2024 Frugal Living Challenge

mandy47

Elisheba said:

Do you have a a smart phone @mandy47?  I stopped buying Kindles when I realised I could download the app on my phone and read them there.  If nothing else it will tide you through until you can buy a new one, and get you to the end of the mystery!

I didn't know this. Thank you.  😊 
I'll look into it. 

mandy47

joedenise said:

I was going to suggest downloading the app onto phone or a tablet or laptop if they have one - I prefer the larger screen.  My Kindle packed up about a year ago and I tend to use my laptop or tablet as find the phone too small.

Thanks. I don't own a tablet but will look into using it on my phone. I take my kindle out and about with me. Passes the time at Dr and hospital appointments etc. 

Prudent

keggie said:

Following this thread with interest.
From January, I have reduced to a 3 day week so only on 60% salary and will need to think a little more before spending.
Definitely hoping for a better work life balance as my MH was not too good last year - I’m a teacher and the daily abuse from a small percentage of students was taking its toll!
So looking forward to 4 day weekends and cooking from scratch a lot more and probably drinking less!
Am not setting a budget as yet but have started to play with figures - need to see how much my petrol reduces with 120 less miles a week…

I gave up teaching in 2016 as it had a huge impact on my (existing) health conditions. I took ill health retirement, but my pension is quite small. Thankfully I had been part of the MSE community for years so frugality was embedded before I retired and I had routinely saved a big portion of my salary. Even so, it felt like jumping off a cliff. Seven years on I can honestly say it was the best decision. I still have another 9 years until my state pension but its been okay. The cost of living crisis did make me feel more vulnerable, but that was also true for many people who were working.

willow_loulou

mandy47 said:

joedenise said:

I was going to suggest downloading the app onto phone or a tablet or laptop if they have one - I prefer the larger screen.  My Kindle packed up about a year ago and I tend to use my laptop or tablet as find the phone too small.

Thanks. I don't own a tablet but will look into using it on my phone. I take my kindle out and about with me. Passes the time at Dr and hospital appointments etc. 

I use my Audible app on my phone for appointments too, just one ear pod in so I can hear what’s going on around me. It’s revolutionary for me as I get very anxious in medical settings so it enables me to be much more relaxed. 

As for Kindles, I bought a kindle fire via an Amazon payment plan, no interest just spread over a few months. Only suggesting in case it can help anyone budget for one - was ideal for me as I can watch tv on the fire so it’s great for hospital stays and travelling etc. 

mandy47

I've ordered a new kindle.
I traded my old one which gave me 20% off.
Cashed out on a few survey sites added my birthday money and I still  have £8 left. I went through a cashback site so I will get a few pounds back.
Quite pleased with myself. 

Gingerarthur

I'm in again this year - I've not posted much in the past couple of years but will be more active in 2024.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

I will be more active on here this year. I've followed along for a couple of years posting occasionally but want to do better this year. My husband is changing jobs next week and will taking a hit of about £1000 a month on income. On the plus side our mortgage fix comes to an end in april and we have enough in savings to clear the balance. We have always been frugal and from overpaying as soon as we were able we will be paying up the loan in 10 years instead of 20. We will be £730 a month better off when the mortgage goes so the drop in wages wont seem so bad. 

I went to Lidl today. I'm not sure if its country wide but my local store had their tinned fruit on a multibuy. 6 tins of peach slices for £3 (they are normally 95p each) they also had pineapple on offer. Not sure of any others but worth a look if you like having them in the cupboard. They had a whole pallet on the end of an aisle so I think they must have a lot of stock to clear.

Frugaldom

nannygladys said:

Frugaldom - are you near to Dalscone farm?

It's about an hour or so from here - i follow them on social media. 

Frugaldom

Brilliant news re the mortgage @Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Had a very frustrating day here but won't inflict boredom on you by going into details. Anyhow, I ate lots of Christmas chocolates then made a batch of homemade laundry liquid after I'd finished my outside jobs. Just in case anyone can't remember how, here's link to a very old blog post... I've been making this stuff for years. 

https://frugaldom.blogspot.com/2011/01/saving-on-annual-costs-of-laundry.html

Last year, I discovered I had what I call a soap tree growing in the orchard. It's actually a cherry tree wrapped in ivy. Ivy leaves can be boiled up to release enough saponins to use the resulting liquid as laundry detergent and i only realised how good it was after trying that last summer. It rained so heavy at times that I filmed soapy bubbles lying around the base of the cherry tree! Id never seen anything like it.

Ambyth

Evening

So far this year (all 4 days), I have cancelled a WW subscription, the boiler cover package and reduced Netflix subscription to the minimum available.  Also won a £25 travel voucher from the bus company!

One money saving tip I do is the milk - as it's cheaper to buy the bigger bottles, I buy the 6 pint bottle, share out into smaller bottles and freeze.  I try and buy the whole milk, as I water down the milk I use on cereal (this also helps me as too much milk makes me breathless).