I wanted to go back to school to get my teaching certificate. We needed to cut our expenses, so we bought a shack of a house. It was bought on contract, so we did not need a down payment. We had to buy a wall heater to put in the living room to heat the small place. We put in another heater in the laundry room. The bedrooms upstairs were unheated, but there was a vent above the kitchen sink and a stair door that all could be left open to allow for rising heat. My mother gave us electric blankets for Christmas. It had running water and a bathroom. When we could afford it we bought air conditioners to cool us during the hot season. We could not insurance it until we replaced the roof. Relatives helped us remove the old asphalt roof and the two wooden roofs underneath. Boards had to be specially cut to put in the open spaces left by having wooden roofs. My husband went through two pair of jeans doing this. I planted a large garden and the winter we ate the potatoes was a very tight time. It was quite the adventure. I learned much about budgeting. I did finish school and taught for over 32 years.
I've watched your videos for about a year now and really enjoy them. While watching this video, it occurred to me that there was another big thing you have and do give up to win financially and that is instant gratification. Example - you save up for supplies and when you have the money, then you buy them and do more work on your home or grounds. I admire and respect that. Thank you.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance You talking about quality -- I'll bet the beautiful wood burning oven you bought was quality -- a neccessary item! That's the sort of thing to not skimp on.
It never occurred to me how exposed your site is in terms of privacy. When watching, your garden is so aspirational and it strikes as being abundant, secluded and a private idyll. When you explained how overlooked you are from passersby I immediately could see the compromise that you’ve made for the level of outdoor space you have. Great insightful video Jane and Mike. Thank you
Great video Jane. Yes giving up privacy is the hardest part... we live out in the country and for years my parents lived in a small cabin style home we built next to our home. Since they have passed I have turned it into an AirBnB/VRBO home. I was not sure how my husband would do with giving up privacy, having strangers around our farm but when I started to actually make some money, he was all in for that.
I finally have privacy at 71; in my 30's we had a townhouse for 21 years. Then I lived with other people in a room, if right people can be a great experience which I had. Then I was able to live in an in-law studio 420 sq.ft, lovely place and had privacy. Then I moved with a family which I helped with the kids, picked up from daycare, snack & helped with homework, dinner & bedtime - got reduced rent. Then a view years after I had the opportunity to live in a1920's 2 bedroom spanish house all by myself from my former landlord. Then 2 years later I moved to apts. and my adult son lived with me (this is all in California) it was cheaper to live together than separate - but no privacy. Finally in 2022 we are in Austin, Texas in.our own large home with lots of privacy. My son lives upstairs and I'm downstairs. I've lived in many different residential situations. But happy to still be working until end of 2022 and enjoying a active life. Thank you Jane for your helpful tips and advice.
We don't have central heating or air. Do to a constant drip and high water bills. We did without water coming into the house for a year while saving to new pipes put in. Then 2 years later the plumbing collapsed going out, it was another year of no bathroom plumbing or kitchen plumbing. Then the bathroom floor fell in, we just put a board across the whole and kept going, until we could find someone to help fix it. The house is now paid off and all the major issues are taken care of. My sister helped put in the new wiring. We do without a lot of things other people take for granted and eating the same food for a week isn't anything for us. We are much better off now than most in our area. We are still watching every penny. I would like to fix other things in the house. The kitchen floor is ugly, we got free flooring last week off of facebook. I'm 64 years old, it's been a struggle, however, I have seen to many women depend on their husbands financially. Then he dies and they are left in a mess. You can't just keep renting, buying a cheap trailer is a bad move also, they don't last that long even with repairs. I felt I had to do something, I took out a 15 year mortgage on a fixer upper, paid it off in 7 years. I worked 2 jobs and got remarried. My best advise for younger women 19 to 40 is look at your money, not including your husbands know where you stand if he drops dead, or walks out.
I gave up living in a white collar neighborhood in order to live in a blue collar one. My colleagues live in white collar neighborhoods and have mortgages I was able to pay 100% cash for my home in a blue collar neighborhood.
That’s what we did as well. Less house than we could “afford” and paid it off in 15 years. Being debt free makes life much easier. The fancy house and neighborhood are not worth it.
I am prepared to give up our current community and relocate to an area with much lower housing costs. We live in a resort town (my husband's family has been here for over a century), but since it has been "discovered", housing has shot through the roof, and taxes are going up as well. Locals are being priced out of their homes, and people who grew up here can't find a place to rent for under $1200 (for a studio). So eventually when we do sell our home (giving up) we will actually have a nice pot of money to move elsewhere that is more reasonable.
