2022 Frugal Living Challenge

gran3

zafiro1984 said:

Plasterer here today, doors open and it's cold so I've lit the woodburner/oven and will make full use of it hopefully able to freeze some batch cooked meals as well.
I'm also freezing eggs, the little dears have been laying overtime and I've almost 150 eggs to deal with but it should stand me in good stead for when they start to moult in about 2 months time.

Pickled eggs?

leftatthetrafficlights

I've been busy this week sorting budgets and finances - I've swapped bank accounts for ones with a better rate of interest and a cashback on spending facility,  I've moved money over to the relevant savings pots and generally got a lot more organised! 😁 

I've managed to do several laundry loads and dried outside - had to use the to yesterday as needed some particular clothing and it was raining cats and dogs! However, as long as I use the line whenever possible, I'm okay with the occasional to use 😉 

We've done really well with food - only used what we have in and have just started the new month's grocery budget which I am hoping to keep as low as possible. We have cupboards and freezers full so I'm going to be utilising those as much as possible this month and then will hopefully be able to defrost them at the beginning of July ready to start harvesting stuff from the garden 😀 

nmaria

Picked a nice amount of rhubarb. A crumble on a Tuesday sounds good and plenty to put in the freezer as well.
finally my butternut squash seeds are showing something green. 

2Scratters

Hi Peeps,
busy with RL meaning work getting in the way. I'm supposed to be working very part time and am currently working nearly full time. (money for the stash though) We have finally got a water butt sorted and "plumbed" in for free water. I had been watching an item on !bay for over a year and have been watching the price increasing. I really was ready to pay up the asking price and get it done. However DH managed to buy me a surprise gift and purchased a pre owned 250ltr one for a saving of over £160. A small purchase of an on/off tap was all that was needed as all the other bits were from stock. It has been tested overnight with some rain and collects successfully (most  leaks resolved mostly today - so good enough is good enough ) It is being fed off a very large workshop/shed roof, so hoping for a bit more rain to give us a head start. We have got so much fruit on our 2 fruit trees we are quite giddy about it.  

2Scratters xx

Bluegreen143

Made two squashy oranges into orange and choc chip muffins today, and last night I walked to the local pub and stuck to two soft drinks (instead of drinking alcohol then getting a taxi home!). Tiny frugal steps. I might go back to noting down my “frugal wins” each day as I think that keeps me focused on doing the small things - walking short journeys, mending things, using up leftovers.

London_1

No shopping for me this week thank goodness I am staying away from the shops unti the new month starts Gone very slightly over May's budget, but only by about three pounds odd but as I am away for the first two weeks of July, I am eating from my freezer and fridge so Junes budget will have some surplus (hopefully ) 

My Jan-March budget I had £68 odd left over that I tucked away, definitely won't have that amount left from the Apr-June budget though but the first one I had lots of left over stuff from Christmas and both DDs gave me lots of odds and ends that I used up.

But my freezer has plenty of frozen meals in there for June, so only essentials/fruit/veg will be needed.

I did a full stock take a couple of weeks ago and was surprised at how much food was actually available and I'm slowly getting through it ,which in turn means far less unnecessary  shopping, win-win I think  

The washing is on and the weather is looking good today I too only do the washing if I can when the weather is dry (unless of course duringthe winter) I've never owned or wanted a tumble dryer and have always managed with a line in the garden.

Good to read some of the tips on here and see how folk are managing to get through the tough times at the moment 

JackieO xx

Sweetlittledaydreams

Well I've had a week off, my first one this year, and I've absolutely loved it! It feels like a glimpse into what early retirement could be like! I've spent so much time exercising and spending time with family and friends, and doing the things I love - a lot of which are outdoors and free other than petrol money and suitable clothing which I already have. This week had spured me on to definetly make plans to go part time next year, a couple of my friends already do part time hours while I'm here doing 55hour weeks, and do you know what, I'm ready to take my foot off the pedal a bit! I'm back in work on Monday and I'm hoping to have received a decision on something important which will help me plan my next 5 years, but either way I'm going to be putting less focus on work and more focus on the rest of my life. I'm worth it haha!! This will only be feasible if I stay frugal but I'm back in the swing of things. 
I've had really good luck with too good too go bags this week, found a brilliant one that just does bread and cookies, great value and the bread freezes well, and no worries that it will be something that I can't eat. Enjoying lots of free hobbies: hiking and wild swimming, spent an hour in the library reading today, and working on a jigsaw which I'm hoping I can swap with a friend once I've finished. Garden is looking promising, hopefully will have lots to harvest and eat this year 😀 and I'm burning a wax melt which smells amazing and was free from olio. 
I've just about got enough to pay off my mortgage this month!!! I can't believe it, I really can't!! I'm not actually going to pay it off this year because if I do and then something goes wrong with the car or something I won't be able to pay for it so going to save up a buffer then look to pay it off in January, bit I really am so excited, I can't tell you how happy I feel! 

Living_proof

Sweetlittledaydreams said:

Well I've had a week off, my first one this year, and I've absolutely loved it! It feels like a glimpse into what early retirement could be like! I've spent so much time exercising and spending time with family and friends, and doing the things I love - a lot of which are outdoors and free other than petrol money and suitable clothing which I already have. This week had spured me on to definetly make plans to go part time next year, a couple of my friends already do part time hours while I'm here doing 55hour weeks, and do you know what, I'm ready to take my foot off the pedal a bit! I'm back in work on Monday and I'm hoping to have received a decision on something important which will help me plan my next 5 years, but either way I'm going to be putting less focus on work and more focus on the rest of my life. I'm worth it haha!! This will only be feasible if I stay frugal but I'm back in the swing of things. 
I've had really good luck with too good too go bags this week, found a brilliant one that just does bread and cookies, great value and the bread freezes well, and no worries that it will be something that I can't eat. Enjoying lots of free hobbies: hiking and wild swimming, spent an hour in the library reading today, and working on a jigsaw which I'm hoping I can swap with a friend once I've finished. Garden is looking promising, hopefully will have lots to harvest and eat this year 😀 and I'm burning a wax melt which smells amazing and was free from olio. 
I've just about got enough to pay off my mortgage this month!!! I can't believe it, I really can't!! I'm not actually going to pay it off this year because if I do and then something goes wrong with the car or something I won't be able to pay for it so going to save up a buffer then look to pay it off in January, bit I really am so excited, I can't tell you how happy I feel! 

Once you have paid off your mortgage it will take you months if not years to appreciate the reality of the freedom it offers you. Latterly I only had a small mortgage but that money soon built up in the current account to quite a substantial sum which I stashed away for unpredictable events in the future. No need to concern yourself with mortgage rates but rather interest rates on savings!

Primrose

I echo what Living-proof has said about the effects on you of paying off your mortgage.  Nobody knows what the future will bring for them, but for many people it can include a chunk of unemployment, ill health or an uncertain economic outlook which could mean a difficult period of financial uncertainty lying on your shoulders.     If you can make sacrifices in the good times and put money away to pay off your mortgage early you do not fully realise what stress and anxiety you could be eliminating for yourself for the future.     When redundancy happened for us for a second time in later life,  knowing that the bank had no power to come and repossess our home was a mental life saver and made it doubly worth all the sacrifices we'd made to be rid of the debt early.    Some uncertainties like poor health you can't necessarily protect yourself from, but for those that you can, it's truly worth doing for the peace of mind it brings.

Bluegreen143

Well done @Sweetlittledaydreams! So inspiring!