2018 Frugal Living Challenge

lynnejk

need_an_answer wrote: »

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My life has been totally upended in the last few weeks going from the security of good incomes to suddenly finding out my DH is being made redundant soon after 30 years,a total blow!........

....monthly food budgeting is something that I really would like to initially address so will probably opt for a figure in March and see how that goes............

As you can see by my sig I am already a womble,not to everyones taste but sometimes its the thing that will actually get me out the house and keep me active!
I am also an avid user already of my spreadsheets and as in previous years my goal for this one is £200 a month of freebies,be that free products,trials vouchers for surveys etc and free cinema screenings

Sorry to read the news about your DH. My DH was made redundant in November - they rang us whilst we were in holiday to tell us the co had gone into admin :eek: The two most important things I found were to give DH loads of support (it's quite an emotional shock) and secondly to look into entitlements asap. At least with 30 years service he should get a good chunk of redundancy pay.

On the food budgeting front you might like to have a look at the March 2018 Grocery Challenge - loads of support and lots of cheap recipes.

On making extra pennies each month you might find the
Make upto £10 a day in February 2018 very helpful. Again loads of useful tips and ideas and lots of support.

Both threads are very friendly - just put them into the 'Forum Support' in the top green bar.

Good luck and HTH
Lx

bebelles wrote: »

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New job petrol spend so far is about £60. i have been using sains for the nectar points anyone know of any places for regular fills ups with rewards?

Mr Tosca and Morries both have a reward scheme that I know - you need to get the relevant card on your first purchase and register
HTH
Lx

indigowarrior wrote: »

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Unfortunately I have to go up north and see my grandfather who is in critical condition. He went into have a heart bypass on Tuesday and hasn't woken up since. They have had to paralyze his lungs as he was struggling to breath.:(

Sorry to read about your gf and sending some gws vibes and hugs for you. Hope he's soon improving
Lx

lynnejk

LittleGingerFox wrote: »

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Has anyone any experience with doing leaflet distribution? I thought it might be an easy way to make a but of money? Anyone any thoughts or experience about it?

It's definitely not an easy way to make money - but if you're persistent, live in an area where the houses aren't too far apart and don't mind the weather - then you can. Suggest you take on a small job first and see how you go.

Oh - and beg or borrow something with wheels like a shopping trolley or buggy to carry the bundles - they get v heavy after a little while or you have to keep going back to base to get more
HTH
Lx

need_an_answer

LittleGingerFox wrote: »

Hi all, welcome to newbies It's a lovely community so settle in and get cosy xx

Has anyone any experience with doing leaflet distribution? I thought it might be an easy way to make a but of money? Anyone any thoughts or experience about it?

I used to do this many years ago when my little one was in a pushchair,it got us out the house and yes provided something to carry the leaflets.
I used to do a flat fee for x amount so I'm not sure if that's how its still done but it was in the days before minimum wage so maybe it is hourly based now.

some routes were much easier than others,much easier when its flat and no steps,so consequently some weeks I would earn the money in 2 hours and other times it would take 4 and maybe 5 hours.

Practical point,watch out for the dogs that sit behind letterboxes,you'll soon learn a technique that doesn't involve putting your fingers through the letter box to get the leaflet in!

Thank you all for the warm welcome,I really am looking forward to being part of the group and hopefully sharing and learning.

My situation at the moment is very much the fear of the unknown,my DH has worked for the same company for 30 years and whilst he has a very varied skillset having worked from the bottom up age I guess is not on his side going forward.
There is a pay out pending which on the face is generous however there is the nagging thought that this will now need to be stretched as far and for as long as possible,so whilst there is a part of me that would love to "blow it " on something frivolous the sensible me is much more cautious.

As I think I said yesterday money saving has been a bit of a hobby in the past,and now I perhaps need to embrace it a little more so it perhaps supports more of the day to day things rather than just the "treats".

cw18

need_an_answer wrote: »

Practical point,watch out for the dogs that sit behind letterboxes,you'll soon learn a technique that doesn't involve putting your fingers through the letter box to get the leaflet in!

