2016 Frugal Living Challenge

mummy2threeboys

Got accepted for another long term 0% intrest card. So have moved my 2 smaller cc and wll withdraw the rest to help pay of my od. I know i will get charges for this but the charges will be less than the od, intrest. :beer: Now I will have just 2 ccs at 0% , and one od of around £600.
Goal..Kill that Od and close the rotten old account. Has been hanging over me like a dead weight.

Todays to dos.
Book free library things. Didn't manage it yesterday
Go sofa shopping local hospice has a big sale on sofas from £40 or less Mine is broken underneath and ripped to shreds.

Wash my curtains. Not a normal wash day as it's raining today. Eldest has a playdate so free for him.
Sort out boys bookcase. Freecycle national geographics and bookcase.
List some things on amazon.

Tea loaf was lovely but i am the only one who lkes it , too fruity perfect for the morning for breakfast though so will slice for freezer:rotfl:

mummy2threeboys

Gosh very quiet here. Hope you are all having fun somewhere less cold and rainy!

Off to a swap shop today, will only cost £1 to get in.(to cover hall fees But usually manage to get loads of clothes for next year for the children

Bootfair tomorrow, hopefully make some pennys!

Have a great week all x

FrankieM

Hi Everyone

I remember this 'challenge' when it first started all those years ago and it was 'Live on £4k a year'

It's great to see that it's still going.

My situation has changed dramatically from 2008. Back then, there were 6 of us and now there's me, sometimes my son and one of my daughters part time because she's away at school. A lot happens over the years.

I have some debt that I need to pay off, a car payment (I'm an emotional car buyer ) and a house deposit to save for.
Amongst that, I would like to travel as much as I can.

I'm currently still living in the family home. My XDH pays towards some of the expenses. I'm also waiting for my job to start (paperwork etc still going through) It's a bank position, with the idea being that I can work as much as possible but then take time off to travel without being limited by the holiday leave I may have. Because of that, I'm using the first month of my 3 months emergency fund.

I'm going for living on £1000 a month, which includes everything. I'm nervous about it stretching to car insurance, but it's worth a try.

I've enjoyed reading the thread so far...though I miss your posts Frugaldom of how you keep your costs down etc...

jess444_2

Hi everyone, Hope you are all enjoying being frugal in the sun?
A few unexpected, car related, expenses this month so have not been able to put anything away towards the emergency fund.
3 more months at work before my retirement so the aim is to save as much as possible.
Have been busy in the garden, the veg patch is doing well. Not had to buy any lettuce for weeks and hoping to get some strawberries and peas / beans soon.
Thank you for the offer of advice FunBrum, I will be taking you up on the offer come September I am sure.
Mummy2threeboys - I know someone with an Android box. Apparently it is marvelous and you can stream lots of films and TV shows. Think you have to have pretty good internet though or it will spend a lot of time buffering.
Welcome FrankieM - Myself and OH are also going to be living on about £1000 month once I retire in Sept. On paper it seems doable, my main concern in how to pay for those unexpected emergencies and whether there will be any money left for days out / holidays, etc.

FrankieM

Thanks for the welcome jess444.

I went to a bbq yesterday and spent £5 on a bottle of rose. It was out of last month's money though so not in the budget.
Things are super tight this month, due to some serious over spending in previous months. I just completely took my eye off the ball.
I've had my car tax bill come in today. It's due on 30th June. I was hoping it would be next month...oh well.
I'm away from the 17th so I'll need to pay it before I go. I need to make some extra money to pay for it and to pay for my VW recovery, that's due in July so I'm going to take a look at the 'make £10 a day' threads and see what I can do.

Frugaldom

Hi FrankieM, how lovely to 'see' you back again. I do still post all my updates, I just don't do them here. My budget is still the same £4,000 per year and I am still managing on that, thanks to low interest rates, low inflation and the ever expanding availability of cheap food & goods. It's helped the savings no end and I'm sure you'll have read that I achieved what I set out to do - save to buy a house without a mortgage. It still isn't fully renovated but it is known as home.


Good luck with your renewed and updated challenge!

FrankieM

It's a terribly early start to the day this morning. I'm going to feel it this afternoon.

Just having a coffee and then I'll be on to the chores....even with so few of us in the house these are never ending.

I sold a load of books on 'webuybooks' yesterday. I've not made my millions but it all helps and helps declutter. Something is better than nothing. I've also 'sold' a £20 M&S voucher to my daughter so I should be getting the cash for that today.

I bought a juicer when I was doing nights over the winter and I've offered her that to buy as well. It's unused. (It seems I impulse buy more than I'd care to admit!) If she doesn't want it then I'm going to try gumtree.

NSD's here recently, though I've noticed that rather than going to the shop to buy junk food or get a takeaway, I'm overeating out of the freezer...better than spending actual money, but still spending because really I'm eating future meals so I need to reign that in.

I'm going to head over to the 'boost your income' board today and get some more money making ideas. I found I had £10 in a survey site that I haven't been on for ages so I've cashed that out.
I'm sure there's more that can be done.

I've got to buy a box to put my books in to send off today, but that should be my only spend.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

HI Frugaldom Where are these updates? I loved reading about your frugal meals and life plans...

FunBrum

Hello frugalites!:wave:

I'm nursing a cold today, and feeling sorry for myself!

I did a carboot on Sunday, the first of the season for me.
I made £47.20 which is probably the least I've ever made! There didn't seem many punters about which is unusual for that location. It's normally very busy. Still it free money so I'm happy with that. I'm doing one this Saturday at a different place. Fingers crossed.:)

I've got a huge bag full of ex-carboot items to go to the chazza shop when I feel well enough to take them.

My gardens looking good and everything's growing well. It's lovely to sit out enjoying the fine weather with a good book!:D

I'm managing to save quite a bit and putting it towards my debt. My envelope system is working well for me and I'm not tempted to go out on a spending spree, so I'm chuffed with that. :money:

I'm trying to stick to making do with food items from my pantry and fridge, although at the moment, I don't feel like eating anything with this cold.:(
I'm catching up with your lovely posts as they inspire me to do better!:A

FrankieM

Morning

Yesterday ended up being another NSD for me. I popped into the local Tesco Express and they gave me one of their boxes. I was very chuffed with myself So my books are now all boxed up and waiting for delivery.

I spent most of yesterday pottering around the house, looking up ways to make money and looked after my GD (15months) for a few hours in the afternoon and then my son took me out for a couple of drinks at the local pub.

A couple of my children will be around today helping to declutter the porch. It's not my stuff so we have to be very careful....but it the very least needs a good tidy.

And then this afternoon I'l be heading down to pick up my youngest from school as she's got an orthodontist appointment tomorrow. I'm trying to make my tank of fuel last the month. I've already done one trip down and back so it's careful driving needed.

Frugaldom

Frankie, you'll need to go via my profile - anytime I even mention Frugaldom, someone reports me on here!


Summer-like weather continues here, the veg seedlings are coming along nicely, the fruit bushes are flowering and showing signs of berries and the wild cherry trees have loads of little green cherries on them, which is a shame, as we can't eat those if they ripen.


Rubber chicken in the slow cooker along with some leftover bacon, so that will do meals for the rest of the week and make a pan of soup.


Food spends for the household, year to date = £331.81 with plenty in stock, so it is round about my average £1 per person per day (only 2 of us here now) if everything lasts until next month. It should. It better!