2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Ellie79

Hi all. Hope everyone has had a good weekend. 

Post-booster yuckiness is plaguing me tonight. I'm doing some financial admin in bed, avoiding the snow and icy cold weather. We had some bad effects from the storm, need to address repanelling my greenhouse for a start! 

Nothing hugely frugal happening, did manage to hit A!di at the right time today, got some bargains, fruit mainly but will do DD2's packed lunch (and my breakfast!). I did studiously ignore black Friday, apart from looking for a couple of planned purchases, but no joy for them. Oh well. 

Keep warm and well everyone.

Frugaldom

Good evening frugal friends

I'm slowly catching up, reading along with as many of the notification updates as I can and I thnk I've now about caught up with everyone - apologies for not responding to individual comments and posts. There are also some questions I can't respond to for reasons such as not having central heating, not having thermostat, not having mains gas etc and next year is going to be an even more challenging frugal challenge as I'm going to attempt to be off grid as much as possible. Collecting wood for the stove will be an on-going mission, as always, but I have cheated a bit and have a gas cylinder heater for additional warmth and instant heat. Hopefully, the logburner will keep the air dry enough to prevent any build up of condensation from the gas.

I'bve been doing sums tonight and the car seems to be the most expensive item on my list. January to November has cost £922.81 so far so I will definitely need to allow £1000 budget for that next year. On the other hand, groceries, which includes toiletries, has only been £536.92 for 2 of us. It's looking like that aspect of spending has reduced, overall, by over 25% since the arrival of Olio in our area, plus local bartering and growing a few bits and pieces. I have enough potatoes to see out the year and my freezer is filled to capacity. So, my lifelong ambition to live a frugal lifestyle with as much outdoor life as possible in a cabin in the woods is almost on track. The 'cabin in the woods' is almost completed, although it's not in the woods, as the trees still need to grow up around it, and it's not a cabin, it's a hut. Still, it has a back garden that I started last year during lockdown and a front 'lawn', which is actually a tiny paddock. My 2021 end of year challenge is to kit it all out on a miniscule budget then my 2022 frugal living challenge will be to make it as sustainable as possible. I'm going to be a hutter!

Scottiedog_3

Frugaldom 
The 'cabin in the woods' is almost completed, although it's not in the woods, as the trees still need to grow up around it, and it's not a cabin, it's a hut. Still, it has a back garden that I started last year during lockdown and a front 'lawn', which is actually a tiny paddock. My 2021 end of year challenge is to kit it all out on a miniscule budget then my 2022 frugal living challenge will be to make it as sustainable as possible. I'm going to be a hutter!

That sounds amazing ! There is an encampment of huts reasonably near me which took shape in the 1930s. Your cabin also sounds like a "batch" which friends built on the Coromandel peninsula in New Zealand. It started off as a summer place then they winter proofed it. 

Frugaldom

Scottiedog_3 said:

Frugaldom 
The 'cabin in the woods' is almost completed, although it's not in the woods, as the trees still need to grow up around it, and it's not a cabin, it's a hut. Still, it has a back garden that I started last year during lockdown and a front 'lawn', which is actually a tiny paddock. My 2021 end of year challenge is to kit it all out on a miniscule budget then my 2022 frugal living challenge will be to make it as sustainable as possible. I'm going to be a hutter!

That sounds amazing ! There is an encampment of huts reasonably near me which took shape in the 1930s. Your cabin also sounds like a "batch" which friends built on the Coromandel peninsula in New Zealand. It started off as a summer place then they winter proofed it. 

It has been a long time coming. I've followed the hutting groups and the campaigns for quite a years, always hoping we could build one sometime. Grandparents and their families were hutters and campervanners. I did quite fancy campervanning at one point but the cost was too prohibitive so saving for years to buy a bit land and then saving for another 5 years to build the hut has been my fulltime frugal living passion. But it doesn't stop here, it;s a definite lifestyle. There are a few hutting sites in Scotland and I've met some lovely fellow hutters over the past few years. In August, we opened our yard area as a campervan / motorhome stopover so I'm hoping that it can continue throughout next year, too. We just do it for donations to help feed the rescued ponies and goats and many of the campervanners help out while visiting.

