Frugal Feb: Progress Update

I thought I'd take the time to do a quick progress update on Frugal February as we're now almost two thirds of the way through the challenge (phew!). It's gone quick - but this has mostly been down to being busy with London Fashion Week and other big events on at work. So how has the challenge gone?

My Frugal Feb has so far been great in terms of what I set out to do: i.e. I haven't made any expenditure I don't consider 'necessary' - and I haven't stretched the definition too far. This has meant no take-away coffee en route to work (OK I bought two on Saturday, but that was a treat for the bf who'd just paid for my cinema ticket), packed lunches every day (and I admit this is now getting REALLY dull!) and no clothes shopping - at all. Weirdly, the urge to shop subsided pretty much as soon as I stopped putting temptation in my way and going into the shops in the first place! Aside from this, the 'unnecessary' things I've bought are as follows:

1 theatre ticket for £10. An absolute bargain in London
Wine to share with friends as part of a night in. Certainly cheaper than the pub.
Charitiable donations as part of my normal monthly spend
Pastries to keep blood sugar levels up at LFW!

Good ways I've found to save money have included:

Going to the cinema before midday a Sunday morning for half price tickets (the Curzon in London's Soho has an early-bird £7 ticket which is almost unheard of in the West End!
Attending free events such as industry drinks (yes, I've managed to put away a fair bit of free booze this week!), talks and seminars. I was helped by this being Social Media Week and London Fashion Week, all of which is free.
Cashing in my nectar points for a lower grocery bill and taking up online offers of 15% off home delivery.

Unfortunately it's also worked out as one of the most expensive months in terms of necessary expenditure for me, as our winter gas bill came through (ouch), there was council tax to take care of and having just paid a whopping tax bill at the end of January, my bank balance was already feeling a little bit sorry for itself. It's a bit demoralising having so many essential costs in a month when I'm making so much effort to reign everything else in, but I'm trying to think positive and remember that it will all look so much better next month.

But that's enough about me! Reader Lucy also got in touch to tell us how she'd been getting on in her Frugal February efforts, and her goals were far loftier than my own: Lucy set herself a budget of just £25 a week for all but the barest essentials.

"Frugal February was a challenge I entered into with some trepidation. None the less I've started so I'll finish. Setting a budget of only £25 per week for all things food, drink and leisure-related may have been tough, but judging by the feedback and comments I received via the blog/email, for some people it's a regular occurrence; so the challenge has been eye-opening in more ways than one.

It's been hard having to think of meals in advance and plan the use of ingredients so as to avoid throwing anything away. I could also murder a takeaway right now! It has however made me realise the amount of waste we normally produce simply because we buy/eat what we fancy at the time rather than what we already have in the cupboards. Hubby has certainly raised an eyebrow at the offerings I have presented him with for dinner on an evening, but it's been fun.

We've laughed and we've spent more time together; whether that be concocting all kinds of crazy things in the kitchen or walking the dog in lieu of going to the pub. I think it really has brought us closer together and made us take a step back from how crazy life was a times, which is no bad thing.

However, the planning is tough and as I am home-based, it is inevitably me who is left with that responsibility. There are days when I've felt as though I've worked a part time job around a full time one! There have been times when I've considered throwing in the towel and just ordering a takeaway or heading to the local for dinner, but perseverance is key and creativity usually kicks in and saves the day.

My top tips for any one else completing this or their own version of the frugal February challenge would be to: