2019 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Crafty Lisa, Please share a photo of your pallet planter! (We are in the middle of creating a sensory garden and have the area fenced off with pallets.) Sounds to me like you are doing OK so well done!

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I'm not sure how to do a photo but hopefully this has worked.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

It obviously hasn't worked. Can someone provide me with an idiots guide to do the photos. It would be much appreciated.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

Second attempt.

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I give up :-( .

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I wonder if this will work.

little_green

Frugaldom wrote: »

Hi fru-guys and gals: Life continues in Frugaldom as usual, making the pennies spin slower and roll further, saving and recycling whatever I can and making do or mending, rather than replacing whenever possible.

Don't any of you beat yourselves up over NoSpendDays, they aren't as important as the spend days. Frugality is more to do with how you spend your money rather than when or how often. Obviously, less spending is good and no spending is better but if you are truly investing in your future life of debt free frugal living then every spend is a step in the right direction. I used to look twice at what I was about to spend on and then take the amount I almost spent on that coffee / food / holiday / item of clothing / extra travelling etc and pay it to debt. Once debt free, I put it into savings. Its a tough, single-minded and sometimes boring and lonely journey but at the end of it, we can live free from any money worries and can choose if/when we need to work. THAT is the ultimate treat or reward. I's about needs versus wants with savings set aside to cover the contingency plan of an unplanned outing or purchase. (Gifts for others, chariable donations, events etc.

Gardening, painting pebbles and building fences from old pallets for me this month, plus had a new grandchild appear in the world and some major car-related expenditure so once again, missing any opportunity of a break but hey-ho... my work is my hobby so I don't mind.

i agree it's a way of life & sometimes it even becomes fun. I enjoy buying stuff second hand. Sometimes i'll see something new that I want for a split second but then when i see the price tag my mind automatically goes "you could get x for the price of that at chartiy shop or boot sales".
this month i've managed to get from boot sales/charity shops:
a fleece, 2 pairs of shorts, a pair of jogging bottoms, sports leggings, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 t shirts & a tank top
all for ..... drum roll ..... £18 (various sellers/shops) but that wouldn't even get me one item in an actual shop!!

Katie_j

To cut along story short, I had to go into town today with DD. I thought it would be more economical to get lunch from a bakery and sit in the park, well how wrong was I £5.80 for 2 rolls!!! I couldn't believe it:eek: not even a drink with it:mad:

Frugaldom

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire wrote: »

I wonder if this will work.

Although I can't see the photo in the post here, the link that showed up in the email alert worked so thank you for that. It looks great and I love the colour!

Katie_j, I cannot remember the last time I bought anything in town for lunch as it is just so not-in-my-budget but I have, occasionally, bought pre-heated sausage rolls from village store at a cost of £1.50 each. I does 2 of us if having it with beans but even that is expensive when comparing to basic home cooking. I don't think anything really can compare to homemade, to be honest, as we're forever paying for someone else's time, energy and packaging.

I'm eating vegetarian this week while feeding the students who are on holiday, volunteering at Frugaldom. Fresh fruit & veg will forever be a problem here when there are no shops and we don't have enough growing to have things cropping all year round. If we could live on herbe, however, we'de be onto a winner. :rotfl:

Siebrie

Re nsd's: I have mentioned it before on this forum, but maybe not on this thread: when I was on a very tight budget, I had one spend day per week. That was the only day I allowed myself to pay bills, buy stamps, buy (stuff to make) gifts, set aside collection money, buy train tickets, go grocery shopping.

It forced me to prepare thoroughly, think my week through, think about friends and relatives with upcoming events/birthdays/milestones, check my wardrobe, search for recipes to use up the ingredients in my pantry (1 shelf in my kitchen ). And once I had done that, which took about two hours every week, I could finish my shopping very fast, and be free the rest of the week.