2021 Frugal Living Challenge

mumtoomany

Hi @Frugaldom, yes I've made pizza bad out of yogurt and flour, usually use yeast, but like you had yogurt that was part it's best. Taste wise nobody noticed. I prefer the yeast one, as it grows bigger, they all think they've had more to eat/eat fewer pieces. As the base is the cheapest part, this is frugal, and means i can save a pizza for the freezer, always make at least three. I used yogurt to make naan bread last week,that turned out well and was popular. 
Big shop today. Nearly out of veg including potatoes, just being towards the end of the cheap Christmas veg and the yellow sticker Christmas eve veg. Total food spend for January was under £200, it included a fish and chip tea for seven of us. The freezers however are still full as are most of the cupboards. Hopefully another low spend month.
Hope all are well, mumtoomany.

flossyblog

Hello everyone, I'd like to join please. I've completed  a year budget which looks to be €12,250, breakdown listed

gas & Elec = 1344

TV&Inter  =  745 

Council tax =  983
water       =  280

insurances

health       =3200

build&cont   = 497

travel/lia    =  201

Total =7,250

I have allocated 3000 for food and 2000 for tax which brings the total to 12,250.

I have a household inventory and master lists for planning.  I absolutely hate waste so plan very carefully to avoid. I keep a running total for cleaning supplies, toiletries and clothing to get an accurate picture of spends in these catergories. Needless to say I save all receipts.
My January food total came to €198 and bills were €204.10. council tax doesn't kick in until April and water is paid quarterly.  Health insurance was paid in December. 

fionaandphil

Hi @frugaldom we use this recipe for yoghurt pizza and have found it very simple, it will produce a thin and crispy pizza. The added bonus is that it also freezes well if you make up more than one batch if you have a big tub of yoghurt  https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/greek-yoghurt-pizza-dough/ 

willow_loulou

I’ve got a couple of spuds just gone over and starting to sprout. Something else to plant! Last years didn’t get to edible - any tips? 

I’ve just finished my second course for work and now been asked to start another! Honestly it’s a good job I like learning! They are paying thankfully, but we need it to operate the gig part of our work. 

Has anyone grown spinach - mines gone really leggy and looks more like cress, does it just need a deeper pot? I’d hoped to keep it in a seed tray! 

My next task today is cutting down a horrid towel for cleaning cloths and make the nicer one into a dog coat - just cutting out today - sewing bias binding over the next few days 

5yearsfree

I finally have a bed, ive been on a airbed for the last three weeks, I soon regretted talking my son into taking all his furniture when he moved out rather than buying new straight away as his girlfriend would have preferred.
Ive been a bit naughty as when I worked out the bills I forgot the council tax was done over 10months, So my husband has paid more than he should and im keeping it towards rebuilding an emergency fund. He does know and is fine with it. I've banked in savings £289 so far, should be another 300+ at the end of the month as I would like to have £1000 EF by March end.
Is £25ish a week seem reasonable food budget for one?  put the call out that im looking for a part-time job its easy to pick-up housekeeping/pot washing jobs across the Summer in our area even with BR tax code I can still make a huge dent in the 8k I'd like to save this year. 
   

roblou27

5yearsfree said:

Hope you mind if I join in, Ive just split with my husband ,so far its amicable Ive left but not left as financially it benefits no one as we are tied into our mortgage for another two years and currently I wouldn't come out with enough to buy my own home on my wages and his attitude to money make him a probable unsafe bet, I have no debt and as off this morning neither does he, but that wont last. I have a full-time minimum wage job, im uneducated and 46 so that's pretty much as good as its gets.
Im starting from scratch again moneywise, I have a plan but need to save 8K a year to make this happen, if we can live live together for the next two years I would have enough to buy a park home or small flat and suffer the ongoing cost associated with that, if we can make it to five I could manage a small 2up2down freehold which is the preference.Sorry.that ive dumped my baggage I have no one in RL to talk this over, its a long haul and I need to keep focused and keep life positive.
Thank you  

Welcome @5yearsfree, everyone is so lovely and supportive on here. Sometimes just offloading can help the thinking process. Good luck with all your plans.

patentgirl

@Frugaldom you are an inspiration shame about Olio ceasing near you.
Got off to good start in January especially as first month without my pay since retiring  end December still managed to save into retirement pot everything else going well not spent what planned for month on food yet  but as yearly budget will roll over to Feb definitely helping having time now to plan better and back to baking more now not working also less spending days.  No diesel spends this month again will carry over same with car budget and social/clothing/hair cuts and birthday/Xmas envelopes Food I pay on my card then transfer out food budget  what I have spent as soon as credit card bill comes in found too awkward with cash at the moment.
Welcome newbies.

5yearsfree

Willow-loulou spinach will need transplanting getting leggy usually a mix of a bit too warm and not enough light, I work in the plant area of a garden centre, im better with plants then people  

willow_loulou

@5yearsfree from experience squirrel as much as you can, preferably in cash so you have a buffer when you do leave. You’ll need to declare financial information and if you have more saved than him it won’t help you in the long run. There is little fair or equal about divorce, and no such thing as amicable if things get tricky.
I wish someone had told me that as I didn’t think he would see me and the kids go without, it never occurred to me to keep much money.  Sadly he left us with nothing, owes thousands in child maintenance. Even the supposed good and would never do that types are likely to do that.. 

roblou27

Hello all, well things are looking up. DF is much better thank goodness, he has conflicting dates for coming out of isolation, the track and trace email said the 1st but the app says the 4th so he is going to stay put until Thursday to be safe an then on Friday I can get in his room and decontaminate it!😉. Then at least we can get back to some sort of normality at least at home.
Yesterday I made a curry. The sauce was made from Mayflower Chinese base that I found in the back of the cupboard from my SW days. I had some cold chicken so with that and a part bag of frozen peas and the same of peppers, a fried onion and some frozen spinach I managed to get  dinner for today and a couple of packups for hubs.
 Pay day is on Friday and looking at the budget looks like I will be about £100 to the good as there are at least 2 direct debits that won’t hit till after Friday. This is why I budget the same amount on a monthly amount even though the pay is 4 weekly. We will also have the free council tax month so will be extras going into EF and paying of the credit card. We also  have our Click and Collect order on Friday with the extra discount so have the big items on order.
At some point when the shops open up again I need some new walking shoes. We are scheduled to go on holiday at the beginning of May if it still happens but will need to break them in as I have such trouble with shoes. We don’t holiday abroad but have 1 week away a year usually to our favourite place on the East Coast. This is budgeted for each month so there is enough for accommodation and spends. We always rented out the same little house but sadly I don’t think they are going to continue to holiday let and it is such an expensive place to rent ☹️. We used to get a good deal because we used to go every year and book direct through the owner. Any way we decided to look further afield to places we would like to go but had never been to, So we booked to go to the Northumberland coast. As I say not sure if this will be doable but on speaking to bookings they don’t refund but they will move dates. Whatever happens I will still need some new shoes as mine have split and I’m getting soggy socks!!
It’s lovely to read what everyone is up to, how you all manage your life and your budgets. Thank you for letting me ramble on about my life and being part of such a great community.😁