By choosing not to take a guided trip, as all of my family members do. I instead plan our entire trips out. I start by finding the cheapest flight to any city in the area of where we want to visit. And then plan the trip from there. We take local transportation and prepare most of our meals as well. It allows us a month of vacation time seeing and doing more than a guided vacation allows, and we do it for the price of their guided trip. The women in my family make it clear that they will not be preparing meals on vacation. I on the other hand love to see what I can find locally for meals and I love a good farmers market 😋. It is part of the whole experience for me, in being a part of the culture of where we are visiting.
In the US, many store brands are actually made by the same company that produces the name brands. So it pays to check store brands because the quality and taste are often the same as name brands but cost less.
I gave up absolutely everything non-essential in order to buy a home on my own, back when I was a single parent. So, no outings, yoga classes, clothes, takeaway food, magazines etc... I did a 'no spend' year, and that meant I did not even replace the garden hose when it broke even though it meant watering a big veggie garden by hand. It wasn't convenient, but it was necessary to reach my goal. It was worth it and actually didn't hurt too badly as my eye was on the prize. These days I can say that something I would not give up, unless my life depended on it, is my dog and cat. That said, if I didn't have pets and wanted to save a house deposit I would delay getting a pet until my home was secure.
I shop my house before I shop and I keep a running inventory of items. I stopped buying different cleaning products and now just use a concentrate of one type that you make different strengths for almost all tasks.
We have two Guinea pigs and we’re downsizing their housing so their bedding costs won’t cost as much. We compost all their old bedding and it means we can actually use the results of their old bedding to grow their food. I have fibromyalgia and my body can’t regulate it’s temperature as well but I’ve turned the radiators and water boiler down to half way, I used to have them on full! I just don’t need to use the cold tap as much for baths and washing up! I’ve also turned the heating down from 25° down to 20° and I’m sticking to it. We’ve stopped buying “treats” full price, but I will buy yellow sticker doughnuts and muffins to put in the freezer and then we defrost them in the microwave and they’re even nicer! I don’t buy any of our clothes full price (apart from named uniforms we have to buy), we always get them on sale or in charity shops and we’re really lucky that my kids schools have second hand sales I’ve never driven so I’ve saved so much money! I walk everywhere or use public transport. I don’t use taxis. I try to wash our clothes less often. I wear denim clothes for a solid week before washing when I used to wear once and wash
I’ve given up using my heat in winter unless it’s truly cold and I’ve got 3+ layers already on. I only use one room at night too. I also don’t use electricity at night e.g lights or appliances (except fridge/freezer and modem for internet). I’ve given up being guilted into buying things for others to help them reach their goals e.g Tupperware. I’ve given up shopping for non-essentials, and even some things I’d consider essential but I have to find the lowest price before I buy - no more impulse shopping. I collect rain water manually now and use it to wash my clothes or for the toilet and garden when I can. I guess this is also considered comfort but I’m ok with that. My consumption of everything has pretty much dropped, it’s encouraging to see the difference, it’s keeping me going.
Hi Jane! Great video. I’m ready to cut down eating out. I’ll start cooking and baking again with a meal plan. Thank you for your wonderful ideas. Money saved will go into the mortgage principal. Have a splendid rest of the week. You inspired me to do better with money and time.
We have already given up plenty….ac in the blistering heat of Puerto Rico, portions and “quality “ regarding food, eating out, leisure rides, gifts, and so many more! We are now changing to a gas stove because electricity is just crazy expensive. ….whatever else Can be done we will do….just have to be calm and carry on!
We rent a Duplex in an expensive city in Southern California. And the walls have no insulation, therefore no privacy! We can hear our neighbors having arguments, their music and whatever they are watching on TV and I am sure they can hear us! But the rent is well below market rate for the area we live in and it is a much smaller place than our last rental in square footage. But this helps us save more money for our financial goals in the long run. We gave up space and privacy for cheaper rent to remain in the same suburb so that our daughter could also stay in the same primary school and to keep saving money.
Great blog this week. One thing I did last year was to buy a large compost bin Cost about ,£25.00 The reward this year, is a huge amount of beautiful load of black nutrient rich compost. All fed by food peelings leaves, teabags, coffee grounds. It has really covered it's £25.00 investment. I have filled over 10 tubs and am going to set with winter veg. I am more or less a vegetarian but I am now going to try become a raw vegan and save on energy. I am not expecting to eat raw all of the time but 2 out of 3 daily meals. Thank goodness for You tube and the fantastic teachers on there.
