2014 Frugal Living Challenge

Florenceem

amber03 wrote: »

Three bags of turkey just gone in the freezer,does anyone know if you can freeze pork as well.If so there will be two bags of pork going in the freezer as well. Going to make sure we use up all the food before I do a big shop. As I will be saving money by not doing any food shopping this week I will put the money in my savings account.

I don't have to watch what I spend cos weekly food bill is around £80,my problem is that I don't use up all the food before I do another shop,so will concentrate on this.

At least today was a NSD.:)x

Yes - freeze Pork - I put 6 bags of Pork + 5 of Turkey in my freezer today.

amber03

Thanks Florenceem, will bag it up tomorrow.xx

ecodude

Well crackers pulled dishes done, leftovers frozen and wrapping paper folded and stored....we survived(son and i ) our first christmas in rented house after selling house and paying off all the debts this year. Ready for a frugal new year and to start next phase of our lives.....hope everyone had the best possible day for them, either with family or friends or like us, just us two......and as a last Christmas splurge i raise my glass of Babysham to all super money saving forum-ites everywhere cheers to you all and here's sending a 'great big good luck wish' for 2014 for you all. Cheers :j

tatabubbly

Hey! I will probably be more of a lurker than a poster but my aim in 2014 is to save, save, save.

I have a small bit of debt that WILL be cleared before the end of February so my plan for the rest of 2014 is to save.

I use to be really good at saving and since I met my OH I've no idea why I'm not! lol!
Going to try and keep our shopping budget as low as possible as well, should be saving pennies there as there shall be no more junk food in our house!

smithywilko

Morning all, I'm going to commit to this challenge in 2014. A few weeks ago, I decided my New Year's resolution would be to live modestly and with discipline so it looks like it was made for this challenge!
I have some debt to be paid off but once that has been cleared, my main focus is to save a decent deposit to be able to buy a deposit for a family home which is enough to ensure we don't have an astronomical monthly payment for 25 years!
I'm in charge of the finances in our household as my hubby is self-employed and so my salary pays the bills and he pays me half throughout the month. So I'm going to look at my budget in the next few days before the New Year and hopefully get everything in place before 1st Jan. Here's hoping!

ForMyGirls

Hello,

I am brand new to MSE. About a week ago I had what i called my "rock bottom" (which it seems is called a lightbulb moment in this space) and have committed to changing my relationship with money.

I have worked out just how big the black hole of debt is and have put together a budget that will enable me to claw my way back to the light. But the bit I don't have yet is a community of people who are in the same space to check in with, be accountable to and be motivated by! I am hoping MSE can be that

I am not sure if this thread is the right spot for that kind of support - if any of you know a different thread that might be the right space I would love it if you could point me in the right direction.

Also - I have used a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) program quite successfully for changing my relationship with food so am on the lookout for any CBT programs for changing spending habits. Does anyone know of one?

[Deleted User]

ForMyGirls wrote: »

Hello,

I am brand new to MSE. About a week ago I had what i called my "rock bottom" (which it seems is called a lightbulb moment in this space) and have committed to changing my relationship with money.

I have worked out just how big the black hole of debt is and have put together a budget that will enable me to claw my way back to the light. But the bit I don't have yet is a community of people who are in the same space to check in with, be accountable to and be motivated by! I am hoping MSE can be that

I am not sure if this thread is the right spot for that kind of support - if any of you know a different thread that might be the right space I would love it if you could point me in the right direction.

Welcome:wave:, this thread will definitely help focus on what you are spending and encourage you to reduce it. The debt free wannabe board is fantastic for support too, specifically for getting out of debt. Good luck.

WantToBeSE

ForMyGirls wrote: »

Hello,

I am brand new to MSE. About a week ago I had what i called my "rock bottom" (which it seems is called a lightbulb moment in this space) and have committed to changing my relationship with money.

