Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

HowlinWolf

I am really struggling to catch up with the thread after a couple of weeks of not being able to read everyday so please excuse me if I've missed anything important but I'm going to give up trying to catch up and jump back in here. Hope everyone is well. Needless to say my accounting in my little black book of wonder has also fallen by the wayside and I need to get that back under control too.

LauraM65

Winnie_in_Pooh wrote: »

Thank you Apple Mint! I've downloaded the spreadsheet of wonder, and it is indeed wonderous ! Will sit down with DH and the bank statements this evening and have a better look at it and try to complete it retrospectively for March and hopefully that will give me an idea of where we are along with areas for improvement in April.

I've always considered us to be a fairly frugal household but having read through a lot of the links today I can see we have lots to learn. DH might take a bit of convincing on some things, but at the end of the day he has two choices, especially with our income taking such a massive battering!

Hi:) Where can I download the spreadsheet of wonder from, did make my own up yesterday but would like to have a look at this one. Thanks:beer:

LauraM65

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

A shiny new thread, yay

Hello to all our newly joined 'frugalistas' :wave:

Have decided to do a bit of a grocery challenge and decided on £70 a week for 5 adults and an ickle doggie.
It was just for groceries but think I'll add sundries/toiletries to that too. Will update sig. everytime I have a spend on these.

Laura M65 I sympathise with the chest infection. I'm prone to those too and they can be pretty scary when it feels tight. Hope it improves soon.

franticflyerSue56 sorry to hear of your job loss. It's the same at our local library, which is always very busy too. Hope it stays open, I love going there. On a positive note you'll get lots of support on here with masses of ideas and tips.
Good luck on your new journey.

Spiral was it you I did the yo yo link for but it didn't work? They are also called 'suffolk puffs' and made of round material. Traditionally sewn together for making blankets. Was a bit naughty and ordered the extra large and jumbo size yo yo makers today. But who knows I might start a blanket project going.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Luv Dizzy x
♥

Thanks Dizzy, have to say feel a little better today with my chest. Getting a lot of sorting done storecupboard and freezer and also done a spreadsheet to see if I can start saving in April. All being well if my budget goes to plan will save at least £500, would be nice wouldn't it but I expect I will overspend. :T

mooomin

LauraM65 wrote: »

Hi:) Where can I download the spreadsheet of wonder from, did make my own up yesterday but would like to have a look at this one. Thanks:beer:

If you look in the first post in this thread it's about halfway down "My Free Spreadsheet"

If you get stuck with it, Cheryl is always willing and able to help with it!

jayII

Morning everyone, I hope all the colds, flus and other ailments are soon on the mend. That cold is horrible, I'm so glad mine is coming to an end.

I didn't manage a storecupboard inventory yesterday, but I planned the next few meals out, so should have a few NSDs.

Thanks Laura for asking about this.

flying_fresian wrote: »

If you look in the first post in this thread it's about halfway down "My Free Spreadsheet"

If you get stuck with it, Cheryl is always willing and able to help with it!

Thanks flying_fresian, I've just downloaded it and it does indeed look wondrous!

SandraScarlett

I had a great night out, and including a tip, I spent £20, but well worth it for the fun and laughs we had. The restaurant was in Brentwood, next door to the Sugar Hut, where a lot of "The Only Way Is Essex" is filmed, and we had a window table, so we had a first class view of all the Sugar Hutters arriving in their pink stretch limos!!!

I was telling them about this site, and managed to get another 5 converts, and they were discussing their spending patterns. One lady had 3 take-away coffees every day, and was shocked that she was spending £1,500 a year on coffee! Another bought several glossy magazines each week, and a third never ever has her shoes repaired - preferring to throw them in a bin!

Someone's boots cost £200 (:eek:) and she also regularly bought new Radley handbags - but didn't know why! But what shocked me most was ..... nobody kept a note of their spends!!! They were all dismayed when their credit card statements arrived, as they "forgot" they'd bought the listed items. And one lady couldn't understand why her balance kept rising - and she only paid the minimum each month!

Credit cards used to be my downfall, but I now use an A5 envelope, and put all my receipts in that, and keep an approximate total on the front, updated weekly. That way, I have a rough idea whether I'm going to be asked for £200 or if it's likely to be nearer £1200!! Happy to say it's been nearer £400 a month for some time now. All my mates have solemnly promised to use envelopes from now on, and, if possible, to pay their bills in full!!

xx

Marvel1

Hi, I would like to join this, I hope I have/doing this right.

After updating my monthly spreadsheet, I have £258.22 to spend for April (more this month as I didn't use much Gas and Electric) and this is what I call personal spending, as this is after food etc as I put money away each month for it.

On April 22nd I will be spending £50 for the car MOT, I have now started to put £5 away for this for next year.

My food budget for a month is £100, after tweaking it better, I went over In November 2010 and January 2011 BUT over the last 5 months it averages £73.53 per month, s not bad.

Just looked at the spreadsheet of wonder and I never thought about doing an itemized food one - thanks for the great idea Cheryl.

slowlyfading

New thread :j :j :j

Will catch up properly tomorrow x

redglass_2

SandraScarlett wrote: »

All my mates have solemnly promised to use envelopes from now on, and, if possible, to pay their bills in full!! xx

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I did laugh reading this. You're amazing, Sandra, and possibly the only thing standing between those ladies and bankruptcy!

I expect many of us can remember when we didn't really think about our spending at all. I was brought up in a poor household and Mum managed very well, squirreling away a sixpence here and there, and was never in debt. But even she didn't set a full budget since she'd never been taught to. When I was a student I thought I was very frugal because I bought second-hand clothes (and to be fair to myself I was never in much financial trouble either) but I had NO idea of all the many different things you can do to save. Then I went into employment. I bought a bit of this and a bit of that, all impulse, no long-term strategy, and I hadn't the foggiest what I spent per month....except that I never managed to save anything. Now i know the full terrible truth and it can be frustrating at times when I know I've let myself down, but knowledge is always better than ignorance. So long live the Sandras of this world! :T

PS Welcome to our newbies. :hello:

enjoyfinancialchallenges

SandraScarlett wrote: »

Credit cards used to be my downfall, but I now use an A5 envelope, and put all my receipts in that, and keep an approximate total on the front, updated weekly. That way, I have a rough idea whether I'm going to be asked for £200 or if it's likely to be nearer £1200!! Happy to say it's been nearer £400 a month for some time now. All my mates have solemnly promised to use envelopes from now on, and, if possible, to pay their bills in full!!

xx

SS I prefer to use my credit card because I can keep a check on my expenses easily. I have an envelope system similar to the one you use. It consists of 4 imaginary columns, first the date then a name as some form of identification for me to see who I paid. Then I have an imaginary column for amount spent and the final column is to show the running total. I save all till receipts and after using my C/C and recording it I put it inside and file the whole envelope in an old bank statement folder. I always write the date on top together with the allocated amount and make up a new one every month. This works for me and has done so for about twenty years or more and this way I can find any receipt I want and the money gets paid in full each month. Some months I go over the amount but still pay it off, that forces me to be careful the following month. I put all my C/C expenses on it whether for food, gardening or whatever and because I live alone have to sometimes just stop spending and make do and I know thats easier for me than for those of you with others to consider.