2013 Frugal Living Challenge

dizzy_lizzie

painted_lady wrote: »

I will post again soon and wish you all the best with your financial challenges in 2013.

Hi painted lady and welcome to the thread.
All the very best to you also for 2013.
I don't keep a spending diary as such but I have joined a couple of the challenges on mse such as The Grocery Challenge and The No Spend day challenge. You may enjoy joining one yourself. They are actually quite fun to do.

Hi Baking Mad. Well done on clearing the loan. June will soon be here too. How great will that feel when you are DF. Well done
x

WonderfulLife

Hi Everyone

This is my budget for each month which would result in an annual spend of £12.660 in 2013. My plan is to save £12,000 this year to pay for my daughter's wedding. I became debt free at the end of 2011 and managed tosave about £8000 last year, so this year the plan is to save 50% more than last year. Fingers crossed!

Monthly Budget
Council Tax 65.00
Rent 132.00
Resident's Association 3.00
Electricity 30.00
Telephones & Internet 50.00
Charitable Donations 30.00
Clothes 30.00
Food & Groceries 200.00
Gifts 70.00
Holidays 150.00
House & Garden 100.00
Insurance 30.00
Job Expenses/Memberships 25.00
Leisure & Entertainment 40.00
Transport 100.00
Total Expense Categories £1055.00 per month

All the best

optimistic-mummy

Hi all,
can i join you please my target is £12,000 to include everything except debt repayments and savings

xnatalie81x

Hi

With regards to the self employment this is the reason I now do my income and expenditure 4 monthly. I know my outgoings for the challenge are always 566 month but my rent/income is changeable and so I project my income for the next 4 months and then work with that. I'm sure you will find something that works for you

Quiet day here I'm not back to work until next tue and kids not back to school until Monday so just enjoying the calm before the storm!

couldsavemore_2

how do you get dd to turn of lights etc. went up stairs last night and she had left them on in 3 rooms plus the hallway. I keep telling her but she says she forgets im sitting here at mo with just 1 little light to try and keep the energy bills low. . I have explained about saving money any ideas (im not going to even start on about her room but at least that's not costing me money:rotfl:)

have a,great frugal day everyone

xnatalie81x

Take the bulbs out lol

natnat13

Morning all
I have finally had a productive day yesterday, did a budget and should be saving £300 a month! Y does it never work out like that?
From today I am going to write down everything I spend, I'll never stick to the spreadsheet so have got a notebook, can also do meal plans and other lists in that!
Made 4 cushion covers yesterday out of old material, did have to buy the inners but they were less than £3 each (BF owns a haberdashery shop!)
Kids off to their dads this weekend so I'm on my own and have no plans I think its going to be dry though so I'm going to get out in the garden and start doing something! We have a great 2nd hand furniture place and I desperately need new dining chairs (my rented house came with a massive dining table and my 4 fold ups look pitiful and when people come round for dinner there's no where to sit!) so I might go over there and see what they've got.
I'm also going to look into doing some kind of studying this year too, so might start researching that.
Must go and wash the hair dye off my head......!

Frugaldom

Hope everyone got off to a good start this year. Can I please remind you all to read posts 1 and 2, as I don't keep up with this thread. Can you also remind any newcomers - otherwise, names will be missed. A little support for one another is great but it also helps if you can all support keeping the thread going in the right direction by helping newcomers find their way around this challenge - an enormous network of posts stretching back several 5 years.
Thanks.

debbiedeejay

Yay!

Just managed to "mend" a broken zip on my daughters nearly new skirt- the slider had come off one side so I used a flat head screwdriver to prise open the zip slider,slipped it over the teeth and used pliers to close it back down. Works a treat! Saved the skirt from material stash or cost of replacing zip! And DD very happy too!

Savvy_sewing

debbiedeejay wrote: »

Yay!

Just managed to "mend" a broken zip on my daughters nearly new skirt- the slider had come off one side so I used a flat head screwdriver to prise open the zip slider,slipped it over the teeth and used pliers to close it back down. Works a treat! Saved the skirt from material stash or cost of replacing zip! And DD very happy too!

Yes this is a really good tip, I do this often. (Too often:o).
At least as someone who can sew, etc, and do alterations and repairs, it only costs me the price of the zips if they do have to be replaced. (and finding the time).

I dont feel as if I have had a good start to the challenge this year, but I suppose its going to be one of those things. I will save later I hope.
DGD is going to actually visit her Mum today, so I will only have to do evening meal for me. So I think I will just do some vegetables in gravy in the pressure cooker, as I have so many vegetables sitting in the fridge starting to go abit old.
. wonder why I get the Veg boxes at times. But wanted to have organic stuff etc on hand for DGD. The fruit goes mostly but the veg takes us a bit longer. So I am not eating my 5 a day then!. oh dear.
Cancelled the two boxes over christmas, so my veg are at least 3 weeks old now!!!!