2024 Frugal Living Challenge

Prudent

@Frugaldom what a fabulous year with your premium bonds. Mine have returned a dismal 3.29% so far. I hope they redeem themselves in December. Thankfully my S&S isa and small private pension have had a decent year so it balances out. 

I had a most enjoyable charity shop potter after the birthday lunch on Friday. I got a pair of new M&S trousers for £5, a pair of new M&S slippers for £5, a new lightweight scarf £1.50 and an embroidery kit for £4. All the new items had the original price labels and I made a saving of £38. The embroidery kit isn't my style but it contained 28 anchor threads and an exceptionally good quality needle saving about £24. I googled the kit and found it was produced in 1990. Clearly needle quality has gone down since then! They had several kits but I limited myself to this one as it had colours that I am low on. I am trying hard not to over stash. 

No cooking here today as we have plenty of left overs from yesterday when I made soup, bread, pizzas, coleslaw and baked apples.

ancientmum

Happy Sunday everyone, I've been following this thread for ages and am de-lurking to say that I love reading how creative people are, to live a good life and move away from the constant pressure to spend money.  I live on my own, on a state pension and my NHS pension.  My great pleasure is holidaying abroad in a way which is definitely not cheap but being thrifty in other areas enables me to save for them.  I couldn't travel when I was young due to having a mortgage and family so now I like a bit of comfort.  

Christmas presents are being planned around my Boots vouchers.  I usually give each of my sons some cash to spend on their families,  and a small wrapped gift for each person to open.  I send a token gift to each of my brothers and sister, we stopped buying for nieces and nephews when they became adults, and small presents, usually fancy chocs or biscuits for the ex and a friend.  Some years I've done home made jam, cakes, chutney or sloe gin.  There are boxes of strawberries in the freezer to be made into jam so I need to get on to that in the next couple of weeks. 

Just had a YS pain au chocolate for breakfast (yum), so off now to take composting to the allotment and do some jobs there.  Like many people have said,  most of the crop was munched by slugs and snails but the rainbow chard has got a new lease of life and looks very colourful, as do the cosmos and verbena. It would be nice if that strange yellow light in the sky puts in an appearance!

Mags x

Prudent

Welcome Mags. It is lovely to have another allotment holder on the thread. Our allotment looks very forlorn in the wet weather today. No yellow thing in the sky here either. Like you, I love going away. I haven't been abroad since before the pandemic, but still enjoy visiting other parts of the UK. I have complex medical conditions which means the insurance to travel abroad is so expensive. I am not ruling it out though. I will look forward to hearing about your adventures. Many of us are frugal with day to day spends to allow us to do something we really enjoy. 

ET22

Me and my adult children dont buy each other xmas presents anymore. On a birthday i make a cake. I also do a makeshift card for celebrartions which look quite rubbish but they are the things they remember x 

Prudent

@ET22 I have just finished making my daughter's Christmas card. I am not a card maker so it doesn't have the professional look, but it is personal to her interests. I also made the last item for her advent calendar this afternoon. I bought all the other wee things, but I wanted to make a hanging storage pod to hold some of them.  It is now ready to be posted to her. I have already sent her Christmas stocking and main gift. We are being ultra cautious this year. Last year I got a gift she sent with Evri at 4pm on the 24th. She had dropped it off to be collected on the 1st. 

ET22

Its lovely you made them. Memories forever. I buy my grandkids pantomine tickets to go sfter xmas and take then out for tea. Cousins together making memories. X 

nannygladys

I give my dds money for their families and once upon a time they would buy presents from me to put under the tree, but now they use it to make memories, ie go somewhere they wouldn't normally take the children to and it doesn't have to be over Xmas either it might be later in the year but they always know I contributed to it. I always think children will remember going somewhere memorable but not necessarily a present, so I'm pleased and they al seem happy with it.

Yesterday and today have both been leftover days and thankfully tomorrow I can cook and eat something different 
I also made some microwave lemon curd with a lemon I had in the bottom of the fridge, I haven't tried this method before but it worked fine and I will be doing it again - it was in one of Nancy Birstwhistles books.

I also mended a jumper and did some more knitting on a jumper, hoovered through and walked the dog!! and I was beginning to think I hadn't really done much!!

Nannyg

TizerCat

@Dizzycap and @Frugaldom thank you for the welcome! I'm starting with a no-spend month to save for the few xmas prezzies I'm buying this year.  Have been posting my excess fabrics on eBay but don't expect much will sell before Xmas. 

Focusing on reducing my hours once I've saved an emergency fund is motivation enough

Frugaldom

Good evening, frugal friends and welcome to our latest new arrivals (and return visitors)

My no spending has been going ok except for yesterday, when I went to local shop to get milk and came out with chocolate, crisps and marshmallows as well as the milk. Oops! But after so much decluttering, I think we deserved a night of movies and munchies, which includes hot chocolate and marshmallows.

I've only briefly thought about Christmas as we haven't really 'done' Christmas for quite a few years. Livestock and work related stuff has thwarted efforts but I'd like to try and make this year a little bit more festive. Gifts wise, I usually give family homemade food 'hampers' and like someone else already mentioned, the younger ones get money for visiting somewhere or doing something special. Haven't really thought too much about it yet so I'd best get my skates on as this year will be over before we know it. 

Is anyone still saving all their loose change? I want to make another sealed pot for 2025 as this year's has just been saved in tubs and jars.

Duchess2

Have just started posting regularly, having read along for years. It gets quite addictive doesn’t it. Hope I’m not a nuisance😃. @nannygladys it’s surprising how much you do during the day and then wonder why you are tired.  Since losing my parents in 2022 we haven’t bothered too much with Christmas. My son and his girlfriend want to spend time together in their new home. We have a short get together and then go and do our own thing. We don’t buy lots of fancy food, just one or two extra bits and only enough for the two days. We go out for long walks with the dog and then back for a fairly normal meal and slob out. Nice and relaxing, no pressure and very easy on the wallet