2023 Frugal Living Challenge

RandomOne

Hi, can I join in, please? 

I'm having to make yet more changes to our lifestyle due to the CoL crisis, and am not really sure where to start with a budget for this challenge. How does everyone figure it out?

Absolock

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/ is a good place to start. Basically, you sit down and fill in the Spreadsheet with your income and outgoings and it may help you see where your money is going all in one spreadsheet where nothing is forgotten or missed out using the checklist.

For reducing food and non-food costs you maybe don't have an accurate idea of how much you spend on these items right now,  - so do a best guess estimate and then save every receipt for a month. Then you can budget!

wit40iwtwan

I would like to join for 2023.  I have a budget but I know there are 2 areas I can certainly review - my mobile (Pay Monthly but out of contract) and food - I tend to spend liberally as I love food but I think I need to look at reducing this bill by at least 20% and I can certainly reduce my. mobile bill - I work from home so only use data when I am out and about so why I am paying £17/m on 25GB I do not know... ha ha 

newlywed

RandomOne said:

Hi, can I join in, please? 

I'm having to make yet more changes to our lifestyle due to the CoL crisis, and am not really sure where to start with a budget for this challenge. How does everyone figure it out?

I start with the fixed costs that I can’t change, eg rent, things locked in for now etc. Then put in what I spend now into the other categories…   Then sigh as I look at what I should have left but don’t

[Deleted User]

I have worked out my budget for 2023. Pleased to report that I only just went over budget for this past 12 months.

A few notes before I start. My budget has increased due to a move to a very rural place. I now run a car, and our livestock smallholding is growing. We are very remote and high up. We can grow a few things up here but battle the weather and the blimmin rabbits! My costs include hot dinners at school for children - we are not entitled to FSM. They attend a forest school and whilst they took packed lunches for a long time, I prefer them to have something warm in their tummies when they are outside for so much of the day, whatever the weather.

We rear chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep. They are all for meat, some are becoming too much like pets though! We get lovely fresh eggs daily from our hens. Living where we do and how we do, there are always jobs to be done outside. Things like animal feed have sky rocketed, as have farm essentials like timber for fencing. 

My daughter starts high school in September, so things will change a bit then but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. 
Full breakdown below. My year starts from tomorrow

Budget for 2023

Electricity - £1,000

LPG Gas (including the daily standing charge, payable whether we have used any LPG or not!) - £500

Logs and Coal - £500

Internet - £600

Home Insurance - £450

Car Insurance - £240

Car Tax - £280

Fuel - £1,200

Netflix - £144

Food - £2,000

Animal feed and farm supplies - £1,000

Clothing - £100

Gifts - £100

“Fun” money - £200

School dinners and trips - £500

Mobile phone - £30

TOTAL: £8,900

I hope this is inspiring and/or useful to some of you. We are proof you can live an excellent life on what is perceived as a miniscule budget. It requires a change of mindset, push away from the "spend spend spend" tide, and you will find so many other riches. Take care all xx

RandomOne

Thank you for the tips. I will review my monthly budget and make an annual one based on that. We have a lot of changes coming this year. New job, older children moving out etc, so it'll have to be pretty flexible. But I'm sure I can manage to work something out. 

Madbat60

Morning 

I'd like to join. I live my partner and 21 year old son. Fortunately I have no debts, the house is paid for, I have a small kia that's cheap to run. My main aim is to get some savings together. I have a small NHS pension and I do agency work. I also do a bit of cleaning. There's work that needs doing to the house before I properly retire. Fortunately we all work. We have a log burner and my OH is very clever practically and grows veg. I like to sew and alter stuff. I will sit down in the next few days and look at a budget

Frugaldom

Good morning and welcome to our newcomers. Don't forget to browse the links in post one to familiarise yourselves with some of the previous challenges and for additional help with budgets. They aren't scary or complicated, they are simply numbers .. the main one is your absolutely guaranteed income over the year, everything you NEED Ato pay gets deducted from that before you start looking at affording your WANTS. Priorities are important so if you have trouble understanding the differences, look at the 'needs' as those things that life cannot exist without... Fresh water, nutrition, weather appropriate clothing, warmth, basic health self- care and I'm going to include paying down any debts that are causing you stress. Unsustainable debt is bad for your health so my number 1 suggestion to all when joining us in our frugal living challenge is stop spending for long enough to work it all out and find your way through any financial mess. Learning to love things like homemade soup and good old-fashioned porridge (made with water) can be lifesavers and if in doubt, ask for help.

Have fun finding your frugaldom. 

Madbat60

I agree Frugaldom, being in debt sucks the life out of your soul. This site helped me get out of debt in the early 2000's. The thing is I never thought the debt would go but bit by bit it did. I now have the mentality where I question everything I spend.  

MSE_ForumTeam3

Advent-ures in the MSE Forum | Day 15

For the fifteenth day of Advent, let us introduce you to the 2023 Frugal Living Challenge thread.

Join the Advent-ure: open a new door of the calendar every day and discover a new corner of the community.

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