2015 Frugal Living Challenge

naturaljazz

Regarding the Card Warehouse, I typed it in google and it came up as Card Factory. They do online cards, free p&p by the look of it, so I will order cards for next years birthdays and a few get well types. I think it would be good for me to be ready and dates in the diary etc. I will spend less if I am prepared.
I wonder if they are the same company?

YORKSHIRELASS

Well, this sounds like exactly the sort of challenge I need, although I am a bit daunted by it. We are gradually chipping away at our debts but are facing the possibility of losing a big chunk of our income this year. We will either have to cut back drastically or somehow increase our earnings. Possibly both.

I am also becoming increasingly aware of the amount of unnecessary "stuff" cluttering up our home. This is something I really want to deal with.

So the plan is to live frugally to enable us to pay off as much of the debts as possible but also live a simpler, less cluttered life. Question is can I do it?

lustyrusty

I'd love to be included too! I did a load of batch cooking today (was in Tesco and got 3 pack of peppers for 20p, Kiwi for 20p, Cherries 20p and massive gammon joints for £1.50! I have enough to last months!


I also did some Christmas shopping - more than half my presents bought for only 30% of my budget!


I really need to stop spending so much money on food and save more on household costs. Thankfully I have no debts but I have very little savings so that's what I plan to work on in 2015!

rubiesr4eva

Right, done big sorting out of finances today and this is this years plan.


I get £200 a week for house keeping. All other bills get paid by business. This is to include shopping for food (hopefully £70 a week), kids clubs (£35 plus many extras), dinner money (£20 for 2 boys) pocket money (£10 for 2 boys) mobile phone (£14 for 3 phones), which leaves me with about £50 spare to put up for when I need extra money for clubs (dance comps and shows etc).


I also get £24 a week, cleaning for 2 hours, which goes into my next Christmas account.


£32 a week, cleaning for 4 hours, which goes into my savings account for hopefully hols or un-announced bills.


Occasional work running bar at village hall, virtually every weekend booked from May to Sept, but quiet till then, so all monies from this to go into savings account.


Also need to have big sort out of shed, sell online, or do car boots or charity, to get rid of all clutter, and restore all other beautiful things I have that need some extra life in them.


Hoping at end of next year to given family best year ever, by having savings to spend on them by not wasting money on other frivolous things

maria3104

Hi

Love this thread. Also not spending 2015 thread. You are keeping me motivated and focused and distracted from the activity at my house last few mornings.
DS been up at 3.30 a.m.last few days to spread farm muck from the cows on the ground whilst it is hard enough to take weight of tractor without him being killed. Then he has gone off at 7.30 to do a 12 hour day working as a labourer. We really should be rich! LOL.
I worry so much about him doing this, I count the loads going past house and time them so I will know if tractor rolls. He will still be dead, but I feel I should know. Joys of farming.
Still living off freezer and fridge. Did lots of batch cooking over XMAS, wishing I had access to the YS stuff.

I think I may need milk before Mr T comes again on 2 jan. Fingers crossed.

rubiesr4eva

Maria - we are also farmers, and any day now my beautiful white fields are going to be brown too

his_missus

Quidsy those burritos sound delicious.


I actually went to the butchers and bought 1lb of mince, not very frugal but I needed a change from ham and turkey. Made a chilli full of veggies, enough for 2 portions for tea and 2 lunches The other half of mince is in the freezer, I've never stretched mince that far before

quidsy

They were very nice his missus, will be adding them to the general recipe pile as they can be prepped a couple of days in advance then just cooked for 30 mins until heated through & cheese melted.

Any meat would do, mince, left over gammon, chicken even tuna I'd imagine. I'm always on the look out for things I can prep in advance as oh is the one who will "cook" it but needs minimal instruction otherwise he ballses it up

COOLTRIKERCHICK

We bought a smallholding 2 plus years ago, with a house that dates back to approx 1830, and the same family had lived there for approx. 100 years, they were proper skinflints, and botched every job they done, how the house is still standing I never know... so it the usual sinario, you know the faults that you can see, but when you start peeling back the layers ( concrete on lime mortared stonework etc) you get see loads more faults..
which has totally thrown us.. so the house we are in now, really does need to be sold this year, but that needs work to, to get at least get most of our money back we owe on it...


but in the mean time... lol... we have pigs and even though we have gone through hell with the neighbours that back onto our land, and the lane.. because of the pigs... we love it to bits.. hard work... but love it..


This year I am going to try and get the garden around the house more productive. so went to Home Baise and there were 2 fruit very large fruit trees reduced down from £30 each to £3.49 one of them was a pear, and the other one didn't have a label on it, so I asked the guy, could I have more discount if I bought the 2 ( because he didn't know what one of them was) he said no, as they were cheap enough, so I said, I understand, and walked away... a few minutes later he found me back mooching in the shop ( the trees were outside) and said he would knock off 10% ...RESULT!!! so paid for them, and going to pick them up later...so that brought them down to £.14 each..


I got a funny feeling that the one without the label might be an apple tree, so I am hoping it might say somewhere on the reduced sticker..


I think that deserves a nice cuppa ( before I tell hubby lol)

quidsy

Have just been working my figures for 2015 & IF I don't take any days off except my mandatory 2 weeks in summer & IF I can convince OH to postpone the trip to asia to see mil & IF I stick to the prescribed tight but doable budget, then I will be officially interest paying debt free by May 2015 AND have clear 0% cc & full 2014 tax bill by October 2015. It is so close I can taste it.

I might make a motivational poster to stick in the house & every time I waver, look at it.