount being paid and by changing to paperless billing managed to drop payments to £77 per month for both gas and electricity, not going out tonight so heating turned down to 19 degrees and wrapped in the duvet, dont think dh will ever stop moaning about it being cold but its worth it if i can get some debts paid off:D

well done on getting your payments reduced.

MY DH constantly moans about how cold it is in the house, he even turns the heating on and says it is for me and DS ! Even though when he is not at home, we don't have the heating on, and cope very well with socks and a cardigan. Also with DS, who doesn't stop moving... told DH to move more, it would keep him warmer!

NualaBuala

cw18 wrote: »

I still count a Direct Debit as a spend, but it gets me trying to keep as many other spends as possible to those days - and stops a lot of the impulse buys
I don't think there are actually that many of us on there that count D/Debs though, and I know of at least one who doesn't count groceries as she accounts for them elsewhere.

Well anything that helps keep us on the straight and narrow is good! I would count a DD spend too, I like a challenge!

Blairweech wrote: »

Had my first spend of next years budget today...£3 on toilet rolls I had a money off voucher

Have done my sale shopping now...so next year I DO NOT NEED ANY CLOTHES

Sounds like a good mantra you've got there Blairweech - and glad you started off your spends with a reduction from a voucher!

Itsallinthemind - mmmmmm, that sounds fab and I would never have thought of that.

Jacey - very well said! :T I want to lose weight too. Unfortunately I find that some of the healthy food I buy is quite expensive - but well worth it and I will give up a lot before I give that up.

Puddleglum - aw, you have had a tough old time of it and here's hoping it gets better from here.

Welcome and good luck to everyone else - new joiners, old faces and lurkers!

I have set my 2011 budget at €9250 all-in. I have some money saved for specific expenses and these are not included in my total though. The total includes a contingency of €600 for household expenses - repairs, appliances etc. I wish it were more but it's been tough trying to make the figures work. If it's anything like last year I will be juggling the numbers from one category to another but that's ok as long as I come in on budget overall.

I came in under-budget for 2010 - I was aiming for €9600 and came in at €9296.99. :jThat included ~€400 I had saved from last year for some decorating.