New Year: Frugal Resolutions

Happy new year, everyone – and what a year! 2014 was a big one for me – my nephew was born, I embarked on a freelance career and the blog has grown in ways I never could imagine! So thank you for reading.

2015 is going to be even bigger (hopefully) – fingers crossed this year I will be working a bit more on the blog and even redesigning the layout (nothing too corporate, I promise). But it has got me thinking about where I began… 

Although my blogposts have evolved over the time (the wonder of the internet – can show me what you actually like to read about!), my ethos hasn’t. I’m still on a budget, everyday (like most people) and I thought it might be a good idea to recap on what I do to stay frugal and spend money where it matters. And if I do feel guilty at any point for spending money, it’s sometimes good to recheck my list.

• I don’t drink (much) – I rarely drink at home in the week and luckily for me, I don’t like wine.
• I don’t drive, so no MOT, tax or petrol payments for me.
• I am quite strict with my wardrobe and always sell clothes I don’t wear on Tictail
  or at a car boot sale (I do a few every year).
• I stopped my hair highlights – I worked out this was costing me roughly £1000 a year, so used it as a good excuse to find my natural colour. Although with all the greys I might have to go back on this plan!
• I make my lunch and dinner everyday, and don’t let myself get sucked into Pret for a quick alternative – roughly £6 a day.
• I do my food shopping in Lidl – this saves us roughly £30 a week on our shopping.
• Unless it’s a really special occasion, I rarely go out for dinner over £25 – mainly because there are so many great places to try that are affordable.
• My credit card debt (mainly from my wedding!) is on an interest free payment plan. I’ll be debt free in 2 years!
• I live in an inexpensive area of London. It’s not as chic as most places but it meant we could get on the property ladder.
• I walk most places. Granted, this is mainly because I don’t have a car but it’s good for exercise as well as saving money. I recently downloaded the Pacer app (for free) – we’re supposed to be walking 10,000 steps a day!