I have in the past lived in a terrace house on more than one occasion. I have also lived in detached properties in their own grounds(with all the additional costs) I now live in a semi detached property which I love. Less purchase and running costs, the privacy of my own front door, and thankfully quiet considerate neighbours. Now in later life I feel having someone next door makes me feel safer. The reduced running costs allow me to live well within my means on my retirement income. The cost of the property upkeep is reduced,so I feel I have a win win situation.
At present, I am prepared to give up travelling long distances as long as the cost of gas is so high. I also have a large house and a guest cottage. I live alone and am only using one window air conditioning unit at present which, with the help of ceiling fans, adequately cools the downstairs of the main house. I only cool the other areas should I have overnight guests. On cooler days in summer, I pop open windows and turn off the air conditioning completely. I also adjust my clothing in warm weather and go for looser, gauzier fabrics and drink lots of ice water!
I gave up snacks in the weekly shop and I literally add beans to all meat dishes and portion it out to stretch a few more servings and freeze it. No takeout or restaurant unless it's a truly special occasion. Never for convenience.
Jane and Micheal thank you very much for another great midweek money chat. I agree on all you choises and make the a lot of the same choises. yet I do admit when I had the opportunity to chose a flat that cost 20,- a month more with way more privacy and super insulation , i did ... Sorry, but it makes my life so much better as I am very sensitive to noises, gives me enormous headaches. Its worth it for me... 😉 my little useless wants are long gone so I can live a frugal yet good life with my needs met without to much worries😄. If I have to, the wants I am able to save for now will be gone in a blink of an eye. I sadly now have given up to drive to my mum (220 km one way)every month . But I call 4 times a week as I can call her for free, so I know when she needs me. And when I go I stay a couple of days to help her with things. Fortunately she is fysical able an busy herself for now. But I keep an ear on her👂 We have just one car for the lasts 14 years, my hubby went by bike as it was quicker and he hates traffic jam ( office hours) . I worked in healthcare had to go everywhere at every hour in a large region. he planned doctors appointments on my time of or I changed a shift at my work and so we used the one car only.
We just bought a house in France , but I think privacy is a different perception here when you e.g. live in a rural evironment. Sure they can see me leaving the house but from a different distance compared to our townhouse. It doesn' t bother me here compared to our town house where we have a walled garden to keep our privacy.
We have a wood stove in our family room that we use when it gets really cold here in Indiana. Otherwise we also have a wood pellet stove that we use because it is much more convenient and then the gas furnace is a back up. Like you its harder for us to do wood as we get older, i'm 61 but my husband is 72. I tend to do most of the tending the wood stove. We do have years and years of firewood put up.
Jane when u were talking about “terrace homes & row homes”, I know what being in a rowhome is like bc my grandma used to have one in Philly-I should say Philadelphia PA for those of you not familiar with the US. But the funny thing is, here in my apartment it sounds just like That all the time with all the noisy neighbors LOL 😂!!! Who knows maybe that’ll be my goal to move to a quieter place one day.
My grandparents lived in a Triplex home and we could always hear the neighbors. They had three rambunctious boys, from early teen to about 8 years old and the whole family was loud. We heard quite the arguments as we would lay in our bed giggling about it when I was about 7 years old.
I found this really interesting. I realised I have done all the things you discussed - given up time, comfort, convenience, etc and also echo the comment about deferred gratification made earlier. But what made me think was the fact that I have done all of these things without really planning or acknowledging that I do them, I just do because I have to and haven't really considered having a choice. This has made me feel very positive about my life. I can pat myself on the back for making right choices, not feel negative or sorry for myself - I'm not one to indulge in those sentiments very often anyway! - so thank you for that x
We don’t feel sorry for ourselves either, nor do we feel that we’ve made any sacrifices, we’ve always paid the mortgage, all our bills, had access to some form of transportation and could have free time.
Thank you! When I built this house, I was thinking of the costs to run it. Therefore, I went smaller than I wanted. I do not have central heating, or electrical heaters upstairs. I have one in the living room, but that is never on. In the winter I light the wood burning stove when I wake up in the morning. After a shower, the space in front of the fireplace is nice and warm, then off to work, and when I return, before I walk the dogs or make dinner, I light the fire again, and keep it going through the evenings. The chimney pipe gets warm and heat the upstairs. My bedroom is always cold, and I like that, sometimes I keep the door open an hour before bedtime, as temperatures can fall to -20c or lower here. I have a warm dawn comforter, and over the end of the bed I have a woolen blanket. About inconvenient. The location of my home, it was a cheeper plot of land. Its about 15 minutes to the nearest village, and my work is 35-40 minutes drive away. We have no public transport, so car is the only option. Then again, I have my own well and sewage system, so my bills to the municipality is low, only for the garbage collecting, we have no property tax. I do not get visitors as often as I did before, I miss that, but that was something that I knew would happen, and messenger and live chats is used a lot. I do need the social contact with friends, and we still meet, I have a sinking fund for coffee with friends. My sons still live at home, partially, and full time now over the summer, they are students. Before one makes any life changes like building in the woods like me, or going into a house of multiple occupancy, visit someone that lives there, and see if you can do it. Dont rush into things, that is if you dont have to financially.
