2013 Frugal Living Challenge

wuvvies

feeling quite proud of my new ways
1) never taking my bag to work meaning 6 nsds
2) meal planning to the letter - i used to do this but deviate all the time
3) more jumpers and turning the heating down a notch
4)growing my hair ie no hair cuts
5) shopping at the cheaper supermarkets

Im not sure if i can do it again this week but have made 50 pounds last a whole week and there is still food left. so will check stocks and buy the minimal amount. feeling so cross that i have given mr a and mr t so much of my shopping money!!

mummy2threeboys

hi to all the new peeps xx
Nat hope you feel better soon chick!
With reguards to frugalness, we are frugal so we can have a holiday, id rather not have heating on too much or buy "things" id rather the children have memorys than material things tbh. Plus im a rather hippyish enviromentaist so reduce and reuse ..really goes hand in hand with being frugal!

Dh needed a suit for wedding and funeral and i needed my glasses fixed so went to mr t and getting charged £15 for new glass frames and dh found a suit for £44 including new shirt, very impressed he thought it whould be about £100 without the shirt . Need to try to make £100 last for 2 weeks shopping so have to sit down and meal plan next week. (5 people) Thats not including any thing that might crop up, we do have the boys christmas money but id rather not use that otherwise we will have to replace it next month and you just end up going in circles. Totally do able just need to make sure dh doesnt buy food treats!

thanks for the food link i love thats site, will also check out the other mse food link , have a good week xx

miss_empty_piggy

Had a totally nightmare day, had to go on the train to work due to the weather (11.90) and then forgot to take any food with me due to rushing to get out of the house early (approx. £5) had to get step daughter new shoes as feet were soaking (£18.00) and stupidly panic bought 2 magazines, sweets and chocolates and drinks for DOH and me for while we waited at the hospital (almost £10). Annoyed at the lunch and stupid magazine buy - when will I ever learn? I took my eye off the ball and now look - foolish, foolish, foolish. oh well I guess tomorrow is another day and I did make £140 on ebay selling an item I got for free, so overall not a total loss.

Baking_Mad

Hi everybody and welcome to the new challengers!

Having a rubbish week. OH just got paid yesterday and we've already spent £600 :eek::eek::eek:

Desperately needed to do the food shop so went to Aldi yesterday and did a big shop, bought loads, so should be ok for a while. Have to say was quite annoyed at how much their prices have risen since before Christmas!

Then had to order oil today which was running dangerously low. Paid £510 for it, so def frugal living for the rest of the month for us...

Hope everyone is doing better than me.

dizzy_lizzie

miss_empty_piggy wrote: »

I took my eye off the ball and now look - foolish, foolish, foolish. oh well I guess tomorrow is another day and I did make £140 on ebay selling an item I got for free, so overall not a total loss.

Not foolish at all miss empty piggy, just a little blip, which happens, we are human after all and the ebay sale balances it out somewhat.
Focus on all the great things you have been doing on your frugal journey and sweep today to one side. It's over and done with and tomorrow is a new day

Baking Mad ouch to the £600. Hope the rest of the month goes ok for you.

I'm taking each day as it comes and still taking lunches and using up food from the freezer and cupboards as much as I can.
x

natnat13

Morning
Feeling a bit better today, going to work anyway, I'm temporary staff so if I don't go in I don't get paid!
Put tea in the slow cooker so if I'm feeling exhausted after work its done.
Just signed up to the blinkbox movie thing that Martin was talking about, just to get the clubcard points. I currently do lovefilm (it my one extravagance and I do use it a lot) but now I can live stream it looks like netflix may be cheaper.
My cupboards and freezer are starting to look bear, think I'm going to bite the bullet and do a big approved foods order, go to macro and stock up for a few months.
Baking, you need oil hun so don't worry about it.
Miss Empty Piggy - don't worry about it, I did exactly the same with new look the other day, I just think back to how I used to spend money and how much I've changed and it puts it all in perspective.
Have a good day everyone x

rising_from_the_ashes

Quick question if I may .....

How would you show a one-off cost in your expenses spreadsheet?

eg my car maintenance / service etc budget for this year is £300 (£100 down on last year ) which was worked on £250 for the service & £50 for odds & sods ..... BUT

I'm now having to get winter tyres as really not feeling too safe in this ice / snow (horrid hilly/twisty roads) - which are costing £270:eek: (but they will last a few winters & my normal ones will last longer too :T)

I'd obviously like to note the cost in the spreadsheet (as it's money I'll have spent) but don't know whether to just up the overall car budget to £600 (which will then increase the overall budget) or just to note the cost on the bottom of the front page

Tthe money will be coming from juggling things around - I tend to overpay the bills account a bit each month so there's a little bit in there ... a bit from the emergency fund etc etc

Any suggestions?

Savvy_sewing

I tend to just add the money in and be over budget, but try then during the year to claw it back on to something. But its YOUR spreadsheet, so its totally up to you how you do it. If your budget has lea way to cover these expenses then thats fair enough. If the budget is all that you have, as in my case, it means that you have to pull in the horns else where which is not so easy to do.

I am not up to speed this year at all. My head is not in a good place and its a struggle to do anything really. My priorities are just to get through the day if the truth be told today.
I have had a friend help out by blitzing my bathroom, and clearing out the old/near empty potions and lotions and organise them while puttign them back. I have deciced to have my own little mini challenge to Stop buying toileteries. I cannot be bothered to see if there is a challenge ongoing this year, but will just be mindful on my own.
The kitchen cupboards will have to be next. I have far too much Approved Foods that I am not using. Its time to kick myself into touch and use them up, or I will not have saved on thier purchase in the first place!. Derr so cross with myself, but as I am in a low place its easier said then done. I just wish I could focus better.

miss_empty_piggy

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Not foolish at all miss empty piggy, just a little blip, which happens, we are human after all and the ebay sale balances it out somewhat.
Focus on all the great things you have been doing on your frugal journey and sweep today to one side. It's over and done with and tomorrow is a new day
x

Thanks dizzy lizzie, I know you're right. It was just one day and today has been better.

Hoping you're feeling brighter soon Mooloo. :grouphug:

out_of_debt_at_last

DS Birthday this week and knew it was going to be a tough Jan, Recovering from Car issues the week before christmas and a few unexpected things at christmas, clawing it all back slowly, had a good result yesterday spent 52p in sainsbugs for over £30 worth of food including party food and birthday cake! vouchers and a gift card, pleased as punch! DS had the calculator and had a great time adding up as we went along!