2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

LolaLemon

[Deleted User] wrote:

Exciting news Lola about your man moving in! :T:T I hope you are both really happy together.

Aww thank you

Cherryjack

quintwins wrote: »

I was sure i posted a few days ago but i can't see it so maybe i types it but never posted

Anyhoo i was saying i need to get back on the frugal wagon as we've spent a small fortune this month and infact in the last few months, we are savings ore than enough but not as much as we could.

So far today i've hung washing out even tho it's freezing, we're eating from stores (have been since monday and even then i only bought fruit), trying to live off the cash in my purse this week, it's going really well so far.

Need to go shopping tomorrow but i'll only get milk and bread to last us the weekend nothing else.

I'm avoiding takeaways.

I'll mend ds's coat rather than buy a new one.

I'm hoping get get the NHCo 24 hampers, 12 will go to mil and teh rest will be as gifts, i'll keep the baskets and make cheap gifts next year i'll try and get some free bits threw teh year or use my survey vouchers.


I need to start doing shop and scan but i havnet yet because i'm worried it will look like i don't feed my family because i'm only doing top up shops at the mo.

I'm trying to avoid using the drier.

Ok not so frugal we've been using the heat alot, but it is cold so i've flicked it onto the timer and adjusted it so hopefully it will be ok, it wasn't on teh timme in the night which meant it was freezing this morning and as a result it's been on for 3 hrs, on the plus side it heats our water to near roasting point and we have no water rates so lots of nice hot baths.


I'm considering washing my dishes by hand, like i say no water rates and lots of hot water, but really how much elec does a dishwasher use? also i'm not sure doe it use cold water and heats it?


My budget for 2013 is £7,500
monthly this breaks down as

£150 rent
£25 mobiles
£45 internet
£50 electric
£100 food
£150 desil
£20 play money (ds doesn't start school until sep so this is softplay areas and swimming)
£15 insurances

annually i have
£360 heating (hoping we won't need a fill of oil this year as we have the wee fire so aren't using it much, this allows £30 a month for oil, and logs)
£300 xmas
£0 clothes, (kids have birthday/xmas money for small bits, so far we have £50 in this fund, i'd say we'll have another £75 at xmas and another £25 in july, so £150, me and hubby will prob get about £50 aswell but we don't need much now as we both just got new clothes, also the kids get uniform allowance so another £75, i think my total will be £275 just not £275 of my money, mil will prob offer to buy the kids school shoes.


That comes to £7320, the extra little bit is for emergencys of the increase in food costs.

Saving target for next year is £20,000, hopefully i'll have £30,000 by this time next year or nothing and a plot of land to start building.

Oh wow i will most certainly be watching and cheering your £20.000 save :-)) i really need to set a budget... i have lost to pay out for next year.. alot of my money needs to get my house decorated fully..its like a cave at the moment..so will report back with figures x

quintwins

Cherryjack wrote: »

Oh wow i will most certainly be watching and cheering your £20.000 save :-)) i really need to set a budget... i have lost to pay out for next year.. alot of my money needs to get my house decorated fully..its like a cave at the moment..so will report back with figures x

I might be coming back next sep and saying i have nothing left cause i spent it all on a building site (fingers crossed i'd rather say that) i have a standing order set up for £233 a week, so bare minium i'll save is £12,000 then a friend owes me £1,800 which i know i'll def get back, so near £14,000 already before i even really try, hubby gets paid £210 a week but we need that to live off, some months we save more than others because our elec and bt are quarterly. Then theres my little pay of £80 a month, not much but it all adds up, i'm confidient i can manage it

I've been very wastefull this past few months but acually i still managed to save over £10,000 this year, that included a house move, so new appliances and we book a holiday weekend for us in feb aswell :T


I hope you get your house all sorted, if you do most of it yourself it's cheap enough, we always do our own decorating, my mil always pays someone and she's pays about 5x the cost of the paper/paint for the decoratoe it's madness. (altho if i ever have a big hall with a high ceiling again i'll def be getting someone in)


Off to town today, i need a few bits but my lovely sin locked my online banking yesterday, i have had to pay something anyway so i'm not in my overdraft, thanksfully it's free but it means i really do ahve to stick to my target of only spending whats in my purse, thankfully we don't need much. I'm taking ds to the libary they do a wee singing and story thing on a friday morning, we usually go to the market for fruit and he liked to go to poundland for sweets but thats not going to happen today, i'm sure he'll live i'll grab a a packet of sweets we have here on the way out. I'm going to go to boots and get hubby some deodorant which is on 3for2 using a giftcard i have.

slowlyfading

quintwins - come and join us on this challenge!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4315923

