2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Flip1

I have kept a spending diary/spreadsheet for the last year. I now have a clearer idea of where the money going. I was shocked to find that 25% of spending for the year went on 'others' - things I hadn't identified at the start of the year.
I have used this as the basis of my 2012 budget.

My Budget is going to be £12000 for everything however with the help of this thread I hope to shave as much off this as possible to throw at the mortgages.

My budget is to include (for 2 adults and 2 children)
Groceries (including toiletries)
Car related costs
Petrol
Insurance (Car and house)
Phone
Clothes
Holidays
School related costs (trips, uniforms, clubs)
Presents
etc

My plan is to use quidco as much as possible, take packed lunches (we have already started this:A) and menu plan for the month so as to batch cook where possible. Groceries is the biggest expense Budget £5200. So this is the area where we can probably see the biggest savings.

This is just the start.

Can't wait for January so i can start fillling in my new 2012 spreadsheet.:)

mcjordi

well the car has taken a turn for the worst so i will be getting rid of it.. i barely use it so i wil get 200ish for it as scrap plus ill save on the mot and tax which is due at the same time and save £55 a month on insurance too..
so by the end of january alone ill have about £500 in my pot so to speak.. im gonna try my best to do without a car altogether. it costs me best part of £80 a month just sitting there not doing anything not including servicing it and any repairs needed for mot etc
i could walk down the town and get a bus back which would be healthier and cheaper for me..

Ches

I would like to join too please.
My and OH's money is also entirely seperate. I pay all the houshold bills/holidays etc. But I am mortage free and my cc will be paid off by the summer.
OH has no debts and he gives me money for food and day to day spending and pays for the car and entertainment. He also picks up anything we need from the supermarket during the week and never expects me to pay him back. (this makes grocery budgeting difficult as it isn't easy to get a true figure)

I am aiming to keep the household bills at the same level as they have been this year.
I will continue to use the local library and not buy books
I will only buy clothes to replace any that are worn out and not on a whim just because I can
I always cook but will stop using bought sauces because they are easier than making my own.
I will not buy anything from charity shops just because they are cheap.
Both OH and I need to lose weight so I will reduce portion sizes and freeze any leftovers for another day
I am also aiming to make a yearly planner showing what needs to be bought in which month ie birthdays/annuals for the hanging baskets/Christmas/Easter etc
I already have spreadsheets for houshold dd's/ household/holidays and I am quite strict on noting where all that money goes and getting value for it. Where I fall down is allocating the £100 per week I have in cash to food/clothes/presents/hairdresser/everything else. I may try the envelope method and see if that works for me.
Thats all I can think of for now.

Cherryjack

Thanks everyone for the lovely replies.. is so great to see what you are all doing and plan to do .. ive been a busy bee today so has been nice to sit down and have a read xx

flying_fresian love the secret cuboard idea with the bargains in

Kerfuffle
I need to stock up on coffee's! i tend to buy one at a good price and then when i run out buy whatever is available.. i wish i liked the one at poundland.. but its got to be a gold one for me..more creamy. Which do you go for? x Good luck with the job hunt, hope 2012 you land something amazing.. that will totally boost things for you

icontinuetodream I must start using more blankets..im a terror for wacking the heating up when im not dressed as much as i could be lol.. need to get the slipper boots out! .. i hate too much heat anyway, so a blanket would take the edge off things... Good luck with the stopping smoking, you will save SO much!! and will feel great for it

FrankieM I relate to you with the food thing, im terrible for not using salad up in the summer!! its lazyness on my part for not preparing- thing i will limit the amount i buy in the first place and only buy more once its used up.. its a dreadful waste :-S i do it lots!

Sorry im half way to replying.. more to come x

Cherryjack

Hi Allie23, good luck with your plans for 2012..loved your list! same to you aswell Flip1

mcjordi sounds like not having the car is going to save you so much..

Good luck Ches!

:money::money::money:

Kerfuffle

Cherryjack wrote: »

Kerfuffle
I need to stock up on coffee's! i tend to buy one at a good price and then when i run out buy whatever is available.. i wish i liked the one at poundland.. but its got to be a gold one for me..more creamy. Which do you go for? x Good luck with the job hunt, hope 2012 you land something amazing.. that will totally boost things for you

Hi Cherryjack,

Sorry, I don't live in the UK so the brand of coffee I currently buy won't mean anything to you. When I was in the UK my preference was M&S decaf which sometimes came up on special offer and if I remember correctly they do a 'gold blend' variety.

Thanks for the good wishes re getting a job

mooomin

Cherryjack wrote: »

flying_fresian love the secret cuboard idea with the bargains in

It started because I had a receipt for a shop that Mama Fresian had done which got me £3.50 in Asda Price Guarantee and a £5 off £40 spend. I bought an Asda giftcard via work (I get a 5% discount) and used the surplus in this months groceries budget to cover it. I then decided to buy things that we would need throughout the year at a good price in Asda while using my vouchers. I got £57 of shopping for a cost to me of £44 :money:

The cupboard now has pasta, tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit/veg, conditioner (I only ever run out of the stuff days before I get paid!) and kitchen roll. I'm going to add a couple of bits to it every time I get paid and am hoping that I will be able to stock the cupboard well enough that I will be able to spend less than £75 one month on feeding both of us + the two cats on our stocks/freezer alone. It sounds like a lot, but we spend £200 per month at the moment, and that's the lowest I ever seem to go!

Cherryjack

flying_fresian wrote: »

It started because I had a receipt for a shop that Mama Fresian had done which got me £3.50 in Asda Price Guarantee and a £5 off £40 spend. I bought an Asda giftcard via work (I get a 5% discount) and used the surplus in this months groceries budget to cover it. I then decided to buy things that we would need throughout the year at a good price in Asda while using my vouchers. I got £57 of shopping for a cost to me of £44 :money:

The cupboard now has pasta, tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit/veg, conditioner (I only ever run out of the stuff days before I get paid!) and kitchen roll. I'm going to add a couple of bits to it every time I get paid and am hoping that I will be able to stock the cupboard well enough that I will be able to spend less than £75 one month on feeding both of us + the two cats on our stocks/freezer alone. It sounds like a lot, but we spend £200 per month at the moment, and that's the lowest I ever seem to go!

Love the idea of stocking up perfect if we get bad weather.. and also if yr ever skint atleast there is food in.. nothing worse than having little money and no food .. i have a kitchen cuboard that i would love to convert into a pantry one day ( a couple of deep shelfs) lol..would be handy to bulk up on beans and pasta etc

Cherryjack

will make a little list later of what i plan to do :0).. need plenty of coffee first x

septemberblues

Good morning everybody. I'm having trouble downloading the excell budget sheet, I already have a budget sheet from MSE which is where you can work out how much you have coming in and going out, but I was interested in one that I can record daily/weekly how much I am spending and what I am spending my money on.

Any tips please?