2014 Frugal Living Challenge

Ches

This month I have allowed £100 for personal spends, £200 for food/cleaning/toiletries and £40 for a birthday present as I intend to pay off £500 to my CC this month the balance of which was money used to help DD with house renovation and I aim to have paid this off in full by July.
I had my hair cut and dried today £15.
Tomorrow I have to put a load of holiday photos in to be developed so am dreading how much that will cost and I must remember not to go via M&S.

SarahB1989_2

ALJA wrote: »

Lately I was thinking of buying some new clothes for my new job, especially dresses. But I think I will take a good look at my wardrobe this evening and decide if I really do need to buy anything or whether I've just been *thinking* that I need to.

I must say though, that I have struggled to find decent easy-to-wear casual day dresses at an affordable price in recent months. Either they have weird uncomfortable sleeves or the material looks too cheap and is already looking used!

Can anyone recommend anywhere to try? I keep my eye on the charity shops when I can...

TKMaxx? Sometimes a bit hit/miss but often some nice bargains in there. Can depend on where you live - if you can get to one in a 'nice' town they often have almost designer stuff at decent prices. I'm in a similar boat in that I'm starting my first graduate job in a few months and already thinking I 'need' (want) a few new dresses for it. I saw that M&S had a 70% off sale on some stuff today, that might be worth a look too as their clothes are good quality.

DawnW

Haven't posted for a couple of days as I have been shattered after work. Perhaps it is to do with changing the clocks at the weekend?

Still too tired to do my totals for March so it will have to wait for the weekend.

Not a NSD today, as my season ticket for work has run out, and I will not be renewing it Nasty shock to have to find the train fare in cash every day though :eek::eek:

Frugal day foodwise - porridge and berries for breakfast (berries from Lidls last weekend), I took the remains of the soup I made at the weekend to work with me for lunch, and used up bread rolls left over from the weekend to make mini pizzas, topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, green pepper, ham and cheese, baked in the oven till crisp and the cheese had melted. We had these with salad for supper, and there are enough left for both of us for lunch tomorrow

I have 14 more days at work - I finish on the 30th, but have some leave around Easter :T

I will be sad to leave my workmates, but the end of year stuff is being piled on, and I am relieved that things have come together and I can leave at this point. Looking forward to taking the summer off, and I will probably look for something part time after that.

We will need to be extra frugal, as my pension will be only a small fraction of my salary :eek: but at least I will have time to do it properly

macwah97

Lets forget about March!!! I have been using YNAB and find it great but horror of horrors had obviously already made my payment to HMRC before using YNAB and had left it out of the budgeting for remainder of year!!:eek::eek:

Now budget is haywire - anyway. Have to admit the family have been very good at sampling different meals including macaroni cheese, toad in the hole and various other concoctions :T

Gave in today and bought A Girl named J book from Sinsbob - have read it cover to cover and there will be a few tests carried out over next month.

Had a few treats tonight but back to basics tomorrow

Have a great April

alja

SarahB1989 wrote: »

TKMaxx? Sometimes a bit hit/miss but often some nice bargains in there. Can depend on where you live - if you can get to one in a 'nice' town they often have almost designer stuff at decent prices. I'm in a similar boat in that I'm starting my first graduate job in a few months and already thinking I 'need' (want) a few new dresses for it. I saw that M&S had a 70% off sale on some stuff today, that might be worth a look too as their clothes are good quality.

Thank you! I always forget about that place! I'll definitely have a look in there next. I also have a bit of money on a M&S gift card, so it might be worth a look in there too. Good luck with your job!

Goldiegirl

DawnW wrote: »

Haven't posted for a couple of days as I have been shattered after work. Perhaps it is to do with changing the clocks at the weekend?

Still too tired to do my totals for March so it will have to wait for the weekend.

Not a NSD today, as my season ticket for work has run out, and I will not be renewing it Nasty shock to have to find the train fare in cash every day though :eek::eek:

Frugal day foodwise - porridge and berries for breakfast (berries from Lidls last weekend), I took the remains of the soup I made at the weekend to work with me for lunch, and used up bread rolls left over from the weekend to make mini pizzas, topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, green pepper, ham and cheese, baked in the oven till crisp and the cheese had melted. We had these with salad for supper, and there are enough left for both of us for lunch tomorrow

I have 14 more days at work - I finish on the 30th, but have some leave around Easter :T

I will be sad to leave my workmates, but the end of year stuff is being piled on, and I am relieved that things have come together and I can leave at this point. Looking forward to taking the summer off, and I will probably look for something part time after that.

We will need to be extra frugal, as my pension will be only a small fraction of my salary :eek: but at least I will have time to do it properly

Regarding 'doing it properly', i know what you mean. I've felt a bit frazzled today, and I think it's because I'm trying to lead my post retirement lifestyle, while still working - and that's only two days a week, so it must be really crazy for you!

