Frugal Living 2011

A question about : Frugal Living 2011

My intention for this thread is that it is used by anyone wanting to take part in the 2011 challenge (those who've previously taken part, or anyone new - all are welcome ) to get ready for January 1st

For me, this last month of 2010 will be spent doing final tweaks to my budgets for 2011 - and will be based around actual expenditure in 2009 and 2010, as I have full records for those two calendar years.

What people include/exclude varies. The main exclusion seems to be the cost of housing (be that rent or mortgage), but it really is down to the individual on how they want to keep their own books

The key thing is that all of your outgoings (including those you exclude and any debt repayments) add up to no more than your incoming money........ failure to ensure this is the case means you're going to be getting (further) into debt rather than coming out of it or building up a savings pot.

And that's another difference between challenge participants.....

Some may do this to enable them to pay off debts faster, while others are doing it to build up savings (possibly to buy a home, possibly for a dream holiday, possibly - in at least one case - so they can/could start their own business, or possibly 'just' so they have something to fall back on should things get tougher)

There is no set bottom line you should be aiming for, and participants all have their own personal budgets. As long as each participant is happy with his/her own budget, then no-one else is going to judge them on how high/low that budget is.

This challenge is NOT a competition to see who can live on the least amount of money, either as a household or on a per person basis.

This challenge IS about ensuring we only spend what we can afford/are comfortable with spending, and we share hints and tips to help others reduce spends in 'problem' areas.

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As many are aware, this challenge was started up by (and run for several years by) Frugaldom

You can find the original thread for the last quarter of 2010 here

I always found the following (in the header of each of the previous threads) to be a useful reminder as to what the challenge was/is about, so have chosen to quote it here

Quote:

I have a spreadsheet I compiled for keeping track of all my spends, and a lot of other people on the challenge - and also a lot of lurkers - asked for a copy to help them out. I was more than happy to share with anyone who wanted it, and still am.

There were a few 'bugs' found at the start of 2010, but hopefully those are now all ironed out - and I've updated it to run for 2011 (there's one formula in it that's date based). If you'd like to take a look at it (no obligation to use it) you can find the info on where to download it from here

Best answers:

• A brief intro to me for anyone new / thinking of joining in for 2011
  This will be my third full year of taking part in the Frugal Living Challenge
  I originally joined towards the end of 2008 on a bit of a trial run, having been notified I was to be made redundant.
  At that time my DH was in and out of hospital with terminal cancer, so finances were already getting stretched to the limit, and I needed help from somewhere to get my head around surving with a much lower income.
  Even though I was new to the challenge I got a lot of support from fellow challengees when I was widowed and then became unemployed in the space of 9 days in November 2008 - and I'm sure it would have been easy for me to 'go under' had it not been for the support from those on this challenge (and a couple of others I was a member of at the time)
  I surprised myself by coping on a much lower income throughout 2009 (my budget for this challenge was Ј8k for myself, my teenage son and my dog), and was lucky enough to find a new job in November 2009 - albeit on a much lower hourly rate and less hours per week than I'd previously been used to. But one benefit to the job is that it's within walking distance of home, so this saves me the Ј60/month I used to spend on bus fares (and up to 10 hours/week spent on buses getting there and back).
  For 2010 I maintained my Ј8k budget, but also started spending in some new areas which I funded from overtime and WTC (neither of which I counted as regular income as the amount varied so much) and excluded from this challenge. But I lost most of this additional income in September when my son moved from college to Uni, and as such no longer counts as a dependant child. (He also moved out of here, and in with my parents as they live a lot closer to the Uni he's attending)
  I've already done a fair bit of work on my 2011 budgets, and - despite the household headcount have reduced to just me and the dog - it looks like my bottom line is going to be increased to Ј9k!!!
  But I'm also bringing in some additional categories which are those I excluded for 2010 (garden costs while I try and get my Grow Your Own up and running, my 'get fit' expenses as I've started running, cycling and going to a gym to swim and for exercise classes, and also 'socialising'), plus one additional one which is a savings pot for my main kitchen appliances (most are now coming towards the end of a normal/average lifetime and I have nothing put to one side for replacing them - so I'll be moving a minimum amount into one of my savings accounts each month, and this will be earmarked for that purpose).
• Just want to say thanks Cheryl for doing this and for the great posts!
  I hadn't realised how recently your were widowed. I'm impressed how well you've coped with everything life has thrown at you and I hope you keep on going from strength to strength.
  Hi to all the other frugal challengers Hope everyone is well and the budget-planning is going ok. I think I'm a budget nerd as I love playing around with my spreadsheet. I've started a new one for 2011 but the budget isn't finalised yet as I don't know how much I'll have to live on. But I have listed all my categories which have changed a bit since this year and I'm also going to leave a few spare slots for things that come up - e.g. a new hobby.
  I look forward to reading how everyone's getting on. Stay cosy folks!
• i am joining in for 2011 any tips on getting ready
• I think we have settled on a 2011 budget already of Ј5,000 for the year.
  The budget will be broken down as follows:
• Groceries = Ј1,100
• Gas = Ј0,300
• Electricity = Ј0,300
• Water = Ј0,120
• Internet = Ј0,180
• Contents insurance = Ј0,150
• Bike insurance = Ј0,390
• Road tax = Ј0,015
• Petrol = Ј0,300
• Vets = Ј0,240
• Mobiles = Ј0,500
• Yule = Ј0,334 (gifts, all food, treats, drink etc)
• Birthdays = Ј0,180
• Dentist = Ј0,120
• Optical = Ј0,120
• Entertainment = Ј0,180
• TV licence = Ј0,145.50
• Bike maintanance = Ј0,120
• MOT = Ј0,030

