Frugal Living Extreme Budgeting – Our November Budget, Leftovers for lunch & a top up shopping haul.
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It’s budget day for November. We also show you our leftovers for lunch (It was delicious) and go through a top up shopping haul. Frugal Queen in France Like …
Thank you for your time to share your wonderful ideas .I live in the US and my husband and I spend very little .I'm blessed to know how to garden and can our own foods ,bake our own breads and dehydrate a lot of fresh fruits for future use .Waste nothing is how we should all live .Have a wonderful day
Love your precise budgeting approach!
Hi! New subscriber here! Iām Mo, from Lincolnshire, U.K. You just popped up on my page. Very interesting video, thank you for sharing Always good to get different perspective. Itās shown me I need to keep a closer eye on spending. Looking forward to your future videos and going to catch up on some of your previous ones too. Stay safe . Xx
Can I ask how long it took for you to save up your 12months of expenses, and what did you include in that? Does the French govt tax your British pension?
This week I gleaned every last thing possible from our garden before the first freeze, which wasn't a whole lot, but now it's prepped and in the freezer. Started a jar of fermented green tomato pickles, and tried a recipe for green tomato cake – delicious! I also baked the pumpkins we used to decorate our front porch at Halloween, pureed and froze that in ziplock bags for smoothies and baking. It roasted the pumpkin seeds for snacking.
I like your very detailed budgeting. I began doing detailed weekly budgeting when we were first married, and still do it today, 40 years later. We've always "paid ourselves first", and it gives a feeling of security to know all the bills are paid, savings accounts are growing, and you know how much you have left to use for discretionary spending. It's then a challenge to see how creative you can be to live within that limit.
Budgeting allowed us to save enough to put our 3 children through college with no debt (scholarships helped), and we now have enough saved for a comfortable retirement. I can't recommend it enough.
Itās interesting to see comparisons
Back after my time out – thanks for your kind words – it really helped.
A frugal thing we did
Taught our son how to skin and bone partridge for roasting wrapped in bacon or for slow cooking
The cost is nothing as we are in a shooting area here in England and game is given away
Jane I love your channel. My husband and I have been living the frugal lifestyle for a few years now and we are at such peace and enjoy our lives more and more each day .Thanks for such an amazing channel and putting positive outlook on the frugal lifestyle
Jane have you tried Niki (I think that's how it's spelt) Niki Wax which should make your walking boots waterproof. Worth a try, save you purchasing s new pair of boots.
I really enjoy your budgeting, using sinking funds and long term savings. I am starting to use them in my personal finances. Wow they work great when aiming for goals. I am also in my mid 50's, but I had sudden job loss due health issues. Frugal queen in France has been a life saver. I am now able to manage my pension and social security disability incomes with alot more effectively. Thank you Jane and Michael for a glimpse into your mortgage and debt free lives. I also enjoy your recipes and your beautiful French cottage and gardens.
Could you address gifts and how you approach them? Thank you
Love your cheerful, encouraging attitude and your effective explanation of your budgeting and how it plays out in real life!
I absolutely love your videos! As an American who is looking for a retirement home in France, I am looking to live as frugally as possible. You are such an inspiration!
A tight month but the bills are paid and your bellies will be fed without getting into debt on the credit card. We are eating a lot less meat and Iām doing much more walking to keep us on budget. That leg of lamb will give you plenty of meals after Christmas too. Love Wendy ā„š
Watching from Texas I like that you're buying real food in the US there would be alot of junk food included. Great haul.
I also track my monthly expenses by saving all my receipts; and then, log everything spent during each month at the end of every month. It helps me with preparing my monthly budget. I so glad I'm not the only person taking time to budget and track my low pension income. Can't afford to waste money!
I always break up big packs of meat for the freezer especially if I get bargains in lidl the reduced mince is a great buy at times !!
Great video!ššā¤š
Hi Jane & Mike , I absolutely love your videos and find them so much help . Thank you both and keep up the great work!
I'm a pen and paper gal myself. Faster than an app!
Loved Mikes wiggling on the mower. You must have a bumpy lawn š I found butter for Ā£1.29 a pack this week in Home Bargains. Was so chuffed as in recyclable paper too. Am sure my husband thinks Iāve gone mad, heās on a different page to me, but slowly coming on board. Trying to slash our food spending now as just two of us in the main. Trying to avoid top up shops they are lethal. Very lucky as have a new Aldi, HBās, Asda and Morrisonās close by. One difference I noticed paracetamol 65p in Morrisonās, 29p in H Bargains! Thanks Jane and Mike for these videos, very inspiring.
Hi Jane
Loved the video!
