2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

icontinuetodream

my new year has started now....solstice done and dusted....so my frugal living challenge is already upon me!!!:D

I am on first smoke free day (killing me and perhaps other people soon!!!) and I have vowed not to do any shopping until the end of january....bought in enough loo rolls for a month (is it just me, or is this the one thing that you tend to get close to running out of a lot and then going to shop and spending fortune??!!!:eek:)

have enough food in the house to cope for the next month and have a reduced number of occupants in the house until the middle of Jan as lodger is visiting family/girlfriend etc over the next couple of weeks... kids are away for the most part over the next couple of days as their other parents & friends do the christmas thing so they are celebrating with them.... which all helps towards the frugal days ahead :D

anyhoo....waffling now...nicotine deprivation!....have a fab holiday...whatever you choose to celebrate and good luck to everyone in their quest for frugaldom in 2012 :j:j:j

Frugaldom

Christmas Eve and another 18 names added to the list of challengers - good luck to everyone.

This is a long post, feel free to skip it if you've read it all before - Ive been doing this for a long time.

Here's my list of what I do to help make some savings:

Bulk buy whenever possible
Buy from online discouted food stores
Read my electricity meter every week to keep an eye on costs
Batch cook and keep the freezer filled
Use up all leftovers
Make pet food from leftovers
Pad out stews and casseroles with extra pulses, veggies or grains (oats, barley etc)
Allocate £1 per person per day for groceries (3 adults sharing, so £1,098 for 2012, as it's a leap year)
Make my own laundry cleaner/gloop
Grow fruit, veggies & herbs
Keep chickens, ducks and quail for eggs (for eating and trading)
Compost everything I can
Make the most of freebies and whoopsies
Use cashback site for all online shopping
Declutter and sell anything extra on eBid or eBay
Keep a sealed pot for spare change (20p max)
Try to save £2 coins (but hardly ever see any)
Pay as much as possible onto a cashback credit card
Use comparison websites (via cashback)
Car share then do as much as possible in one trip
Budget for everything and account for every penny
Collect free firewood, like pinecones and old pallets, whenever possible
Member of LETS - Local Exchange Trading Scheme for cash-free trading
Swap stuff, use charity shops and sites like freegle and freecycle
Bake my own bread, cakes and biscuits
Cook from scratch
Make homemade wine, preserves, jams, jellies etc
Save Nectar points, eBid Buddy points and any other points I can
Transfer as many of my points into Amazon vouchers for doing Christmas shopping
Bulk buy coal when it's on offer (usually September)
Work frim home

I live in a fairly rural area with no mains gas, mains sewage, shops, buses, mobile signal etc, so there isn't much to spend money on. Our only form of heating is from the livingroom fire, which now heats the water and three radiators.

My £4,000 budget has been set out as follows:

Groceries - £1,098.00 (£1 per person per day for 3 of us)
Toiletries - £120.00
Laundry/Cleaning - £10.00
Electricity - £800.00
Coal - £245.00
Logs - £200.00
Internet - £120.00
Mobile - £10.00
Telephone - £180.00
TV Licence - £145.50
Footwear & Clothing - £75.00
Gifts - £50.00*
Nat. Trust Membership - £60.00
Transport - £520.00** (average £10 per week)
Insurances - £220.00 (buildings & contents)
Household Pets - £100.00
Miscellaneous - £46.50

Total = £4,000.00

Any questions, please feel free to ask.

icontinuetodream

lots of questions frugaldom...hope you don't mind:o

Frugaldom wrote: »

Here's my list of what I do to help make some savings:

Make pet food from leftovers what pets do you have and do you do anything specific or just replace meals for them??

Allocate £1 per person per day for groceries (3 adults sharing, so £1,098 for 2012, as it's a leap year) is this a new thing or have you done this before??

Make my own laundry cleaner/gloop new to all this....how??

Bulk buy coal when it's on offer (usually September) also use coal & logs as no mains gas where I am..... how much does this cost you and how long does it last??


I live in a fairly rural area with no mains gas, mains sewage, shops, buses, mobile signal etc, so there isn't much to spend money on. Our only form of heating is from the livingroom fire, which now heats the water and three radiators.

