2022 Frugal Living Challenge

zafiro1984

Thanks Floss and Effician, now I understand.

I'm a bit upset about the £150 only being for CT bands A-D. Yes our house is rated higher but we're now retired so our income is far less than it used to be 20yrs ago. We can't move/downsize as it's attached to the acreage we have and need for our animals. 

cw18

zafiro1984 said:

Thanks Floss and Effician, now I understand.

I'm a bit upset about the £150 only being for CT bands A-D. Yes our house is rated higher but we're now retired so our income is far less than it used to be 20yrs ago. We can't move/downsize as it's attached to the acreage we have and need for our animals. 

Councils are also being given a fund to use to help those in higher bands who are struggling - but you'll have to complete a form, and it's likely to be an in-depth ins-and-outs much as if you're applying for means tested benefits.    If you qualify for pension credit or any kind of help with CT you may be able to get it easier, as the checks will have already been done.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

I had some unexpected expenditure in March, nothing major but I need to really get a grip this month, I also feel that I havent been quite as frugal as I could have been recently.  I am at the dentist next week for a check up but havent been since 2019 and it's quite likely I will need something doing, hoping I dont need to dip into the emergency fund for that.

We have booked a holiday for June, camping at £18 a night so even with diesel there and back we should be able to have a week away for just over £200.  I have started a savings pot.

Our electricity usage is coming in at about 2000 units a year less than when both boys were at home so the price rises arent going to hit us as hard as they might have done.  Like everyone else we are going to need to be really careful though.

My plans to cycle to work are not going very well as every day that I am in the office it seems to either be raining, icy or very windy.  I dont mind getting wet coming home, but it's not great getting soaked going in.  Hoping for at least one day without using the car next week.

Other than that we are doing well with the mealplanning and food shopping, it's just other stuff that's creeping in that I need to keep a check on.

2Scratters

Morning Peeps,
well the grocery  money last month had a big wad left at the end of the month and has gone into a cash stash. (you can't trust the banks all of the time) However this month is not off to a good start, I have my lists ready for the shopping and DH will find any other job to do rather than go food shopping. He does nip for a loaf or milk if needed, This has become worse since lockdown. In his defence though he getting other jobs done outside There is now a 2nd wood store - recently built - that is now full as he has made himself busy, also knowing we need to keep the bills down. Getting ready for next winter 
I have now got covid  the NSD's are extending. Evening meals however have been funded from our personal accounts as we have had takeaways. Some have lasted 2 meals so not too bad and as there is no junk food or treats in the house hopefully can loose some chunk too DH doesn't need to do that!
The upright freezer needs a stock take today and document what is actually in there. I have a feeling DH may not be up to much today so we can do this together and hopefully get it done reasonably quicker and then do some sort of meal planning.
Oops been distracted by the variant of birds in the back garden collecting (and making some mess in the progress) their bits of stuff for nesting. 

Have a safe weekend
Stay safe
2Scratters xx

mandy47

Saved £220 so far this year on grocery budget only to spend £240 on car repair. At least the bulk of that bill was covered with grocery budget, could have been worse.

zafiro1984

mandy47 said:

Saved £220 so far this year on grocery budget only to spend £240 on car repair. At least the bulk of that bill was covered with grocery budget, could have been worse.

There's a certain amount of satisfaction when a largish bill comes in and you know you have been frugal enough to afford to pay it without too much worry.

I'm looking towards the Summer when I shall turn off the woodburner with its - always alight - oven, as it needs a deep clean and service ready for the autumn. But before that I aim to batch cook as much as I can from my existing stocks in the freezer and refreeze them in meal sized portions so that all I need to do is thaw and microwave them as needed. It will hopefully cut down on the amount of electric/cooking I use over the summer.  I did this three years ago but for a different reason - (my DH doesn't cook and I needed a serious op - had to go to London for it) Batch cooking made such a difference and saved so much time and stress that I know it works for us. 

I've spent quite a lot of today reorganising the freezers, sorting out the contents and thinking about what I can cook and freeze. I already have some batch meals as I always tend to  - eat one freeze two - especially with casseroles.
So this morning in my largest roasting tin I made an apple/blackberry crumble, the apples were from a neighbour and the blackberries I picked last Autumn. I've just frozen 16 portions. 

I love my 'free oven' attached to the woodburner and aim to use it as much as possible these next few weeks. I've worked out that I'll need about 90-100 main meals, the same with puddings, not forgetting sides, lunches, cakes and biscuits. I'll probably bore everyone with my progress but my basic aim is to save as much as I can on electric and time, to use as much as I can from existing stocks - freezer, cupboards, the garden - I grow a lot of our fruit and veg. I'll see how it goes.

Bluegreen143

We had to completely empty our savings this week to buy a car (£3,300) as our old car catastrophically failed and wasn’t economically worth fixing (new gearbox needed, it was an automatic and only worth about £1k). Ok a car isn’t frugal, but we need a car for the school run and on my office days, and while it’s a luxury we love being able to easily get to different parks, visit friends etc at the weekend. It’s a bit daunting to start again from scratch but such wonderful peace of mind that we could afford our new car with cash and no need to take on debt.

nmaria

With prices going up I am looking more into growing own fruit and vegetables. Have bought an apple tree and replanted the Logan berries in the garden. Plum tree is full of blossom and I really hope there is no more frost coming.

nannygladys

nmaria - my plum tree hasn't had any blossom on it for two years and it doesn't look as if there's any this year, so I will be replacing it! It's the same with one blueberry bush as well, I did warn them last year that they would be going if they didn't start producing again so I don't feel too bad!

Primrose

Blueberries seem notably hard to get a good crop from.  I've known several gardening friends fail utterly with them which has put me off trying to grow them. .   Redcurrants on the other hand, which neither of us particularly like because of their sourness keep on fruiting with such embarrassment that we never know what to do with them all.Apparently lettuces and cucumbers are going to be in short supply later as growers have struggled with fuel bills for heating their hothouses, so worth a try growing.  I've always found cucumbers grow perfectly well outdoors in our sunny south facing border.