2014 Frugal Living Challenge

cydney65

Not doing too bad on the grocery front but still have 10 days to go with that (our 'month' finishes on the 23rd!). Desperately need to top up the dwindling supplies but will eke it out as long as possible.

DD1 is on her way to China next week for 5 months and it's costing me a fortune in travel/medical insurance, taxi fares, train fares etc. Still it's the trip of a lifetime for her so I don't really begrudge it. Have warned her about the price of mobile calls so we have installed Skype and activated Google+.

DawnW

evening all

w*rk was a nightmare today and isn't going to get any better right up to when I actually leave :mad:

I felt really drained this afternoon. Trouble is I am too conscientious to just ignore it, wouldn't want to make it harder for my team.

But - NSD
Lunch to work with me
Filled pasta and HM tomato sauce for supper
Trains turned up on time, as did the bus home from the station (weirdly, it was really foggy and you could hardly see your hands in front of your face :eek: ) so I was glad not to have to walk.

However, I succumbed to a duvet cover set in Lidls last night :oI didn't actually need another duvet set, but it is so pretty - and only 13.99, so not a disaster :rotfl:

Still haven't sorted the printer of doom

Friday tomorrow - thank goodness :T

Shortie

We have thick fog here too. Quite like it but it's a pain in the bot to drive in

Went to treat the boys to McDs tonight but there was not a bod in sight for the till and they were all faffing around the cookers. No idea what was going on in there - two non-uniformed chaps to the side and waaay too many getting food sorted.
We walked out after a few mins of waiting and went to a nearby chipie. Beat thubg we did - food was lovely and there was a chap in there I'd never met before but we stood talking for ages. So glad for the chance meeting

Goldiegirl

Not long to go now Dawn, hang on in there.

Had some good news today. My husband had a meeting with his boss - business is picking up, and he's been given a rise! That's completely out of the blue, and they haven't had rises there for a few years. I'll get a rise in April on my pension, and what with the tax allowances going up in April too, that'll mean we'll be able to save a few more quid.

My husband also took the opportunity to mention to his boss about the probability of him leaving next year. The boss asked for a few months notice, so they could recruit and train a replacement. I've also mentioned my plans at my office too, so it's beginning to seem real that the end is in site. I think it's more likely to be next spring, rather than the autumn, but I won't change my signature yet, until I feel a bit more certain!

Also a NSD, so all in all a good day, especially as I had the day off work, and will be home tomorrow too.

lovefullshelves

Shortie - I like to blog, I started mainly so I could share things with my mum in the states. Then she shared it with her friends and the rest of the family and my friends where I used to live read it too:) Its a great way for me to go 'this is what that thing I made looks like'
Not spent too much so far this week, weekly shopping in asda and aldi together were under £36
Hospital tomorrow (finally) to see gyno. So thats parking charges..Yay!
been cooking some ww2 recipes this week and so far they've been a hit! The raspberry buns have dissapeared!
Hugs to those in need x

Frugalsod

Yesterday was a LSD. Did a top up shop. I got lots of YS beef mince for 38p a half kilo and a carrot cake for 19p. Most of my shop was for the milk. So total spend was £3.19 and I have 2.5kg of mince for the freezer.

lhead123

Not been on here for a few days...not bought anything other than a few necessities. ?..ah and cake, but being pregnant I think of that as a necessity anyway!

The seller of my phone got it unlocked through O2 and gave me a £15 refund for the trouble, so I now have a working phone

Working all weekend, so hopefully a couple of nsd unless oh decides hes desperate for hair gel or something!

TM6

lhead123 wrote: »

Not been on here for a few days...not bought anything other than a few necessities. ?..ah and cake, but being pregnant I think of that as a necessity anyway!

The seller of my phone got it unlocked through O2 and gave me a £15 refund for the trouble, so I now have a working phone

Working all weekend, so hopefully a couple of nsd unless oh decides hes desperate for hair gel or something!

That's really good news re the phone :T

Goldiegirl

All quiet here - Haven't been anywhere so a NSD.


I'm using my slow cooker for the first time today, doing paprika beef. It's one of the recipes supplied with the cooker - it smells delicious!


Tomorrow won't be particularly frugal. We are going to London for the day, as it's my birthday tomorrow.


We intend to go up on the 8.45am train and see St Pauls Cathedral (I haven't been there for 40 years and Mr GG has never been )and then to the Museum of London, which is nearby.

Shortie

Evening all

Have a fab time in London tomorrow GoldieGirl

I've been having quite a serious talk with my self over money the last couple of days - a few thoughts have been boiling to the surface over pensions, overpaying the mortgage, the building work, etc.... and I had a meeting in work yesterday where I saw my first (small) payrise in years, and a little bonus too, which have allowed me to get a the rest of the self assessment tax savings ready. Phew

So, after much debating, worrying about extra financial commitments and worrying about the impact of Not making the changes... (lol... yes, I can really flap) I've decided to:

- Start paying into DS2's child trust fund monthly - we've done this for DD1 since he was born and there is a nice nest egg for him. We've not done anything for DS2 yet and planned to 'find' the equivilent amount as would be in DS1's when his comea to an end - but I was worrying about finding a large lump sum suddenly. So, I'm trying to reduce the amount we have to 'find' come the time by saving into DS2's now as well
- Start paying into a private pension for Mr Shortie - this will be a joint effort and I'm going to help boost the savings he makes. I already have a work pension so I'm sorted at the mo
- Start a Rainy Day savings pot
- Start to make small overpayments on the mortgage (which I hope will ramp up when the savings pot is adequet and the building work loan (that I don't yet have, lol) is paid off
- Start saving for the building work in the hope to reduce the amount I need to borrow

It feels like a huge and sudden financial change but I'm hoping that once I start, it will become routine and I then won't think about it... I'm goign to still be quite strapped for a while yet but it'll be in a good cause and I can stop the savings pots and mortgage overpayments if I need to at any point.

Hopefully I'll feel a little bit more in control now and most of the things that have been bugging me (eg not overpaying the mortgage, not saving for DS2, Mr Shortie not having a personal pension, not having savings) will quieten down. Then I can focus just on worrying about funding the building work, lol