YORKSHIRELASS

RainbowHippie thats great news, I am sure you will enjoy filling your new home with carefully chosen things, I am amazed that you have managed, it just shows what you can do if you have to.

We have had the heating on a lot this weekend, it hasnt been above freezing outside and we havent ventured far.  After much dithering I have bought a mini-oven.  I hate putting on the big electric oven for small portions of food for just the two of us, the mini oven is only 1500w and we have a cheaper version in our folding camper so I know they work.

Christmas shopping is going well, carefully planned and within budget.  I have a car bill to pay and need to keep a close eye on the December budget. 

Scottiedog_3

@ YORKSHIRELASS I've  been toying with the idea of this for a while. How did you decide which model of mini- oven to buy? Are there comparison figures readily available to tell you how long it would take to make up the price of the new oven ? Do you have to buy new dishes because your old ones are too large for the mini- oven?
So many questions...🙂

AnimalTribe

Bala - what a great saving - no good for me as I'm a vegetarian, but my DH would be thrilled. 
Scottiedog_3  - fortunately, the woodlands are well away from the house, and I had my garden trees inspected and reduced by a tree surgeon earlier in the year - whew!. Living so remotely and completely off grid you learn to manage most things with good humour. As to semi-skimmed milk - how about making pancakes? They can be frozen to eat later, or buy full\ordinary milk and dilute it half and half with water. Only dilute about a pint at a time though, and then freeze the rest of the full fat milk. The watered down milk doesn't taste any different from semi-skimmed and is a useful trick if you're running low on milk.
Frugaldom - I'm in North Northumberland

willow_loulou

Goodness I have 14 of no internet and all this happens! 

In frugal news I finally got enough bubble wrap to cover my bathroom window. I really need enough for my bedroom next. I have some so have done the small top opener and I have a couple of bits of polystyrene over some of the rest. Tomorrow’s job is to give the whole window a good clean - I didn’t have the strength after doing the bathroom window and the small opener. Then I have new curtains to hang, I can’t lift my arms any more today so that will have to wait. 

Ive tacked a duvet cover to another windows curtains - it’s a bit of an odd looking liner but I’m hoping it helps! 

I may have to buy some bubble wrap but it is in £land so seems affordable. 

Can anyone remember the home made dehumidifier ingredients? Google is being very unhelpful, I was sure it was some sort of thing like soda crystals. 

balabooberlies

AnimalTribe said:

Bala - what a great saving - no good for me as I'm a vegetarian, but my DH would be thrilled. 
Scottiedog_3  - fortunately, the woodlands are well away from the house, and I had my garden trees inspected and reduced by a tree surgeon earlier in the year - whew!. Living so remotely and completely off grid you learn to manage most things with good humour. As to semi-skimmed milk - how about making pancakes? They can be frozen to eat later, or buy full\ordinary milk and dilute it half and half with water. Only dilute about a pint at a time though, and then freeze the rest of the full fat milk. The watered down milk doesn't taste any different from semi-skimmed and is a useful trick if you're running low on milk.
Frugaldom - I'm in North Northumberland

Hello AT (am so lazy  )

We don't eat a lot of meat, one steak serves 2 of us, which is why it will last ages.  I dislike myself for eating meat due to my love of animals and I probably only eat a third of what I used to. Am working on getting my eating habits in line with my conscience.

As to the milk, thanks, will try that.

bala

x

willow_loulou

Bala I’m the same with meat. I eat so much less than I used to but it remains a part of my diet. 

I have to say unless it’s a steak or chop it tends to be processed as anything that resembles the animal bothers me. I’m not sure when I started feeling like this but it’s definitely getting worse! 

Looks like more snow here today, it’s got that feel. Yuk. I’m not ready for snow lol.