Win Some, Lose Some (Debt Free At Last!)

Makingabobor2

Only just discovered your diary, but wanted to say well done. What an amazing achievement. 5 years is brilliant for that amount.  Good luck for you debt free future. 

Purplebonnie

Aspiration said:

Love to hear about the freedom clearing your debt has given you! Well done and am exciting Year ahead

Thank you and it has given me a lot more freedom 😀

Purplebonnie

Makingabobor2 said:

Only just discovered your diary, but wanted to say well done. What an amazing achievement. 5 years is brilliant for that amount.  Good luck for you debt free future. 

Thank you, it was a lot of work but feels great now 😀

Purplebonnie

Misslayed said:

Congratulations 🥳 
(would you like a well deserved badge?)

Thank you and yes please! 😀

Purplebonnie

gd55 said:

Well done, fantastic achievement!

Thank you, it feels fantastic! 😀

Purplebonnie

I bought myself a shiny new budget book yesterday.  I want to allocate my monthly salary to various savings pots as well as keeping track of expenses, so it just seemed right to celebrate my new found freedom and use of money.  I did budget to clear my debt, but I used the cheapest exercise books, now my money has its own posh book!  Apart from that it was still a frugal day - leftovers for dinner, salad using rocket grown in a pot outside, a NSD and YouTube with adverts for entertainment (I don’t subscribe ).  I hope you all had a good Saturday?

Misslayed

@MSE_Laura_F

Hard earned DFW badge please! 

Purplebonnie

It seems easier to talk about money now.  Whilst I was paying off debt, being frugal often became a real chore, but now it feels like fun.  I guess the difference was that I had to do it, now I choose to do it.  I will try to keep up this diary but I can’t promise regular postings.  It may or may not help others with how I save money.  I will also tell you a little about myself.  We live an alternative lifestyle, almost off grid.  We have a monthly sort of ground rent of just over £200, hence my ‘Living Fund’ savings pot.  As long as that is paid we can have a roof over our heads, we don’t have a mortgage as we own our home and apart from a bit of electric, LPG & internet, that is the total of our home’s monthly outgoings.  I would like to have one year’s ‘ground rent’ saved up as you never know what is round the corner.  I have a allotment which costs me £36 per year, but saves me so much more in fresh fruit and vegetables.  I am vegan and living so close to nature, I am very aware of my ecological impact on the earth.  I also have a husband, grown up children and grandchildren.  My husband has cancer which raises its ugly head every few months and he is currently undergoing a course of chemotherapy, but doesn’t appear to be having any nasty side effects which is a blessing.  I won’t bore you now with anymore about me, I will tell you more as we go along.

Purplebonnie

I emptied and cleaned the Camper van today, ready to put it to bed for winter.  There was so much food on it.  We did a big trip abroad this year and I put a lot of food on board as I’d heard food was more expensive in Europe.  The complete opposite was true, food was cheaper, fresher and more plentiful.  Cucumbers and carrots lasted more than a week in the fridge!  I love shopping in foreign supermarkets & markets and trying food that is different to what we normally eat, so not much of the food I took actually got used.  But it won’t go to waste as it is now in my pantry and I have crossed off a lot of items from this week’s shopping list.  I will tell you more about our trip tomorrow, but suffice to say it didn’t cost huge amounts of money for a six week trip as I found lots of money savings along the way.

I also did a small shop with some bits we needed – spent £16.27

Money Saving : I used to buy supermarket vegan roasts for my Sunday roast which costed about £5 and did two meals. But then I discovered how easy it was to make my own Lentil Loaf.  It costs about £1 to make,  cuts into six slices (16p a slice) , freezes beautifully and is far tastier & healthier.  We have a roast most Sundays, so that’s a saving of £2.34 per meal,  £121.68 per year.

Today’s Menu -

Mushrooms sautéed in water & soy sauce on homemade bread toasted.

Roasted vegetable & bean wrap

Homemade Lentil & Veg Loaf, roast potatoes & Veg (Roast chicken for hubby)

Snack – Lentil Chips

joedenise

What recipe do you use for your lentil loaf?  That sounds right up my street.  I'm not vegan but do like to try to include some vegan meals into my meal plan.