Well, the first week of the Simple Savings $21 Challenge has passed. You can read a bit more about the actual challenge here. And although technically I failed because I spent more than $21, I still came out on top.

In total, I spent $55.05 on food items (not including fruit, veg, milk & bread). That’s a whopping saving of over $100 on my normal spend. Wow. Granted, I did have a small stock of meat in the freezer and a few tins in the pantry but not what I’d call a stockpile.

This week’s going to get a bit tougher as I’ve made my way through most of the supplies I already had. That means delving into the Simple Savings Vault to find some great ideas to stretch things out a bit. I think I should still be able to make big savings though.

I did a rushed job through the supermarket just before lunch last week and didn’t have the best attitude. There were a few things I picked up I wouldn’t normally have bought because I figured I was saving so much anyway. Makes no sense at all now, but at the time it seemed logical!

I estimate that I’ll save at least $300 on groceries this month. Oh, what I could spend that on

Unfortunately, I’m not sure that I could sustain these shopping habits over a long time, but for a month it seems to be well worth the effort.  If you’re game to give the $21 Challenge a go, head over to Simple Savings to get all the details and tips you need.

Over the last few months our bank balance has been looking sadder than usual the week before payday. I don’t think it’s because we’ve been spending excessively, rather the cost of everything – especially groceries – has been increasing.

The Thinker has been picking up our fruit and veg at the market each week. This has cut that part of our grocery bill by almost half. I still find it hard to believe that the shopping cart full to the brim he brings home each week only costs $30, absolute maximum.

Nevertheless, the cost of my shopping trolley at the supermarket (Aldi) has increased by around $30 – $40 each week over last year’s prices.  So I’m back on the “cut the grocery bill” bandwagon, trying to rein things in a bit.

I’ve written before about what a big fan of Simple Savings I am.  If you’re unfamiliar with the website, it contains literally thousands of money savings ideas, submitted by real people.  Free membership gives you a monthly newsletter and access to some tools to help with saving.  Or for a yearly fee ($37 at the moment) you get full access to all the hints, a great forum and more savings tools.

The last few days I’ve been delving back into their Savings Vault to get some ideas where I can shave a few dollars from our grocery bill.  It’s the most amazing resource, I have to say.  Some of the hints are, in my opinion, a bit extreme.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to traipse out to the supermarket at 10pm just so I can get a discounted BBQ chicken.

But the majority of the ideas are either pretty darn clever or so simple you’ll slap yourself because you’re not doing them already.  I guess sometimes we just need a reminder of what works.

As I was poking around I discovered that in June they’re having a $21 challenge.  Yep, you get to try to spend only $21 per week on groceries.  Sounds near impossible I know, but I’m going to give it a go – if not for the whole month for a couple of weeks at least.

There’s a little bit of leeway.  For instance $21 is based on a family of four, some people include only main meals, some don’t include milk and bread, and so on.  The key is to use what you already have in the house and to think outside the square.  And stay away from the supermarket

The Simple Savings paid membership area will also come in very handy, as in addition to all the usual hints there’s a dedicated thread on the forum to help with ideas and motivation. I’ve also done posts on menu planning and ways to save money on groceries.

I’m not going to include milk, bread, fruit and veg.  Even so, if I can get the rest of our food items for $21 per week I’ll be saving around $150.  Can’t complain about that! (A few weeks saving that much and I might even have enough for a new camera lens )

Who’s game to join me?  You can read more in the most recent Simple Savings Newsletter or go right ahead and join the Savings Vault.

Over the Christmas break and summer holidays I made a conscious effort to let go of some of the restrictions we place on ourselves during the rest of the year.  Schedules pretty much went out the window and, to a certain extent, so did any sort of budgeting.

Now that the new year is well and truly underway, it’s time for us to start reigning in our expenses for both day to day items and the special purchases we’ve been treating ourselves to.

Key Areas this Month

Household expenses: The majority of our household expenses have stayed steady over the last few months, with the exception of our mobile phone bill and spending on groceries.  The phone bill went up while we were away has looked after itself and is back down to the minimum level as I don’t really use it at home.

The killer has been groceries.  Some weeks it was almost double our usual spend. In the first few weeks of our new financial focus this is where I’ll be paying most attention.

• This week I’ve been cooking from ingredients we already have in the house.
• We’ve finally got organised to buy fruit & veg at the market.  The Thinker has to go during his lunch break, but the amount of money we’ve saved (cut the usual spend in half) and the quality of the product makes it so worthwhile.

Budgeting: We haven’t been very good in the budgeting department lately.  Aside from some automatic transfers to savings accounts, we been flying blind as far as where our money is going and how much of it is going there.  Last pay we reset our budget and it is updated and reviewed weekly.
As we overspent a little (not a lot) over the break, we need to be especially careful that we stick to our plans for the next few months.

It’s going to take a couple of months to get entirely back on track, but by focusing on selected areas and maintaining that focus until it once again becomes habit we will get there.

Did you have a blowout over the holidays as well?  What areas are you focusing on to get back on track?

