2017 Frugal Living Challenge

determined_new_ms

that's a good reduction Pp! Must have been a tight month! I think one of the hardest things is *feeling* like our los have to make a lot of compromises. That is the biggest thing that gets me. Not sure how old you lo is but I console myself that by the time she is old enough to know we'll be on a better income x


ooooo I should reconcile my accounts and see what the month end looks like. Not feel positive as Feb was a very expensive month with a lot of one off spends that over the year balance out. Still looks like a massive overspend though! Although groceries came in at £133 so that's a £47 underspend

Jazee

Month end and we came in £118 under budget even though we've paid for a weekend away I hadn't accounted for. Helped by no council tax or water bill again.

Shortie

Morning all

I've followed this thread for a few years now but every once in a while I disappear off the forum, so advance apologies

I'm due to clear my loan off when my remortgage completes is a month or too and overall will be saving around £600 a month in payments which will be a welcome breather. We have a holiday to finish paying for and I have a missing tooth to replace so not out of the woods just yet, but when they are paid for we'll be ploughing additional spare monies into savings

We try and be careful with money but like a lot of people it's the 'mindless/thoughtless' spending that does the damage for me - a cheeky takeout here, extras in Tescos.

We're not needing to ban all naughy things completely, but reining it in would be very beneficial

So yesterday someone was clearly looking out for me... my fancies for falafel in work were hindered by leaving my bank card at home, I got home really fancying a chinese but was rescued by spotting a pack of Mr T Value tortillas in the cupboard which were warned in the oven (nom nom nom) after a pasta dinner and I finished off DS2's world book day costume (no idea why our school is a day later than everyone else).

Mr Shortie had made him a shield from card and foil and I made him a tabbard from a pillow case. And while I was sewing the edges neat and adding string ties bit to the neckline, DS2 declared we were being very frugal by not buying in something that would never be worn again. Lol. I loved the sentiment, as I sat there cutting up a pillow case that we do use :rotfl:

Kerry_Woman

I took my Mum to the dentist last week. We got a cab down there, but took her home in her wheelchair. The weather was nice when we left the dentist. Did pop into C0-0p on our way home to get some treats as she did not like having the fillings. Unfortunately, she is now unwell with a bad chest. Is wheezing. Luckily we had gone to see the GP on Tuesday for something else and he had checked her chest as she was continuing coughing. He has given her antibiotics.
Had the electric bill and it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Luckily, I had changed my tariff last year and it is the cheapest. Even though we had used more electric than in 2016 it was cheaper than our bill in 2016.
Have used up the face cleanser and 3 lotions/creams since January.
Did go slightly over my food budget for February. I was under budget for January and adding both months together I am still £9.62 under budget so far for the year. I am trying my best to limit how much I am spending and getting used to putting the money aside for the food/household budget.
Have had some money refunded for insurance taken out for my cooker and had tax refunded from a temp job. Also claimed for some holiday pay and volunteer travel expenses.
Have entered to do a charity 5k in July at Hyde Park. You can run, jog or walk. I always walk it due to my arthritis. I manage to do it in under 1 hour. Have being doing the charity 5K for quite a number of years.
Went to a show up London yesterday for office workers. They had companies who did venue hiring, office supplies amongst other things. Did a bit of networking.

allie23

I am another one who has disappeared for a while Shortie. I need to get back on here regularly though as it helps me focus and I haven't been that focussed over recent months. I am back working full time (until August when I go down to 3 days a week) and as a result I have been less frugal, opening the purse strings a bit too much!

Last week was an eye opener. I went to a different supermarket and the cost of my trolley was £65. In my usual place (Lidl) it would have been much less. So back to Lidl today and shop cost £25.82. Much better.

I want to get refocused as OH and I have had a dream for a while to move to the Isle of Skye (or nearby on the mainland) and this may become a reality quicker than we though due to a possible job becoming available in the next 1-2 years. I want us to be in a position to move if OH gets the job so it is time to refocus.


