2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

elly68

can i ask if slow cookers are cheaper to run than a casserole in the oven? thinking of buying one

cw18

elly68 wrote: »

can i ask if slow cookers are cheaper to run than a casserole in the oven? thinking of buying one

what I've read says definitely - I believe they only cost pennies an hour if that

but I wouldn't be without mine anyway, as they make the best gammon joint ever - even the value ones come out beautifully tender

suze72

Hi there, could I join too please?

Due to being on a DMP we already live very frugally, but I think we may be able to squeeze it all a bit more if we really try.

Our DMP will be payed off some time during summer 2012 :j (hopefully a bit before) and the next challenge will be to continue with the same budget so we can overpay on our mortgage.

I have my 2012 spreadsheet all set up and ready to go, so my next step is to shop around for a better deal with the landline. I also really want to reduce our grocery bill even more so I'll be off to the old style board for some recipe ideas. I dusted off my sewing machine the other day so I may look at making my xmas presents next year too.

Happy xmas hols

Suze xxx

System

Ok guys I have completed my list...it's ALOT bigger than others I've seen! So any advise welcome if you think I could reduce it any, here goes -

DESCRIPTION MONTHLY YEARLY
Council Tax 166.00 1,494.00
Gas/Electricity 89.00 1,068.00
B&C Insurance 25.91 310.92
L Insurance 33.21 398.52
Mortgage 320.17 3,842.04
Hubbie's Mobile 40.00 480.00
TV License 12.12 145.44
Gym 78.33 940.00
Business 41.99 503.88
My Mobile 20.00 240.00
C Insurance 70.00 840.00
Internet 20.00 240.00
Food 180.00 2,340.00
Diesel 300.00 3,900.00
Loan 452.34 5,880.42
Road Tax 14.58 175.00
Birthdays 25.80 309.60
Service/MOT/Repairs 33.33 400.00
1922.79 23507.82
Explanations:

Council Tax - I pay ours over 9 months so we get the break after christmas, but also have it paid before the last wage before christmas too.

Diesel - Costs are really high but hubby does a lot of travelling to/from work so this £ is actually based on essential driving!

Food - It may seem generous for 2 people, but this budget line includes toiletries and cleaning products.

Birthdays/Car Tax/Servicing - I've never actually budgetted for these things before, but saw someone else done it and think it is a really good idea, hopefully it will work! Will be hard one month when we are skint and don't have any car costs or birthdays, knowing there is all that cash there, so this will be a test for us, because it is essentially short-term saving....gulp!

I can't believe my overall yearly costs are soo high compared to others on the board....even if I took the loan off the total we would still be alot higher than mosts....any ideas?

cw18

moaning_myrtle wrote: »

I can't believe my overall yearly costs are soo high compared to others on the board....even if I took the loan off the total we would still be alot higher than mosts....any ideas?

I noticed a 'business' line. I would assume this is either refunded (if it's an 'in employment' cost) or can be claimed against tax bills (if self employed), so wouldn't really expect to see that in your list.

Most people exclude mortgage/rent and loans. Several also exclude Council Tax.

I can't actually get your monthly and annual figures to tally up.
There are 3 months you don't pay council tax, so it'll be lower those months.
Your groceries line looks like you've multiplied the monthly figure by 13 - do you work on a 4 weekly cycle for that? And the same again for your diesel and loan - the loan being the one that has confused me, as I could understand the others being 4 weekly, but not that.....

EDIT : Just had another quick scan over your list, and realised there's nothing there for water - whether that be water rates or a water meter. Your profile doesn't say where you live, but if you're in England or Wales it looks like an omission. I believe Scotland don't pay (in with council tax?) based on posts I've read in previous years, but don't know about Ireland.

natnat13

moaning_myrtle wrote: »

Ok guys I have completed my list...it's ALOT bigger than others I've seen! So any advise welcome if you think I could reduce it any, here goes -

DESCRIPTION MONTHLY YEARLY
Council Tax 166.00 1,494.00
Gas/Electricity 89.00 1,068.00
B&C Insurance 25.91 310.92
L Insurance 33.21 398.52
Mortgage 320.17 3,842.04
Hubbie's Mobile 40.00 480.00
TV License 12.12 145.44
Gym 78.33 940.00
Business 41.99 503.88
My Mobile 20.00 240.00
C Insurance 70.00 840.00
Internet 20.00 240.00
Food 180.00 2,340.00
Diesel 300.00 3,900.00
Loan 452.34 5,880.42
Road Tax 14.58 175.00
Birthdays 25.80 309.60
Service/MOT/Repairs 33.33 400.00
1922.79 23507.82
Explanations:

Council Tax - I pay ours over 9 months so we get the break after christmas, but also have it paid before the last wage before christmas too.

