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2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)
Comments
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Hi Frugal Folk,
I'm not much of a 'poster' but I do read every day. I hope February brings peace and happier times for those that need it most. January seems to have flown by. I did keep a spending diary for general shopping which was interesting. I've learned that I definitely need to keep my OH out of Mr T's if I want to stick to any kind of food budget and that asking him to pick up a loaf while he's out can result in £20 of shopping that we don't actually need. I haven't managed to ditch the tumble dryer and use the washing line more a couple of times or walk the school run very often either mainly because it's too cold and I'm a wimp but I hope to improve on that if it gets warmer.
I've stashed some A'x loo roll and registered the puppy points on the website so we've now got two free cinema tickets. I'm working towards a third while the double points offer is on in February.
My aims for Feb are to continue with the spending diary and cut back where I can. Try and convert DS to breadmaker bread rather than Mr T's. Find a job. At the moment I 'help out' in OH business but a steady income would make so much more sense to our finances. 'Fleabay' and make some money back on things that I often just give away. More small steps but at least I'm on the path.:j:T:rotfl:0 -
Morning
I have not been here as much as I would like but promise to do better:)
January was pretty good with Groceries and just a little over £5.00(this includes £60.00 saving stamps) but I work to a yearly budget and it will even itself out.If there is a bargain I try to bulk buy where I can and use all the supermarket vouchers. Todays Sun a £6.00 of £40.00 at Morrisons so Mr WP and myself will have a trolley each to get £12.00 worth free food:) I also have a £5.00 off Tesco not sure if we will use it.
I have meal planned for the next 2 weeks and batched cooked so freezers are fit to burst but very happy.
Stocked up 0n face cream and vitamins for next 18moths at a fraction of what I was paying
So all in all a good month.:)Weight loss challenge 66lb to go /59lb's lost
Grocery Budget January £150/£175
Feb £150/0 -
morning all, nice frugal day here, washing done and hung up to dry, all meals from stores, need to post and ebay parcel, was going to park at the school and walk but it's far too cold for that carry on and ds3 is sickly so don't want to make him worse, heat was on this morning i've been using it alot more lately but with the kids been sick i don't mind as much.
i'm finding my spending dairy a great eye openerDEC GC £463.67/£450
EF- £110/COLOR]/£10000 -
Hello everyone
Sorry I've not been posting much - have a lot to deal with at the moment and I'm not coping very well it would seem. Hey ho. We are moving in less than 2 weeks and there's so much to do, along with trying to find some work and wedding stuff as well. arrrgh!
Today is going to be NSD 1 for February in the SF household. Did the first food shop of Feb yesterday so we're stocked up for the week. We're going across tomorrow to take lots of stuff to the new house so today is going to be spent packing things up, which I'm not too taken with.
quintwins - when I first started doing a spending diary, it was a real eye opener!
Welsh Poppy - looks like you've done great in January
traveldolly - you should post more! Well done for making it through January - I always think that's the toughest month of the year.Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Personal Finance Blogger + YouTuber / In pursuit of FIRE
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slowlyfading wrote: »Hello everyoneSorry I've not been posting much - have a lot to deal with at the moment and I'm not coping very well it would seem. Hey ho. We are moving in less than 2 weeks and there's so much to do, along with trying to find some work and wedding stuff as well. arrrgh!
I am moving this weekend so in that respect I totally feel your painI got married 18 months ago, and made lots of stuff myself including crystal bouquets for the little bridesmaids and favour boxes, I really miss all that excitement. I hope you start to feel better soon x
Electric and Gas Predators 17/£700:j:j:j October make £10 a day challenge :j:j:j£155/£3100 -
Findingmyfeet - Re the grocery budget challenge, I always document everything, have done for many more years than I've been on MSE, so it's easy enough to find if needed.
SandraScarlet - our nearest small supermarket is a 40 mile round trip, so I guess we'd qualify as semi-rural. I certainly very rarely have access to any in-store bargains or discounts, so I can sympathise with anyone who can't get them. In fact, I'm sometimes green with envy when reading about 'whoopsies' costing pennies! :eek: A bargain here is when the local store sells their tatties for £5 a 12.5kg bag and that's us living in the country, where people are meant to grow fruit & veg! :rotfl:
Slowlyfading - perhaps you could change your username to something a little more up-beat, like slowlywinning?I thought I'd seen comment of your moving house soon, so good luck with everything, I hope the move isn't too far or too traumatic when it's so close to the wedding. You'll get there, you'll win in the end and on your own terms. Everything just takes time and you are still very young compared to many of us 'grannies' on here.
Think where you'll be when you get to our age because of all your early days of practice and pre-marital financial planning! :cool:
I reserve the right not to spend.
The less I spend, the more I can afford.
Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.0 -
In fact, I'm sometimes green with envy when reading about 'whoopsies' costing pennies! :eek: A bargain here is when the local store sells their tatties for £5 a 12.5kg bag and that's us living in the country, where people are meant to grow fruit & veg! :rotfl:
wow your spuds are expensive i get a 20kg bag of pipers of £5 (sometimes £4 sometimes £6), i few places do 10kg ones for £3 aswell, maybe cause i'm in n.i which is like the home of spuds lol
i bought myself a lovely cream cake as i was having a bad morning, it's acually all been up from there so was a good investment :rotfl:DEC GC £463.67/£450
EF- £110/COLOR]/£10000 -
i'm finding my spending dairy a great eye opener
I am rather a lurker on here but try to read every day, I must admit you are a great and inspirational bunch.
I have kept a spending diary for the first time and showed my huband what we spent and where, decided we need a much cheaper cat.
We have since December started to shop at more than one supermarket and I feel that we are saving a great deal by doing so I tend to use Al*i and Mr T. I can walk to Mr T if necessary but Al*i is 1.5miles away. I go to Al*i once a week use Mr T for things that we cant get in Al*i and if I only want a loaf etc.
Our spending in Jan was better than we had expected (as I was in hospital for most of Christmas and New Year) that was not a real surprise to me.
Apologies for rambling on, must get back to lurkdom.
bikingbint0 -
rubytuesday wrote: »I was wrong!
I forgot about him.
He's not a bad old fella most of the time Sandra.
Eta
Actually I've just had a proper look and I was right.
I was referring to another poster who responded to you when I thought I was wrong.
His "signature" is large and in red and he knows everything about everything!;) One of my lovely mates has phoned to say she fell over, chipped a bone in her arm, and is laid up, so, as things seem to be OK-ish with DD and DH, I'm Florence Nightingale-ing for her for the next couple of weeks.
She lives on her own, and has been brilliant in my times of need, so it's time to spread some love her way. Just thought I'd let peeps know if I'm awol for a couple of weeks, and people might think I've joined the Foreign Legion.Have a lovely weekend one and all.
Oops, nearly forgot. How did the 60th birthday hamper go for your Mum, purple?
xx0 -
happy_but_skint wrote: »I am moving this weekend so in that respect I totally feel your pain
I got married 18 months ago, and made lots of stuff myself including crystal bouquets for the little bridesmaids and favour boxes, I really miss all that excitement. I hope you start to feel better soon x
Are you surrounded by boxes of stuff? I am! I'd love to see a pic of the crystal bouquets is you have one?Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Personal Finance Blogger + YouTuber / In pursuit of FIRE
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