2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Savvy_sewing

tylersbabe wrote: »

Well my start nearly ground to a dramatic halt and a major budget rethink over the weekend :eek:


There was a meeting at work and we did not know if we would have jobs today. Luckily for our team we are being moved and not closed, but who knows what the futhre holds for us in the short term. Lots of changes that is for sure

Anyhow, managed to buy lunch out in my attempt to manage my stress. Think my budget is definately going to be a work in action lol

I do hope that you remain to be one of the lucky ones. Its such a trying time for so many people.

JayneC

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

House is a little quieter as eldest DS moved out on Thursday (3rd time) he's only 5 minutes from his work now and only a 10 minute drive from us. Youngest DS will be going to uni this year so that leaves only DD at home and she's either here or at boyfriends.
I'm not sure I'm ready for this!

I feel for you Dizzy my youngest DD went off to uni in Sept and middle DD and DGS are due to move out in a couple of months, leaving just youngest DS. I was feeling a bit bereft but then eldest DS announced that he would like to move back home along with GF when he finishes uni this year, so that made me feel a bit better. You'll be ok and I'm sure they'll make their presence felt when they're back x
And thanks for the Linky to Weezl's site - I've looked before but not really followed it. Will definitely have a go at some of the recipes.

Have listed a few items on Ebid we'll see how it goes... They're only bits n bobs so won't make my fortune but keep thinking of more items that can go on there and it'll all add up.

'rescued' a lovely mirror that someone had left out with the rubbish earlier, which I'm planning to paint up for the bedroom.

Very cheapie tea today DS had pasta and cheese and I had leftovers from yesterday (DD and DGS out today). Have some bolognaise left over from a previous tea in the freezer so we'll have that tomorrow with some garlic bread.

Ok it's past my bedtime so I'll bid you all goodnight x

SAVVYJADE

I'm finding this month hard already, even though only 6 days in, as I'm trying my best to have a no spend month! Did buy a few essentials yesterday for approx £10, and stocked up on boots 3 for 2 vitamins and paid 31p after a voucher! Had left over food at tea tonight so will be taking that to work for lunch in the morning. MOT due soon and really worried as know a few things need doing, shouldn't get worried as if it needs doing it has to be done as I have to get to work! I'm hoping as the month goes on it'll get easier!

Hope all well

SJ

purpleorchid

well guys i had another dark day (night) with my backwards body clock. have not been very constructive though, so much i could have done but have been on pc most of night and not even earning money :eek:

i did however finish my best friends birthday card which is today, talk about leaving things until the last minute :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

anyhow i did have another frugal meal, i made double yesterday so had beef stir fry in sweet chilli and garlic sauce,egg fried rice and naan bread, and for desert i took some fruit cake out of the freezer that i made a few wks ago and had that with some of the aunt besse custard i made yesterday.

Luv P
xx

purpleorchid

SAVVYJADE wrote: »

I'm finding this moth hard already, even though only 6 months in, as I'm trying my best to have a no spend month! Did buy a few essentials yesterday for approx £10, and stocked up on boots 3 for 2 vitamins and paid 31p after a voucher! Had left over food at tea tonight so will be taking that to work for lunch in the morning. MOT due soon and really worried as know a few things need doing, shouldn't get worried as if it needs doing it has to be done as I have to get to work! I'm hoping as the month goes on it'll get easier!

Hope all well

SJ

morning SJ

sorry to hear that the month has started out bad for you, keep coming on here and posting and im sure we can all keep your spirits up.xx

Luv P
xx

SAVVYJADE

Thanks for the support PO, been putting a few things on e*ay to try and bump money up. Have a few days off next week so looking to go through freezer and do some batch cooking. I'm really good with grocery shopping, find lots of bargains and use lots of coupons but I still don't feel any better off! Got a second Job which is casual, at the mo its quite quiet so no extra money from that!

Today's another day! Hopefully a few more bids on my e*ay items and another NSD!

Wishing you all a frugal day!

SJ x

Thrifty_Sister

Morning frugallers - wanted to report back with a follow up to my progress on day 2 yesterday after tackling utility bills etc and making some decent savings. After my hospital appt decided to pop into Mr A's. Very glad I did as got there just when the lady was busy reducing the food. Managed to get virtually a weeks shopping for less than half what I usually pay - eg herb crusted salmon, cod loin, pork chops, minced steak, fruit & veg and even treated us to some cream cakes.:)

Now going to get down to business to see if I can make any more savings on the bills etc

Many thanks for all your little tips etc:T:T

Thrifty_Sister

Dizzy lizzie - hope you're feeling better today and the pain has settled down a bit. x

Thanks for the link to weezls menus - its brill! Hadn't seen it before so its given me lots of ideas - tackling the finance side of things first and will get down to my menu planner asap.:T:T

Thrifty_Sister

Just had a brief look at meal planners on the internet and saw this one - looks quite good.

https://www.netmums.com/family-food/meal-planning - hth

enjoyfinancialchallenges

SAVVYJADE wrote: »

I'm finding this month hard already, even though only 6 days in, as I'm trying my best to have a no spend month! Did buy a few essentials yesterday for approx £10, and stocked up on boots 3 for 2 vitamins and paid 31p after a voucher! Had left over food at tea tonight so will be taking that to work for lunch in the morning. MOT due soon and really worried as know a few things need doing, shouldn't get worried as if it needs doing it has to be done as I have to get to work! I'm hoping as the month goes on it'll get easier!

Hope all well

SJ

Savvyjade Sorry this month is being difficult for you, just hang on in though you will find life gets easier the more you practice this frugal way of living. If it doesn't well we can only do our best not the impossible, so don't be hard on yourself. At some time or another we all slip up or something comes up we were not expecting but as long as we try its got to be better than it was before.

My credit card has more on it than usual this month, I do try to keep it within what I know I can pay off each month but sometimes it just does not happen as I intended. I know lots of people don't like credit cards but I use mine and accumulate enough vouchers to have a weeks shopping for free around Christmas. Was surprised this past Christmas that I had £65 + and it came in jolly useful. X