Frugalsod

Not spent anything so far this month, but it is only the first day. I am planning a holiday and looking at prices of things so have managed to find items that are not worth getting so I am clearing out my amazon wish lists. So when I will allow myself to get something I have already eliminated the junk. Todays meals have been from the YS bin so am doing well. Looking at clearing the freezer slowly.

lovefullshelves

Finally April and challenge time for us Everthing must be on the shelves, in the freezer or bought with what I earn:)
Had homemade bread, homemade soup! Homemade cakes..and its only the first!
Shopping tomorrow should be under £10, even though I forgot to add the menfolks biscuits (I'm a good girl, i don't have biscuits!)
Really tired over the last few days, I'm blaming the hour!
Managed 21 NSD's last month, trying for 20 again:) I don't count DD's as I got fed up with the dates changing! I like everything planned and precise! And 2 of my DD's are for DS anyway and he pays me back!
Leccy bill for last month was alot more than I was expecting. I know the prices have gone up last month but we've had alot more things turned off! So we've been contemplating a generator and going completely offgrid..oh my!
Least today was a NSD:D
x

cw18

Had an expensive today. Even before I add in my D/debits my spreadsheet is showing outgoings of £112.41 for the month - and we're only 1 day in :eek:

Just short of £23 of that is for what I call a 'safety bracelet'. Not quite the Medic Al3rt thing, but carries details for emergency responders to get basic medical history and emergency contacts for me via a phone call or through a website using a code and pin on the bracelet tag - all of which I can update via a website whenever they need updating (such as changing phone contact for my parents when they're away from home). I debated charging it to my Camino budget as the primary reason for getting is that I'll be in a foreign country without anyone I know and coping with a strange language if I'm hurt or ill probably won't be something I can cope with, but it's also a huuuuge safety net for when I'm out walking / running / cycling (and even in the pool for a swim) in this county, so I've charged it to 'Anything Else' as a fitness purchase.

Ordered a DVD box set I want to introduce my GDs (and OH's niece) to. At risk of showing my age, who else remembers W0rzel Gummidge? I used to watch it on a Sunday morning with my DD (their mother). And also 2 of the 3 CDs I've been watching (third is still about 60p more than I ideally want to pay, so I'll wait a while longer and see if it comes down). I'm also watching the complete set of P@ddington bear, as I think GD3 (2 and a bit) will enjoy that due to the episodes being a lot shorter.

Then almost £18.00 for a couple of bits for the property we use for 'free' holidays. The broadband was bad last year, but was almost unusable this last weekend OH did some digging around (running checks on kit) and it appears the splitter's on the way out (landline phones both crackle and pop), but the main problem is that the router's past it's sell by date. So I've ordered a new one of each, and we'll swap them over when we're back up in 5.5 weeks for another weekend. Even with the shelf I need to try and get for OH to put up that weekend it's still less than the new vaccuum cleaner we bought last year, and we also replaced a broken toilet seat and dangerous extension lead, and installed a safety gate. Hopefully there won't be much else this year other than spending some time doing an air-out and clean-through while we're there Given the cost of renting holiday accommodation in the Lakes I don't begrudge these spends as we're becoming the biggest users of the place (other than the owners).

£10 went on 3 plain T-shirts (the one type of clothing I've been desperately short of). I now need to sit on my hands for clothing - and actually need to have another sort out of my wardrobe as there's far too much in there for me to wear (and a couple of pieces I know I always look at and put back in as they're "not me" anymore).

And £15 on half-price moisturiser and night cream (not things I've really used in the past). I need a moisturiser with SPF in it for when I'm outdoors this summer (and for the Camino) as I'm going to be outdoors a LOT more this year. But having had problems with various potions and creams in the past (bringing me out in rashes under different situations) I need to be sure what I have is OK before I pack for Spain.

The rest was groceries, but I'm rather ashamed at how much of it was what I class as junk


Off to add my D/debits to my spreadsheet - but by the time I also add in keep and car mileage from DS1 I have a feeling my total outgoings will look a bit less of an 'ouch'

lynnejk

sparrer wrote: »

Took the bull by the horns and turned the heating off yesterday. Freezing this morning so gave in again .

Two nsd/npd's in a row as planned. 11 for March, aiming to make at least 16 in April. I never think to include DD's, what do others do?

We can't even think about turning off the heating here yet - it's still brass monkeys.
My NSDs are only counted against my GC - which covers all actual spends on household but doesn't include DDs or CCs.


I've been really naughty today and booked a week's holiday for September so must knuckle down and make some savings to pay for it :eek: It only took me about 6 HOURS of trawling on the tinter to find something decent for when we wanted - then looked at totals and over £70 in taxes on the flights !!!


Hope you all have a great Wednesday
Lx