And cats as well. At least most dogs let you know they're there by barking as you approach the door.

I had a cat attack my finger from the other side of a letterbox almost 2 weeks ago. It took five minutes, 1 clean tissue and 4 plasters (fortunately I carry a supply) to stop me bleeding over the rest of the post I had to deliver before the end of my shift!! This photo was taken about 28 hours after the attack. It was cleaned & bandaged at a walk-in centre a few hours after the attack, and this was after I took the bandage off the next evening. (Assuming you can see a small-ish pic, clicking on it shows a larger version)

cw18

hazelisok wrote: »

Hi. Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome. I am still finding my way around the forum, so please forgive any blunders. I have not worked out how to quote people yet.

At the bottom of posts made by other people you should see a series of blue buttons. The second in is 'quote' - click on that and you'll find yourself in a reply box with the original post within the code required to generate a quote. The third has balloons on it. If you click that on one post (or two) and then click 'quote' on another you'll be in a reply box with all those posts being quoted.

Am I right in guessing that your DHs are Dear Husbands?

Correct And OH is Other Half (I use that one. Widowed with new partner, but not living together). DS can be son or sister, context normally suggests which.

Moll

indigowarrior wrote: »

:hello:


Sorry your having such a rough time lately , hugs x

shish100

indigowarrior - sending hugs

Frugaldom - Minimalist March Challenge sounds good to me! I definitely have cupboards that need clearing out. By making it a challenge I think I can convince OH to join in. See if we can avoid the shops about from bread, milk, yogurts. We enjoy a bit of competition

We have already decided this year we will not do any new DIY projects. Just finish the ones we have started, or already have the stuff for.
Bought paint two years ago to paint the house, but haven't yet!
We have a couple of new doors to hang, again this one is two years old.
Plus all the large pieces of wood for the log fire that need cutting to size.

FrankieM

Evening everyone

Welcome to all the newbies

I'm completely up for the March Minimalist Challenge. I've inadvertently started because after a surprise day off yesterday, I've gone through my cupboards, fridge and freezer. I've tidied up and got things organised for my monthly shop tomorrow.
I'll be looking in the couple of cook books I have and getting a new recipe ideas and doing my shopping list accordingly.
I've also 'upgraded' my phone, saving myself £11 a month on my new contract.
This coming year's water bill has arrived. It seems I was on a 10 month payment plan so I'll let those extra payments sit in the house account and organise for this year to be 12 months to keep the budgeting on track. It's a rates bill and not a water meter as I originally thought so nothing I can do to bring that down.
I've also changed my hot water timer and dropped it being only 2 hours a day. We barely use the hot water from the tank. It's electric showers here.
I've shaved £5 a month off my fuel budget and I'm hoping to shave £20 a month off my grocery budget but we'll see how that one goes. I may have to add a bit back.
The big one for me is gas and electric, so I'll be working hard on bringing that down over the coming months.
It's typical that 'the beast from the east' is arriving just as I'm trying to save money! lol.

I have other things on my plan/list. I'll get it altogether and post it for tomorrow, which is when I get paid and so when my month starts.

I feel like my mojo is on it's way back, so I'm going to take full advantage of it.

slowlyfading

Hello everyone

I took part in this challenge waaay back in 2008 (?) and really enjoyed it. Life has got in the way as of late, plus running my own personal finance blog takes a lot of time. But, I'd like to re-join, if you'll have me?

Looking forward to reading through the thread properly and getting to know you all!

spudsmum

Hi all!

Its payday!!!!!! I love payday - it feels like everything resets.

Did my banking this morning and filled all of my saving pots. Managed to pay another £55 on my debt -yay!
Bought Youngest childs birthday present - it was "free" as used vouchers from online surveys.

Went to dentist today so had budgetted £20 for that - need fillings though so will be £54 instead at least I dont uave to pay that until May so gives me times to save a bit each week for this.