2022 Frugal Living Challenge

Ellie79

Gosh everyone has been doing well!

I managed to get a new kettle, and some reduced veg, so have a soup in the pressure cooker as we speak. Resisted the bakery aisle! Had a brief chat with OH about thinking we will just pop to the shop for extra and how we bring the shopping bill down. I've a feeling the way to manage it is for me to end up cooking and baking more. I work and OH doesn't (he is visually impaired and has very little sight, not that that 'should' be a barrier but don't start me on structural inequality!). So unfortunately his skills have never lain in the baking side and he is probably not going to suddenly learn now! What cheap sweet eats and savoury snacks do people whip up? I've a 10 year old who (my fault) likes her branded sweets and treats. She will happily bake with me so I'm hoping some idea will give her ownership and wean her off the brands. 

Floss

MazzieD I found that switching my cat to a  Purina dry food actually saved money as she only gets what she should have, rather than grazing. She also has one small pouch of wet food (Purina or Sheba) daily, again as she eats it all there is no waste.

My employer also pays us early in December on the 21st, but then 5 days early on 26th January and back to normal from February.

Primrose

EskarinaWeatherwax said:

Thanks for the kind words about my family help and mortgage overpaying. If I *really* push it I could do it within ten years. That will be a squeeze but it’s a heck of a goal to aim for

Eskarina. - don't let yourself feel overwhelmed by this goal.  Just pay down amounts whenever you can.  I don,t know how your mortgage debt gets calculated but remember every £100 paid off should mean less interest having to be paid on your outstanding debt.
You know when your debt is due to end.  Does your mortgage provider give you an annual statement so you can check how things are progressing? If so perhaps print it off and stick it up somewhere so it acts as a regular incentive?

C_J

@MazzieD : just popping by to say that I hope you will be claiming for personal injury against the person who wrote off your car.

spudsmum

Payday today so all my savings pots have been topped up. For the first time in ages I have all my wage to play with as I wasn't overdrawn 

I had £60 left over after everything was allocated so I've started a, separate discretionary spending pot - I find it's always unexpected expenses like school trips or my eldest son needing money for something school related that derails me - ill let it build up to £100 which hopefully should cover most eventualities then any surplus can go towards debts.

It's a funny feeling being on payday and having 10p left in my current account but I always separate all my money out into separate pots to stop me spending it, I transfer funds back before the bills go out and use pots to save for yearly expenses like insurance so I don't have to pay extra interest on monthly payments. Every penny has a specific job - it takes a bit of getting your head round but I find it works well.

Reasonable spend day today - not much at the pantry but I got a massive bag of veg and a few freezer bits - my freezer is packed to the gills now - enough food for a couple of months at least. 

Also popped into charity shop and got a massive wooly Cardigan which will save me putting the heating on when I'm WFH - also got a really nice shirt dress which is great quality - I've been looking for something similar for a while - they were both on the £1 clearance rack - result!

Other than that managed to avoid any impulse buys 

MazzieD

Floss said:

MazzieD I found that switching my cat to a  Purina dry food actually saved money as she only gets what she should have, rather than grazing. She also has one small pouch of wet food (Purina or Sheba) daily, again as she eats it all there is no waste.

My employer also pays us early in December on the 21st, but then 5 days early on 26th January and back to normal from February.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have a look.

C_J said:

@MazzieD : just popping by to say that I hope you will be claiming for personal injury against the person who wrote off your car.

I think the best way to answer that is I always take out a really comprehensive policy with all the legal cover  and would urge everyone to do the same. 

Car Insurance is one area that I never skimp on and I'm reaping the benefit now.  All I can say is that the other driver is already facing criminal prosecution and everything the Insurance legal team can throw at him so quite a lot!.

Finally, apologies to the person who mentioned me in a post about their friend's smart meter I forgot to reply.  I hope it helped your friend and others about boiler heating costs.  I always try and share tips if I come across them but a lot of the tips seem to be the same ones.

Primrose

Also popped into charity shop and got a massive wooly Cardigan which will save me putting the heating on when I'm WFH - also got a really nice shirt dress which is great quality - I've been looking for something similar for a while - they were both on the £1 clearance rack - result!

Well done on the thick woolly cardigan investment. At today,s inflated heating prices it will take a very short time indeed to recover the cost of that £1 investment.  The thick woollen tartan knee blanket I bought for £3 in a charity shop a couple of years ago has paid for itself many time already in terms of reducing  central heating bills.  Thick indoor clothes. or multi layers definitely help reduce heating costs.  Woollen fingerless gloves really help when using a keyboard too.

[Deleted User]

Ellie79 said:

Gosh everyone has been doing well!

I managed to get a new kettle, and some reduced veg, so have a soup in the pressure cooker as we speak. Resisted the bakery aisle! Had a brief chat with OH about thinking we will just pop to the shop for extra and how we bring the shopping bill down. I've a feeling the way to manage it is for me to end up cooking and baking more. I work and OH doesn't (he is visually impaired and has very little sight, not that that 'should' be a barrier but don't start me on structural inequality!). So unfortunately his skills have never lain in the baking side and he is probably not going to suddenly learn now! What cheap sweet eats and savoury snacks do people whip up? I've a 10 year old who (my fault) likes her branded sweets and treats. She will happily bake with me so I'm hoping some idea will give her ownership and wean her off the brands. 

I make gingerbread men with my DC - the bbc recipe (though I do switch out the light brown sugar for light brown muscovado as it makes them more chewy) - that's cheap as few ingredients are needed.

Also, what about some ready to roll puff pastry and just use up odds and sods of veg and cheese to make some sort of tart - can have warm for dinner with chips or cold for lunch?

Beshki

Payday yesterday here but had large expenditure on the CC so left with not a lot. None of it was preventable so it it what it is. Bit depressing all the same! 

C_J

No @Beshki, don’t look at it that way. It’s not depressing because you have managed to pay it off. There may not be much left but it’s done! Well done you!