2014 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

lynnejk wrote: »

What is this about meet-up please
Lx

I have been running this challenge since 2007 and over that time several groups of us have met up periodically. Frugaldom is based in SW Scotland, meet-ups arranged via the Frugal Forums.

Annual budget versus monthly

Year 1 of frugal living needs to be about learning your own spending habits, every penny. I kept note of everything - still do - then could see exactly how much was spent and where. Monthly budget only works if you know your full year and lay aside part of regular income for extras like gifts. Never be ashamed or worried about saying no, if you can't afford to give away money but feel bad, make a gift.

Study and debt

Interest free family loan for something you can absolutely guarantee you can afford to repay andwill definitely capitalise on the end result has to be worth the risk if you are a determined individual who will stick with it. So many go down the 'Do a Degree' route and then, after spending thousands of pounds, give up and never go into the profession they trained to do. I like to think of big spends as investments, will you be in a position to take up your new career after completing your Degree? If it is something to do after kids are up and away, I would borrow the interest free sum from bank of mum and pay off the debts, pay her back and use your free hours earning a bit extra to save for the Degree course nearer the time of working in that profession. Just my take on things, hope you don't mind my input.

quidsy

Frugaldom, thank you for the comments.

The personal debt will actually be nearly paid off by the time the course starts in September so I will basically be around 1k a month better off in Jan 2015 anyway but the sept-jan part is where I will struggle. Also as I am self employed I would rather a bank of mum loan that I know I have repyament flexability on just in case.

I budget yearly but as a self employed I put "worst case" on my incoming & usually end up better off in the long run, my spreadhseet adjusts for adhoc payments & incoming & I can see how it affects me rolling to the end of the year.

I budget for everything & save for gifts, dental, eating out, future child care costs emergency fund & clothing etc on a monthly basis so am happy that I have covered all scenarios. Obviously being out of work is something I can't control but to have no "official" debt would ease my mind immmensely on that front.

The future job stuff this degree will bring is a total change to what I normally do, it wont necessarily offer me more in terms of money earned although it has the potential but will offer flexibility, job satisfaction & the possiblilty of working for myself. I also want/have to change as the idea of doing my current job for the next 25 years is depressing & the industry is becoming increasingly volatile.

I am nearly 40 & want to be in a new career that I want rather than stuck in a job I have to do, just because of the money.

The upside of borrowing from mum is that the loan will be gone by the time I graduate at 0% interest & I will still have money spare to save for the mortgage, masters etc.

There is still alot of think about but I really appreciate you all offering persepectives.

lynnejk

DawnW wrote: »

Thanks for the meal suggestions Lynne. It looks as though we are at opposite ends of the UK so only virtual sharing of salad leaves is possible :rotfl: Seriously though, you only need a pot or a window sill sized trough, some compost and seeds to grow them. I have a little garden, but always grow them in pots. There are lots of different kinds you can grow. I have lettuce type leaves, oak leaf lettuce and rocket atm You can even cheat to start off with if you like, and buy one of those living salads from the SM, split up and put the plants in a bigger container(s) and grow them on. They last for quite a while. After you have cut them, give them a feed with tomato liquid feed and they will come back. You can also sow some seeds in another pot for afterwards. It is fairly simple to have a supply all summer long with a bit of planning, and much cheaper than bagged salad, which I find goes slimy really quickly :mad:

Thanks for the input. Yes, I grow some on my balcony but season here short. Herbs do okay and because of the milder winter my parsley and mint have survived. Am just trying beetroot which I love roasted when they are tiny. Have them in a large box my OH made. Will let you know how they go - or not :rotfl:

quidsy wrote: »

I'll keep you updated on how I get on,. I haven't even applied yet, they might not want me

At least you have an OH which should help. Maybe you will find your son more accepting once you start. He will probably be having homework and should understand that Mum does as well. Do let us know how you progress.

