2014 Frugal Living Challenge

findingmyfeet

morning all

spent a few days trailing through bank statements/receipts etc to try to get an idea of exactly what we have been spending and trying to see were the money is leaking away!!! We never buy take aways and eat out only four or five times a year for birthdays etc. I shop in a*di/L*dl and bargain stores etc so think it must be a few pounds here there and everywhere that is being spent without noticing.!! Need to tighten up all round .

Yesterday DH researched the gas and electricity and swopped our supplier for a cheaper fixed deal so a good start. Today we need to fill the car with petrol so we will try to watch the mileage, eak it out as long as possible and generally just try to cut all trips out to a minimum.

I have ten family members for christmas day , so am now trying to fiddle with the menu options to keep costs down to a minimum/bake and shop wisely .ok for all the veggies and potatoes as DH and dad have allotments .

How are you all going to cope with christmas on a budget? any tips gratefully recieved. starting as i mean to go on!!

flamingo747

We've cut xmas by
- Using doubled up clubcard vouchers for toys for ds and niece
- Buying food bits on offer and putting aside
- Homemade presents for adults
- Posting bare minimum xmas cards and only buying 2nd class, plus reusing any unmarked stamps we've received
- Having xmas dinner just me dh & ds rather than all the inlaws

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I pop back and fore for a few years now with the frugal threads..


I am like one of the other posters, I am either frugal, or have a lapse and just spend.... ok not overboard, but It is spending that we could have done without..


I slowly trying to work out where our money is going etc, and def going to go back into buying in bulk.. some items like sugar from FF is £1.50 for 2, so might use the moc and buy 20 -30 bags..


also I have worked out we use 60 trays of 12 tins of cat food in a year, at the moment the cheapest place I can find it is in poundstretcher for £3.99 a tray, the next cheapest is morisons £2 for a tray of 6.... so was thinking of going to poundstretcher and bulk buying as many trays I am allowed to buy..


There is 2 ways of looking at buying like this.... 1... if the prices go up, then I have saved/got a bit of a buffer to adapt my budget to the price increase, plus 2.... the less it potentially save more trips going to the supermarket, because we have run out, so then ending up buying other things...


Also found out the wood pellet cat litter is 76p cheaper in poundland ( £1 per 5L in PL £2.76 for 10L in a$da, £3+ in te$co), But might do a trial with a bale of hemp animal bedding, to see how absorbant it is, as if it is suitable for using in the cat litter tray... then a huge bale will last me for yonks, and is only £10-£14 ( haven't bought it for a long time )

Becky_2

Thanks Frugaldom for starting a new thread for 2014. I joined the challenge this year. Thanks to this challenge I set up a d.d. for a savings account and bought loads of berries in the summer that I put in the freezer. I shall eat these for breakfast over the winter period.

In 2014 my aim will be to:
* Save up for a deposit on a house
* Start selling stuff again, I did this in 2012
* Read information at least once a week on staff net at work. In December I saved £25 for getting a free bus pass.

Good luck to everyone whether you are an old challenger or new to this challenge.

nat21luv

Cooltrikerchic, that's nearly 2 tins a day of cat food! I have two cats and they have 1 tin a day and cat biscuits to bulk it out. They are fat cats so certainly don't go hungry. This is also on top of any leftovers they might get. A kilo of biscuits is just over a quid from tesco, this lasts about 10 days.

So if you fed kitty/s 1 can a day and biscuits it works out at (30x3.99)+(1.05x36)=£158 or there abouts.
At the minute you're spending £240 on 60 trays.

I've been buying from home bargains at 39p a can so Ill look into £stretcher but think when I factor in petrol it might be a little dearer. Thanks for the info!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

nat21luv I have 3 cats.. one greedy guts and 2 'normal' eaters.. they also have scraps from the plates etc, the odd tin of pilchards, and if there is liver/heart reduced I buy them that too..I buy the odd box of dried food, purely for them to have something to crunch to keep their teeth healthy, But I am not a big fan of dried food...


If I find tinned cat food cheaper anywhere I will give you the heads up..


and yep 2 tins of cat food...a day, have tried the 1200gms of dog food now and again... to try and stretch the budget etc..as they are approx. 87p per tin




edit..... If I fed my cats 1 tins of cat food and biscuit I think they would gang up on me....lol

nat21luv

I had a feeling you would say 3! Mine gang up on me, but that's just cats! What about just 1/2 a can, biscuits and leftovers each a day? Even that would save you £66 a year and that's factoring in a kilo of biscuits lasting only 7 days rather than 10.

A friend of mine will buy nothing else for her 2 cats but Whiskers pouches and biscuits, costs her £537 a year!!!

savesummore

Hi guys

Can I join in too please? I have been reading the 2013 thread on and off but really need to give myself abit of a kick start for a couple of reasons;

1. I have approx £3k of debt i want to pay off
2. Im sick of wasting money- im literally drowning in clothes, shoes, endless stuff etc etc
3. I want some savings and some financial security
4. Im training to change my career so at some point may need to take a lower paid/part time job to complete my studies

Im looking forward to the challenge and to hopefully learning some good tips

millionaire-to-be

Hi

Need to be as frugal as possible in 2014 have to find a way to reduse costs but have a life as well.

spend far too much on food, need to get back to planning meals and therefore not overbuy and end with cupboards full but nothing that goes together, which leads to another local shopping trip, more expensive.

helencal80

Can I join please? I am in the process of sorting out my life after a relationship breakdown. This will help me stay on track, I hope to be, no will be, debt free in January 2017! And with a limited income (I'm a student and single parent) I need all the help I can get.