2021 Frugal Living Challenge

[Deleted User]

Can I join please? Sorry if i have already asked, I was sure I had but checked back through the posts and didn't see anything. I'm working out my budget for the year ahead and will be trying to reduce spending where possible.

I think I will set a yearly budget of £15000 which has to include absolutely everything except my rent. I will, of course, try and reduce everything and pay the rest to debts. I'm currently running on estimated costs for a couple of reasons so this might need to be revised. I'm due to get a new car next week, and won't know how many days I need to use it to go to university until the government and university decide what's happening. This could save money or cost a little more who knows! I have moved to a new house and its got prepayment meters for gas/elec so I need to find out if I can get this cheaper. And as I make efforts to warm the house up by adding underfloor heating and carpets etc hopefully this will help a little.

cw18

I've decided I'm not declaring specific budgets on the thread this year, but I am going to have some slightly adjustable ones that I'll personally be working to stay within behind the scenes.  

But I am declaring a target that requires me to think about what I'm spending more closely, as I need to channel funds elsewhere.

I'm a swine for picking up reduced to clear things without really considering when I'll use them!    I have two overfull freezers that I really need to work through in 2021, so hopefully by this time next year they'll be organised in such a way I can knock up complete meals rather than pulling one ingredient and having to try and find 'something that will go with it at a push' or going shopping for the rest of the meal.

I also have rather significant stockpiles of random long-life items (many of them being impulse purchases when on promotional reduced price offers or multi-buy offers) - as well as the less random things I bought earlier this year in case I ended up having to isolate for a period of time.    Those also need working through to bring them down to a manageable level of items I know I'll use / rotate on a regular basis.

And as for stockpiles of toiletries and cleaning items (other than laundry powder which I'll have to get in the next couple of weeks, washing up liquid which I'm likely to need in a couple of months, and toothpaste by the summer), well it's a case of least said the better

For 2021 I'd like to 'shop from stocks' on a regular basis, and then use the money from my grocery / toiletry / cleaning budgets to invest in something significant.    I've set myself a target of using up stockpiles in the past, but without a good incentive to do so I seem to give up very quickly!

I'm currently looking to convert my heating system to a smart system, having picked up a control panel, smart room thermostat and two smart thermostatic radiator valves (a starter pack) from Amaz0n warehouse at a reduced price purely because the outer box has damage!!    (Paid about £88 under RRP,  £16 below current Amaz0n new price, and £6 below current Warehouse price.)  But I'm having issues with the controller losing connection to my home wi-fi on a fairly regular basis (need to find a wifi booster I know i have in the house to see if that solves the problem - number one job for when I'm off work next week), and I can't get the Alex@ skill to work (need to phone the company to discuss that one) though I can control it through their app on my phone and tablet.   I have until 31st Jan to return the kit for full refund, so I'm not too worried about the hiccups at the moment.

That kit was paid for with preempted Christmas and Birthday money from my parents as I had to grab while it was on offer at the nice low price (now have the Christmas money, and my birthday is next month so funds will be back in my bank before some annual bills need paying).   To fully convert the system I need another 10 smart radiator valve heads (at £40-£45 each ) and to convert 6 of my radiators to take them (don't currently have thermostatic valves) which could work out at £6 or £25 per radiator depending on which fitting I need - and can't figure that out without draining the system to take one apart, which isn't happening until the weather improves.   So it's not going to be a quick - or cheap - process.....    I expect the pay back period to be a loooong time, but I'm also looking at it from an environmentally friendly angle.

With just the control panel and smart room thermostat in place I stand to make some savings on my gas bill, as it means I can turn the system on from my phone as I finish work giving it 30-40 minutes to start waming the house for me.   I've had it on a timer allowing for a small over-run each day, but I've been getting home 2 hours late on a regular basis which means I've been paying to heat an empty house.   I had previously debated setting it to come on later, but hate coming home to a cold house if I do finish closer to my official time!

The next stage is to get 4 smart radiator valves in play on radiators that already have traditional thermostatic valves.   This means that little used rooms can be heated at a lower temp for a much shorter period - enough to stop them getting damp and musty, but not at a 'comfortable to be in' temp for 5 or 6 hours every evening as they have been.  One's already done to test out and working well so far, the second from the kit should be done next week if I can iron out the issues.  Then two more to buy, with one of those being covered by the money from my parents.   The last is my incentive is to eat from stocks for at least half of my evening meals in January

Once I get all the radiators in the house converted (would be nice if I can do that before next winter, but I think it's doubtful unless I can find things around the house to sell) I'll be able to turn off most of the radiators as I wind down for bed, but turn my bedroom and en-suite on for an hour or so to warm up ready for bed time instead of keeping it warm all evening (I hate going to bed in a cold room - my OH is horrified at how I wrap up at night).   I'll also be able to turn my bedroom & en-suite on ahead of downstairs in the mornings, and turn them off sooner too.   Those will probably be radiators 5 & 6 to switch over, but the en-suite needs converting to take one first.

If I do end up returning the starter kit I'll almost certainly go ahead and convert the 6 radiators without thermostatic valves to standard ones anyway, which means I'll still have an incentive to use up stock piles.   The system needs draining down anyway, as a couple of radiators aren't heating up properly and my OH thinks it's likely down to blockages somewhere in the system (my en-suite radiator gets very tepid at the top but stays cold the rest of the way down, despite the pipes around it being hot).   So whilst it's drained I may as well change the valves to allow a move to a smart system at a later date (and it will also give me better control in a couple more lesser used rooms now).   Not sure when converting it would happen though as the other systems I've looked at all seem much dearer, so I'm keeping fingers firmly crossed I can sort this one out.

