2020 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Hello to our latest arrivals, welcome to frugaldom, the lifestyle for frugal living fans. We won't be running a list of challengers so anyone can join in (or leave) at any time or else just read along for the ride if you would prefer to find out more about your right to not send on 'stuff' before choosing to commit to any lifestyle changes. This new FL challenge officially begins on 1st January 2020 and in the meantime the 2019 one is still running.

On page one of this challenge, you will find links to all the previous ones, including house-buying without a mortgage, frugal fun stuff and a few of our other challenges and quests we have tried over the years. Again, feel free to read through any of those at any time then come ansd ask whatever questions you may have here.

REMINDER: It's influenza time of year here in UK again so I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and avoiding running any increased risks of contracting this or any other virus. If you are eligible for free vaccine then it is worth considering it and for others, it can cost less than £12 from the likes of Lloyds Pharmacies. (This is based on Scottish information, please check locally for what is available in your area.) Better safe than sorry and I believe the vaccine is by way of nasal drops and not by injection, for those with a phobia about needles.

Not so lucky are the 27,000 poultry that have been reported due for culling at a farm in Suffolk, where an Avian Influenza outbreak has just been confirmed. To anyone with chickens or ducks etc, and to those who walk in the countryside or around lochs and lakes, keep in mind that biosecurity costs next to nothing - a simple bucket of disinfectant for dipping footwear in when entering and leaving your own property can help protect your garden poultry. Hopefully, we won't see a repeat of previous years where we had to have everthing housed constantly for months on end.

Thrifty_Taylor

I would like to join please. I've dipped into my savings pot lots this year for various things, so will need to concentrate on building it up again. There is nothing we need, so hoping we can make do with what we have. I had a birthday at the beginning of the week, & received some lovely candles, as well as chocolate & some booze, so going to ration it out & make it last as long as I can. Good luck with the challenge everyone!

Siebrie

Van_Girl wrote: »

Hello

I may end up being a lurker, or occasional poster but I'm going to follow the challenge for inspiration. Having to get back on the horse after being debt free for several years then finding myself having to borrow to make essential renovations to the house, plus other spending which I probably could have not done.

Feeling a bit disheartened really, but hopefully I can borrow some good vibes and motivation from here!

Van_Girl, I'm with you. My life-money-work balance is usually pretty good, but we have to renovate next year (the kitchen extension is leaking, so we have appointed an architect to make the most of the necessary repairs) and we have to take out a loan and/or mortgage for this. Good news is that interest is really low at the moment. Still, we will pay more each month, and I have started a job that pays less (but is stressfree).

Frugaldom

Good morning to all from a very windy and wet Frugaldom. I hope everyone is fairing well in the final run in to our 2020 frugal living challenge.

Now that the UK general election has passed we just have the annual festivities and then we can begin anew. Nobody knows what next year will bring when we have'Brexit' still looming so my suggestion is, as ever, to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Prices are going to fluctuate no matter what so keep your food shelves stocked with the usual long shelf life goods and keep your budgets well under control.

Our challenge normally begins with a use-it-up food month to ensure zero waste but for all of us diehards, we should be well used to this by now. :rotfl::T

SuperSecretSquirrel

I followed the precursor to this thread over 10 years ago... The lessons learned never really left me

Back then I was a singleton in my twenties living in rented accommodation and earning a lowish wage. The challenge was to stretch 4k a year to cover everything except housing and work related costs. I lurked alongside the challengers, and although I never quite managed the 4k target, just trying to helped cut out a lot of waste.

Fast forward to today... A lot can happen in a decade! I met OH, we bought a house, paid off the mortgage, brought a couple of amazing new lives into the world, my salary increased a bit over time, and we got a bit older. All great stuff apart from the last point!

My salary increased over time but my discretionary spending never really inflated much. Each month I send £225 to the joint account to cover my share of the fixed home related costs, keep £400 in my current account as spendable money, and the remainder is squirrelled away into pensions and ISAs. OH does something very similar. Excluding home and work related costs, my personal annual spend is now under 5k, and that includes running a car.

