2018 Frugal Living Challenge

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  • mbmonty
    mbmonty Posts: 149
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    After a stupidly expensive march and lots of small trips to the supermarkets I have just spent a few hours making a spreadsheet and stocktaking the food in house... plus sorting seeds for our veg garden... so I now have a strict budget (in cash in envelopes labelled by week) and I pledge to try ALOT harder... want to be rid of cc debt by xmas... need a miracle!!! so its going in the safe and I am going to start overpayments for CC 1 & 2 and for the mortgage... I am inspired by some of the comments on here.

    Feeding a family of 4 (two pre-teen boys) and 2 big dogs... dropping from nearly £200 per week (an untenable amount subsidised by CC weekly :eek:) and making ends meet on £80 per week instead (including fuel for daily school runs of 20 mile per day, toiletries, food, dog food, clothes, entertainment and all other costs!) Things are about to get a lot more frugal around here... I refuse to have debt until 2039 :eek: By my maths I will be 63 when I can finally afford luxuries... and that is depressingly sad...

    I have managed 4 NSD so for this April... amazing how little you can spend when you have non.

    Here's to change! Good luck everyone x

    Forgive my ignorance but is an NSD a no smoking day?

    If so WELL DONE.

    How about deciding to stop or at least embrace vaping.

    My sister moved to vaping and told me that you really have to get a proper consult on what works for you. She is cutting that back and says she will stop completely this year.

    What I find so "wrong" about your post is that the money you are paying back did not exist before it was lent to you and the interest you will be paying is just banks obscene profit, 2039!!

    Talking about vaping, has anyone tried using recovered laptop battery cells (18650 for vaping?

    I see what they recommend but even if they do not work as well as some of the stronger high amp 18650's they are free and plentiful.
  • mbmonty
    mbmonty Posts: 149
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    Probably been mentioned elsewhere but one of my favourite frugal fings is Freecycle.org, it has replaced any compulsion I had to get a bargain from eBay, plus you can always trade up.

    You would not believe what some people get rid of.

    At retail I reckon I have saved close to £10k.
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,615
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    mbmonty wrote: »
    Forgive my ignorance but is an NSD a no smoking day?
    An NSD is a No Spend Day
    Cheryl
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,615
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    mbmonty wrote: »
    If you are really into this Frugal thing then you have missed the boat on the heating.

    The idea is to make having the heating on to be the exception rather than the norm.
    Not sure I totally agree with that - I've seen too many homes (of friends and family) develop damp patches and mould due to a combination of insufficient ventilation and insufficient heating :o
    For your other half I suggest a small blanket, I got mine from an airline (no I did not pinch it)
    I have a small-ish thin fleece style throw I put over my legs when I start to feel the chill. My fella isn't a fan - makes him boil :D
    for example I comply with the conditions for requirements to not have a TV licence.
    Me too, but I allocate the licence fee money towards DVD purchases (almost always second - or third or fourth - hand at the cheapest price possible, and I'll monitor prices for months watching for a good deal before ordering). By purchasing DVDs I have something to show for the spend, which I don't if I use the money to buy a TV licence. I've been licence free for just over 7 years now, and don't miss live TV one little bit :) I don't pay for a streaming service either, though I do have access to one my son is signed up to - just haven't used it in over 18 months. Considering taking up a 2 month deal with one currently showing a few films I'd like to see for an abolute pittance, but only because I can pay with points I earn for walking - and it's only 5 points for the 2 months out of approx 100 I earn every week ;)
    I also set my internet service annual budget to £65 (the lowest I found previously available on MSE) so when there is not an offer I do not have internet via an ISP, I use a free service.
    That I couldn't do. My internet is my main entertainment (apart from my DVD watching), the main way I stay in touch with 2 of my 3 grown-up children and my brother, and how I get news on what my 4 grand-daughters and 2 nephews are up to. I do, however, shop around every time my deal comes to an end, and recently jumped ship when my ISP increased the cost mid-contract to a price I didn't like and could beat by a couple of ££s a month with an ISP I've used before without any major hassles. But my monthly cost is normally just the land-line rental with the deals being free broadband connection alongside it, so I guess I could argue I pay zero for my broadband :think:



    I gave up drinking alcohol completely at the end of Nov 2008 (I didn't drink much even before then), and gave up smoking at the start of Oct 2012. My only 'vice' these days is the National Lottery (draws, never scratchcards), and that's the only gambling I've ever participated in on a regular basis (the others being raffles and tombolas at fund raising events on an ad-hoc basis). Whilst I can afford it without it pushing me into debt I shall continue playing, but it's up at the top of my list for out-goings to drop should I need to reduce them in order to manage to stay afloat.
    Cheryl
  • spudsmum
    spudsmum Posts: 584
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    edited 12 April 2018 at 11:45PM
    !!!8220;
    If you are really into this Frugal thing then you have missed the boat on the heating.

    The idea is to make having the heating on to be the exception rather than the norm.
    Originally posted by mbmonty

    !!!8221;

    Like CW18 above not sure I fully agree with this either - living in a very old house like i do it's necessary to warm it through regularly to prevent major issues with damp.

    I've been having a long hard think about what this frugal thing means to me. We all have different standards and things that we are prepared to do to be frugal - for example TV and internet are non negotiable here though we try to get them as cheaply as we can but we have given up smoking, drinking and takeaways which to some people would be pretty unthinkable.

    Nor am I prepared to live in misery, I'm in this for the long haul - as a change of lifestyle and mindset rather than a quick fix so its really important to me that we still have fun and a good life. We none of us know what tomorrow brings so its important for me that I still make memories and an enjoyable life for me and my children - so we still have days out and holidays which I'm sure some people would probably feel is an unnecessary expense and against the frugal way but hey ho!