My £4,000 budget has been set out as follows:

Groceries - £1,098.00 (£1 per person per day for 3 of us)
Toiletries - £120.00
Laundry/Cleaning - £10.00
Electricity - £800.00
Coal - £245.00
Logs - £200.00
Internet - £120.00
Mobile - £10.00
Telephone - £180.00
TV Licence - £145.50
Footwear & Clothing - £75.00
Gifts - £50.00*
Nat. Trust Membership - £60.00
Transport - £520.00** (average £10 per week)
Insurances - £220.00 (buildings & contents)
Household Pets - £100.00
Miscellaneous - £46.50

Total = £4,000.00

Any questions, please feel free to ask.

I would love to be able to cut down my expenses to this amount.... I can do pretty well on food and have set myself a real challenge for this year, but really struggle with things like heating..... I do use a blankie but still can't do without some type of heat for at least a few hours a day It also costs me at least £200 per month for petrol to get to work.....I do love living in the middle of no-where but it can be an expensive way to live!!!:eek:

findingmyfeet

hi everyone,

had a quiet day today being lazy and watching films with DH and DD. All gifts ready, food sorted and nothing to flap about - unusal for me as im the one thats usually up half the night on christmas eve trying to get evrything finished!!!
Over the coming week i will set the budget and list my plans for next year. Also will be making plans for the veggie patch to be more organised, more productive and try to get alonger season out of it.

Merry christmas to everyone , hope its peaceful and happy for all.

love fmf

Kerry_Woman

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

SandraScarlett

As some of you know, I've had some mega family ill-health the last few months, so, having finished all my Crimbo preparations, for the world and his wife, who will be descending here tomorrow, I thought I'd have a cuppa and a lookie-see on here.

And Frugaldom, you angel, :A, you have managed to make me laugh hysterically, till the tears ran down my face, due to your post. The one about how you intend to cut down. And I quote:

Read my electricity meter every wee to keep an eye on costs ..... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry sweetie, but it just conjured up a vision of you finishing your wee, and then racing to read the electricity meter, with your knickers round your ankles!!!

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, hope everything gets cooked and ready at the same time, and a Happy New Year.

xx

Kerfuffle

SEASONS GREETINGS

In A Spirit Of Friendship And Good Will,
Best Wishes To You And Your Families,
For A Wonderful Christmas And A New Year
That Is Happy, Healthy and Prosperous

Best Wishes from
Kerfuffle & Co

:xmassmile:xmastree::xmassign::xmastree::xmassmile

amber03

One of mine is when i go shopping next year is to pay cash for everything , if i hav'nt got the money on me then i don't buy it. Wonder how long i will last for. Plus i get fed up with the banks knowing what i spend my money on, if i pay cash they wont know sometimes it feels like big brother, they know where i've been and what how much i spend there.

And i may do what frugaldum is going to do and that means i'll be reading my elecky meter at least ten times a day as i can wee for england. especially after how much i plan to eat and drink over xmas.

Have a great xmas and new year everybody and good luck on paying off or reducing our debts in 2012.xx

Erme

paidinchickens wrote: »

One of my "changes to be made" is to grow my own stuff as cheaply as poss. I have never managed to grow anything but tomatoes so I will be learning as I [STRIKE]grow[/STRIKE] go. We do not have much of a garden as what bit we do have has a greenhouse, shed and newly erected cat pen for fostering cats. The plan is to get all the seeds up and coming and then at the corner of our street is a plot of land the does not belong to anyone so we will plant stuff in there. We planted a load of daff bulbs last year and tidied and fenced it off. The neighbours were pleased as it stopped it becoming a dumping ground and we have made a couple of new friends

Going to drag the boys out to help next year as they have been warned no more spending their lives glued to games and they will have to work for their supper :rotfl::rotfl: at least 2 hours a week helping I think is fair.

I just want tomorrow out of the way and then get back to my plans of a debt free and healthier life ;).

You know I was round at a friend's the other day (whom I hadn't seen for like about 20 years) and her teenage sons were just sat upstairs playing games.....

So sad....So sure even a reduction in their time online playing games will be good for them and good for the family.

Right now Ma and Sis are sat here doing a jigsaw H picked up from the charity shop for like £2....even that can be good for a family...Ma got given the board a while back

Celebrating my frugal pressies this crimbo....H has gotten me enough shampoo and soap for the entire year and Ma is getting me hair dressing scissors off Amazon ....

Yay.....:j :j :j

E

susiejq

I am joining this as the next two and a half years are vital in order for us to be able to retire when we are 60 (me) and 66 (OH).
We need to pay off our mortgage. We have no other debts. We are totally focusing on being mortgage free and living as ecomically as possible in order to do it.
:j:j:j