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Fiscal Fast
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Fiscal Fast Day 156
We have an excellent Farmer's Market at Sennen (which has a really good mix of food and crafts) and this was our first port of call today.
It was medium spend on edibles which included a treat for my long suffering hubby :rotfl: (he dutifully carries my bags when we go shopping
)
We then visited two charity shops in St Just which we had not been to before and they netted a couple of resales.
Our ebay sales have stalled a bit at the moment so we would appreciate your positive vibes.
Hope you fasting is going well?"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
Fiscal Fast Day 157
Wednesdays are always going to be High Spending Days as it is our car boot sale / charity shop day :j
Despite a very murky day and only half a field of cars / vans, there were bargains to be had. The mix between home and resale was heavily on the home side but that did include beautiful flowers and vine tomatoes.
After the sale we continued to Morrison's armed with shopping lists from DD2 and DD3 and a few bits on our list too.
Even though it was a High Spend Day I didn't feel that we had fallen off the wagon at all as nothing snuck into our baskets that we didn't need and there were NO stationery purchases :rotfl:"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
I've been following your Fast with interest although I don't post often. Now you are (nearly) six months in, I wondered if you've got any words of wisdom. Which new habits are proving most successful, what have you struggled with most? Have you got an idea of how much you've saved/reduced your outgoings, or is it just a case of keeping a tight rein and seeing where you are at the end of the year? And do you think it's got easier as time's gone on?Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.0
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Half the year down on your challenge is great going! Lovely places you live near -lucky you. I am chuffed that I have managed 2 NSD in the last week. Similar to what you are doing, I would love to join the Frugalwoods July Uber frugal month but as we are off on holiday - don't think it would work. Oh well -maybe I can try in August?
Best result this week was reducing my EE contract from £21.99 to £7 per month due to being a very light user. Yippeee.0 -
PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »I've been following your Fast with interest although I don't post often. Now you are (nearly) six months in, I wondered if you've got any words of wisdom. Which new habits are proving most successful, what have you struggled with most? Have you got an idea of how much you've saved/reduced your outgoings, or is it just a case of keeping a tight rein and seeing where you are at the end of the year? And do you think it's got easier as time's gone on?
What an awesome set of questions PWD - I have been reflecting on the Fast myself so it is great to share my musings with you
Here goes...
Which new habits are proving most successful?
I have picked up many hints and tips on here which I am most grateful for :beer:
In no particular order :cool:
* Only shop when you have to - no window shopping unless you have an armour plated will power :rotfl:
* Know exactly what you have in your food cupboards and freezer etc - keep your inventory up to date at ALL times.
* If possible, wait until you have a few items on your list so that you are not inviting temptation
* Don't be swayed by supermarket's £5 off when you spend £50 etc which run for 4 weeks in a row. We always used to use these and this is where treats creep in or you are pushing up your purchases just to hit the threshold
* Consider keeping a spending diary. We keep a daily diary and it helps us to keep a keen eye on where our money is going.
* Be held responsible by having a post on here - it has worked many times when I have been tempted but have wanted to be proud and share a NSD with you
* If you are self employed consider Bookers. Without doubt this is where our biggest savings have come for. Their RTC is generous and is not fought over. Temptation is unlikely as quantities are in bulk! The staff are incredibly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. There is also free tea, coffee and hot chocolate to be enjoyed
* Keep your 'eye on the prize' - why are you wanting to cut back /down? Yes budget for treats but stay steadfast in your desire to achieve your goal"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
Well done TM6 you have really had your 'lightbulb' moment and seem to be sorted out in your focusing. perhaps reporting back here on the forum is a bit like 'WW's where going weekly for a weigh-in keeps you focused on your goals.
Keep up the armour-plating you are doing brilliantly:)
I shall have my second shop of this month tomorrow when the football match is on as the shops will be quieter then. Because I was away at the beginning of the month for a week I have not spent very much at all this month around £17 odd and hopefully another £17-18 tomorrow should sort the rest of the month out.Freezer is slowly reducing (very slowly ) but reducing none the less
I keep finding things I had forgotten about in there Tomorrows shop will be odds and ends I have run out of and fruit and veg which I do use a lot of.
Onwards and upwards chums
JackieO xx0 -
PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »I've been following your Fast with interest although I don't post often. Now you are (nearly) six months in, I wondered if you've got any words of wisdom. Which new habits are proving most successful, what have you struggled with most? Have you got an idea of how much you've saved/reduced your outgoings, or is it just a case of keeping a tight rein and seeing where you are at the end of the year? And do you think it's got easier as time's gone on?
What have you struggled with most?
I think the hardest has been reining in the entertainment side. We have quite a few excellent eateries down here especially a beach side cafe and a superb pub that does a carvery. I miss visiting these places but for our family size the cafe for lunch and drinks would set us back £40 and the carvery would be about £70 which are hefty chunks when you are on a Fast.
Have you got an idea of how much you've saved/reduced your outgoings?
Yes, we know how much we have saved down to the last penny and we will do the final reveal in the week running up to flying out to NYC
We could have saved even more but we have been ploughing more money than usual into auctions and car boot sales with the intention to make our money work even harder :cool:
Do you think it's got easier as time's gone on?
Without a doubt it gets easier as time goes on fo many reasons
1. You have established systems in place
2. You learn from your mistakes
3. As the clock to your end goal is counting down, you become more resolute to succeed
I hope this has been helpful, if you have any more questions, ask away :rotfl:"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
angela110660 wrote: »Half the year down on your challenge is great going! Lovely places you live near -lucky you. I am chuffed that I have managed 2 NSD in the last week. Similar to what you are doing, I would love to join the Frugalwoods July Uber frugal month but as we are off on holiday - don't think it would work. Oh well -maybe I can try in August?
Best result this week was reducing my EE contract from £21.99 to £7 per month due to being a very light user. Yippeee.
Way to go Angela on all your savings, excellent reductions.
Yes, I think I would wait until after my holiday too before declaring an uber frugal month but even a few cutbacks on holiday may get you into the mood :beer:"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
Well done TM6 you have really had your 'lightbulb' moment and seem to be sorted out in your focusing. perhaps reporting back here on the forum is a bit like 'WW's where going weekly for a weigh-in keeps you focused on your goals.
Keep up the armour-plating you are doing brilliantly:)
I shall have my second shop of this month tomorrow when the football match is on as the shops will be quieter then. Because I was away at the beginning of the month for a week I have not spent very much at all this month around £17 odd and hopefully another £17-18 tomorrow should sort the rest of the month out.Freezer is slowly reducing (very slowly ) but reducing none the less I keep finding things I had forgotten about in there Tomorrows shop will be odds and ends I have run out of and fruit and veg which I do use a lot of.
Onwards and upwards chums
JackieO xx
and thank you Jackie) for all your regular support, without doubt having support and posts from yourself and fellow MSE'ers has made the often hard slog that much more enjoyable :rotfl:"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0 -
Fiscal Fast 158
A very low spend day today
As I had to call into Holland And Barrett for my lady at work and as I am running low on Chocshot (my favourite for hot chocolate) I checked out the price. It was on Buy 1 Get 1 half price and I had a £1 to use up on my loyalty card so I was very pleased.
Added to that they use brown paper bags for bringing home your purchases which I then re - use for my paper recycling and I picked up two of those.
Also they let me have some small (think mug size) boxes which I can use for posting small delicate ebay items out.
Result! :beer:"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like but the world may be a little bit better because I was important in the life of a child."0
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