2021 Frugal Living Challenge

nannygladys

Hi everyone, there's some serious frugalling going on! 
My seed growing has slowed down in this cold weather and I think I may have to start some bits off again, but there's still time.
I have been to do my second ever shop at lidhall, and bought load a of veggies etc - very impressed with the quality and its lasting well, but I didn't see any f&v boxes, perhaps I was too late. In fact I was pleasantly surprised by the shop, it has only recently opened and I keep forgetting it's there. I will go back again at some time, I'm not very loyal to any one shop.
Put the crock pot on today to make a casserole as its been so cold and even made a jam sponge in the microwave for pudding and there's enough leftovers of both for a couple of more days, win win!
What's with the weather? snow and hail and we don't usually see either, only in winter, but I have resisted putting the heating on and been using throws and fleeces to keep warm, oh and the electric blanket at night!
Not been doing much else, just the usual and I'm happy with that. 
Nannyg

jak

Hi everyone, I’ve done week one of serious frugality. I’ve actually put my normal food money into an Asda voucher as I’ll be very close by when I move. It gets it out of my bank so I can’t spend it and will help to feed us. 

Selling our old crap is going ok. My stuff isn’t really moving But my sons stuff is flying out of the house, thank god. He’s made over £100 so far and we’ve not even started on his bedroom! 

Off to town today to meet a friend for a coffee... I have some vouchers to spend in peacocks so will be getting some new school uniform for the boy. Free bus pass so hoping to spend less than £2.50. 

I’m desperate to buy stuff for the new place but 1. I don’t want to jinks it and 2. I’ve got enough stuff to move.
New frugal mission- not to pay for any tip runs but gradually get Mum to help take stuff for me and sell/charity any stuff I’m not taking with us. 

Thanks for all the good wishes. You lot are a bit fab. I’m so glad I found this thread. It’s keeping me on the straight and narrow!! X

MazzieD

jak said:

Hi everyone, I’ve done week one of serious frugality. I’ve actually put my normal food money into an Asda voucher as I’ll be very close by when I move. It gets it out of my bank so I can’t spend it and will help to feed us. 

What a brilliant idea, would never have thought of that.  

CraftyLittleLisa

Its been a whole month since I posted but I have been reading along.  There is one thing I really wanted to share with you all though.  I have really managed to rein in my spending since joining this forum and I have managed to get frugalling/make doing into a habit.  I do it now without thinking about it and I have managed to save quite a bit of money over the 2-3 years I have been doing it.  I recently decorated my lounge and decided to actually treat myself to some new curtains to properly insulate the windows, a new lampshade and a rug to cover the very wearing carpet.  I got such a thrill from choosing things I needed and wanted but also from the fact I knew I had managed to save up the money to pay for these things outright.  That felt really good and I will definitely be continuing with this lifestyle.

I did have a couple of other minor wins this last month which were - I finally got my credit refunded back from my last energy provider and because it took them so long (3 months) they gave me a good will payment of an extra £30, my new energy provider arranged an appointment for a smart meter to be installed but they had to cancel it at the last minute so to apologise they credited my account with £50.00. 

I did manage to keep most other expenses down and on budget as last month I concentrated on decluttering and spring cleaning that doesn't cost money and I feel good because I have gained control now.  This month will be concentrating on trying to sell various bits of fabric that I have decided I won't use.  Generally I don't usually have any luck with selling things but its worth a try.

That's it from me this time so have good weekends all.

Lisa 

Blackcats

Enjoying reading all the posts and sharing in the frugal wins we are all having.  My previous energy supplier have paid the £58 rebate from the switching month's payment and that's on top of the £158 repayment of the credit I'd accrued.  Rather shamedly I'd never really bothered with turning off lights, avoiding tumble drying, turning down thermostats etc  until the last 12 months and it's obviously no surprise to the sensible people here that I've managed to quite easily and painlessly save money and keep money in my account instead of giving it to the energy supplier.  

I'm not a complete paragon of virtue though because I quickly spent the £30 m and s voucher I got as part of the swop.  I spent £20 on a birthday gift and £10 on some sparkly earrings for myself which were a definite want rather than need 😇

willow_loulou

You definitely deserved the sparkly earring though Blackcats! 

Off to asd@ in a mo, via a tgtg collection. I’m in desperate need of footwear and dd needs some exercise books for uni. I figured they may have some shoes at a reasonable price and I can get the few extra needs of veg and milk at the same time. Hopeful of a few cheaper option of things like dishwasher tablets too. I’m taking a list with my usual prices. Should be a little entertainment if nothing else! 

girlybags

Hello everybody! I've been lurking and reading this whole thread for a few weeks now and finally got to the end! I've found it so interesting how you guys manage to save and keep your costs down etc and hopefully I've taken some of this on board.

I'm fairly frugal as a rule but there's always room for improvement. I'm a single mum, my son will be 16 this year and I work part-time so I'm preparing for my UC and child benefit/maintenance to end in a couple of years and trying to save as much as possible. On working out how much money I'll be losing it's a fair amount and, while I do plan on getting full-time work, I want a good chunk of savings to fall back on.

I discovered TGTG through reading this thread and last week got my first Morrie's magic bag. I wasn't expecting anything great from it but for £3.09 I thought it was worth a nosey. Anyway we ended up with a big box that contained;
A loaf of finest sourdough bread

12 white muffins

4 currant teacakes

A pack of potato croquettes

A pack of leek and potato soup mix

3 bags of salad leaves

Pak choi

A big pack of raspberries
A small pack of blueberries

2 packs of runner beans

1/4 of a watermelon

2 mangoes

5 apple slice snack packs and

A pack of mushrooms

Which I was really happy with to say the least.

Everything got used or frozen apart from the runner beans which I wasn't sure what to do with and by the time I got around to tackling them they had started to go a little slimy 🤢 We have a mini zoo at home so not much goes to waste, the bunnies were happy with the salad and our rats will eat most leftovers.

I managed to order another box tonight for pickup tomorrow so can't wait to see what's in it. I'm wondering whether the contents will be better on certain days of the week so may try a midweek one to see. At the moment picking up a box on a Sunday is ideal as I do my weekly shop on a Monday and take my dad with me (he's in my bubble and he doesn't have a car) so I can plan accordingly.

MazzieD

Welcome @girlybags

jak

Hi everyone, well my Asda voucher has been bought so I’m excited! I’ve sold quite a lot of stuff on market place so I’m pleased with that. Will get another £15 tmr and it’s all going into the ‘get stuff when we move tin.’ I’ve made a list of second hand stuff to get and am listing big stuff on freecycle so it helps someone who needs it. I’m taking the plunge and getting rid of my tumble dryer. It seems pointless to keep it as I’m too tight to put it on! That’s going to a family in need rather than being sold tho.
Its full steam ahead here. I’ve not shopped or stopped all week! 

Xxx

Blackcats

Jak - that's very kind of you to give your tumble dryer to someone who needs it.  I love freecycle - it's such a nice feeling giving something to someone who wants it. 

Hello girly bags - good luck with making savings.  This thread is so helpful.
your TGTG bag sounds great.  

I saved some money yesterday - not deliberately but the butchers was already shut when I got there so I had a rummage in the freezer and found a pack of roast beef and gravy that I'd frozen from a Sunday roast a few weeks ago.  I had some Jersey Royals and carrots in the cupboards and frozen peas so I had a lovely Sunday lunch using what I already had.