2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Charnic

Please can I join as well. I have learnt loads this year through lurking, so thanks everybody !

But EON have just increased my monthly DD to £174 from £120, so I seriously need to save money and reduce my debts as well !

bramble1

I'd love to join in please. Have book marked for my reading tomorrow, will spend my weekend planning my frugal year!

Frugaldom

Hello

Welcome to Avogirly, Charnic and Bramble1, I have now added your names to the challenger list and will look forward to your being a part of the frugal living, debt free wannabes and savers.

Erme, I shouldn't think anyone will come down on you for your budget. The fact that you have stuck with it and are still succeeding in making affordable plans is admirable in anyone's book. We spend how we feel best about spending and make ends meet however feels most suitable to our needs.

On the subject of spending, I have just forked out over £200 on insulation for the kitchen roof with environmentally friendly sheep wool, rather than settle for the glass fibre stuff at £2 per roll. Major extravagance for a frugal household, but it's what I thought was the right thing to do. We have a huge supply of sheep fleeces available to us in the UK yet some farmers fail to shear simply because there's no commercially viable market for the wool. If this wool can knock £205 off the price of heating the house over the next year or two, it will have paid for itself. I'd love to follow the ethics of green living but finances don't permit, so it's one tiny step at a time for Frugaldom. Next step is saving for a log burner with back boiler so we can have a near carbon neutral heating & hot water system. Megabucks! But if I can stick with my challenge budget, it could be within reach in the next year, all catastrophes aside.

Hope everyone's managing to stay warm in this awful weather and to those further south who haven't got rain, hail, sleat, snow, ice or gale force winds, please send some better weather northwards.

Edit - if anyone spots my letters n, e or j, please send them back to me. They're forever going missing and the typos are getting worse.

Cherryjack

hello would love to join up for 2012 x

magan

Hi, could I join in please? This thread looks really exciting. It would be the first time I join this challenge. It is really difficult to work out my budget as I work by seasons, (some times work sometimes none). I am a work at home mum of 2 very little ones and I work freelance from home. My goal for this year is try to make a more decent living through my work joining other "possible" incomes from alternative "venues" and trying to save as much as I can. I have been recently "introduced" to the idea of bartering a few months ago and it got my completely hooked (it makes so much sense in economic times like these) I hope to learn LOADS from all of you and share so many bits and bobs from my experience.

dizzybee

not posted in a while so just catching up,with everyone.
i have gone right through the cupboards and freezer and manged to do a meal plan for four weeks only had to get a few bits has had quite a bit in.so have spent £55 on shopping for four weeks,just have to get a few fresh bits when needed but have quite a bit of veg,bread in freezer that was bought when on whopsies.
really enjoying the challenge of not spending money on stuff not needed.

Frugaldom

Welcome to Cherryjack and Magan, thanks for joining us for 2012 and good luck with your challenges.

LolaLemon

Was wondering why the old thread was quiet!
Can u add me to the list please.

This year should get a little easier for me money wise, as Mr Florida and I have been talking about him moving in... I think sometime in Feb to give my son time to get used to it.

Weather here is dismal . Search out hurricane bawbag. Yip we named it such a Scottish name lol

Made myself my birthday cake - a marbles Victoria sponge cake with chocolate buttercream n sprinkles ... was delicious!

Erme

findingmyfeet wrote: »

hi erme its called living with the amish its on c4 thursdays around 9pm. they have sent some british teenagers to live out there for a while. find it lovely how the community all help each other , last week they helped built a barn. couldnt see all the families in my village working for free for a day to help anyone! the odd family yes but most around here cant say hello. find it interesting.

Thanks so much hun...depending on download limit I will watch soon :T....I don't know if I've gone over my download limit this month or not. Bill due any day :eek:...will have to check...(bill is quite high this month...at last enquiry about £28 or £30 :eek: and I still have my discount so it should really be less :eek:)

Frugaldom wrote: »

Hello


Erme, I shouldn't think anyone will come down on you for your budget. The fact that you have stuck with it and are still succeeding in making affordable plans is admirable in anyone's book. We spend how we feel best about spending and make ends meet however feels most suitable to our needs.

On the subject of spending, I have just forked out over £200 on insulation for the kitchen roof with environmentally friendly sheep wool, rather than settle for the glass fibre stuff at £2 per roll. Major extravagance for a frugal household, but it's what I thought was the right thing to do. We have a huge supply of sheep fleeces available to us in the UK yet some farmers fail to shear simply because there's no commercially viable market for the wool. If this wool can knock £205 off the price of heating the house over the next year or two, it will have paid for itself. I'd love to follow the ethics of green living but finances don't permit, so it's one tiny step at a time for Frugaldom. Next step is saving for a log burner with back boiler so we can have a near carbon neutral heating & hot water system. Megabucks! But if I can stick with my challenge budget, it could be within reach in the next year, all catastrophes aside.

Hope everyone's managing to stay warm in this awful weather and to those further south who haven't got rain, hail, sleat, snow, ice or gale force winds, please send some better weather northwards.

Edit - if anyone spots my letters n, e or j, please send them back to me. They're forever going missing and the typos are getting worse.

Och thanks Frugaldom. I'm only setting it for the next three months as I don't want to put myself under long term pressure.

I tried for years but I'm on a roll now I have my debt snowball. What really helps is that the first debt I'm snowballing is not the overdraft so there's no chance of wee dipping after I've padded and stuff (payment a day thread folks. Utterly addictive - be ye warned :rotfl:). I've paid off about £400 off the macbook (whoopsie spend when unwell but so worth it) in the last 6 weeks alone. But still like paid off my regular payment off debts and stuff (loan etc)....

So well chuffed...Right now I don't have food in and like only have about £15 till Tuesday but I shall just get lentils and mayo and like a few veggies for lunch. Nice 'new' cheap cereal for snacking and that'll be me (and maybe some milk ...Can't not have milk with tea and like need it for my stomach which is very acidic).....

Yay..then Tuesday comes and I'm counting down the days till Macbook is fully paid off :T

E

findingmyfeet

morning all,

hope all in scotland are ok today and not too much damage done. it wa frightening enough down here , we are rural and exposed no surrounding buildings so wind really howls around.

been into town today trying to get a few last minute bits before i start wrapping my christmas stuff, saved all year for christmas first time i managed it and made some stuff too. hope people like scarves and hm jams , chutneys and damson gin . waiting to see how these things are recieved before i think of next years stash. also made up a few pamper type hampers from stuff bought on offers etc and really pleased. they look so much nicer than a prepacked gift box and more in for less money.

Need to make lemon curd today and thinking of doing mince pies and banana cake too for the freezer. Every year my brother and family come the sunday afternoon before christmas for a buffet and card/gift swop., but we only do gifts for the kids these days. I want to get as much done in advance as i can so im not in a flap and gives me time to plan and bake to keep the cost down whilst feeding them well (and an extra cake or quiche for me to insist they take home to help them out a little too).

so i really should get myself moving instead of sitting on here...see you later