2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

aeb_2

Happy New Year and good luck to everyone

Add me to the list but I wont post too often although I do read when I can

I'm in tonight, I prefer that really but even if I did want to go out finding a sitter would be difficult and expensive so best do my own thing.

Things ticked off this year:
All upstairs windows replaced
3 bedrooms have a carpet and are usable, 2 more have beds but no carpet so a bit cold (OK for visitors)
Lots of tomatoes grown but little else, shame on me!
Playroom (joined to kitchen) has a carpet (but I rarely see it!)

Things I didn't manage:
Garden - just didn't happen
Making the living room 'liveable' - it still looks like an enormous store cupboard

Targets:
Get on top of the garden - grow some veg divide off safe space for the children
Get the little ones into their own shared bedrooms - out of mine before they go to school:o
Try and get to a car boot to stock up on cloths / toys

I cook from scratch, rarely go to the supermarket and use as little fuel as I can so I can't cut budget any more. I will aim for under £6000

purpleorchid

HAPPY NEW YEAR

well this yr i am already starting out with no money for the next month as it is all tied up in bills, owe out £90 already n only have £30 spare to pay, back, i am short for bills the week coming so am hoping that mum can help me with £66 there. not feeling so confident about things at the moment, but im sure i will be able to get back on track in a few months.

continue to batch book
buy reduced veg n cut n freeze
make sure the oven is used for more than 1 item
keep my heating down as much as possible and use my little fan blower
hand make gifts and cards
get out more and use the vouchers that i missed out on last yr
clear my overdraft
clear my catalogue that has interest
get a lot more paid off the credit card
make more use of charity shops
find new recipes for batch cooking
only buy what is absolutely necessary
continue with survey sites ( now signed up to 14)
continue with shop and scan
make sure i use my nectar card when using amazon and ebay to collect points
also keep a check on quidco for other things i may need over the yr so hopefully get some cash back
salvage what my friends are no longer using and throwing out
keep all clothes that r no good and sell them to cash4clothes
aim to actually have money in my purse (which is very rare)
keep up with all the threads i have subscribed to on here
use envelopes that come with junk mail (just stick a label over their address n add stamp)
aim to get as any freebies as possible

if i think of any more then will add later

Luv P
xx

rising_from_the_ashes

Morning all

Happy New Year!:D

Best of luck to everyone with your challenges this year (incl this one!) and wishing you and your loved ones, health & happiness

natnat13

New year, new more organised me!!!
I have 2 female friends with 30th birthdays next month. One I would only get a small gift for usually but the other is a good friend so would usually spend £20 ish. I will be looking out for bargains in sales etc but want to do something a bit special, any frugal ideas anyone? I can sew but another good friend actually owns a haberdashery shop so she will do something along those lines. Can't knit!
I am going to try and organise all presents in advance this year becuase I often get caught out and buy something last minute and spend more money than I want, I'm going to make chutneys, jams, sweets for xmas.

mooomin

Something that I'm going to be doing this year is decorating candles Natnat - might be trying my first one this afternoon

I can find you a link to a demo if you think it's something you might be interested in? The basic supplies you would need are: white tissue paper, baking parchment, some kind of stamp and ink, a heat gun (Available for around £10) and of course candles. I have bought a few pillar candles from Poundworld and am going to see how I get on with this technique.

I'm not organised enough at the moment, but if I can get the candle technique to work I'm thinking about selling a candle/matching birthday card set, maybe via craft fairs. I have a lot of supplies anyway as cardmaking is a hobby of mine.

purpleorchid

morning all

welcome to any new starters this yr, i am so looking forward to sorting my finances out this yr. i will be on here everyday i think as that will keep me totally motivated.

anyway i need your help guys........
its my mums 60th on 21st jan. myself, brother and sister have all put £20 each to make £60 and i am going to book her in for massage, luxury pedicure and luxury manicure, (both with polish).
i wouldnt usually be able to afford to spend this much on her but managed to give it to my friend a while back, thankfully. my brother is also sending mum flowers and my sister has bought her something to open (dont know what). this is where im stuck, i have no money at all, her card will be my 1st handmade card and that will be made out of what i have here. i can knit, hand sew, cook (but not ingredients here lol)..... hope someone can help me, plus i have only got 20 days left to make something.:eek:

Luv P

xx

Erme

Hadn't realised hadn't been on since I got back off hols (but think I know why) so will catch up on posts later....off to rush to kirk in a sec

Anyhow just wanted to wish everyone

E

Emmala

natnat13 wrote: »

New year, new more organised me!!!
I have 2 female friends with 30th birthdays next month. One I would only get a small gift for usually but the other is a good friend so would usually spend £20 ish. I will be looking out for bargains in sales etc but want to do something a bit special, any frugal ideas anyone? I can sew but another good friend actually owns a haberdashery shop so she will do something along those lines. Can't knit!
I am going to try and organise all presents in advance this year becuase I often get caught out and buy something last minute and spend more money than I want, I'm going to make chutneys, jams, sweets for xmas.

What about a house plant? If you have an Ikea near you, they do plants and pots which are cheap.....that's what I did for the teachers at the end of the last school year. Or you could try CSs for plant pots, and then find a plant to go in them. Or, you could buy a rose (look for one with an appropriate name) and tie it with a ribbon if you have any. They needn't be expensive, but it's a bit different and quite thoughful. HTH

Oh, this could also be an idea for the mum with the 60th birthday too? Sorry, head like a sieve, I can't remember who posted that!!! It's a bit too early for fully-functioning brain I'm afraid!!

I have spent a bit of time this holiday having heart to hearts with Mr R, all money related, which isn't the easiest of tasks as he has long convinced himself that the reason we have debt is simple.....ie it's all MY fault!!!! I have now managed (with a little shouting and screaming!!) to make him realise that that isn't strictly true......he's just as bad, and as the cards are in his name and I didn't have a gun to his head at every purchase, he might be a bit responsible too!!!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we have agreed that the best way forward is to get a loan (Sains, 5 years but can pay back early) cut up the cards, apart from the two he has for work (fuel and expenses) and effectively start again. We can save a bit each month, and add in anything he gets in bonuses, and then when the balance of the loan = the pot, we can pay the loan off early (the aim is three years so we'll be DF by the time we're both 40).

So, that's why I'm signed up here already, with three young but always hungry kids to feed too, I need to really get every last bit of value out of every penny, and this is the year to learn!!

Happy New and Frugal Year to one and all!!!
xxx

mookiepook

Morning everyone and a Happy New Year! Good luck to everyone with their frugal plans for 2012.
Natnat - how about some home made chocolate truffles - I have a recipe somewhere, will dig it out and post it on here later.

rubytuesday

Everyone.

I feel I can join you over here now it's finally 2012!

Well it would be a bit silly talking to myself on the old thread but that was so much easier to find - just above my usual haunt!

Any way I have a book coming http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moneyless-Man-Year-Freeconomic-Living/dp/1851687874/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_2 and although I don't want to do that I hope it gives me some inspiration.

Spookybuffy has a thread on this which I will follow.

Last year saw me depleting my savings due to sickly cats - the Mink still continues to defy all odds by the way and I was also met with an expensive neccessary purchase for the girlie although it was a Christmas present and also her trip to Slovenia, so didn't do as well as intended.

She has decided to embrace a more anti - consumerist and eco friendly life style so I'm proud of her.

She created some beautiful E Cards for Christmas.

Hope this year is a great one in so many ways for one and all! xxx