2015 Frugal Living Challenge

lynnejk

naturaljazz wrote: »

lynnejk Your budget list was very useful, thank you. How do you max the credit card (cash I am assuming) and not pay interest? I have interest-free on purchases, but not cash. So I am interested if a card can give me interest-free cash to put in an account and earn interest... sweet

You need a credit card that is interest-free (usually 18-30 months). I was given one by my bank and then used it for everything until up to limit. I still pay the minimum payment each month and then keep all the rest in an account paying interest. When my period is finished I will try to get another one or if not, then at least I have earned some interest and can repay it without penalty.

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I noticed you had travel insurance in but nothing for a holiday - just wondering why you would need the insurance if you don't go away?? (and if you do, then you've missed it from the budget - sorry)

How many in the family as food / wine seems high if just 2 of you (again sorry) - does it include other things?

I don't put holidays in the budget. As I put further down all our other monies apart from our budgets goes into an interest-paying account. When we decide on holiday dates then the money is taken from there (usually about £1000).


Re your second point - thanks you are correct. I have been back and corrected my budget as 'food' should have read household ie food, laundry, cleaning and general toiletries.


There are just two of us but we always have a glass of wine each with our dinner, and an extra glass at the weekends, and this covers our Xmas and New year drinks as well.


Lx

teabody

cooltrikerchick wrote: »

definitely...when we first bought the place it had concrete render over the front, but we held our breath and crossed everything we could, hoping that the stonework underneath hadn't been messed around with..


It went from this



to this, after the stonemason done the repairs and repointing in lime mortar



even though i am ( have been) a bit of a spender, i do have always tried to get bargains, like this old range we had for free, so this is waiting to go into the place, lol it should look good with a bit of a clean up


even though i have priced up floor tiles ( that look like flagstones) i am still on the look out for old flagstones..to go with the ones we already have...( these had been taken out of the house years ago, and h been used for a path alongside the house).. So fingers crossed i might be able to pick some up for free or cheap, if not, i might even consider putting the floor boards we had to pull up from upstairs down on the kitchen floor, but we will see lol

amazing! Love the restoration!

his_missus

You can tell it was payday on Friday, I've spent £170 this weekend on food and toiletries/household goods. Mind you £40 of that was spent on the cats.


I had a massive batch cooking weekend and the freezer is jammed packed full (I wish I had the space for a chest freezer) with enough meals to feed us for 3 weeks. I should only need to buy bread, milk, spuds and wine. Even the cats won't starve for a couple of weeks at least.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

afternoon all, what a cold one...


think I will be doing an online grocery order this week, as I know I am going to have a busy few weeks, can I hve a grocery delivery to where I work? or does it have to go to the registered address??

cw18

I know Tesc0 will deliver to an alternative address, as both DD and DS2 have had deliveries when on holiday.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

cw18 wrote: »

I know Tesc0 will deliver to an alternative address, as both DD and DS2 have had deliveries when on holiday.

thanks....that's good to know, as I can have it delivered to work.


cooked a lovely top of the leg joint of pork yesterday, for dinner, so tonight's tea will be cold pork, and homemade mixed herb wedges ..basically wedges, with a drizzle of oil, and then a sprinkling of dried mixed herbs... really nice

COOLTRIKERCHICK

morning all,


put an order in with Mr T, and got a delivery spot today, it was a £2 slot, so going to go through my supermarket for next week's order, and try and get the £1 delivery slots...


now that I know they will deliver to my works address, this will work out great for me... and for a £1 for picking and delivering my order, its a bit of a no brainer for us, that time will be better spent, doing other things. to help us get ready to sell and move etc...


Pork sandwiches for work today...

Just_be_2

I buy a big bag if potatoes and bake them, then freeze them. They cook from frozen in 5 mins in the microwave, or 40ish in the oven if you don't like micros. And they're just the same as you buy the frozen ones which seem to be loved by some? I've never bought them but my nan thinks they're the best thing since sliced bread! They bought ones work out at about 50p per potato!!!!! Also, I save for Christmas with a hamper company but only get vouchers as you don't pay any interest. Those vouchers are my life line when buying for little one at Christmas, and I don't miss the small monthly amount leaving the bank. Anyway, I've reduced that monthly payment a little as daughter is starting ballet and spanish kids language club, so I've found that money from the Xmas fund. I'm happy to do this as it means she gets valuable experience all year round and to be honest I will still have a nice chunk at Christmas- she won't go without- I will make the money go further for us I was already pushed to the absolute limit accommodating swimming lessons so reshuffling was imminent.

Frugaldom

Cooltrikerchick, the Asda deliveries also do £1 slots, I even had a 50p delivery in December, and they deliver to any chosen address, too. Love the renovation work! We will have had this place 3 years and as most know, we are living in it while renovating. Very slow progress but with no mortgage and no rent, who cares? Spent most of last summer working out in the field and barn, so the whole project will probably take forever.

Stocked up on cat food via Petsathome offer using voucher code, took advantage of Asda's half price lentil offer and got 10kg delivered with my order, paid annual BT line rental in full, topped up the coal bunker and replenished the logs, so all is in order here. Grocery challenge now cut to £5 per person per day for all meals, so it could get interesting as the year progresses.

rubiesr4eva

Morning everyone, had a quick word with my bank via web chat today as the charges they were giving me meant I couldn't get out of arrears. They have now disgarded some charges, arranged a repayment plan and I will be out of the red this July. So if you are trying to pay an over draft, do it with the bank knowing, and ask for charges to be dropped and no more to be added, its what I asked for out right and got, don't try to do it alone.


Have a lovely day everyone