I wouldn't I give up things, I always make choices for how I spend my money, even if the best is not spending. I know that if we don't spend money, we spend time, and sometime I just can't always think to everything so I make choice for convenience. Regarding the brand and generic, for some product I came back buying brand ones as they are better. We can't say that all of generic are as good as brand, it depends of products and of generic. Making these choices, I still have solutions to go down.
We're so glad,we changed to our stove.with this prices,we are very Happy! And we have Limited our choices with the groceries.stretching as much,as possible.( you're an Inspiration for me,Jane👍)Much Less ,or No luxury- Chips,chocolat.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do what you need to do to survive, or meet your goals. Most people are generally adaptable and get on with the situation at hand if they decide it's worth it.
When I retired, I moved to another state with a more affordable cost of living. I now have a smaller home & no mortgage-- so happy! The trade off is not being able to see extended family as often.
Another great video! I listened to it twice. I even noted your 7 topics to discuss with hubby which I will soon. 1) We made a comfort decision recently…we began to increase our thermostat to 80 d Fahrenheit from 76. I won’t go further as that is the recommended limit for activity, eg walking outdoors if you want to avoid heat exhaustion. Every degree we could raise saves 3-5 Kilowatt hours and that is quite a savings in Florida summers. I have made choices to pay for things I would much rather not do, such as lawn care, even though it may save money to do it myself. So I am not perfect in that time saver. Other than that, I think we adhere to a lot of these. As I said, my husband and I will ponder and I will let you know if we make any changes!
I'm prepared to give up expensive holidays. I can't believe people pay for holidays with credit. We have mostly staycations. Plenty to do in Sydney Australia. But if we go away it would only be for two nights and well planned out so as to get a good deal.
Superb article. Seventy one year old pensioner here. Lots of my generation have lived this way mist of our lives, however the current climate even has us scratching our heads on how we are going to cope in the next year or so with all the predicted price rises and shortages. We haven’t got anything left to go without. We are a stalwart bunch but it is going to take some huge innovations and initiatives to get through. Any thoughts?😘
Thank you, I'm all for celebrating special occasion but I'm at that age where every single friend wants a 300 quid night out in London for their birthday and a week away for a hen do. I tell them it's just not in my budget and take them for brunch instead which is usually about £15 and we get way more quality time.
We haven't been abroad for the last 3 years down to covid but mot spending the money I've saved since I've gone back to work I don't want to spend it x
Alas, my Dear Lady, I finally must disagree with you re: jams and marmalades. I have been making them at home for many years and I can tell the difference between generic, name brands and my home made spreads. Small kettle homemade batches with ripe fruit picked and made into jams the same day are the best, then brand name comes second and then generics. Generic brand often are mostly corn syrup and fruit juice with much less actual real fruit. I love orange marmalade but I tossed a jar of generic brand recently. It had very little flavor and color. It was simply chemically sweet tasting!
You don’t need to agree with me. I was discussing what we were prepared to give up to win financially. My final question was, what have you given up to win financially?
I wanted to go back to school to get my teaching certificate. We needed to cut our expenses, so we bought a shack of a house. It was bought on contract, so we did not need a down payment. We had to buy a wall heater to put in the living room to heat the small place. We put in another heater in the laundry room. The bedrooms upstairs were unheated, but there was a vent above the kitchen sink and a stair door that all could be left open to allow for rising heat. My mother gave us electric blankets for Christmas. It had running water and a bathroom. When we could afford it we bought air conditioners to cool us during the hot season. We could not insurance it until we replaced the roof. Relatives helped us remove the old asphalt roof and the two wooden roofs underneath. Boards had to be specially cut to put in the open spaces left by having wooden roofs. My husband went through two pair of jeans doing this. I planted a large garden and the winter we ate the potatoes was a very tight time. It was quite the adventure. I learned much about budgeting. I did finish school and taught for over 32 years.
Sometimes the sacrifices are worth it
I've watched your videos for about a year now and really enjoy them. While watching this video, it occurred to me that there was another big thing you have and do give up to win financially and that is instant gratification. Example - you save up for supplies and when you have the money, then you buy them and do more work on your home or grounds. I admire and respect that. Thank you.
