2025 Frugal Living Challenge

Gem-gem

We went down to one car when DH started to have seizures. A little while ago, he got his licence back but he has decided not to buy another car as it is only a couple of times a year that he would need to use it, as he makes full use of his freedom travel card. 

Prudent

@Arrietty I found your comment on the £9.50 hay bale quite a shock. I have learned a lot from @Frugaldom about how expensive it is to keep a horse now. 

@Frugaldom going down to one car would probably work well for you as you are so tied to one place for much of the time anyway. I have discussed this with my OH as he needs two major operations over the next couple of years and he won't be able to drive for long periods. I sometimes can't drive with my medical condition and pre covid my car sat on the drive for nearly 18 months other than OH occasionally taking it for a run. It was a silly situation and something I wouldn't let happen again. 

Arrietty

Still raining... 

@Frugaldom That's a lot of mouths to feed each week and I'm really interested that you have a track system in place. There's a Norwegian horsewoman on Insta who has a fabulous setup (with a lot of land and some fancy shared shelters too) but I hadn't realised until very recently that people in these lands have them too! I do like the idea of having different terrain for the animals to roam around but can just imagine how much work has to go in!

@ Prudent - it certainly can be!
Prior to moving to our current yard, we had HRH stabled on 7 day livery with daily turn out in a field of 3 or 4.   It was only when I was made redundant in 2021 and started looking for cheaper options that I remembered someone who had sent their horse to a retirement livery place where the horses all live out. I made a phone call, arranged a visit and instantly fell in love with how the horses live. They're mainly in 3 herds of 10 - 15   each with a summer and winter field  and they're huge so they can have a good canter about!  We moved him asap and whilst it took him a while to settle in and learn herd dynamics and socialising, he's never been happier, healthier and fitter and we saved £400 a month!

I do feel a bit sick at how much money I have spent on livery over the years (mainly through fear and ignorance of being DIY) Dread to think what it would cost now but it would definitely be out of my price range!  My current job is nicer than previous one but I earn considerably less so it's very fortunate that the yard is exactly halfway between home and work and I drive past the gate each way 

Prudent

@Arrietty your current set up sounds lovely. I think I would find it hard to drive on to work though! You can see @Frugaldom's track system on her Facebook page. Don't feel sick about what you have spent on your horse. Frugal choices in some aspects of our life are to allow our own choices for other areas of our life. I was ultra frugal when I was working as I knew I wanted to retire early as my health issues made working a strain. I can now live day to day on my small ill health pension and I have enough saved to pay for the 'big spend projects' until I retire. It has meant I have been able to do repairs and enough improvements to house to ensure that it remains in decent condition. It would also allow me to replace the car if I need to. For me, this has been worth all the frugality as I have peace of mind. I don't have good enough health to look after a horse, but being a Frugaldom pony partner is some of the best money I spend every month. I love seeing the updates on the ponies. If my health was good enough a Shetland pony would have been the icing on the cake. Hairy, muddy ponies are my first love.

Frugaldom

@Arrietty there's a place not all far from us has started offering retirement livery at £60 a week. Based on that, though, I'd never afford to keep 6. I try to budget around £1,000 per pony per year and fundraise monthly to help cover those costs. I should explain that I had been running as an animal welfare establishment but gave that licence up last year. Of the 6 remaining ponies, 2 of them were meant to have been rehomed but that fell through, hence the reason they are still here. I have what I call our Friends of Frugaldom support group, the members of which contribute a few pounds each month to help cover feed costs. The rest is covered by personal income and extra fundraising if there are any extra expenses. We own the land and operate a campervan micro site (maximum 5 vehicles) to help generate some extra income to cover things like insurance and service contracts. That was originally set up during COVID to help give folks living in their vans a safe place to park up away from lay-bys etc., especially in the wake of lockdown. Nowadays, we charge a proper overnight fee that includes wildlife watching. (Frugaldom is now a real place on the map 😁) I feel I have done almost as much as I can do here now, having also had 3 little off-grid cabins built where the Friends of Frugaldom can escape for some down time and just recharge while being surrounded by nature. All of the above was done as part of frugal living challenges and I still challenge myself to do it all on the equivalent of minimum wage. Freeing up £1,000 or so per year by getting rid of the car would be a bonus and if I bank the sales capital, I'm sure the month on month savings from running costs would be more than enough to spring for a taxi now and again if the need arose. That's the basis for my current plan.

Frugaldom

Good evening busy frugalers, it's the weekend again. 😊

Had my Morrisons delivery (£1.50) arrive early because they had several slots unallocated and almost all items were in stock apart from... Yes, you guessed it, their 200g jars of coffee. I'd ordered 2 x 200g Savers instant at total cost of £4.18 (it's gone up another 10p a jar since previous orders). What did they try to substitute it with? 2 & 95g Gold Blend costing £12! 😳 No thank you! That got rejected for a refund. Anyhow, the cupboards are all stocked, the freezer is packed full and we have everything in for both Christmas and New Year. My overall grocery spend year to date is £1,168.88 out of my £1,200 budget so there's £31.22 remaining, which will be allocated to 'miscellaneous' and probably spent in the village store on sweets and crisps for over the festive period. I did not treat us to the £11 bottle of Bailey's this year, I opted for the full litre of stores own brand at £13, plus a bottle of bucks fizz. Sadly, I've had no opportunity to make the rhubarb champagne this year.

Olio offers presented themselves again so there are a few more bits and bobs... Yes, including bananas! How shocking is it to hear reports saying UK throws away 50% of all bananas imported and then read the news of all those shipping containers falling off the ship and spilling their cargo if bananas. 

I'm now out of contract on both the house phone and my mobile but for the minute, both are looking very similar to the best option contracts, but without being tied in for 2 years.

Porridge making has resumed but without sultanas because those little suckers seem to have vanished from the savers menu. Has anyone spotted any of the 500g packs of sultanas for under £1?

kimwp

I put pretty much everything to no alternatives after (a while ago), sainbos sent me 80g fancy prunes instead of 200g own brand prunes - charging me full price for the fancy price, which was in line with their policy because the cost was less than the original price I paid. Annoying on two fronts because I needed 200g for a recipe.

Although I run my finances to align with the financial year, I've been reflecting on some of the unexpected costs I've had this year - £650 on a car driveshaft failure, £550 on a private menopause diagnosis after GP said I didn't have it, £280 when a tree started leaning on the neighbours garden room. Plus a significant amount on my cat mysteriously losing weight - blood tests and an ultrasound later, still no idea, but appetite stimulants are keeping her weight up, so fingers crossed they continue to keep her hanging around (currently purring on my lap). It's amazing how quickly money can be spent.

kimwp

.... She jumped off, so I checked my spreadsheet: £1496 - tests, fancier tests, ultrasound, vet visits, fancy food when she wasn't eating to tempt her. The vet has been great, checking on her progress with meds by phone and email so I don't have to take her in (stresses her out), so that's prevented the bill being even higher. 

moginstein

@Frugaldom I've not seen any sultanas under £1, best prices seem to be £1.15 at Asda, Aldi and Tesco.

Nelliegrace

The budget mixed dried fruit has disappeared from the shelves. The best price I found was at £3.09 for 1kg at Asda.
The savers fruit and nut mix has gone too. 

I did well on chopped dates, chopped dried apricots, and mixed dried fruit in brandy in the sales last year. 

Having looked at the very long list of UPF ingredients on the supermarket ones, I shall be making stollen for DH this year.