2014 Frugal Living Challenge

strandedinaber

Ooops, didn't realise that this had been moved into the Diaries section and have been missing it for the past few days! I'm a little behind but looks like people are developing some great plans for 2014 Shortie, so glad that you are feeling a bit more confident and that you have a plan in place if it comes down to it (very much hope it doesn't). I always find that the uncertainty is the worst.

Definitely agree that saving is just as important as getting rid of debt (maybe even more so). I've just pushed back my DFD by two months to make sure I can save for those irregular spends (car tax, MOT, sister's hen do) which always throw my budget off...

charlies-aunt

I am subscribing to this thread for 2014 too!


Have had a very wobbly 2013 - nothing major but have been unable to make any impact on a large static debt.


Plagued by the "black dog" and have lacked motivation to make a real effort...and currently I have no idea of the true state of my finances . . . .


Feeling much better and ready to tackle debt mountain, have better health and have a positive attitude!


Bring on 2014!

suse*

I'd like to join too as it is just me and the dog, that means I only have myself to answer to really.

I noticed on the first page it said about sharing gardens / allotments. I have some physical disabilties which mean I am not up to doing lots of digging etc. My garden currently is a bit of a blank canvas as well and just needs some new top soil really then will be all set. I was wondering are there websites for the shared gardens as I thought maybe I could find someone who wanted to grow things but didn't have the space. Then we could team up somehow and I could maybe help pay for them maintaining it for me in other bartered services as well. I had been thinking of putting in some raised beds instead of a lawn possibly, and just getting a couple of offcuts of astroturf for the dog to have a place to sunbath on in the summer.

suse*

All the talk so far of inventories made me think that is my next job today. I just found this website with handy free templates that I think I'm going to use. Just thought it might be handy for others or give people ideas to make their own.

http://organizedhome.com/printable/household-notebook/freezer-inventory

COOLTRIKERCHICK

tatabubbly wrote: »

Hey cooltriker! I actually live abroad, in the middle east! I do try and eat as fresh as possible and buy most food from our local markets etc... But food is very expensive out here, except for the take aways of course! :mad:

As a westerner out here, its so easy to see where you could waste money on frivioulous 'stuff'..
My OH is of that opinion, that we earn good money so why should we worry about what we spend it on.. Trying to get rid of that thought shall be difficult! :rotfl:

We aren't hugely in debt BUT we have nada savings which I think needs to be addressed!

ooooo sorry thought you might have lived on an island or something..


is the local food/produce cheap and western type food expensive, or food in general??


If its in general... and you are on a good wage, then I should imagine its is proportionate to your wages??


Started doing an inventory, and got side tracked and started cleaning and sorting the kitchen..lol..


right back to it.

princessmelody2009

Hi everyone :wave: I'd love to join please.

DawnW

ok, I am aiming for £4k from 1 January until the end of April 2014. This will be tough, as my job requires me to dress smartly, be away quite frequently for short periods of time, and leaves me with little time and energy for moneysaving activities. The £4k will include everything except my small biz activities (records obvs kept separately for this, for HMRC reasons) and OH's spends - I know about / have control over the bigger, regular ones, but random ones tend to slip through the net a bit. I will need to tackle these later :exclamati He has already retired from his FT job, and has a small pension and a tiny business as well. Neither of us will be eligible for state pension for a few years.

There are no major costs expected during this period except possibly my car, which needs its MOT test done. To save money on the fare rises, I have already bought my season ticket for work (quarterly, till the end of March), have full freezers and plenty in the food cupboard.

By the end of April I will hopefully have retired from my job, so will need to seriously recalculate - no more salary, just a small pension :eek: Still, I have been saving in preparation for this

I will carry on with my small biz, and haven't ruled out getting a part time job at some point, but carrying on with the big stressful one is not an option!

Nicki_Sue

Hi all
I'll jump in for 2014. I'm frugal-"ish" by nature but could always be more so.

My aim is to build savings. My husband was made redundant back in August with no notice (his company went into administration two days before payday and pay was seized!). He is back in work etc now but our rainy day savings were wiped and as I am self-employed it always pays to have money away incase of a client not paying/paying late or a lean month.

So..... a more frugal year and bumping up the savings!

Buffythedebtslayer

Just a quickie,


Went to s'bugs,


got my friends' presents for tomorrow, loads were reduced but it was still expensive as they have many children. plus food for tomorrow(all buy one get one free).


(having a post Christmas gathering to swap presents)


Also bought about 4 gifts for Birthdays during the year. Postable stuff and two kids' presents.


Also got some parsnips to add to the bottom of the fridge soup for dinner tomorrow. We have a selection of fairly manky but generally ok veg that will do a nice stew type thing that might last a couple of days.


ooo dinner is ready! XX

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Nicky-Sue..


Your hubby should have had any wages due and holiday pay, paid by the government.. Your hubby should have received the appropriate forms from the insolvency practionor, so he should not be out of pocket.