2021 Frugal Living Challenge

Rowan9

aw your dog is gorgeous @fiwen30. What a sweet face. 

Well done with the dog coat!

MazzieD

@Couldsavemore Sounds like you're doing the 'Pay yourself first' method.  January is always a long financial month particularly if you get paid before Christmas and have to last until the end of January.  Perhaps as @willow_loulou suggests it might be better to reduce your monthly savings amount if you have this issue every month.  I put away a small amount at the beginning of the month and then whatever is left at the end of the month as my monthly outgoings vary quite a lot and wouldn't want to set up a regular payment.

@fiwen30 What a lovely dog you have, love the coat!. 

tryingtodobetter

@fiwen30 What a beautiful dog   

@Couldsavemore I sympathise, I'm struggling this month too. For me, I think, it's the combination of early December pay and 3 January birthdays. I have enough to cover all the essentials (direct debits and food) but nothing will be left at the end! I usually have enough for some 'entertainment' money but not this month,  lockdown will help with that though.

Going for a walk in a bit with DH and DS3 to look for Geocaches, this keeps DS3 entertained on what would probably be a long boring walk for him otherwise. Roast dinner today using up the last of the veggies from Christmas, I love roasted parsnips. Hopefully we will have a lovely quiet afternoon, we played Monopoly yesterday afternoon but that ended in tears from DS3 

Couldsavemore

@fiwen30
He's a handome chap! He looks very snug in his new rug!

welshspendthrift

fiwen30 said:

MisterPym said:

fiwen30 said:

Checking in to say we’ve £188 left for 2 grocery shops this month, and £120 left for pet costs (meds, food, litter etc.). Should be on track till the next budget period on the 28th.

My new SIM card arrived this morning - I’ve no need or want to replace my old iphone7, and so took a SIM only deal for the same data amounts etc., but for £10/month rather than the £36 I had been paying to O2. Partner’s contract is up soon too, and I’m hoping he’ll find something cheaper than the £73 he currently pays!

Our dog has been costing a fortune in meds, vet bills, rehab treatments, and equipment (cruciate injuries). I already bought him a high tech insulated coat for his short walks, and a towelling drying coat for after his hydro sessions, but couldn’t afford the fancy fleece housecoat I wanted to keep him warm at night. But for the cost of an hour of my time, a fleece blanket that never gets used, and 2 spare buttons, I was able to make him one myself that properly fits his strange crossbreed measurements! It’s navy blue, and looks very smart, and the £40 I’ve saved myself will pay for another physio session for him.

I'd love to see a photo?

Here he is! It needs a bit of adjusting, the buttons are a bit far back, but it’s keeping his stiff back warm and cosy, and it was free!

Aww what a gorgeous dog, nice coat too, we are doing ok this month, we still have £130 out of £350 left in food budget and should not need to get anything else this week and need to do freezer inventory see what we can do out of freezer rather than spending more! Sadly Olio has things on but too far for us, not very local. 13k seems to be nearest and my favourite too good to go at Sainsbury’s to go seems to have dropped off 😢 Have a nice Sunday everyone 

Couldsavemore

Thanks for the comments..
I do pay myself first or I'd spend everything and save nothing!
I'll look again at my budget for feb... I'll try to avoid buying stuff at the start of the month and try to buy the treats at the end of the month.
I think 'on my knees' might have been inappropriate... I have money in my food shopping purse, all the bills are paid and plenty of desiel in the car to get to work for the rest of the month.
Just need to be more mindfull.

Again thank you gor your support

willow_loulou

Ah such a cute dog
 I'm well over my food budget, but that’s exactly as I expected as I’ve had delivery’s. The one Tesco trip was not a good experience for me so will be getting deliveries again next month. I’ve also bought a months pass on now tv. 

To compensate I’m watching prolific like a hawk and I’ve not put fuel in the car since early December. So I’m about £45 down at the moment. So frustrating but that is the way of it for now. 

We’re out twice next week so I will go past the fareshare stall and see what I can get. It’s a shame it’s too far for me to walk or I’d take the dogs most days. 

Lovely to see the days getting a bit longer, I was enjoying the sun when cleaning the patio this morning. It’s a the dogs area and fenced off from the wildlife friendly garden. Having been left to it for 4 years we’re going to hack it back and start again this year. Hoping for a caravan find or to build a shed room out there. There’s no money in that pot yet so very much hoping to acquire a lot of pallets 🤣

MisterPym

fiwen30 said:

MisterPym said:

fiwen30 said:

Checking in to say we’ve £188 left for 2 grocery shops this month, and £120 left for pet costs (meds, food, litter etc.). Should be on track till the next budget period on the 28th.

My new SIM card arrived this morning - I’ve no need or want to replace my old iphone7, and so took a SIM only deal for the same data amounts etc., but for £10/month rather than the £36 I had been paying to O2. Partner’s contract is up soon too, and I’m hoping he’ll find something cheaper than the £73 he currently pays!

Our dog has been costing a fortune in meds, vet bills, rehab treatments, and equipment (cruciate injuries). I already bought him a high tech insulated coat for his short walks, and a towelling drying coat for after his hydro sessions, but couldn’t afford the fancy fleece housecoat I wanted to keep him warm at night. But for the cost of an hour of my time, a fleece blanket that never gets used, and 2 spare buttons, I was able to make him one myself that properly fits his strange crossbreed measurements! It’s navy blue, and looks very smart, and the £40 I’ve saved myself will pay for another physio session for him.

I'd love to see a photo?

Here he is! It needs a bit of adjusting, the buttons are a bit far back, but it’s keeping his stiff back warm and cosy, and it was free!

Thanks..it looks fab! I'm inspired.

Landgirlinthelittlecity

Hello all, slowly ticking along here. Trying to attempt my first sourdough loaf so we’ll see if that works and had a talk with the other half regarding our finances in the hopes when I get paid on the 25th that we can keep within our means, I even downloaded an app 🙈 to help. 

Going to make mash potato this afternoon to make extra to make tinned tuna fish cakes next week 🙃

Any tips on how not to spend money would be great. Prior to lockdown it was the “coffee lunches” to meet my sisters for a afternoon tea at the weekend and now we’re in lockdown it’s a splurge on more expensive treats ect. I don’t mind the odd item but they are mounting up.

@fiwen30 your coat looks lovely! I know what it’s like with vet bills our pup decided to become paralyzed in September last year and whilst the pet insurance paid out the op I’m still paying out the money which we needed to spend on Airbnb’s and he’s constantly going to the vets at the moment so it’s a constant struggle.

IzzyBee

He’s gorgeous what a lovely face love his coat