Living on nothing fo a year.

ellie-g

Dear Fishcake

I have worked as a nurse for the last 20 years and seen too many people lose their health in their 50s through stress at work and self neglect due to pressures of life.

So, having made a superhuman effort I managed to pay off the mortage on my small house this year (am now 50). I then discovered a book called the Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. ( Saved its purchase price many times over) .

Its a fantastic book inspirational in ideas and approach- I am now managing to save 75% of my income and enjoying the thrifty approach. I have slashed all my bills by following her ideas and ways of thinking plus some from this site too.

I plan to finish work in June 07 and have proved to myself over the last six months, without my mortgage I can live VERY comfortably on £500 per month (including bills, running a car, 2 dogs and a few "treats").

My pension kicks in at 60 (not a fortune- but enough).

I have stopped buying "stuff" and feel free and liberated from the burden of too many possessions!! I now home cook everything (much healthier). I cant believe how much money I have let slip through my fingers before I started thinking thrifty! I now get a kick out of repairing, reusing and recycling rather than throwing monery at new stuff.

When I quit work I plan to get very fit, have an extended trip to see my brother and his family in San Francisco, write the novel and do some voluntary work etc etc etc.

I wish you luck in your quest.

Ellie

in_my_wellies

I worked out how much I needed, I added expenses, divided by 12 as starting figure

pink_fairy_7

What a great thread. Being a debt free wanabee I have realised over the last year just how much money I have wasted over the years on stuff that i really don't need. Clothes, books, cd's the usual. I have cut right back with the exception of the odd treat. Next year I plan to cut back even more. I have become much more enviromentally friendly and intend to focus on that more next year.
I think with two children living at home it would be impossible not to spend any money at all over a year however I am going to try a different approach.
I am going to stick to my very frugal budget without exception.

Budget of £100 for clothes for my youngest - anything else to come from b'days, xmas etc. No clothes for myself.
Grocery budget of £180 per month for 4
No books, cd's or entertainment items at all- will use library more

I only want to spend the next two years paying for my past consumerism and then I want to change my job and enjoy my life more.

I wish you all luck
pink fairy x

[Deleted User]

If you want to know how to live on less, then ask a pensioner , we have to live on considerably less than £500.per month. I am lucky that I have no debts, and my mortgage is paid for so I am a bit more fortunate than some of my contempories.But having grown up during and after W.W.2 and in the austerity of the 1950s it is second nature to do things to save a few pennies .I hate waste of any sort and enjoy finding ways to make to money streeeetch a bit more .I like to travel, so the cash I save I use for that.I don't smoke ,but do enjoy the odd G&T in moderation of course. Money saving cam become quite addictive and you have come to the right place to do it. There are some great money-saving hints on here, and if you need help there are several thousand folk on here who will only be too pleased to help, me amongst them .Good luck, and keep everyone informed of how you are doing

scrimperjan

I already have more clothes, books, shoes etc than I could ever need, so my resolution is going to be not to buy any more unless I sell something I already have, probably on eBay, and use only that money to buy more stuff. Should help me de-clutter a bit as well! Also I'm planning to make my own gifts and cards. I'll grow a few veg, as I did this year, and use sprouted seeds for a healthy boost to the diet. We're also happy to eat quite frugally, so I should be able to spend quite a bit less next year. Isn't it amazing how the Christmas overspend helps to focus your mind?

scrimperjan

PS: And the £10 Boots vouchers I get from Pigsback will pay for essential toiletries! (For anyone who hasn't come across Pigsback yet, see the thread on the 'freebies' board).

Austin_Allegro

I would suggest two interesting books (bought secondhand from Amazon or got from your library, of course!):

How to Survive Without A Salary by Charles Long, and
Self Reliance by John Yeoman.

Both are for real hard core tightwadders. You could pretty much live on nothing if you read these books - eg there is stuff on picking herbs and plants in the woods that you can live on, etc etc.

The main problem with the books are 1. Mr Long comes from Canada, where the cost of living is very cheap anyway compared to rip-off Britain. He states you need to own your own home before you give up your salary - fat chance of that over here with rampant house price inflation! Mr Yeoman tends toward paranoia in his final chapters and gets a little too concerned about the total breakdown of society (eg. creating decoy food stores to protect against looters - something fortunately not required in England since the Civil War).

Anyway they're very interesting reads. Good luck with your plan!

Aril

Just a thought. Do you have a LETS scheme running in your area? The swapping of skills with no money exchanging hands might prove invaluable in this experiment.
Aril

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, Fishcake and others! Decided that I like this challenge. I'm aiming to minimise my spending on *stuff* this year. This is mainly because we don't need it, and our house is cluttered already.

So, no books or CDs (apart from the odd music download, and CD needed for my choir), no clothes (unless absolutely necessary, and check charity shops first), nothing that I don't first search for on Freecycle or some other *stuff* reducing method (need a new keyboard for DS's computer).

I'll also be looking to reduce spending on utilities, insurance, and other bills. Also reducing spending, for instance by better insulation, and using up store cupboard and freezer food.

I will, however, be able to spend on *experiences*. I don't want to stop the relationship I have with friends and family. We cook from scratch 6 days a week, so have a meal out or takeaway on the other day. We also love the theatre and cinema, so that won't be stopping, either.

I'm planning to record what I spend (my share only) on *extravagances*. This will include meals out, theatre tickets, etc.

We started the year with DH's birthday on New Year's day, so meal out at £10. We were then away with friends, so takeaway £7, and coffee on return to Yorkshire £2. Back to w*** tomorrow (packed lunches again) so won't be spending much. Have a trip to London on Saturday to the theatre, but that was a birthday present, so only lunch to find.

Anyone else on for this?

Penny. x

ASG_2

I'll join you Penny, although I didn't get off to too good a start by buying DS a new bed on Monday lol! Still, poor thing did desperately need one. I too like my "experiences" and have a day in London booked for half term, but we're going on the megabus (£8.50 return for 4 of us), will find half price/free vouchers and will have a nice meal out courtesy of the Times eat out for £5.

My main non essential expense for the past 2 months has been coffee and snacks out. NO MORE! (she said bravely)

Very best of luck

Steph