2015 Frugal Living Challenge

Siebrie

Cw18, that is one awful commute! Would cycling be an option? Or one of these foldable bikes, so that you can cycle part of the way and are not completely dependent on buses?

cw18

Shortest dustance is almost 7 miles, but that's mostly unadopted roads full of potholes and with no lighting - so not an option for cycling during the darker months. By main roads it's just over 9 miles! And my legs aren't up to the 7 each way on a bike either - last job (was only there a couple of months) was 4 miles each way, and I could only cycle that once a week without my legs giving out on me. Plan is to try and build up my cycling on my mid-week days off (and possibly by using my exercise bike for a short while each evening) so that I can cycle at least a couple of days a week once the weather improves

Cycling part isn't really an option, as the bus route is a very long way round. I think I'd cycle further replacing just one of the buses than I would if I cycled to work

Wombatchops

Hi cw18, that sounds like a right pain. If I remember correctly, you have a car that you share with your son? Is it possible to use your car at least some days, or is it being used by someone else? Maybe I'm totally missing the point, and using public transport works out cheaper than the cost of petrol and parking. If the car isn't an option, could you possibly car share? I know there are websites where you can register to car share, but I don't know what they're called.

If I'm interfering and talking rubbish just tell me to shut up. But I hope your commute gets a bit better.

Upsidedown_Bear

Please hit the spam button on the post by Shristi

parsniphead

sistercas wrote: »

I heard yesterday that I am not getting a pay rise , this is the 3 rd year running . So I am definitely going to have to tighten my belt .
DH is only on a pension as he took early retirement due to ill health and I am supporting 2 dds who are not financially independent yet .
I need to knuckle down and pay off the cc's this year and then we can start saving .
womba I have no idea why they make everything so complicated , but they do , it's an absolute nightmare

We had the no payrise talk the other day at our place followed by the how do we get more work from everyone for less. Cheeky £&\(:&#@ (insert your own expletive). Year after year the same thing. As well as cutting back, job hunting is on the cards next year.

I was chatting with DH last night and I think I have finally got him on board. :j He did go on about branded baked beans though so I said he can have them but will have to buy them himself.

I'm still trying to work out my budget for the next year. It's all very complicated but I intend to hit it hard next year.

Wombatchops

Good luck with the 2016 job hunt and budget, parsniphead.

cw18

Wombatchops wrote: »

Hi cw18, that sounds like a right pain. If I remember correctly, you have a car that you share with your son? Is it possible to use your car at least some days, or is it being used by someone else?

Son uses it - has a 5am start 9 miles from home, with no other options on how to get there (though he's aiming to get his own car soon). So to have the car I'd have to be up to drop him off, but that's waaay too early for me to then go straight to work so would have to come back home - meaning a lot more petrol use.

Even if I had full use of the car I'd struggle to justify driving in - bus works out at £3.15/day by getting a 28 day season ticket (that I can then also use on my days off, effectively getting me 'free' journeys those days), whereas driving works out closer to £6. And the one day I tried driving (he was off) I got stuck in the most dreadful traffic jam that I'm told is there every day, and even having allowed 1.25hrs for a journey websites said should take 45 minutes at the most I was still 10 minutes late for work

Don't think car sharing is an option I can even consider exploring. I start at different times depending on the day (9am Mon, 9:30 Tues, 8:15 Wed & Thur, 9am Fri & Sat), with every Sunday and one other day off each week. Plus no regular finish time. No-one else at my place lives anywhere near me either, so can't try and sweet talk a colleague either.

sistercas

parsniphead wrote: »

We had the no payrise talk the other day at our place followed by the how do we get more work from everyone for less. Cheeky £&\(:&#@ (insert your own expletive). Year after year the same thing. As well as cutting back, job hunting is on the cards next year.

I was chatting with DH last night and I think I have finally got him on board. :j He did go on about branded baked beans though so I said he can have them but will have to buy them himself.

I'm still trying to work out my budget for the next year. It's all very complicated but I intend to hit it hard next year.

I've worked out the bare bones of a budget , I need to look at it in more detail .
My DH says he's on board but then goes out spends or orders online , I can't seem to get him to understand that buying with a credit card isn't free money , he spends and ignores the bill , I have to intercept them and pay them off .


I'm definitely looking for another job in the new year too . I need to get a CV together , not done one of those for 20 years

Wombatchops

That's unfortunate, cw18. I'm sorry I couldn't help. Hopefully it'll get better in the new year. I find there is always more traffic in December than at other times of the year cos of Christmas shoppers.

Good luck to all 2016 job hunters. I am also hoping to change jobs next year. I have to return to work from mat leave first for the few months or they'll demand the money back that I received in childcare vouchers during my leave, and then I hope to be looking. With my husband's back meaning we don't know when he will return to work, I need to find a much better paying job.

sistercas

Wombatchops wrote: »

That's unfortunate, cw18. I'm sorry I couldn't help. Hopefully it'll get better in the new year. I find there is always more traffic in December than at other times of the year cos of Christmas shoppers.

Good luck to all 2016 job hunters. I am also hoping to change jobs next year. I have to return to work from mat leave first for the few months or they'll demand the money back that I received in childcare vouchers during my leave, and then I hope to be looking. With my husband's back meaning we don't know when he will return to work, I need to find a much better paying job.

Good luck with your job hunting, let's hope we all don't go for the same one :rotfl: