2020 Frugal Living Challenge

HoneyIShrunktheDebt wrote: »

I'm in a different situation - I have been lurking on these boards for a while. Recently I have moved from UK to a country where living costs are very high due to hubby's job.
He did get a substantial pay rise, but I'm struggling to find work due to work permits etc - I don't live in Europe. All goods are imported and there are no discount grocery stores. Very little fresh local (cheap) produce is available. I'm looking for motivation to live as frugally as possible in the circumstances as our spending started to get out of control and we have got into a lot of debt very quickly. We are trying to reign spending in before it gets out of hand. I'm looking forward to reading ideas and then adapting them to the reality of where I am living!

There is a blog Myabundantlife07(dot)blogspot(dot)com by an Australian lady, who has to make it on a very low income (she cleans houses, her husband is parttime preacher and parttime bartender; they have two adult daughters now). She is very good and consistent in living carefully moneywise, and getting the maximum enjoyment from life. She is on a blog break at the moment due to a very sick family member, but all her old blogs are still accessible and I really get spurred on by her enthousiasm. There is a very good post from 3 September 2015 titled 'We are not poor!'.

Good to catch up with everyone again. Time for an update from me. I get a pay rise this month so I have put my pension contributions up a bit. I will see exactly what I take home when I get paid and if I can I may try and increase my contribution a fraction more. That is a target of mine to make sure I have a pension sufficient enough to live on. I have got a bit of time to go (I'm still in my 40s - just) but the earlier you contribute the better.


Had a slight unplanned expense this weekend. I have been suffering from a sore knee since Christmas. Its an old squash injury which normally passes after a few days when it flares up but it is now coming up for two weeks and it was really painful on Saturday so I decided that I needed to invest in some flat boots instead of the heeled boots I normally wear. I didn't have any offers or anything but I decided I would pay the money for a decent pair that would last me years so I got a pair from Clarks that are Goretex with a 3 year guarantee on them. Hopefully this is a long term investment as I hate shopping for shoes and clothes generally.


For the rest of the weekend I was frugal. I took my nephew for his swimming lesson and afterwards I always take him for a bite to eat as he is usually really hungry. This time I let him chose a cake and a drink and instead of buying myself something I just had a drink. As usual my nephew couldn't finish his cake so I ate what was left.


My food shop was well within budget as well. Again I kept to my list and did not buy any luxuries. I had done a meal plan and instead of "buying" popcorn in a bag I already had some to make myself which I hadn't tried yet. However, this Saturday I made it and I was impressed how easy it was. I made too much so I put half of it in an air tight container and am using that for snacks in the week. Also bonus, no plastic packaging to worry about. I will be doing that again.


I have also just renewed my household insurance. It has actually come down a bit with a different provider so that is a bit of a saving. I think that is all the big essential expenses now for another year. I have still got to pay off the rest of the holiday I have got booked but I am sure I can manage that in time.

"As usual my nephew couldn't finish his cake so I ate what was left."


I am teaching my dds AND THEIR FRIENDS to eat neatly, and only put on their plate what they think they will eat; they can always add more later on. For instance: for dd1's birthday party, I asked what she and her friends would like to eat with their chips, and then prepared the chicken nuggets, fish fingers, beef burgers, etc. I presented this in a large dish in the middle of the table, and asked them to just take out one or two items, eat those, and only then take the next one. About half the dish was left, because they had full stomachs quickly. I kept some of those items for lunch and dinner the next day (cold beefburger on bread is fine), and had the rest for my own evening meal as they were watching a film.


The year before, they had just put everything on their plates, mixed it with mayo and ketchup, and I had to throw it all away. I don't mind serving generously, but do expect (young) guests to eat neatly.

I've just moved around the furniture in the living room, my theory being that hopefully now the radiator can heat the room rather that just the back of the sofa. Fingers crossed!

Hello again, a fortnight in & though household agreements are generally more respectable, ie budget friendly, it's also the month when big expenses (insurances, car services, etc) hit and 2 lots of entertaining pluz 3 birthdaysand 2 long distance visits, so it's a bit awkward. Thankfully not so much on the money front as we can afford it this time but just feeling a bit silly having decided to be more sensible! At least decisions have been made and we'll just have to keep reminding one another.