2020...My frugal year, for real this time

[NorthEndGal]

This year I really want to buckle down on wasteful spending, like grabbing a coffee instead of bring from home.
Buying a shirt for a night out, instead of raiding a friend's closet.
I know I said it last year, and fell off the frugal wagon a week later.😳

Anyone else looking to cut frivolous spending in 2020? Any tips for staying on track? I'm good at budgets and such, shit at willpower though...

I went to Tesco over Xmas to get fruit and 2 new bottles for DD.... I ending up spending £105!!

Oooh! I winced reading that!

Unfortunately for my purse there’s only me to do the shopping so I have to be really strict with myself. I’m pleased with my £5.60 spend today as it’s usually triple at least. Next time I will make sure there is enough milk in the fridge all week!

Btw I don’t know if this is relevant to the thread but I have a few apps on my phone that I upload photos of my shopping receipts to and get points in return. Points are exchanged for vouchers (like amazon or iTunes etc) or on one app they’re turned into money that you can transfer to a chosen bill or account. Not sure if it’s ok to make the apps? If so I will do.

Me too. Food shop seems the biggest bug bear for most of us. I went to m&s for my Dad today they had a few bits reduced like chicken pie £2.25 instead of £4, curries £1.99 from £4 si I bought them for the freezer.

I meal planned, looking at what we had left in the cupboard and freezer, made a list and (almost) stuck to it. Came to £21 for the week. It felt quite odd spending that little.

My tips

When you get paid move some money into a savings account, leave enough in your account to pay your bills, move your spending money to a Monzo account.
Monzo can help you budget and then categorises each transaction to keep you on track. It sends you an immediate notification when you use your card n updates your balance. You can set up "pots" to save money into eg regular holiday fund. You can also have your transactions rounded up to the nearest pound and have the difference saved in a round ups pot which builds up nicely.
You can also set scheduled payments into a pot eg 1p, £1, £5 whatever you choose to go into a pot daily/weekly/monthly etc, again builds up nicely. Join the monzo savings group on facebook really useful.
Use Plum savings which is more intuitive n really is the only thing that's helped me save money ever.

Meal plan, write a list and order online.

Check cupboard and fridge regularly and use up what you have first, even if it's a picky tea.

@KurriKawari what is plum savings please?

Another potty training related spend today. Took DD shopping for some pants, I'm hoping that she will be more willing to use the potty now. Anything you reduce the nappy/ pull up bill.

Geraniumblue well done on the £21! I did something very similar and just spent £18 in Sainsburys. Theoretically for the week (because I had a lot in). It does feel very strange!!

Also means I've got a plan for what I'm eating this week and there's a couple of simple meals in there. Perfectly adequate but I love cooking and have realised I probably spend more than I actually need to on it!

@eaglegreybee Plum sees how much you're spending and what you can afford to save, and saves that money in a plum account for you. It gets to know your spending habits and bills. So say this week I spent lots on dinner out and a big car insurance payment it will take less out. Next week I only spend in groceries it will take more out and keep it aside for me. You barely notice the money going out. You can set it at a low/medium/high yourself anyway. It never let's you go into overdraft. I saved £2k in six months. And I said it does it slowly and quietly you don't even notice and you can pause any time.
I have referral codefriends.withplum.com/r/Eff7o7
It's easy to use and has really helped me. I think they might have a facebook group if you want to learn more.

I have found a slight improvement so far, but I think it is because I just keep avoiding going into stores since new years.
I send in DH or ds with strict instructions to stick to the list,

Ive not been shopping since Saturday
Ive tidied up my freezer and put put together meals for the week
Took lunch to work for 2 days
Have a £1.99 MacDonalds voucher to use tonight for DS after his sporting activity - he's starving and it's usually very late and needs hot food!!!
Early days but Im pleased with myself...

I’ve decided to have just one spending day a week. This will save me nipping to shops and spending more than I need to. If I don’t get it on Saturday it will have to wait until the next Saturday.

Also keeping a spending diary.

I'm doing fairly similar, Wire. One food shop a week. There is no way I will starve if I don't have something/forget something - there's enough food in this house!!

Last night I decided I wanted to try making a specific bread but I don't have one of the ingredients. I'm waiting until the weekend to get it during my weekly shop (otherwise I'll end up buying other things too!).

There is no way I will starve if I don't have something/forget something - there's enough food in this house!!

Same! I realised I was just being lazy instead of thinking ahead and defrosting what I would need I was being too reliant on the shop up the road. It’s making me more organised. And if I forget- well beans on toast will have to do!

I went to post a parcel off today thinking it would cost about £4.50 but when I opened my purse realised I had a stash of ancient stamps. More than covered the cost!

It's been hard to stay away from take out breakfast (though I've managed to only slip up once so far) so I've gone and bought all the crap to do it myself, the English muffins, gross cheese, eggs, and sausage I keep telling myself that if I want that sort of thing, make it myself

The one thing I really want to clamp down on this year is spending on lunches out every day at work. It’s more for something to do and to make sure I actually leave the building as for the first few years I was there I worked through my lunch break pretty much every day.
So I got into the habit of going out and buying lunch to get me away. Great in one way but so crap in another.
The food was always rubbish for me, bakery rolls loaded with butter/mayo and stodgy fillings and always a ‘treat’ to go with it, or a McDonald’s/ Burger King, sandwich and crisps from Sainsburys etc, I’ve been spending probably £30+ every week on shit!
I’ve decided to treat myself to lunch out no more than once a week and not at all in January. Made up some nice lunches at the start of the week, so far have just eaten them in the staff room and then gone for a walk. Much better for me.
Other spends that mount up are things for the dc, clubs, money for various school things And supplies (dd1 is doing art and textiles GCSEs which seem to constantly require things, canvases, replacement acrylic paints, fabric...) that I just can’t NOT spend. I’m just tackling what I can manage for now.

