2021 Frugal Living Challenge

retiredinfrance

I've been following you all and have decided to join you.
At the start of the year i started to monitor our spending as I had not really budgeted much in the past. It all started with our UK bank closing our UK   accounts and a long long wait to get new ones set up and we had to start thinking about how we organise our money. We started by getting our UKstate pensions paid directly in euros to our French accounts. Then , knowing that interest rates are nearly worthless , I decided to see if we could live on the state pensions with top ups as needed. Then I reckoned that we spend about 100 euros a week at the supermarket. As it is all contactless , January was 320, so I added in 50 euros of petrol. Hooray, January coming in under 400 euros. But February came in at 38 over as I decided to add-in all expenditure , including postage , chemist etc  . So, as March starts  I am aiming for a total monthly spend on everything of 400 euros. I know that this may  not sound very frugal but I think it is realistic for the two of us. I have read the introduction to the thread and we already follow quite abit, including reducing, this is a no spend on clothes and toiletries year,  buying offers on items we use, charity shopping, though here I am controlling my habit- only 5 euros So far .everything is cooked from scratch and we have no good waste.
I also want to save a certain amount this year and part of the financial  makeover was to get all interests paid directly into a ho!ding savings account - even if it only pays 0.01 per cent! Two small annual payments also go into it . It is all very much work in progress but so far sogood. 
 I'm an avid declutterer so now I'm an avid money clutterer. 
Mind you, no trips to the UK usually three ahead are adding to my savings.
NB Dodgers is not as cheap as in the UK- in amazed at some of the prices quoted in the thread.
Keep safe everyone.

MazzieD

Welcome @retiredinfrance.

Woo hoo, got my Covid vaccination invite this morning so had lots of fun trying to book it on the NHS website, really busy but got there in the end.  

Decided to do my L*dl supermarket trolley dash this morning.  No F&V boxes (again) or YS so had to pay full price for everything .  Still, that's all the expensive items out of the way (meat and eggs) so hopefully it'll just be fruit and veg for rest of the month unless some bargains/YS leap out and insist on climbing into my basket next time I go shopping.

Was just about to go out in the garden as it's a bit milder today to have a quick look at what needs pruning and weeding and it's pouring with rain now so postponed that plan.  

Living_proof

Welcome @retiredinfrance and I hope you have fun in your budget challenge!
@MazzieD I am sorry you didn't manage to get a box - it is almost the highlight of my week and I will go first thing tomorrow. I am close to two Lidl stores so my chances are higher I guess. I did get a Spar Magic Box yesterday, from the Too Good to Go app. but as I expected the majority of the contents was more suited to my omnivore friend. However, very much worth the £3.09 I paid for it and we help each other out with food all the time. The LIdl boxes are generally my best buy and some of their Vegan reductions, like Houmous and Felafel, salad bags and kale, etc. If only they offered a short-dated red wine, I would be a very happy bunny!

Tightpants24

I have just received £5 from PayPal that I had forgotten about for using the app.  Result!
Also, feeling very smug about sending 2 personalised cards via Moonpig (usually £3.29 plus postage) for 85p each using a voucher code: FREEKHSHFJSDHKW
Found these offers on HotUKdeals website. 😏

retiredinfrance

Sorry - Dodgers = food . How the machine suggested that I don't know.

ancientmum

I've been enjoying reading along, especially everyone's March Motivations.  I have made mine an effort to get more out of the allotment this year - last year's produce was affected by blight on the potatoes and tomatoes, and blackfly on the broad beans.  However, I've started as  I mean to go on, and not give in to the apathy and sheer idleness that usually stops me from achieving 
my aims.  I've planted some veg and flower seeds which are on the window sills and started tidying up the beds for when they are ready to plant out.
I also can't wait for the library to re-open.  A lady near me on Olio has started leaving books in boxes outside her house for anyone to take a couple,  and I've also donated a few.  I tried Borrow Books and also would recommend BBC Sounds for audio books, plays and podcasts.  I like being able to choose something to listen to whilst doing  tedious tasks like ironing or washing up.

annieb64

Had my covid vaccination  yesterday.  I had problems  booking it too. DH managed  to book his but the site crashed  before we could book mine. Then there were no more slots left locally. I felt really shivery last night and had a headache. Bit better today and am improving  which is good. A day of DHs cooking is more than  enough .

skint_chick

Fionaandphil - sadly my car was also damaged, because it's fairly new it was almost £800 as I also damaged a tyre, so I had to claim on my insurance. I will lose 5% discount, so maybe £20, and I've to pay £250 excess.
Sashacat - so sorry for your loss, hope you're looking after yourself
Kerry_woman - I enjoy beginners yoga with Adrienne on YouTube - the gentle movement helps my mood and I'm definitely getting better and more flexible with each session. I've also done Open Learn, FutureLearn, and Coursera courses, and listening to 80s music while dancing around hoovering etc always cheers me up. It's tough when you're feeling low at the moment because it's grey and cold, so I find I need more self care like eating extra veggies, beauty treatments, making a real effort to reach out to friends and family when I'd rather hide away.

My motivation for doing this challenge was originally to pay off £26k of debt, then I wanted to work part-time rather than full-time, ended up going back to uni and building a successful business. Now it's about living sustainably and not having the stress of having to take on too much work wise to have a better balance in life. I became an auntie just over 2 years ago and words can't express how happy it's made me and how much I love the 2, soon to be 3 little people in my life. They live abroad so saving to see them as much as possible is my priority.

We've only spent £156.42 on groceries this year, that shows how much food I had hoarded last year! Now we've used up all the older food and are just buying weekly amounts, with a few spares here and there if there's offers. OH has his 2nd lockdown birthday in a few weeks so I need to get cake ingredients and make his favourite dinner. Other than that I've started attempting sea swimming - I managed to get up to my thighs on Sunday before running out screaming a bit, but I'd already done over 5,000 steps so it wasn't a wasted journey (I live 5 mins drive from the beach). This weekend I plan to submerge my shoulders and actually swim for at least 15 mins after cycling to the beach.

Frugaldom

retiredinfrance said:

Sorry - Dodgers = food . How the machine suggested that I don't know.

Welcome to our challenge forum. I was going to ask what dodgers were in shopping terms and was thinking all sorts - like how to avoid (dodge) paying full price, getting discounts etc. Mystery solved.

Frugaldom

@skint_chick Isn't it absolutely Baltic in the sea? The water has ice over it in the mornings here and the worst of the winter weather hasn't even visited us in SW Scotland yet (that I'm aware of, and if it even gets here). Brrrrrr... rather you than me!