2019 Frugal Living Challenge

gien

Well, just caught up with the thread and all the updates. I've also put my potoatoes out in trays to chit and have spent a very happy hour looking through all my packets of seeds and planning when i am going to plant them all. I bought quite a few packets this year because I can sell any spares at my local country market, thus hopefully getting my money back and maybe a bit more on top. I've got a lot of pots from Wilko ready to use and just need to get a few bags of seed compost.
Looking at my spreadsheets from January we did very well on most of our budget categories, especially food. Electricity was over but we were with outfox the market nad they had this scheme to charge more in the winter than in the summer. ALthough I can see the logic there was such an outcry that they reverted to a flat direct debit payment. I think they lost a lot of customers. I might of left too but they remained the cheapesty option so I stayed put.
This month will be good since I think we don't pay out the council tax (it is over 10 months?) - we haven;t had the bill for next year yet though. Otherwise we have a holiday int he half term but that's all paid for.
I've also started ebaying again - sold a lego set today and listed about 10 other things. All of htem I wioll just continue to relist until they sell - hopefully it will be a case of de cluttering as well.

Nicki_Sue

Morning all. I have news....
I can't remember who said one door closes and another opens but they were right. Pending references (and our very grumpy current landlord not being an a55) we have agreed a let on a fabulous 1930's renovated bungalow just a few streets away so close enough to my parents and much closer to the two schools. No counting chickens before they have hatched because as I learned the hard way, with rentals things can happen, and do, but by the end of this week things should be confirmed. Move in date would be early in April which gives us plenty of time to declutter, sell and sort.

The rent is a little more but the heating should be less. I've checked the expected bills and they are all pretty much the same as now which are the lowest I've managed to get them.

I'll let you know when we get the official thumbs up. Until then I suspect I'll continue feeling quite anxious but am distracting myself with work and being MSE.

Re the dry curl cut, it is amazing and I'm so pleased. We are rural so it would mean a hefty train ride to get to a training school for haircuts so false economy for me, but a great idea for some.

I'm thinking of everyone waiting for employment news or struggling a little a the mo x

Tasks this week include:
Look for anyone else wanting to join Bulb (I'll ask family and friends on my FB) - £50 each.
See if anyone wants to switch to Nationwide seeing as more Santander branches are closing (£100 each).
Declutter/recycle/donate/Freecyce 2 more bin bags full.
Try to not kill my youngest's sea monkeys (no promises).

sistercas

Had a spendy weekend unfortunately. Dd2s bed needs to be replaced and she wants a double now instead of a single. We also had dd1, dd2 and partners home for the weekend and seemed to spend a fortune trying to fill them lol.
We have saved money for a new bed thankfully so no problem there.
Dh and I are going to eat out of the fridge and cupboards this week and aim for a no spend week on food to try and prepare for the onslaught this weekend when they are all here again. I love having them but they don’t half eat and drink :rotfl:

PipneyJane

Talking of Union fees reminded me of something else: IIRC anyone who has a compulsory uniform for work can claim something ack from HMRC towards laundry costs and replacement uniform items. I don't remember the details, sorry, but it's worth checking out if that applies to you.

ma-ri-ella wrote: »

some good ideas. didnt know that about union fees. yes i have an emergency fund. no to grocery and eating out - it seems to be a buy whatever i fancy , well it has been for the last month. I had a 50 quid clothes budget for year which ive spent 30 already.... decent rucksack , work shoes and a pair of sketchers .charity shop buys

Next step is more surveys etc . i use receipt apps and the amazon vouchers from these i am saving up to buy the pet seed.

Good on you, re the emergency fund. (So many people live payday to payday. That used to be me. Now, I feel panicky if I am not saving any money, regardless of what is in the bank.)

£50 per annum is very tight for clothing. Could you squeeze out a £10/month clothing allowance? That'd give you a bit more of a cushion, even if you are blessed with the same "gift" that one of my friends has - she can walk into a charity shop and find good outfits to wear, every single time.

Frugaldom wrote: »

PipneyJane our frugaldom fitness challenge isn't one that's on MSE, it's in frugalforums dot co dot uk

Thanks for the details. I probably won't join - it's hard enough keeping up with the forums here - but I'll bookmark the forums.

