2014 Frugal Living Challenge

TM6

:j Well I'm dead chuffed :j

I am now on 32 NSDs and as I put £5 away each time in a sealed pot, I know that I have £160 of 'hidden' savings.

Also, I have many, many LSDs :dance:

I have been thinking, what do you class as a low spending day? In my mind, I think of it as anything under £5 but I would love to hear from other frugalites as to their LSD limit

DawnW

pm2326 wrote: »

I did however end up spending more than I planned as discovered after standing in a puddle that the sole of my shoe had split in half :rotfl: so had to buy new ones, so that was another £10, then when I called into local co-op they've reduced their frozen salmon portions to £2 a bag as they have a April 14 date on, bought 2 bags and squeezed them into the freezer. I loooove salmon :T

May go back later in week to see if they have any left as should be able to fit them in freezer by then (so much for using the stuff up, everytime I take something out I fill the gap with something else!)

Good bargain on the salmon PM2326 - I often have similar problems with shoehorning things into my freezers, although not too bad atm. I must do a new inventory!

TM6 wrote: »

:j Well I'm dead chuffed :j

I am now on 32 NSDs and as I put £5 away each time in a sealed pot, I know that I have £160 of 'hidden' savings.

Well done on the hidden savings TM6 - it always amazes me how small savings add up if you keep at it

Good luck to those attempting to give up smoking. I am lucky in that I never started - well, I did try it when I was about 13 :rotfl: but decided it wasn't for me :eek: Just as well really as I am asthmatic and it really would have been daft in my case - I have enough problems breathing without that :rotfl:

OH has been giving up the the umpteenth time, using e-cig thingies. Seems to be working a month or so in. He doesn't puff or whatever you call it in the house, as he was banned from smoking indoors years ago and treats this the same way. Sorry if that makes me sound a terrible nag, but other people's smoke in confined spaces really affects my breathing and I have had a couple of nasty scares Anyway, the e-cig things are bound to be cheaper than the cigars he smoked before :rotfl:The method seems to be quite effective, as my DS and DiL have both given up by this route, and they were much heavier smokers than DH. DS in particular is much fitter for it - last summer we went for a walk, and going up a quite steep hill I was disturbed to see my big strong son having more of a struggle to keep a decent pace than his asthmatic old mum :eek:That can't be right! I am pleased to report that he moans at me for dawdling now :rotfl:

Off to the shops soon, to buy little GD a birthday card and present (4 next week ) and some groceries, so not a NSD today.

Thinking about it though, although I spent loads at the auction yesterday (though most was for business) I don't actually have to pay for it till OH collects it tomorrow, so a NSD yesterday after all

cw18

((hugs)) to those having a rough time. And :eek: at waking up to find someone's been in your house!! Think I'd be a jibbering wreck!!

I gave up smoking at the start of October 2012 using the tablets from the GP, and think it's the best thing I ever did. OH started using an e-cig about 12 months ago which is going well (mixes his own, so has slightly reduced the nicotine a couple of times), but I do allow use in the house whereas smoking 'real' cigs was never allowed even when I was a smoker (mostly as he only has one or two 'drags' of the e-cig at a time, rather than puff the equivalent of a whole ciggy which he would if he went outside - so this way he has less of a nicotine hit each time). I haven't worked out recently what it's saved me, but I recall my calculations at the time indicating that the money saved would effectively pay for my Camino over the 2 years between giving up and heading out.

I also don't drink alcohol any more (haven't had anything since the day of my hubby's funeral, so coming up to 5.5 years now) which means very little I can give up, but I'm another needs to get the exercise going - and big time so that I'm fit enough to head out for my Camino in September. I reckon I could manage the walking now if I didn't have to carry my pack, but with a history of back problems I need to train to carry the weight for extended periods. As such I made a start on packing it on Friday (and have already come to the conclusion I'm going to have to rethink what I'm taking - especially a couple of 'luxury' items I really wanted that don't look viable ), so will start doing walks with the pack with some of the contents and build it up gradually. But when I'm doing a long walk that will see me bringing shopping home (hopefully tomorrow and a week on Wednesday for starters) I'll head out with an almost empty pack and just work on increasing mileage those days.

I'm still spending on stuff that I could cope without (bought a new fry/saute pan last weekend which was £81!, and have also had a few more second hand CDs this month), but am definitely thinking more before I buy. Need to send off my passport application tomorrow, so that's another £72.50 plus the postage to send it

And I've just had an email informing me that as of the end of May my phone/broadband package is going up £1/month I have been expecting this though, as I spotted they increased their prices just after I downgraded my package which meant signing up for a new minimum term contract I still don't think I could get the services any cheaper elsewhere though - and OH is shocked by how little I pay compared to other providers. Problem's going to come when they get fibre installed around us as DS1 is eager to have (I don't feel a need to have it - only time connection hiccups is if I'm streaming at the same time as he's playing a very intense game which isn't often), but it's an extra £10/month and a 2 year minimum contract :eek: They were indicating it would available round here early 2016, but it now says anytime in the next 6 months...... DS1 is going to be told that if he wants it he has to pay the £240 extra I'll pay over 2 years up front (plus any installation costs, and anything they increase it by as and when they do), as I'm not prepared to get stuck with a higher priced contact if he moves out again in that time period. (I might settle for half up front if he negotiates well, but I'll then want the rest paid in monthly chunks over the next few months).

