2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

OLaney said:

@Bluegreen143 this is something DP also likes to do....comes back from shops with little treats “because he knows I like them” and I love him to bits for it BUT I’d much rather he kept that money for himself for when he is in need of it. What is the best way to approach this though?! I am at a loss to find an answer at the moment. 

@Mummy2cheekymonkeys oh no! I hope you are all feeling much better now than you did. COVID has really taught us the importance of things that matter most to us in our lives hasn’t it?
@MazzieD that is a great idea regarding the cleaning supplies and toiletries...too late for me to do it this year financially but definitely something I will put in to action for next year. Thanks for the tip! 

Absolutely. With hubby working from home since march it has really opened his eyes to how much he was missing out on the boys growing up. He would be out of the house 10 hours a day monday to friday and I cant see him wanting to go back to that. I cant stress enough how careful people need to be about covid. It's worrying how many people dont seem to be taking it seriously. I am 33 and it has really knocked me for 6. It is 2 weeks today since i first started showing symptoms and i am still shattered. A couple of chores around the house is enough to completely wipe me out.  

[Deleted User]

Regarding the milkman, I use ours and yes, it's more costly than supermarket milk. However, as I understand it the supermarkets drive the costs down so low to the dairy farmers that they are ruining the dairy farmers ability to earn a fair living. Whilst frugal, I would rather go without other things and give my money to our local dairy farmer (who also delivers our butter and yoghurt), than line the pockets of the supermarkets even further. I also think I save money in the long term, as you never just come home with milk when you pop out for it do you?! Single use plastic too - I look at so many bits of plastic now and think 'you'll outlive me and my children'.... 

But we all have our pinch points and, whilst I am happy to eat veggie more as that enables me to spend more on my dairy bill, we all make the choices that are right for us 😊😊

Two hours spent chopping wood this morning, lots of batch cooking done and a meal plan for the month. Starting with that sick 'back to work feeling' already... reminds me why I am doing this...

CRANKY40

Deleted_User said:

I also think I save money in the long term, as you never just come home with milk when you pop out for it do you?! 

That's why I use a milk man too. I have never come home from the supermarket with just milk. Ours works out about £1.50 a week more expensive than @sda plus I don't have to go out in the cold or drive to fetch it.

YORKSHIRELASS

We have a milkman too.  Milk is about the only thing that we would absolutely have to go to the shops for, I have a breadmaker and always have bread flour and yeast in, and just about anything else we could do without - but no milk for breakfast tea or porridge would be a disaster.  So, yes, the extra cost is worth it to save a trip to the shops, especially as for us this has to involve a car journey.

@Frugaldom I took your suggestion from a while back about doing a grid so that I can colour in squares as I pay off my debts.  My journal now has a page marked out with 70 squares of £500 each, but I have split each square in half so I can mark off payments of £250.  I cant wait to start colouring!

ASB I have that sinking feeling about Monday morning too, in fact my anxiety levels have been steadily climbing all day.  It just makes me more determined to get to that day when its not all about working to pay off the debts and mortgage.  

Shopaholic_no_more

@Mummy2cheekymonkeys I truly hope you start to feel better very soon. It is a worry that some don’t seem to think it is that serious. 

 I have a friend who has been on oxygen in hospital for the last 2 weeks ...she is 64. Thankfully, she is turning a corner at last. She said she wouldn’t wish it on anyone. We have had a few cases where I work appear over the last couple of weeks as well. It makes me quite nervous to be honest. All you can do is keep yourself as safe as you can. Please take care everyone. 

lilly81

Today I used my £10 Lidl voucher, so only spent £2.83 on my shopping. I picked up a pair of jeans someone was giving away too.
I've meal planned for the week ahead manly using food from the freezer 😋 

willow_loulou

Absolutely over the moon that my boss has confirmed I am to work from home for the foreseeable, it’s such a relief after my hospital visit last January, I am scared of another close call like that.
i popped in to M&S as other half needed milk etc to go home with, I spent £7 and got a huge bag full of stuff!  Very pleased with that as I’ve only ever disliked 1 thing I’ve got from there. I only went it as it was practically empty, it was quite eerie.

My lovely neighbour is offering to help with getting me things so I can stay safe, she’s tested twice a week so feels more confident going about her usual tasks and helping me and a couple of others. I’m a very lucky vulnerable person! 

I’ve downloaded to good t go, it’s really good here but I’ll wait a few weeks as I’m not intending on going out this month now. 

willow_loulou

@Mummy2cheekymonkeys I hope you feel better very soon x

mummy2threeboys

@Mummy2cheekymonkeys I hope you feel better soon, sleep as much as you can and take it easy xx
I'm in please. One wage income although I am Bank staff for local school as a General assistant. Need some filing? Some lunch time supervision?  T.A at Forestry school? You get the idea. I love it. We have lived on one wage for 15 years , due to raising a family and the cost of childcare wiping out any of my earnings, plus an extra £100 on top, and husbands every changing shift days. We also home educated for 9 years , mostly due to husbands long days. Two have since returned to school , but middle one is at home still. He has Autism and here it's almost impossible to find suitable provisions for him and others with his needs. 
We have paid off our mortgage through frugal living after 23 years in the same home, and just moved to our second home which is another do upper, but in a much nicer very rural area. I have chickens and a 100ft garden with it's own 300 year old oak tree, whilst it has been very lonely due to not being able to meet people, I am thrilled to be here, it's very peaceful.
Budget has been sorted and about £18 worth of DD cancelled. I am also looking forward to the two month break on Council tax. I inherited a small amount of money as my lovely Grandmother passed this year. That will pay for new guttering etc as it's the original 50s guttering. 
Expected payments this month Boiler fixing it's 30 years old but still fairly efficent but somethings wrong with the gas on/off (no carbon leaking thankfully) I'm expecting about £200 bill. 
Pea and ham soup for lunch tomorrow with left over ham. (Thanks for the idea).
Chat soon and much love to you all.

Frugaldom

House_Elf_2 said:

ldee2111 said

I’m going to try out some extra frugal things  - old school tricks that would make my gran proud - dilute the fruit juice, dilute the laundry detergent, cut the exact amount of baking parchment I need instead of tearing off a whole sheet for a sausage roll, that kind of thing. Some things may not be worth it but I’ll enjoy trying them out anyway. I’ll have a search online for more ideas. And maybe some fellow frugalers have their own suggestions?

Hi Idee years ago I visited a factory that made laundry products for supermarket own brands......basically they were all the same recipe, apart from the colour! The chap showing us around advised us to use at least half the amount of washing powder recommended on the pack, and double dilute all conditioners, as the 'recommended amounts' were designed to make you use more......He also advised cutting dishwasher tablets in half.

I make 'Washing Gloop'. There are 7 people at home at the moment, and It saves a fortune in washing powder. (It costs about £1 per month, plus the effort of making it!).

Frugal On!

I posted link to the homemade laundry gloop on here yesterday - saves an absolute fortune over the years