Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

Savvy_sewing

Well alas, I have spent more this month then I did last month! or I am noticing it more! Cheryls Spread sheet is showing me, I am spending where I had not budgeted. Although at least I have the excuse of moving house only a month ago. Bought 3 bookcases today, in the sale, plus one had an extra 10% off as it had a scratch! But we need them, and thats not a word used lightly. They are to go under the stairs in the cupboard to store my kitchen equipment, and utility things (as I no longer have a utility room, and half the size kitchen! very Eek). my Approved Foods are also usually such a godsend, and I dont have anywhere to horde at the moment.!

I still want to buy a shed as well, as my lawnmower etc are practically open to the elements, just a plastic sheet covering them, and also a burgulars haven!
I will try harder in February, and aim to make savings once the house is set up, and towards the end of the year I hope I will be back on track.

natnat13

Sandra, so are so fab, I love your posts!

I put fuel in my car again today, my last tank lasted me 16 days which is good for me so I am pleased.

I am working all day tomorrow and then tomorrow evening and not going home inbetween so will buy tea, but not go overboard and actually it will be a nice treat, I will have a friend with me and I will take my lunch and a flask so won't buy that. Will also leave OH with tea instructions for him and the munchkins so he doesn't buy a takeaway!!

Midwinder - Have never grown anything in banana boxes, they might be a bit shallow? Maybe ok for lettece? My next door neighbours grew spuds in a dustbin once.

Catch up again later, got to go sort tea (roast chicken, yum, yum!!)

midwinter

natnat13 wrote: »

Sandra, so are so fab, I love your posts!

I put fuel in my car again today, my last tank lasted me 16 days which is good for me so I am pleased.

I am working all day tomorrow and then tomorrow evening and not going home inbetween so will buy tea, but not go overboard and actually it will be a nice treat, I will have a friend with me and I will take my lunch and a flask so won't buy that. Will also leave OH with tea instructions for him and the munchkins so he doesn't buy a takeaway!!

Midwinder - Have never grown anything in banana boxes, they might be a bit shallow? Maybe ok for lettece? My next door neighbours grew spuds in a dustbin once.

Catch up again later, got to go sort tea (roast chicken, yum, yum!!)

I don't have the space/room for serious veg growing. But wondering about lettuce/radish/spring onions, and possibly tomatoes... still thinking about the logistics!

lynzpower

what space have you got midwinter, I did a lot in pots last year, and might be able to help you

You cannot go wrong with spring onions ( unless the birds get the seed) I did loads in mushroom punnets.

they dont need "depth" obviously as they all grow above.

midwinter

lynzpower wrote: »

what space have you got midwinter, I did a lot in pots last year, and might be able to help you

You cannot go wrong with spring onions ( unless the birds get the seed) I did loads in mushroom punnets.

they dont need "depth" obviously as they all grow above.

I think about 5' x 2' would still let me get the washing out!

Mushroom punnets are a great idea, thankyou~ I'll ask on the market if they can save those for me!

lynzpower

I am savnig all sorts from the kitchen to raise seeds with,

I have saved all the loo roll innards as planting the seeds in this the whole tube can go in the ground and they just degrade

I am saving yoghurt pots, tubs and all sorts of plastic trays ( eg the ones meat come in) a bit of a rinse and you are away.

Also polystyrene trays you get meat in ( I havent seen these for ages tho) are good for ripping up and putting in the bottom of pots for drainage.

If you grow things that grow upwards ( beans, peppers spring onions) then you dont relaly need the same space as you need for roots ( eg carrots)

midwinter

Saving plastic trays to start the seeds off in. Will start saving loo roll tubes. Should also think about a mini composter too, going to have to buy all my compost, and compost would augment it for next year

Erme

Marru wrote: »

I pay always with my card so that I can see the spends on the statement. If I use cash and especially if I don't get a receipt I just use the note option on my phone (most phones should have capability to put notes in): Like today I had to put: 26/1 crisps 0.56 Then ideally no less than twice a week I reconcile my bank account and cash.



And when you go to cancel they might offer you further half price box.

