January Frugaleers thread brings no judgment just friendly banter & advice for like minded folk

[Happierwithouthim]

A place where all are welcome regardless of income, level of debt or reason for being in debt or debt free.

We're friendly, full of good advice and open to new ideas where to shave off expense and how to live your best life on the income you have.

Over the years we've celebrated debt payoffs, babies, leaving jobs, getting different jobs, bonuses, and we've been there for each other through difficult times.

New posters welcome always & I hope posters who have fallen off thread will rejoin too

5.1 NSD

Tomorrow is my monthly massage (whoop 🎉) so I'm meal planning for the next 3 days, based on what we've got to eat up. Hopefully we don't need much. We're out of bread so I've cooked freezer sausage rolls for our lunch tomorrow but still need to find something to pad it out so we last until dinner. It's been a day visiting family so I've not had time to sort out budgets yet, but I'm sure I've got some back-of-the-envelope workings out somewhere from my planning in late 2024.

How's everyone feeling about the year so far?

Evening all,

Nice to see what everyone has been up to and motivating to see frugal ways! I’m enjoying contributing.

@ememem84 I’m new and don’t know your story but just wanted to wish you well for the remaining chemo sessions, I hope the side effects aren’t too severe.

@ChipshopPickledEgg i have a DS same age and also loves adventures. I have some debt to clear as well but feel the same re: adhoc spending.

LSD yesterday - just £8.10 on coffee and hot choc for three of us. Had a grand day out. NSD today, morning at home as weather was grim and a few hours at DM & DFs house for a cuppa and catch up.

Hi all,

Em like a previous poster, I'm also new but just wanted to wish you well with chemo and good health in 2025.

I'm another fan of Monzo, I transfer all my "spending" money into it and then split that up into pots for e.g. groceries, fuel, my son's activities etc. and also have a "fun money" pot to spend as I wish. For January though I'm attempting a no buy month so I'm hoping most if not all of that pot remains untouched this month!

Another NSD today, 5 days into no spend January and so far I've spent a grand total of 86p this (on jam which was of course an essential for my son 😂). I made £10 on surveys recently too so that's gone on a little extra credit card payment and I opened a Trading 212 investment ISA with a referral code which gave me a free fractional share worth £12 that I'll keep in there and use to start investing in the future.

Hoping I can keep the good habits up, I've realised I need to find new hobbies/interests to get the dopamine hit because I really do love clothes and online shopping is my main downfall. Back to work tomorrow so hopefully that keeps me busy this week so no time for spending...

I have been frugal for ages but this year really so intend to cut down even more and use what I have already in my house in terms of cosmetics/food anything really

I haven't used topcashback in years turns out I'd £6.04 on it

I’m not doing well on the no spend days. Though I find the first weeks of January hard as I like to buy things on sale I’ll use throughout the year.

yesterday I bought Yankee candles, I have particular scents I love and they were hugely reduced so I stocked up.

now the properly frugal thing to do would be to make my own as I’ve all the bits needed to make them. It’s something I want to get back into that u haven’t had time for in the last few years since DC was born.

todays a snowday. So no school and I was due to be off work anyway. I think we shall make cookies as a nice activity to keep DC occupied. I found a really simple butter cookie recipe this year which makes fabulous cookies. Bonus they keep their shape when baked https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/best-sugar-cookie-recipe-ever/

fingers crossed for a NSD for today.

I didn't buy anything in Jan sales in 2024 despite being tempted by the lure of a new food processor.

Likewise trusting that I'll stay strong for Jan 2025 sales despite seeing some excellent offers. My reasoning is that if I got through 2025 just bodging stuff together, then I can continue for longer.

We seriously need to plan for external maintenance. And we had to buy a laptop and pay for a NOx filter for the car in November and neither of these had been budget items.

Don't you hate unexpected big dents? Our fire alarms keep randomly beeping and I had a man out to service them in November, cost me £90 and now they've started again.

He told me it would be £400 for a whole new system. I've contacted another company for a second quote, but need to just go for it this week as the beeping is driving us mad, especially our poor little dog.

