FRUGAL FERRUARY

carolinespring

Frugal February....

I vow, for one month from 1st Feb, to avoid shopping for anything other than essentials. No treats, clothes, shoes, make up, mags/books, CD's, DVD's, handbags or any other needless junk/rubbish that somehow manages to find its way into the trolley when I go shopping.

I ill still have the odd trip to the coffee shop as I am not going to stop seeing my friends, but no dinners out or big nights out.

Anyone want to join me on Frugal February and see how much we can save in a month?????

A few friends on FB are going to do it as well. Any takers here? We can all support each other and the money saved can gotowards that holdiay/weekend away you want or even just to get us back into good saving habits and stop buying stuff we don't really want or need.

I spent a pile of money last weekend on make up that I didn't need. I just want to see how much I really do waste each month.

Plan is to be really frugal in February to get out of my bad habits and relax it in march and have the odd treat but not the mindless spending that I sometimes do. Going to keep a diary of everything I spend.

By essentials mean, food, travel, petrol, replacing shampoo that has run out but not with a costly fancy one. That kind of spending.

So who is going to join me?

Babybuff

My beer money has already been allocated for the task of renovating my gaff so I've been doing frugal for a couple of weeks now. Add to that the extra expense it's costing to pay rent for my daughter to stay with my mother and I'm just about managing hot dinners. I always have money for coffee though

Posy

I'm expecting a MASSIVE credit card bill, as well as the usual NTL, mortgage etc in February so mine will be a frugal one, whether I want it to be or not!

carolinespring

After Christmas and with all the bills mine has to be Frugal but going to try and enjoy finding out what I waste money on. One I know for sure is magazines, I buy them, have a quick flick and never seem to get the time to read it. They alone must add up to 20 euro a month in waste.

This is a nice idea. Been meaning to have a look at my spending in ages.

I completely stopped buying magazines years ago.
Never once missed them.

Thread in AH has made me realize I eat out far too much.
Going to try knock it down to one lunch a week.

I'm going to set myself up a credit union account.
"Pay myself first" try make do with what I have left.

I drive alot. The cost of diesel is cruxifing me atm. I'm going to start being clever about trips. Doing one big shop and message run a week.
Take advantage of the facilites that are closer to me.
See if I can cut anything off my bills.

Posy

Writing down everything you spend in a little notebook is great.
Some people find that they've been spending €30-€40 a week on take away tea/coffee/hot chocolate but don't realise it's adding up to so much because it's always in small amounts! :eek:

Giselle

Moonbaby wrote: »

I completely stopped buying magazines years ago.
Never once missed them.


I drive alot. The cost of diesel is cruxifing me atm. I'm going to start being clever about trips. Doing one big shop and message run a week.

Those were the first two things that sprang to my mind when I thought about what I could cut back.

I'm interested to see how much I'm going to miss the magazines, and I'm going to stop everyone I know assuming I'm willing to be the designated driver. I hardly ever drink and people take advantage of that to pressure me into always driving.

I also have a bit of a cosmetic stockpile going and I've decided that I'm going to go the next twelve months - a whole year! - without being tempted by any thing non essential in that department.

I also overbuy food and wind up doing a best-before clearout several times a month. Something else to work on.

rainbow kirby

Giselle wrote: »

I also overbuy food and wind up doing a best-before clearout several times a month. Something else to work on.

I do this too - I live alone, and end up buying too much food a lot of the time. I have an especially bad habit of doing this with fruit, vegetables and salads, which is a bit annoying.

Giselle

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I do this too - I live alone, and end up buying too much food a lot of the time. I have an especially bad habit of doing this with fruit, vegetables and salads, which is a bit annoying.

I wind up with a fridge full of wilted salad and a bowl of depressed pears.

carolinespring

I think i could save 40 or 50 euro a week by cutting out the magazines, coffee on the to and from work. Buying a book that I don't seem to find the time to read or picking up a new lip gloss when I already have 20.

Will report my spending weekly here. So who is going to give it a go with me?

