Hello Dear Reader,
It’s the first banking day of the month and I’ve paid the interest on the mortgage. I’ve also saved up and paid off another £2015………the odd £15 was left in my purse so I put it back into the bank and paid off some mortgage capital with it. I’ve also done the ‘big’ super market shop for the month. We ‘spend’ every penny we earn on the first of every month. All of our utility bills are paid by standing order on that date. We pay all of our insurances annually as well as all major car expenses in one go. To do this, we have to set aside slightly more than the agreed amount each month.
We do our ‘big shop’ of storable and freezable goods. We bulk buy and store when there are very good offers on items that we will definitely use. We also treat savings accounts as bills and ensure that the money goes into our several account on the first banking day of the month. It takes discipline and leaves us with next to nothing in the way of disposable income. We don’t leave ourselves ‘fun’ money as I don’t need money to have fun!
The biggest amount we save each month is the minimum of 1% of the mortgage balance per month and we try to aim for a little more. It’s the same amount of money that was furnishing our debts in the past and we lived without it. Now we live without it and pay off our mortgage at the rate of 10% a year. It means we leave the equivalent of one month’s capital repayment for: car tax, car/home insurance, servicing the car/wear and tear replacements, house repairs, boiler servicing, wood, pet costs. We then save half of one month’s capital repayment for long term savings and half a month for an annual holiday.
If we need clothes or shoes, or anything else, we make the money from ebay trading or out of our food budget. We get most clothes and fabric from jumble sales, charity shops and car boot sales. We get household items from similar places.
This all seems a bit drastic but none of us have a certain future any more. Dearly Beloved and I have pension projections which seem adequate now, but none of us know what the financial future holds so we need to pay off our mortgage as soon as possible and put money aside to meet the needs of the ‘pension gap’. Many of you who read this are living off a pension, and were careful, and did make prudent plans for your future and still find day to day costs a struggle. We all have to budget for the big stuff and making sure we eventually have a bought and paid for home, a private pension of any sort and all bills paid have now become the big stuff. I’m sorry if you thought I would share how I save up for and pay for a cruise, but like everyone else we have to be very careful stewards of our finances just to keep afloat.
I have enough money in my account to buy diesel to get us to work and back for the month and enough money to top up the shopping each week. We have enough, and under the current circumstances, consider ourselves blessed to have that.
Weekly weigh in Froog’s frugal fat fighters - I have now lost 11lbs
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs
Hi Froogs I hear ya re budgeting, frustratingly there isn't anything for a pension so I'm now thinking how I can get round that but like you where grocery shopping is concerned i pay as little as I can use what I have in the freezer and have become leftover queen in the kitchen lol. tonight we have one chicken curry made using leftover chicken and some odds n sods from the cupboard so 2 whopping portions will cost 60p each. I have a chicken stew made from leftover chicken and roast veggies,approx 60p for the same sized portion the scrappy bits will go in a risotto tomorrow. I was very lucky at our local co op managed to get 1 liter of milk for 79p bought all 13 liters popped them in the freezer so will be good for a while. Interesting post as always froogs best to your clan
Rachel
Plymouth
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Well done on all fronts, it just shows how much you can achieve with will power and determination. We live to a strict budget, and live well. I do not skimp on flavour and nutrition. I bulk buy when on promotion and work a menu to suit what I have and what is cheaply available.I grow herbs to add to meals and other salads and veg plus all the fruits that will grow in our climate. I deliberately bought a small cottage with a big garden to facilitate our lifestyle.
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I was so sad when I heard a woman on Radio 4 say her child's 4th birthday had been 'ruined forever' because the NatWest fiasco meant she couldn't buy all the things to make the day special. And so heartened to read YOUR post saying you DON'T need money to have fun. What kind of values are we instilling into these children if we equate money with happiness?
bless you for your humour, your honesty and openness- and for the inspiration that you are to so many others! xx
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I wish certain people I know read your blog……they have just booked 2 holidays abrodd on their CC…….I have given up trying to talk to them, its not debt to them. They cannot afford to get married because they cannot afford to buy a house, or even rent one, living with relatives…..aagghhhh I dispair……..
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We've been budgeting like that for a few years now. We give ourselves pocket money each month though.
I am amazed at how many people say they have no money but buy so much unimportant stuff.
Caroline
xxx
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I'm always inspired by your posts about how you pay for things and what you do or don't spend your money on. I've learnt a lot from you, so thank you.
Helen :]
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Inspirational as usual.
I really wish that some of the young of today could read and take on board your tips.
Even my son, who knows how to live frugally when he has to, has blown an amount of money of a 'special holiday' with his youngest son, because the older two are being taken abroad by the other grandparents, all the kids have their own televisions, their own phones and every new toy, console game and gadget that comes out and he says they are hard up!!
I too dispair sometimes.
Sue xx
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I love having extra money now to pay off debt faster…the longer I do it the less effort it seems to take…the feeling of less and less debt is worth every tiny cent saved…
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So inspiring…. we have been tryin to set ourselves a budget for years and we have always gone over… but last month ajd this month we have done really well and stuck to our budget and had money to put in our savings… i order our shopping online as we are able to keep costs down better than when we are in store. We have gone from spending nearly £200 to probably about £100… although partner does like to pop to our local shop and buy treats for himself which i need to cut down on… we pay all our bills the day we get paid and then we know exactly what we have left with… its so much fun being frugal… so much more fun than actually spending my money on new clothes and frivilous items that we dnt need. My family are tryin to go eco/frugal and its so much fun knowing we can put more savings away each month as well as being green. Iv asked for second hand items for my birthday and Christmas this year… there is already so much waste in the world and presents are not what special occassions are about anyway… am definately going to teach my son about that from an early age… thank u Froogs… you are amazing x
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Well done Froogs! You are so disciplined, we are still a work in progress by comparison. Mind you dh finally had his lightbulb moment when a huge tax bill came in, as he is paye we are fighting it, but they are taking a huge amount off him already each month, we would never have coped with that in our bad old days! Now we are coping, saving, just had 2 weddings (both kids) in the last couple of years and paying down the mortgage. We made another £1,000 payment off the balance this week! : ) Yay!
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It can be difficult to get the lesson accross to the younger generation, my youngest son who has one son aged 5, must spend a fortune on toys and other plastic rubbish for him. Every Friday a visit to the shops to buy him something else, whatever he wants, often the latest DVD which will probably be watched once. His main Christmas pressie (one of many) was a motorbike, child sized, with full Wolfsport outfit. When I asked what he might like for his birthday, I was told some latest game player reference, cost about £160. I'll not ask again.
OK, he works hard full-time plus over-time and his wife also continues to work part-time as a haidresser, and it's hardly my place to criticise, but I really don't think it's the lesson for life I'd be happy giving a 5-year-old?
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