2022 Frugal Living Challenge

angela110660

My daughter had covid over Christmas then last week had dizzy spells and sick feeling. Saw triage nurse in the end as was worried and she said it could be labyrinthitis but there was nothing to take for it. One week later- it seems to have settled down again so not sure if it was covid related or not.

Floss

One of the managers at work is off with vertigo & palpitations following her bout of Covid just before Christmas.

spudsmum

Well after riding high yesterday I'm back down to earth with a bump today... 

I literally got my car back from the garage yesterday and tonight my husband has rang me on his way home from work to say his car is making a horrendous noise. Somebody up there seriously does not like me at the moment - no idea what I've done to deserve such rotten luck.

In other news my son's disability buggy arrived this morning - only ordered it Wednesday afternoon - I used a company somebody on here recommended its almost identical to the one that was £75 more (and came with a free shopping basket which I was going to, have to buy anyway) and I'm really happy with it. 

Good day at the panty - I got steak Mince and cooked chicken, pasata, tinned ham, 3x tinned veg, 3 x tinned custard, frozen mashed potato and a massive carrier bag stuffed full of fruit and veg containing everything from grapes and strawberries to swede, leeks and asparagus - should keep us going for veg for the rest of the week. 

Hoping to come in well under shopping budget this week as not much needed. 

weenancyinAmerica

Spudsmum - glad the buggy arrived so quickly, you sounded like it will really help. Two days is amazing. My brother used a wheelchair and it would take months to get to us. I ordered a Covid test kit for in-home use 14 days ago - and it just arrived. Sounds like it is a good company for providing service.

Shopaholic_no_more

Bluegreen143 said:

Just been back and read the whole thread! So I’m late to some conversations 🤣


Re YNAB, I’ve been using it for years on and off and it’s a life saving. Worth every penny IMO - if I ever fall off the wagon I start wasting so much money so it really does pay for itself. It’s not for everyone though, it’s a little time consuming to use and has a learning curve. I have the You Need A Budget book too, which is actually really good.

Oh that’s interesting…I didn’t realise there was a book….will have a look on the auction sites to see if if there are any on there 👍.
Absolutely agree with it being worth every penny…really opened my eyes as to where my money got wasted. The YT tutorials are helpful too 🙌

Shopaholic_no_more

spudsmum said:

Well after riding high yesterday I'm back down to earth with a bump today... 

I literally got my car back from the garage yesterday and tonight my husband has rang me on his way home from work to say his car is making a horrendous noise. Somebody up there seriously does not like me at the moment - no idea what I've done to deserve such rotten luck.

I feel your pain 😢…finally got my car back after being in the garage for a week and the total amount of work came to an eye watering £550 …and that’s not including the time I lost from not being able to get to work without it 😫…I said the same thing as you! 

OH car is in for a service today and very nervous about it…cars…honestly…I would buy an electric car tomorrow but sadly can’t afford one. 

Not sure why they are promoting these as the cars of the future when they are out of a very high majority of peoples reach. 

On a good note my renewal came through for the insurance for my car and it has gone down by 8.50 a month! So going to put that to one side and save up in advance for my insurance for next year so I don’t need to pay by DD anymore! 🙌

Primrose

I,ve always tried to run a car fund in a separate account, putting away every month a twelfth of its running costs, plus a bit extra when I can afford it, towards an eventual replacement cost.  My tax, insurance and MOT always fell during the same o this so it was a pretty bit hit unless ai budgeted for it over the course of a year.  Ironically my reliable little Corse which I had for 20 years cost more to run annually than its eventual selling price!

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning 

Spudsmum hope the buggy makes life easier.  I feel a bit the same with the bad luck, keep wondering what else is going to go wrong, hope the car is nothing serious.

One of our credit card 0% deals ends at the end of this month so I have been trying to work out the best options, I have balance transfers on all 3 of my cards so its just working out the best offer.  

Did a small Li@l shop yesterday so we should have enough to last till the end of the month.  We have gone £20 over budget on food but I did a shop on 31st December which came through this month so that is included.

Non-essential spending is very minimal so pleased with that.  DS1 owes me £50 so reminded him about that last night, he will pay it, he just doesnt want to part with it.

Still cold and frosty here so having to put the heating on a bit more than we would like.  We have been lighting the fire most days and seem to be going through our free wood stocks at quite an alarming rate.

Going for a shower and getting dressed next.  Not sure what the days brings, but it wont involve spending money!

spudsmum

Primrose said:

I,ve always tried to run a car fund in a separate account, putting away every month a twelfth of its running costs, plus a bit extra when I can afford it, towards an eventual replacement cost.  My tax, insurance and MOT always fell during the same o this so it was a pretty bit hit unless ai budgeted for it over the course of a year.  Ironically my reliable little Corse which I had for 20 years cost more to run annually than its eventual selling price!

Thanks @Primrose Ironically I already do exactly this.

I have separate pots for tax, insurance and maintenance and I have standing orders to them every payday.

Unfortunately replacing my husband's car unexpectedly followed by a £900 clutch repair on mine a few weeks later  followed by two new tyres cleared me out.

I thought I was well prepared so I'm gutted 

Primrose

Spudsmum.  I feel for you.  I think many car owners end up with a hit like this at some point.  You either have to over-budget for these disasters - if you can afford to - or take the hit unfortunately.  I,ve never yet worked out whether in the long term its financially better to change cars regularly or run them into the ground.  With a rapidly depreciating asset, they're unfortunately a forced expenditure when few people work within walking distance of home.