I'm grateful for this forum, and specifically frugaldom (among others) for running these challenges, as they massively helped me put spending under the microscope a decade ago. We don't have to keep a close eye on things these days, as the whole system is pretty much on autopilot by now, but that's all thanks to getting started in the first place

Living our lives in this way (and we're not particularly frugal, just mindful) has helped us reduce our working hours to spend more time together as a family, and start planning for early retirement. Not only that, we find ourselves in a wonderful secure position where we know a single minimum wage job would be enough to maintain our lifestyle as it stands, a lifestyle we are very happy with. Absolutely priceless in terms of peace of mind!

To anyone just starting out here - good luck, and stick with it, your future self will be so grateful! :cool:

Van_Girl

Siebrie wrote: »

Van_Girl, I'm with you. My life-money-work balance is usually pretty good, but we have to renovate next year (the kitchen extension is leaking, so we have appointed an architect to make the most of the necessary repairs) and we have to take out a loan and/or mortgage for this. Good news is that interest is really low at the moment. Still, we will pay more each month, and I have started a job that pays less (but is stressfree).

Siebrie I feel your pain! We sprang leaks too, seemingly everywhere all at once We're not quite watertight, but remaining works are budgeted for so not too scary. We also finished off general refurb stuff, so the house is nice now and I know it's an investment, but just having the debt hanging over my head again is a bit crushing really.

I'm on a pretty good wage but DH is in the creative industry so income is small and variable, so it all falls on my head really. It's certainly manageable, but just not where I planned to be. Feel better taking charge again though, even small things help.

Congrats on the less stressful job though, I'd trade some income for that! Good luck with the house works

Hayleswildventure

@supersecretsquiral

That’s the dream right there!! Well done you guys, inspirational!

Hayleswildventure

Hi everyone !

Just found this thread as it was shared on fb - fate!


In 2020, I am leaving part time employment at the end of my maternity leave to start teaching yoga.


We have three children, a cat and a dog. We also have a mortgage for a house that is too small for us.


We have worked out our finances and with me having no earnings at all we will be minus £100 each month. This is with us putting £850 in our joint account each month - food shop, fuel and weekend activities (coffees out etc).


I am hoping for 2020 to meal plan, batch cook and freeze also do our food shop in Aldi. I have also come up with a list of free or very cheap weekend ideas, which I have written on lollipop sticks and put in a jar. This way the weekends will still seem exciting to the kids as we won’t know which activity we will be doing, but we still get to go out and about. We all hate being stuck in!


So hoping that we will save money from the joint account and this will cover the £100 we’re in the red.


We have no debt now apart from mortgage, but also have no savings.


We do hope to move in 2020.


So I suppose our goals are to live within our means, and if we can, to save monthly towards an Emergancy fund, savings accounts for the children, a family holiday and moving house.


Eek!! Sounds impossible but I’m quite determined that we have enough money if we’re careful enough.


Some questions -
1. What’s FIRE? Some people have mentioned saving for FIRE?
2. Any free family day out ideas or rainy day ideas?
3. Any cheap and easy batch cooking recipes? I already do bolognese, bean and pepper chilli and sweet potato & chickpea curry. I also love doing soups.


Excited to be here!! Let’s do this !

DanniLou

Hi, I'm new to the MSE forums but I've had a look now-and-then, I think 2020 is the year I will really struggle to keep on top of my finances so I'll have a go at being frugal for the year!
I'm in my last year of university and being a nursing student means I don't have much time to work. But I also need to save up to cover bills next year in the gap between my last student loan and first "proper" pay, as well as a holiday if that's at all possible before starting my new career! The thought of how I'll manage is terrifying me already 😬 hopefully I'll get some good ideas from everyone on here 😁

miss_empty_piggy

Have read all 60 odd pages of the last thread and would like to join this please. I have posted in the past but I have a habit of being super motivated in Dec and Jan and then falling off the bandwagon so will need this to hopefully keep me on motivated and on track. Love how friendly and supportive everyone is on here. Xx