Total of above = Ј4,824.50 but will be rounding it up to Ј5,000. That means we have Ј175.50 incase we need it (hoping that is an easy Ј175.50 into our wedding savings but we'll find out at the end of next year if that is the case!).
We won't be including rent or council tax. This is to cover my fiance, me and our 2 chinchillas . All things related to my disability are not on this budget as they should be covered by my DLA.
We are trying to spend as little as possible as we want to save for our wedding (looks like it will be in 2013). We refuse to get a loan to get married so we need to save for it.

• Thanks Cheryl for starting up this thread, I am SO excited about the new 2011 challenge, the 2010 challenge has done so much good for us.
  Our joint (2 adults, 2 cats) budget so far is Ј11000 all in, but I am hoping to reduce that to Ј10000 at least. If I can get it down to below Ј9000, that would be amazing, but several changes need to be made before that can happen, so I'll just stick with Ј11000 for now. I took Cheryl great advice on breaking down the budget to things that are fixed, and things that you can do more to reduce.
  Fixed Outgoings:
• Mortgage - Ј1,920
• Mortgage related life insurance - Ј120
• Council tax - Ј1,140
• BT - Ј300
• BT Line rental (paid 1 year up front) - Ј130
• Water -Ј240
• Safetybox - Ј30
• Car Tax - Ј200
• MOT - Ј50
• Car maintenance - Ј200
• Parking permit - Ј35

Things that are already as cheap as we can go:

• Car insurance - Ј540
• RAC - Ј120
• Contact lens -Ј120
• Pet insurance - Ј300
• Mobile (Me) - Ј90
• Mobile (OH) - Ј15
• Food - Ј85
• Petrol - Ј240
• Cash (pocket money for us) - Ј480
• Pet related expenses Ј720 (food, litter, vets, etc)

Things that I really want to work on reducing

• Loan repayment - Ј840
• House Insurance - Ј420
• Gas & Electricity - Ј600
• Trip to London (we HAVE to do this) Ј700

Annual Total (all in) Ј10,735
I'm off to see how much I can cut down on things to bring the total down...

