2022 Frugal Living Challenge

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Happy solstice! 🎄❄🍾

natnat13

Good morning everyone

Can I join for next year please? I have been a lurker this year but really want to focus myself on where my money goes. I work full time and should be able to save £600 a month but rarely manage to put anything away. I have about £400 on my CC, interest free but want to clear it. 

So far I have written down my budget and cancelled Prime, I don't need it. I am also clearing out cupboards and seeing what I have to sell over my Christmas holiday. I sold my first item on V@@ted last week. Got some books to sell too.

Hugs to those who've lost loved ones, I'd lost both my parents by the age of 34, it is hard. I read this the other day:

Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn how to swim.

It struck a cord with me. 

balabooberlies

natnat that is so apt.

I feel guilty in the calm bits (where has the pain gone ?).  But I know my Dad would want me to swim. 

Condolences for the loss of your parents. 

And to get my financial life in order !

Good luck with yours.

bala

x

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Thank you for your words natnat. I am not grieving the loss of a family member but those words seem to strike a cord with me and my life at the moment with regards to stress and anxiety. I feel like at the moment my finances are the only thing I have real control over. Everything else is so up in the air. 
I am aiming for 2022 to be our most frugal yet. My husband and I discuss it a lot and are in agreement that we want rid of our mortgage as quickly as possible. The end is in sight all be it a couple of years but with a real push this year to save every penny we can shave a few more months off that. Other then that it looks like 2022 will be a year of trying to fight the local authority for my sons education. I think this will probably take up most of my time and energy. 

natnat13

@Mummy2cheekymonkeys I agree, I think life is very unstable at the moment. We all have to just keep doing the best we can I guess. 

I hope things go your way with the LA, it can be a very long and drawn out process I believe, but keep fighting! 

I have listed 27 things on ebay today, I'm trying to do a small thing every day towards my frugal / simpler life. 

YORKSHIRELASS

Much love to those who have lost family members.  I am lucky to have two healthy 81 year old parents but my son has had cancer, which changed my outlook on life forever.  I am also another who battles anxiety on a regular basis.

I havent set my budget for 2022 yet but I have thought a lot about my priorities.  I want to be able to have some camping holidays and want to be able to do lots of walking and cycling.  We have lots of cycling/camping/outdoor kit and I am going to use some of my Christmas money to buy new running trainers.  I am completely uninterested in buying clothes, it looks like I will be working from home quite a bit next year anyway.  I would like us to save up to get the chimney lined so we can use the woodburner again, we have had one quote of £1400 but want to get another quote.  We may need to help DS2 out a bit with his last year at Uni but fingers crossed DS1 will be OK and able to carry on working so he should be able to pay his way.

I would also like to get the garden finished, but this either needs to be done cheaply or as and when we can afford it. 

The big priority of course is to carry on paying down the credit card debt which stands at just over £28k.  We are making progress but need to keep working hard to get this cleared.  You are all a great source of inspiration and I feel quite positive about 2022.

Sweetlittledaydreams

So I am excited for 2022's finances! Have switched mobile, landline and internet companies so have made savings there, plus will be getting a £75 cash back card as a switch reward. I'm having gas and electric smart meters fitted to help monitor energy consumption, then will be looking at ways to reduce use. I'm almost at the £50 mark for online questionnaires meaning I'll be able to cash that out soon. The high petrol prices are very annoying especially as I start a new job in January which is further away than my current job but can't be helped as I need the car because I work odd hours in a rural place so public transport isn't an option. Jan and Febs water bill is already paid because I had been overpaying a bit the last few months. Me and my best friend are going to motivate each other through a no buy month in January, and hopefully that'll extend to a few more months. Got four 750ml bottles of squash for 15p each today, happy with that little bargain, going to do more yellow sticker shopping next year. And have found a brilliant offer so me and my friend can have a free takeaway on our night shift on Christmas eve. Excited that I'll be able to make a mortgage overpayment next month! Come on 2022, let's get rid of this mortgage. Good luck everyone with your financial endeavours. 

nannygladys

Frugal - joining in again this year. I was paid last week so have already started. 

Done my Xmas food shopping, using a list and keeping to it and it was mainly cheap veggies that I bought extra of, so some has gone into the freezer and some into cold storage.
So I don't really have to go in any more shops - yay!!!!. I have to fund a new window and door canopy on the front of my house so that is where all the money savings is going, I have started a new account for it, so hopefully it will get done before next winter.
Budgets are done but I'm still fine tuning as they have to be quite a bit lower than last year if that's possible.
Nannyg

pearl123

I'm joining the 2022 challenge. I looks like I've dipped under £5000 expenditure in 2021. 
My aim is to continue to keep my expenses, as low as possible. The cost of living has greatly gone up. Energy, in particular is rather worrying. 
I get tempted when it comes to spending on the garden and books!  

Poppy_Golightly

natnat13 said:

Hugs to those who've lost loved ones, I'd lost both my parents by the age of 34, it is hard. I read this the other day:

Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn how to swim.

It struck a cord with me. 

My partner died two years ago, I'll never forget finding his body. Through various legal complications I ended up in the crummy flat I am in now. But I have tried to put all the trauma behind me and look for my new beginning and I think this will be a fab place to do it!

So me and my little rescue cat have decided we're not waiting for the new year, we are living the frugal life from today. Well, it's me mostly although the cat will have to make do with her 2 pyramid beds, and four favourite chairs for the next 2 years (she lets me sit on the sofa).

NSD today, Moroccan Veggie Stew cooked and a rummage around under the bed to find which bit of the fabric stash is going to be turned into a couture original

Slainté!