I did this for 2 months during the end of the summer. Bought no food, at all. Always ate at work. Bought no clothes, don't need them anyway. Never went out drinking. Never bought coffees. Always got them at work/home. Went to the gym at work (which is free...I'm very lucky where I work as you can see!) and spent most of my free time going walking. Never got taxis anywhere...always walked or cycled. I was living at home during the summer so didn't need to pay rent or anything like that.

Saved all my wages and tips...couldn't believe how much I saved! Got me through college until December. You don't notice how many unnecessary purchases you make until you do something like this. At the moment I seem to be blowing money on crap again. But I move back to college (on Monday) I'm going to have to stop spending again.

I'm gonna give a try.
Does anyone know of a good app to track the little expenses. When your on the go?

Acoshla

Holy sh*t 40/50 a week from cutting out magazines and coffee? I wish I bought either so I could cut it out and have that much extra a week.

My job situation (work from home) and my general nature mean I'm frugal all year, it's great! I can go a week without spending on anything other than food, and even then it's a bargain hunt in Tesco when they mark all the cheap stuff in the evening.

the only coffees i drink are the free ones at home, work, or occasionally the 40c ones from work
i certainly don't buy magazines
i think most of my money goes on bus fare and courses and um, i duno
i have gone a bit mad this month in that i actually bought some clothes, but then my work clothes were looking a bit raggy
god help me i better buy some work shoes :rolleyes: and car servicing

yeah, i wish i had misc expenses to be cutting back on

southsiderosie

Moonbaby wrote: »

I'm gonna give a try.
Does anyone know of a good app to track the little expenses. When your on the go?

I used to try to track stuff like that, but it was a pain in the ass.

Now what I do (ok, used to do, but need to get back to) is take out a set amount of cash for the week to cover groceries and 'pocket' money. If I ran out, I ran out. If I was careful, I would have a little extra at the end of the week that I could carry over. I have everything else on auto (bills and transfers to savings).

At the end of the week if you still want to see what you are spending your money on, just count out your receipts. But a cash-only policy really makes you think twice before purchasing anything, especially early in the week.

I just think it would be eye opening to do it for a week.
To see exactly where your hemorrhaging cash.

Acoshla

My mother is a financial advisor. When I went to college at 17 I used to write down every purchase and tot it all up to see what I needed to live on. When people coming to her with serious debt said they just couldn't figure out where the money was going she used to tell them if her teenage student daughter could do it and live on €50 a week then anybody could do it.

confuseddotcom

I was in Lidl this evening and there was about 10 things lol that I saw that I just wanted! Must-have "Knick-knacks" etc! Filling the house with crap just for the sake of it. Some Coat-hanger thing not needed sure I can just use another press but it looked nice! Pyjamas - although I never even wear pyjamas anyway but they looked cosy lol! Plus if I bought them they would only have been taking up space in a press. A fancy set of grocery labels/stickers - handy enough I guess but sure exact same job can be done with a marker! A trendy-looking blanket! Have about 7 blankets don't need any more! A fitness-stick lol! :rolleyes: Don't talk to me about all the "fitness" things I own. The only exercise I get out of them is falling over them!!! But again it looked nice just the novelty of a new thing! :o Can't remember what else, BUT anyways I didn't buy ~any~ of them! Not even 1! Just walked right past them all! Was very pleased with myself!

When I was a teenager I was obsessed with magazines, for a while, till I realized how much money they were costing and how much I was wasting on them, could have kicked myself then for it, but thankfully when it did dawn on me where all my money was going the gossip industry didn't get another penny/cent off me.

I do have a life-saving "Piggy-bank!" I don't know if folk still have faith in the tradition of a good old-fashioned Piggy-bank, I'd find it very hard to put money away to save myself, but this has got me out of a few tricky/sticky situations! It's not a big tall awkward thing either, it's small enough just a regular size I guess, it's a black n' white cow a Housemate brought me back as a pressie from her holidays before! :D Actually come to think of it she got me a damn nice necklace too I must dig that out.

But anyways, you can't spend what ya don't have right, so aside from the bare minimum of notes in my purse and maybe 5/6 coin pieces for young cousins here and there for sweets, any acquired loose change and coppers goes in here. It doesn't be long adding up at all and gives me roughly €70-80 every few months. Just last week I banked €121.80 from it! :pac: I'm not a Saver at all, I'm not frugal. I buy loadsa' crap a lot of the time. But if all of that €121.80 was still sitting in my purse being bandied about and I didn't put it away straight away, I definitely would have spent it on crap I shouldn't!! But because I did, - it's now in the Bank.

Posy

Giselle wrote: »

a bowl of depressed pears.

That made me laugh.

Acoshla wrote: »

My job situation (work from home) and my general nature mean I'm frugal all year, it's great!

I work right beside Grafton Street. I can't think of any big stores that aren't within walking distance of me. That makes life hard at times.

pclancy

Regarding good Apps to track finances I've been using EasyMoney for a year now and its fantastic at keeping an eye on what i've spent, budgeting and viewing charts of where my money is going. It can even export to spreadsheet etc.

http://www.handy-apps.com/main/EasyMoney.aspx

Rosy Posy

I did a version of this a while back- for a year I didn't buy anything (other than food) that wasn't second hand or handmade, bought directly from the person who made it. It was great because I don't think I could give up shopping so I still got my 'new thing' fix from charity shops and online auctions without spending up...

(my knickers were in tatters by the end of it though!!):D

Ophiopogon

I don't really think I could live any more frugal than I already am tbh.

I have already bought my mascara/deodorant/mosituriser supply for the year so have no outgoings on toiletries. I have a budget for a new pair of running runners, a pair of walking boots and a pair of work boots thats all I need in footware as I already have a few pairs of fancy boots/shoes. Have my outfits already for going out so I only need some workwear clothes.

I at very most spend 50 euro a month on going out. This covers pints/ coffee the odd lunch. Not going to cut this as I'd end up never getting out.

I'm also a complete food waste nazi so everything I buy food wise is always used and every part used.

After rent/bills/food everything else is being saved to start my own business.

I just re read this and I think I sound like I'm trying to make myself out to be some kind of martyr but I really I still have fun in what I do and I was never that big of a consumer. It's all for an end goal as well for me.

Ophiopogon

Ophiopogon wrote: »

I'm also a complete food waste nazi so everything I buy food wise is always used and every part used.

How do you manage this? Practically?

Ophiopogon

Moonbaby wrote: »

How do you manage this? Practically?

How'd you mean?

I always have an idea of what the dinners are for the week so I buy the food accordingly. I'll bulk buy meat for two weeks and divde it up and freeze.

Any bones are used to make stock. Also, trimmings of some veg (Onions,leeks, carrots, etc) are used for stock.

If ever I have vegetables on the turn they go in a soup.

I freeze ginger, herbs, lemon grass etc if they are on the turn or I won't be using them straight away.

I buy dried beans (butterbeans, chickpeas etc) spend a day cooking them up and dividing them out and freeze them.

I buy all spices and pulses in the asia market which saves a ton and also with a load of spices you can any taste great. So if your left with only a coople of veg at the end of the week you can make a good curry.

I usually make more than is needed dinner and so can have it for lunch the next day.

So basically. if you have a freezer you shouldn't have any food waste I think.

Giselle

Posy wrote: »

I work right beside Grafton Street. I can't think of any big stores that aren't within walking distance of me. That makes life hard at times.

Torture

I was thinking about this a lot this morning and I'm actually quite excited to try it out. I might even commit myself to more than a month!

I started by downloading loads of free books via kindle to read, as it means I won't go crazy on Amazon or in a bookshop. I've also signed up to MoneyStrands to keep track of my spending, and I'm going to adopt a cash only policy for weekdays.

I'm also going to work on saying no when people ask me to drive them places.

I do pay a lot for cable tv so I'm going to check out netflix etc later to see if I can cut that down.

And I'm going to write a list before a supermarket shop, and stick to it.:)

And I'm not buying any clothes - for a year! I looked in the wardrobe and I have enough clothes to last a lifetime but I only wear a few of them. Organising that is going to be a priority this month.

I'll be a miser in a few weeks.

guppy

Ophiopogon wrote: »

Moonbaby wrote: »

How do you manage this? Practically?

How'd you mean?