• My challenge for 2011 is to stick to the budget as much as possible, and then to save the rest.
  Budget - this is for two of us:
  Groceries: Ј1400
  Toiletries: Ј80
  Cleaning products: Ј50
  Electricity: Ј280
  Mobiles: Ј360
  Telephone and Internet: Ј216
  TV licence: Ј156
  Clothing & footwear: Ј300
  Christmas Savings & Gifts Ј350
  Insurances: Ј? [I need to check this]
  Everything else: Ј308
  Total: Ј3500
  I need to check how much our house insurance is and the wedding insurance that we're paying for is, and I'll add that on. The clothing and footwear budget is quite excessive, but I need lots of work clothes and I also need to wear suits for work, so they cost me a bit.
  For the record, the only debt that both me and OH have are student loans, which are paid off through our pay anyway. So that's being left to the side for now, as they're at such a low rate. We don't have any other debts, or CC's or anything.
  The christmas savings and gifts is also high because between us, me and OH have a biiiig family, so there's always lots of people to buy for. Hopefully this will cover this!
  But, if we can manage on this for the entire year, we'd be able to save a hefty sum, which is the aim! This obviously doesn't include our rent, council tax or water rates which add on quite a bit each month, but even so, we should still be able to save.
  I'm already excited!
• My 2011 budget currently looks as follows (the figures in brackets are my original 2010 budgets for each category, and where there's a second figure this is what I've actually paid)
  One off payments
• Blgds/Contents Insurance Ј360 (Ј324) my 2010 figure is likely to be too low, and I need to sort out my actual level of contents cover with the company in the next week before my renewal kicks in
  
• Car Insurance Ј360 (Ј300 / Ј321.10)
• Breakdown Cover Ј72 (Ј72 / Ј69.50)
• Road Tax Ј90 (Ј132 / Ј120) did an on-line look-up, and it appears the road tax for my car has dropped - will find out for sure in the next few weeks as this is due at the end of Jan
• MOT Ј48 (Ј48 / Ј45)
• Car Service Ј144 (Ј132 / Ј129.30)
• Diet website membership Ј96 (not included)
• Gym membership Ј396 (not included)

Monthly payments

• Council Tax Ј1080 (Ј1056)
• Water Ј156 (Ј240) this may still change, but I submitted the second reading they needed to give a more accurate annual estimate yesterday
• Gas & Electricity Ј516 (Ј588) have negotiated a drop in my monthly payments, mainly due to DS no longer being here with his PC on for hours every day (plus I can wrap up rather than boost the heating, which he sometimes complained about)
• C/H breakdown cover Ј252 (Ј228) not sure what the actual cost for this will be in 2011, as I managed to get a huge reduction in 2010 by threatening to move to another company
• Phone & Broadband Ј252 (Ј276)
• TV Licence Ј0 (Ј144) am dropping this on New Years Eve. my D/Debit has already been cancelled as I was paying for next years licence
• Mobile Phone Ј66 (Ј60) increased to allow for increase in VAT. expect to have money left in this pot at the end of the year, but like to set budgets to a round figure for each month
• Endowment policy Ј348 (Ј348)
• Window Cleaner Ј120 (Ј108) have allowed for an annual increase

Ad-hoc categories

• Dog Expenses Ј528 (Ј660) this has dropped due to dropping from 2 dogs to 1 in Jan 2010
• Vets Bills Ј120 (Ј108) may have to consider increasing this one, having had another unexpected vets bill in Nov 2010!
• Presents Ј420 (Ј384) currently no where near my 2010 figure, but have just about exhausted the stockpile of pressies I had in the house - and as my DD is now engaged I have an extra person to buy for. going to try and make at least some of the presents for adults in 2011, which will hopefully keep the figure lower though
• Petrol Ј300 (Ј348) not sure about this one. have been using the car a lot less as I no longer take my GDs to school, but now I've started running I have some additional mileage to races.
• Work related Ј96 (Ј96) to cover shoes and trousers. bust this budget in 2010 due to having to keep buying new trousers as the weight fell off me!! any further trousers needed will be dearer as the supermarket don't do a smaller size than I'm now in
• Gutter Cleaning Ј0 (Ј0) something I had done in 2009, and have left the category in my s/sheet as I plan to use it again in 2012 (when I'm looking at selling up and down-sizing, so part of making the house look good as it goes on the market)
• Groceries Ј1095 (Ј1309) reduced due to having one less person to feed, but not by as much as I'd hoped as I'm now having to eat a lot more than I was doing (due to my exercise regime). I'm hoping a lot of this will actually be 'spent' on stuff I have stock-piled in the house, and when I do this I'll put the money into a savings account as an emergency slush-fund
• Toiletries/Cleaning Ј120 (Ј144) hoping to spend a very minimal amount of this in shops during 2011 - having started my stock-take and scared myself with how much I have in the house. Anything 'spent' on stock will work as per groceries.
• 'Anything Else' Ј720 (Ј396) hefty increase here, as I've had a major overspend in 2010. a large %age of my over-spend has been due to needing new clothes as I've lost weight, and it appears I still need to replace some more - but am holding off until the weight actually stops coming off (something I'm currently working on with very minimal success!)
• Garden Ј120 (not included) total guess work - no idea what I'm going to need/want for my GYO project
• Get Fit Ј300 (not included) another guess work one. spent a lot more than this in 2010, but now have most (if not all) of the gear I need. so this category needs to cover annual membership fee of the running club, race entry fees, new running shoes (not cheap!) and any other gear that needs replacing due to having worn out.
• Appliance Savings Ј300 (Ј0) new category, and will hopefully only be spent from my main bank account by being put into a savings account. but I know that by having it logged as part of my budget/showing on my s/sheet I'm more likely to actually put the money to one side....
• Contingency Fund Ј525 (Ј499) I'm going to start moving this into a savings account so I can see it building up, and it means I'll hopefully have some cash should anything unexpected crop up

