We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Meet the frugal's, 365 day challenge of buying nothing.
lauren_1
Posts: 2,067 Forumite
Ok well, i will have to buy some things but only fresh food, no convenience stuff, no take aways, no junk.
Everything we need after food we will have to beg, steal, make or borrow.
Our rules are
No buses, taxi's or using the car for less than 5 miles, i have a perfectly good bike and trailer for the kids
No clothes buying for a year from high street shops, we are in a line of the hand me down chain so are guaranteed to get some kids clothes.
Fully utilise car boot sales and freecycle.
No nipping out and buying a tide me over pack of nappies and wipes when i have perfectly good ones in the airing cupboard.
I do not need to buy a paper or magazines for myself, i can steal my mums old ones and they post them through the door for free.
Our daughter cannot use soap on her skin (oats and milk sooth her skin though) but the rest of must use the gift sets and smellies presents before i find away to make soap , lush watch out
Get the waste water pipe from shower connected to a waterbutt for grey water collection and stop using the car wash.
Keep a clean waste water bucket in the kitchen for when i wait for the hot water to come through, usually i would let it all go down the plughole but now it gets saved so i can re-use that perfectly good water (im not on a meter but want to stop wasting so much) Just figured out i am chucking away over 10lts a day by washing up, rinsing bottles and general cooking!!
Customise and alter the clothes i already own and STOP following fashion, its a mugs game:cool:
Cut out trips to the hairdresser and utilise friends talents like nails and hair and babysitting in return for holistic therapies (my domain)
Stop buying things i can easily grow or make.
Cut out cleaning products and fully embrace the joys of white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
Our new weekly budget will be £5 per person :eek: for anything we cannot live without
MY BEST TIPS PM me if you have any that should be added
Going out
If drinking out ask for soda instead of lemonade or coke in your vodka, can cut the price of drinks by up to 30p, bars and clubs dont generally charge for soda. Also for non drinkers 1/2 pt of lime/soda and blackcurrant/soda should only be 60p max about 60p cheaper than coke, add a large dash to make a J20 or fruit juice go further, and if you feel a bit cheeky ask for a squash or tap water generally free or less than 30p for squash.
Babies
Grab a old fleece blanket or jumper and cut in to flannel size squares, these are now groovy little wipes that can be washed and reused till the cows come home (they will go bobbly after 2 or 3 washes but they still do a far better job than normal wipes) keep one colour for bums and another for hands and faces.
Same as above but in to rectangles you now have nappy liners, you dont need to buy from the makers and fork out £4 for 10 small sheets of "nappy" fleece when normal fleece does the job perfectly.
*That all i have at the moment but will be adding daily*
Everything we need after food we will have to beg, steal, make or borrow.
Our rules are
No buses, taxi's or using the car for less than 5 miles, i have a perfectly good bike and trailer for the kids
No clothes buying for a year from high street shops, we are in a line of the hand me down chain so are guaranteed to get some kids clothes.
Fully utilise car boot sales and freecycle.
No nipping out and buying a tide me over pack of nappies and wipes when i have perfectly good ones in the airing cupboard.
I do not need to buy a paper or magazines for myself, i can steal my mums old ones and they post them through the door for free.
Our daughter cannot use soap on her skin (oats and milk sooth her skin though) but the rest of must use the gift sets and smellies presents before i find away to make soap , lush watch out
Get the waste water pipe from shower connected to a waterbutt for grey water collection and stop using the car wash.
Keep a clean waste water bucket in the kitchen for when i wait for the hot water to come through, usually i would let it all go down the plughole but now it gets saved so i can re-use that perfectly good water (im not on a meter but want to stop wasting so much) Just figured out i am chucking away over 10lts a day by washing up, rinsing bottles and general cooking!!
Customise and alter the clothes i already own and STOP following fashion, its a mugs game:cool:
Cut out trips to the hairdresser and utilise friends talents like nails and hair and babysitting in return for holistic therapies (my domain)
Stop buying things i can easily grow or make.
Cut out cleaning products and fully embrace the joys of white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
Our new weekly budget will be £5 per person :eek: for anything we cannot live without
MY BEST TIPS PM me if you have any that should be added
Going out
If drinking out ask for soda instead of lemonade or coke in your vodka, can cut the price of drinks by up to 30p, bars and clubs dont generally charge for soda. Also for non drinkers 1/2 pt of lime/soda and blackcurrant/soda should only be 60p max about 60p cheaper than coke, add a large dash to make a J20 or fruit juice go further, and if you feel a bit cheeky ask for a squash or tap water generally free or less than 30p for squash.
Babies
Grab a old fleece blanket or jumper and cut in to flannel size squares, these are now groovy little wipes that can be washed and reused till the cows come home (they will go bobbly after 2 or 3 washes but they still do a far better job than normal wipes) keep one colour for bums and another for hands and faces.
Same as above but in to rectangles you now have nappy liners, you dont need to buy from the makers and fork out £4 for 10 small sheets of "nappy" fleece when normal fleece does the job perfectly.
*That all i have at the moment but will be adding daily*
0
Comments
-
Good Luck.CC2 = £8687.86 ([STRIKE]£10000[/STRIKE] )CC1 = £0 ([STRIKE]£9983[/STRIKE] ); Reusing shopping bags savings =£5.80 vs spent £1.05.Wine is like opera. You can enjoy it even if you don't understand it and too much can give you a headache the next day J0
-
Fair play to you! Keep us updated regularly. Will love to see how you get on!
Good luck :T
Catt xx0 -
Good luck, it seems you have really thought this through.0
-
Ok, so it's day one of our families new challenge and i am feeling quite optimistic about it all, we are getting a waterbutt from a friend and should have it connected on saturday also all the started herbs should be ready to get transfered in to the pots.
I need to some how fish out the stones from the veg patch, i think i dug up an old rockery.
So far my spend total today has been nothing.0 -
Good Luck And Hope You Enjoy It !0
-
Well GOOD LUCK ! I am so impressed you are even considering such a thing. I have an allotment with my friend and am awaiting my seed delivery for the year (discount through a workmates gardening club) and I am sure I will have surplus and I am happy to send them to you (will be a few weeks yet) Before I had the allotment I grew potatoes in a dustbin, and other things with sucess in plastic storage crates!! Maybe you can cadge some!0
-
Good luck x"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." Edmund Burke
0 -
I wish you the best of LUCKDEBT FREE 23/FEB/07 TWO YEAR's!! £2 £1020.00 Banked New total £268+ and counting SAVINGS 3000.00- ISA £30. :j0
-
What an exciting challenge lauren, wish you the best of luck with it :beer:
Do keep us posted as it will be very inspiring to see how you are doing
How much to you aim to pay off by the end of the 365 days?0 -
We hope to be nearly debt free, we will still have the car finance but should be less money per month as we are geting a new one in may.
And will probably still have some left on the sonycard but CITY CARD has just been paid off last week!!!
We also have a healthy amount of junk in the attic and shed ready for carboot season0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.7K Spending & Discounts
- 244.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.1K Life & Family
- 257.7K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards