2026 Frugal Living Challenge

mumtoomany

Hello and welcome, @Thorny123. Sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope you are both improving a little. You are definitely on the right thread here. Everyone is very friendly, as I'm sure Frugaldom will agree. Lots of great ideas to save money. Have you checked if you are able to claim any benefits to supplement OHs pension? Try looking on "entitled to". Just put in your details and find out. Every little helps. 

Any questions just shout, everyone has lots of ideas, hugs, mumtoomany.xx 

Thorny123

Thanks @mumtoomany.......we'll have a look into this.

I am going to review our budget tomorrow and try and think about ways to reduce our outgoings and if there are ways to increase our income.

Cheers,
T123 

Frugaldom

Good evening and welcome to our newcomers. The conversations are still continuing in the 2025 thread as it's not quite over yet so for anyone who missed it, I'm relaunching a very old challenge called the interest beater. If you would like to learn more about it, take a look at this thread, you'll possibly be shocked at how much has changed since then.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/844891/home-based-enterprises-interest-beater-challenge/p1 

We are almost at the start of our new challenge but I'm ending my old one before starting here only another 24 hours or so to go. Good luck to everyone in the new year and I hope tomorrow ends your 2025 challenges successfully.

Kerry_Woman

Have set budget for 2026 - general and food. General spends I have lowered the amount from this year.  As usual January is an expensive month, which includes paying the property maintenance service charge for the year. I have booked a musical and ballet so far for 2026.  Also 2 holidays, 5 day one and 3 day one. Both coaches holidays.  Have a list of places to visit in London.  Will try and save where necessary.

Frugaldom

I'm incorporating my interest beater challenge into my frugal living challenge. Overall, I have a budget of £6,500 for everything so that's my number. The best interest rate I can find for 12 months is currently 4.5% so it means if I'd had all of that in a savings account for the year instead of spending it, I'd earn £292.50 in interest.

My mini moneymaking challenge is to earn more than £292.50 over the space of a year. That's not sounding like much but it has to be new money, not from current income sources.

Kerry_Woman

Happy New Year to everyone 

Gem-gem

Happy New Year to everyone. 

@Frugaldom, I will join the mini money making challenge. As I am self funding my early retirement any money I can earn is a bonus and will mean that I keep more of my money in savings. My target will be £500. (Half what you can earn extra before paying tax  

Won't include interest on savings. 

Will include money earned from boot fairs, making/selling craft items, ironing, road kill plus any other ways that I learn from reading the last challenge. 

Have finished a couple of projects off the past few days: A bee bag, two pouches and a stocking for my Mum. These will all be used as Birthday/ Christmas gifts. 

TizerCat

Sign me up! Frugality = sustainable living for me x 

Rowan9

Happy New Year everyone. Looking forward to joining you all for a fab and frugal 2026. 

Thanks again for the challenge @Frugaldom. I’ve followed your challenges over the years and now taking part although not with a set budget. If that makes sense. 

AmyinIraq

Hi all, joining for the first time. Last year I set what I thought was a reasonable budget and ended up going over budget in a lot of categories which was depressing.  I'm hoping joining this will help with motivation and ideas, although I have also adjusted the budget as some things have just got a lot more expensive. 
Looking forward to following along!