Today has been pretty productive so I am feeling that I am moving in the right direction. I have a HM steak and ale pie simmering in the oven, my washing out on the line (only option as we didn't replace a broken tumble drier) and I have set up a receipt book to keep track of my food shop and fuel costs.

My big vice is books. I must admit to regularly buying books, often on Amazon so I need to take a look at this. I may go on a new book fast for the remainder of lent:).

determined_new_ms

smallest of frugal wins yesterday! Happened to call in at a SM mid afternoon and they had reduced double cream to 15p a pot. Picked up 3 and made 2 into 350grms butter with madam and 240ml of butter milk which I froze in 15ml ice cubes. Butter for a week costing 30p (less than if I divided between butter milk & butter!). Butter scratched off of the shopping list.

Has inspired me to do some baking today

Have been busy sowing vegetable seeds and have managed to sneak in a few allotment sessions I love this time of year!

cw18

Compareed to normal, this week is a very expensive week for me in terms of groceries - mainly vegetables. I am using a fair bit from stock as well, so that's a good thing. Hopefully the cost should balance out over the next few months as I work my way through my homemade ready meals

OH helped me fit the new fridge/freezer on Sunday (OK, so he did most of the work ), and I'm spending part of each day of my week off work batch cooking to fill it.

Monday I made 9 portions of bolognese sauce (mince from other freezer, jar of sauce and chopped tinned toms from stock), and yesterday I made 6 portions of venison casserole (diced venison from other freezer) and a large pot of thick veg soup (cooked, but waiting to be put through blender and tubbed up). Next is a batch of macaroni casserole (mince from other freezer, cooked with onion, baked beans, chopped tinned toms and tomatoe puree - last 3 ingredients from stock. I don't add the pasta to it before freezing as I prefer that freshly cooked and it takes less space without it ). Depending on how much space I still have I plan to make sausage casserole (already have the sausages, and will add some tinned chopped toms from stock), chicken supreme (chicken to be defrosted), beef stew (beef is lurking in the other freezer), and on Saturday I plan to defrost (more) chicken to make a double batch of enchilladas (2 portions for that day and 6 for the freezer - tortillas also from stock).


I'm also using up some instant 'make in mug' soups at lunch time, but that's not making much space in my cupboards

Savvy_sewing

I need to find my positive energy and put my knowledge to good use again.
I have had a terribly expensive time and bailing my son out of rental debt to stop them being evicted meant I used up all of my emergency funds and emptied my bank accounts to very little.
So I am going to have to start again. I am also not following my menu plans properly and I am shopping with out a plan etc more often than not.
Life is changing so fast, and I need to take a step backwards and reassess what I am doing and how I can improve.
I don't like the fact that I don't have much emergency funds, and cash flow is tight.
I am home today and need to rest, after some dental surgery yesterday. So I am going to write my diary and try to put some changes back in to my world.

[Deleted User]

Still need to do my budget but I have completed my food inventory, planted some veg seeds and have started to get a bit more organised!

Its going to be a bit of an expensive week unfortunately though - I need to replace the glass in my greenhouse that storm doris managed to smash seven panes in total...not impressed but it could have been worse!!

This will be the first weekend this year that I haven't had something to do so I am going to make the most of it and get my budgets sorted, do a menu plan and also get plenty of slobbing in!! :rotfl:

Kerry_Woman

Have done some decluttering recently. Took two carrier bags of things to a charity shop. Also took some things to the recycling centre. Still amazed as to how much stuff is in the flat.


Had to update the budget for some of the categories I have for the year. Got the council tax bill so put the correct amount in. My broadband monthly bill has gone up. So had to up the annual cost and added extra onto it in case it goes up again. Has gone up twice now(including the one last month) in about 6 months. Had to adjust another category due to the changes.


My Mum is on another course of antibiotics for her chest infection. Am hoping she gets better soon.


Still looking and applying for permanent work. Not too much temp work out there at the moment with my agency. Did register with another agency.