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I have been playing with an idea for a thrifty challenge for myself for awhile. I am not a budget person. I am not a save-for-a-rainy-day person. I am more of a where-the-hell-did-my-money-go kind of person. Yet I consider myself a fairly thrifty person (not counting bouts of brain freeze). I recycle a lot of materials in my crafts, I buy (um mostly) second hand books.
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I have been playing with an idea for a thrifty challenge for myself for awhile. I am not a budget person. I am not a save-for-a-rainy-day person. I am more of a where-the-hell-did-my-money-go kind of person. Yet I consider myself a fairly thrifty person (not counting bouts of brain freeze). I recycle a lot of materials in my crafts, I buy (um mostly) second hand books.
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Thriftiness is growing, what with hard times and the GFC.. A columnist in last weekend’s paper lived on $1 a day for a week. A bunch of people bought nothing new over a year ('cept underwear and toiletries) and made or bartered all the rest. I read a big article on these guys but have forgotten the name of the group, dammit.
Almost all thriftiness also has the added bonus of being environmentally friendly and sustainable, so some of the things my household has in place for environmental reasons are already helping us in the thrifty stakes.
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So, while I’m not gonna survive on noodles or give up chocolate, here are the rules for my very own foray into extreme thriftiness. Well not extreme. But you know.
Thrifty Green Bee basic rules
- I will live on a budget of $10 per day. (This doesn’t count rent or bills.) It feels like a lot and very little at the same time.
- Exceptions: tattoo I have booked in two weeks, where any above rule may impede in hostess duties or impact negatively on guests.
-I will not spend any money on any projects *gasp* unless that money has come from the sale of a previous project *phew*
I already
- do environmentally friendly stuff that helps with minimising wastage & bills i.e. turn off lights when I’m not in the room, do all laundry in cold wash, not use any power for heating or cooling, but add/subtract clothes,
-Cycle to work or take public transport
-Have lunch at work on the company account (woo hoo!) This feels a bit like cheating. But I'm sure not gonna stop.
To help
- I did some research for tips and ideas, check out the frugal living site, or this thrifty is cool blog.
So, while I’m not gonna survive on noodles or give up chocolate, here are the rules for my very own foray into extreme thriftiness. Well not extreme. But you know.
Thrifty Green Bee basic rules
- I will live on a budget of $10 per day. (This doesn’t count rent or bills.) It feels like a lot and very little at the same time.
- Exceptions: tattoo I have booked in two weeks, where any above rule may impede in hostess duties or impact negatively on guests.
-I will not spend any money on any projects *gasp* unless that money has come from the sale of a previous project *phew*
I already
- do environmentally friendly stuff that helps with minimising wastage & bills i.e. turn off lights when I’m not in the room, do all laundry in cold wash, not use any power for heating or cooling, but add/subtract clothes,
-Cycle to work or take public transport
-Have lunch at work on the company account (woo hoo!) This feels a bit like cheating. But I'm sure not gonna stop.
To help
- I did some research for tips and ideas, check out the frugal living site, or this thrifty is cool blog.
- also check out dollar store crafts for fantastic crafts and projects on the cheap! Very excited! Also this one, thrifty fun.
- I’m going to put together a weekly meal plan thing and shop ahead, (and not at the corner store!) Pip from Meet-me-at-Mikes has an incredibly organised list here. I am a litle list-jealous. Bless.
- I have a great new book- ‘Reconstructing Clothes for Dummies’ it’s got me excited about taking scissors to some old clothes I’ve kept ‘just-in-case’ and reinventing them.
If you’d like to join me, or are doing a thrifty challenge yourself, drop me a line! I’ll be keeping a notebook about my progress and will share with you time-to-time. Piggybanks are cute. Does anyone collect them?
Living within my means... Wish me luck!
- I’m going to put together a weekly meal plan thing and shop ahead, (and not at the corner store!) Pip from Meet-me-at-Mikes has an incredibly organised list here. I am a litle list-jealous. Bless.
- I have a great new book- ‘Reconstructing Clothes for Dummies’ it’s got me excited about taking scissors to some old clothes I’ve kept ‘just-in-case’ and reinventing them.
If you’d like to join me, or are doing a thrifty challenge yourself, drop me a line! I’ll be keeping a notebook about my progress and will share with you time-to-time. Piggybanks are cute. Does anyone collect them?
Living within my means... Wish me luck!
Good on you. We've been meeting our new MUCH HIGHER car payments for the first month, so tinned spag has present in almost every meal for the past week! I'm sure it has some nutritional benefits....
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