Resolution Thrifty

I have been listening and reading lots of material by personal finance and FIRE gurus to find ideas and inspiration on how to be more frugal and channel this extra money into investments and savings. I don't live in a rural area and have no plans to move to the countryside so living off the land and using firewood for heat will not work for me. Instead I think I will work on small steps which eventually will become ingrained habits. So here are some of my ideas: - Get rid of Sky! This should save about £40 a month although it is likely we will be subscribing to Netflix for £7.99. - Cook more meals from scratch and plan meals over the week. This will hopefully mean less waste and a lower grocery bill. - Go to Lidl to buy things like pasta, tins and biscuits. Again this should shave some money off the grocery bill. - Change mobile contracts. Saving will be about £20 a month - Stop mindless spending on things like clothes, shoes, snacks, drinks, books, magazines and other pointl

I have been away from blogging of late as life just got in the way, sometimes positively and sometimes less so. Before I knew it, 2016 has been consigned to the pages of history and 2017 has arrived and is speeding away. Brexit, terrorism and the possibility of a second Scottish referendum are dominating the headlines. I am trying to ignore the newspapers and focus on my goals for this year. I am now in my 40s and frankly my thoughts have strayed to the fact I am not going to get younger and so need to actually take health more seriously, this in practical terms means I have to do some exercise and eat better. With frugality at the forefront of my mind, I am not wasting money on gyms or dance classes so I have taken up jogging, twice a week in the local park! I am not very good and my stamina is rubbish, the same guy laps me every week! However, after a month it is definitely improving, my aim is to be able to run for half an hour without stopping. I have to say that doing exercise doe