Good point Alice
Indeed, but I find waiting and anticipating exciting!
@@FrugalQueeninFrance You talking about quality -- I'll bet the beautiful wood burning oven you bought was quality -- a neccessary item! That's the sort of thing to not skimp on.
Watching many of your videos again and again. Thank you!
That’s great, thanks
Me too 😊
It never occurred to me how exposed your site is in terms of privacy. When watching, your garden is so aspirational and it strikes as being abundant, secluded and a private idyll. When you explained how overlooked you are from passersby I immediately could see the compromise that you’ve made for the level of outdoor space you have. Great insightful video Jane and Mike. Thank you
Great video Jane. Yes giving up privacy is the hardest part... we live out in the country and for years my parents lived in a small cabin style home we built next to our home. Since they have passed I have turned it into an AirBnB/VRBO home. I was not sure how my husband would do with giving up privacy, having strangers around our farm but when I started to actually make some money, he was all in for that.
Allison Speer where are you located. I’ve been wanting to rent an air b n b on a farm.
I finally have privacy at 71; in my 30's we had a townhouse for 21 years. Then I lived with other people in a room, if right people can be a great experience which I had. Then I was able to live in an in-law studio 420 sq.ft, lovely place and had privacy. Then I moved with a family which I helped with the kids, picked up from daycare, snack & helped with homework, dinner & bedtime - got reduced rent. Then a view years after I had the opportunity to live in a1920's 2 bedroom spanish house all by myself from my former landlord. Then 2 years later I moved to apts. and my adult son lived with me (this is all in California) it was cheaper to live together than separate - but no privacy. Finally in 2022 we are in Austin, Texas in.our own large home with lots of privacy. My son lives upstairs and I'm downstairs. I've lived in many different residential situations. But happy to still be working until end of 2022 and enjoying a active life. Thank you Jane for your helpful tips and advice.
We don't have central heating or air. Do to a constant drip and high water bills. We did without water coming into the house for a year while saving to new pipes put in. Then 2 years later the plumbing collapsed going out, it was another year of no bathroom plumbing or kitchen plumbing. Then the bathroom floor fell in, we just put a board across the whole and kept going, until we could find someone to help fix it. The house is now paid off and all the major issues are taken care of. My sister helped put in the new wiring. We do without a lot of things other people take for granted and eating the same food for a week isn't anything for us. We are much better off now than most in our area. We are still watching every penny. I would like to fix other things in the house. The kitchen floor is ugly, we got free flooring last week off of facebook. I'm 64 years old, it's been a struggle, however, I have seen to many women depend on their husbands financially. Then he dies and they are left in a mess. You can't just keep renting, buying a cheap trailer is a bad move also, they don't last that long even with repairs. I felt I had to do something, I took out a 15 year mortgage on a fixer upper, paid it off in 7 years. I worked 2 jobs and got remarried. My best advise for younger women 19 to 40 is look at your money, not including your husbands know where you stand if he drops dead, or walks out.
Brilliant advice
I gave up living in a white collar neighborhood in order to live in a blue collar one. My colleagues live in white collar neighborhoods and have mortgages I was able to pay 100% cash for my home in a blue collar neighborhood.
Fantastic result!
That’s what we did as well. Less house than we could “afford” and paid it off in 15 years. Being debt free makes life much easier. The fancy house and neighborhood are not worth it.
I am prepared to give up our current community and relocate to an area with much lower housing costs. We live in a resort town (my husband's family has been here for over a century), but since it has been "discovered", housing has shot through the roof, and taxes are going up as well. Locals are being priced out of their homes, and people who grew up here can't find a place to rent for under $1200 (for a studio). So eventually when we do sell our home (giving up) we will actually have a nice pot of money to move elsewhere that is more reasonable.
By choosing not to take a guided trip, as all of my family members do. I instead plan our entire trips out. I start by finding the cheapest flight to any city in the area of where we want to visit. And then plan the trip from there. We take local transportation and prepare most of our meals as well. It allows us a month of vacation time seeing and doing more than a guided vacation allows, and we do it for the price of their guided trip. The women in my family make it clear that they will not be preparing meals on vacation. I on the other hand love to see what I can find locally for meals and I love a good farmers market 😋. It is part of the whole experience for me, in being a part of the culture of where we are visiting.
In the US, many store brands are actually made by the same company that produces the name brands. So it pays to check store brands because the quality and taste are often the same as name brands but cost less.
