2022 Frugal Living Challenge

gill5blue

Thank you all for the advise about going mortgage free. 
Ill let you know the outcome about the deeds.
Gill5blue

Primrose

When I read in the press about the large number of mortgage providers currently pulling their offers, my heart goes out to anybody coming to the end of their mortgage deal and having to try and search for a new deal.  I imagine that some people who are really struggling with their finances at the moment could actually find themselves losing the roof over their heads if they can't find a new offer.

Cheap mortgage loans have been the norm for a while and with the bank rate forecast to continue rising  I imagine some people will really struggle to find a new affordable deal.

i can't think of a greater incentive to sacrifice some other "normal" luxuries people are tempted to indulge in  like holidays abroad, a newer car , refitting a kitchen, or even the latest new phone model to get this huge burden off their backs.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

We are not in a fantastic place financially, but unlike some have quite a bit of wriggle room and I am grateful for that.  We have a couple of 0% credit card deals ending early next year so I have shuffled one of them onto a new deal until March 2024, there are options for the other one but I am not thinking about that right now.  We are overpaying on the cards by £150 a month so there is always the option to cut that if it came to it.

Heating has been on for 30 minutes, havent left the house all day, working from home.  Fire lit now.  Stir fry for tea using up some doubtful looking veg out of the fridge with some home grown bits.  We are going to need a supermarket trip soon.

I have a good library book to read so will switch off the laptop and settle down with that.

sunshineli

I am due to remortgage in February and I am absolutely terrified. I was a first time buyer just over a year ago and I unfortunately have a very large mortgage. My plan is to save as much as possible between now and then so when I do remortgage that will at least help for a few months. It’s such a scary and uncertain time for so many. Thank goodness for this forum for all the frugal living tips. It’s going to be needed more than ever! 

Glittering_M

We are looking to buy our first home together soon (in the next year or so) and really worried about mortgages! 
Really regretting not getting a help to buy ISA etc., over the years, we've been in the buy soon maybe for a while as I was trying to get a new job and move location for years so we thought when we moved we'd crack on but we've moved and are renting and saving as I wasn't sure what the commute would be like with work or how often I'd need to be in the office. We always hoped we'd buy in the next year so didn't think it would be worth it (ah hindsight!).

I'm also not sure if the place we are renting (which we would try and buy) is mortgageable but that's another story! 

gill5blue

hi All,
Frugal living! I'm after advice please.
I normally clean my toilet with harpic and use a bloo loo. what are your best alternatives please?
gill5blue

cw18

I rarely feel the need to clean with anything - though I do chuck a tablet in 2 or 3 times a year as I go away, in order to break up the limescale that accumulates due to the local water.

I have white bathroom furniture and operate the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" principle, but other than that tablet a few times a year I don't do anything other than brush the bowl a couple of times a week (following a flush).

I supplement that by using a 'duck' about once a month to get under the rim.   This is always applied (again following a flush) either as I've finished getting washed and dressed (en suite) or as I go to bed (cloakroom) to give it the maximum time possible to creep down into the bowl.     I can't remember the last time I did the one in the family bathroom, as it doesn't get used unless I have an overnight visitor other than my OH (and that hasn't happened since before Covid - so it'll probably have been November 2019!).   That one just gets flushed once every blue moon in order to keep water in the bowl, as it evaporates/drains away over time.

MrsCatz

I use washing up liquid and ecover bleach when needed

Floss

I use Nancy Birtwhistle's Pure Magic https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChSRfnsKDhZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Bluegreen143

I use a little bleach, supermarket own though so it’s pretty cheap.