2020 Frugal Living Challenge

MazzieD

Up really early this morning, not by choice - cat was sick all over the duvet cover so had to deal with that at 3.30am.  Hope it's nothing serious, he wasn't well yesterday.  Not working today so have been concentrating on getting really organised which seems to be the key to being frugal for me.    

I've had two bank accounts with two different banks for a while with linked savings accounts.  If one banking group is 'down' online I can use the other account.  Pay and DD's in main account and transfer money for groceries into the other one.  Much easier to keep track now.  Also keeping all my grocery receipts for 2-3 months so I can see price changes and where I might be able to make savings.  Not easy at the moment with grocery prices all over the place.

When I moved my fridge/freezer came with me as it is freestanding. I'll just get a bigger freezer when the time comes to replace it as have a small fitted fridge in my kitchen which I'm not using but is big enough for my needs.  Realistically it's just as well I'm not growing fruit and veg at the moment, wouldn't have room to freeze excess crop, but could change that if/when garden gets sorted.  Shame about lockdown, I had already put my plans on hold for major work on garden last year due to 2 eye operations so year 2 will be on hold as well but more about lack of budget this year.  My water butt should be arriving in August so at least that will be ready.  The ground is so dry despite all the rain earlier in the week.  Re-using as much water as possible in the meantime, buckets and bowls everywhere to catch those precious rain drops.

Frugaldom

ditty1234 said:

HI can I join this group - I read anyways every once in a while, but I need to work on my food and 'everything' budget. My main interest right now is to sort out my bedroom - something with a mattress, pallets, and decorating a large cabinet and throwing out a bunch of tat! 
But also looking to simplify cleaning products and rutines!
SO here I am, and I'll sneak the odd post on. Hello everybody.

Welcme to frugaldom Your bedroom project sounds interesting: anything mentioning pallets catched my attention, as I love how creative people can be with them. Good luck with your challenge as a frugaler / frugaleer / frugalite. 
@willow_loulou,congratulations on having peppers & tomatoes, hope you feel better and yes, we have a covered area between house and outhouse.H uses it as workspace for cutting wood and doing his ecoart work. The roof is made from the clear, box profile plastic so it is nice and bright, almost like a mini car port.
@frostie101, you sound well prepared for 2021 already!
I've been putting off doing my annual tax return but thought I'd best make a start on it soon. I'll get it submitted this weekend and then that is one more job out of the way. Garden-wise, I have completely lost control of things and all the recent rain has left everything overgrown. My radishes looked lovely in flower! Hens are still layng so swaps and trades have been going on and a neighbour even handed in some 5p yellow sticker items they'd got from supermarket, so perhaps things are heading in the right direction after all. I still haven't opened Frugaldom to the general public and ater yesterday's announcements, it's looking more and more like this will be postponed until next year. Instead, I've been doing anything I can to kick-start the next item on the frugal list - hutting.

Frugaldom

@MazzieD I hope your cat is ok - does it get outside or is it a house cat? Ours is being kept indoors at the minute because of the hugh number of people using rodent poison during lockdown.  News reporting there's some sort of massive population explosion in rats throughout UK

willow_loulou

A word of warning about water meters, both my parents and a single friend of mine pay in one case very similar (parents) and the other more (single person) than I do off meter in a house of 3 adults. Ask if any of your friends are on meter and compare the bills before you jump. 

Thanks frugaldom will google that kind of sheeting. Radish flowers!  Anything flowering is a sight for sore eyes really Isn’t it 

MazzieD

Frugaldom said:

@MazzieD I hope your cat is ok - does it get outside or is it a house cat? Ours is being kept indoors at the minute because of the hugh number of people using rodent poison during lockdown.  News reporting there's some sort of massive population explosion in rats throughout UK

Goodness, I hadn't heard about the poison.  He spends most of his time in the back garden and wanders along the road sometimes.  Rang the vet this morning and got an appointment later after discovering he had been sick several times in the garden.  Seems a bit better but I'd rather get him checked over before the weekend.

cw18

I've had a water meter since September 2001.   Before that we were a family of 5 in a 3 bedroomed mid-terrace, and when we moved as a family of 4 into a 3 bed detatched (rental) it came with a meter due to age.   Our bill stayed much the same, despite the (same) water company wanting to double my direct debit - which I refused to do, told them they could take very slightly more and I'd make good any underpayment after 6 months.   We had a hefty credit when we moved almost 9 months later.  That move was into a new build 4 bedroomed detached, and they tried hiking the payments again 'because you've now got 3 toilets instead of 1'.  Um, yes.   But I only flush the one I use!!   I am careful with my use (gravity fed shower rather than bath, block in the cisterns and only flush when needed, laundry done when I have a full load, pots washed when I have enough to bother, and water butts for the garden), and I'm paying under £20/month.   Most of that is standing charges

Jazee

We changed to a water meter last year with the option to change back within two years but our bills have drastically reduced and I'm not any more careful with usage than before.  Was £480 per year, now £240.

nananibbles

Good Morning All,
Wow - 1st August already, where does the time go? 
July for me was over all a fairly frugal month on a day to day basis. I've have managed to cut down my spend quite considerably compared to the previous 3 months of lockdown so I am pleased with that. However it ended with a rather large solicitors bill relating to my divorce. It has been a long, painful and expensive 14 months but if it goes through soon it will be the best money I have spent!
I have an un-budgeted expenditure coming in August of around £600 for an unwanted pigeon invasion. The cheeky birds seem to have moved in, in my absence as I have been in lockdown with my DD for the last 4 months. This means I will need to be extra vigilant with my expenditure in August to see if I can claw back some of the some of the pigeon costs.
Frugally July has been a good one for food as I have been harvesting my labours in runner beans and tomatoes and have had the use of the de-hydrator whilst house sitting and the use of the food that was already here. My fuel costs have been half of the normal though this was kind of cancelled out by the renewal of my audible subscription which I was meant to cancel before July. I have put a reminder in my phone to cancel next June. I got a month's free prime subscription which I duly canceled in time, its the only time I ever use Amazon so I saved myself and the kids a few bob on postage fees.
Here's to a frugal August everyone
NN

MazzieD

Vet said it was a banned weed killer.  Somebody must have kept it and been using it up. Cat has a habit of supplementing his diet with a bit of greenery or grass, my garden is lacking in both.  Much better overnight, almost back to normal but showing no interest in going out. Tends to go out more in the summer but not really an outdoor cat, he likes a life of comfort on the bed or my lap!. Happily purring on my lap at the moment. 

willow_loulou

Ohhh Mazzie I’m so glad the cat is improving. Give him a scratch from me ❤️

I’ve decided to invest my excess food budget into footwear for DD for uni, I saw her shoes this morning and knew it had to be done! But at least I won’t notice the dent as much 😊