2018 Frugal Living Challenge

Nonnadiluca

I have been using soap nuts since the summer and they will last for ages. I find them fine; a friend recommended them to me- she has a 9 year old boy, a 4 year old boy, a toddler and a husband with a mucky job and they always look clean so I thought they'd be OK for us! She has also made a liquid cleaner from them, which she says is really good. My DD has tried some of mine, ( she has 2 sports mad boys) and had no problem with the cleaning, although she still had to use stain remover for really bad stains. However, she doesn't like the lack of fragrance. This is a plus point for me, but each to their own!
Re writing dates, I have bought 5 litre bottles of Ecover wul and Suma Clear and Simple shampoo and have written the date started on the bottle. They were both started on 16th September; the shampoo will probably last for about 2 years and the wul about 6 months at a guess, which is useful to know.
Other reusables, for wrapping food I use the inside bags from cereal boxes which can be washed and used loads of times and I have a few beeswax wraps that my friend made for me. This has drastically reduced my use of cling film.

Treasurequeen

I buy hand wash and washing up liquid in bulk 5l bottles and they both last me just over a year. I use beeswax wraps so no longer buy cling film or tin foil. I will be writing dates on bottles of toiletries and cleaning materials from now on. I also buy Epsom salt in bulk for Health reasons and the left over water and Epsom salt foot bath soak get thrown outside on the moss as Epsom salt kills moss on the ground.

nannygladys

Hi everyone
I have worked out my budget to be £8385 for absolutely everything, but I have then broken it down into dds, yearly bills, house keeping etc so I will keep a ledger for all budgets so I know if I'm over spending on one area.
I will try to menu plan for a week at a time, shop on the same day for that week and put various amounts in different pots to keep the budgets separate. Feels better now that I've worked it all out. Roll on January 17th when it starts for me. Upto then I have about £11 a week to live on, but bills have all been paid so it's only for food and as there's loads left after Xmas it's achievable.
Nannyg

PennyGrabber

Hi all,

I'm currently spending money to save money...
1- I am buying some scales so I don't need to go to a slimming club every week
2- I have bought lots of spuds from the aldi offer to last me for 6-8 weeks
3- I have bought all remaining stock of my crochet yarn I use which was reduced to £1.90 per ball. I can make 1.5-3 doilies from each one, so that's the year's craft sorted, and many gifts for family and friends. I always feel richer if I can still craft...
4- I have bought some birthday presents for people from the asda Christmas sale.

With all of this, I have saved around £50.

I am currently planning my January meals and it doesn't look like I'll need to buy much at all to get through the month. I have two roasts listed, using the frozen xmas meat, and some jars that are hovering near their bb dates. Looking forward to a frugal January!!

Will be spending more time at home next year, as that's cheaper, so will hopefully be getting rid of stuff from around the house, either on eBay, Facebook or to charity shops.

Feeling good - roll on 1st Jan!!

PG x

Ps - I have also set up my savings tin ready for xmas next year - I allow myself a weekly cash budget for everything, which I take out on a Saturday. Whatever is left on Friday evening will go into my sealed tin, to be opened at the end of November. This is in addition to other savings plans.

simplelivingislandlife

Hello,

Would it be possible to join, I am hoping to move forward next year with my plans of trying to grow my own, forage, cooking from scratch ect ect and I think this little place will be great to talk to like-minded people. Sadly everyone around me would much prefer to go to M&S than to actually make anything themselves so I cannot natter with anyone.

I will look at all my budgets and see what I can do as a rough guide

FrankieM

Morning

I spent most of yesterday in bed. I think I have a flu thing. I never get ill so it's knocked me a little bit. I'm feeling a bit better this morning so I'm going to get a few things done and then rest this afternoon.

The tesco delivery arrived last night and everything has been put away. Loads of food everywhere..this definitely works better than a weekly shop for me.

What I love about this challenge is that everyone finds their own level and while you can get some good ideas to try, there's no pressure if they aren't for you.

I'm not one for making my own cleaning stuff, or foraging or growing...but the 'frugal' things I do are comfortable for me and so have become a part of my normal.

Anyway...have a lovely day everyone

Unicorn101

I’d like to join you all in 2018. I still need to work on a budget. Changed my job this year and took a pay cut in order to do so. Job is better for my family but need to think when it comes to the finances. Need to add details to my budget plan and have read through last years challenge forum. Going to check out what toiletries are in stock and what the freezer holds tomorrow!

Kerry_Woman

I have now set my budget as £10,000 which includes everything. I know that in the past years I have spent under that amount. I need to be even more frugal as I now live by myself as sadly my Mum passed away earlier this month and she lived with me. I was frugal when she was alive as she helped with the food.

Frugaldom

Just updating the challenger list but don't rely on your numbers staying the same, as these are simply counting how many are doing this and they change because it's alphabetical to make it easier to check off usernames. It currently stands as per the following, so shout out loud and bold if your name is missing and I'll get it added as soon as possible.

1. Allie23
2. Angelicious
3. BroadwayBaby71
4. Buffythedebtslayer
5. Buttonnose
6. Cybertortoise
7. CW18
8. Datlex
9. DawnW
10. Debttaghh
11. Elly68
12. Evuka
13. FairyPink
14. Fishcake_Random
15. Fizzyisbusy
16. Florence J
17. FrankieM
18. Frugaldom
19. Frugalwannabe
20. Gien
21. Kerry Woman
22. Mumof3.12kindebt
23. Lessonlearned
24. LynneJK
25. MadamMim2013
26. Merle
27. Miss D Meanor
28. Moneysavingmadgem
29. Moneysavingmonkey85
30. Mooloo
31. Munchin
32. NannyGladys
33. Nonnadiluca
34. PennyGrabber
35. Peony40
36. PlayJay
37. PlaysNicely
38. Poppycat1
39. SarahC74
40. Saver-upper
41. SimpleLivingIslandLife
42. Squirrelgirl
43. Supersaver2018
44. Tanya12345
45. ThePennyFarthings
46. TreasureQueen
47. TrueBlueMummy
48. Unicorn101
49. Wit40iwtwan

susieg

please count me in..... budget to follow x