2015 Frugal Living Challenge

Magsnoodle

happybird71 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Apologies for the lack of posts. I've been studying my wee heart out. Roll on Dec! Have just ordered a couple of Dave Ramsey (American money guru) books. Anyone heard of him? Any thoughts?

Hi Happy bird,

I LOVE Dave Ramsey much to my family's distress as he has a 3 hour daily podcast available on i tunes (free) which I love listening to when I am doing housework or in the car etc. He is VERY American and is a God fearing Nashville boy but it is inspiring. My husband admitted this week that he had grown on him... but it has taken time. :rotfl:

Really interested in the books and how you find them. Let us know.

Good luck TTFN xxx

Magsnoodle

Hi all

Have read the rest of the posts now. Dave Ramsey is HUGE on budgets and believes every dollar should have a home... You are absolutely right about some of his teachings being odd - pushes very much that he is a Republican and is a bit of a "Redneck" as he calls himself. Very Evangelical Christian and as a result some of his responses to people who ring in with their questions can reflect this. Its horses for courses though and might be useful to keep people motivated especially the daily debt free screams....

Here endeth today's Dave Ramsey lesson. Have a wonderful Sunday

XXX

alja

I've never thought about buying books to help save money, I guess it might help motivate some people :-)

I went out for a meal last night and used a £5 voucher that I got for signing up to their mailing list. I've been so busy sorting things out for my new home that I haven't had a chance to think about being super frugal, but have been careful to resist unnecessary purchases etc. And have used coupons and checked out the best prices for all the bits I've had to buy lately.

I hope you all have another lovely frugal week! :-)

cathybird

Frugaldom wrote: »

But perhaps I'm just a completely different type of frugal living money saver who isn't a man out to make money from those who are trying their best not to spend & free themselves from debt. No offence, guys, but I just don't get it.

hi Frugaldom! Mr Money Mustache does have a blog but it is free to read, as blogs are, and to my knowledge he has never written a book. He managed to retire very early, at 30, by saving a huge percentage of his income and he writes about how it is possible to do that. His tone is a bit off-putting when you first come across him but since I realised that part of it wasn't really serious I have really enjoyed reading him. He's not out to make money - he retired before he started the blog.

However now I sound as though I am trying to give him a plug and I'm not really, or Dave Ramsey either - I'm sure both have useful things to say.

alja

Oh I'd love to be able to retire by the age of 30...4 years to go for me. I wonder if I could make that happen? I very much doubt it but well done to him!

I have a friend's birthday drinks to attend this weekend so I've been putting together a present bag for her this morning. I don't spend as much on her as I would other friends so I'm trying to keep the cost as minimal as possible. Her card was 10p (from a 10 pack of cards for £1), I've popped a bag of thorntons chocolates in that I got given at work at Christmas so that was free, a posh body mist spray from M&S which was 79p down from £5, a body shop shower creme that was half price, a couple of sweeties that I had left over in my stash, pretty pocket tissues which were no more than 25p and a lip balm that I got when I had to use up the remainder of a gift voucher I got from a previous work place for a local beauty salon. I'm reusing a present bag I was given and will pop the smaller goodies in a pretty cellophane bag to make them look better presented.

I love putting present bags together and seeing how cheap I can make them whilst still looking like a great pressie!

Frugaldom

Alja, if you already own your own mortgage free home at 26 then there is nothing to stop you retiring at 30. :beer: I would have loved to have been debt free at that age so it was all about savings, life work and investments. Keep up the good work, notmany can say they are home owners at your age, unless home is a caravan or something of such price range.

I didn't mean to offend anyone by my comments as I actually had read mrmoneymoustache site before now, he is a money man who still earns from his writing, I won't retract that statement. Nor will I apologise for suggesting it is better to pay off every penny in debt before spending money on books whose content can all be found online for free. Easiest way to have more income is to spend less, it has been my motto since starting this challenge on here in 2007.

Nargleblast

Well said, Frugaldom, some rich people have a reputation for being careful with money - which is partly how they became rich! For the working folk amongst us, I think it is best to base your budget on your guaranteed basic income and treat any bonuses, overtime, enhanced payments etc as the icing on the cake to be used partly for saving, partly for spending, partly for paying down mortgages/debts, depending on your circumstances. I see colleagues volunteering for extra shifts on top of their normal full time hours because they have got used to that extra money. I would rather spend that time on my real life, even if the money would come in handy.

I haven't quite mastered the art of just living on my basic salary yet, it is still a work in progress, but I am trying!

cathybird

Frugaldom wrote: »

I didn't mean to offend anyone by my comments as I actually had read mrmoneymoustache site before now, he is a money man who still earns from his writing, I won't retract that statement. Nor will I apologise for suggesting it is better to pay off every penny in debt before spending money on books whose content can all be found online for free. Easiest way to have more income is to spend less, it has been my motto since starting this challenge on here in 2007.

Frugaldom, I didn't think any offence was meant, and certainly none was taken. I can only reiterate that Mr Money Mustache hasn't written any books and his blog costs nothing to read, ie it is content that can be found online for free. And his whole point is that the easiest way to have more income is to spend less. The detail is in how he managed that.

Anyway, this feels as though it is turning into an argument and that was never my intent, so I'll leave it there.

his_missus

Hubby is away next week Mon - Fri so I'm going to see how frugal I can be food wise in his absence. I'm always saying I'd spend less if I was single, here's my chance to prove it

naturaljazz

his_missus wrote: »

Hubby is away next week Mon - Fri so I'm going to see how frugal I can be food wise in his absence. I'm always saying I'd spend less if I was single, here's my chance to prove it

Haha good luck with that... suffice to say I used to blame my kids for the mess until they went off to university and I am surrounded by a mess of my own making