2024 Frugal Living Challenge

otb666

We have a budget of 1800 pm This is split 700 bills 550 food 550 everything else. We also have 3000 for our annual insurances and car bills.  When we first retired 2 years ago this was easy now its getting harder. Interesting to see others budgets.

mama67

[Deleted User] said:

I am in again and plan to be more active on the forum in 2024.  My budget for the year comes to £20k - that's for the two of us.  Biggest expense is running 2 cars.  Both are paid for but it's the fuel, insurances, tax, servicing etc.  Ideally I'd like to get down to one car but needs must while we're both still working.

I've decided my word for 2024 is going to be FRUGAL.  DH and I need to regin in some bad habits using FRUGAL as a focus.  Like DH using the car for short journeys in our local area every day (sometimes multiple times a day) to go to the shops rather than do a weekly shop.  Me buying lunch from the canteen at work - it's daylight robbery but I still do it when I'm tired and can't be bothered making lunch to take in ... and many more small silly things that all add up.  We need a bit of a lifestyle rethink and a bit of a shake up.

Maybe try cooking a little more for the nights before evening meal so you can put a portion in a tub and take that. 

Easy to just grab from the fridge in the morning and go then reheat at lunch. 

My DS2 often does this especially with pasta dishes, but I also specifically make filling soups and freeze in portions. 

bellabella

Please count me in as we are racing towards hubby 's retirement and we need to pull those purse strings tight after 2 major holidays in 2024 and a new porch since we had an attempted break in we already have all the other paraphernalia so hopefully an extra door will put them off 

Frugaldom

Welcome everyone, good to see a few of you finding the new challenge thread. I won't be posting in here until I complete my 2023 challenge but will try to check in now and again.

Christianne1957

Will be newly retired in January 2024 excited but nervous. Please can I join x 

StickyTheStickInsect

I’d like to join please, I lurked on last years thread but need to be much more focussed on reducing our outgoings this year as we’ve lost my salary as I had to resign due to ill health last year, I’m not getting any better and we’ve used all the savings we had. I’ll work out our budget over the Christmas break.

RavenRover

I'm in again.  My budget for the year is 20k which I feel is way to0 high but I do have a long drive to work everyday-120 mile round trip- so have to make savings elsewhere.  Scary that my feul bill is around quarter of my salary before rent and council tax!!

I love this challenge as it makes me so aware of what I am spending and am now trying to make my money work harder for me.

London_1

Changing my phone provider yesterday this morning was a winner in reducing the cost by £25.00 p.a.

 My renewal for my C/H boiler and maintenance cover came in, and I rang them up and snaffled a £60 reduction from the yearly premium
 I only originally rang them to ensure they would take the premium monthly, and not yearly in a lump, and as soon as I said I've had my renewal in, before I could say anything else the young lady said "don't worry I'll sort you out a better deal"  and I not only got the premium reduced, but a reduction in what I'm paying at the moment of a £5.00 a month of my D/D

I'm on a roll this week  that's £60.00 a year off my insurance, and £25 a year reduction on my Sim card This week is going well and anything that brings in a reduction to me is a bonus and gets stashed away asap, as is often quoted 'Every little helps ':) 

JackieO xx

Frugaldom

@RavenRover maybe you should take your redundancy then move over here. 120 mile round trip each day is a lot of fuel, although not much you can do about it when it's essential for work. You could rent a place for the equivalent of your fuel money over in our corner of the county and you know you need a visit back over sometime. 😊 

Glad to see come newbies and lurkers coming out of hiding. 2024 is going to be quite grim for many, myself included. I'm loath to dip into savings for regular spending so avoiding that is my biggest priority. I've no private pension so I have to wait til 67and hope State pension is still in existence. Just over 7 years to go.

Livvyboo

I'd like to join in this challenge please.  Over the years I have peeked in and out of forums for bits of inspiration, however never really focussed fully on it.
Over the Christmas period I will start to get a budget set out and then update monthly.  I feel I do quite well in looking for bargains when needed etc, my main fault is spending spare cash and then feeling poor again.  I need to do better and I feel that seeing it in black and white will have more of an impact.
I also love picking up tips from others on little ways to save :-)