We have no savings, just debt, and now this is yet another thing going on the credit card. Sick of it really. This year things HAVE to change.

Just in case anyone has a student loan, I saw online that you can login and click the "request a refund" button and they'll check whether you've overpaid in previous years. Turns out I have at some point so they're refunding me £58. You don't have to work out what you think you've overpaid or anything, it took about a minute and I had a response confirming the amount within a day. Not a huge amount but better than nothing!

I too get in the jan sales. Dc need new bedding as there are marks I can’t get out. Dunhelm or matalan I think.

£200 kids meals for school/ college, £32 monthly milk bill , £43 protein powder sub that I forgot about

Bit the bullet and paid the electric bill AND ordered the oil - hopefully thats us until March

Back to work today, I work in a local shop cooking for the deli counter, and happy days, they were "wasting " a pile of veg. - so that came home with me. Couple of bags of parsnips, carrots and sprouts, nowt wrong with any of it - just the sell by date has passed . Also picked up some yellow sticker stuff, bit I will use moving forwards and in my book doesnt go off - Colemans mustard 40p, Worcestershire sauce 60p etc

Last year I was working in a Department store restaurant, and we got 30% discount on store purchases - the sales would wipe me out lol. The stuff I got for "pennies". Actually I was buying because it was "pennies" more then for need.

So Im ignoring the sales, just yellow sticker bargains this year

So Im off to make soup - made the veg for Mr S yesterday, will be making Parsnip for work and me, and leek and potato for mother. Some will go in the fridge, some in the freezer. Then I will stick the yoghurt on, will be done by time I get up so can leave it to strain whilst in work. All made in my 15 in 1 , a considered purchase at the time, but one that saves me tonnes both in time, money and energy

6.1 NSD

Very difficult morning for LO so plans all cancelled today, I'm trying to find some solace that I'm racking up an unexpected NSD but I really wanted the day we had planned!

We'll still need to get some food shopping in, though I'm going to leave it until tomorrow - if I go into a food shop today I'm going to buy aaaallllll the snacks and eat those feelings. I'm trying to work out if we can just muddle through, but we'll need lunches out on Thursday 🤔

Hi all, I have lurked for years and attempting to join (again) for a new year, we're lucky to be comfortable but have house renovation loans to pay off and I'd like to get them gone by the end of next year so we can start to properly plan for retirement. We're much too late to thinking about this - DH is 52 and I'm 48 - but hoping to get as much stashed as possible.........
I've done all of the post-Christmas decluttering and have piles of things to box up for book selling sites later this week and list on Vinted, freezers are full and I have a list of what's in them along with the cupboards and hoping to get by with minimal food shopping this month. Making some changes personally - cutting back on some beauty things that are more habit than actually make me feel better, hoping to get out for more walks and reduce gym class spends and fewer weeknight pub visits. DD went to university in September and have been at a bit of a loss so way too much wine consumed, slowly starting to get a handle on the empty house! @Rainbow1901 we must be very close - also in East Lancashire near Burnley and it's v cold and snowy here, with predictions of -8 to look forward to this week ❄❄. Today will definitely be an NSD as I'm not leaving the house and too busy with the first day back to work to spend online!

Prolific studies have run dry today, so until I get posted more, I am stuck at £20 earned this month - half of my target!

£12.84 spent in Lidl on olive oil, butter, washing-up liquid and broccoli. Dinner tonight is pasta with broccoli and cheese sauce, using up the Christmas gorgonzola and the vast amounts of creme fraiche I bought. Also, £54 on an Amazon shop - cleaning products, Ddog Greenies, and some Jack Grealish style hairbands for DS, who informs me that he plans to grow a mullet.

6000 steps achieved today, plus a nice stretchy YouTube workout. Rewarding myself with cheese straws (Christmas stash) and a really nice glass of Saumur white, from DH's haul in September.

poppiego - at the risk of sounding patronising, have you ever tried 'shopping your wardrobe' when you get the urge to buy clothes? I find trying stuff I already have on in different combinations helps satisfy the urge to find something new, and has helped me focus on weight loss/maintenance, so that old friends can come back into their own! I am keeping an eye on the Trading 212 platform for a S&S ISA now that Vanguard has upped its charges, but probably won't get round to this for a bit!