Quick question. If you use another budget line to stock up on groceries does that mean that sometimes you spend 300+ euro that month? If you spent 300 euro from your grocery budget and 38 euro from your discretionary budget (as an example) that would be 338 euro on groceries for the month.
I'm just wondering if you then go back and change the grocery budget line to 338? Or doesn't it really matter in the end? Thanks again for a lovely video.
Thank you for being so open and honest about your budgeting. Itās always better to see everything written down. Itās getting more difficult to keep food shopping in budget every time we shop! Thank you so much.
You are doing such a great job with your budget. All of your food looks so yummy too.
I enjoy your videos and seeing your way of life in France. Thank you for sharing.
I appreciate your very specific video. I especially loved where you pay yourself first and have a little flexibility with discretionary funds. This episode is another educational window into how one familyās financial world works very successfully. Frugality is a life choice that if adhered to works well no matter what the income. And a positive ācan doā attitude regarding oneās budget is a segue to success. You are certainly a shining example of that. I am looking forward to Wednesdayās chat!
Thanks for sharing. I keep all my receipts and track for the month. Iām a pen and paper person and use my ledger every month for bills and expenses. I had $10 left from my grocery budget this week. Iām sure Iāll spend it next week
Perception and comparison are funny things. I look at your ā¬300 a month supermarket budget in awe. But then today I thoughtā¦ well that is AUD$600 per month for 2 adults. Our house is 3 adults and a 14 yr old boy who maybe eats the most!. So double the 2 to 4 people and itās AUD$1200 per month which is exactly what we budget to cover very similar items. I donāt feel so bad about our supermarket budget now.
If we have a mortgage, car payment and debt what should we tackle first? You talked about snow balling.
Here in the US there is a clear spray product called āflex sealā that one year I sprayed on my roof, was awesome, did the job, you may be able to spray on your boots if you have available to you. Itās a rubber sealant coating and Amazon has it.
Thanks for walking through your budget. It makes more sense to see it written out.
Do you pay a penalty on federal pensions for retiring early in France? In Canada you lose 20% for going before 60, plus what they call a "bridge benefit" that's paid from 60 – 65. It's an additional payment to bring you up to the level of Canada pension 5 yrs before you would if employed in the private sector.
Please show us how you break down your meat and show us your freezers
Love your channel ā¤
Do you get a vet plan, or just cross that bridge when you get to it? (annual shots, parasite treatment, unlimited exams is $50 here in Canada).
Jane I love the way you break down the budget. I look forward to every video. ā¤
I've been considering getting a budget book like yours. I've been expense tracking for years, but want to try and track our expenses in real time. I can't seem to find an expense tracking app that is both free and easy to use. It would be great to know during the month about how much I have left to spend on groceries.
We're eating down our freezer and pantry right now, but will probably stock up on many items again before Christmas.
Hi Jane, I was wondering if you have buckwheat in France/UK? It's such a useful product. We use it like you would use rice for a side dish (really good with salt and some fried onions to top). It's goes well with any meat, veggies or mushrooms. In addition, in my childhood, we ate it for breakfast instead of cereal: sprinkle sugar on top of bowl of cooked buckwheat, cover with cold milk and enjoy. Yummy. If it's available and cheap, could be a nice replacement for rice, to diversify. Special thanks for your leek tart recipe. Have already made it twice!
Thanks for sharing Jane! Three of five of us in our house are gluten free so my food shopping is a lot higher than normal as a result. Thank god for aldi! I have one right beside me in Dublin. This sounds bad but i was so happy when you said you were GF as a lot of the time i can't copy frugal recipes due to gluten. Are you coeliac or gluten intolerant? How is France for dining out GF? XX
I like that you have colored toilet paper. Here in the U S we only have white.
Probably the only frugal thing I did this week was ābatch cookā a lot of different beans in the instant pot, then freeze them into meal size servings.
Did the same with pasta sauce. Filled my small freezer with this. Less canned food I have to purchase! š
I love that backsplash tile in your kitchen
Another great video full of tips. Here in the uk food is also on the rise week on week. Trying to get a bargain is getting harder and harder. I too did a meat shop this week. Topping up my freezer, enough in there to last me into the new year. I bought my Christmas meat which included 2 large turkey legs which I find have lots of meat on them when cooked and striped.The bones can then be used to make stock. I got my yearly heating allowance which pensioners receive every year in the uk. As I have a large credit balance on my gas and electric account I decided to use my Ā£200 to top up the freezer and pantry to help me over the next couple of months. Because my grocery needs will be lower over the next couple of months I should have money to stock up when Christmas food are reduced after Christmas. Anything to overall reduce the grocery budget.
Thank you ,great video as always, just wondering how do you save for Christmas and birthdays ,extra food and gifts .