2019 Frugal Living Challenge

patentgirl · 28 December 2018 at 8:43AM

I am in again did qute well last year but dipped around October preparations for Christmas went slightly overboard still saving for retirement both DH and me want to retire in 2 years both will have few years(me 5 years) before able to claim state pension we will look to do something part time then but both need to get out of stressful jobs for our own health which is why we need to build up our pension reserves. Another one who likes their holidays but budgeted in beginning of year into another account.Definitely going to look for ways to continue cut back on housekeeping bills, like Treasurequeen idea of supporting local businesses for gifts etc My downfall last year was lack of posting my old ipad died so can only use my phone now to post but will try to get hang of it better as always do better when reading everyone elses journeys and updates.
Good luck everyone

Pauper1 · 28 December 2018 at 9:29AM

Hello all

would like to join please. We live with my parents but our expenditure still seems quite high! Our annual total is £11,909 - which, in theory, leaves us with £10,615 to pay off debts/save. We only moved in with my parents in Sept/Oct last year, so we definitely haven't seen this amount of money yet, but it would be awesome to do so! We have about 11k worth of debts to pay off and we also want to buy a house. I really don't want to be living with my parents by next Christmas, so I want to do it all in a year! Haha. I go back to work in April, which will add income of £8640 to that, and hopefully only slightly increase my outgoings (petrol etc). The sooner we can move out the better for my mental health so I am really going to focus on this challenge!

the_cross_rabbit · 28 December 2018 at 10:47AM

I'd like to join as well. Aim is to build up a decent emergency fund and save some money for when DD1 goes to university. This is whilst overpaying the mortgage (its not much a month but every little helps) and saving for a car (in 4 years time). Another one who likes lots of holidays (always in the UK and always as cheap as possible, although camping in not an option as DD2 is in a wheelchair). Need to try and be a frugal as possible, no excuses other than it needs to fit in with our ethical values.
Looking forward to 2019
CRx

Maisie_M · 28 December 2018 at 12:19PM

Hi

I would like to join in please. We are saving to go to Florida in 2020 on holiday so I would like to save enough for all that so we do not need to use any credit cards or anything to pay for it.

I know areas I can cut back on which are frivoulous spending eg meals, snacks when out as well as impulse shopping buys. I also know I can get the food burget down as we eat too much and also a lot we waste. More planning needed as its too easy to get a takeaway when I am tired.

Off to set a budget for each thing so I am ready to rock and roll on the 1rst:cool:

never_too_old · 28 December 2018 at 12:19PM

I would love to join please.
Fingers crossed i can do better than previous years.By joining this one it should keep me on track for the 1% challenge and £2019 in 2019.:D

[Deleted User] · 28 December 2018 at 12:37PM

I'm definitely in again!

I've got the house renovations to finish and the mortgage to pay off this year....other than that, it will be a doddle!! :rotfl:

cw18 · 28 December 2018 at 1:32PM

I'm here.

Not yet set my budgets, but I know I need to reduce my grocery spends in the shops and use up a lot of the food mountain in my house instead.......

I've started a stocktake, and am working on a 10 week meal plan that I then plan to recycle every 10 weeks, but with a couple of random weeks when I go away with my fella (self catering in a family owned property that we do jobs on in return for being allowed to stay there). So 5 cycles of the meal plan will get me through 2019. I already know I have enough noodles and probably enough stir fry sauces to have that every 5th day (easy to make after work, one of my healthiest meals, and I can usually get the veg at 50% off at least twice a week).

I defrosted and did a stocktake of one freezer on Christmas Day (I see family on Boxing Day), and am currently working on the other. Pretty sure I have enough sausages (mostly high quality in a variety of flavours) to have that once a week

I should also have enough (dried) pasta and rice in the house for the year, as well as lentils to add to mince meals (though I think I'll need another bag of oats for the same use).

I've been warned by my utility company that my gas and electricity is likely to shoot up by 25% when my fixed deal ends early Feb due to a rise in wholesale prices - and a quick price comparison seems to confirm that

So I either need to reduce comsumption by 20% to keep payments the same (don't see how when I'm already on very low bills for my type of property) or will need to reduce elsewhere to cover the increase!

I've spent a fair bit on my car in 2018, but it's now running much better (and I no longer have fumes coming into the car when I try and run a heating system that was also not working on all settings - it's only taken 3 garages about 4 years to sort the fumes problem!! The latest garage sorted it on 2nd attempt

) so I'm hoping it'll get through the 2019 MOT in July with minimal cost. But I'm planning on using my pushbike a lot more (I've also spent a fair bit on that getting problems sorted and improvements made), so that will reduce use of car hopefully reducing maintenance costs and definitely reducing petrol costs.

I need to stocktake toiletries, but having recently bought in several items I knew I was runing short of I think I should have enough to get me through the year (and then some for several items).

And I probably have enough cleaning products apart from 1 box of washing powder and maybe 1 bottle of washing up liquid.

Where I'm using groceries / toiletries / cleaning products from stock I plan to move what they cost me (or the current cost if I don't recall what I paid) to a savings account. That should give me something to fall back on for unexpected expenses, or to use to start stocking up for 2020 if I see good deals from late 2019

The main (partially) unexpected expense in 2018 was a new laptop just before Christmas. My old one was 7.5 years old and has been limping along for about 18 months - but since the summer has regularly been threatened with being thrown through a closed window and was NOT going to make it into 2019 for regular use (it will be cleaned up and kept as a backup, with my original from 2006 being totally cleaned and junked - that was terrible to use while mine was having a new keyboard fitted a monrh or 2 ago). I've worked out that the one I'm replacing cost me under £1/week (£350, as best I recall, over 7.5 years = £350 / 390 weeks = 90p/week), so I'd like to try and put £1.50 a week into a savings account ready for when this one needs replacing (in the hope it lasts almost as long). I'm lucky that my parents give me money for Christmas and my (January) birthday. A couple of years that went towards a new built-in fridge/freezer, and this time it's effectively paying a huge chunk of the laptop cost.

Anyhow, I guess I'd best get back to the freezer........

datlex · 28 December 2018 at 3:22PM

Spoke to Vodafone, first person wouldn't not even match detail via the app. So rang cancellations- they have matched the price of a competitor so £9 a month - £2.19 saving on what am paying now. I am estimating will be £9.45 once RPI increase applies later in year.

CapricornLass · 28 December 2018 at 3:32PM

I'd like to join, please. OH and I have just retired in the last six months, and we really need to adjust to the lower income, and keep within our budget.

Biggest problem areas for me
1) Food. My family is riddled with coeliacs, and in addition, one son is allergic to caisin in milk and nuts and I have nuts and coconut to worry about as well as gluten. Other son's girlfriend is allergic to eggs. For us, the problem is not so much downgrading to a cheaper option as to find any option. I bake and cook almost everything from scatch, but scourcing and buying suitable ingredients can be difficult, and expensive.
2) Holidays. Another one who likes her holidays! Mostly in the UK and as cheap as I can make it, although plans are in progress for a family trip to Lisbon later on next year.

3) Miscellaneous items - this is what I called it on the Frugal Spreadsheet last year. All the stuff which didn't really fit into any other category. I started keeping a list during the last couple of months, and I need to go through it and see if I can manage to figure out why it ran out of control last year.

Still, I will be eating my way through a lot of left-overs during January, as well as using up what is in the freezer, so that's a start!

lantanna · 28 December 2018 at 4:05PM

Hi,

I’d like to join please.

My priorities are to make more of my £. I’ve joined the grocery challenge and my budget for January is £1oo.

Another one who likes her holidays and would like to get away on two separate sun weeks this year. I work hard and I’m single so those are my treat to myself.

I have a fraction of the debt I had a few years ago but would like to see the bulk of the remainder gone by the end of this year.

I have no savings as such so would like a good buffer in place by the end of the year and also will need to replace my car early 2o2o so will need to save this year for that as well. Looking forward to getting started.

Will be back to list debts, planned payments and saving aims.

2019 Frugal Living Challenge

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