2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Erme

slowlyfading wrote: »

Jo - you need to PM Frugaldom so she can add you to the list

Gah, one thing after another in the SF household! My computer has been in for repair for over a month now, but have rung today and can go and pick it up - it's going to cost £165 for repairs :eek: then my BBerry crashed and I had to take the battery out for it to do anything, and now the keypad doesn't work so I can't use it took it to the phone shop near us, going to cost £30 to fix it. Just one thing after another it feels like! Grr.

I also need to go to Mr Ts today for some food as we haven't got anything in, plus I need to get some new passport photos taken.

And, sigh.

Och and there was me worried about my inner tube on my bike and my sweeper cable (lost)....- Hugs hun. Do you have a rainy day fund or anything for these things?

Re washing powder. I got a huge (like virtually too heavy to carry home) box of washing powder (it's about 2 foot high if not 3 or 4 foot) from Mr L*L the other year - was about £8 at the time I use about 1/4 of a cup maybe less per wash and it's fine.

Also good for unblocking sinks...In fact to unblock sinks - washing powder, lemon juice and vinegar work a treat ....and also toilets (I often have this problem :rotfl:)

Trimmed my hair again this am (cos I felt like it) with the video from you tube. The cheap scissors @ £5 are pants so like I got Ma to get me a pair of £10 ones for the holidays and they are fine.

So yeah...tis me...less grumpy this am but it's pay day so I can finally afford to get loo roll and milk

E

natnat13

traveldolly wrote: »

Hi frugal folk.
It's definitely going to be small steps in this house but so far I have managed to keep a daily spending diary for food and household shopping and use the washing line for drying clothes instead of just chucking them in the tumble dryer each time. This week I'm going to avoid using the car for any trips to town or school and walk even though I will have to turn a deaf ear to DS. He hates walking anywhere. I figure if I add a small change each week where possible it will be easier to adjust. Have a good week everyone.

My boys are the same, they used to always moan about walking but we've been doing it since the start of term and I think they're quite enjoying it now.

brizzledfw

Wow you're an early riser Moneybear!! That's some start to the day! I start early when I am working from my office but not that early!

Am running out of non bio washing powder (currently Sainers but have used co£p) DD2 also gets eczema so also sometimes worry about changing brands but planning a small ALDI shop, does anyone have any experience, good or bad on ALDI washing powder?

Ta muchly

natnat13

LolaLemon wrote: »

I go off grid for a weekend and have abt 4 pages to catch up on!
Had a spendy weekend :-( I bought a Chinese at £14.50 on Friday to take to Mr Lemons house for us and my son... he bought son Mario kart for the DS for Christmas, and I asked him to pick up a sonic game at £14, he said he didn't want the money back, so I bought dinner.
Saturday I went shopping, got milk, bread n ham for parents house, 4 litres goats milk, bread, ham n bits n bobs on my list n it all came to £45.
Today I wanted to go to credit union n move some money around, but I was early and it wasn't open so took a walk in marks n sparks, spent £22 pn an apron - £5, tea cosy -£3, the vegetable bible - £3 and a family calendar at £3. Oh and a 2 in 1 toy story costume, was £25 down to £8. It was the last one and in sons size, and I had been looking at it last week n decided if it was there next time I went in I would get it.. so it must have bn ment for us. Its now been put away as the first presents for sons birthday in April.
Also paid £3 for 9 cards from Clinton's cards, some kids and some for my friends throughout the year.

Its my sisters 21st on Wednesday, I am struggling on what to buy her. Home made stuff is not wanted or appreciated, she also doesn't want the usual junk. I was going to buy her champagne but with her being pregnant, that idea is out the window!
I'm just about to send her boyfriend a message to see if he has any ideas.
Heading to campbeltown this weekend, abt 4 hours away, to go to a darts exhebition ... I hate darts lol, but its a few of us girls going with my friends partner. It will be my first time passing where the accident happened. Mr Lemon is coming too, hoping he is driving as i really don't want too.
Hoping he is paying for everything too, coz I am skint lol

Hope everyone else has had a more frugal weekend than me, altho I don't see the spends as failures, as the apron was abt £18 to begin with, and I've been needing one for, well since I moved out 8 years ago!

To all the posts I've seen abt 'failing' don't see it as failure, more like a learning curve or 3 steps forward, one back... you are still moving away from the old you, just not as fast as u want.