Welcome to the readers of the 164th Carnival of Personal Finance, kindly hosted by Squakfox. If you’re new to Journeyer’s Chronicles, I’d like to extend an extra big welcome. I hope you enjoy your visit. You can find more of our personal finance experiences here. And don’t forget, if you enjoy your visit you can get regular updates by subscribing by RSS or email.

We have been facing quite a few challenges to being frugal over the last couple of months. When we made the commitment to live without our credit cards and , we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We knew we would be tempted to buy things and that we would need to make an effort to cut costs. What we didn’t thoroughly consider was the things beyond our control that would affect our goal.

There are lessons to be learned for anyone considering a more frugal lifestyle. First, lets have a look at the issues we’ve faced.

Maintenance Issues

Our house and the appliances in it must be reaching that certain age when things just start going wrong. This is what’s happened in the last six to eight months:

• The washing machine finally died. It was around 10 years old and had been repaired probably three times during its life. This time it was going to cost nearly $400 to fix. Enter new washing machine.
• We discovered a leak around a window. Fortunately it’s on a side of the house that doesn’t often feel the full force of the weather. However it will still need to be repaired. It’s on the second level in a very awkward position where I don’t feel comfortable having The Thinker clambering around. So that will be a handyman job, quite possibly with the added expense of scaffolding.
• The dishwasher died. I have put off even having someone look at it as we consider it a “nice to have”. Last week I was sick of having my hands in the sink for a good part of the day so I called the repairman. On his visit today he advised that it will cost over $200 to repair and might only last six months as the motor is getting quite worn. So now we have a dishwasher on our wants list and I still have dishpan hands.
• The . Can you see a pattern happening here?

Lesson learned

While some of the things on this list are non-essentials, it still serves as a reminder that maintenance expenses need to be considered. Have some money put aside to cover the unexpected emergencies that will, without a doubt, happen (if you live in our house anyway). Use it for what it is intended (see next item).

Playing catchup

Our plan was to put money aside each month for the periodic bills so we would have it there to pay them as they came in, without taking a huge chunk out of our monthly income. We’ve had these few unexpected maintenance expenses, along with some large annual bills coming in around the same time. The upshot is that we haven’t had long enough to build our periodic bill savings to cover them. It feels like we’re playing catchup after each round of bills. This is quite disheartening as it’s difficult to see where there will be an opportunity to build a good buffer.

One of the reasons for this may be for the maintenance expenses. Instead I have tried to squeeze it from what we have available in our bills account. These unbudgetted items then leave us short when periodic bills come around.

Lesson learned

Use the emergency account for emergencies. That’s what it’s there for. On the flip side, be wary of what you class as an emergency. Our new TV did not come out of the emergency fund. We saved for an (interesting) couple of months.

Increasing prices

You make a well thought out budget and then they go and put all the prices up. Sheesh! I don’t think anyone has been immuned to the increasing prices of everything. Mortgages are going up, petrol is going up, food is going up.

This is a challenge I can turn around though. I can set the challenge to pay off the mortgage quicker, walk more and buy our groceries for less. These are the types of things I enjoy working at.

Look at that. I saved $30 off the grocery bill this week. Go me!

We finally got our vegie plot started on the weekend. While it won’t make a huge difference to our food bills initially, we’re hoping there will be a noticeable decline in our fruit and veg bill over time.

Lesson learned

Look for opportunities in challenges. A positive attitude is a must and motivation is the key to continued success.

Motivation

Sometimes, it’s just plain hard to stay motivated. We’ve been putting in a good effort over the last few months as far as frivolous spending goes, but it doesn’t seem like we’re making huge inroads. Perhaps we’re so used to rewarding ourselves with things, that unless we do that we feel we haven’t accomplished anything.

One of the things I’ve done to make it easier for me is to give up shopping for recreation. I used to go to shopping centres probably twice a week and always leave with something. Sometimes a large purchase, sometimes small. By not putting myself in that situation, I’ve found it easier to stay motivated. I still have the spending habit when given the opportunity though.

Lesson learned

Don’t put yourself in a situation where you know you will spend money you can’t afford. Just last week I spent around $100 on a quick visit to a new shopping centre (just to have a look, mind you). Nothing I desperately needed, but I was so tempted by everything around me that my motivation went straight out the window.

Remember what motivated you in the first place and keep those reasons prominent. I was also listening to for a while, which I found really motivating. I think I need to start doing that again. Listen, read, do.

What are your biggest challenges when it comes to money?

Photo: Another Gray Day on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

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The 133rd Festival of Frugality has begun over at Squawkfox. Here are some of my favourites from the bursting “Bare Necessities” edition.

• My View of Frugal Thinking from the Personal Financier makes a lot of sense to me. One of the best ways to save in the long run is to invest time in your own education.
• What Makes Kids Happy at Financial Reflections. We so often overestimate what it is our kids want. Mostly it is to spend fun time with us.
• Budget Lexion gives some simple and sensible tips in Saving Money: Don’t Waste Money on Stupid Things.
• Getting the Goods when you’re Shopping at Thrift Stores at Not Made of Money. I’m hopeless at finding great things in op shops (thrift stores), so this was a interesting read.

Who else but Fox could make frugal sexy. Click over to see what I mean.