2023 Frugal Living Challenge

JIL

@SecondStar. 
Is the bungalow currently empty?  If yes when you go back, chuck the estate agent out and take some newspaper shapes of sofa, bed, table, wardrobe etc and see how much floor space is left. Take photos, if it's a serious contender then you may think about how you would put your stamp on it to make it your home and its surprising how many small details you forget.
If there is a big garden, theres nothing to stop you creating an outside space to entertain guests, have as a hobby room. Eventually you may be able to extend at the back.
It's about making it work for you.

Good luck and remember the old Scottish saying what's fur ye'll no go by ye. 

Which is my favourite ever saying.

Siebrie

I've lived in a studio for 5 years, 3x6m (roughly 9'x18'), with a double bed over the kitchen area, and a shower room with toilet across the hall. This was when I was a student; it was plenty big then, but I really appreciated something larger after I came back from my stint in London as an au pair.

I moved into home that measured 4x7m, but had two floors, so it was double that, and a gallery at the front (a balcony along all the 8 front doors of my row of houses), and a balcony at the back. It was really well thought out, well-maintained, with a proper cupboard under the stairs, some loft space, 2 bedrooms and a kitchen that was separated from the living area with a door.

SecondStar

JIL said:

@SecondStar. 
Is the bungalow currently empty?  If yes when you go back, chuck the estate agent out and take some newspaper shapes of sofa, bed, table, wardrobe etc and see how much floor space is left. Take photos, if it's a serious contender then you may think about how you would put your stamp on it to make it your home and its surprising how many small details you forget.
If there is a big garden, theres nothing to stop you creating an outside space to entertain guests, have as a hobby room. Eventually you may be able to extend at the back.
It's about making it work for you.

Good luck and remember the old Scottish saying what's fur ye'll no go by ye. 

Which is my favourite ever saying.

Yes it is empty - it was rented, but it’s been unoccupied since September. It was up with a different agent for a stupidly high price, and got reduced several times before changing agents. The venders seem keen to sell, it’s not had any offers and it’s been on for at least 4 months.

The newspaper trick is a good one! And thank you for the luck

RateTartExtraordinaire

Hi All,
Just catching up with all the posts now and reviewing my first months spending. 

@secondstar There is a real need for tiny homes out there. See this website https://tinyhouseblog.com/ It might give you some clever ways of organising small spaces. 

Adding to the yoghurt conversation. My sam sung microwave has a yoghurt making and dough proving setting on it. I am planning to try it out. I used to have an electric yoghurt maker, it came with a set of six little jars and you put in a spoon of live yoghurt and some milk, switched it on and forgot about it. Unfortunately I had to leave it behind when I returned to the UK after a stint living abroad. I'd put a European plug on it so I left it to a friend. 

Frugal things done:
I've been using the microwave I got in November to do lots of cooking that I used to do in my large electric oven. I have porridge every morning with water and whatever fruit I have around, dried or fresh, or a blob of jam or maple syrup. I must admit it isn't as creamy as when I used to make it on the stove and stir it. So I will give soaking a go.

With the cold weather in December, I set the timer to switch the central heating on, just for 30 to 40 minutes in the morning and the evening to take the chill off. Now and again I confess I switched it on for an extra hour or so when when we were both at home working and feeling so cold. After reading the meter at the end of December, I decided I need to be more savvy and not just take the easy option. I've doubled up socks when I'm sitting for a long time working at the laptop. Also another thing that seems to be working for me is going for a brisk walk of 20 minutes during the day. This gets my blood circulating again and I feel so cold outside that when I come in the house again, it feels warm! I guess it is all relative. OH works upstairs which is warmer and he never complains of feeling cold. I know it will be worth it financially and benefit my health too.

One positive is the cost of petrol has really come down this month. It seems to have settled on 141.7p a litre for a few days. I needed some more petrol so topped up yesterday. I have a hefty credit card bill to pay in February due to car expenses which has really made me focus on saving the pennies. I have been resisting all spending so far. Apart from the little silicone band that golds my watch strap on broke. After making do with some elastic bands for a few days, I found an online seller that makes them, so just £3 spent. 
 
