2014 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugalsod

carbootcrazy wrote: »

I agree with much of what you said, Frugaldom, I subscribe to the frugal living concept 100% but I can't see any way, despite all my efforts to emulate your brilliant achievement:

'we can easily slash grocery costs to £1 per person per day'.

Also, please could you give a quick recap of what the £4000 is meant to cover? Does it need to pay for utilities, insurances etc too?:eek:

You are such a source of inspiration:A. and any advice would be wonderful

I live pretty well and cannot do it for £1. My electricity alone is that, same for my water. My food is not excessive and made from scratch most of the time yet I am nowhere near £1 a day.

Personally I have been living close to the £4000 spending but not necessarily been calling it that. What I do is try and live on what is the equivalent of unemployment benefits so that anything I get over that is available for saving or spending. It stops me from getting spendthrift and means that if I have a drop in income or lose my job that my day to day spend will not need to be cut drastically. At the moment it has meant I can seriously overpay my debt repayments. Once that is cleared I can easily save 90% of my income.

[Deleted User]

Sounds like a good plan, Frugalsod, trying to live on what you would get in benefits:T.

It's the food situation that scuppers my most frugal plans. OH loves meat and complains if it doesn't appear in his main meal in some form or another every day:eek:.

My situation is pretty weird in that my debts are huge but completely unknown to OH. For various reasons that I don't feel I can go into here there's no way he must ever know about the pickle I'm in. I'm on a DMP and should be debt free in September 2019. So I'm in this for the long-haul and have already shaved off every sliver from all bills and payments I'm directly responsible for and I'm sure I'm on the cheapest tarrifs. The only leeway I can find is in the grocery budget and I spent hours every day just worrying about it. We have always split living expenses 50/50 with me being totally responsible for food both in buying and cooking. He just eats it:rotfl:. Plus, we have a cat which is the fussiest eater I've ever met:eek:

Frugalsod

The reason I do limit my spending is that long term our incomes are so incredibly vulnerable. How many people have had a pay cut? Or even a wage freeze that is really a pay cut when you allow for several years inflation. Also real wages are still falling because real inflation is under reported and with frozen wages they amount to a significant pay cut for most people. So the plan is to get ahead of the falling living standards and make sure that I am debt free before the next crash causes further wage cuts.

Ultimately I expect deflation to take hold, as government policy is ineffective. When that happens the debt burden can be impossible to get out from under. So becoming debt free and solvent is my first priority.

cw18

I guess I can claim to have had a series of pay cuts and rises, and cuts.....

I worked in IT (good salary) from 1985, until I was made redundant in Nov 2008.
In Nov 2009 I started working part-time in a supermarket at just above minimum wage.
In 2011 I gave in my notice (health reasons)
In September 2012 I started working part-time as a cleaner in a gym
And left in April 2013 as it was causing me to get terribly stressed

Not worked since them, and am living off a small widows pension and savings.

Upsidedown_Bear

Picklepot wrote: »

Hi

De lurking to say hello. I also read daily, invaluable advice and support- Thank you

Can anyone advise on prescription glasses? AFTER i had spent £300 + two years ago on my varifocals a friend told me you can take your prescription to an outlet that can supply cheaper glasses but just do not do eye tests - can anyone advise on this please? I somehow always fall for the glasses with the offer but then before i know it all the add on's have taken it into the hundreds.:eek:

Have you got a Specsavers near you?
Check out their offers here:
http://www.specsavers.co.uk/offers

They have free varifocal lenses if you spend £69 or more:
http://www.specsavers.co.uk/offers/free-varifocal-lenses

Frugaldom

To clear up any questions regarding what the £4,000 includes and doesn't include.

It covers everything related to running a household

It does not include rent or mortgage payments
It does not include Council Tax

The reason no rent or council tax payments were included is because these things are entirely dependent on your own lifestyle choices and personal situations. Some choose to mortgage to the hilt or rent in prime locations but we also had members living communal living, non-standard accommodation, at home with parents or rent/council tax paid by benefits.

On the water rates front, I am in Scotland where we don't have separate water rates and those of us who live in more rural locations don't always have mains water or sewerage systems.

Hope this helps

quidsy

Just popped into iceland to get some pasta and they have 3kg bags of pasta twists for £2.50. Which is a pretty good price imo. The bag is massive.

Upsidedown_Bear

quidsy wrote: »

Just popped into iceland to get some pasta and they have 3kg bags of pasta twists for £2.50. Which is a pretty good price imo. The bag is massive.

Tesco sell 500g bags of everyday value penne pasta for 29p so £1.74 for 3kg
Tastes good too
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=251477765

Picklepot

Upsidedown_Bear wrote: »

Have you got a Specsavers near you?
Check out their offers here:
http://www.specsavers.co.uk/offers

They have free varifocal lenses if you spend £69 or more:
http://www.specsavers.co.uk/offers/free-varifocal-lenses

Brilliant thank you i will check that out too.

cw18

I don't like the value pasta. I've just been using some from A!di (49p for 500g), but picked up a 3kg bag from Mr T last week. It was on special at £2 instead of £3, and they'd sent me a voucher for 75p off a 3kg bag. So I paid £1.25 for it, and it was part of a shop that I also used a double points voucher on

Had to spend on an unexpected item today I use a jug blender when I make a thick veg soup or pasta sauce, and after using it for a sauce on Friday I noticed loads of stress fractures around the bottom of the (plastic) jug. I've never been able to get even half-way decent results with a stick blender, so it meant shopping for a new jug one - and I decided it was worth splurging on one with a glass jug at that should mean I don't have the same problem in another 2 or 3 years.

OH and I trawled the internet on Saturday evening, and I ordered one today. Hopefully here at the end of this week / early next.