2026 Frugal Living Challenge

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81933816#Comment_81933816

Thanks, that's very useful info.

The name came about because I happened to remember making cherry fudge for my Mum a long time ago, and her saying she enjoyed it, a proud moment for me though nowadays I would probably find it too sweet!

I wish I could still get fresh yeast. You used to be able to get it free from the supermarket but that was stopped some years ago.

Frugaldom

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81933189#Comment_81933189

What a superb question! When I first began on the extreme budgeting in 1980's, my primary aim was to become solvent. (Yes, it was that bad.) Next was to pursue debt freedom from the early 2000's. After that, it was to buy a house without a mortgage. Extreme frugality has been my life for so long and I can't see anything changing unless a) I had a big win on premium bonds, b) I had a massive windfall or c) wait another 5 years until State Pension kicks in and then I'll hopefully be able to let my guard down as that will provide me withmore income than ever before earned. 😆 In the 90s, I wished I could have enough money to keep a full fruit bowl as part of the grocery shopping and enough leftover to have a spare change jar. That plus debt freedom and a bit of land. (Frugaldom). Now to cut to the chase - I reckon I could happily cast my extreme frugality aside to do all I want to do with an annual personal income of at least £24k. My current aim or wish is to reach the maximum £50,000 in Premium Bonds to use as my emergency & funeral fund, but that target is still a very long way off for me. I've no ISAs or private pensions etc so that little opportunity to just blow any PB winnings on wants rather than needs could be nice, even if I just want to donate it.😆

@MrsCD Asda has the 28p spaghetti listed online so I added 10 packs onto my next order, due tonight.

Frugaldom

Using up buttery spread... I have tubs of Cl0ver in the freezer, rescued from Olio. I don't use much once defrosted and in daily use so I'm experimenting by boiling a cup of this with a cup of sugar to make some sort of toffee.

I'll let you know if and how it turns out but it has to be cheaper that the shop for sweets.

Edited in - only took 10 minutes to gently boil this up and then I poured it into a reusable tin pie dish. It cooled in no time, like the toffee you'd dip a candy apple into so now I have something to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I wouldn't grease the tray next time as there's enough oil melts out of the 'buttery spread but I poured it off into a little jar to use for something else.

PS - I boiled it on a gas camping stove

kimwp

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936975#Comment_81936975

You've come a long way @Frugaldom, thank you for sharing your story. 24k does seem like a good sum to not live extravagantly but also not be counting the pennies and holding back on treats or pleasures.

PS, that toffee looks yummy!

Frugaldom

@kimwp That's pretty much the minimum wage nowadays, but I'm not sure how much of that would be lost to tax and insurance. National minimum wage (or living wage) will be £25,000 soon and if I had that coming in for my own use, even after deductions, I'd be feeling pretty well off. I'm not sure if I should be proud of that fact or embarrassed by it, as I've never earned that amount, ever. 😆

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81933189#Comment_81933189

Hmm…. Damn good question @kimwp . The thing is: I’ve been living this way for so long that I reckon I’d continue even if I was a multi-millionaire. DH and I earn reasonable salaries, although both of us haven’t had a real pay rise in at least 10 years. If I hadn’t been made redundant 10 years ago and had continued at my old job, I reckon I’d be on £15k-£20k more than I am now, just from cost-of-living raises. Instead, my current salary is only £3k more than I was on in 2016, because wages in my field haven’t moved.

Do I feel more broke? Not really, but frugality has a lot to do with that. Having all those little saving pots, where money is quarantined away towards multiple different goals/budget items, has actually given me a degree of financial freedom over my spending. For example, I know I can afford to pay for a haircut on Saturday, despite it being 4 days before payday, because my “Haircuts” savings account has accumulated a buffer equivalent to double the standard cost. (My hairdresser charges £27; I put away £30/month and get my hair cut every 6 weeks. There’s currently £90 in the account.)

How much income do we need to live comfortably? If we didn’t have the mortgage, then we’d be able to live like frugal kings on a post tax income of £2,000/month. (Household expenses including cars £1,000/month, Groceries/garden/booze fund £300. Contingency/holidays £200. Money to live off £250/each.)

HTH

• Pip

Frugaldom

@PipneyJane and @kimwp Isn't it interesting that the £2k a month (£24k pa) figures have presented themselves in similar fashion? The cost of housing / accommodation is definitely a determining factor, as is our attitudes towards spending. To make it a more peaceful and perfect world, everyone needs a safe, comfortable place to lay their head at night, safe water, adequate clothing & footwear, an energy supply, nourishing food, communication with others and the opportunity to learn. A number placed on income (in whatever currency) for those absolute basics is near impossible owing to the gross differences from county to county (or state to state) in housing costs, which is something I can't get my head around. I'm a rural Scot, I can't comprehend a 6 figure sum for a tiny apartment somewhere more urban or metropolitan. I am in favour of creating a basic universal income, which then gives everyone the choice to improve on that or be happy living within those means. When I began this challenge, I was volunteering my help in preventing personal bankruptcies, learned from personal experience. We would sit down together and write out budgets, factoring in every penny. The internet was still in it's infancy for general household use and platforms like this simply didn't exist until well into the 1990's. Mobile phones weren't around for the likes of us, either, we had extortionate landlines then had pence per minute dial-up internet. Isn't it crazy how the latter has changed so dramatically, to the point that these things are now seen as daily essentials?

Oops! I've gone off at a tangent. The gist of it was that even back then, the same figures arose for what the average (withing my circle) disposable income was and at that time, it was £4000 per annum excluding housing costs.

Frugaldom

I'm back... I ran the numbers through an inflation calculator and it showed that my £4,000 in 2007, when I first brought my challenge onto the MSE forums, is now equivalent to £6,845.15.

I will use this figure to compare my end of year spends and will also compare my original budget amounts for each if the category spends. Interesting.

Prudent

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81933662#Comment_81933662

Craft spending can definitely be a downfall. I watch Youtube craft videos and came across the phrase 'shop your stash' which I have now turned into an enjoyable game. I now only buy in two ways. I buy small items that I need to complete a project if I already have at least 90% of the items I need for that project. Occasionally I will bulk buy top ups from Vinted or eBay if I see I really good deal. At the moment I need good quality sewing machine threads. I managed to bulk buy some dark colours and they worked out at about 15% of the original price. I am now on the hunt for some lighter colours.

Our local community shop is still open, but the deals are poor now. I often find better value between Lidl veggie boxes, yellow stickers and Farmfoods.

Prudent

I am behind with the thread, so this has probably already been mentioned. 1kg of red lentils are £1.29 in Farmfoods.