Becoming a Frugal Dougal 8 October 2020 at 3:30PM in Debt free diaries 34 replies 2.6K views

DougalDoo

Happy weekend fellow DFWs! We re budgeted our supermarket and dog food spend for this month to £200 as we were way under our original calculations, and we are right on the money at the mo! Can’t wait to save a little into our accounts and start to see it build this month 

astrocytic_kitten

DougalDoo said:

First credit card paid off tonight as hubs had some unexpected leftover in his current account and £100 switching cash. I will have to update my signature thingy. Budget updated to reflect less grocery spend and get the snowball rolling. 

I should feel pleased but to be honest I feel a bit flat as had a rubbish couple of days health wise and know we could be paying this off so much faster if I could get back to work. 

You’re doing really well, paying a card off is brilliant! 

On the feeling flat, I’ve found accepting the restrictions and changes to life from ill health to be much like the stages of grieving, and in a way you’re grieving the life you had and that you thought you’d continue to have. It’s a tough road to be on, but there’s lots of people here cheering you on.

DougalDoo

@astrocytic_kitten thank you that’s so kind 🤗

lidl shop mid week was £19. A few weeks ago I was nervous to shop mid week at risk of blowing the budget but actually we have shopped well so could take us to the end of the month. I’m excited to tot up the food and pet spend this month as think we’ve done quite well against what was originally budgeted. It’s now feeling a little harder in terms of not having treats like meals out or takeaways but nothing too strenuous yet! I think the change in weather makes it more tempting to splurge on goodies to get through the shorter darker days. Hope everyone is well and staying on track! 

WinterWarrior

We find a treat day at home works too. Like a cinema night where we watch a dvd or film on tv, with bags of popcorn and some pringles and sweets. It’s much cheaper than going out, but is still good fun. 

DougalDoo

Suzanne54321B said:

We find a treat day at home works too. Like a cinema night where we watch a dvd or film on tv, with bags of popcorn and some pringles and sweets. It’s much cheaper than going out, but is still good fun. 

Great tip @Suzanne54321B! Crazy how much cinema prices etc are inflated. 

We naughtily treated ourselves to a McDonalds last night (the first one in about a month) as it was getting late and both of us feeling too knackered to cook. It only came to £11 - which we did save on the food budget this week by only spending £19 but I’m still feeling quite guilty. I have a very ‘all or nothing’ mentality and I don’t like to feel myself sliding back into bad habits. It’s been a friend’s birthday which I really need to tot up total spend for so I can adjust debt payments and don’t get overdrawn. We’ve also bought a large bag of dog food and washing pods on offer - So in general I’ve spent more this week than I’d like. 

On the plus side, we both won a Lidl Plus Scratchcard this week so £3 off our next shop and I have had £125 of switching cash come in which I’ve paid straight off a credit card. 

Kantankrus_Mare

Hey ...well done on the scratchcard wins!! Nice to know its possible! 

Couldsavemore

I've enjoyed reading your musings.
Am always impressed by how much people can pay off when they try.
As for random credit purchases... outdoor activity stuff is my downfall.. new surfboard anyone?

LivingInTheBlack

Hi Dougal.
Just read through and looks like youre doing amazingly so far. Also just wanted to say that you're hard on yourself. You had one (reasonably priced) takeaway. Being frugal with no treats ever isn't sustainable, what you need to do is budget in treats. That way when you do have a treat you don't feel guilty, also, when you're struggling, its something to look forward to. I often find that having the option means i am less likely to give in.
Will bookmark thread and look forward to watching how you get on.
Join some of the challenge threads. I find them very beneficial. 

DougalDoo

Hello everyone! Sorry I’ve been quiet. Still been hard at work behind the scenes with Lidl shopping, Facebook marketplace and bank account switching. However there have been some annoying spends like my pre-lockdown haircut which was booked with a trainee for free but after lockdown announcement ended up costing me £43 as I couldn’t bear spending another month with straggly hair. And our kettle broke and frankly another lockdown without cups of tea would be unbearable. So as PPs have said, I’ve been too hard on myself and while I haven’t thrown in the towel I’ve felt less like posting about it because, frankly, I am tight now and spending £14 on a kettle annoys me. 

However...we are getting much more united on the spending at home and doing everything via our joint account to tackle the debt together. We have had a large tax refund and each got switching cash - so have sat down for another evaluation tonight now we’re over a month in and have set aside £2500 to pay off credit card on Monday! I’m happy but we still have a long way to go. I can’t wait to close the cards, cut them up and never spend on one of the bloody things ever again! 

DayDreamerandGeneralWaster

You have made a great start! £2.5k off in one go is fab. I have also found that being on the same page has made a big difference to our finances.