FrugaldomThanks for the info. I could probably make that if I know far enough ahead

Hope you all have a thrifty Thursday
Lx

icontinuetodream

Have been away from the boards for a while due to losing house phone and internet connection!!:mad:

Have had a non-frugal week as went out with some friends on the weekend and spent shed loads of cash never mind, don't do it very often so not feeling too guilty about it! also had a take-away this week due to dil getting a job and also doing 12hr days at work....never mind, it covered us for dinner for two days and I'm back on the wagon from today!!:D

Frugal plans for the rest of the week are - having leek and potato soup tonight made with a 'starting to look a bit dodgy' leek that was lurking in the fridge on Saturday, so made the soup and put it in the freezer... will be serving it with a hm pesto focaccia...nom nom!!:D

Weather is glorious here at the moment so have the washing out on the line and will hopefully be able to do the same for the next few days.....dh is buying some compost today so that we can get the beetroot and chard seeds in at the weekend along with the courgettes which are currently in pots and a few more of the tomato plants.....we have also made the 5 gallon wine kit that I was bought for solstice over the past week so will need to be bottling that either tonight or tomorrow - no more spends on alcohol for a while that way!!

Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine!!:D

DawnW

Lovely weather here too

Did a bit of shopping yesterday *about 7 quid in Lidls), also bought 3 large bags of compost for the garden pots, which should be enough for this year.

Had a good bit of frugal news yesterday, a £84 refund from npower and my direct debit will be reduced by £19 per month - all that running around after OH switching things off is paying off

We spent yesterday evening putting tomato, cucumber and courgette plants in their final big pots. I now have to sweep up the patio and path, put everything away and make it a nice space for us to sit again.

I need to put a couple of items on ebay, a few more things on freecycle for hopeful rehoming, take some more stock into our unit, reply to a pal's text.....

Better get on :eek:

sparrer

Two nsd/npd's
New tax disc arrived, am so fortunate I don't have to pay for it. Saves me £180 a year
The car boot I'd planned for this coming Sunday has been put on ice as I've just committed myself to chairing meetings til the end of the month. I'll be away for a week in June so it'll be handy to earn some money when I get back - assuming, that is, that I sell some of my pile of 'treasure'!
A third friend is coming on holiday now, which has dropped the price of the hotel room by a third for each of us. Means the room will be a little more cramped but we'll only be there for sleeping, on the plus side it means more spending money
Bought 3 packs of pork bones at £1 each from Mr M and cooked in the sc overnight. Stripped the meat this morning and have enough pulled pork for the next week! 2/3 put in freezer for future meals and will have some with a salad for dinner today.
Washing on min spin, now drying on the line in the sunshine.

going_nowhere_fast

Please can I join?

I'm in debt and would like to pay it off as soon as possible but am struggling to get started. I don't understand fully what this thread is for/about but it sounds very money saving!

I don't know how to begin living frugally, any tips?

I have one child and I don't want him growing up feeling that we are poor so I want to learn to better manage my money whilst cleverly hiding my cut backs so he doesn't see us as being any different to any of his friends mums/families.

I guess the first place to start is to recognise that every penny counts because over a 12 month period they add up. I have just calculated that I spend more than £250 a year on chocolate.... that's shocking. No wonder i've been putting weight on.

lynnejk

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

Please can I join?

I'm in debt and would like to pay it off as soon as possible but am struggling to get started. I don't understand fully what this thread is for/about but it sounds very money saving!

I don't know how to begin living frugally, any tips?

I have one child and I don't want him growing up feeling that we are poor so I want to learn to better manage my money whilst cleverly hiding my cut backs so he doesn't see us as being any different to any of his friends mums/families.

I guess the first place to start is to recognise that every penny counts because over a 12 month period they add up. I have just calculated that I spend more than £250 a year on chocolate.... that's shocking. No wonder i've been putting weight on.

Welcome to this thread :hello:

There are lots of long-time frugalities that will probably be better than me at explaining and answering some of your questions.
I would just like to say that what others have/do is really beside the point. If you can manage your money wisely and show him how to do the same he will thank you for teaching him how to live within his means and not get into the frightening levels of debt :eek: that some have these days. Good luck
Lx

going_nowhere_fast

Thanks Lynne.

What I've found is that everyone seems to be living a 'better', materialistcally that is, life than us.

They all have sky tv, all have broadband, all are able to buy clothes whenever they want, all go on holiday, all go on nights out. I know some will be doing it via credit but it does make me feel like i'm the odd one out. I'm the only one not buying clothes, not going abroad, not got sky, not got the lastest gadgets yet I'm still no better off.

