2020 Frugal Living Challenge

MazzieD

What a night!.   Storm Bella was incredible, gale force winds for several hours, thankfully not much rain.  All I can say is I hope it isn't headed towards you.  Poor cat was really upset, kept climbing all over me. 

Busy finishing off my 2020 spreadsheet, think I've logged everything now so just double checking that I have.  Easy to miss the odd grocery receipt.

Back at work on Tuesday so tomorrow will probably be deciding on the 2021 budget and getting the shiny new spreadsheet set up.

Frugalistamama

Accidentally spent £25 on sale stationary! I love stationary! So cheap for what it was and beautiful!! Felt instantly bad as I don't need it I just want it. So wrote to them asking to cancel my order which they did. All is well again 😌😌

Viking_mfw

I am feeling exceptionally frugal as I've just put in the oven the left over Yorkshire pudding mix, using the butter/turkey fat mix we poured off the roast as the fat. 

CraftyLittleLisa

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you all had good Christmases no matter what Tier you are in.  I have definitely learnt to appreciate the little things this year.  Being able to spend the day with my family for the first time in weeks was the best Christmas present ever.

The recent frugal things I can think of at the moment is the items I have claimed from Olio, I was given a large jar of pasta sauce by my Mum as she had been given 3 by my cousin, I made some Christmas decorations from my existing stash of free gifts from magazines I have gathered over the years and I got given some trainers from a friend.  I was hoping to test them out over the next few days but, unfortunately, I seem to have broken my little toe this morning so I won't be standing, walking, running or dancing for a while yet.

I think I'm sorted with my budget for next year so now my aim is to try and clear out the bits I have decluttered and to not spend any unplanned money for the month of January.  Roll on 2021.

Frugaldom

4 days to go before we start the 2021 challenge and my budget has been completed.  I'll leave my grocery challenge at £1 per person per day, 2 of us, plus a bit extra for cleaning & laundry products, toiletries and extras for when we have visitors staying. There hasn't been anyone staying over the past year owing to Covid so the grocery budget has remained fairly low. Plenty of extras have come our way via swaps and shares.  So, in conclusion, my challenge budget for 2021 is £4,000 to include £800/groceries, £1,000/car, £830/phone, internet, mobile, £1,200 elect, heating & insurance, £170 for misc/other. 

Frugaldom

@CraftyLittleLisa - I hope your toe heals soon!
I'm off to check on our local Olio listings - last lot comprised mostly of sandwiches so I have been frying them in egg or toasting them to use them up for breakfasts, lunches and suppers. My freezer is crammed full!

Viking_mfw

CraftyLittleLisa said
 I was hoping to test them out over the next few days but, unfortunately, I seem to have broken my little toe this morning so I won't be standing, walking, running or dancing for a while yet.

Ouch!  Get better soon. 

willow_loulou

Oh I forgot to say as Christmas gifts I got home made chutney and mince meat as well as chocolate. I’ve decided to squirrel them for a few weeks as a little treat when I go back to work. My Amazon order of portion pots that can be microwaved should arrive soon. Really pleased with that lightening deal. I ordered a sandwich toaster at the same time so got free delivery and saved £9 on buying the two together. I’ve taken it out of next months food shopping money so fingers crossed for olio and yellow sticker stuff! 

Hope your toe is soon mended Lisa, it’s so easy to bust them isn’t it!
I’ve managed to get £200 back in my emergency fund so all savings will go on the credit card again now. It’s a fab feeling being in control isn’t it!! 

Couldsavemore

Have kinda been lurking for a while..
Thought I'd come out of hiding to say hi! ... Am going to join you next year.
Am amazed by the idea of a £4000 year budget... clearly I have a lot to learn!
Anyway... my efforts this week have been..
Peeled some sxabby carrots, chopped and froze them rather than putting them in the bin (I can almost hear your gasps of terror!)
I was at my sisters for christmas dinner... so I asked for christmas dinner for my dog... more food saved from the bin.
Also, I asked for the left overs of the meal she'd cooked for me.. so scored 2 meals!
I really need to sort out food waste in my house.
Feel free to educate me!

Frugaldom

Welcome to our frugal living challenge, @Couldsavemore I hope you enjoy being here and joining us for the 2021 adventure.

Tonight has been another eye-opener as far as the local food share is concerned. I cannot believe just how much food would have been binned had the Olio guy not collected what was left over at the little Tesco store nearest to us. I messaged everyone I could think of asking them to check the app and request what they could use, even if it meant getting creative. My little fridge freezer was already full but it is now heaving at the seams, stuffed full of food that I would never usually buy but will now use up over the coming days. Aside from buying 2 cartons of milk to see us through new year, I will be doing my utmost to use up absolutely everything, whether we like it or not. 2021 will be another year of attempting zero-food-waste. (The hierarchy of food in our household is us, the animals, the wormery, the wildlife and then the compost bin, depending on what it is.) If only there was a safe and simple way of recycling all the plastic packaging that comes with the leftover foods, especially now when Covid restrictions curtailed our kerbside recycling collections.

If anyone has not joined yet, please consider joining Olio. If you don't have a mobile hone that will download the app, just email the website and their admin will verify your account for using on an ordinary computer, laptop, or tablet. Help save unwanted food.