I have worked out just how big the black hole of debt is and have put together a budget that will enable me to claw my way back to the light. But the bit I don't have yet is a community of people who are in the same space to check in with, be accountable to and be motivated by! I am hoping MSE can be that

I am not sure if this thread is the right spot for that kind of support - if any of you know a different thread that might be the right space I would love it if you could point me in the right direction.

Also - I have used a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) program quite successfully for changing my relationship with food so am on the lookout for any CBT programs for changing spending habits. Does anyone know of one?

Welcome FMG I second Allie's suggestion above, pop over to the DFW (Debt-Free Wannabe) board, and you'll get loads of helpful suggestions on how to cut your outgoings

Re the CBT. Are you able to apply the techniques that you used for helping with your food behaviour, onto spending? If you are still seeing that therapist, maybe you could bring it up and ask her/him to work on it with you?

icontinuetodream

So, my frugal plans for 2014:

Use a washing line rather than tumble dryer - I haven't had a washing line in twenty years!! I just hate the look of them in the garden so have resisted all calls to have one....however, as my wm and td are on at least 2-3 times per day, I realise that I have to change my ways!! With that in mind, I have invested in a wall rotary drier so that I can use it and not ruin the garden!!

Spend no more than £15pw on groceries until 5th April 2014 - I have done a total inventory of all the food I have in my cupboards, fridge and freezers.....it's ridiculous the amount of food I have in and then go and spend even more!!! Other than fresh items (and coffee!!) there is no need to spend anything else and I really need to use up everything I can before I re-stock!

Buy local - I am extremely fortunate that there are a lot of people around me who sell the surplus food they grow outside their houses....this year, I am going to make the most of it and buy whatever I can to either use, freeze or dehydrate for later in the year.

Grow some food - I used to grow a lot of stuff but wanted my garden back so had it laid to lawn a couple of seasons ago....however, I have a patio, a greenhouse and have just dug out a large flowerbed - I have bought some courgette, purple climbing French beans, broad beans, rainbow chard and lettuce seeds which I will plant in the spring and I will also plant out the globe artichoke and rhubarb which I currently have in pots. All of these will hopefully help reduce my food bill in the summer and whatever I can freeze or dehydrate will help in the winter

Make my own wine - I drink. I enjoy it. I don't want to give it up!! I started to make my own wine again this year, mainly through the kits though as I started late!! Despite this being a cheap way to do it, using my own fruit, veg etc is a lot cheaper.... I did do a couple this year though....Currently have a demijohn of elderberry (they grow in my garden!!) and also a demijohn of mixed fruit wine on the go at the moment... I will start off at least one demijohn a month this year -I intend to have a fully stocked wine rack permanently by doing this!!

Source free fuel - Although I have central heating, I also have an open fire in the living room and I use it a lot in winter as I love it!! However, it is really expensive to run if I buy in coal and logs so I intend to get dh & ds to build me a wood store and we can go collecting when we walk the puppy in the woods!!

Learn to use a sewing machine - I have one on loan for six months and want to make some cushion covers and re-make and line some curtains.....it will save me a fortune if I can source cheap material! The friend who lent it to me is a real craft person and she gets most of her stuff from charity shops and car boots...I will try to take a leaf from her book!!!

Check in here - I am always more inspired and enthused when I have spent time on the boards.....keeps me on the straight and narrow!!

So, these are some of my initial plans......I will keep reading to find others to steal!!!!:D

WantToBeSE

So, last night i sat down and worked out some figures. I was aiming to save £600 in January, but with my sons birthday in the same month and not getting paid by clients/agency (i am self-employed), it's going to be almost impossible.
See the 'ALMOST impossible' bit? Well, i am still going to try and get as close to that £600 as possible. I have worked out that i should be able to save £330.
I forgot that i have 2 dinners out in January; 1 with friends and 1 with just me and my 2 boys for my sons birthday.

I am hoping to be able to save for the birthday meal out og my food budget..we'll see