Yesterday's tea for me beans on toast and DD egg on toast. Tonight bangers and mash so for lunch tomorrow I shall have leftover mash from today with leftover beans from yesterday.

I know even before the days of phones that can do everything bar iron I would keep my diary on my phone and regularly use the notes app on them for anything from counting knitting rows to taxi nos.....:)...

Have you found a good app for the grocery shopping yet? A free/cheap one...I tried 'grocery manager' - it wasn't too bad for making lists of food to get and ticking them off but nothing else but then that could be my phone more than anything else. It looked good (had menu plans; inventory etc) but just didn't seem to work on my wildfire...don't know if you can get it to work on yours. Cos it didn't work I deleted it...(phone has way too many apps as is LOL)

Editing this cos got distracted...just checked which (the ppl that test everything) and they're recommending Mighty grocery lite and also OI Shopping list though don't know if you can get these on the iphone or not but know you can on android...will try out and feedback

23rdspiral wrote: »

minnie - hope all went as well as it could.

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well, i now know how come i've managed to spend so little on groceries this month... we've mostly been just been eating things we already had! so i had to go and stock up today... which means i've spent 23 this week already!! which is ok. it has to be ok. it's just that saving the previous weeks led me into a false sense of security, i think i need to go back to topping up the cupboards as i see stuff - it's easier on my budget that way.

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sandra - thanks for the birlliant encouraging posts. We are each here because we want to Challenge Ourselves in our own way. My main challenges were to notice where my money was going, (which appears to include facing up to the Little Treats that i'm now seeing aren't really so little), and begin to prepare for redundancy when i know i'll have to tighten the belt extreemely... by tightening it now little by little so it's less of a shock.

I did this about 2 years ago with DLA renewal looming and not knowing if I'd get yet or not...I got it but I thought 'best be prepared' and now I'm doing it in case I am ever put on basic job seekers....(which currently am not)...according to my spreadsheet I can afford everything I have now bar debt and cigs..the cigs is a real toughie....the debt I CAN do something about so am paying off the max I can to try and get it clear asap....

Whilst my frugal living is far from perfect it's good to see I've paid off almost £2k of debt in a year and that was EASY...it would have been a about 500 more if I hadn't been tithing like a woman possessed. But now I'm putting my tithe on debt...so worst case scenario if I keep this current payment plan up is that I'm debt free in 18 months...Best is by august...still have 10 years sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think like that...


the strangest thing is - is that in the 'boom' times when everyone had a tonne of debt it was like 'normal' for me and not a burden and now it's a weight hanging round my neck even though my financial circumstances haven't changed a great deal... interesting

Am on p.110 and think I need to put rice and lentils in micro now for tea so I get something to eat

A final word on phones before I go - I downloaded the kindle app and got little women (it's a free book in kindle classics) - starting reading it on the bus between appts and am loving it :T - lovely light reading c/o Mr Kindle

E

SandraScarlett

lynzpower wrote: »

I love you sandra you are like our very own cheerleader :T :j

so uplifting!

I think I have had a mixed month so far but Im not doing the round up until the very end lest it jinx stuff!!!

I'm trying to imagine myself in an American Cheerleader's outfit, complete with ra-ra skirt, yelling:

2! 4! 6! 8! Who do we appreciate

T-H-E F-R-U-G-A-L-I-S-T-A-S!!¬ Yeah, yeah yeah!!!

xx

SandraScarlett

Mooloo, that's exactly what I meant about us not having identical lives - I haven't moved in the last month, whereas you have!

Even if just looking at Cheryl's spreadsheet has shown you places where you could make economies, isn't it better if you can now do so, for the remaining 11 months, than if you had just carried on the same way?

We've all still got to live, not just exist, and you won't be buying several bookcases, or a shed, every month! I try and think of Big Spends (washing machine, TV, carpet, fridge etc) as being about £500 a year. Some years, nothing has needed replacing, other years have been awful and everything seems to go at once. But it all evens out.

I'm just impressed that a month after moving, you have enough brain power left to think straight!!

xx