2016 Frugal Living Challenge

FunBrum

Hello frugalites! :hello:

I cannot believe that March is knocking on the door! :eek:
It's a beautiful start to the week although a bit frosty, and I'm enthusiastic about the coming week and month!
Any spare time I have had, I've been on YouTube watching Dave Ramseys, seminars and shows. He's very inspirational and he's motivated me with greaty ideas to shift the debt I have once and for all, rather than just 'tickling' it!

My utilities are next to nothing, gas/electric - £12 pm. Water £10 for 3months!
My food bill for last month was approx £20 I'm lucky to gave so much free food given to me.:)
I haven't had a car for a few years now, and don't really miss it or the expense that comes with it!
I only spent £8 this month on clothes and as I'm 'shopping' from my own wardrobe, I don't plan on spending ANYTHING next month. :cool:

As I've retired now I thought I would earn myself a little extra cash to throw at my debt and finally see it off! I've written out some postcards to put in shop Windows, advertising 'Dog walking' . Nothing on a huge scale just helping out really. It will keep me motivated to walk more, which is always a bonus.:T

Onward and upward frugality!:j

BettyBoof

Frugaldom wrote: »

Bettyboof, it more reflects the property prices here than my income, but it is all relevant. You can still buy a house for under £50k in many places, so the ability to relocate and work from home helped immensely. It is definitely scaleable, as I haven't cleared minimum wage in years. Had I been earning £30k, I could probably have bought another house within 2 years. Instead, we bought a field and named it Frugaldom. I still don't earn minimum wage, have now dropped my hours to 20 a week and still run the household on the original £4k per year. But I now also have holiday caravans that are shared with my fellow frugalers.

Still a HUGE achievement Frugaldom and many people wouldn't move to an unfamiliar area to do it as you have. I love the sound of Frugaldom And running the household on £4k per year? You're an inspiration!

Frugaldom

This is the very basic recipe for laundry gloop - I have been using it for years and it has saved me a small fortune.


5 litres water
1 cup washing soda
1 bar of soap (or equivalent)
Few drops of essential oils - I like tea tree & lavender



You can cheat on the essential oils by using natural soap with lavender and tea tree oil added - makes it anti-bacterial and it smells nice.


The above can be further watered down if you want to store it in bottles, I store mine in a bucket so just scoop out what I need and melt it in some warm water for pouring straight into the machine or laundry ball.

jess444_2

Thanks for the laundry goop recipes. How much goop do you tend to use in a wash? I have some essential oils so will give the basic one a go first. Have never bought washing soda before, where do you buy it. Also Bmma, where do you get the castile liquid soap from.

bmma

HI jess444 I get my castile soap from TK m** it is the cheapest place I have to buy it
Sa **rs is the cheapest for washing soda 64p
I use 1/2 cup of liquid detergent - live in hard water area, anything with a stubborn stain soak overnight
castile soap can also be bought on amaz** or some on line companies promoting natural ingredients x

FunBrum

That's one recipe I will be trying!
Isn't it wonderful on this little community, sharing tips and recipes?!
Whenever anyone asked me if I know how to do 'this' or make 'that', I just send them on these boards and OS. A wealth of knowledge is contained here!

I went to the jewellery quarter yesterday with my sister...she does love her jewels! :rotfl:
We then had a lovely lunch, her treat!
She always says, 'order whatever you like' which is lovely as she is very wealthy and I know she means what she says.:)
Me and my frugal nature, finds it hard to stay away from the discounted menu, so I ordered a lovely starter, main and dessert all for £13.95, I drank water as i don't drink wine during the day and I'm not a great soft drink drinker. My sister's main meal came to one and a half times my complete three course!:eek:
It got me thinking how strange it is how two people, bought up in the same house could have such different outlooks on life and spending. Don't get me wrong. My sister can be really frugal at times and is well known for returning things if faulty or 'not fit for use'. My dad was careful with money and my mum was a spendthrift....Maybe we take after them!
I look at my children and can see the savers and the spenders. That's why I really believe we should be teaching children from an early age about personal finance and being thrifty. My children are grown and its a bit late although I do try to drop a few hints to the 'spendthrift kids'. You never know, it might sink in!:D

Another month over and a new one begins....keep frugalling!:A

Frugaldom

Castle soap seems very pricey - :shocked: I just grate a bar of the cheapest available soap, which costs about 20p if I buy a pack of it. I get washing soda from supermarket or the hardware store and it's about 99p for a kilo bag here.


(Trying the smilies via the 'more' instructions.)

quidsy

Do you cook it first to melt everything down?


Sorry if this is a stupid question lol

bmma

NSD today
castile can be pricey,but as I live on my own- it isn't used every day (do laundry twice a week) and I am also retired so no work clothes to bother with.
I also use castile bars of soap- anything you want to clean they will clean it - I wash my furniture with it (the furniture isn't highly polished)floors.bathroom,toilet kitchen rinses well and no chemical scent (the liquid can diluted ) the tv screen comes up a treat( use a small drop of the liquid castile on a cloth for that) x

his_missus

Hello all. February, having been quite frugal ended on a far from frugal note. A Living Social overnight spa deal which initially seemed a bargain turned into quite an expensive trip once we added on food and drink, eek! We still managed to save away £700 and my grocery budget covered the cost but still...


March's targets:
- transfer £600 into the savings fund
- cut our weekly spends down to £60 all in (from £80) I'd like to hit £50 a week but that seems a touch too much to cut back on
- look around at switching Gas and Leccy. My Sainsbury fixed rate ends in April.
- not to touch the Credit card, it's back to £0 and I'd like it to stay at £0