- Pip

ma-ri-ella

PipneyJane wrote: »

Talking of Union fees reminded me of something else: IIRC anyone who has a compulsory uniform for work can claim something ack from HMRC towards laundry costs and replacement uniform items. I don't remember the details, sorry, but it's worth checking out if that applies to you.



Good on you, re the emergency fund. (So many people live payday to payday. That used to be me. Now, I feel panicky if I am not saving any money, regardless of what is in the bank.)

£50 per annum is very tight for clothing. Could you squeeze out a £10/month clothing allowance? That'd give you a bit more of a cushion, even if you are blessed with the same "gift" that one of my friends has - she can walk into a charity shop and find good outfits to wear, every single time.




Thanks for the details. I probably won't join - it's hard enough keeping up with the forums here - but I'll bookmark the forums.

- Pip

good ideas. work provides part of uniform apart from trousers so not sure if would get anything. its more i dont need any clothes rather than i need to stick to that budget . Ive had a massive clear out but really i wish i could half it again so i have a capsual wardrobe. I seem to wear a lot of statement clothes so noticable if i wear loads .

Not sure if i mentioned about local libraries offering ebooks and audio books on loan. big fan of audible so this has saved me some pennies

BrownHare

Not posted because have let the budget go and spent quite a bit on food shopping, petrol and even a takeaway. Feel fed up with myself but I'm not in debt, just won't be able to save as much as I'd hoped this month.

Must stop buying fruit juice, another bottle has been left half used in the fridge. I can't remember when I last finished a bottle but they look so healthy and tempting in the supermarket.

Back to being frugal.

Igamogam

Used up the 10p pumpkins I bought on 1.11.18 - store well in a cool dry place - unheated conservatory perfect. Roasted then made into soup .Had some yesterday and the rest has been frozen. Pumpkins are for eating and not just for halloween :rotfl:.....and when did they become part of halloween? We used large turnips for lanterns when I was a child. Yet another influence from across the pond I guess! Colleagues at work looked at me horrified when I told them how long I had had them Couple of very large ones left now that were very expensive ....20p each

cw18

Re the tax relief for uniform laundry costs.

My understanding is that it's only if the uniform has the company name or logo on it, which renders it useless for wearing outside of work. I recall being told that when I was first issued with a partial uniform (pinny and blouses only) and only part of that had the company name/logo on (the blouses). My current job provides more - trousers, T-shirts and fleece, all with company name on - but as it's only one wash load a week at most it really hasn't seemed worth the hassle of finding out how to apply !!!

MadamMim2013

cw18 wrote: »

Re the tax relief for uniform laundry costs.

My understanding is that it's only if the uniform has the company name or logo on it, which renders it useless for wearing outside of work. I recall being told that when I was first issued with a partial uniform (pinny and blouses only) and only part of that had the company name/logo on (the blouses). My current job provides more - trousers, T-shirts and fleece, all with company name on - but as it's only one wash load a week at most it really hasn't seemed worth the hassle of finding out how to apply !!!

Our company stopped us being able to claim anything.. They took our uniforms away:eek:
They said it was to make it a more friendly environment.. hmm, we know it was really to save money.. Funny thing was, they had only just completely changed our uniform a couple of months beforehand:rotfl: What a waste!!

[Deleted User]

Been awol for a while due to rl stuff - glad to read how everyone is getting on now that I'm back!:D

Not really sure where I am budget wise unfortunately, I am going to sit down on sunday and balance the books - thankfully, I did have some money left over from my grocery and petrol budgets in January so I know I haven't strayed too far from the path in that respect!

I've got a load of fresh veg and fruit in the house due to overbuying when dgs came to stay this weekend so have made a meal plan to ensure that nothing is wasted and I shouldn't need to buy any dried/tinned/household/toiletry stuff for a considerable period so I'm hoping that this months grocery bill will be very low.

The first couple of months of the year are always expensive for me - house insurance, car insurance x 2, car tax x 2, birthdays x 2, anniversary x 1 and mot x 1 - although these are budgeted for, it feels that I am just leaking money! add all the house stuff this year and I have so much spending to do it feels that there is nothing frugal about my life at all!!:rotfl: