A Year of Living Frugabulously

taxi73

Hope everything is ok Lula xxx

bast

I am still lurking, still watching how you get on..... omg that sounds sinister lol x honest to god I am normal just life has changed drastically for me .....

Lula-Hula

Hello lovely people,

Taxi - thanks for your caring :A

bast - lovely to see you here :j, I often wonder how things are with you, & if you're still wandering the waterways, I hope all is well with you ?

I admit that since becoming definitely DF I've not been spending so much time on MSE & don't feel that I have quite so much to say. I feel there are many people out there whose diaries are more relevant than mine & whilst I do enjoy writing here, I'm neither struggling to make ends meet at the moment, nor am I saving much in to the ERF fund.

We're getting by fine on a monthly basis, but having quit all surveys apart from the very top secret hush hush one that we can't talk about ( which incidentally has earned me a tasty £15 in payapl pennies in the last month ) I'm not really doing much towards the long term future.

I'm in the process of thinking about writing a blog, as then I could warble on to myself without feeling the need to be relevant to anything other than my frame of mind at the moment of writing :rotfl:. If it happens, I'll be sure to let you know .

So, I was off work (both work & home) last week & it was very lovely. I'm lying; it was bluddy hard work.

Firstly I had to spend 3 days sat on the sofa eating red, white & blue cakes, drinking enough tea to fill the Cutty Sark & watching dross on the tv.

Then I spent some time catching up with rellies & then I did waht I'd always intended & extricated the ladder form the very tidy shed & started sugar soaping walls, ceilings & floors. After a day of that fun-filled activity, I spent the next 3 days slathering paint on the ceilings & walls & finally can declare that (approximately 3 years after I intitally planned to do it) ... the hall is painted :j:T:j

A new lampshade, picture & rug has been bought & along with the paint it has cost me just £107.44. I withdrew £100 from the Holiday Fund to pay for it & as we did nothing else at all over the half term due to weather & apathy I consider that a cheap week .

The entrance to the hoe looks clean, bright & fresh & having done it I now feel far more capable of tackling DDs room in July than I did previously.

Total grocery spends for June so far are about £50 on food, £24 on kitty munch & £6 on toiletries.

Yesterday I received my co op rewards & thanks to banking, car insurance & CC spending I got £37 in vouchers to spend in the shop :j.

No other exciting news really;

bike still clean & shiny, car still wet & dirty,
work-job still hanging on, home-job really unwanted,
cat vs bird = 1 - 0, Lula vs Cat = 1 - 0 ( Lula has thumbs & can shut the cat flap at night )

More spends & funds to update later in the week,

bye for now
xx

DedicatedDFW

Hi lula

I do keep up with your posts but i never have the time to reply to all the threads.

Well done on the decorating and all done for a very good price too :T

I'm going to get me a shiny new bike - ok, last time i had a bike that i used i was as a child but i have wanted one for ages! Just need to get a wriggle on and get it sorted.

Your last post prompted me as i am thinking more and more about how to manage a budget and if you've any hints as to how to allocate funds / work out whats 'enough' for spends etc. that'd be great. Basically whilst in debt i've not budgeted for any annual bills like car mot, tax, insurance, home insurance etc. i;ve just paid the mortgage, and the rest has gone on debt. I've also had no personal spending money (though i've managed to fritter) so any advice / suggestions would be welcome I am in debt still - just trying to work things out ahead so i don't go on a mad spending spree :eek: or find i've spent ll my money and not realised how its happened

Take Care lula x

taxi73

Great update Lula.Lovely to see that you're coping financially and getting decorating done and what a bargain that was.That was a good amount of shopping vouchers earnt and will get a few days worth of shopping so well done.

