2018 Frugal Living Challenge

PurpleJay

Hello

Can I join in please.

My aim really is to live within my means as despite having a decent income, the savings we do have (from inheritance not actual savings), is dwindling.

We are 2 adults and an 11 yo. We have a mortgage and high council tax. Nothing I can do about that. I have over the past few months, moved car and pet insurance, broadband and TV providers to save money. This year I will look at gas/elec and home insurance.

One of my aims is to do more batch cooking and take my lunches to work. Since going full time in March 2016, I have been buying more food and being less organised (DH and I both pick up shopping a bit randomly so I don't always have what I need). I also want to reduce waste. My grocery bill is probably quite high but really I have no idea! We also buy to much alcohol. Dry January seems a good place to start on that front. I will buy no alcohol in January and have no meals out/socials planned.

I have done a spreadsheet using the example on this page (thank you). I have loads of headings and have covered everything I can think of going through my bank statements. I have put acurate figures for bills and already entered the direct debits for January. Other things I will record as I go.

I am hoping at the end of the year to have managed to put some savings aside and plan to transfer some money each month into a savings account.

I have a few hundred on a credit card which i clear every month but puts me behind. I will clear this in Jan from savings and give myself a clean start.

Hopefully, I will be able to top up our income too, by selling stuff on ebay. I have a huge pile of stuff to get rid of, it's just getting round to it...

I am on a mission!

Started reading the 2017 thread for tips but it may take me a while

cw18

Oopps!

Just realised I never offically declared myself 'in' to get my name added to the list

So please sign me up

Aims for the year are to think before I spend, reduce my food, toiletries and cleaning mountains by not buying if I have something in that will 'do' (and in the case of the food mountain, by meal planning around that at least on weekdays - may 'treat' myself to something new/fresh/different at weekends when OH is over). I also want to get back to dejunking the house, which has always (and will always) be a slow on-going process. Whilst doing that I must get back to listing things on-line to try and bring in a bit of extra money.

I may need a few bits for my running as I'm doing the London Marathon in April, but I've already bought my new running shoes and socks. Food that weekend will be mainly bought down there which means a hit to the grocery spends, but we do at least have an apartment with basic cooking facilities booked for the 3 nights which means we won't be eating out :T I've also already booked trains and buses for the return trip. (Advance fares using a Two Together Railcard purchased using Tesc0 points, so first class each way with buses to/from the trains at home end has come in at about £66 each - not bad when the original price for 1st class was £90 one way plus buses and standard fare was about £90 return with buses :eek: )

Other than that the aim is to try and build up some savings to either get my car through it's MOT at the end of July or put towards a new-to-me vehicle. It barely made it through the last one, but at 15+ years old I guess it's time to start thinking about the inevitable - and also to decide whether I can really justify the expense of car ownership, when the only thing I'd struggle with is an emergency call from my parents or daughter.

Still need to finalise my budget. Plan to make a really, really good start this coming week (off work 24th-26th, but OH will be here much of 24th and I'm visiting family on 26th!) and hope to have it finished by 29th. As always it will be subject to tweaks throughout the year if anything unexpected crops up......

Frugalwannabe

Hello,

I would love to join please and will sort my budget by Jan 1st. We have so much debt and if I can reduce that by making savings and being frugal it will ease the pressure I feel constantly. I also want to declutter as I’m sick of stuff everywhere and this will also be our first year with our allotment!

Anyway just wanted to jump onboard thank you ��

SarahC74

I’d love to be in next year, the money is just slipping through my fingers and I need to be more aware, and more frugal! I’ll sort out the budget by the end of the year.

Pipsmum

May I join you please? I managed to get myself out of debt, with huge help from this site. It took a long time, but I learned a lot along the way. I need to start building my savings now, as health issues make the future a little uncertain, so anything I can do now will help in the long term I hope. I'm looking forward to the challenge with such an inspiring group of people.

datlex

Pipsmum wrote: »

May I join you please? I managed to get myself out of debt, with huge help from this site. It took a long time, but I learned a lot along the way. I need to start building my savings now, as health issues make the future a little uncertain, so anything I can do now will help in the long term I hope. I'm looking forward to the challenge with such an inspiring group of people.

Congratulations on getting out of debt, feels great doesn't it? I like these challlenges on here as they focus your financial thinking even if you don't do them fullly. I'm hoping to use the techniques in here of saving money to build up my savings to allow myself to retire a couple of years early when I reach that age.

Savvy_sewing

datlex wrote: »

I often wondered how folk were managing to live on £4000. Then I looked at the spread sheet. It didn't have any rent included, making this a lot more achievable.
I use it. However it can be tempting to spend just because can get cashback. We should remember the golden rules. In debt only buy what need and can afford, not in debt will we use it, is it worth it. Topcashback or equivalents should only be used if the place we are buying from is most cost effective.
If you watch Dave Ramsey, he teaches snowballing debt. You start with the smallest. He freely admits that it does not seem like a logical approach, but you will find it works. You may also find that clearing debts has a positive impact on your credit report.

I am lucky enough to have a good credit rating. It’s in the 900’s
I like to clear off the smallest debts first and then on up the list. I was nearly debt free until the kids needed pulling out of the myre but then couldn’t help repay thinks.
I don’t have a pension pot, so the £1,000 is for the pension plan and I feel like I am going somewhere if I have the savings. I get very anxious if I don’t have savings I can use in an emergency etc. Although I think that I may pay more in interest I feel it’s better than the stress levels when I don’t have something saved.

Nonnadiluca

Right, I've had a good look at this year's expenses and there's definitely room for improvement. Please may I join in?
We need to keep our total outgoings to £1500 per month, £18,000 per year for absolutely everything.
I use Spending Tracker app on my phone, which I like because it's easy to use, free and, because I always have my phone on me, I can update immediately.
Currently I have on there:
a 'shopping' account; the budget of £300 goes in as 'income' and every spend is an expense: I don't record every item, just the total for the shop eg. 'Waitrose £20', butcher £15 etc. The problem with this system is that some months I overspend, others I underspend and I assume it evens out, but I'm not sure.
an 'other spends' account which is pretty much what it says on the tin. £400 a month is the budget and, again, sometimes I go over, sometimes I go under and I hope it balances ok overall.
a 'joint account' account which is where all income goes in and all direct debits come out so I know exactly what the regular payments are.
a 'Christmas' account; total budget goes in at the beginning of the year and all Xmas related spends come out - balance is carried forward as income for the following month.
My intention for next year is to put the year's total budget for 'shopping', £3,600 and 'other spends', £4,800, in as income for January and carry forward remainder as income for the next month. This way I will see if the over/under spends do indeed balance out.
I will also add a new account, ' total spends'. This will start with £18,000 as 'income' and every month I will take off direct debits, shopping, other spends and Xmas spends so I know what has gone out, in total, and what is left for the rest of the year.
That may seem a bit muddled, but it makes sense to me!
Looking forward to getting started!

BroadwayBaby71

Hello
New to this forum, and desperate to get my spending in check. Will look at the budget planner over the next few days, so count me in if there's room for a quiet one

angelicious

Can I join for 2018 please?