This means my total budget for 2011 is Ј9k - an increase of Ј1k on 2009 and 2010, despite having reduced the household headcount by one dog and one person in the last 11 months.
But as my new categories (diet website, gym membership, garden, get fit and appliance savings) come to a total of Ј1212 I'm happy with this increase - it means I've reduced the other categories by a total of Ј212 (though most of that is my TV Licence)

• Hi all, I would like to join please, I hope it's realistic at Ј5,500:
  Shopping & petrol 1860
  Household / DIY 120
  Gas & Elec 720
  Buildings Insurance 224.88
  Life Insurance - 487.44
  Council Tax 1150
  TV Licence 146.16
  Water 330.96
  Virgin Broadband & Tel 324
  Pet Insurance 113.88
  5477.32
  This doesn't include the mortgage as that's such a large cost. Actually I still need to add in car costs like Tax, MOT too so will need to revise these figures and probably direct debit the car tax rather than pay lump sum in March.
  We have a baby on the way, and are already quite keen moneysavers, so not sure how much more we would cut down but we will do what we can. I suppose maybe shopping, petrol and DIY/household might be able to shave some pennies off.
• Looking forward to 2011 - no matter what happens it can NEVER be as 'eventful' as 2010 - the future is looking very positive and very bright.
  The way i work my budget is to work out my TOTAL INCOME and then i subtract my ESSENTIAL OUTGOINGS and this leaves me with a figure. I then decide what is the lowest i can live on and subtract that from the left over figure. Any left-over is savings/for debts
  2011
  INCOME 41,407
  ESSENTIAL OUTGOINGS (rent, childcare, minimum debt repayments, water) 20,708
  Frugal Challenge #14,000
  = #6699 saved BUT mid year i want to buy a new car and should have around 3,500 saved by July (need a 7 seater with 4 kids!!!) and then the 3,200 will be for new appliances if needed etc etc.
  So, here are my finals for me, 6 yr old, 4yr old, 3yr old, 1week old and 13 week old puppy - suffice to say i am breastfeeding and plan to do so until my youngest is at lease 6mths but probably till he is 1yr old. Weaning will begin between 5 and 6mths so really he will be costing my very little until he is 5/6mths old. I have been bought/given most of what i need already to last me until then and have only purchased a breast pump, a second hand travel cot and some nappies so far! I have carriers, car seats etc from friends and my previous children
  Window Cleaner 90yr
  I cannot do this myself
  Dog
  360 yr
  Food, Insurance, Toys (he is a tiny jug and eats less than 100g dry food per day)
  Car Tax
  240yr
  MOT/repairs/aa cover
  500
  My dad does all my car work but for tyres/bulbs/oil etc and AA cover (the TCB will be used for other budget - info at the end of this post)
  Stationery/accessories
  60 yr
  For filing etc
  Gas
  600 yr
  I think this is too much but i am not sure what it is as only moved here end june
  Electric
  700
  Worst case
  BT
  39 yr
  This is not too bad as i claim it back on business expenses at end of year as phone line exclusively for business
  Mobile
  580 yr
  I phone contract - need internet on go and includes VAT increase!
  Car Insurance
  500
  Already paid in lump sum but i transfer the money back to savings where it came from every month saving loads on interest to loan company
  Washing/Cleaning/Toiletries
  200 yr
  Laundry - Cleaning products - Loo roll. Quite lucky in that i rarely buy shampoo and conditioner and body wash as so much gets left behind at the swimming pool and chucked that i may as well use it
  Garden
  300 yr
  Am seriously upping my grow own this year - garden is huge and mum has got allotment. Already bought potatoes and all seeds - this is for compost/manure/pots etc
  B'day
  400
