club The Frugal Adventurers Club

[Sepherina]

Welcome nerds of all financial backgrounds.  This club is for those wanting a space to work on becoming more financially fit!  Here we can trade tips, tricks, experiences, advice, and ideas that have helped us find our way in a world that has become increasingly more expensive to adventure in. 

A reminder to follow the established rules of the forum. Also for your more important financial decisions consider seeking out the services of a qualified financial expert.  

Nerd Fitness Forum Guidelines

 

“Being frugal doesn’t mean slashing your spending or depriving yourself of things that you enjoy. It means knowing the value of a dollar and making every effort to spend it wisely.” -Frank Sonnenberg

 

[Loveable_Bouncer]

Joining in! 

I have a 2024 goal to buy invisaligns! My hope is to find where I cut down

, and earn more to find what I need!

[Sepherina]

5 hours ago, Loveable_Bouncer said:

Joining in! 

I have a 2024 goal to buy invisaligns! My hope is to find where I cut down

, and earn more to find what I need!

Welcome!   I can totally relate to trying to cut while increasing income.  It is a delicate balance.

[Sepherina]

My main reason for frugality this year is to pay off our one and only credit card.  Right now the balance is sitting just over 7k.  It is too high.  For now I am considering going to our credit union and getting a card with a 0% balance transfer. But I want to ensure I can pay off whatever I transfer before the interest kicks in.  I am thinking of doing this in chunks so I don’t overcommit on our budget.  But before I can think of that I need to do our budget.  

[Sovalis]

Hi Friends! So glad to be here!

 

My primary goal is to modulate spending so that we are no longer debt cycling (paying it off just to put it back on). We are *so bad* for that and we are pretty much maxed out at the debt level I'm willing to carry which is more than I'm even comfortable posting here. 😅 We are going to need a new car soon and we cannot afford the payment right now. 😥

 

Challenges with this are a few-fold: 

First: my husband is a magpie who has zero problem accruing debt if he's satisfied in the moment. This is my most significant hurdle as he isn't a small time spender. I don't know how to get him on page for this; it's not a new issue. 

Second: Weird legitimate expenses keep happening. Just this morning our wall mounted microwave died. 😫 A microwave isn't an essential appliance, but I do use it a fair amount. It would be nice to have one. But stuff like this keeps happening. *sigh*

 

So I'm going to push against the tide as best I can: The high value credit card is in my name and Dave doesn't have access to it. So I'll be making a point of not accepting it's casual use for things like eating out (this will be a challenge; I work a job where I'm on my feet all day, cooking is not a pain-free activity when I get home so I like food to magically appear). I will curb my online spending as much as I can without taking it too far (I'm pretty moderate, but there's room for improvement). I will focus on using a what I have for entertainment, food, home improvement, etc. before I consider purchasing items. 

 

Happy to cheer everyone on! 

[deftona]

Hi all! This is definitely something I need to get in on! 

 

I have fairly recently ended a very long term relationship and ended up with the house which obviously I am glad about, but the house was bought with two incomes in mind and it's stretching my budget to afford to run it so I need to maximise my income and reduce my spending. I want to make do and mend as much as possible, as well as being frugal with groceries and other non negotiable spends. 

 

[Sepherina]

11 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Hi Friends! So glad to be here!

Welcome we are happy to have you!

 

We too are stuck in debt cycling. The above mentioned card was paid off in March. Those little things like “dinner out” add up fast.

[Sepherina]

2 hours ago, deftona said:

Hi all! This is definitely something I need to get in on! 

Welcome to the club!  

 

2 hours ago, deftona said:

I want to make do and mend as much as possible, as well as being frugal with groceries and other non negotiable spends. 

All of this!  We too are trying to prolong the usefulness of many items in our home and not buy just to have new.  You may want to check out Frugal girl.  She like you is recently divorced and her tips may be really helpful for you in this journey.  

 

The Frugal Girl

[Sepherina]

Some resources I have used in the past to help in this adventure.  Feel free to send me ones that you have used and I will add them to this list!

 

Budgeting/Frugality Resources

How to Money Podcast

Frugal Friends Podcast

The Frugal Girl

Mr. Money Mustache

 

 

Budget Meal Ideas

Budget Bytes

Easy Budget Recipes

Super Cook

 

Receipt and Cash Back Apps (every penny really counts)

• Checkout 51 - I now use this for cash back on gas.  It is much better for that than the grocery items it offers
• Ibotta - Only really good if you buy a lot of name brand items or use it to get store gift cards to buy things
• Tada - Gives small amounts on generic things like produce and basic food items as well as name brand items.  This app is through Swagbucks, which is another way to earn some side money doing activities and surveys.  I personally only find it good for the really high payout stuff.  Everything else just eats up your time.
• Pogo - This is a new one I have started to use. I like it so far in the fact that you get a payout on everything (including bills), but you do have to go in every day/once a week and hit the claim button for each item.
• Coin Out - This one was good in the past.  It seems they have changed their redemption requirements and I am not consistent enough yet to take out the $10 I have earned thus far.  Accepts any receipt.
• Receipt Hog - Takes any receipt.
• Fetch - Takes any receipt
• Receipt Pal - Takes any receipt
• Rakuten - Is actually a website.  I have not used it but the Frugal Friends Podcast speak positively about it.

 

A note about the above apps. It can, in my experience, be really easy to get wrapped up in, I saved  “X” amount of dollars by getting this.  However if you didn’t need the item or it goes to waste, you really haven’t save anything and have just wasted money.  Be mindful of what deals you use and maximize the money you get back.

[Rhovaniel]

Hey friends! Here because I have tried and failed to make a budget - any budget - in past years. I do okay with money, mostly. I rarely make big purchases, particularly impulsive ones. But I don't track the small stuff, and it adds up - the coffee run before work, the takeout because I have nothing prepped for dinner and cannot make myself cook, the 'ah it's only a tenner' (google tells me this is around 12 or 13 US Dollars) Amazon finds. The books. Okay the books get me every damn time and the reason why some consider it a bad thing when I am left unattended in a bookshop. I will find something. And I will covet it. And I will bring it home to my hoard.  Seriously though, I want to live - more or less - by the old adage 'If you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves'. 

 

So, honestly, I'm just here in part for the accountability and in part to hopefully learn how to actually budget and use it. I've written out plenty in past years. How to have it be a living document that get updated and used is something I could use help with  

[Sepherina]

3 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

Hey friends!

Welcome!  So happy to have you here for the journey.

[Sovalis]

So something I'm toying with: I work at a coffee shop. We get tips. It's usually ~$3-5 a day which I often use to buy a sandwich for lunch so I don't have to bring one from home. I think I'm going to make that tip money my spending money for the next while and see if that tempers things a bit. I cashed in most of it in December to pay for Christmas gifts, but I have ~$30 right now, which isn't nothing. I spent $18 tonight covering the balance of a Christmas gift card purchase on an online order for stationery, so I will go to the bank and deposit $20 onto my credit card to cover that and then start fresh! And now no more online orders until I have cash on hand to pay for them in full. 👍

[Sepherina]

10 hours ago, Sovalis said:

It's usually ~$3-5 a day which I often use to buy a sandwich for lunch so I don't have to bring one from home.

It isn’t a lot but it sure does add up.  If you work around 200 days a year, an average of $4/day is around $1000. (This assumes a 5 day week with a 2 week vacation).

 

[Sepherina]

I am going to be trying very hard to reign in our grocery and eating out bill to help pay off the credit card.  I used to be very good when we had less money, but now that we have more we spend more.  This is compounded by our puppy Maple who has a sensitive tummy.  We have tried several commercial puppy foods to no avail.  We now have her on a home cooked, vet approved diet while we slowly rule out possible triggers.  Pork (even lean cuts) appear to be one.  Which is too bad as it is soo affordable and almost always on sale.   For now we may have to stick to ground turkey and chicken livers for her protein sources.  For now those are not too bad price wise, and I hope that maybe I can drive the price down a bit more by finding a place I can purchase in bulk. (We have a large standing deep freezer). 

[Heidi]

I'm here for this!

2023 saw me pay down my credit cards and some other significant debt just in time to be able to use those cards again in the last quarter.

Also, I am leveling up in my living situation, which also comes with a price tag, and I'd like to be mindful about spending, consciencious about saving, and effective at debt reduction.  

Basically, I'm looking at becoming a Financial Freedom Fighter in 2024.

 

Thanks for setting this up, Sepherina!

❤️ 

[Sepherina]

2 hours ago, Heidi said:

Basically, I'm looking at becoming a Financial Freedom Fighter in 2024

Welcome!  I like the Financial Freedom fighter phrase. It sounds soo invigorating. 

[Jarric]

Thanks for setting this up, I'll be lurking here for budgeting tips and the like.

 

I'm temporarily skint after various end of year expenses, so my short term goal is to have no discretionary spending for at least the next 5 weeks, and possibly the challenge cycle after that too, so I can get out of my overdrafts. I'm already realising that I'm going to need to work out something for game nights to achieve this - probably taking a flask of tea with me instead of buying cans of coke for the evening. And forgoing snacks altogether, which to be honest probably isn't a bad thing.

