2014 Frugal Living Challenge

KazLA

lovefullshelves wrote: »

lynnjk - sorry about your news x
dawnw - i remember he last time I went off coffee...I was pregnant!!!
I am feeling most annoyed today. Here I am, being as careful as I can and OH went and got a generator today. £2000 we don't have. He didn't ask me first, he told me this morning as he left to get it. I have taken years to get myself out of debt. I have scrimped and done without. I'm trying to sell my truck, its worth £4000. I'm guessing he;s presuming the money from the truck will pay for this generator. But its farm money. Not mine to waste.
Two thousand pounds.
Has he not noticed the money we have?
Two thousand pounds of debt. Yay.
And he doesn't even know if it'll work.
We'd talked about getting one in the future, when WE COULD AFFORD IT!! I am at a loss and I can't talk to him about it as it just makes me fuming then it makes me cry. I know I've gotta learn to talk to him about money. But I get so very angry.
Oh well. Hurumph.
have a good easter everyone x

That's such a difficult situation, I feel your frustration. I am much more of a saver than DH & hv tried not to spent anything recently to recoup some of the savings we hv recently spent, but he keeps buying stuff. Nothing on your scale, but still makes me annoyed- esp when it was my savings we spent in the first place, as he doesn't hv any, yet despite me not earning as much, it's me making the most effort to put it back.

How is he planning to pay for it? Does he hv some items he can sell to pay for it?

Picklepot

Hi All

Thanks for all the responses when i asked what your thoughts were about continuing to send money in cards to relations that dont contact. TBH neice 18 and nephew 23 dont contact at any time of the year not just after their birthday/christmas! I have decided that i will just send them a card and good wishes only . I have mentally totted up how many members of family/friends this applies and will save £190 a year. Don't know if im happy or sad about that saving. IYSWIM

Have come to the end of a mortgage deal just got financial advisor to relook at it and have been accepted for a new deal saving me £240 a month!

Got rid of skyeee saved £52 a month (not missed it since feb )

On the downside my dog insurance has shot up to a few pence short of £1500 per year! We now have to pay 20% of any claim (and £70 excess too. )

Seriously considering shunting the cash in doggy savings instead.

Picklepot

Florenceem wrote: »

I spent out on a steam mop yesterday. I am getting too old to carry a heavy mop and bucket of water upstairs. I also bought two over the door hangers as I am making laundry bags to get rid of the ugly plastic dirty washing basket. I am being frugal - started a huge pot of casserole with whoops mixed veg - 8p + carrot batons - 4p. I have some AF suet to make dumplings.

I have been lusting after a steam mop for a while.
I have never quite 'got' floor mopping. The swishing luke warm water round my floor with a mop that i can never wring out properly and takes ages to dry and ends up smelly only for me to use the same manky mop next time and with a dog can never get the floor dry.

Anyhow DH wants to know once the cloth is dirty are you not just swishing the dirt about?? Cant answer that can anyone?

I think i have a multitude of jobs it could tackle but fear i may have been brainwashed by the shopping channel!

Frugalsod

optimistic-mummy wrote: »

hi everyone long time no speek altho i have been lurking !

i think i posted at the beginning of the year to join but family life got in the way ....

anyhoo ... i was wondering if it would be ok to join you all again ...

my budget starts weds (36 weeks exactly till the last day of 2014)

my budget doesnt include
rent
council tax
christmas
birthdays
days out
our holiday later in the year
debt repayments

but includes everything else

my budget for a family of 4 ... me DP ds1 (age 5) and ds2 age (20 weeks) is £6000 for the rest of the yr (£166.66p p/wk)

its going to be tough .... but i want/need to clear the remaining debt and want to start saving for a mortgage

hope everyone is well .... vibes of all kinds to those that need/want them ....

Actually there could be considerable scope to save money. I listened to an interesting podcast about economic rates of return of investing in the home having far higher rates of return than you would get on saving in the bank or investing on the stock market.

First I would look at the grocery budget and see if you can double or triple dip on the groceries? If you can that will free up money for stage two and that would be switching to terry nappies for the young one. With the low age the costs of switching to terry nappies with disposable nappy liners will be immense.

Then look at switching lights to LED as they are half the running cost of low energy light bulbs. While they have a high price the energy savings are huge and you can always take them with you when you move. I have sensor versions in my hall that come on when there is movement. So they are off most of the time. That means my electricity bill is much lower than most even though I am at home all day.

I would also go old school in terms of meals. Bake your own bread and it will save you money and be far healthier. If you can do that with as much as possible then your grocery bill will fall further. I splashed out on a top of the range food mixer and processor and for me alone I estimate that the payback rate is less than 2 years. That is equivalent to an interest rate of more than 50% pa. So my food bills are even lower. You could even use it to make your own baby food which will save you even more money and probably be healthier than jars of baby food. Though be careful not to salt it, babies cannot regulate their salt levels. It will also allow you to introduce your baby to foods that will mean that they do not develop food allergies, during the early years when their bodies are building their immune systems.

Look at switching utilities as that can save you money as well. Do the same with insurance and see if you are not already get some things covered as part of a fee based bank account.

DawnW

lovefullshelves wrote: »

dawnw - i remember he last time I went off coffee...I was pregnant!!!
I am feeling most annoyed today. Here I am, being as careful as I can and OH went and got a generator today. £2000 we don't have.

