Every week I share five frugal things that I’ve done during that week just to show you that the small things you do all add up to a great frugal lifestyle where you can learn to live a fabulously frugal life.
Hey! 👐
1) At the start of the year, I decided I wanted to set myself a challenge and so far, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on here at all so I thought I’d share it with you today and then maybe give you an update every couple of months if I stick to it. 😇
Basically, I thought I’d do a bit of a challenge where I don’t spend any money on clothes that I haven’t made from selling clothes that I either already own or that I buy second hand and sell on for a profit. In my head, I’m calling it my clothing neutral challenge which is the least sexy name ever, isn’t it?
In most of my monthly pre-loved bargains posts, I make a point to include that the clothes I’m buying and sharing in these posts are usually paid for by clothes that I’ve sold on Vinted because as much as I love new clothes, I don’t want to be spending a fortune on them.
I know we’re only three weeks in but so far, I’m on track with no spending on clothes that hasn’t been paid for with profits from my Vinted balance.
2) In my quest to lose weight and get myself into better shape fitness-wise, I’ve been using the free version of My Fitness Pal in conjunction with my trusty old Fitbit rather than paying for Slimming World which would be £20 a month-ish. I am a fan of Slimming World and have done well in the past on it getting down to the weight I am now but I find that I get bored with it really easily and stick to the same few foods all the time which means that when I stop following the plan, I put some of the weight back on which I’ve lost.
I decided to save myself some money and do calorie counting with more of a focus on exercise than I’ve had in the past so the free versions of My Fitness Pal and Fitbit are working just fine for me at the moment.
I’m also using my exercise bike most days and walking Monty on speed walks – I way Monty as Buddy has absolutely zero interest in anything other than a stroll around the block.
3) I’ve been doing some overtime at work this month to earn some extra pennies. On the days I’ve worked from home, I’ve started at the same time as I would have set off to drive my 40 miles there and stayed on until the time I would have got home from my journey home. I know future me will be grateful for the extra money on payday.
4) Have you ever got ready for a night out in a hotel room? Random I know but when I do, I usually sit in front of the full-length mirror that there always seems to be and I’ll do my hair and makeup sat like that and it’s so much easier as I can have what I need on the floor around me. At home, I usually do my hair stood up in front of the bathroom mirror with nowhere to balance my straighteners or makeup properly which isn’t a hardship particularly but I did want a mirror to stand on the floor so I could get ready for the day sat down comfortably.
I set up a local search for mirrors on aBay and have been watching out for the perfect one for me for a couple of weeks not and last week, one came up for sale for a good price that I liked the look of. I got it for £6 and gave it a cheeky makeover so it looks perfect sat on the floor in my bedroom.
5) I’ve started prepping for Christmas next year. Kind of…
- I’ve been spending my usual few minutes every week on Swagbucks and already hit enough for a £10 voucher which I’ll be doing my usual and saving to redeem at the end of November when I’m Christmas shopping. It seems ridiculous to be starting so soon after Christmas this year but honestly, a few minutes every now and again and a couple of bumper sessions going through all the offers throughout the year will really help your points add up and you will be SO SO grateful when it comes to cashing out. Here’s my refer a friend link if you want to sign up if you haven’t already – we’ll both get a few bonus Swagbucks if you do choose to use it.
- I’ve bought two hamper baskets and put them away in the garage so I can make the kids some kind of hamper each. I’m really wanting to book a New York trip this year so my plan is that Miss Frugal’s will be Bath and Bodyworks and Master Frugal’s will be something else American themed. Wish me luck on getting a trip sorted!
- I’ve set up a Christmas pot in my Starling Bank account app and will be transferring some money over automatically every payday so I have a nice little amount saved by the time I’m ready to do my shopping.
Honestly, the earlier you start preparing, the easier it is when it comes around.
Come over and join our fab Facebook group – Spend Less, Live Better! We’ve hit 35,000 members in the group now so it’s a great place to be and I’ve got Miss Frugal in there helping me out now.
As always, we’d love you to join in with us by sharing anything you’ve done that’s been thrifty or frugal from your week – whether it’s an Instagram picture (#5frugalthings), a blog post or even a video. Just add your link to the Frugal Friday linky at the bottom of this post.
You’re more than welcome to copy and paste the badge above but it would be even better if you could let your readers know that you’re linking up with the five frugal things linky by adding a little line to the bottom of your post like this one:
I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.
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