 

Resources wise, for UK nerds I find Snoop quite useful - it's a money management app where you connect your accounts and it categorises all of your spending. Not available outside of the UK unfortunately. Snoop money management app | Track spend, save cash & budget

I also used to like reading Mr Money Mustache, though I haven't looked at it in a few years so I'm not sure how well it holds up now. Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity (mrmoneymustache.com)

[Heidi]

For other Frugal Adventurers and Financial Freedom Fighters out there who have a grocery bill demon (or a junk food demon):
I humbly but highly recommend finding a nearby Community Supported Agriculture solution. 

These are partnerships with local farmers who take sign-ups at the beginning of the year and then provide a weekly bag of vegetables (and sometimes fruit, eggs, herbs, bread etc.). The result, for me, was that my food costs were mostly coverd for the majority of the year, and I ended up working with whatever was in my bag for the week. A little rice or black lentils in the steamer was a cheap addition to the produce, and it cooks so quickly it's an easy win. The nutrition boost is excellent too.

 

If you choose to go this route but have no clue what to do with your weekly produce, let me know. 
We'll form a local seasonal food cooking support group.  

[Heidi]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:23 PM, Rhovaniel said:

So, honestly, I'm just here in part for the accountability and in part to hopefully learn how to actually budget and use it. I've written out plenty in past years. How to have it be a living document that get updated and used is something I could use help with

I'm terrible at paper budgets. I mean, I'm great at creating them,  but then they seem to have no bearing whatsoever on my acutal money use.

I had to create separate bank accounts for separate funtions: monthly household bills; discretionary spending; and debts-saving payments.

From there I set up as many auto-pay options as possible from the accounts, and I use a debit card only from the discretionary spending when I'm out and about. This is helpful. It's not ironclad: the card doesn't cry when I use it, which is a real shame, and there's no one to stop me from using the "wrong" account or whatever. But overall it put up some guardrails that were desperately needed, and also helped make it so that I knew what my various balances meant. (When the household account is low, it's a crisis; when the discretionary account is low, it's simply unfortunate.) Also I set up my direct deposit across the three accounts according to my budget, and this was helpful too.

 

I don't know if this helps.  

[Rhovaniel]

2 hours ago, Jarric said:

Thanks for setting this up, I'll be lurking here for budgeting tips and the like.

 

I'm temporarily skint after various end of year expenses, so my short term goal is to have no discretionary spending for at least the next 5 weeks, and possibly the challenge cycle after that too, so I can get out of my overdrafts. I'm already realising that I'm going to need to work out something for game nights to achieve this - probably taking a flask of tea with me instead of buying cans of coke for the evening. And forgoing snacks altogether, which to be honest probably isn't a bad thing.

 

Resources wise, for UK nerds I find Snoop quite useful - it's a money management app where you connect your accounts and it categorises all of your spending. Not available outside of the UK unfortunately. Snoop money management app | Track spend, save cash & budget

I also used to like reading Mr Money Mustache, though I haven't looked at it in a few years so I'm not sure how well it holds up now. Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity (mrmoneymustache.com)

Thanks for these. I am definitely going to have a look into those. I once went through my bank statement (in a previous 'Im gonna make a budget' mood. and ouch was that humbling. It taught me just how much those purchases under £10 were stacking up.... alot! My actual essential spends were the minority. 

[Rhovaniel]

1 hour ago, Heidi said:

I'm terrible at paper budgets. I mean, I'm great at creating them,  but then they seem to have no bearing whatsoever on my acutal money use.

I had to create separate bank accounts for separate funtions: monthly household bills; discretionary spending; and debts-saving payments.

From there I set up as many auto-pay options as possible from the accounts, and I use a debit card only from the discretionary spending when I'm out and about. This is helpful. It's not ironclad: the card doesn't cry when I use it, which is a real shame, and there's no one to stop me from using the "wrong" account or whatever. But overall it put up some guardrails that were desperately needed, and also helped make it so that I knew what my various balances meant. (When the household account is low, it's a crisis; when the discretionary account is low, it's simply unfortunate.) Also I set up my direct deposit across the three accounts according to my budget, and this was helpful too.

 

I don't know if this helps.  