Not at my age Lovefullshelves :rotfl:

Sorry to hear about your OH's spending They do drive you mad sometimes, don't they? Mine probably wouldn't do that, but has expensive interests - a big truck, golf, shooting, etc, and I have been the main earner for the last 3 years. The truck failed its MOT and cost more than £1000 to fix last week :eek:
Not sure how that will pan out when I retire at the end of the month :eek:

Picklepot wrote: »

Hi All

On the downside my dog insurance has shot up to a few pence short of £1500 per year! We now have to pay 20% of any claim (and £70 excess too. )

Seriously considering shunting the cash in doggy savings instead.

Pet insurance is a difficult one isn't it? I have always 'self insured' in that if we get a bill, we simply pay it. However, the cost of some operations etc is absolutely staggering now, and I really dislike the way the vet's receptionist asks if he/she is insured the minute you walk in :eek: almost as if they are trying to assess how much they can make.

So many people are insured nowadays and you can't help thinking that is why the prices have shot up. The trouble is, that makes the insurance more expensive, it is a vicious circle. A bit controversial perhaps, but there also seems to be a push towards trying to keep the poor things alive after the point when it is best really to say goodbye A couple of years ago my poor little old dog had liver failure, probably caused by a tumour, and they wanted to 'try' chemotherapy on her. She was 13 years old for heavens sake! I quite understand how people want to keep them close for a bit longer, but having her put to sleep really was the kindest thing. It would only have prolonged her suffering On the other hand I have happily paid out over the years to have broken bones etc fixed on active cats and dogs and had good results

Picklepot wrote: »

I have been lusting after a steam mop for a while.
I have never quite 'got' floor mopping. The swishing luke warm water round my floor with a mop that i can never wring out properly and takes ages to dry and ends up smelly only for me to use the same manky mop next time and with a dog can never get the floor dry.

Anyhow DH wants to know once the cloth is dirty are you not just swishing the dirt about?? Cant answer that can anyone?

I think i have a multitude of jobs it could tackle but fear i may have been brainwashed by the shopping channel!

I use one of those mops like a cut up Jcloth, and it is easy to squeeze almost dry in the bucket. You can take it off the handle thingy and give it a wash in hot soapy water and peg it on the line when it gets dirty if you like, or do what I did today and wash it out and put the mop outside in the back garden to dry in the wind.

I quite like the idea of a steam mop, but just know it would be one of those gadgets that gets used once and stuck away in the cupboard because my Jcloth thingy is easier, and if it gets really grotty I can just buy it another Jcloth bit.....

NSD today - I have decided that if we don't have it, we will do without it till Monday We haven't starved yet! The traffic is manic, I took the car down to the town earlier to take some bits to my unit, and wished I hadn't! Unfortunately they were too heavy to carry or I would have walked.

And I received a cheque for £76-14 from CPP this morning

Right, I have an apple cake to make, and a chicken dinner to cook, so better start thinking about that. Have a good day everyone

pm2326

Hi everyone,

Just got back from lunch with my mum, was her birthday yesterday and she wanted to go out for lunch today and she chose *rankie & *enny's ..... clearly she thinks my pockets are bottomless pits! She didn't like what was on the menu even though I warned her it would be pasta/pizza/burgers etc then chose a meal for £14! Cost £2.55 for my glass of lemonade!

I'm not a cheapskate but what happened to a pub lunch with a pint for £5.99 ??!!

rant over....going to lie down in a dark room to recover from the shock of wasting £25 on one meal out :rotfl:

Ches

I have had a little tot up and here are the results from 1 Jan to today. Incoming £7357.61. From that has been spent;

Household d/d's £1236.86, Paid off CC £1650,Transfered into savings £2800, Cash including food, birthdays, personal spends etc £1665.82. Total out £7352.68 leaving me with a balance of £4.93 in my current account.

From the savings account I have spent £1405 on the house and £658 towards holidays leaving me with a balance of £1586.57.

I think you can see from this that its the cash spending thats the worst as it equals out to £416+ per month and still doesn't count some of my hobby spends as I order on line (no shops local) so it goes on my cc bill.

I must try harder.

alja

Evening everyone just caught up after a busy few days. Hugs to those who would like one!

NSD today, decided to stay home to get through my "to do" list, which is going well! Went out for a friend's birthday meal & drinks yesterday and ended up finding a £10 note in a pub's toilets! (I must state, it wasn't down the toilet!) Didn't see anyone else in there/coming out, so I thought I might as well keep it as the bar man would probably just keep it himself if I handed it in! So the evening wasn't as expensive as planned...

I hope everyone is having a great weekend I'm almost at my target on sw*gbucks, going to try and hit it this evening if I can! Have a lovely Saturday evening everyone!

sparrer

nsd/npd
Cleared out the fridge and put together a pizza and some soup from odds and sods
Turned the heating down to 15 c and 3/4 hour morning and evening. Not quite brave enough to take my shower in a cold bathroom yet
Managed all winter with just a standard lamp near the sofa I sit on, with a low wattage bulb of course, and pleased not to have to turn it on til just now, after 8.20pm, this evening.
Since I retired I've always ironed my bedding but after listening to what other people do I'm just going to iron the pillow cases and the top of the duvet cover in future. No-one will ever know . What will I do with all that spare time?!

natnat13

Had a great night out with work friends last night, they wouldn't let me buy any drinks, well 1 round. Then we went for breakfast this morning, I was driving and parked in residents allocated parking, £35 fine!!!! So annoyed, turned into an expensive breakfast!!! Hey ho, my own fault I should have looked. Happy Easter everyone X