Living frugally in 2025......

Justcrackingonwithit

Long time lurker, first time poster!  I'll keep my first post brief just in case it all goes awry and doesn't post - I'm such a technophobe, hence me lurking and never posting!

A bit about me: I find myself in my 50's, living alone for the first time in my life.  Buying a house, doing a mini renovation, paying the bills and having all the headaches, heartaches and happiness that comes with it.

In order to buy my dream home I stretched my budget as far as I could, but now find myself as well as living on my own for the first time, being in debt for the first time too...... 

A bit about the money stuff: I have a loan and 2 credit cards on % balances which end in 15 months time.  The plan is to throw every spare penny I have to the debt to clear it as soon as I can.  I already live pretty frugally, but having this debt has really focussed my mind. 

This diary is to help me stay accountable and to pay the debt off as quickly as I can, and hopefully make some virtual friends along the way and we can keep each other on track. 

Right, best get up and get ready for work.  I've been very frugal with my heating, and it's very chilly this morning, leaving my nice warm bed is going to be tricky....Have a good day everyone

Prodigal50

Hi there! 

All the very best with your journey to being debt free!

We have quite similar timelines as we are hopeful that we can get the credit cards paid off by mid 2026. 

Got to get ready for work but wishing you all the best!

Cherryfudge

Hello and welcome! Well done for tackling the tech (it gets easier) and the money issues (they can be done too). I look forward to hearing more... 

Justcrackingonwithit

Hi @Cherryfudge and @Prodigal50 and thank you for your warm welcome. 
I feel very motivated at the moment to tackle my debt and the tech side of it.  
I need to work out how to do a signature with my debt balance in as I think that would help spur me on too!

So, busy day at work today, didn't have time to have a lunch break which I know I should, and only managed to eat a handful of chocolates that were circulating in the office.....I'm pretty good at taking my own lunch to work, and never go to the canteen or buy a sandwich, the price of them just goes through me and I just couldn't justify it.  I work with someone who buys a sandwich, crisps and a drink every day!  She moans all the time about how much it costs too!

I had to nip to the supermarket to pick up supplies for the office, and felt very proud as I just bought work food and nothing for myself.  I have to confess I have a terrible supermarket habit and will happily pop in for a few bits and spend more than anticipated.

One of my goals is to meal prep properly and not just buy random things that I fancy and then don't have anything to put with it. 

My other goal is to reduce the amount of wine that I drink, I usually buy a bottle of wine or two a week, which can come in at £15/20 which I am going to put towards my debt.  And it will be better for my waistline too....

The other thing I really need to do is to limit my spending in charity shops, but that needs a post all on its own! 

So, talking about debt, here are the figures.....

Barclay Card £1847.64 on 0%
Lloyds Mastercard £3706.00 on 0%
Lloyds Loan £7218.00

I currently don't have an emergency fund which I know I also need to focus on.  My plan is to pay off the cards first before the 0% ends, and then if I can pay a bit extra off the loan.  That runs for 3 years.
And also put £100.00 a month away for an emergency fund.

I've got a rough budget which I will share when I can and have looked at this properly.   Right, I'm home from work, all wrapped up in my layers, determined not to put the heating on tonight.  Will have something from stores for tea and have another look at my budget.  Have a lovely evening

Blackcats

Hello and welcome!
the grocery challenge on the old style boards is a great way to focus on the food budget.  There's also lots of cost effective recipes at the start of each month's thread and plenty of inspirational people who post very helpfully about their meal plans and spending.  It has made such a difference to my food planning and spending.  Everyone is very friendly too! 

Justcrackingonwithit

Thanks @Blackcats I'll pop over and have a look.  I really enjoy cooking, but now I'm living on my own I don't have the inclination and just have something quick and easy, tonight was a bacon sandwich! My fridge is bare so a good time to start meal planning and eating properly.

MeandO

I found you, justcrackingonwithit! The dream home and mini renovation sounds exciting, I’ve been down the renovation road on my own several times and know how frustrating and expensive it can be. I’m not sure if you’re able to, but if you can do any of it yourself it saves so much money. I’ve learnt new skills and done things I never thought I could do, it just takes a little bravery and a lot of determination but is usually worth it in the end.

I am also with you on the Charity shop and supermarket spending and the lack of inclination to cook when it’s just for myself. In fact, are you me?!  I think the ‘can’t be bothered to cook’ thing has led me to put on weight though, so I do try more now and then freeze other portions for later use. It’s budget and waistline friendly then.

Good luck with your debt busting. I cleared around £50K of debt many years ago and the one huge thing that helped was to chip away at it no matter how small each payment was. Each little payment here and there eventually made a huge difference. 

I’ve subscribed and look forward to cheerleading along the way. Much love, MeandO x

Justcrackingonwithit

Ahhh thank you so much @MeandO I'll be honest my DIY skills are absolutely non existent!  I've got some old wardrobes in my new house, and as much as I'd love new ones I just can't afford them so have had the bright idea to paint them.....I've spent all evening down a rabbit hole of foam or fabric rollers, what kind of paint, how big should my brushes be!  I love a bit of research so now have my amazon wish list.  I'm a thinker about things, so it might sit there a few days.  I'm off work over Christmas and with no other plans on the horizon I'm thinking a bit of painting might keep me occupied!! I always think when I read your diary how handy you are and you can seem to turn your hand to anything, I'm very envious.  I definitely need to start, youtube will be my new best friend!

Wow, clearing 50k of debt is no mean feat, well done and you've made so many overpayments on your mortgage too. I've made myself a "round up" account on my online banking, so anytime I get an odd number in my account I move it over to the roundup account.  I've got 47.00 in there at the moment.  So when I get to 50.00 I'll transfer it over to pay some towards the CC.

I can't wait for Friday and pay day so I can start to make my first payments off my loans.  I know I need to put towards my emergency fund too, so I definitely need to do that.  I'm conscious that I can be a bit "all or nothing" and need to be careful that I leave myself a bit of wiggle room for a little treat here or there, otherwise I know I'll just feel fed up and I need to stay focussed and motivated.......

I've managed to keep the heating off all night which I'm pretty chuffed about.  I am starting to feel chilly so will fill my hot water bottle and head upstairs to bed to read for a while.  My sleep  has been terrible lately, so hopefully I'll get a good nights sleep tonight.

Honeysucklelou2

Well done on starting a diary! Look forward to reading more on your debt busting journey.

twiggy86

As someone who has started too many diaries on here after various "lightbulb moments", I would suggest prioritising the emergency fund. I hadn't done it before but I made that my number one priority this time (after finding myself also living my own for the first time) and having the cushion really made a difference to my outlook. It made me feel a sense of security which I hadn't had before.. even when technically living in a two-person household! So my advice would be to make minimum payments and throw everything else into an emergency fund until you reach £1k - of course if you change your priorities, you can throw it at the debt at a later date (although I really would recommend leaving it sitting there!) Good luck! 

Sarahwithlove

I agree i'd have an emergency fund even if its just £500 now to cover anything you might need and stop you using the cards again.