2024 Frugal Living Challenge

Duchess2

Well done @Dizzycap. Sounds like you have everything sorted. We do everything that we can from scratch, freezing as we go and buy extra nibbles & chocs gradually in the run up to Christmas. One or two items per week and you don’t end up with a huge bill at the end. In any case it’s only 2 days and we find we are not wasting huge amounts of food, which in these days is criminal. A good time had by all, no excess, a few delicious treats and absolutely everything used up. Frugal but fun. That’s the key

Prudent

@Dizzycap I love your Christmas challenge. I think it is good to take a stand against the excessive spends culture. I always stock up on the cheap veg and store them for months in the garage. Last year I finished them just before the Easter cheap veg offers started. I also had a bumper year last year because I had an exceptional run of raffle prizes. As well as two huge hampers I had vouchers for local butchers and bakers. Combined with the veg, I spent considerably less in December than a normal month. the raffle tickets cost £10 in total and supported some local good causes.

We have snow forecast for next week so today is a day for outdoor jobs and getting washing done before the turns.

@katiehound you will find fabulous photos and videos on Frugaldom’s Facebook page too. 

suzeesu2000

I never thought to stock up on the fresh veg and store as suggested. I’ve usually not done it because my freezer is kept practically full and no room but I’m whittling it down and will have some space so thank you for suggestion. 

Dizzycap

Prudent said:

@Dizzycap I love your Christmas challenge. I think it is good to take a stand against the excessive spends culture. I always stock up on the cheap veg and store them for months in the garage. Last year I finished them just before the Easter cheap veg offers started. I also had a bumper year last year because I had an exceptional run of raffle prizes. As well as two huge hampers I had vouchers for local butchers and bakers. Combined with the veg, I spent considerably less in December than a normal month. the raffle tickets cost £10 in total and supported some local good causes.

We have snow forecast for next week so today is a day for outdoor jobs and getting washing done before the turns.

@katiehound you will find fabulous photos and videos on Frugaldom’s Facebook page too. 

@Prudent - Definately! Christmas gets consumer & spend culture pushed earlier and earlier every year. This year Christmas goods were in the shops in August and no doubt Easter eggs will appear on shelves before the New Year, they did here last year. Black Friday has been expanded from 1 day where people were getting crushed to death with the rush in shops - who remembers that? to a Black Friday week lasting 10 days, no less, and now it's PRE-Black Friday and finally Black Friday Month (November). What's worse, is that the deals are usually and often cheaper throughout the year, so as long as you keep your eyes open and take advantage of offers, vouchers, and cashback, you'll save a fortune against last month / minute buying.

I'm looking forward to a frugal Christmas once again and I'm looking forward to seeing what gift swap gifts I receive this year. It's not that I'm ungreatful, far, far from it! It's just I won't or don't use many things I'm given. Smellies, scented candles, and perfume are an absolute no no for me but I have a handful of friends who love them, so I gift swap between them and give them what I know they'll love and what I really won't use. That means I don't spend on gifts with the exception of a dear friend who loves a piece of original art and my mother who adores Manuka Honey and absolutely needs it in her diet. Throughout the year I've had some amazing off peak / clearance deals for high strength MH with 65-80% off 500mg and 1kg jars with additional cashback and which have also come with extra MH free gifts like large bags of throat or general pastilles.

It's another very errie day & evening/night here again today. Not a sound anywhere, no bird song, hooting owls or general noice pollution from a distance - total silence

It's certainly been freezing here for the past 4 days with freezing fog early in the morning but I can sense the snow is arriving soon through the levels of body pain I'm experiencing. Today was the last of the garden jobs for the year which was covering / protecting plants against frost & snow that need it - 10 minutes and done

As for today, I managed to get the basic house chores done, post a few parcels, list the last of my items to sell, have a 2 hour nap, make some dinner and now, if I have any energy left, I'm hoping to do a little creative art.