Diesel - Costs are really high but hubby does a lot of travelling to/from work so this £ is actually based on essential driving!

Food - It may seem generous for 2 people, but this budget line includes toiletries and cleaning products.

Birthdays/Car Tax/Servicing - I've never actually budgetted for these things before, but saw someone else done it and think it is a really good idea, hopefully it will work! Will be hard one month when we are skint and don't have any car costs or birthdays, knowing there is all that cash there, so this will be a test for us, because it is essentially short-term saving....gulp!

I can't believe my overall yearly costs are soo high compared to others on the board....even if I took the loan off the total we would still be alot higher than mosts....any ideas?

Hi Myrtle, my budget looks similar, it's quite frightening writing it all down. Have you looked at your insurances to see if you have the cheapest? Martin has lots of good info on here and I saved quite a lot when I switched mine last year. Even the F.A who did our mortgage was impressed!!!

LolaLemon

The gym membership - is it being fully utilized, is it really needed? Would walking/running be any good to the person who uses it?
I don't understand the business purpose? If that makes any sense.

Instead of buying the toilets n cleaning stuff, have a go at making them... many of the items we have in our kitchen cupboards work brilliantly for both purposes. Sugar in some bodycream, liquid soap or olive oil is a good body scrub. Vinegar, lemon juice n bi carb soda have their uses for cleaning. Many threads available on these... try a brand lower to what u currently pay... or as I do, I pick a price range for, say a tin of chopped toms, say 50p, I then compare the ingredients and the one with less chemicals gets my vote... Tesco one up from blue white stripes normally wins this one, their blue white stripes fish fingers win at a pound for 10 (I think) compared to the big brands.... so I get more fish for my money, and also the added bonus of very little unwanted extras.

youngmummy

things im doing in 2012 :
growing my own fruit and veg
bulk buying
sticking to my budget as much as possible
using vouchers/discount codes as much as possible
using the car only when necessery
taking advantage of freebies
bulk cooking
less takeaways !!
using eco-balls instead of washing powder
use washing line instead of tumble dryer
free or cheap days out
any other tips welcome !!
needs must !!

Frugaldom

icontinuetodream wrote: »

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



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:

I have had the same budget since starting this challenge several years ago, amounts for coal & logs are included in my annual budget list, so that's what it costs me for a year. All my figures get updated daily on my personal homepage, which is where I keep all my recipes etc, incl cat food...

I have included a full list of liks in page one of this, homemade laundry cleaner (gloop) recipe is there too.

Trying to catch up with all the posts, which I can never do, but will get the new names into the list tonight.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. :beer:

SandraScarlett

Well done you cw18, on getting that turkey crown for such a fabulous price! It's a question of being on the spot as things are reduced, and you were in the right place at the right time. :j

Moaning Myrtle, you've done the really hard part, so don't underestimate your achievement - you've written all your expenditure down, :eek: and you're asking for advice. As I said in an earlier post, you'll get brilliant tips from others on how to save, and it's like a buffet, except you take the tips you'd like to utilise, instead of food!

I'm fortunate enough to be an ol' gel, and have a London Freedom Pass, so don't spend a farthing on travel. I used to meet up with friends regularly, and we'd have frugal lunches, using 2 for 1 vouchers, but my downfall was Costa Coffee Skinny Cappucinos. I realised that if I went out, say, 3 times a week, and had 3 coffees each day out, I was spending ............ £1,000 a year on Costas!!:eek::eek::eek:

What a waste. So I decided to have just one a week. That's still over £100 a year, but a huge saving. I know your total spends might look frightening, but if you total the mortgage, council tax, loan repayment and diesel - all of which are "musts" rather than "wants" - they result in over £15,000 of your expenditure.

Perhaps you could look at the remaining £8,500 and see if you could aim for a savings figure that's "do-able" for you, if it's £1 a week (£50), £10 a week (£500) or whatever. It's like when you go on a diet. What could you do without, that wouldn't make you feel deprived? It may be the gym, or using £2 worth of vouchers each week, or stretching the requirements of 5 meals to stretch to 6.

Whatever you decide, we're with you all the way. :beer:

xx