2022 Frugal Living Challenge

Watty1

I have been particularly shaken by something i read online on a frugal blog which was that most people already have the money to live the life they want but not if they also spend money on xxx and xxx and xxx.  That has really been thought provoking for me.

elbree

That's a really interesting thought Watty1, thanks for sharing. I definitely need to be more mindful of long term goals over ST boredom!

As I've gone on my debt free journey, mostly alone because I came to the forum towards the end, I'm increasingly aware that my friends a, don't like to talk about money and b, are totally helpless in the face of it - they just feel they can't control their money so don't bother really trying. They moan about lack of it but often say 'I cant' if I suggest something. Not that I do often as it's mostly unwelcome I think! 

angela110660

Love all the comments and people's hopes, aspirations and successes. My first success already! Car insurance renewal was £175 - comparison site found me the same cover for £124. What a result and it's not even new year yet. Best wishes everyone for 2022. 

balabooberlies

YORKSHIRELASS said:

Morning all

Frugaldom thank you as always for your wise words and guidance as we all set our frugal challenges and look forward to a frugal 2022.  Being positive and celebrating small achievements is definitely the way forward.

Balaboo it takes time to see where your debts are, make a plan and deal with the reasons why you got into debt in the first place, rushing this process is more likely to make you slip back into old habits.  There are lots of very complicated reasons why we are in so much debt and we have never put foreign holidays or big purchases on our credit cards.  I still struggle with feeling like I need to keep up with the Joneses but I am getting better.

I will do some work on our finances later.  Today we have to take DS2 back to the big city but first I am going to go for a jog wearing the new running trainers that I bought with Christmas money (I need decent trainers because of my dodgy knee so I am happy with that).

Oh and my current win is burning the old timber play equipment that my Dad and a friend volunteered to dispose of when their village play area was updated.  It has been stored inside for over a year so is bone dry and Dad and his friend cut it up into chunks which burn really well on our fire.  We have loads of it.

Hello Yorkshire Lass

your advice and honesty are sincerely appreciated.  I will take it on board.  Thank you

balaboo  

x

CraftyLittleLisa

Hello all

I'm ready to start again for 2022.  All budgets are sorted now so I just need to discipline myself to stick to them.  The food one might be a bit tricky as I have already had emails from some suppliers advising their prices will be going up.  Lets see how it goes.

cybertortoise

Can I please join for 2022? The last 2 years have been a total bust and I am in more debt than I started with. I've worked out my annual income versus expenses and I have enough money to be paying plenty off my debt across the year without any shortages in other essential areas.

My main downfall is paying for takeaways or popping to the shop when we havent got anything in for dinner, or its too late to cook. I need to get out of this! I spent over £3000 on food (groceries, eating out, snacks) between 1st September and 31st December. No wonder I'm permanently skint and can't figure out why!!

I am aiming to pay £5000 off my total debt this year. I have no savings or emergency fund. I have some major things that need to be done to the house as I want to be able to return to childminding on weekends so the garden needs sorting out. I have a budgeted amount per month for these repairs and improvements, some will be paid in a lump sum but budgeted for months, and if I can cut costs I will. The childminding will pay more than my current job so I see it as worthwhile expenditure.

I will try to get extra shifts at work but I'm not willing to allow extra shifts to affect my studies. Plus I have chunks of weeks across the year where I am on hospital placement and probably won't be physically able to work the weekends due to exhaustion and catching up with study time. I hope to begin childminding just after my major block of placement in April so will be quitting my zero hour job once I have some little ones to look after but not before.

I really struggle to budget because my major income is student finance and comes in 3 x per year with a large break over the summer. I've been poor my whole life so need to get out of the mindset that having a huge chunk of money in one go means I can spend it.

I have 1 more payment to make on our family holiday, due to fly to Tunisia in May for a week all inclusive - I can't wait! But after that's paid for I will not be looking at booking another until next year and that will likely be camping for the forseeable future.

I want to get into better habits now as by September 2023 I should be qualified and working in a job that pays more than I have ever earned. I want these good habits to stick so that I can clear all my debt and start saving to buy a house before I get too old to be accepted for any mortgage!

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Our grocery total for the year is in and we spent £3172.36. That is for a family of four and includes nappies for both the little ones. Even though prices have risen I think we should be able to shave some off of that amount. I was shopping in tesco for the first half of the year and using my staff discount. I now shop in lidl and even taking into the account the staff discount I think tesco was still way over priced. 
I'm looking forward to the year ahead and really think we can push on more with our savings goals. 

EskarinaWeatherwax

Inspired by Frugaldom saying there may be further savings I could make, I’ve revisited my budget today and also spoken to my mortgage provider. 

If I can pay 150% of my mortgage payment each month I reduce the remaining term from 18 years to 11. I like this!

My overall spend will likely stay the same as I’m reducing certain spends and savings and reallocating into overpayment. But by shaving a few ££ off the holiday savings, the gift savings and groceries, and a few other bits, I can do it. 

Exciting!

[Deleted User]

Good Afternoon Frugallers,

Welcome to all who have joined over the past few days. As is often the case, threads such as this get very busy at the turn of the year, and it would be lovely if as many of you as possible stayed with us.

I have been on the frugal path for 18 months now, and my life has transformed. The 2022 budget is £3,800 (ex. mortgage and CT), and based on 2021's outgoings we will absolutely fine on £3,800. A few things I learnt early on which may (or may not!) be useful:

1. Don't overshare your frugal / moneysaving plans with everyone. I was surpised and hurt by the number of people who didn't agree with some of the choices I made, and almost took it as a personal attack on them. Case in point was when we got rid of the TV Licence (we don't watch live TV nor use iPlayer) - it started a serious argument with wider family. And I am still not sure why they were so upset by it. 

2. Simple, but effective - leave your purse at home. Remove Apple pay or similar from your phone. Take your food and drink with you wherever you go to avoid temptation.

3. Keep a stock of "easy" teas in the freezer that you can turn to when temptation strikes for a takeaway. Lidl, Aldi and Iceland do lovely frozen pizzas and garlic breads for such times. 

4. Re-assess EVERYTHING in your budget. And I mean EVERYTHING. So many direct debits are just seen as the norm nowadays (another case in point, we are regarded as odd because we don't have Amazon prime!). Insurance - we have buildings, but not contents. Why? There is nothing high value here worth insuring if we truly look at things honestly!

5. Don't be afraid to barter. You will be surprised at how many people are like minded in many ways, e.g. I trade eggs from our hens with a neighbour who picks up pallets and loads them into her car for me when she sees them in skips. It's a small thing that requires no monetary transaction but both parties are happy with what they get.

Above all, live your absolute truth, do it your way, not the way society expects you to. Life is far, far too short to be stuck in an earn/consume loop.

Best wishes to you all xx

EcoIntent

Asparklyblonde thought proving post, thanks for sharing - and well done on what you achieved last year!

Please can I join too, all I have set for goals so far is a 'no buy' Jan 22. Last year as 2020 was better than we have done historically due to having got in the habit of not going out for meals and holidays etc.

Will post again, when I have looked in more detail at what to aim for