So my target for 2021 is to update my heating system as far as I can in order to reduce my annual gas usage.  And it needs to be funded by gifts, selling items from around the home, and using up stockpiled items which releases money from other budgets.  I expect the last of these to be the main financial contributor.

Pixiehouse55

Hi, I'm in again for this year, because of our job I don't get much time on here, oh can retire July 16th 21 so the plan is pay off the last remaining cc, pay as much as we can on our mortgage and get the house ready to go on the market in July.  Sale up buy our narrow boat and retire. Hubby is on countdown lol. There is more and more paperwork etc to do in our job, had enough. So that's our plan, new windows being fitted in January. Saved up for this to be done so feeling pretty confident. Happy days fingers crossed. Long as there isn't a melt down on houses like I've heard there might be and house prices go down...  time for bed for me.  Goodnight all 

Frugalistamama

cw18 said:

I've decided I'm not declaring specific budgets on the thread this year, but I am going to have some slightly adjustable ones that I'll personally be working to stay within behind the scenes.  

But I am declaring a target that requires me to think about what I'm spending more closely, as I need to channel funds elsewhere.

I'm a swine for picking up reduced to clear things without really considering when I'll use them!    I have two overfull freezers that I really need to work through in 2021, so hopefully by this time next year they'll be organised in such a way I can knock up complete meals rather than pulling one ingredient and having to try and find 'something that will go with it at a push' or going shopping for the rest of the meal.

I also have rather significant stockpiles of random long-life items (many of them being impulse purchases when on promotional reduced price offers or multi-buy offers) - as well as the less random things I bought earlier this year in case I ended up having to isolate for a period of time.    Those also need working through to bring them down to a manageable level of items I know I'll use / rotate on a regular basis.

And as for stockpiles of toiletries and cleaning items (other than laundry powder which I'll have to get in the next couple of weeks, washing up liquid which I'm likely to need in a couple of months, and toothpaste by the summer), well it's a case of least said the better

For 2021 I'd like to 'shop from stocks' on a regular basis, and then use the money from my grocery / toiletry / cleaning budgets to invest in something significant.    I've set myself a target of using up stockpiles in the past, but without a good incentive to do so I seem to give up very quickly!

@cw18 this sounds exactly like me! I'm a total food, cleaning products, toiletries hoarder. I buy when on offer 'just in case' and 'save money for later'. This however has resulted in a huge stockpile that I'm determined to work through in in 2021 and reduce food spends for 2021.
I'm a family of 4 and we spend about £70-£80 per week on food. Would be interested to hear what others families spend.

Bluegreen143

We are about £70 too @Frugalistamama. Two adults and kids are 5 and 2.

skint_chick

We were spending about £42-45 a week on food  in 2020 as getting groceries delivered under £40 has a £4 charge and I was shielding - it was hard to get fresh veggies I didn't grow to last that long. So plans for 2021 are to grow a wider range of veggies and for OH to go to Lidl every week for fresh supplies, and to only do delivery groceries every 3 weeks or so. There are 2 of us and a rabbit. I would like to spend £100 a month, thanks to Covid my self employment has dried up so I have more time for making food from scratch - definitely a positive for my budget and health!

TwentySomethingGirl

Hi!
I've just come across this thread and thought it might help us in the coming year. I've had a look at our budget for the year and it's at about £40k all in, which seems alarming compared to some I've seen here, but includes mortgage of £790, nursery of £565, all other household bills, saving for holiday, annual bills and work that needs doing to the house, paying back a family loan, days out etc etc. The only things I can really make any changes with is groceries, fuel and eating out.

We are a house of 2 adults, a 3 year old, a dog and a baby due in March so I also need to take into account the drop in pay to SMP. Lack of planning and forethought as well as the fact I hate cooking and have no interest in it are the main barriers to reducing groceries/eating out. I'm also hopeless at posting so will probably just be reading along and trying to get some tips and advice from more experienced frugal-ers. 

TSG

Bluegreen143

@TwentySomethingGirl I think the original format of the challenge didn’t include mortgage or council tax or costs involved in going to work/school (transport, childcare, business expenses) so I bet when you factor in taking off all that then it’s less alarming than you think! I also think a lot of people don’t include luxuries they are saving up for like holidays as that’s coming out of the savings they are making from their budget if that makes sense.

ie just childcare and mortgage taken off reduces your budget to £24k and when you also remove council tax and commuting (if applicable) you may find that your budget isn’t actually that different to others you see. 

leftatthetrafficlights

@TwentySomethingGirl - don't be disheartened by the figures given by others - we're all on our own journey, have different circumstances (for instance a lot of people use olio to reduce their food costs - not an option for me!) and include different things 😉 I don't have a mortgage nor dependant children but my budget is still around 30k per annum! 
It's much more about reducing costs where you can so that you have more to either spend on what you want or to save. Just concentrate on the areas of your budget that have wiggle room 😉 
I've had a quick mooch through my freezer today as I'm planning on emptying and defrosting it in January- I think that I have enough in there to see me through a minimum of 3 weeks! 🙌 I'll probably need some fresh fruit and salads but I think I have enough veg in the freezer and garden to complement the meals 😊 hopefully, January will be pretty cheap this year!! 

FrankieM

Direct debits have started coming out for the new year and we've just been moved into tier 4, here's hoping I don't end up spending money on Amazon to keep me occupied!

I need to book my car in for it's mot, but don't think any garages will be open until after the New Year so will have to wait until next week. My insurance is also due in January, but I've put some money aside for these from last year's budget so hoping that will cover it.