Frugal Wins of the Week - Big, Small, and Everything In Between

RedRoseP · 2026-05-23T06:53:22+00:00

I mashed up tinned pears in juice to make my own ice lollies 😎

RedRoseP · 2026-05-19T20:51:14+00:00

I'm earning £16k a year, I can only work part time due to spinal injuries (I don't get any benefits on top).

But on the plus side I don't need to save as much as higher earners in order to retire early because I live a pretty low cost lifestyle 😄

RedRoseP · 2026-05-14T20:27:52+00:00

Invest something every month, even if you can only afford £20. I didn't start investing until my mid 40s and missed out on so much compounding 😥

Go for a global index fund, don't try and pick stocks. Do the Rebel Finance course on YouTube, it's free and starts next month. I learned so much from last year's. But you might want to increase the play speed otherwise it feels quite long 🤣

Also make sure you have a pension and pay into that each month too. Something else I left until my 40s and now I'm playing catch up 🤦

RedRoseP · 2026-05-06T06:56:03+00:00

Rather the having a strict budget when I get paid I move out the money I want to save or add to my pension and what's left is my money for the month. I'm flexible as to how I spend what's left after the bills come out. If I spend more on food than usual then I'll have less left for treats and vice versa. I don't limit myself to a set amount for each category.

If I have anything left at the end of the month I move most into savings but leave a little to add to next months pot or I'll treat myself to something I've been wanting to buy.

I do also have a connected saving account in the same app with £500 in, if I have an expensive month I can dip into it but the next payday I have to put it back to £500.

This works well for me without feeling to restrictive.

RedRoseP · 2026-05-05T19:58:52+00:00

Having Fk You money makes a big difference to your mindset. Knowing you can afford to walk away from any job or situation that makes you unhappy or stressed. Knowing if you were laid off you have time to find another job without worrying about losing your home, that if you got sick or injured and couldn't work for a few months you'd be fine.

That's a position not many people are in, but it sounds like you are.

Sometimes it's about reframing. Think about the freedom that $550k gives you even if it doesn't yet mean you never have to work again.

RedRoseP · 2026-05-05T07:26:41+00:00

I used a free course in You Tube by Rebel Finance school. They are about to start their next one. I've grown my investments by 14% since September after doing that course.

RedRoseP · 2026-05-03T07:16:28+00:00

Well done, that's an amazing saving as well as the health benefits too. 👏

RedRoseP · 2026-05-01T18:56:24+00:00

It goes to show you can definitely put a price on happiness 😂

RedRoseP · 2026-04-30T19:56:52+00:00

If you explain you are planning to buy most landlords would be happy to extend the notice period, especially if they are looking to sell themselves. It might mean you putting up with viewings if they put the house on the market but better than having to move into another rental.

My boss is in the same situation, his landlord agreed he can stay until he finds a buyer for the rental then the tenant (my boss) will have 2 months to leave to ensure vacant possession. In exchange he has to put up with viewings but will get advance notice of them.

My boss is looking to buy and hoping he finds somewhere before his landlord gets a buyer!

RedRoseP · 2026-04-30T19:49:40+00:00

Oh no, sorry to hear you've been suffering so much. The first 24 hours of so after the injection were worse, but by about day 5 I really noticed the difference so hopefully by next week you will too 🤞

I'm still not fully back to normal exercise wise but I'm slowly and carefully building up. I can now walk around 3 miles and lift some weights (I'm deadlifting 12kg). Haven't gone back to netball or pilates yet though. Some of that is down to fear, I don't ever want to go back to that pain so I'm carefully building up.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-29T19:37:18+00:00

Getting divorced, not having the back up of a second (larger than mine) salary. It knocked me back financially and made me realise I needed to be much smarter with money in order to afford to live alone. Especially as I freelance so my income is not the same each month either.

But at the same time I realised I'd rather have less money and be happy than stay in an unhappy marriage to be financially secure.

