2022 Frugal Living Challenge

Sweetlittledaydreams

@bear14 interesting that you mention FIRE, I've been reading a lot about I and watching a lot of videos this year and it's absolutely something I want to aim for. My aim is to pay my mortgage off next year then the money I would have paid out each month will go 50% to early retirement savings and 50% travel money. My money saving on holiday tip is probably a pretty common one, if breakfast is included then eat enough that you won't need lunch and if you're able then take a pastry or piece of fruit as an afternoon snack - most hotels turn a blind eye and a lot of people seem to do this. And if it's a UK holiday then take a picnic for the 1st day and maybe a cold pizza or quiche which you can eat for tea the first evening, plus snacks to last for as long as you are going. Also make the most of free entertainment, my favourite night on my last holiday was spent listening to the tribute band the hotel had put on, really good and it was free other than the cost of a couple of glasses of wine, whereas it would have cost to get in and see them somewhere. Plus I'm a bit of a nature person so my usual activities involve long walks or wild swimming whether I'm at home or away, so that's also free. I fancy trying a bit of "car camping" as a way of seeing some more parts of the UK on the vheap next year 😀 

joedenise

Another who loves to travel.  We bought a motorhome many years ago and regularly go away in it.  It is almost as cheap as staying at home once we get to France.  We eat in the van most of the time and probably only eat out once a week if that and always at lunchtime as it is cheaper than eating out in the evenings.  The cost of food is about the same as I spend at home so the only extra really is the additional spending on diesel as we spend more on that than when at home.  We tend to stay on motorhome aires which are just parking places and often free or only 5-10 euros a night so again really cheap, particularly bearing in mind we aren't using gas and electric at home!

We do also have a hotel holiday once a year in winter somewhere warm, usually all inclusive but that is saved for throughout the year but if we couldn't afford it we would just have more motorhome holidays!

Floss

JIL said:

...I'm really not into fancy hotels and would rather go on holiday a few times per year than a big blow out.

5 x 1* rather than 1 x 5* ?  

It might also sound a bit strange but I know I usually spend £100 per week on groceries/food so I consider whilst I'm away that's money towards the holiday fund.

I do this too, always have done 😉

A friend talked about the quantity over quality thing over the weekend, a mutual acquaintance does this for all her holidays.

Soontobeoap

Regarding FIRE. Would just like to add my experiemce. 11 years ago my husband was made redundant and after 6 months I took a sabatical year. We took time to reflect on our time together and quality of life. It was a totally new chapter for us. In our mid fifties we decided to sell up and move to the sea. We sold our house quite quickly and moved into a small rental property with all of our belongings whilst working small jobs to cover the rent and a few extras. We moved  into our 2 bed doer upper by the sea 6 months later (mortgage free). All furniture squeezed into 2 rooms. We slept on a matress on the newly finished bathroom floor for 5 weeks whilst we started our DIY adventure. We worked side by side for 3 years sanding floors, tiling, painting, alongside seasonal jobs to top up money. We had been set on our ways and this was liberating. Much like our early days together in tbe 70 s. We have been here for 9 years now, have lots of lovely new friends, many visitors in the summer months, more quality time with family and more time together. We have enoigh savings to enjoy holidays and little extras and enough income for all of our needs. It was hard work at times but fun. We reached a turning point and were stuck in a rut that needed a shake up. We took a leap of faith and have never  regreted it. Would recommend to anyone. You only live once. 

JIL

Floss said:

JIL said:

...I'm really not into fancy hotels and would rather go on holiday a few times per year than a big blow out.

5 x 1* rather than 1 x 5* ?  

It might also sound a bit strange but I know I usually spend £100 per week on groceries/food so I consider whilst I'm away that's money towards the holiday fund.

I do this too, always have done 😉

A friend talked about the quantity over quality thing over the weekend, a mutual acquaintance does this for all her holidays.

I am always a bit particular about where we stay,we know the areas in Spain we like to go to, so its then just a comparison as to airfares and availability of accommodation. 

I also think there are health benefits in a couple of weeks of winter sun. Topping up the vitamin d and some long strolls in the sun.

I know I am lucky to be able to do the travelling, but its probably down to all I have learned on this site and being more focussed on what I want to save for.

ellenvan

Frugal holiday tips - Portugal and prob similar elsewhere check supermarket cafes e.g. Inter- Marche cafe roll and a coffee one euro.

Sweetlittledaydreams

So this little country girl is starting a job in a city in 2 weeks time, eek this will my first time working in a city! The population according to Google is 44thousand more than I'm used to, I'll be commuting though rather than moving which is good because google also tells me that 54% of residents dont feel safe going into the city centre even during daylight. But I did take a look on olio and the bigger population means much more people using it so I'm hoping I'll be able to get more freebies. The commute is about the same distance as I am doing at the moment as I work rurally now so there shouldn't be any extra expenses there. Going to carry on with packed lunches as it saves time and money and I think is generally healthier. 
Carrying on with my cold water swimming, cheap and healthy hobby, and I think its good for my mind. 
This weekend or next week I am going to take a day to draw up a bit of a financial plan for next year. Sent an email this evening enquiring about some more work which pays almost twice what I am on at the moment but is less reliable. We shall see what happens, I've always said I will work really hard now while I can so I can have a good future, thanks for keeping me on the financial straight and narrow guys! 

cw18

Given we have people that do an assortment of crafts and hobbies on here, I thought I'd ask.....

As a child my Mum taught me to crochet, but I only ever made Granny Squares to be made into blankets.

I've seen lots of lovely things around that have been made using crochet so I thought I'd like to give it another try, especially as the kennels I volunteer at (as a walker) also have people who make things to be sold at fund-raisers.  It would be nice to be able to give them more than an hour a week of my time.....

I was placing an order with the Big River company (couple of Christmas pressies for grand-daughters, birthday pressie for OH's niece, and a few things to throw into my donation pile for a Christmas gift appeal which will need taking to a collection point soon), so I added in an inexpensive set of 14 crochet hooks (which also came with some row markers (?) and large eyes blunt sewing needles).    I've then been into their e-book section and downloaded a number of free patterns - and a free book that claims to be beginner to pro.

But I'm going to need some wool before I can start playing.   From the patterns I've downloaded I see mention of lots of different yarns, the names of which haven't made a lot of sense to me (I recall from knitting that there was 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply, double and chunky, plus specials within those that had metallic threads in or were textured or multi-coloured).   Is there somewhere good on-line to find wools without breaking the bank or spending as much on postage as on the wool?    Or actual stores that I may be able to get to (even if only when I'm heading into a city centre).   The local wool shop closed down years ago, and one I knew of in the next town up disappeared a few months ago.   I know of one store near work that sells fabric, buttons and sewing threads, but I don't recall seeing any wool the couple of times I've been in (will have to go and check, but am rarely nearby when it's open).

-taff

Charity shops often have wool in them, check them out for just practicing again.

cw18

Don't recall seeing any in the 3 local ones I visit - but I've not really been looking for it, so I will go and check.