2025 Frugal Living Challenge

mandy47

Awful non frugal start to the year.
A close friend was ill and had to go to hospital.  She was kept in for tests. Car park charges were horrendous but there was no choice. Then the bombshell, cancer 6 to 9 months. Visiting meant meal planning went out the window and we did have a couple of chippy teas. 
Sadly my friend deteriorated very quickly and we lost her 8 days after diagnosis.
At the same time we've been rushing to decorate, carpet and furnish our spare bedroom. BiL has had a rough ride recently.  Marriage collapsed and his mental health suffered badly. After a couple of weeks in hospital he is now living with us.
Running costs of house have risen due to extra body to feed and energy usage.
I would normally have spent time frugally seeking out everything for the spare room but there wasn't any option. 
I did manage to paint some old furniture and replace knobs  and got 20% off a mattress but that was the only damage limitation on spending. 
We really need to knuckle down now and get back on track. Today is the first day in 6 weeks that I've even felt calm and relaxed. 
Meal planning done for this week and shopping lists made. Using a couple of vouchers and reward points will help.

DawnW

Sorry for your loss @mandy47

Kerry_Woman

Very sorry to hear you news mandy47.

Quantaqa

Sorry for you loss @mandy47. Sounds like you've had a really rough few months. It is really kind of you to take your BIL in. Totally understandable that you've not been focussed on frugal living. Take care of yourself and take time to relax and grieve. Q

Gem-gem

@mandy47, Very sorry to hear you news. As Quantaqa said take care of yourself and don't beat yourself up for not focussing on frugal living. 

Prudent

@mandy47 I am sorry for your loss and what your BiL is going through. You need time and space just now to process everything. I often think frugal living is about being resilient and prepared for these times when life throws everything at you. You have the resources in place to cope better. It is okay to use that squirreled away money for parking charges and chippy teas to help you get through. You have the skills there and you are now getting back on your feet again.

Duchess2

@mandy47 you’ve certainly had a tough time. Give yourself a break. We all get times like this in life where frugality has to take a back seat. You will get to a point where you can embrace it fully again. Until then take care of yourself and your family and don’t stress too much.

Nelliegrace

I used some small stored apples for a tasty pudding with mincemeat. It would have been baked apples, but they split when I cored them, so I heaped the in a baking dish. 

sheilavw

so sorry for your loss Mandy47

mandy47

Thank you all for your kind words.
There's definitely a lot of good, kind understanding people on this forum. Xxx