Cherryjack

so agree quintwins, its only when we sit down that we realise how much money we were waisting. We can live on OH's as weve been doing and save my money next year..im back to work after maternity in feb.. so hard to weigh up the pro's and cons weve realised OH is better going to work to do overtime at the weekend which pays someone to come in and do plus extra left over... rediculous when hes a plasterer by trade (not currently doing that as his job)
Need some advice, we havent got all our ceilings up, we need our sash windows draugh proofed. We have heating on full time and a little heater becuase its so cold just wondering if there is a cheaper way to do this?? heating on low rather than high?with a plug in blow heater?or a caligas? im really unsure but im terrfied of my bill :S x

rising_from_the_ashes

Cherryjack wrote: »

Need some advice, we havent got all our ceilings up, we need our sash windows draugh proofed. We have heating on full time and a little heater becuase its so cold just wondering if there is a cheaper way to do this?? heating on low rather than high?with a plug in blow heater?or a caligas? im really unsure but im terrfied of my bill :S x

I'd say, try to get the repairs done ASAP as it sounds like you're literally throwing money straight out the house:( - you need to get those draughts blocked up!

I live in rural Scotland (so it's really cold!) - am currently housebound - and my heating's only on for 1 hour first thing, 1/2 an hour over lunchtime (so the house doesn't get too cold) and a couple of hours in the evenings and I'm not sitting shivering

It does actually work out cheaper to keep the thermostat at a slightly higher temp (eg 14 deg) and then turn up / put on the timer when needed - as the house doesn't cool right down, the heating's not on as long to get up to the required temp & it therefore costs less.

I usually have mine set at 14 deg throughout the winter - but have turned it up to 16 deg just now as I'm in the house all the time.

Re tips for the house - have a look at the Preparing for Winter thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4202003

Cherryjack

Thanks Rising,may just have to get some people in..money is so tight tho

quintwins

slowlyfading wrote: »

quintwins - come and join us on this challenge!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4315923

Will do

Cherryjack wrote: »

so agree quintwins, its only when we sit down that we realise how much money we were waisting. We can live on OH's as weve been doing and save my money next year..im back to work after maternity in feb.. so hard to weigh up the pro's and cons weve realised OH is better going to work to do overtime at the weekend which pays someone to come in and do plus extra left over... rediculous when hes a plasterer by trade (not currently doing that as his job)
Need some advice, we havent got all our ceilings up, we need our sash windows draugh proofed. We have heating on full time and a little heater becuase its so cold just wondering if there is a cheaper way to do this?? heating on low rather than high?with a plug in blow heater?or a caligas? im really unsure but im terrfied of my bill :S x

Our first babies were twins so childcare would have killed us, it wasn't worth me going to work, and i was far too ill to anyway, then when we had our 3rd i didn't want to yet we manage fine, we can more than manage on hubbys wage and even save some of it despite being classed as low income, i sometimes wonder what people do with there money, i do have wee wasteful phases but for me being wasteful is buying some clothes i don't need and maybe 2-3 takeaways then i catch myself on, i guess i never had alot of money to waste tho :rotfl::rotfl:


I agree try get repairs done asap, make draft excluders, and put clear tape and bubble wrap on your windows, try dorr cutains aswell and line your normal curtains with freece even if they ahve lining this will help, i can't imagone having no ceilings would matter that much other than making upstairs warmer, but make sure your loft is insulated, it is cheaper to have tyour heat on all the time, but if it's really bad maybe you'd be better just heating the room your in and then bedrooms/bathroom before you use them.


I'm thinking of trying to make next xmas cost nutrel, i will do surveys for tesco/sainburys vouchers and save my cashback,tesco clubcard points and nectar points, this should cover most of my food because we don't buy much, and giftwise i think i acually have enough gifts from this year to do next year except for a few toys for the kids, i'm thinking of limiting them to 5 each, so 15, one will be sweets so £3 one will be jammies which will be £15-£20 for all 3 of them (gotta love primark) but i could take this from the clothes allowance which is also cost nutrel above (is that too tight?) then i'll let them pick one biggish toy each and i'll fill the rest out with argos 2 for £15 toys or something from sainburys half price toy sale, in theory i will have around £55 from shop and scan, plus and surveys so surely this doable?

dizzy_lizzie

Wowzer Cherryjack. That is an amazing weight loss. :T
Will you be following a calorie controlled diet after?
I'd love to lose a stone ish but I just don't have the motivation. The only thing that keeps me at 9 stone is the fact that I went vegan! Over the years I've discovered lots of naughty replaceables for dairy so I do sometimes eat very unhealthily!
Last night I ate half a box of ritz crackers along with half a jar of cocktail onions :eek: Then straight after a vegi rice stirfry.
The more I think of losing weight the more I put on.
Hope everyone is keeping warm today
x

silvasava

Cherryjack Get some kind of heavy curtains up at those sash windows & as quintwins says put up a door curtain too - you'll be amazed at how much warmth they will keep in the house. I have an open plan kitchen/breakfast room/utility with a lot of (double glazed) windows but when the temperature drops I put a curtain across the arch to the utility & the heat it traps in really makes a difference