2024 Frugal Living Challenge

London_1

Good shop this morning in M&S near to where I'm staying at the moment, and got the belt I wanted for my skinny jeans using some of the gift cards. I asked the lady on the till to check the other cards I had in the back of my handbag as I had a feeling I hadn't used them all up from last year .

I don't often go near to an M&S and this year especially I had not been able to get to one because of ill health Anyway she ran them through the checker thing, and I had an extra £29 plus, with what was left over  of this years card It worked out by the time she had run them all through, after taking off the new belt bill I am left with £33 odd.

Nothing I needed or wanted to buy, so its been parked at the back of my purse. Perhaps when I am home in the new year I may treat myself to something nice or even use it in the food hall for some goodies as a treat.

So I am quite pleased as it means there are a few more pennies tucked away for 2024. I know I have a fair amount of John Lewis vouchers in my handbag at home and after the New Year when O get home my eldest DD and I will have a trip up to Bluewater and spend them I think there is about £90 odd pounds in vouchers as I've not been to Bluewater since before the Pandemic hitting 2020, but they are still valid as I phoned customer service up a couple of weeks ago and they said they are fine to use.

I'm looking forward to Friday afternoon as youngest DD and I have a house viewing booked on the IoW its no chain and empty at the moment so we are hoping its as good as it looks on paper fingers crossed.


Cheers chums

  JackieO xx 

Christianne1957

Looking forward to finishing work on 5th January as have worked since leaving school at 16. Last couple of years have been tough as, due to stress, I had a autoimmune relapse but had to keep going for the wage.

Will be on State Retirement Pension so although money will be tight, the upside having free time will compensate. Money poor but time rich!

I have 3 old rescue horses so looking forward to spending time "fettling about" with them to enrich their retirement & my own. Finances don't allow me to get a dog (a life goal) at the moment but I sponsor a lovely staffie with the Dogs Trust so I will continue with that 

I'm the last of a large family & have a multiple boxes of inherited "treasures" to sort through - nothing valuable but some fascinating ephemera from the 1920's to 1980's. Hoping the museum will be interested in taking some items for display as otherwise things will be skipped when I go as my daughters have no interest in these

Looking forward to learning from this lovely thread 

amber03

For the last few years I have saved with Mr T Xmas savers on their clubcard.  Each month I have put £10 on it as well as collecting points each time I shop, receiving the vouchers in November. Yesterday I received an  email from Mr T, saying that I can only save money on it till the 1st April,as they are stopping it. They have said the points collected on your shopping will remain and vouchers produced for these and any money saved next November, and that in due course they will inform customers of their new scheme. Think I will start saving with Mr A instead. 

makingmehappy

Thank you for the challenge @Frugaldom.

I've spent this last year caring for my elderly parents and it's had a pretty devastating effect on all aspects of my own life, particularly financially and healthwise.

My parents are currently in (2 different) care homes after discharge from hospital, but it looks as if residential care (hopefully together) is the next step for them.

I think that I need a year of frugality and simplicity and concentrating on my own health to help me to get myself back on an even keel in my own life.

Looking forward to joining you all in this challenge for 2024

nellis10

Hello, I would like to join please.
I am currently seeking to pay off my 2 mortgages (one was ported from the old house) in 2024!! This means most of my wages will be going on overpayments. Next is the renovation of my house. I've been without water in my kitchen for over a year and am so used to doing my dishes in the bath, but it's getting old and I really want a warm, waterproof house in 2025, so 2024 is the year I finish off the house. Needless to say it will be expensive, so whilst I have been rather spend happy this week, getting all my crafty planner stash purchased, it will be reined in from Jan 1st onwards.

I don't really have a set budget, but I am aiming for no more than £500 a month on spends (including grocery, household, lunches and suchlike). I normally spend a considerable amount more, so this will be a good starting point to see how close I can come to it.

Thanks in advance!
Nat

TooMuchSnow

I would like to join please! I’ve always been frugal, but my budget skills need some work.
I do monthly budgets but right now my house fund is emergency fund and I should separate those two or I won’t reach my savings goal ever. 

I have no debt but our house is old and needs new pipes. I can’t work due an illness so saving for pipe renovation is slow going. Luckily nothing is leaking yet, so I still have time.
Reading earlier challenges has been inspiring and I’m looking forward to this one!

Frugaldom

It's the final countdown to 2024 challenge. Thank you for joining me in another year if stretching the budget screaming and kicking to cover 12 months of who knows what  Welcome to our latest new arrivals and welcome back to those of you following on from previous years. As I did in the beginning, I'll start the year with my £4,000 budget and see where it takes me. It's about survival in a bid to afford a better lifestyle. Most of my income goes on feeding animals to the extent that I now hold an Animal Welfare Establishment licence for our little sanctuary at Frugaldom. The cost of running that is helped along by Friends of Frugaldom and whatever comes in from our visiting campervanners, who can park overnight in the yard. It means a lot gets spend on various licensing and insurance so the less I spend on the cost of surviving, the more I can spend on other things. I'm also going to try and stay off the grid as much as possible to try and cut down the cost of electricity. There are no gas mains in our area and no mains sewerage but we do have mains water, which is included in the council tax bills here in Scotland.

Any questions about the challenge, please ask, otherwise have a search through old posts and challenge threads.

fionaandphil

Hello @Frugaldom I have just spotted your note on the 2023 thread and realised I'd missed the 2024 one being set up. I would like to join again this year. I haven't finalised 2023 budget yet or planned 2024 but will spend some time doing that before going back to work.

2023 didn't quite work as planned with the increase in the cost of living and wider family ill health meaning priorities changed. This year I'm hoping to get more veg and fruit growing in the garden, declutter and tighten expenditure. I'm still looking to spend money on making family memories while DS is still at home. but am mindful he will be finishing school soon. I'm trying to plan in education costs as well as preparing for an early retirement.

Looking forward to seeing all your inspiring posts in 2024

suzeesu2000

Is it okay to join without using a budget? We have a saving goal for this year and also need to break some dreadful spending habits. I am committing to the January pantry Challenge from YouTube: no buying groceries - other than fresh milk, bread and eggs. Object is to not only use things in your pantry before they go out of date etc but also to make you stop and realise what you are spending on, most of which is totally unecessary.

I have a well stocked, almost peppers pantry with tinned and home dried foods in. I have two freezers jammed full. I do not need to buy dinner food for at least a month. First job tomorrow is to cook some fresh swedes, mash and freeze in portion sizes. Same for some carrots too. 

Is that okay? 

[Deleted User]

Welcome @suzeesu2000, best of luck with your pantry challenge.  I am looking to make better use of our pantry this year as well. Our actual pantry needs a bit of a restock as we've run it down a good bit. I'd also like to add in some new shelves and revamp it a bit to make it more functional. I think this will be a January project.

Another project I'd like to do is sort through my recipes. I have some on my phone, some on scraps of paper, some in a folder that's falling apart etc. I want to get them into one place thar works well for me which means a new folder (which I already have) and time to get organised and bits written out. I'll do that on a quiet day next week I think.