I hope everyone has a great evening. God bless and ta-ta for now xxxx

ancientmum

Well it's Sunday again and I've caught up with the thread, it's been lovely reading about peoples' Christmas plans.  I haven't seen many Christmas trees here but the lights are up in town, yet to be lit.  Our local council is one that is severely cash strapped so I'm not sure if this is a good use of funds, but not all the decorations are illuminated, a fair few are just sparkly and it does help local businesses if people come into town to see them, then visit the shops and cafes.

Prudent, I think there are a lot of allotmenteers who are also MSE-ers.  I've spent some time there this week expanding the compost heaps, a job which needs finishing today.  I'm also planning on some dead hedging around the plot using the prunings from fruit bushes when I get round to that.  The forecast for today is good, but downhill from Monday.  

I had a walk in the sunshine on Wednesday with a group I go with on a regular basis and people were commenting on how many trees were still in leaf,  I remember when we had frost and fog in October and by now we were all wrapped in gloves, hats and scarves.  But there were enough dried leaves on the ground to scrunch through when we were in the woodland part of the walk so that was nice.

Mags x

Frugaldom

@Dizzycap I love your RM update

I'm trying not to even think about Christmas yet as it really is just another day to those who look after animals. If I can fit in a proper meal then that's a bonus but visiting anyone is pretty much out of the question when family members are spread out all over the country. A day off is something I can only dream of nowadays. In saying that, the gate is open for anyone who wants to visit and/or stay awhile.

I feel I need to be much more accountable next year. I've not let my frugal ways slip - far from it - but I have allowed my record keeping to fall by the wayside. Last week, I raked out some old challenge materials so I plan on returning to setting myself mini challenges within my main budget challenge. Life has become unchallenging and feels more like a repetitive one way track so I need to find my frugal focus for 2025.

Frugaldom

Katiehound said:..

Can I ask please where the videos are of the badgers / wildlife?

If you mean my videos, there are a few on my Frugaldom Facebook page and on the Frugaldom YouTube channel.

fionaandphil

I love your  videos always something to amuse me there. I think for a lot of people it has been a trudge this year, both financially and with the horrid weather. I'm thankful we have kept our head above water and hope we've managed to help others where we can.

We did Christmas lights switch on in town today, mostly to try and support local businesses. Lots there for the light switch on but footfall in shops seemed low. Some of the prices at the Christmas market were eye watering!

2025 looks like it may be challenging again but we've all learned so much these last few years and hopefully can use those lessons. A simpler life seems to be the solution for us. Need to start planning soon!

Frugaldom

I was just having a quick read on the MSE news and spotted that Asda deal of £1 meals for over 60's is running until the end of the year. Soup, a roll and a cuppa for £1 is amazing! Supermarkets may be the scurge if the local shops but when finances are tight, it sounds fabulous to be able to get out for lunch with friends so I'd definitely take up this offer if it was available to me. Sadly, we have neither Asda nor an Asda with a cafe anywhere near us -not even close enough for a day out. 

Olio food rescues over the weekend included a cauliflower so I chopped up some florets and had those dipped in frugal Marie Rose sauce for lunch today. Dollop of tomato ketchup, dollop of salad cream, dash of lemon juice or vinegar and a sprinkle of paprika makes the sauce. I used same sauce mix for tuna salad, egg salad and prawn cocktail.

I've had not a single enquiry for my items listed on our local FB pages. I think our area is just too sparse and too spread out for it to be worth anyone's time travelling for secondhand goods. Perhaps we could host a fundraising rummage sale in spring... Not sure anyone would travel for that, either, though. My tick list for my ideal retirement home is growing by the week. Must be rural but within easy walk of a main bus route, a shop, bargain opportunities and within bus  travel distance of an Asda with a cafe. 😂

ET22

@Dizzycap I also think its a great example to set to people so they are brave enough to put the bank card away too. I made it public on facebook i do not buy my adult kids presents and my young grandchildren get a pantomime ticket and a party bag on boxing day. It feels like people are too frightened not to spend as much as they can incase there is a slight chance xmas will be a disappointment. It really is like a retail prison with the door wide open. I think most people wouldnt buy all the tat but are frightened of being judged x   

I think i might keep a running total of how much xmas will cost this year x