I gave up absolutely everything non-essential in order to buy a home on my own, back when I was a single parent. So, no outings, yoga classes, clothes, takeaway food, magazines etc... I did a 'no spend' year, and that meant I did not even replace the garden hose when it broke even though it meant watering a big veggie garden by hand. It wasn't convenient, but it was necessary to reach my goal. It was worth it and actually didn't hurt too badly as my eye was on the prize. These days I can say that something I would not give up, unless my life depended on it, is my dog and cat. That said, if I didn't have pets and wanted to save a house deposit I would delay getting a pet until my home was secure.
Totally agreed on the cat and dog
I shop my house before I shop and I keep a running inventory of items. I stopped buying different cleaning products and now just use a concentrate of one type that you make different strengths for almost all tasks.
Thanks Ann
We have two Guinea pigs and we’re downsizing their housing so their bedding costs won’t cost as much. We compost all their old bedding and it means we can actually use the results of their old bedding to grow their food.
I have fibromyalgia and my body can’t regulate it’s temperature as well but I’ve turned the radiators and water boiler down to half way, I used to have them on full! I just don’t need to use the cold tap as much for baths and washing up! I’ve also turned the heating down from 25° down to 20° and I’m sticking to it.
We’ve stopped buying “treats” full price, but I will buy yellow sticker doughnuts and muffins to put in the freezer and then we defrost them in the microwave and they’re even nicer!
I don’t buy any of our clothes full price (apart from named uniforms we have to buy), we always get them on sale or in charity shops and we’re really lucky that my kids schools have second hand sales
I’ve never driven so I’ve saved so much money! I walk everywhere or use public transport. I don’t use taxis.
I try to wash our clothes less often. I wear denim clothes for a solid week before washing when I used to wear once and wash
I’ve given up using my heat in winter unless it’s truly cold and I’ve got 3+ layers already on. I only use one room at night too. I also don’t use electricity at night e.g lights or appliances (except fridge/freezer and modem for internet). I’ve given up being guilted into buying things for others to help them reach their goals e.g Tupperware. I’ve given up shopping for non-essentials, and even some things I’d consider essential but I have to find the lowest price before I buy - no more impulse shopping.
I collect rain water manually now and use it to wash my clothes or for the toilet and garden when I can. I guess this is also considered comfort but I’m ok with that. My consumption of everything has pretty much dropped, it’s encouraging to see the difference, it’s keeping me going.
Hi Jane!
Great video. I’m ready to cut down eating out. I’ll start cooking and baking again with a meal plan. Thank you for your wonderful ideas. Money saved will go into the mortgage principal. Have a splendid rest of the week. You inspired me to do better with money and time.
We have already given up plenty….ac in the blistering heat of Puerto Rico, portions and “quality “ regarding food, eating out, leisure rides, gifts, and so many more! We are now changing to a gas stove because electricity is just crazy expensive. ….whatever else Can be done we will do….just have to be calm and carry on!
Loved the last shot of the dog child caught in a "sin" with the T-paper. That gave me a chuckle!
especially with the cost of loo roll these days
We rent a Duplex in an expensive city in Southern California. And the walls have no insulation, therefore no privacy! We can hear our neighbors having arguments, their music and whatever they are watching on TV and I am sure they can hear us! But the rent is well below market rate for the area we live in and it is a much smaller place than our last rental in square footage. But this helps us save more money for our financial goals in the long run. We gave up space and privacy for cheaper rent to remain in the same suburb so that our daughter could also stay in the same primary school and to keep saving money.
Good decision
Great blog this week. One thing I did last year was to buy a large compost bin
Cost about ,£25.00 The reward this year, is a huge amount of beautiful load of black nutrient rich compost. All fed by food peelings leaves, teabags, coffee grounds. It has really covered it's £25.00 investment. I have filled over 10 tubs and am going to set with winter veg. I am more or less a vegetarian but I am now going to try become a raw vegan and save on energy. I am not expecting to eat raw all of the time but 2 out of 3 daily meals. Thank goodness for You tube and the fantastic teachers on there.
I have in the past lived in a terrace house on more than one occasion. I have also lived in detached properties in their own grounds(with all the additional costs) I now live in a semi detached property which I love. Less purchase and running costs, the privacy of my own front door, and thankfully quiet considerate neighbours. Now in later life I feel having someone next door makes me feel safer. The reduced running costs allow me to live well within my means on my retirement income. The cost of the property upkeep is reduced,so I feel I have a win win situation.
Thanks Pat
loved this video....it always ends too soon and i want more....
