2018 Frugal Living Challenge

System · 10 March 2018 at 8:35AM

lynnejk wrote: »

Still progressing well.

Eating from food and freezer stocks over the last few weeks has certainly made a difference. One freezer now only about a quarter full and the shelves of stock in the pantry cupboard are reduced by a whole shelf :j

Have only bought grocery twice this month (one day was just cereal and milk for DH as run out) - so seven NSDs

We are off on a week's holibobs to Valencia tomorrow - bought and paid for before DH was made redundant. We meet up with my DS, who lives and works in Ibiza permanently, before he opens his bar again for the season starting for the Easter vacations. We run a separate budget for this so monies already saved.

Hope you all have a great, frugal week and I'll 'see' you all on my return

Hasta luego
Lx

Have a great time:wave:

PennyGrabber · 10 March 2018 at 9:37PM

Hi all,

I had a spend yest and today. Not very much though. Yest was a few bits in a sm - after a really bad week I fancied bread and cheese for dinner. Then today I took the children to the r@nge so they could buy me some Mother's Day gifts. I of course ended up buying some bits - Jiffy bags to post items sold on fleabay, a yoghurt mix and a couple of other cheap bits. Not tempted to buy stuff I didn't need - eg I saw a travel mug, looked great, lush colour, metal on the inside, but I told myself I didn't need to buy it as I already have one that does the job, albeit not as pretty as the one I saw today. £7 saved, along with a bit of clutter!

Not much more decluttering done today, because it was my friend's memorial service - sad times.

PG x

Tanya12345 · 11 March 2018 at 10:22PM

Well done all,
PennyG yup time passes so fast despite all our plans - hugs X
Bad spends on the personal front, thank goodness for eek fund !!, but groceries doing well ! Unearthed Amazon vouchers so will try and stock up from their pantry, toilet rolls etc. Just got to keep juggling and squeezing every last penny from my purse ( reckon it's so thin it could double as 1 layer of skin !!) x

patentgirl · 12 March 2018 at 9:47AM

Kerreh wrote: »

How has it been over a month since a post? Still lurking just that the time seems to have run away with me... summary for Feb:

February plans at the end of January were:
Meal plan for all of February

Stick to budget

Cut the grass! Silly eh... it's already starting to grow so I just need one good weekend day to get that done

Read more books and possibly pick up my cross stitch again

So February Successes:
I meal planned

I've so far taken a packed lunch to work every working day of the year

I stuck to budget! I stuck to budget so much so that the day the snow hit was food shop day which resulted in three days stuck in the house with nothing but bread and two eggs. Repetitive but necessary as I was determined to hold out and get back into a supermarket for a proper (aka following the list) shop which I did on Monday.

March Plans:
Meal Plan

Stick to budget

Completely clear the credit card

Pay for a new dining table chair (budgeted)

Cut the grass (snow permitting)

Lose a bit more weight (1.5 stone down from Jan 2nd so far)

Well done on weight loss

indigowarrior · 12 March 2018 at 5:34PM

Sorry havent updated in a while.
Have set up a scorched earth budget (Just 4 walls. Food, transport and rent) as my friend who I live with now wants his house back which is fair enough. (I am a lodger and have limited rights) so I am saving every spare penny I can.

DawnW · 12 March 2018 at 6:29PM

indigowarrior wrote: »

Sorry havent updated in a while.
Have set up a scorched earth budget (Just 4 walls. Food, transport and rent) as my friend who I live with now wants his house back which is fair enough. (I am a lodger and have limited rights) so I am saving every spare penny I can.

Is it not worth your trying to get social housing Indigo? Has your local council got a Housing Options team? It may be called something else, but it is worth having a chat with them, especially as I think I saw on another thread that you are entitled to disability benefits? It is really difficult to get social housing round here, but apparently there is low demand for some types / categories of tenant. My brother recently got a 1 bed flat reserved for the over 55 age group after only a short wait due to this situation.

indigowarrior · 12 March 2018 at 7:39PM

Yes its my plan but, they wont help until I am on the streets. I have already contacted the council and the person I spoke to said I have to turn up to the office and present myself as homeless. I am trying to avoid that if I can. However, not having much luck at the moment.

Yes I have been awarded Enhance Daily Living and Standard Mobility.

I have applied to the social housing register but, unlikely to get high priority at the moment.

System · 12 March 2018 at 7:56PM

indigowarrior wrote: »

Yes its my plan but, they wont help until I am on the streets. I have already contacted the council and the person I spoke to said I have to turn up to the office and present myself as homeless. I am trying to avoid that if I can. However, not having much luck at the moment.

Yes I have been awarded Enhance Daily Living and Standard Mobility.

I have applied to the social housing register but, unlikely to get high priority at the moment.

What is the matter with our society? They need to be helping you before you become homeless. Surely if you can prove you are going to be made homeless, that should be sufficient..... This country never ceases to amaze me. Hope you manage to sort something out.

Moll · 12 March 2018 at 9:56PM

sorry I haven't been posting much , but I have read every post , and hats off to everyone , especially the ones in bad situations ( Hugs to you all ) you've all just got on with it , and done the best you can ,
Ive not done so well on the savings front , purely because we had run out of so much stuff, so had to replenish , but only spent the minimum , no extras , stuck rigidly to my list , still using store cupboard and freezer stuff, and doing well with the meal planning , Had a few birthdays this month , kept everything as low as possible , and April is also a big birthday month , so already planning for that , Last week I had a measly £1.43 to put in the savings pot , but instead of beating myself up , I had a good talk to myself and agreed I HAD to buy essentials , and at least I had "Something " to put in , . This week im doing better , Need to sort more things to go on the bidding site, Ive GOT to buy stamps this week . ( Think I told you my hobby is penpalling ) keeps me sane to have a nice letter come through my letterbox instead of bills , but its rough when I have to buy stamps , postage is soooooo high , I have a birthday at the end of the month , so when im asked what I want ,,ill say stamps lol , my lot are used to my strange requests, Does anyone else feel like they are doing all the economy work in the household , Ive always been frugal , but DH will see something and just go out and buy it without any thought , sometimes on ebay , so doesn't even have to go out and shop . !! , Makes me so mad , ok im off my soapbox , thanks for letting me vent xxx

foggy_froggy · 12 March 2018 at 10:37PM

Haven't been doing very well with budgeting, finished last month way over and am already slightly over this month and there is still a lot of month left. But, instead of just burying my head in the sand like I used to do, I have collected all my receipts together and looked at what I have been buying and on what day. I've come to the conclusion that I need to be more organised and make some snacky foods at weekends that are ready to either eat the minute I get through the door or take max 20mins to heat up in oven. Now just need to think of a few healthy snacks and how to store them in my tiny kitchen. Have also managed to leave purse at home on few occasions which is helping with the no spending, now just need blinkers when doing food shopping. I write a list and add to it over couple of days, then go shopping after work when tired, hungry etc and buy loads of rubbish

2018 Frugal Living Challenge

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