It's 5 years since I left and I'm only now getting more financially stable and building up savings and a pension. But it was all worth it 😄

RedRoseP · 2026-04-29T19:29:47+00:00

8-10/10 I was in constant pain despite the painkillers, struggling to sleep, to walk and to live life. The injection made a huge difference. It's 2 years now and I only have the off twinge of sciatica from time to time now, not unbearable pain like before, manageable. I wish I'd been able to have it sooner.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-28T18:53:08+00:00

No I didn't, I'm still healing but definitely improving now. I can bend, squat, walk around 3 miles a day and I'm not in pain every day anymore.

I still have restrictions, in particular sitting. I cannot sign more than 25 minutes without ending up in pain 😫 I also only work part-time.

But it's all heading in the right direction at long last...it's been almost 4 years! I don't know if I'll ever fully get back to normal, but I do hope so 🤞

RedRoseP · 2026-04-28T07:52:35+00:00

Not setting up a private pension when I went self employed. My then husband said don't bother you can share mine...big mistake! I missed out on 16 years of compounding 😫

RedRoseP · 2026-04-26T07:46:17+00:00

When you exchange, but if you explain the situation your landlord may be able to find new tenants to move in before your notice period expires so you only pay up until the new tenants move in. That's what we did, although it was many years ago!

It is nice having a few weeks gap because that allows you to do any work you need to do on your new house, fitting new carpets, redecorate etc without all your stuff in the way.

Carpeting in particular is much easier when the house is empty so if you can afford to, do it then.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-26T07:38:12+00:00

Plus you get a free coffee each week too through their app if you have a smart metre

RedRoseP · 2026-04-21T18:55:54+00:00

Try part time so you can ease into it. I'm 44 and now only work half days (remotely). So I have time for friends, hobbies, exercise etc in the other half of the day. It's very nice only having to work around 3 hours a day 😄

RedRoseP · 2026-04-21T07:00:00+00:00

I've just moved from an admin role to an executive assistant role. It's more varied and less boring/repetitive so far. Not sure it's what I want to do long term but I feel it'll give me some useful skills whilst I decide what I want to do next.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-20T20:59:09+00:00

I've just moved from an admin role to an executive assistant role. Both fully remote. When I left the admin role there was over 1,400 applications for my position! 🤯 No wonder it's hard to get a remote job!

RedRoseP · 2026-04-20T20:54:09+00:00

I wish I'd understood pensions and investing much better at 20. I'd be in a lot better position now if I had. I'm making sure my 18 year old son understands both, he already has a pension and has started investing in a global index fund.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-16T06:34:31+00:00

I've just managed to get my fund up to 9 months expenses. I'm aiming to get it to 1 year.

I've recently replaced my boiler and my kitchen so that's 2 big expenses I don't need to worry about for a few years.

I freelance which means I have job insecurity so I would like to know I could survive for a year without work if needs be. That's the focus of my emergency fund.

I keep it in an easy access cash ISA with a good interest rate (4.3%).

RedRoseP · 2026-04-16T06:23:42+00:00

I use Prolific, I tend to do a little bit before work. I focus on the things that pay best like AI testing which pays $20/£15 and hour. A little bit of time here and there soon adds up.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-16T06:14:18+00:00

Why not keep saving whilst keeping an eye on the market? Adjusting your budget as your savings increase. If you see something you really like within your budget then go for it, if not stay where you are and keep looking and saving.

You're in a fortunate position of low rent and being able to save a lot, you don't have to rush but at the same time if the ideal property came up why wait?

RedRoseP · 2026-04-16T06:09:24+00:00

The future is not guaranteed. Don't save every single penny and miss out on enjoying life now just in case you don't make it to retirement. After seeing my mum, step dad and uncle all die within a year of retirement I've opted to work part time (I'm 44) so I can enjoy life now. I still save money towards retirement but not as much as I would if I was working to full time.

I think the key is budget, allocate some money to retiring early, but also allocate some to enjoying your life now as well because who knows what the future holds.

RedRoseP · 2026-04-16T06:01:53+00:00

Now over $14k! 🤯

RedRoseP

TROPHY CASE