At present, I am prepared to give up travelling long distances as long as the cost of gas is so high. I also have a large house and a guest cottage. I live alone and am only using one window air conditioning unit at present which, with the help of ceiling fans, adequately cools the downstairs of the main house. I only cool the other areas should I have overnight guests. On cooler days in summer, I pop open windows and turn off the air conditioning completely. I also adjust my clothing in warm weather and go for looser, gauzier fabrics and drink lots of ice water!
Your videos are ALL so important! Thank you❤
Thank you
I gave up snacks in the weekly shop and I literally add beans to all meat dishes and portion it out to stretch a few more servings and freeze it. No takeout or restaurant unless it's a truly special occasion. Never for convenience.
That's a great idea!
Jane and Micheal thank you very much for another great midweek money chat. I agree on all you choises and make the a lot of the same choises. yet I do admit when I had the opportunity to chose a flat that cost 20,- a month more with way more privacy and super insulation , i did ... Sorry, but it makes my life so much better as I am very sensitive to noises, gives me enormous headaches. Its worth it for me... 😉
my little useless wants are long gone so I can live a frugal yet good life with my needs met without to much worries😄. If I have to, the wants I am able to save for now will be gone in a blink of an eye.
I sadly now have given up to drive to my mum (220 km one way)every month . But I call 4 times a week as I can call her for free, so I know when she needs me. And when I go I stay a couple of days to help her with things. Fortunately she is fysical able an busy herself for now. But I keep an ear on her👂
We have just one car for the lasts 14 years, my hubby went by bike as it was quicker and he hates traffic jam ( office hours) . I worked in healthcare had to go everywhere at every hour in a large region. he planned doctors appointments on my time of or I changed a shift at my work and so we used the one car only.
We just bought a house in France , but I think privacy is a different perception here when you e.g. live in a rural evironment. Sure they can see me leaving the house but from a different distance compared to our townhouse. It doesn' t bother me here compared to our town house where we have a walled garden to keep our privacy.
All our other houses had wood stoves, but in our mid seventies, it’s just a little to hard to heat that way for us
We have a wood stove in our family room that we use when it gets really cold here in Indiana. Otherwise we also have a wood pellet stove that we use because it is much more convenient and then the gas furnace is a back up. Like you its harder for us to do wood as we get older, i'm 61 but my husband is 72. I tend to do most of the tending the wood stove. We do have years and years of firewood put up.
Jane when u were talking about “terrace homes & row homes”, I know what being in a rowhome is like bc my grandma used to have one in Philly-I should say Philadelphia PA for those of you not familiar with the US. But the funny thing is, here in my apartment it sounds just like That all the time with all the noisy neighbors LOL 😂!!! Who knows maybe that’ll be my goal to move to a quieter place one day.
My grandparents lived in a Triplex home and we could always hear the neighbors. They had three rambunctious boys, from early teen to about 8 years old and the whole family was loud. We heard quite the arguments as we would lay in our bed giggling about it when I was about 7 years old.
I found this really interesting. I realised I have done all the things you discussed - given up time, comfort, convenience, etc and also echo the comment about deferred gratification made earlier. But what made me think was the fact that I have done all of these things without really planning or acknowledging that I do them, I just do because I have to and haven't really considered having a choice. This has made me feel very positive about my life. I can pat myself on the back for making right choices, not feel negative or sorry for myself - I'm not one to indulge in those sentiments very often anyway! - so thank you for that x
We don’t feel sorry for ourselves either, nor do we feel that we’ve made any sacrifices, we’ve always paid the mortgage, all our bills, had access to some form of transportation and could have free time.
All the encouragement is great inspiration. Thank you Mike and Jane. ❤ from 🇺🇸
Thank you! When I built this house, I was thinking of the costs to run it. Therefore, I went smaller than I wanted. I do not have central heating, or electrical heaters upstairs. I have one in the living room, but that is never on. In the winter I light the wood burning stove when I wake up in the morning. After a shower, the space in front of the fireplace is nice and warm, then off to work, and when I return, before I walk the dogs or make dinner, I light the fire again, and keep it going through the evenings. The chimney pipe gets warm and heat the upstairs. My bedroom is always cold, and I like that, sometimes I keep the door open an hour before bedtime, as temperatures can fall to -20c or lower here. I have a warm dawn comforter, and over the end of the bed I have a woolen blanket. About inconvenient. The location of my home, it was a cheeper plot of land. Its about 15 minutes to the nearest village, and my work is 35-40 minutes drive away. We have no public transport, so car is the only option. Then again, I have my own well and sewage system, so my bills to the municipality is low, only for the garbage collecting, we have no property tax. I do not get visitors as often as I did before, I miss that, but that was something that I knew would happen, and messenger and live chats is used a lot. I do need the social contact with friends, and we still meet, I have a sinking fund for coffee with friends. My sons still live at home, partially, and full time now over the summer, they are students. Before one makes any life changes like building in the woods like me, or going into a house of multiple occupancy, visit someone that lives there, and see if you can do it. Dont rush into things, that is if you dont have to financially.
