2023 Frugal Living Challenge

otb666

@Scrimps we signed up to stop smoking with council and they provided sprays/e cigs/patches/chewing gum and a person on phone once a week to provide support. Maybe see if your council provides similar service. We have given up 4 months now although hubby still on patches and gum and e cig. I am on nothing 

joedenise

@Scrimps - most Drs also provide Stop Smoking services do.  I was given prescription tablets to give up plus seeing a nurse once a week.  Not sure whether all Drs do this but certainly worth asking.

Our local Tesco also had a stop smoking assistant who would give weekly support and aids like gum, patches etc.  So there are plenty of sources available although probably different in each local area.

There is usually something that will work for individuals although I did go back to smoking after about 9 months I was forced to give up more than 10 years ago when I spent 3 weeks in hospital in isolation and not allowed out of my room as they didn't know what was wrong with me and didn't know if I was contagious!  I just didn't go back to smoking after that and so glad I didn't!

I wouldn't be able to afford it now - having retired not long after I stopped smoking!  Lack of money was certainly the best incentive to stay stopped.

Elisheba

Urgh I totally understand where you are coming from @scrimps. I'm using nicotine patches now, but I've been trying to give up smoking one way or another for about 20 years. I can stop fairly easily, whether using nicotine or going cold turkey, I just never stay stopped and it's down to going out for a drink with friends. Drives me up the wall that I never seem to have the willpower to stick to it.

cw18

I stopped thanks to Champix tablets I got from my GP.

Over the years I'd tried patches, lozenges, nose sprays and such.  All to no avail, and I wasn't a heavy smoker compared to most I knew.

Officially my GP should have only let me have the Champix twice, but it was agree my head hadn't been in the right place my first two attempts - hubby had terminal cancer, and I was off work sick with back problems.    So I was allowed a third try - and stopped using them after just a few weeks (long before you officially finish the program).

That was back in October 2012.    I'd be bankrupt if I was still smoking now !!!

My OH switching to vaping in April 2013.   My GP had suggested I try that, but I was keen to break the hand/mouth cycle.   And I'm glad I resisted the pressure!   OH is still vaping, despite saying when he started he reckoned he'd be off it within 12 months!    He mixes his own fluids, and is still buying enough for 12 months at a time so I don't think he'll be giving it up any time soon

mama67

My hubby said he would stop when he was 50. (promise to DS2). He’s 58 now 

He got Champix and hasnt smoked since. 

He did sub booked sweets for the ciggys, but after approx 6 months reduced those as well and said his food tasted so much better. 

Now if he’s been around people who smoke. Even though outside he says can smell it on clothes afterwards. 

You do have to be in the right place mentally to deal with this. 

Cas

Evening everyone.  Been doing a massive catch up today with what everyone’s been up to. 

I don’t pay myself first but from DH’s salary I put money aside to cover all our bills (everything from fuel to Xmas to clothes to car insurance) then put some into savings.  If anything’s left over it's used for treats. 

In Scotland our Council Tax bills actually comprise of 3 charges - council tax, water charge and waste water charge and is based on your property banding.  So when your local council announces the annual percentage rise it only applies to the council tax element.  Scottish Water determines how much the water and waste water charges increase by and it can be a different percentage than the council tax increase.

I was lucky enough to bag a £1.50 fruit & veg box from our local Lid1.  Usually the ones I see are full of stuff that’s waaaay past its best but I was quite impressed with this one which had baby potatoes, spring onions, a cucumber, apples, oranges and peaches.  Apart from a dodgy apple (which ended up on the bird table to the delight of the blackbirds) everything was great quality 

DH was on annual leave last week so the first couple of days were spent clearing away all the garden rubbish into a skip.  That means we can finish laying the slabs after which my Dad will help with building the new veg beds. He’s starting off his tomato plants this week which he’ll grow on a window sill before moving them into his cold frame to harden them off once the weather starts to get warmer.

Came across some jerusalem artichokes in a local farm shop so I bought a few and will plant a couple of them in a potato bag and see how it goes. 

Wild garlic in the nearby woodland and riverbank is coming along nicely so planning to do a bit of foraging soon and turn it into pesto.  It freezes well but it fair reeks when it defrosts!   

