It’s
a year since I started this blog and it seems like a good time to take stock.
Before
I had this Frugally Challenged blog I already had Trundling Through Life but I
wanted somewhere to muse on how it is to be frugally challenged. As I have said many times over the past
year, I know all the frugal theory but I’m not so good at the practice. However, I still live below my means, I am
retired (and so not saving for retirement) and I am in a much more fortunate position
than many. I simple want to be able to
do as much as I can with my resources and that includes my time and my
possessions as well as my cash. My
underlying principle is that I can have anything I really want – but I can’t
have everything I want. I have to work
out what it is that I really want and my answers may not be the same as anyone
else’s.
During
this last year I’ve faced my habit of hoarding food. I’m getting better and this blog has helped
but I know I still have a long way to go on this. I don’t waste much food but I know that if I
controlled my food stores better I could eat more healthily and more
economically. The quest for food stock control is on-going and I doubt if it will ever be fully solved.
My other huge hoard is of craft material. Making good use of my craft stores is a good way to save money or rather not to continue to waste it! I make bags, quilts, clothes, whatever for myself, for my friends and sometimes for charity. I have also given away quite a lot of stuff to be used by Brownies and various other groups.
And then there is The Mess, exemplified by The Room of Doom. My hope was that 2015 would be the year that I would have less messy places and I am happy to say that this is true. I've still got far too many messy places but there are less of them than there were on 1st January 2015.
Thank you for your encouragement and your interest. I wonder where the next year will take Frugally Challenged?
It is good to have an ongoing project, I work through my scrap bins and just as I feel that i am in control I make a quilt and lo and behold, more scraps. I am guilty of keeping far too large a food stock, it comes from living in isolated rural places. When it is an hours plus drive to get bread you learn to keep plenty of everything in. I have also been snowed in more than once and it keeps my mind stuck in the "full cupboard" mode.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have found that "iced" in and power gone really has affected the way I collect food as well. That is not a comfortable place to be, for sure. And batteries for camp lamps as well -- yes, I do find that I probably over prepare for that sort of emergency.
DeleteYour progress on goals is fantastic. You keep moving forward steadily so will likely sustain progress to date and keep checking off your list!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is an inspiration -- it has made me think about my craft supply "problem". I haven't really bought anything new in quite some time and am now making an effort to work through the stores of fabrics, batting, etc. I am sure the next year will find you with less stuff, more food control and more organized spaces.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I remember a fellow blogger deciding to ban herself from buying any more wool until she had significantly reduced her existing stock. She described this as 'Going Cold Sheep'!! I think you're doing brilliantly. Jx
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogger Birthday! You've done great with your goals, clearing stuff out and having a more organized living space. Congratulations. We all have very much enjoyed coming along with you for the journey. I look forward to another year :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, one and all, for your kind comments. You inspire and encourage me.
ReplyDeleteI think we would all say that you inspire us too!
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