Overall my spreadsheet is looking fairly healthy, but there's still a few more days this month before I declare again. It's certainly being helped by eating out of the freezer and stock cupboards/boxes as my grocery spend is well down on my budget :T I'm resisting putting much more of high value into my freezers by blanching and freezing veg to fill spaces instead. This worked well the last couple of weeks when A1di had baby carrots and cauli in their super 6, but there's nothing I can do from that section in the latest offers The veg is then quicker to use up than lots of bits of meat/fish (which is what I'm trying to get through), so I'm going to try and carry on doing this - and with a bit of luck I'll be able to get everything into the stand-alone freezer before the end of the year. That means I'll be able to replace the built-in fridge/freezer which really isn't working as well as it should - a major spend I've know for a couple of years is becoming essential, but haven't put anything into my budget for, so it'll be interesting to see if I can save enough elsewhere to not have to dig further into my savings to pay for it

EDIT : with regards to LSDs. I don't really have those, but I do count a day as an NSD if all I buy is fresh milk and/or fresh fruit and veg. I've also decided petrol won't count against me anymore, as now DS1 has use of the car I can't monitor the use the same (so far I've used the car once for 28 miles this month, and he's put at least 150 miles on to the clock!) I'm also thinking of stretching this further to allow yoghurt and sandwich meats (the couple of items I'm still stocking up on when I have a spend day and then not using before the use by date), and dithering on bread (don't like to buy too early but should really be making my own - but it's not always practical to put my machine on when I'm going to need, as I don't like having it sitting in the machine for hours after it's fniished - guess I need to play with the delay start I'm sure I read it has).

Frugalsod

TM6 wrote: »

:j Well I'm dead chuffed :j

I am now on 32 NSDs and as I put £5 away each time in a sealed pot, I know that I have £160 of 'hidden' savings.

Also, I have many, many LSDs :dance:

I have been thinking, what do you class as a low spending day? In my mind, I think of it as anything under £5 but I would love to hear from other frugalites as to their LSD limit

That is an interesting way to save. I do it slightly differently. I take out my monthly budget and what ever I do not spend at the end of the month is then put aside, and I get a fresh top up of funds out to last me the month. If I do not not spend anything it all goes into savings, though if I need more than £5 in a day I will not blow my monthly budget.

Becky_2

Yesterday was a NSD day for us both.

Today we went food shopping in W-rose. It must have been 6 months ago since we went there last time. A while ago W-rose sent us a £10 off voucher if we spent £40 so we used that up plus saved another £16 through various deals. Also, got my Sunday news paper for free for having a "My Waitrose" card.

I also have a brand match receipt from S-bury's for £6 that I will use up on Thursday. The new issue of Marie Claire is coming out on Thursday with a gift from the Aromatherapy Association (3 samples of face mask, moisturiser and 1 more item).

DawnW

Shopping done, birthday pressie bought, DD2 asked to come round for tea, which is fine, but due to the baby's bedtime we needed to eat at 5 :rotfl:

It was nice though - roast beef from the farmshop (via the freezer, part of their monthly special offer last month), HM yorkshires, carrots, peas, roast potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips, gravy, and the last cabbage from the garden

Really full now

Sweet and sour to make in a minute with some cooked turkey from the freezer (left over from Xmas ) for tomorrow, dog to walk and myself to get ready for work tomorrow.

Last Monday morning at work though - my last day is on Wednesday :j :T

TM6

Frugalsod wrote: »

That is an interesting way to save. I do it slightly differently. I take out my monthly budget and what ever I do not spend at the end of the month is then put aside, and I get a fresh top up of funds out to last me the month. If I do not not spend anything it all goes into savings, though if I need more than £5 in a day I will not blow my monthly budget.

As a shopaholic, I needed an incentive to stop spending :rotfl:

This is working a treat

TM6

DawnW wrote: »

Shopping done, birthday pressie bought, DD2 asked to come round for tea, which is fine, but due to the baby's bedtime we needed to eat at 5 :rotfl:

It was nice though - roast beef from the farmshop (via the freezer, part of their monthly special offer last month), HM yorkshires, carrots, peas, roast potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips, gravy, and the last cabbage from the garden

Really full now

Sweet and sour to make in a minute with some cooked turkey from the freezer (left over from Xmas ) for tomorrow, dog to walk and myself to get ready for work tomorrow.

Last Monday morning at work though - my last day is on Wednesday :j :T

It really has come round quickly, hasn't it

I hope you have a fabulous week

icontinuetodream

DawnW wrote: »

Last Monday morning at work though - my last day is on Wednesday :j :T

How exciting!!! Enjoy your last couple of days!

Kantankrus_Mare

Yes Dawn..........enjoy your last few days at work. How exciting! :j