Oh, and also not taking the car to work. I drive a big gas guzzling 4x4 which is a killer on fuel for short journeys. I’ve been putting £50 a week in because I’ve been too lazy to walk the 15 minute journey - no longer!

I tried budgeting at the end of last year and failed. I put money on my Monzo card but also carried my regular debit card with me. Knowing I had access to funds just meant me spending as normal . The simple act of not taking my regular debit card out has curbed my impulses already.
I nearly bought a heated overblanket the on Sunday for 30 pounds but couldn't. A small win.
On the upside my roundups have come to 40.00 since November so I put them straight onto my Tui travel card in euros and plan to do that every month.

I bought a soup maker with some Christmas money. It's amazing! I have batch done three different flavours and made enough for two weeks lunches, work and home. It hardly cost me anything, its fresh stuff, good for my diet and I know exactly what has gone into it. Winner.

Just need to quit it with the clothes...

I try to live as frugally as possible. I'm a single parent of 2, I work full time but I have a ton of debt to clear, plus a divorce (and childcare) to pay for.

Sooooo, here are some of the things I do (to try and save money)...
-batch cook stuff and freeze it. Today I made a soup out of all the knackered veg I found in my fridge. That will last the DC and me for quite a few meals.
-if food is starting to turn (but would be still safe to consume of course), I try to see if I can use it as an ingredient for other things (like making milk into yogurt or cottage cheese). I HATE food being wasted.
-for pressies, I look on eBay first. My DD wanted a Fur Real Pet for Xmas (and they cost a bloody fortune!). I found a secondhand one on eBay for £12...she hasn't stopped playing with it since Xmas Day (and didn't care that it wasn't in original packaging).
-also (for pressies), I have saved all the amazon gift bags that we've received presents in, and I'll re-use for the kids birthday/Xmas presents.
-I go to the DCs' schools' second-hand shops for buying uniform (esp stuff with school logo on).
-at Xmas, I bulked out stocking pressies (I tell the DC these are the pressies from Santa) with stuff like stationary, socks, toiletries, hair things for DD and secondhand paperbacks.
-when I look to buy something, I pause and think about whether it is absolutely essential to buy first.
-take a packed lunch to work. I have some cans of soup that I can take in with me, when I don't have other stuff to take in (or when I've been too lazy/in a hurry to prep anything to take in). Luckily, there's a small staff kitchen (with microwave, fridge and kettle) on the ward I work in.
-I got rid of the coffee machine (has pods) and use a cafetière/aeropress if I want filter coffee (and instant coffee for all the other times).
-thermostat at home is set to 14degrees and I only put it on a bit higher for a short time in the morning and the evening (we have fleece blankets on the sofa to wrap up in).
-I got rid of the pricey cartridge razors I used to use, and now use a safety razor. My lovely Dad died in May, so I have his (very old but pristine) safety razor shaving kit, but you can buy the replacement blades for peanuts. Better for the environment too.
-the DC and I joined the library so we can read books that way (rather than buying in loads).
-I've got a few potted plants (salad leaves, herbs) on the kitchen windowsill.
-Jack Monroe does some amazing frugal recipes!
-I bulk buy stuff like toilet roll.
-I use an eco-egg for laundry, and buy generic (but compatible) toothbrush heads (we have electric toothbrushes).
-I use a moon cup and CSP.
-we use soap bars rather than shower gel (lasts longer), Aleppo soap (my family come from that part of the world) rather than shampoo. I'm about to trial a solid conditioner bar (to see if that lasts me and DD longer, and is better value).
-use the shower instead of the bath.
-my friends (equally skint!) and I are mostly single parents and over the years, we've handed stuff (kids clothes/shoes/books/toys) etc down to each other. This has saved us a fortune! We also help each other out with childcare (if our normal childcare places are closed/not available).

I'm hoping that I'll be in a better place financially by the end of this year!

Watching this thread with interest, but does anyone have a link to the similar thread focussing more on organising your money better? I’d like to read that too.

@UnitedRoad there was a thread in the credit crunch topic where this was discussed in detail. Sorry can't copy the link at the mo

It's good, tips on budgeting, spreading out savings and allocating "fun money"

Thank you @neverornow I really need to sort myself out, and stop wasting money. Craft stuff and books are my biggest drains

I sat down last night and went through my online bank statement. I’m self employed but have a “minimum” I will earn in any week (unless I’ve taken it off or am ill) so I attributed every single penny that comes in to a different purpose. I have lots of different bank accounts for different savings/purposes. So I set up a standing order to go on the same day every week to all the various accounts. It means my current account stands almost empty all the time but that’s ok because I have sent all the money I will need to spend to the appropriate account and will transfer it back or use the correct card when I need to do the thing that money is for (like my car money is one account, my Xmas savings in another, my direct debits in another etc) any weeks I earn over my minimum (most weeks really) the extra will go into a savings cushion account.