Signed up for Readly using the MSE link.  I’ve always loved reading but I can’t afford subscriptions for the all mags I want to read nor do I have the space for lots of physical magazines.  So that plus the fact I can share it with DH and my parents means it’s win win.  I’ve already favourited a lot of the gardening/grow your own ones, so now just need to make time to read them!

cw18

Went back to work on Friday, and the two days I've done left me exhausted - today only avoided being a PJ day because I needed to nip out for a few essentials.   Another week of 6 days to get through, and then I've got 2 weeks off, so I'm just holding on for that   Still coughing up some gunk (from the back of my throat rather than my chest - GP said this is quite normal with a throat virus!), so I'm masking up which raised questions from colleagues.   I was actually loaned out to another office on Friday, and the few people still in the office when I arrived also queried (politely) the fact I was wearing a face covering.    Everyone seems startled (and impressed) when my reply makes it clear it's in order to protect THEM - and from something other than Covid.

Worked through my finances last week, and (in part due to the cost of the car repairs early last month - the bulk of which had to go on my emergency credit card which now needs paying) things aren't looking good.   Work are clamping down on overtime (yet they've thrown more workload onto us this last 3 weeks and I already couldn't complete within my contracted hours!), and without that it looks as if I have £5 or less a week for food, travel and emergencies after making some allowances for increases to my monthly gas/electric payments (should be £10 above what it is if I don't want to use even more of my credit balance) and Council Tax (at the moment still a pure guess on the increase to that).

At least next month sees the last payment for my washing machine (just under £25), and I've been able to put a 4 month payment holiday on my contact lenses (£34/month).   I've hardly used any from my last delivery which arrived just after my GP changed my meds, and the new meds seemed to make my dry eye worse meaning I couldn't actually get the lenses in properly    I hadn't realised the payment they took on 1st this month kicked off another delivery, so I'll have almost 120 pairs in the house - and I've only been off the problem meds a few weeks, so haven't tried fighting with them again just yet.   Phoned customer services, and the chap suspended payments for 4 months (I had two last Oct & Nov, and I'm only allowed 6 in a 12 month period), so that gives me time to see if things settle down both financially and with my eyes.

I've also made a guess as to how much my widows pension will go up by, but they may surpise me by increasing it a touch more    It's supposedly fully inflation proofed, but if inflation runs at over 5% they can cap the increase at that - but once it drops below they have to continue increasing by 5%/year until it catches up to where it should be.    Not very useful when I need the money now, but at least I know there should be 5% more on that now which is more than my pay went up by (and we're hopefully getting close to the dispute on pay and conditions coming to a conclusion according to the update from the union last Thursday).   Watching for a letter from the pension administrators with the information, as my Mum also gets a widows pension from the same scheme but doesn't understand a lot of the literature that arrives.  (The scheme has changed administrators a couple of times since my Dad, my hubby and I paid into it, but I've not seen anything to suggest that any of the terms of it have changed - and that is one in particular that I liked about it, although I hoped it would never have to be tested!)

I do have quite a food mountain, even if it'll mean some strange meals - but I'll still need bread, sandwich fillings and bananas as a bare minimum.  I'm going to have to try and stick my nose into the communty food place near work in the mornings as often as I can to try and get bread (I rarely finish before they close, and bread tends to disappear quickly anyway).   They seem to either have it every day for a week or not have any for the whole week, so as I start eating things from my freezers I'll have to try and grab loaves to refill the gaps as and when I can.   Unfortunately 'my' delivery round (which saw me pass the shop on the way to the start) has now disappeared, so I'm back to covering when people are off - and not many take me past the shop    I know I won't get near it in the mornings this next week, as I'm driving a van on a two-person duty (the normal driver is on his week off, and he has to be covered by a driver as the other chap on that duty doesn't drive).

DD has already been warned that birthday/Christmas wish lists from her and her girls this year will all have to include things I can get from Amaz0n as I get a fair few vouchers for that during the year.    I've also nothing to put to one side for car insurance (end of July), so DS1 had better start chipping in soon - he does at least have some work coming in again at the moment.   Still need to find the money for 2 (or 3) meals out in the next couple of months though - 80th for both OH's Mother and my Mother, and 18th for GD2,   Then December brings DDs 40th, so that's likely to need some extra cash too.

Just placed an order with Amaz0n.   Heading up to the Lakes shortly, and there are a few bits I wanted in order to simplfy packing (it's becoming a real headache, and it's something I have to deal with 4 or 5 times a year!).   I was going to check out the local BnM for what I wanted, but I have plenty of vouchers in my account and zero cash.   I've still mooched through dozens of listings looking for the best deals to make my vouchers stretch as far as possible.

