2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Onebrokelady said:

Frugaldom said:

@Onebrokelady Just you hold onto that dream of horses as there are so many out there desperate for good, knowledgeable homes. I now have 10 here, despite having given up all hope 20 years ago when getting divorced and up to neck in debt.  All here are rescued, rehomed and rehabs. They take up every penny and every hour I can spare, along with whatever any friends can spare. Just seeing them is reason to get up each morning for some who follow the pony daily diaries.

It would be a dream come true for me. Where can i follow the pony daily diaries 😊

I usually try to post the photos on www.facebook.com/Frugaldom page or else @Frugaldom on Twitter. Frugaldom gets everywhere

Onebrokelady

Frugaldom said:

Onebrokelady said:

Frugaldom said:

@Onebrokelady Just you hold onto that dream of horses as there are so many out there desperate for good, knowledgeable homes. I now have 10 here, despite having given up all hope 20 years ago when getting divorced and up to neck in debt.  All here are rescued, rehomed and rehabs. They take up every penny and every hour I can spare, along with whatever any friends can spare. Just seeing them is reason to get up each morning for some who follow the pony daily diaries.

It would be a dream come true for me. Where can i follow the pony daily diaries 😊

I usually try to post the photos on www.facebook.com/Frugaldom page or else @Frugaldom on Twitter. Frugaldom gets everywhere

I will have a look 😊

-taff

Onebrokelady said:

Frugaldom said:

@Onebrokelady Just you hold onto that dream of horses as there are so many out there desperate for good, knowledgeable homes. I now have 10 here, despite having given up all hope 20 years ago when getting divorced and up to neck in debt.  All here are rescued, rehomed and rehabs. They take up every penny and every hour I can spare, along with whatever any friends can spare. Just seeing them is reason to get up each morning for some who follow the pony daily diaries.

It would be a dream come true for me. Where can i follow the pony daily diaries 😊

Not on a frugal note but I was looking in my postcard/photo/memory box today,my OH saw the box and asked what was in it, I found my 45 of the White Horses soundtrack. Loved that programme. I've just had to find a copy to listen to....

MazzieD

Frugaldom said:

zafiro1984 said:

Someone mentioned a while back not to spend if you had a surplus at the end of a month but to to put it to one side should a large bill/invoice come in. Jan was good I had a surplus on my household spreadsheet. I was feeling in control and even bought two bedside lights I wanted. This month was OK although the surplus wasn't as good as Jan, I had in mind to buy a ceiling light to match the bedside lights and possibly some fish with the surplus. Then it happened - DH checked the oil level in the tank and I've just ordered 3000L of kerosene so I head into March with a fair sized deficit. It will take some will power and a few months to claw this back. I'm afraid it's essentials only in March

This is why I always recommend assessing your spending over a full year and then working out a monthly average spend - some months are under, some are over and whatever is carried forward is contingency fund. It does take quite some time to mentally calculate all your spends over a 12 month period but no 2 months are identical so it's the only way I can work. If I get to be looking short over the year, something has to go or else I need to raise more funds to cover any deficits. Hope this helps.

This is exactly what I'm doing this year after assessing last year's budget.  I am under budget this month which I am not planning to spend but will keep in a separate account to be used purely for over budget months.  I have an emergency fund if the need arises.  I have just divided my annual budget by 12 months as I budget and get paid monthly.

My annual budget is quite low so I think it's a matter of carrying on as I am and try to save as much as possible particularly on 'lower' bill months like Feb and March.  

Couldsavemore

@Frugaldom
you asked for the march plan...
well I'm giving myself march to actually make in roads into loosing the stone I've put on... so I can wear my nice clothes..
if not then I need to be nice to me and buy myself some nice clothes that fit well.
Anything will be better than my muffin top.
And to finish the month in the black again!

Couldsavemore

Frugal question.
So I've worked out my fog insurance is coming in at £700 a year!
So I'm thinking I could switch to putting the monthly payment (its a life time policy so you pay monthly) into a seperate bank account. The dog is only 5 and has no known health issues..
Yes... No... Cautionary tales?
I do have a couple of grand im the bank so could fund a vet bill that way whilst building up my vet fund.

Frugaldom

@-taff I used to watch all those lovely horse series on TV, too: White Horses, Follyfoot, Black Beauty, Horses Galore, Mr Ed, Champion the Wonder Horse etc.
@MazzieD My budget is still based on my original £4k for household spending and £10k for lifestyle and long-term projects. If I can raise extra, it all goes on the long term project, which includes Frugaldom, the rescue ponies and our conservation / wildlife project.   The less I spend on non-essentials, the more I can save for visitor facilities at Frugaldom. 
@Couldsavemore I meant to do February as my frugal fitness month but failed to get that off the ground so I will try harder in March. I've gained more than muffin top and feel more like Pillsbury dough boy.

Chessbear

Couldsavemore  re pet insurance, I know £700 is a lot but that can be the price of an xrays. The main problem is if the dog has an ongoing condition that requires life time treatment,  vet appointments at £40 each along with medication and other treatment soon mounts up. Life time policy will cover you.  Check policy ceiling and excess, ours is 4k which sounds a lot but if you need to visit the vet every month or dog has an accident costing a couple of thousand soon eats into it.  

Onebrokelady

-taff said:

Onebrokelady said:

Frugaldom said:

@Onebrokelady Just you hold onto that dream of horses as there are so many out there desperate for good, knowledgeable homes. I now have 10 here, despite having given up all hope 20 years ago when getting divorced and up to neck in debt.  All here are rescued, rehomed and rehabs. They take up every penny and every hour I can spare, along with whatever any friends can spare. Just seeing them is reason to get up each morning for some who follow the pony daily diaries.

It would be a dream come true for me. Where can i follow the pony daily diaries 😊

Not on a frugal note but I was looking in my postcard/photo/memory box today,my OH saw the box and asked what was in it, I found my 45 of the White Horses soundtrack. Loved that programme. I've just had to find a copy to listen to....

I also used to have this,I'm not sure if it's still in my collection in the loft 😀I loved that programme too 😊

fionaandphil

I've just finished totting up for the month and have come in at £117 for food, £47 for planned gift expenditure and £18 for extras/entertainment for the month, so quite happy with that.  We are doing well with eating out of the freezers and cupboards and only topping up milk, bread, fruit and veg at present.  I suspect the costs will change over the next month as DS goes back to school in March and I will need to be getting things in for his packed lunch.   DH and I are working from home still so will be able to continue eating out of the cupboards and freezers.  I will also need to top up the oil but just a minimum order as the price is still at 40p per litre, summer should get cheaper for the big fill.

My March Motivation has to be to loose some weight, I have put on tons since Christmas and need to get it off before summer, I will feel better for it.  We spent a few hours in the garden yesterday getting it prepared for this year and chopping back before the birds start nesting.  I think its still too early for seed planting as we've had a lot of overnight frost, but I am preparing the greenhouse and getting trays and pots sorted out.

Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine, it has lifted our spirits