Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

mama67

Jolaaled wrote: »

wooo...Hessian would be lovely!! No..I meant the simple 1.5kg paper ones, sadly!!

Silly thing really but I use these to put all the silly bits of paper recycling(can labels, receipts etc) in and then when full the bag just goes into the recycling wheelie bin.

JayneC

Well i survived going under my bed - only managed one box in the time but baby steps eh? Have sorted some training information from work and put a pile of paper in the recycling, small but significant progress;)

Thanks for all your lovely comments about my chicks, they're loads bigger now, that photo was taken last year. Lilylass you need to click the link on my previous post to see them.

Nuala - sounds like you had quite a day, take care of yourself x

HowlinWolf wow on your spends, excellent bargains.

Now going to send an e-mail to a friend I've not spoken to for ages, am being very organised today - not sure where that came from ??

Goodnight everyone x

Barros

Another update from me ...

I have kept within my budget this month so far but its 3 days to payday and i have just a few £££'s left!

I am really happy with this month as so many times I could've transferred money from my savings to live a bit more comfortably and get treats but i haven't. So many times i have fancied a nice takeaway!! normally in january i dont watch my spending after christmas (weird psychology i know!) but had a better reign on them this month thanks to everyone on here and reading all the stories

i think next month i will try and do the same and live off £100 for the month all in. living so frugally this month has shown me where the silly spending was going and how much it has added up to! all it takes is a little more thought and determination and the feeling of not throwing money away is amazing!

congrats everyone, a few more days to go for most i imagine to payday - and the hardest month is over!!

question for everyone - im ok with saving and spending but do you think i should look at one of these spreadsheets that everyone has to help me out and see annual totals etc?

xx

cw18

Barros wrote: »

question for everyone - im ok with saving and spending but do you think i should look at one of these spreadsheets that everyone has to help me out and see annual totals etc?

xx

Works for some, but not for others
Some folks prefer more traditional methods, and I'd never try to take away personal choice

If you're happy to give yourself a monthly allowance and ensure you stick to that (even without splitting it further into 'pots' for different things), then I don't see anything wrong with you continuing to do that

miss_empty_piggy

Hi All
I've been soooo busy this month with one thing and another that I have not managed to get onto this thread for ages, and OMG has it grown!!! I hold my hands up that I haven't managed to read the entire 100+ pages but have read todays in order to get in line with what's happening right now. :rotfl:

Sorry if I'm totally behind the times, but just wanted to say Hi and to officially join in if that's ok. I love to live frugally. My two DDs and I are saving up for our holiday in July/August. Last year I took them to a friend at work's beautiful house in the deep south of France and we loved it and wanted to go again. As it cost over £1000 we agreed that we would make money together and save together and bless them they have really chipped in aswell. We were all really excited until we found out that the only week it is available they are still in school, and being a teacher myself it doesn't sit well with me taking them out of school. So, we are having to rethink. Hopefully we will be able to come up with something a little more frugal than £1K!!! which would be an absolute godsend.

So anyway, just wanted to introduce myself, as I love reading this thread and promise from now on to be faithful and catch up everyday. :A

Barros

cw18 wrote: »

Works for some, but not for others
Some folks prefer more traditional methods, and I'd never try to take away personal choice

If you're happy to give yourself a monthly allowance and ensure you stick to that (even without splitting it further into 'pots' for different things), then I don't see anything wrong with you continuing to do that

yeah thanks i guess that makes sense! i guess i was inquisitive as to whether it would save me even more :beer:

youngmummy

i have gone way over budget this month but hoing too cut back the est of the year. brought LO nappies yesterday and my grandma turned up with another huge pack today so shouldnt have too buy any till mid feb. i have managed to pay off my catologue so i dont need too worry about that and by july our loan will be paid off. dont need any food shopping till feb but went over budget with that as well this month but should all work out by by feb. LO starts preschool next april .... im hoping that by them OH will of come round to ttc number 2. hoping also too go away next year as a couple and as a family .... ive actually got a list of aims hopefully most of them will be ticked off by the end of the year. im full of cold atm and feeling rubbish. have done for the last week hoping it will go away by next week getting really fed up now. on the upside i am going to buy some of those tins that you put change into and can only open with a tin opener ....which will hopefully mean that by the end of the year we will have some pennies to go into the bank!! hope everyone is ok x

mooomin

Morning folks

I'm only going to be posting in the mornings for a while as my laptop power pack and battery have given up the ghost and I'm waiting for replacement parts for it. The money isn't coming from the frugalising budget though but from the windfall we had earlier this year. Mr Fresian has insisted (apparently I'm cranky without internet of my own )

Sadly the Spreadsheet of Wonder is trapped on the laptop (Bah!) so I can't tell you how I'm doing for the month, but I've learnt a valuable lesson about backing things up on a flash drive

Today I'm going to be spending as I'm off to the supermarket after work, but I shouldn't spend more than £10 unless the whoopsies are good. Have a good day all!

gien

good morning - I am finally out of my sick bed and feeling OK - I've been reading and keeping up with the thread, just not posting.

I'm another one who's pleased with how this month has gone. I could have easily raided the savings pot when I realised that this month was going to be tight but we stuck with it and have arrived at the end of the month (DH got paid yesterday) with our savings untouched. Eating out of the freezer and running down stocks really helped and we still have a load of stuff left - just shows how much I over fill the cupboards normally.

So the goal this month is to increase the savings by 10%, keep the food bills down by careful planning, increase my NSDs.

grandma247

NB you could make meals such as chicken and veg casserole by just putting all the ingredients in a bag and freezing it as is so you can just pop it in a dish and cook. I used to do this a lot when I had all the kids at home and I worked.