2023 Frugal Living Challenge

obscuredbyclouds

Thank you everyone for your replies, I do think a budget will be the way forward for my crafts and what an idea @Soontobeoap in asking for them as gifts, satisfies that itch without spending.

im going to start doing that with my storecupard @willow_loulou that’s a great idea, thank you.

obc x

cw18

Random question, but someone may know the answer....

My central heating isn't working properly as a brass (?) valve has seized.   I don't have a combi system so I still have an immersion tank.   My system allows me to set different on and off times for the water and the heating which is brilliant, but at the moment the diverter can only switch between water only and heating plus water - and trying to turn it to heating only is hard work with pliers after taking the diverter unit off.   My fella picked up on the problem after replacing the diverter control unit twice fairly rapidly when it wasn't switching between anything!   (It seems to be wearing out the 'hole' that goes on the valve while it tries and fails to turn it - that piece is only made of plastic.)

So, before it gets cold later in the year, I need to get the valve replaced.  That means cutting the valve unit out of the copper pipe where it's welded in and putting in a new one.

Clearly this isn't a DIY job, but I don't know if I can get away with a plumber?  Or does it have to be a heating engineer, even though it doesn't require touching the gas at all?   I'm assuming a plumber would be cheaper....

I don't know anyone in either trade, so was going to post on one of the sites where you invite people to quote (I had a plumber in to repair toilets some years ago using one of those), but I have to specify if I want a plumber or a heating engineer, so I've come unstuck on the first question

I currently have the valve set in the water only position with all the settings for my heating turned to off, and the control unit off the valve in case I want to put the heating on by hand - but I can't be doing that all winter, and I don't want to be heating the water the entire time I'm heating the radiators which is the only other option.

Fortunately I should have the money to pay for it by the end of September.   Our pay deal was accepted by members (I'm still not happy about parts of it), and it includes a couple of lump sum payments that they say they're aiming to pay as soon as possible that month.    I'm actually thinking of asking my Mother for a loan so I can have the work down when I'm off work the last week in August, because after that I'd have to wait until the second full week of October - and if I need a heating engineer I suspect they'll be getting busy around then

joedenise

My boiler was sorted by a plumber so that I would have thought would be what you need for the repair you need.

I'd definitely get it sorted now by borrowing the money from your mother rather than waiting until October when it will be getting to the time when you need the heating on.

willow_loulou

sunshineli said:

Do you mind if I join? I was doing quite well being frugal at the start of this year but slipped up a bit over the past few months. I really want (need) to get back into it now. I currently work full time but I have various chronic illnesses meaning I doubt I will be able to continue with this forever. My main goal at the moment is to pain down the mortgage as much as possible so I can eventually afford to reduce my hours at work. I’ve been reading this thread since the beginning of the year and I’m really inspired by all of you

Welcome and good luck getting the mortgage down. It’s a great plan. 

sunshineli

Quite a successful frugal day today. I was in the office so it’s always more tempting to spend. I took a packed lunch in as usual and got a free coffee using my partners health insurance perk he gets with work. I did spend £2.50 though on some fancy chocolates as I had a £5 voucher to use which was about to expire. The chocs should’ve been £7.50 so I’m going to try save them as a gift as this will save me money in the long run. That’s if I manage to not eat them!

willow_loulou

Morning
I entered another competition this morning. Got to be in it is my new mantra. 

Budget is very tight since I booked my holiday, but honestly I quite enjoy the challenge of low priced shops because I have too. It’s too easy to get more when I can technically afford more. 

I did find 2 brand new tea towels from my list of wants - 50p each. Very pleased with that. 

One more week till payday when I’ll redo the budget again. My council tax (as they do every year) has gone up again. They can never get my reductions right, I wonder if I’ll get a refund in October again! 

sunshineli

willow_loulou said:

Morning
I entered another competition this morning. Got to be in it is my new mantra. 

Budget is very tight since I booked my holiday, but honestly I quite enjoy the challenge of low priced shops because I have too. It’s too easy to get more when I can technically afford more. 

I did find 2 brand new tea towels from my list of wants - 50p each. Very pleased with that. 

One more week till payday when I’ll redo the budget again. My council tax (as they do every year) has gone up again. They can never get my reductions right, I wonder if I’ll get a refund in October again! 

I’m interested in getting into competitions. What kind of things do you enter and how do you find them? I used to enjoy doing my frugal shopping too, but now it frustrates me more than anything as it’s getting harder and harder to do

sunshineli

NSD today 😊 made much easier when working from home. I also got paid today so I’ve moved my money around and have planned to overpay the mortgage by £100 this month, once my partner gets paid. Decided against getting a takeaway tonight and got oven pizzas from the freezer instead. Probably saved about £15 😊

willow_loulou

sunshineli said:

willow_loulou said:

Morning
I entered another competition this morning. Got to be in it is my new mantra. 

Budget is very tight since I booked my holiday, but honestly I quite enjoy the challenge of low priced shops because I have too. It’s too easy to get more when I can technically afford more. 

I did find 2 brand new tea towels from my list of wants - 50p each. Very pleased with that. 

One more week till payday when I’ll redo the budget again. My council tax (as they do every year) has gone up again. They can never get my reductions right, I wonder if I’ll get a refund in October again! 

I’m interested in getting into competitions. What kind of things do you enter and how do you find them? I used to enjoy doing my frugal shopping too, but now it frustrates me more than anything as it’s getting harder and harder to do

Actually everything I’ve entered has come via email, the £200 voucher I won was an emailed survey from the service provider. 

I’m just keeping a general eye on emails and packets 

There’s a whole thread thing here somewhere too. 

willow_loulou

Spent the last 20minutes or so breaking down my next months budget. I get paid on Friday and then again but less 2 weeks after that. 

It’s tight - I will be using stores this month for 2/3 meals a week I think. But that’s good as my rice needs using up and I need to defrost my freezer. 

But I’ve still got 2 x cinema trips in there at £3:50 each. I may forgo one in favour of coffee out depending on the seating when I go to book. I like to be at the back with no one behind me. 

Need to batch cook today, busy week ahead. Curry and breakfast casserole, maybe muffins if I have enough ingredients.