I always have an idea of what the dinners are for the week so I buy the food accordingly. I'll bulk buy meat for two weeks and divde it up and freeze.

Any bones are used to make stock. Also, trimmings of some veg (Onions,leeks, carrots, etc) are used for stock.

If ever I have vegetables on the turn they go in a soup.

I freeze ginger, herbs, lemon grass etc if they are on the turn or I won't be using them straight away.

I buy dried beans (butterbeans, chickpeas etc) spend a day cooking them up and dividing them out and freeze them.

I buy all spices and pulses in the asia market which saves a ton and also with a load of spices you can any taste great. So if your left with only a coople of veg at the end of the week you can make a good curry.

I usually make more than is needed dinner and so can have it for lunch the next day.

So basically. if you have a freezer you shouldn't have any food waste I think.

Was going to suggest most of this!

I'm not sure what its like just to buy for yourself, but my average weekly spend on groceries for my family of 4 is €60, sometimes more, sometimes less. I plan our menu for 2 weeks (actually sit down, think and write it up), based on what's in the press and freezer already and buy any extras. I dont much like potatoes, so we use a lot of pasta and rice, and I like tomato based sauces (almost all our food is home made), and tins of chopped tomatoes in lidl cost about 45 cent. Leftovers become lunch in work or are frozen for another day.

Re magazines, if you really can't live without, go halves with someone else to save a bit of money at least!

carolinespring

I am getting really excited about seeing what I can cut back on and another friend is going to join me as well so about a half dozen in total going to give it a go.

I have tons of clothes, mostly very tight but with cutting out all treats and junk that should also change. the only thing I really need is sock. Have so much make up that I won't need anything for at least 6 months.

Have lots of books I got but never got round to reading. So happy days!!

Posy

Ophiopogon, you should teach a course!!
I'm SO bad at cooking, that when I bulk buy food for eating at work it's a sliced pan and I'll just live on toast for a week!

I do, however, make more than I need for dinner at night and bring the extra in for lunch. Woo-hoo.
Now I just have to learn how to make soup..

lisasimpson

for feb im going not going to buy any toletries unless i really need something. have noticed ive a numerous bottles of shampoes, shower gels, tans etc all open and only used a couple of times so going to use them up.

I also have an old coffee jar, and when i use loyalty card coupons or my boots points to pay for something, i throw the saved cash into the jar. over the course of a yr can gather a nice bit and use that for my holiday

ICANN

I'm definitely joining in on this one- I really really REALLY want to go on holiday this summer so I badly need to start saving.

I'm planning on not buying any luxuries so just food I suppose. I won't be cutting out going out though because I've had a quiet January socialising wise so I need to get out :-D

Writing out all your purchases in a notebook is a really good idea.

Babybuff

I'd tried giving up coffee after reading this thread but I ended up buying things I don't need to compensate for the loss of the Java in my system and ended up with two t-shirts and a pack of knickers from Penneys.

...and then went for a cup of coffee afterwards.


On the positive side of things I made a new friend who owns a coffee shop

carolinespring

We have a very large vodka bottle in the wardrobe in our bedroom and put all our spare change in it. It really adds up over a year.

Love the idea of putting the saved money samed from the loyalty card into a jar. Going to be giving that one a good.

We never have any food waste. Veg left in the fridge on a friday become bottom of the fridge soup. Never tastes the same twice. Like in the above post bones and veg cut offs become stock and I freeze any I am not going to use within a day or so. Extra mashed potato gets made into fish cakes with some fish and frozen for lunches or snacks. Over ride bananas become banana muffins and again freeze really well.

I get really fed up when the odd time a bag of salad gets dumped due to plans changing at the last min.

Berries that look like they are starting to go off become a really nice, very low suger jam that can be used on porridge, toast or chucked into the banana muffins - only warning it only lasts for about 2 weeks sue to the low suger content. It the other areas that I need to work on.

I was just charting what I have spent over the last week or so so that I can see what my wasteage is and it is crazy,

Today.

Wash and blow dry, coffee and scone, lunch out, can of coke, magazine. All stuff I could have done without and saved the money but before I started thinking about this would not eveen think about.

Looking forward to some more cash for holidays and weekends.