2026 Frugal Living Challenge

joedenise

I had a flower on my rhubarb for the first time a few weeks ago. I wasn't even sure if it was a flower to start with but googled it to check as wasn't sure whether to cut it off or leave it. It was obvious really just cut the thing off so it didn't take any of the energy needed for the stems themselves!

Finstickle

Morning all,

Yesterday was one of those days where careful planning goes to pot!

An emergency plumber (feel ripped off at £285) to tell me it's not in the house I need to contact water board.

Water tell me it's not them there must be a burst pipe between their responsibility and mine and my neighbours house as neither of us have any water. And so now myself and at least one/possibly 2 neighbours have to foot the bill for finding the issue on our joint supply that is causing 2 houses to have no water at all.

Whilst outside talking about this I also left both the front and back doors open causing a door with a glass pane to slam shut - breaking the glass pane.

this just after the MOT on a car I am selling cost my £400 reducing what I'll get as cleared funds for it.

So, currently unknown, likely large bill on the horizon which has made me feel very stressed to the point of sitting at my desk since 6.30 detailing every expected penny of spend over the next 3 months to cover an unknown value.

I had received a quote last week to plaster my hallway and landing and in anticipation of getting this done had started stripping all of the wall paper - which is very frustrating as this will now likely have to go on the backburner and instead of having a house that is clean and tidy I will have bare walls in need of plaster until I can resave the money to pay the plasterer - again very dependent on an unknown value.

The state of the walls will 100% impact on my Mental Health and push me to save the money for the plasterer quicker than necessary which is really frustrating as I could have happily lived with the woodchip wallpaper untouched for longer but thought I was in a good enough position to move onto the next house job.

Overall, feeling very stressed this morning😬

AmyinIraq

My rhubarb has flowered too, and so has my Dad’s, I wonder what’s going on this year???

I’m following along with the Olio chat, I also live rurally and the nearest collection point is 15 minutes away which is probably not worth it and since I’ve not done it before I don’t feel confident about how much I can request, or the chances of getting enough to make it worth my while.
i’ll probably just stick to 2 good 2 go, since I can plan collections when I will be in town anyway.

This month I am shopping my cupboards and only allowing myself to buy fresh veg and fruit, and milk. I know it’s only the 12th of April but I’m enjoying it so far and feeling quite pleased with myself 😆

tiddles

Sorry to hear this, Finstickle. Hopefully your expenses will not be as high as you are anticipating.

PipneyJane

I hear your frustrations @fluffycatling. Nothing to add re Olio, just hope things improve for you. The only thing we can do is persist in trying to live up to our principles as much as possible, and that way, we honour ourselves.

My principles are don’t waste (reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle), and be kind. I’m frugal because I want to live the best quality life possible while living within my means, setting aside a cushion for the future and minimising my impact on the planet. Living like this requires thoughtfulness and planning.

Yesterday, I honoured the goose we ate at Easter by stripping the last of the meat off its carcass, freezing that for later, and made stock with the carcass in the slow cooker. Nothing has been wasted. The goose had already made 3 meals and I harvested enough meat to make a 4th (280g). 2L of stock is now in the freezer. The 1L of fat that rendered off it while roasting has been purified and frozen in soup pots for use later, usually at the rate of 1 tablespoon at a time. (We’re currently using the final tub of fat harvested off 2024’s Christmas goose.)

The only new car I ever bought was chosen because it had the highest fuel economy of any vehicle available In the UK and there weren’t any available secondhand. (A diesel SEAT Arosa, purchased in 2000, aka the cheap VW Lupo. Same car, different badge. It averaged 64mpg. Sadly not ULEZ compliant). It’s ironic that, with a fuel economy of 52mpg, my current car is the least fuel efficient vehicle I’ve ever owned.

All car journeys are planned, so that we travel in the most fuel efficient manner possible. Hence DH filling up our cars at C0stc0 on his way home from work, because a) it’s the cheapest petrol station around, and b) to get there is only a one mile diversion from his usual route. No point driving 10 miles out of the way to save 50p when it’ll cost an additional litre of petrol at £1.56/L.

We garden organically because it’s the best for the environment and it’s cheap. Everything possible gets composted. Our rewards are homegrown berries and the most delicious tomatoes we’ll ever eat.

• Pip (I could go on and on….)

weenancyinAmerica

@Finstickle - Hi, have you considered using material or sheets like it was a wallpaper to put up on the walls? You might be able to pin it up or use double-sided tape and cover large sections at a time. I had friends who did this when they lived in an apartment and couldn't paint the walls. It would be easy to take down when you were ready to replaster.

Bean_humane

Hello everyone

I'm a bit late to join your challenge, but, I would like to try if that's ok?

fionaandphil

Welcome @bean_humane welcome to the thread 😀 never too late to start

RavenRover

@fluffycatling I'm so sorry you are having a bad Olio experience. Im a FWH and you obviously don't live near me, otherwise you would be complaining about having too much!!!😆

IIf I were you I would definitely downgrade your star rating to the FWH . Yes we are welcoming people to our homes and are rightly protective of the space, but no need to be a tube about it.

Yes I have had some "cheeky" comments which will get a sarcastic answer and I am due to report one person for bad behaviour - looking through other peoples stuff that is left in storage box, she hasn't realised I have a video doorbell- but where possible people get what they ask for as I don't worry too much about Olios limits as I can have 9 banana boxes of food to deal with. I'm just happy that folks want some.

I seem to have had a downturn of people making requests, which means my local young farmer who gets the leftovers will have chickens that are very well fed. They are big birds!!

I hope your experience with Olio improves because it is such a lifesaver.

Frugaldom

Good morning to all from chilly Frugaldom.

@Finstickle I'm sorry to read of all your financial upsets and hope you can plough your way through them. Frugal living to the extreme is kind of becoming the norm for many of us and it's absolutely 'cr**' if you have to empty any emergency fund, if there happens to be one. I'd see the walls as the least of the worries for now and if they get too depressing to look at, there's always something around to hang and cover the unsightly parts. I have, in the past, mixed all shades of emulsion into one big pot and painted over crumbling walls. Someone told me to add some PVA glue for some reason but I've forgotten what that was. So... Let's look at the positives. Your car may sell quickly and release you some funds, the walls are partially stripped in preparation for plastering so I would continue stripping them then have a whip round for free emulsion mixed to a shared that's aesthetically acceptable (though not necessarily pleasing) and the water problem is bad but could be worse if it has only affected your property. Hopefully you have nice neighbours who communicate. You'll get through this and we are all here for you to vent your financial frustrations to whenever needs arise. Don't forget to breath. 😊