I've bn doing this for over a year, and this year I have posted my set out goings, but not worked out my daily outgoing, which is what I am working on this year, and then next year I will have a yearly amount, that I hope is under £10,000 for the year, including mortgage etc..... but without the support of last years group, I wouldn't even have that as an aim!


Sandra - great news abt your daughter! Your day out sounded fantastic!
Dizzy - I didn't even think of a scarf, even though I have a flower scarf on my 'crochet to-do list!'

Oh, talking about 'to-do' lists... I turn 30 at the end of this year, and it doesn't phase me, but I'm thinking I might make a wee list of things to work through during the year.
Only thing I have on my list is to learn to ski... we have indoor ski slopes abt 20-30 mins away from us... but the prices scare the hell out of me!

Another thing was if I'm ever going to be married, its b4 I turn 30, Mr lemon n I argue abt this every so often... I'm not too fussed abt getting married, it was never on my agenda - finding someone who loves me for me and sticks around, rather than marrying Mr right now was always a better choice for me... for Mr L, he wants to get married, settle down have kids etc... I'd probably be more inclined to get excited at that 'fairytale' prospect, if it wasn't for the fact he's already been married, and by his own admission - not for love, but a green card... it sort of makes me cynical abt it all, like he has to justify the last one with a new one or something (sort of blame my depression on those thoughts, but partly just my own self doubt etc etc... )
So he would like to get married in the next few years, but I'm not too keen on it - but I am planning on being with him for ever ... I know, I am strange! Haha

So any other ideas, or what was on your 'to-do before xxx' list? Oh and did u keep to it?

Lola I am 30 as well this year! My main goal is to get fitter and healthier. We started our village slimming group last night, everyone was really pleased how it went and some of us went for a jog round the village afterwards.

sunflowa20

Hi there

I am only starting challenges this year so I am a bit of a noob
Please can I join this challenge?

Good luck everyone! :beer:

Jo.Mo

Hello all,

I've taken huge steps to become more frugal over the last year. A big part of what got me started and kept me on track were some super inspirational books. I thought it might be helpful to share them - I only have five minutes so will start with my fave.

Dave Ramsey - Total Money Makeover. Dave is a loud, brash Christian who got rich fast in his 20s, lost the lot through poor money management, and rebuilt it the slow and steady way. I love his style (I'm a buddhist but the christian thing doesn't bother me) - he is so inspirational and is all about building financial stability for your family in 7 'baby steps'.

There are case studies all the way through the book, which are particularly inspiring cause they're not bankers - they're single mums, nurses, families on low incomes.... and through saving the pennies they've managed to not only achieve 'financial peace' but also become wealthy.

It's £11.30 on amazon just now - which is a lot but really, it is so inspiring, and a few of my friends have borrowed it and loved it too. If you need a 'boost' I'd really recommend it!

Jo xxx

Jo.Mo

Sunflowa, if you send a private message to frugaldom he'll add you to the list! And hello everyone else! x

quintwins

yesterday was an expensive day, few foody spends and my rent, today is a nsd and tomorrow should be the same ,

We worked out yesterday it costs £54 a month to keep our pc running all day and we do that often so we'll be switching it off now when not in use, if we have it on for 4 hrs aday (which is still alot) it costs £9 so thats teh new plan and hopefully our elec bill will drop

maryb

quintwins wrote: »

We worked out yesterday it costs £54 a month to keep our pc running all day and we do that often so we'll be switching it off now when not in use, if we have it on for 4 hrs aday (which is still alot) it costs £9 so thats teh new plan and hopefully our elec bill will drop

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

It's laptop central in this house. I'm a self confessed MSE addict and spend huge amounts of time surfing. Plus a student daughter home for hols and another teenager still at school, both do actually need laptops for study but both of them Youtube addicts with a laptop each (we had to go for unlimited broadband) but I'd read that laptops were not that power hungry compared with desktops so didn't worry too much - they all hibernate/go on standby (not sure of the difference) after 5 minutes of inactivity. Can you share where you got those figures from, pretty please?

Frivolous

Good Afternoon everyone,

I haven't posted much as I'm not very good with words, but I read the posts everyday and they are keeping me soo motivated! :j

I keep a record of all my outgoings and I am trying to stick to my budget, its the food shopping which is stressing me out!:( I'm not a very good cook, it's a bit of a joke in our house, everytime I cook the smoke alarm goes off!!:rotfl:So I tend to shop at I**land and the bill soon adds up!