I'm also debating ordering some strawberry plants from there.    The ones I had were sadly neglected through the pandemic (I just didn't have time or energy to get into the garden) and are no more - but this is one of only a small number of fresh fruits I'll eat.   The ones I got from the shops last year were totally lacking in taste, and terribly expensive - no way I'll be able to afford them this year, and I don't want to spend what they're likely to be asking for tasteless versions.   I'm thinking I should try and get several varieties so that I have a longer harvesting period which might make it slightly dearer than buying lots of one variety, but it will hopefully mean I can enjoy for longer which will be worth it.    I've got as far as checking that there are plenty of listings (yes) and the prices compare favourably to other sites I would normally have looked at (yes).    So now I need to do some homework on varieties and harvesting periods.   Hopefully I can do that in the evenings while we're in the Lakes, and still have time to order and plant before it gets too late in the year ????     I spotted that some wouldn't even ship until the middle of next month, so I'm assuming taking another couple of weeks to pick out what I want / can afford won't mean I miss out again.

Cas said:

Signed up for Readly using the MSE link.  I’ve always loved reading but I can’t afford subscriptions for the all mags I want to read nor do I have the space for lots of physical magazines.

I've had a trial with that (and another similar service) before now, but barely touched them before cancelling.    I can read forums and FB quite happily on a screen, but I find books a bit of a struggle and magazines (or newspapers) nigh on impossible (especially when they're still written with columns and boxes of text).

I used an on-line newspaper during the pandemic purely to make sure I was totally up-to-date with all the rules, and have since been tempted back with further free trials.   But I cancelled the latest 3 month trial last week (would have been due for paying yesterday).    They've tried to get me back at £2/month for 6 months (instead of £19.99/month - absolutely no way I'd ever pay that much!), but I've declined as I didn't even open the website for at least the last month.   The person I 'spoke' to on chat when cancelling tried to convince me to stick with it as there is a long list of 'perks' (cheap eating out, cinema tickets, mail order wines and travel insurance, and discounts on flights  etc.), and was clearly shocked when I said I wouldn't make use of a single one of them even once in a year!!    I'm clearly not in the audience they expect to attract

I don't think I've bought a single magazine in the last 3 years (though I do pick up freebies if I'm anywhere that has such a thing - the once or twice a year I'm near a big B00ts I wave my Advant@ge card to get theirs).    It must be a lot longer since I bought a newspaper - and probably the best part of 5 years since I've even picked up the freebie on a bus.  Books, on the other hand, have a habit of coming home from charity shops with me several times a year - the latest being some more cookery books!    I love to drool even if I can't afford the ingredients

Cas

cw18 said:

Books, on the other hand, have a habit of coming home from charity shops with me several times a year - the latest being some more cookery books!    I love to drool even if I can't afford the ingredients

Oh I love browsing through a cookery book, especially those with beautiful colour photographs!  When I had a 4 hour round commute I used to buy lots of books from charity shops and read them on the commute before re-donating them.  Do you keep your books @cw18 or do you donate them once you've read them?

Swayingseaweed

Hi cw18 you could check your local free cycle site or olio for strawberry plants as often people give them away this time if year. 
Seaweed x

Scrimps

Thank you for the not smoking tips. I had stopped for about 4 years and bought just 1 pack about 14 months ago, then have been stopping and starting since then.
I'm a bit of a binge smoker,  happy not to smoke all day, then pretty much chain smoke in the evenings. I'm reading the Allen carr stopping smoking and drinking books, it seems to be working.
I have to keep myself occupied in the evenings and find better things to reach for when stressed....in line with this, I went to the charity shops for a browse this afternoon and found a couple of books I like, I had read the first in the series a few years ago. Ill get the next in their series ordered from the library,  once I find an author I like ordering from the library is such a good service.

I also bought the game 'mousetrap' for the kids from the charity shop, but its a complete pain to set up and play so that may end up back at the shop

I've also managed to have a very good clear out of outgrown childrens clothes and toys to the charity shop and had a very good sort of the outdoor storage. It feels like calmness is returning to the house again. Should be able to save a bit of money over the next few weeks by eating down the food hoard, which will also help the kitchen stop feeling quite so overwhelming.