bast

Still sailing the waterways Lula.. However husband got his pension and I am now down to 2 days a week at work, which I love I have decided at the grand age of 48 I wish to go traveling... god why cant you make these decisions at 21...:) I am in Germany at the moment for a month babysitting a poorly DD, operation and now infection after infection ...However I am loving it, I love Germany... I think though I would be dead within a few months ... Wine is dirt cheap, as is gin beer and fags....:rotfl: I too am Debt free although I have two interest free credit cards which I overpay .. I have the money to pay them but that money is working for us elsewhere...:cool:
Like you I dont come on as often as I did, but I am still amazed at how hard people work to pay off their debts, and the inspiring diaries of how people struggle not only with debt but illness...
Take care...

taxi73

Bast it must be our age re the travel as was thinking exactly the same thing the other day...would love to travel around the World.
Hope your DD gets better soon xx

Pippilongstocking

Lovely update, especially the decorating and sloth behaviour almost balance each other :-)

I hope you'll start a blog, that would be fun.

What news of the sunflowers?

Lula-Hula

Thank you ladies,

lovely to hear your news bast, so sorry for your poor DD though, do hope she recovers soon. Great that you have a work / life balance that tips in your favour - sounds ideal to me.

taxi - yes, I was very chuffed with my co op vouchers, trying not to use them on everyday stuff but for treats eg if the summer arrives will get some barbecue stuff & have people over without it costing

Heya DedicatedDFW - I appreciate you taking the time to post here, I know how tricky it can be getting round to reading all the diaries

I started budgetting for car expenses, utilities, gifts etc while at the start of the DFW journey & it's probably one of the most valuable life skills I've learned.

I don't earn much & am unlikely to ever be in a position where I never need worry about saving toward bills, but by making sure the essential expenses are dealt with, life is much simpler & less stressful & I can then choose how to spend whatever is left.

Before I go any further I want you to be aware that it may take up to a year to see the full benefit of saving for future bills, but with every small saving you make each month, you are stepping towards the simpler life & reducing the full cost when the bill is due.

It's not an infallible system either, I got caught out last year by unexpectedly large car servicing & repairs & had to resort to using the CC to cover it, I got caught again this year just after christmas (new clutch ) & again I had to resort to the cc, but my response has been to up the monthly savings a bit & always keep a bit of an emergency fund.

The amount you'll need to put aside each month will probably vary from mine depending on the size of your home, people in it, the car you drive, the cost of insurance, tax & services etc.

My car tax is £120 a year so I save £10 each month.
My insurance is roughly £200 - £250 so I save £25 each month.
My last years mot, servicing & repairs were nearly £800 I think, and I now save £25 a month.

My gas & electric bills are high in winter & low in summer same as everyone else, but I point blank refuse to have a direct debit for them, so I save £100 towards them each month & receive a quarterly online bill & pay it immediately.

It's a quite a lot to save, but what I don't use during the summer months builds up in my savings account & is there ready for the winter bill.

I'm also saving towards the cost of christmas this year, and put £10 away each week into my envelope folder. Currently at £210

I also save £10 each week towards the cost of buying cards & gifts.

I used to save £10 each week as an entertainment fund but it was often 'borrowed' for other things & since becoming debt free I've abandoned that in favour of allocating myself £35 'spends money' each week to be used for treats &/or trips out.

I use my child benefit money towards the cost of holidays & this goes in to a completely separate account.

My downfall has been clothes, shoes, bags & grocery shopping :rotfl:

I'm now fully stocked with wearable items, but still struggle to stay within a £50 a week budget for general household expenditure.

I fail regularly at meal planning & have a weakness for fresh fruit & veg which cost a fortune.

I'm trying to grow my own, but am being thwarted by cats, slugs & weather at the moment.

Fruit trees = 2
Fruit trees showing signs of fruiting = 0

Salad box is looking good
3rd sowing of carrot seedlings = promising

Large trough with tomato plants in was overflowing, turns out it had not drainage holes in the bottom. Easily sorted with screwdriver & mallet.

Pepper plants numerous
Pepper plants with peppers on them = 0

Sunflowers = 3.

taxi73

hope everything is ok with you x