    The major difference now is we try to do everything in a frugal way and we save and make extra pennies where we can so we can make sure any spending is planned and budgetted for instead of whacking it on a credit card. Yes it may take me slightly longer to clear my debts but I feel its more sustainable long term

    I still seem to be managing to clear a good amount of debt and put money in my various savings pots - wasnt managing either before I started to embrace frugality - so not doing too badly - if things change then I may review but at the moment I'm happy.
    Total debts £21050! :eek: now £10941. 76. Total extra income made in Jan22 £109. 27 Feb 22 £45.25 Total extra income made in 2022 £154.52 Aiming for debt free at 45 - 41 months to go!
  • FrankieM
    FrankieM Posts: 2,454
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    Morning :)

    Like a few have already said...no heating is a no go here...bbrrr..I've sat in my house with my out doors clothes on. alternated between a 'meal' and beans on toast in the evenings, washed my clothes in a bath and lived in one room and turned all the other radiators off. I'm looking looking for frugality, not poverty :) But I guess we have our own idea of what that looks like for us.

    The temperature is supposed to hit 20 degrees this weekend (though you wouldn't know it from looking out of the window!) so I might turn the heating off then and see how it goes!

    It was a spend day yesterday, only 99p on a packet of crisps. A meeting that was supposed to finish at 4pm, went on til 6pm so I needed a bit of something before tea.
    Still had something from the freezer when I got home though and enough for lunch today.

    So, today I need to get my fuel and other bits. No money for wine in the budget though, so that's sad.
    I've got a tub of curry out of the freezer for tea and I'm currently umming and ahhing about whether to take a Sunday shift of extra work that's been offered to me. It's 12.5 hrs...but it's £100?? I'm not managing to do much online that might bring extra money in cause I'm so tired in the evenings, but I'm also thinking that I'll never get to that point if I'm working all the time and don't give myself time so it's a bit of a quandary..

    Anyway...hope you all have a good day :)
  • I've been frugal in the past by necessity- found myself in very difficult financial circumstances a few years ago. Thankfully in a much better position now, but I don't want to overconsume. I think frugality, for me, is about thoughtful spending. I'll always put a jumper and extra socks on first, but if I'm cold, the heating comes on. We can adjust the temp on each radiator, so I usually turn them off or down in rooms we're not using.
    Savings from frugal & simple living:
    Jan ISA& Save Acc £1600 Mort o/paid £250
    Feb ISA&save acc £1330.89 Mort o/paid£500
    March ISA&save ac£811.35 mort o/paid £250
    :j
  • I think I just see being frugal as not wasting things, money, heat (!) food, if I am doing something like going on holiday I will do it the cheapest way possible and I wouldn't buy a brand new car on finance or buy designer clothes. I will still socialise and buy my normal make up and facial wash stuff - which is absurdly expensive but doesn't bring me out in a rash.

    I have had to borrow money for a new car and dental treatment and yes things like the summer house I want built are not essential but part of my goal of having a nice house to live in.

    I am freezing cold at the moment but have to walk the dogs, so that will warm me up

    Catch you all later XX
    Nevertheless she persisted.
  • frugalish
    frugalish Posts: 22
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    Thanks for the laundry gloop recipe Frugaldom, I'll give that a go. I've only got seasalt and something-or-other flavour soap at the moment, so I think I'll get some unscented before trying it!

    We have to keep our house heated in winter - we both have osteoarthritis which is badly affected by the cold and damp. I can tell if it's going to be a wet day by how my knees feel in the mornings! :eek:

    Frugal living means different things to different people, depending on your circumstances and personality - what's right for me might be horrendous for someone else. For example, I'd be happy without the TV but DH likes it, so we (now) have a free service apart from the licence fee. We're both in this for the long haul, so we have to make it manageable, and we want to enjoy the journey rather than feeling we're in penury. So that means sometimes we have fish and chips from the chip shop, sometimes we have ice cream from the supermarket, occasionally I have a coffee out. But these have become the exceptions rather than the rule, and we enjoy them all the more for it. We have a bottle of wine at the weekend, and enjoy it. :D

    We've replaced DH's favourite treat of flapjack from the canteen with home made flapjack, that's actually nicer! I've got some in the oven at the mo - I add chopped dates and peanut butter to give it extra flavour and some protein, as well as reducing the processed sugar a bit :)

    FrankieM I feel for you - it's a nightmare trying to work out how to balance work and other activities. I hope you find a way to make it work for you :)

    Have a lovely day all :)
    "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot

    Grocery Challenge Feb 20 £0.00/ £400 = £0.00
    Frugal Living Challenge 2020
  • FrankieM
    FrankieM Posts: 2,454
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    Morning :)

    The work decision was taken out of my hands cause they didn't need me in the end so I'm going to enjoy a lovely weekend of pottering through my jobs, reading online, watching films and generally resting.

    I've done the washing and it's currently on racks drying (I do miss my tumble dryer). I'll be getting a couple of batch cooked tubs out of the freezer to cover meals and drinking coffee. :)

    It was a spend day yesterday. Fuel and salad so I have £22 in cash and £6 in the bank to last me til payday. I'm not imagining any problems.

    My DD has just booked in her head shots and I said I would pay for them. We had this conversation about 2 years mind you, when I was obviously feeling flush but a deal is a deal and I'm pleased that by getting these done it's a step forward for her. Now I just need to earn/save that extra money so it doesn't throw my budget off!
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