With me it's all the small reductions that are going to make a difference to my finances, I know that just finding it hard to get going.

i have come to believe that budgeting is a skill that some of us have to learn because it just doesn't come naturally.

cw18

I don't have Sky TV (don't actually have any 'live' TV as I don't have a licence and only use my TV for streaming or watching DVDs).

I do have broadband - but on the most basic package my provider offers and I can't find cheaper anywhere else... my OH can't believe how little I pay for my landline and b/band No fibre optic connection here, though I admit that in my son's eyes that's only because it's not yet available here (he's been told that when it is it's up to him to pay the extra if he wants it for his gaming, as what we have is fine for my web use and streaming)

Hardly ever buy clothes these days, and when I do they're almost never from 'big names' (check supermarkets, Prim@rk if I'm the city and the local charity shops)

Holiday? I would say what's one of those, but I'm lucky in that a family member owns a place in the Lakes I can have use of. And I am planning on heading out to Spain for 8 weeks in September - but it'll be as low-budget as possible, staying in cheap hostels as I walk the 800 miles I'm heading out to do

Nights out simply never happen apart from the Christmas do for OH's workplace or my running club - and both are pretty much 'pay for drinks only' events, with neither of us having much to drink (and none of mine being alcoholic).



When I first started trying to live frugally, I found the most useful thing was to work out my annual expenses and then look at each category to see where I could easily cut back, and where I could cut back with a bit more effort.

So gas & electricity meant a check of suppliers (couldn't beat the one I was with) and then working out where I could cut back (lower the thermostat on the heating and reduce the time it's on for, and try and cook more 'one pot' meals rather than ones that meant using the oven and 2 or 3 rings).

Water is all about reduction as I'm on a meter, so washer only goes on when I've a full load, washing up gets done when I've enough to merit a bowl of hot water (rarely more than once a day, and regularly only ever other day), toilet only gets flushed when necessary (not something DS1 seems to totally buy into, but OH does and he doesn't even live here so it doesn't save him any money ). When I've phoned to adjust payments they've even apologised that more than half my bill is standing charges they can't reduce which I find quite amusing

Car and house insurances meant shopping around at renewal (but again can't beat the company I've been with for years).

Petrol meant not using the car for a 'quick hop' when walking (or cycling) was a viable option.

I've also cut back (by a huuuuge amount) what I spend on family for birthdays and Christmas. What I used to spend was almost obscene now I look back, but I used to have a very well paid job so I could afford it. Now I can't, so they get what I can afford, and this is probably the area I've trimmed back the most!! My kids were all in the 18-25 age range when I cut back so could understand why, and my grand-children were young enough to not realise (eldest would have been about 6 at the time).

I've also almost completely stopped picking up DVDs and CDs in the shops on an almost weekly basis, and instead pick a few up every couple of months from Amaz0n with almost all of them being second hand and costing a fraction of the new price (even with the postage cost added on).

I subscribe to a couple of monthly magazines (one craft related, one healthy eating) which is a lot cheaper than buying them off the shelf, have totally stopped buying weekly mags which lasted me less than an hour, and rarely pick up any other monthly publications in the shops (other than one store own one when I'm handy to a branch, which is only about every other issue).

Groceries reductions have mostly come around by not wasting as much (only buying what I know I'll use, or making myself use something up before I buy something similar but slightly different) or by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g things to make more portions (I used to make 4 portions of bolognese from 500g mince, I now make 10 portions from 400g by adding lentils, oats and more veg).

My mobile phone contract chops and changes every couple of years as contracts come up for renewal. In 2012 I went for a dearer package to get a phone capable of doing what I wanted, but this year I dropped to a package that's £7.50/month cheaper with a phone that does almost all the same things (funny how over 2 years high-tech becomes standard low-spec). I did debate going SIM only and saving a further £2.50/month, but the battery in the 2012 handset isn't holding charge like it used to and can't be replaced

I never come close to using all the minutes on my mobile contact, so I dropped my landline package this year so that no calls are included (did previously include evening & weekend calls) which saved me £5/month - and now I use my mobile for all calls other than 0800 (which are free from landline but premium rate from mobile) and 0845 that I can't find a geographic equivalent for. So that saving covers a good percentage of the cost of my mobile package, and I can make free calls from my mobile during office hours as well


None of those things was actually a huge thing to do individually, but as a whole they make a big difference to my outgoings