This really does help, thank you! I had thought about doing the separate account thing, but got tangled in a spiral of  'how does this affect my direct debits' and 'how many accounts will I need for this and that'. Tbh, I am also someone who gets nervous with very low amounts of funds. If it's all together, that's 'safe' because I make sure there's a buffer in there (I could move some of my current account funds to a savings account and have it start earning a small amount of interest for sure, but the peace of mind to me is worth it. I think I need to get brave and just -- do it. Even if I've overspent on one category, the guilt is hidden. 

 

I suspect part of my reluctance is this buffer. If I overspend on food compared to my food shop budget, the buffer will catch me. I don't need to check my account before making a purchase and that is a wonderful feeling I am loathe to let go of... but it is a privilege I will not keep unless I at the very least start tracking how much I'm spending. I have only once used the buffer, but it scared me enough that psychologically, I need one. 

 

 

 

[Heidi]

37 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

This really does help, thank you! I had thought about doing the separate account thing, but got tangled in a spiral of  'how does this affect my direct debits' and 'how many accounts will I need for this and that'. Tbh, I am also someone who gets nervous with very low amounts of funds. If it's all together, that's 'safe' because I make sure there's a buffer in there (I could move some of my current account funds to a savings account and have it start earning a small amount of interest for sure, but the peace of mind to me is worth it. I think I need to get brave and just -- do it. Even if I've overspent on one category, the guilt is hidden. 

 

I suspect part of my reluctance is this buffer. If I overspend on food compared to my food shop budget, the buffer will catch me. I don't need to check my account before making a purchase and that is a wonderful feeling I am loathe to let go of... but it is a privilege I will not keep unless I at the very least start tracking how much I'm spending. I have only once used the buffer, but it scared me enough that psychologically, I need one. 

 

 

 

Glad it helps, and I 100% understand the low-balance panic. In fact, having three balances helped me avoid spending for a good long while, until I had a decent balance built in each account. It's a psychological game, for certain. 

If you want me to walk through how I set up the deposits, I did:

• Determine Household spending first. I created a paper analysis of what I needed to cover each month, basically what I would use emergency funds for if it came to that (rent, utilities, regular medical (like prescriptions and office visits), car insurance). Whatever that total is and determine what percentage of your income it is, and round up a bit to make sure you're depositing enough. Let's say it's 45% of your regular paycheck; make your deposit no less than 50%, and have it first in the queue to be processed.
• Determine Discretionary spending next. Add the variable expenses (regular grocery and gas trips) as well as any online subscriptions like Netflix or AppleTV.  I often get pushback about lumping groceries in with discretionary spending, but the variability can be pretty chaotic. Take the total, and add whatever "allowance" fits your lifestyle and budget. Let's say the food and streaming comes to $200, and you feel comfortable with another $100 as an allowance for entertainment, cafes, or books.  
• Determine what would be left over from your regular income after these two "buckets" were filled. Is that enough for debt like car payments, credit card payments, or whatever? Is it an amount that would make a difference if you put it in savings?

It's up to you how you determine the amounts and the order in which they are processed. I like to limit the heck out of my discretionary spending when my credit card balances are wrecking my sleep, and I usually do this by making an additional payment from my "allowance." Also, by not having a card in my wallet for the Household or Debt accounts, I don't accidentally wreck the balance by swiping for a latte at the cafe. I set up the debt payment as a finite amount that I wanted to be my regular savings depisit, and then cringed every time I saw it eaten alive by debt. This helped motivate me to pay the debt off faster.  If you wanted to separate debts and savings, you could have a portion deposited to savings as well, since you said you already have an interest-earning savings account.

 

I hear you about the buffer!

❤️ 

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, Rhovaniel said:

Thanks for these. I am definitely going to have a look into those. I once went through my bank statement (in a previous 'Im gonna make a budget' mood. and ouch was that humbling. It taught me just how much those purchases under £10 were stacking up.... alot! My actual essential spends were the minority. 

 

Yeah, it's terrifying. I've just checked, and in the last 3 years I've spent £410 on Greggs 😬

[Jarric]

Double post because my phone is stupid, but I find the multiple accounts thing works too. I have a joint billing account for all of the regular household bills (including groceries), a joint savings account for planned spends (holidays, Christmas and birthday presents, and bills that come out quarterly/annually), and then I have my current account for discretionary spending and bills that only relate to me. I transfer all of the money I need to to the joint accounts on pay day, and then I don't have to worry about bills bouncing.

[Sepherina]

7 hours ago, Jarric said:

I'm temporarily skint after various end of year expenses, so my short term goal is to have no discretionary spending for at least the next 5 weeks, and possibly the challenge cycle after that too, so I can get out of my overdrafts.

So the frugal friends are doing a no spend challenge this month. Their Facebook group is also open to everyone if you are looking for additional support!