My other half has booked a holiday for November which was substantially cheaper than when we usually travel. Now I'm not tied to school holidays, it is lovely to be able to benefit from off-peak. The deposit is £60 and the balance isn't due until very near the time. Plenty of time to save and plan.

I booked some travel insurance using a comparison website but after having watched an episode of BBC's Rip Off Britain, I made sure I declared all my medication and doctor's appointments in the last two years. Insurance is only worth it if they actually pay out a claim. I couldn't believe that the insurer didn't pay-out one lady who needed hospital treatment abroad because she hadn't declared having gone to the doctors about her migraines. Her family had to do crowd raising to pay the £65000 hospital bill! I suffer from migraines and have been on medication for the last year which is really helping. This isn't one insurer, apparently it is industry-wide, some are more upfront that others, but it is in the terms and conditions. The advice is: declare everything. The insurance was 60% more after declaring, but it was cheap to begin with so not that much really, and a potentially a life-saving amount cheaper than a hospital bill I can't pay. 

Glittering_M

RateTartExtraodinaire said:

 Also another thing that seems to be working for me is going for a brisk walk of 20 minutes during the day. This gets my blood circulating again and I feel so cold outside that when I come in the house again, it feels warm! ...

One positive is the cost of petrol has really come down this month. It seems to have settled on 141.7p a litre for a few days. 

That's a good idea plus it is fresh air and exercise too. May have to try that, even if it is just a couple of laps of the garden for a few minutes.

Petrol is still varied near me. Nearest to home is 151.9 and the ones nearest to work are 138.9 and 144.9. I'll need to fill up tomorrow, I had hoped I'd get away with it as after tomorrow I won't need my car for a couple of weeks and I don't like it sitting full. I guess I could leave it and fill up near home when I did need it rather than by work but it probably will be more expensive than by work, although prices may drop from what they are. Decisions decisions! I hate filling up although I'll probably put about £10/15 worth in so I have enough to get into work again when needed and top up near there. With having the heating on to help demist the car in the morning, I'm finding it particularly hard to know how much range I really do have. 

Bluegreen143

I agree, the house seems really warm when you come back in from a freezing walk 😆

I don’t do a walk in the middle of the day, but I’ve had a lot of car trouble of late so have been out 8-9am to do the school run on foot, and it is making settling into working from home after feel a bit warmer! Once the effect wears off, I put a pair of the really thick lined slipper socks on over my normal socks and a big cosy cardigan on and they both really help. I find having cold feet makes it unbearable so the slipper socks are really worth it. 

Then I’m out again on the school pick up 3-4pm, and even if the house feels freezing before I leave, again when we get home I feel all toasty for a bit as I defrost from my walk 😂

I do tend to turn on the heating before this toasty feeling fades, because I don’t want the children to be cold all evening - but I’m keeping the thermostat at 18 now whereas last year it was set to 20 and it’s set to switch off at 9pm each night. I have lots of fluffy blankets to sit under while reading or watching TV and my husband doesn’t seem to feel the cold.

Sausageroll14

I can attest to the benefit of layers while working from home. I am a bit of a Scrooge with the heating so don't tend to have it above 16 -17 degrees.

Some days I really feel the cold so I have to properly layer up and wear thermals. 😳

So food shopping has annihilated my budget and I only have £2 and some pennies to last till the 1st. I have meal planned it all out and got a veg bag this week and will have more olio stuff next week so it looks doable. Fingers and toes crossed! 

Cherryfudge

Good luck @Sausageroll14, cheering you on! If you have any warm spaces near you, you might be able to get a free cuppa there as well as free heat. Warm Spaces has lots but I noticed our local ones aren't on their map so ask around. Libraries, churches, community centres are all possibilities and some are on a rota so you might need to search a bit.

annieb64

Check your local FB page too for warm places. One of ours does free soup on Sundays .

Siebrie

We had to change to a variable electricity & gas tariff last February (an oversight from me in November 2021, when I didn't renew our fixed rate in time) and our monthly payment went up by €70/month. We were in a bit of a shock, and finally husband was on board to pay attention to all the little ways we were wasting electricity and gas.

It has paid off! We have just received an email that we will receive a refund of €346! This means that we will have paid €43/month more than the year before, but that's nowhere near as crazy as I have heard from others. And our quality of life has not really changed.