  I have 4 kids and a large family!
  Xmas
  400
  I have 4 kids and a large family!
  Petrol
  2400
  This is really high i know but i live in north london and my kids go to school in Herts still. I am not changing their school. I also go to the gym near their school and gyms local to me have no decent creche facilities
  Kids Activities
  360
  School Trips - Parties etc etc for 4 kids
  Kids clothes/shoes/accesories
  1000
  School uniform, School Shoes, Clothes, Shoes, Socks, Knickers etc for 4 kids - think ebay/charity shops/grabbit board etc etc (4 pairs school shoes, 4 pairs trainers and 4 pairs good shoes could set me back 300 if i'm not careful!)
  My clothes shoes and accessories
  600
  Gym trainers every 3-6mths, gym clothes and an entire new wardrobe as i have gone from size 20 to size 14/16 this pregnancy (i am 1 stone 7lb lighter than when i fell pregnant 9 days post natal )
  Food and Milk (my eldest son has milk at school highly subsidised at like 15.00 per term)
  3000
  All food, drinks etc for 1 adult and 3 children ish
  Nappies and Wipes
  600
  4year old wears to bed, as does 3 yr old and a new baby
  Gym
  300
  Monthly direct debit
  Hair cuts
  340
  3 kids and me (around 60 every 2 months)
  TOTAL 14000 FOR THE YEAR
  The biggest difference this year is that i do not have an OTHER budget, as previous! This is really scary for me as i have usually
  allowed 100-200 for other but end up buying things for the sake of it SOOOOOOOOOOOOO this year i have to 'earn' my other budget,
  any money used will come from -additional work (i do invigilating in summer and cover other swimming teachers who are off and do crash
  courses etc) - TCB - Using tesco vouchers to buy nappies for example and then converting the same amount into cash for the other
  budget - Ebay (selling old maternity clothes etc that i have etc) Also if i save on the electric one month i can put that cash into the next
  months other budget and with food, i plan to save by growing own and in the summer/autumn and winter next year reduce food budget
  and put that saving into the next months other budget. Am hoping it will reign in my spending if i work for it
  To start my other budget off i was very very strict in October and put away #200 from the challenge, that will now be spread over Jan and Feb
  and i also have vouchers coming from my parents which i will use to cover another category in the budget (probably clothes or food) and
  put the equivalent cash from that to the other budget for Jan and Feb (my b'day is end jan)
  I also get maintenance of #5 per week but this is sporadic and therefore i will include it here as i never know if i'll get it. I know it could reduce
  soon too as he now has his new girlfriend pregnant (i left 6mths ago and he met her a couple weeks after i left...........) but i will have to wait and
  see as i know not much about maintenance stuff.......
• whoop-di-doop, the fun starts here!
  Voici my initial budget for 2011 - I welcome and encourage constructive criticism
  It's just for me, a 20-something gal living in Sheffield in a house shared with three others.
  I'm not including Rent, nor the Ј90 I put into various savings pots each month.
  I'll put the annual total first, then the monthly amount in brackets
• Gas - Ј216 (Ј18)
• Contents Insurance - Ј51.72 (Ј4.31)
• Broadband - Ј128 (Ј10.60)
• TV License - Ј37 (Ј3.08)
• Mobile Phone - Ј190 (Ј15.83)
• Medication - Ј130 (Ј10.83)
• Clothes - Ј90 (Ј7.50)
• Travel - Ј100 (Ј8.33)
• Presents - Ј400 (33.33)
• Dentists - Ј120 (Ј10)
• Entertainment - Ј800 (66.67)
• Haircuts - Ј40 (3.33)
• Bank Account - Ј60 (Ј5)
• LoveFilm - Ј71.88 (Ј5.99)
• Electricity - Ј240 (Ј20)
• Trade Union - Ј116 (Ј9.70)
• Groceries - Ј1000 (83.33)
• Toiletries / Cleaning - Ј200 (Ј16.67)
• Anything Else - Ј259 - (Ј21.58)

TOTAL - Ј4,250 (354.10)
I've deliberately over-estimated some areas to give me a 'buffer', so that it's not too much of a shock to the system and I don't lose heart

• Im back in for 2011 if youll have me back
  I intend to be much more committed this coming year as I have been somewhat absent, chaotic all over the show over the last few months
  As some of you will remember I had some probs with my old job etc. Well Ive left that, and im now a student living on "not a lot" ie just what I have saved.
  I need to have a chat with OH when he comes in ( long overdue) about the state of play with the finances, and I will set myself up a spreadsheet and will be hopefully a lot better at it this year than last!
• lynzpower! Of course you are welcome back - you were one of the first members I talked to when I joined the site!
• Definitely not! I'm good thanks, busy busy these days! Haha
• oooh I am so excited, I'm in for 2011!!!
  my budget is as follows, for 1 adult , 1 teenager and 2 maine coons, my babies lol .
  gas. Ј1040 !!!! pre payment meter, they refuse to remove it, however, my bill at my old house for the year was half this, so am trying to do something about this. woried as I have put Ј30+ on this week, and its only on in eve!
  elec, pre payment, Ј520, again, am trying to turn things off, got rid of tumble
  food Ј1820, Ј35 a week, am trying to reduce.
  contents insurance, set at Ј72 ( housing !!! one, insured for Ј14000)
  water Ј336
  sky this year was Ј280, 2011 it is going !
  tv licence Ј155 ??
  christmas Ј250 , to include food, presents for daughter partner and 5 other children.
  mobile Ј120
  net Ј120
  landline Ј120
  basically I am expecting to save at least Ј50 most weeks. I would like Ј2000 in my account by dec and this will be for driving lessons
  any other income I make , ebay ect I intend to bank and not touch! however I am a shopaholic so I know it will be a struggle, but I am looking forward to the challenege.
  I have no debts, I dont use credit cards, dont drive or smoke or drink, other than a cheapo bottle now and again. so I expect to be able to save a decent amount for driving and any left over goes straight into my house buying fund.
  still have my sums to do so will come back and tweak this post
  ok, I have quickly added it up in my head to Ј4217?? so I will round up my ttal allowable amount to Ј4500 for the year.
• Hello Frugallers,
  Here is my budget plan for next year based on this year (my practise year).
  All amounts are for a year.
  Water - 400
  Gas/Leccy - 480
  Phone ect - 360
  TV - 145 (just the license)
  Car insurance- 300
  Road Tax - 120
  MOT - 50
  Petrol - 600
  Church - 156 (Sunday collection)
  Groceries - 600
  Cleaning/Toiletries - 120
  Anything else - 240
  Total is Ј3571 will up this to Ј4000 for the year to cover emergancys like breaking washing machines ect ect. Fingers crossed we don't need it.
  Can't wait till next years challenge and finding lots of new ways to save and stretch the pennys.
• I'm in again for 2011 - thanks to all for help in 2010 - could never have managed on reduced income without help/support on here. Luckily had no debts, don't have a credit card only debit card. Have found it easier if i draw out money for whole month in one go, and work from there. Once everything paid out, rest is for housekeeping - have found setting out a budget is a great help.
  Will try & go for Ј5000 all in, slightly lower than last year by Ј500 but enough to give me some leeway if bills are higher, and I have any more messing around with benefit changes.
  yearly figs just for me
  TV License 149
  Council Tax 30
  Sponsor Dog 52
  Phone/Broadband 480
  Insurance 80
  Pension 192
  Water Rates (on meter) 165
  Mobile 36
  Rent 562
  Gas/Electric 280
  Hair 20
  food/busfares/cleaning/toiletries 1357
  TOTAL 3403
  Hopefully by going through all this years spends, will find out if I can save anywhere. I know I can cut down on grocery by doing more baking, and will not need any more toiletries (apart from shampoo/toothpaste). Also need to checkout changing phone/broadband from Virgin to cheaper network.
  can't believe how quickly this last year has gone. Looking forward to new challenge
  Thanks for starting this Cheryl
  Hugs to all
  xx