2023 Frugal Living Challenge

Frugaldom

Good evening to all and welcome to our newcomers. I hope everyone weathered the storm if it passed your direction.

First up, before I forget, does anyone collect Yeo Valley tokens, known as Yeokens? I've included a photo so you know what I mean. Sorry if it's a huge image but I don't know how to resize on my mobile. if anyone collects these, please let me know as I've accrued a few by way of Olio but I've not registered for the rewards scheme. Private message me and I can send you the details. (Hope it is ok posting about them on here but it's money saving and sharing snything fits in with frugal living.)

Lucky break last week with a £100 win on Premium Bonds, just when I was getting get up with them and looking for a better interest rate. It's probably already spent, as I bought some little gas canisters for a camping lamp I was donated - bargain price just under £15 for 12 - and I invested in a small 1000w inverter to go on a leisure battery, which is charged by a solar panel. My 2024 efforts are going to be geared towards off-grid, so fuel will be mostly logs and gas cylinders. 

I'm still looking after 8 ponies, a goat and at least 3 feral or stray cats at Frugaldom, plus feeding the wildlife. I try to fundraise for this but only manage to raise about 20% of what's needed each month so frugal living is absolutely essential to ensure all the animal welfare needs are met without incurring any debt. I've seen a few eyebrows raised and read some derogatory comments elsewhere in the past about this but I'm guessing there are some rather jealous, unhappy in life, keyboard warriors who can't understand life without debts. (If any of you are lurking here, feel free to reveal yourselves and I'll happily help you understand the concept of Frugaldom and how wise spending means you can afford to do so much more of what you really want to do. )

My end of year challenge is to finish kitting out the smallest hut at Frugaldom. It's going ok so far: log burner fitted, interior furnishings being gathered up and slowly turning it into a self-contained tiny house. 

Frugaldom

Good morning

Update on my previous message - tokens now rehomed.

A few points on the off-grid, tiny house, frugal living thing... It's not impossible to put it into practice at home. Take a look (virtual or otherwise) inside a campervan or motorhome and envisage that setup in a room, then you'll get ideas of how small space living can work. Having lived in bedsit land some years ago, the experience adequately prepared me for utilising confined space. It also shows you what 'stuff' you have in life that you can easily live without.

I think 2024, for me, is going to be the great declutter to minimalistic levels. Less is more when it comes to space and less spending is more savings. 

Have a good day. 

mumtoomany

Hi all. Just catching up on the thread. The dyslexic in me read your post, @Frugaldom, as "finish knitting our smallest hut". I was very impressed, then reread it! Still frugalling here. Just had last years underpayment of tax credits sent to us. I'm rich for a day, the gas needs paying and also the house insurance. Oh well, easy come easy go, hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

Frugaldom

mumtoomany said:

Hi all. Just catching up on the thread. The dyslexic in me read your post, @Frugaldom, as "finish knitting our smallest hut". I was very impressed, then reread it! Still frugalling here. Just had last years underpayment of tax credits sent to us. I'm rich for a day, the gas needs paying and also the house insurance. Oh well, easy come easy go, hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

Sorry to disappoint, it's usually me mistyping something but it's amusing thinking of knitting a tiny house - how snug would that be? 😁

In the tiny house (hut), so far, we've used the mini log burner from our old round tent and everything else has been freebies. I did buy a 1000w inverter for the leisure battery, which means usb recharging points, lights and laptop recharging are all possible in there, assuming we get a couple of hours sunlight on the solar panel. There's a privacy corner that's been made by fixing two swinging pony rug hangers to the walls and then attaching shower curtains. These 'arms' just swing out to form what looks like a changing room. We can sit the donated portable loo in there. For the hearth, we've used old bricks removed from a night storage heater. The heaters in the cottage were bring replaced with something more modern so there was no point wasting good fire bricks. The others will be kept for future use in another projects. 

Weather has been dire here so no garden work done. I have already given up even attempting NaNoWriMo as there are just too many other things taking priority and I've still my tax return to file with HMRC. 

Shammyjoe

About 2 years since I last commented but I read everything. Fallen off the financial wagon multiple times in between. A cut in working hours and an increase of £100 a month in the mortgage has once again forced me to tighten my pursestrings. I know I can live frugally, it's just hard to put into action and stick to it. A bit like sticking to a diet I suppose, it never lasts long for me lol.

cuddlymarm

Hi Shammyjoe
Welcome back. As with dieting every day you are good helps a little bit, with the added benefit of knowing what you need to do. So don’t think of it as a ginormous chore, just take it day by day.

[Deleted User]

Shammyjoe said:

About 2 years since I last commented but I read everything. Fallen off the financial wagon multiple times in between. A cut in working hours and an increase of £100 a month in the mortgage has once again forced me to tighten my pursestrings. I know I can live frugally, it's just hard to put into action and stick to it. A bit like sticking to a diet I suppose, it never lasts long for me lol.

You're in the right place @Shammyjoe, I have fallen off the wagon multiple times as well but getting back on here always helps keep me more focussed.  Best of luck with getting back on the wagon

2Scratters

My added attempt at being more frugal this Christmas is actually asking friends for practical items that can be used through the year. I have asked for specific coffee beans and syrup flavours to go with that. It's a win win as my friends also like the coffee we have and serve up. 
I need to continue and re focus on using up gifted stuff it does not need to be used up any quicker just because it came to me cheaply. It too should be conserved appropriately.

2 Scratters xx

[Deleted User]

Spent some time last night getting the budget done for December and a food plan done for next week.  I then finally got around at looking at my annual spending over the past year with a view to doing an annual plan for 2024.  I have to say the reality of it shocked me.  My spending is way over what I thought it was and my spending on holidays in the last 2 years has been outrageous.  I did have a planned large holiday spend in 2022 as it was my 50th but 2023 has been just as bad.  

I have gone through and looked at some ways to reduce spending in 2024, I just need to go over it with DH at some point.  The main thing this year is no holidays are planned.  I think I had a vague idea that we were overspending in this category and had planned 2024 to be a no holiday year - well maybe the occasional glamping weekend but nothing more.  Now even the glamping weekends will not be happening.  About 15 years ago we did a holiday from home year that involved day trips.  We actually loved it and so that wil be making a comeback for 2024.  

Other plans to reduce costs:
Reduce the food budget
Reduce general spending on clothes, hair cuts, catch ups with friends
Not rejoin the gym and use free exercise instead
Reduce gift spending by shopping sales
Be more mindful of when heating is on.  Use hot water bottles, electric blanket. rather than alway just having heating on.

cw18

I don't think I'm financially in any worse a position than I was this time last year - but I'm no better either (other than no longer needing to save for a new boiler due to having been granted one through a government scheme).

With only just over 2 years before my first company pension automatically pay out (I could pull it now) I really, really want to get financially straight so that I can look at giving up work ASAP around that time.   At the moment it looks like I'm stuck there until 7 years later (and 2 years after my second company pension).

I've recently been off work for 8 weeks with a sciatica blow-out, and am finding things much tougher now I'm back.   I have to cover a certain amount of work, but it's taking me much longer - meaning I end up getting home too tired to want to cook, and certain in no shape to do any decluttering or financial juggling.     I'd love to be able to quit tomorrow, but for now I figure I need to find a way of doing the financial juggling to allow the giving up or work......

I've been catching up with posts on here a couple of times a week, but plan to do so daily to try and keep myself on track.   I probably won't set any specific budgets, but simply work on keeping track of spends so I can see where I need to readjust as we move through the year.    And I'll  set myself a daily alarm to spend 10 minutes updating my spreadsheet so I know where I am.