2026 Frugal Living Challenge

PipneyJane

@Arrietty, @suzeesu2000, @Nelliegrace our May power bill wasn’t that bad, £118.99, but we’re still recovering from the winter. Since we moved supplier at the start of winter, we didn’t have a surplus built up. I expect June, July and August to be sub £100 and I hope to be able to reduce the direct debit by £10-£20 come October. (NB I quoted the direct debit amounts in my last post, not the bills. We had £319 refunded to us, when we left OVO.)

We’re in a 1930’s semi, built with solid brick external walls, not cavity walls, so no possibility of cavity wall insulation here. (The loft is insulated.). Heating is on a thermostatic timer, so it comes on at set times IF the internal temperature is below 20C peak times or 10C during off-peak times.

Thanks to MSE’s new tool, I’ve just replaced our annual travel insurance for nearly £400 less than the price quoted on our renewal documents. World-wide travel excluding the USA for £390, for two adults, one of which (me) is only 2 years post treatment for lymphoma.

• Pip

startin_again

I’m currently on leave and I’ve had a very productive day.

I picked up around 20 onions from Oilio and shared them with my family. We’ve peeled and chopped them all, and stored them in the freezer to use at a later date. I love having chopped onions on hand to throw into dishes. 

I cut the grass and planted a few plants in the ground that had previously been in pots but weren’t thriving. 

I’ve been eating out of the freezer all week to compensate for all the spending I did last week on the family celebrations. I also didn’t buy any meat for the week ahead as I still have plenty in the freezer. 

I sold some wooden panelling on Marketplace, which brought in a few extra pounds. I also have a few other items I’m planning to sell at auction.

My monthly food budget isn’t looking too healthy. I’m clearly spending more than I realised. So, any money I make from selling things will go towards topping it up. I shall tweak the budget for July. 

I’m also earning a few extra pennies from my new Chase current account, which is great—every little helps.

Tomorrow I’m going to make a vegetable bake to using some of my free onions and my 33p pasta I bought last week.

Hope everyone is well!

ET22

Got out on the bus and picked up the book I wanted from the library ( avoided spending on Amazon to buy a copy). Picked up other books too so I will have things to do in the evenings.

Definitely need a new frying pan though so will keep an eye out for one that has been marked down in price.

I go shopping on Tuesdays so tomorrow I’m going to stock up for the week after meeting up with the walking group in the local park for an hour walk which I do on Tuesday’s every week and I really like it.

im not sure how much my shopping will cost for the week but I don’t need to buy toilet roll or shower gel or soap powder as bought it all cheap in bulk. Did think about how many microfibre cloths I buy and then just throw in the bin instead of washing them. I’m not going to buy any new ones. Grocery wise I’m pretty good. I only buy unprocessed food and it’s quite easy to stick to a budget because I always buy the same stuff.

Nelliegrace

I have downloaded some library audiobooks and reserved some others for free through Borrowbox. I don’t have to worry about fines as they delete in 20 days unless I return or renew them.

Arrietty

@startin_again

Thank you for sharing that info about onions … I had no idea they could be chopped and frozen! Can't believe I've got to this age without knowing that but here we are and now I have a new game to play - I'm not a particularly great cook but I do love prepping and chopping 😂 and those tears will be real when I try this!

startin_again

@Arrietty some people don’t recommend it because the onions can omit a smell into the freezer. However, I’ve never had any issues.

WickedLady4

I started chopping and freezing onions during Covid and now it's so handy to have a bag of them in the freezer. I do the same with leeks and a few parsnips.

Prudent

A good tip about the onions as we sometimes get several packs at a time in the Lidl veg boxes. I will need to find a few more ways to save on the food bill as my local community shop closes this month and it has saved me quite a lot of money since opening in 2020. Although recently it has been more expensive than Farmfoods.

It has made me think about the impact of community cuts. There has been an onslaught of cuts in my area since covid. The swimming pool and leisure centre closed. This was a huge loss to me as I paid £20 a month for unlimited swimming and aqua aerobics. The nearest alternative is two bus journeys away and £8 for one swim. I spent a lot of time at a wonderful community art centre where the workshops, use of the studio and resources were all free and it was open every weekday. Now it is £200 a year, limited opening and mainly bring your own resources. I also did a range of activities a couple of times a week through my local carers centre (I am an unpaid carer for a relative) and it is currently being merged with another service and will offer much less. There is now only one library in the whole county. I am lucky in that I have a good network of friends and other options, but I know for some people this will lead to greater social isolation as they cannot afford paid activities. I suspect there is a hidden cost in people's health and well being. I know I lost fitness when I couldn't use the pool as this was a way of exercising that supported my joints. I am not sure how much this reflects my local area or other people experiencing similar situations?

Sallyp2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82037388#Comment_82037388

have you got a rotary club in your area?

the local one here has kept a few things running, not everything. Have you contacted your mp & town council

weenancyinAmerica

Prudent - that is really sad, especially about the swimming and the libraries. I do know our local libraries have really cut back on book purchases, but our Friends group is really trying. I was upset with the city for the costs of the summer programs for young people. They have really priced over half of the town out of them. Even though my father was a teacher and held another part-time job, my parents would never have been able to afford to have us attend any of the activities if they had cost so much money. I don't know what families are doing these days.