Thanks for sharing your story
You 2 are great examples of frugality
Actually you are warriors!
That’s very kind
I wouldn't I give up things, I always make choices for how I spend my money, even if the best is not spending. I know that if we don't spend money, we spend time, and sometime I just can't always think to everything so I make choice for convenience.
Regarding the brand and generic, for some product I came back buying brand ones as they are better. We can't say that all of generic are as good as brand, it depends of products and of generic.
Making these choices, I still have solutions to go down.
Thank you for sharing! This has been almost entirely my/our lifestyle - USA! How wondeful to hear of others! It is SO worth it!
We're so glad,we changed to our stove.with this prices,we are very Happy!
And we have Limited our choices with the groceries.stretching as much,as possible.( you're an Inspiration for me,Jane👍)Much Less ,or No luxury- Chips,chocolat.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do what you need to do to survive, or meet your goals. Most people are generally adaptable and get on with the situation at hand if they decide it's worth it.
Excellent.
When I retired, I moved to another state with a more affordable cost of living. I now have a smaller home & no mortgage-- so happy! The trade off is not being able to see extended family as often.
Did the same thing
Am now rent free
Another great video! I listened to it twice. I even noted your 7 topics to discuss with hubby which I will soon. 1) We made a comfort decision recently…we began to increase our thermostat to 80 d Fahrenheit from 76. I won’t go further as that is the recommended limit for activity, eg walking outdoors if you want to avoid heat exhaustion. Every degree we could raise saves 3-5 Kilowatt hours and that is quite a savings in Florida summers. I have made choices to pay for things I would much rather not do, such as lawn care, even though it may save money to do it myself. So I am not perfect in that time saver. Other than that, I think we adhere to a lot of these. As I said, my husband and I will ponder and I will let you know if we make any changes!
As always inspiring. 👍🌹
I'm prepared to give up expensive holidays. I can't believe people pay for holidays with credit. We have mostly staycations. Plenty to do in Sydney Australia. But if we go away it would only be for two nights and well planned out so as to get a good deal.
I look forward to your money chats.
Another very helpful video. Thank you so much.
Some really thought provoking statements today Jane! Have to agree with all of them and we’re doing OK!
Superb article. Seventy one year old pensioner here. Lots of my generation have lived this way mist of our lives, however the current climate even has us scratching our heads on how we are going to cope in the next year or so with all the predicted price rises and shortages. We haven’t got anything left to go without. We are a stalwart bunch but it is going to take some huge innovations and initiatives to get through. Any thoughts?😘
I wish I had.
Such a fantastic topic and very useful information
I'm prepared to give up expensive activities that other people choose but I know I won't enjoy
Good for you, you do it your way
Thank you, I'm all for celebrating special occasion but I'm at that age where every single friend wants a 300 quid night out in London for their birthday and a week away for a hen do. I tell them it's just not in my budget and take them for brunch instead which is usually about £15 and we get way more quality time.
@@melissagimson1910 hen nights/days weekends are now just ridiculous
@@FrugalQueeninFrance I've long said that if my partner and I get married my hen do will be one giant sleepover, pajamas mandatory and BYOB 😆
A lot of food for thought. Thank you for sharing Jane. I’m still working on MIGF! With great results to, so thank you for sharing that too. Xxx
This is such a great video. Wow. You all have sacrificed so much
None of it felt like sacrifices at the time and now we know how lucky we are
👍👍👍
💖
I am prepared to give up on meat and alcohol for the sake of building up a cash reserve. Then it's winner winner, no chicken dinner!
We haven't been abroad for the last 3 years down to covid but mot spending the money I've saved since I've gone back to work I don't want to spend it x
Alas, my Dear Lady, I finally must disagree with you re: jams and marmalades. I have been making them at home for many years and I can tell the difference between generic, name brands and my home made spreads. Small kettle homemade batches with ripe fruit picked and made into jams the same day are the best, then brand name comes second and then generics. Generic brand often are mostly corn syrup and fruit juice with much less actual real fruit. I love orange marmalade but I tossed a jar of generic brand recently. It had very little flavor and color. It was simply chemically sweet tasting!
You don’t need to agree with me. I was discussing what we were prepared to give up to win financially. My final question was, what have you given up to win financially?