2018 Frugal Living Challenge

sinkorswim2018

Great news about your Dad Moll.

PennyGrabber

Amazing news about your dad Moll!

I'm still unwell, so may return to the dr either tomorrow or Friday as I'm not convinced I'll be well enough for work next week. I have, however, left the house twice today! This morning to drop the children at their schools, where someone nearly drifted into me in the traffic queues, and once this afternoon to watch my son in a play at school. Luckily oh drove for that. The good thing about that is that's where I work, so colleagues could see how ill I am.

Actually cooked myself some dinner tonight - jacket spud, tuna and salad. Really enjoyed it, and have two spare jackets ready to zap tomorrow when needed.

Nice frugal day, and no spending planned until Sunday.

PG x

LittleGingerFox

Pipsmum wrote: »

I have been using homemade soap for a few months now, and love it. I've now started using laundry gloop, and this week I'm experimenting with homemade washing up liquid, and a facial cleanser.

Can I ask what ingredients/ recipe you use for the washing up liquid and laundry detergent? I have seen so many recipes and I would be interested in making my own as well 😄

I had another NSD today and tomorrow will be the same. I have gone over the budget already (by £40) but I needed some cat stuff (and extra for a regular gypsy cat who had fleas) and a prescription for me so I had to get them. I'm not beating myself up though- we all have to stay healthy, I did a big bulk buy of food and cat stuff to help get through February so I'm left with £25 for the rest of Feb. I'm hoping its do-able:cool:

I hope everyone is ok and surviving the penny pinching, great news about your Dad Moll! :beer:

nannygladys

Hi everyone,
Good news about your dad Moll, really pleased for your family.
Didn't go shopping today,stayed in and finished a doll blanket out of surplus wool for Dgd2, who I'm picking up from school on Friday so she can have it them.
Tomorrow I'm having Dgd3 for a few hours (pre school) shes a real character and on the go all the time, but such a little sweetie!!! so I may get my shopping done before I pick her up.
Hello to the newbies, we all try to help each other out and its helpful to post every day to keep us on our own personal journey.
Anyway off to make a cuppa and lurk about.
Nannyg

Milly-Ann-Molly

Today has officially been a no spend day...thanks to bronchitis I have achieved three NSD this January...which for a rural liver with an Amazon prime addiction and a daily school run that passes the waitr@@@ "free" coffee counter I usually struggle to avoid spending... BUT With mounting cc debts I have to draw a big line and not step over it!
So today I dropped ds1 at school and drove straight home...not stopping at any shops (coffee or Charity shops - another needless addiction)... And I spent four hours listing out grown ski wear on fleabay... I even had a bid already so technically making money...
In all a good start to my new frugal me...
I bought a metal water bottle last week too and plan to have it in the car at all times to kerb the "coffee" calling me...
I have set aside a family budget for each month this year and will try to pay cc debt down and also save a bit in a jar for Xmas... The last two Xmas are not paid for yet and I dread to think what the interest adds up to!
NO More... I am frugal and will survive!

I have inventoried my freezer and plan to recipe based up the contents.

lynnejk

Evening all

A warm welcome to the new peoples and good luck with embracing a more frugal life-style.

We're a friendly bunch on here and so, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask

Great news re your father Moll and hope it continues that way.

Still well in budget for the month - so far

Hope you all have a great Thursday
Lx

sinkorswim2018

Had a nearly nsd today. Also my daughter asked me for £3 for tomorrow for something she is doing with her friends....she actually asked me not as if it were her God given right to have it, and that £3 is not an insignificant amount. I had definitely made progress there. I usually get 'well it's only £20'. Let's hope this continues as it will make a significant difference to my budget if she becomes more frugal and I can remain boundaried with her.
Only 7 days til payday!!!

Moll

Aw thankyou everyone with your comments about my Dad, You are a lovely lot .
Well ive had a tally up of what ive saved for the holiday pot this week , It "Would " have been a low amount , but with the additional money of the tenner I found , plus the things I sold It brought it up to a big amount of £41.32p . This is week 3, and the running total is now £130 .33. Im amazed myself , but realise ive had some good fortune , and next weeks isn't promised, Im meal planning around what I have in the freezer and cupboards, as food is my biggest saving , cooking from scratch. I always have a couple of meals out though , so need to work on that , Plus I haven't as yet got anything ready to put on the bidding site, , Must really concentrate on that tomorrow ,
OH needs lessons on reducing the electricity bill . Im sure he doesn't know how to turn a light off.......If I have to follow him and turn lights off one more time , I might hit him at the back of the head with a frying pan to remind him , Just saying ........ Hello to all the new people

Frugaldom

Unicorn-ASJSD wrote: »

I would like to take part in this challenge but where do I start / what do I do (other than the obvious of cutting back!!)

Welcome! I think CW18 covers things nicely. We start at the beginning by working out our budget and organising our spending so it is prioritised to cover all the needs before we start on the wants. That's the shortest version I can come up with.

Milly-Ann-Molly wrote: »

Hi, can i join please? I would love to be more active in being frugal, paying off debt and saving. I am keen on self sufficiency and reducing waste so this thread could be a perfect fit. I do a monthly budget every month but have a habit of using CC for the purchases so it stretches further! that has backfired and now i need to be very frugal so that i can clear the cards! eek. hopefully you will all let me in? pretty please x

Welcome on board, you sound like you'll fit right in here no problem. Thank you for joining us

spudsmum wrote: »

Any room for another little one?

Maternity leave, a sudden unexpected increase in family size (twins!) and a couple of household emergencies has left me nursing £21k of debt on credit cards and overdrafts.

That figure is scary to me so I really want to get a handle on it and make some serious headway in becoming debt free and living within my means before my next "significant" birthday.

Very interested in the idea of frugality and hoping it will help me some way towards my goals.

Can i join you please?

There's always room for 1 more, or should that be 3? :T Congratulations on your surprise, I'm sure you will cope admirably and have all these lovely fellow frugalers here for support along the way. Good luck.

Frugaldom

I've now added the newest frugalers to the challenger list in post 2, if anyone's name is missing, just give me a shout.

Moll, that's great news about your day!

Spendy week here but I managed to bag some amazing bargains that will serve me well, so I'm happy. Not so happy at monthly phone charges now being well over £50 - I think it's now closer to £53 a month for unlimited broadband and anytime inclusive calls. I usually opt for line rental up front but decided against being tied into a contract for another year while trying to find a better option. If there was a mobile phone signal, I think we'd opt for that but guess what? We still have zero mobile phone service where we live. Ho hum... that's rural living for you.

Even happier to say that I received news from the Woodland Trust today, saying that we had been awarded another 420 free trees to plant at the Frugaldom project, so that made my day!