Prolific studies have run dry today, so until I get posted more, I am stuck at £20 earned this month - half of my target!

£12.84 spent in Lidl on olive oil, butter, washing-up liquid and broccoli. Dinner tonight is pasta with broccoli and cheese sauce, using up the Christmas gorgonzola and the vast amounts of creme fraiche I bought. Also, £54 on an Amazon shop - cleaning products, Ddog Greenies, and some Jack Grealish style hairbands for DS, who informs me that he plans to grow a mullet.

6000 steps achieved today, plus a nice stretchy YouTube workout. Rewarding myself with cheese straws (Christmas stash) and a really nice glass of Saumur white, from DH's haul in September.

poppiego - at the risk of sounding patronising, have you ever tried 'shopping your wardrobe' when you get the urge to buy clothes? I find trying stuff I already have on in different combinations helps satisfy the urge to find something new, and has helped me focus on weight loss/maintenance, so that old friends can come back into their own! I am keeping an eye on the Trading 212 platform for a S&S ISA now that Vanguard has upped its charges, but probably won't get round to this for a bit!

Sorry, dunno what happened there, posted twice.

Finally did an audit of the freezer (well one of them anyway!) the other needs a tramp across a very snowy garden to access the shed so can wait. There is plenty in the kitchen freezer to keep us going. We used up the prawns and some salad on a relatively healthy meal for tea - Prawn Cocktail!! And shared a couple of prawns with the cat!! 🐈She was happy!!
We'll wait and see if we are hungry later before eating anything else. Was going make a trifle but more snow last night stopped our usual delivery from the milkman so we are rationing it for now so no custard!!
It would have been a NSD but need to return a parcel which cost £4.99 😡This is one Christmas present that is like a boomerang and to date has cost £20 in delivery/return charges. I'm giving up and handing over the cash when I'm refunded. 😩

Reading and taking inspiration. I have a financial mountain to climb this year but I trying to stay focused and take baby steps.
Goals are;
pay off overdraft
build emergency fund to cover 1 months expenses
trying to avoid all purchases Jan-April to achieve this

I'd love to join. I've been v inspired by many of the posts so far, lots of great ideas too.

Today was a NSD for me (apart from booking a work train ticket but I'll be expensing that!)

My win today was visiting a local community food share where they give away surplus supermarket veg, etc. I got a week's worth of food for free. Also got some stale pain au chocolat. I put one the air fryer for a few mins and it completely revived!

My other win is a cat sitting gig in central Edinburgh. I'm going to treat it as a long weekend away and book a couple of days of AL so I can just enjoy the city with free accommodation. So looking forward to it.

My overall strategy is to save where I possibly can, and allow myself to be spendy where it really matters. I've recently bought a Dualit toaster for over £100 (gulp) but my reasoning is a) my current toaster is dangerous, and b) Dualit toaster is hard-wearing and repairable, and if I can make this new toaster last for the rest of my life then it will be £100 well spent. 'Buy it once' is what I'm aiming for: I'm playing the long game!!

I was going to declare today a NSD but then realised I've laid £84 for my next account statement and £45 for two events with cubs (a sleepover at a trampoline park and an evening separately of bowling and laser tag, good value I think).

I think this is an issue, I feel really pleased I've not been in any shops and then forget about these things I pay out for.

I thought tomorrow might be a nsd but just had the notification that the window cleaner is coming! They come every six weeks and they need doing as lots of muddy cat prints on them

Back to work fully today! The office was subdued and it was so cold ❄️

Spends
£4.39 Boots on lunch
£27 gel nails removed and replaced. Very natural this month.
£2.98 Kindle Books.

Probably not the best day - the nails were planned as my December ones had grown out and one had snapped painfully. Lunch and a book on Kindle could have been avoided, but the book will give me a bit of chill time through the week.

£169 TV licence. Paid begrudgingly due to me having issues with the BBCs coverage of many topics. But they are subjects for other threads.

I hardly watch BBC now, but I am looking forward to seeing the new drama about King Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror, it had better be good for that money.