About two years ago, I joined a savings website called simple savings and that action has in part fueled our family journey towards increasingly frugal living.
I had read an article about simple savings in Money Magazine and thought I'll have a look. After joining up for the free newsletter, I noticed that there is a guaranteed refund within the first three months. "What the heck" I thought signing up.
I was in a word hooked. Until then, my thrifty ways had been viewed by my family and friends with amused tolerance and sometimes complete horror. What delight to find myself among a group of like minded souls with such diverse backgrounds, goals and opinions. I had at last found my niche.
One of the things that binds simple savers together is the idea and love of challenges. How long can you go without spending, living off the contents of your freezer etc. A much anticipated event is the annual $21 challenge month where for one week (or longer) you live off your supplies for all your meals and spend no more than $21 on groceries each week. If you're interested in learning more about $21 challenges,check out this clip You Tube $21 challenge for more info.
We as a family have started our own savings challenge today. Let me explain.
We were planning a family holiday overseas in June. For health reasons we have had to postpone that holiday. We ended up with a lot of Qantas Frequent Flyer points which would expire before I could use them. I've redeemed those frequent flyer points for $1900 worth of WISH gift cards to be used at all Woolworths Group stores and Woolworths/Caltex service stations.
Our challenge is how far our $1900 of WISH gift cards can be stretched before spending any of our family funds on groceries and fuel.
The only exception to using the gift cards is a $40 a week budget to allow for purchase of additional fruit and veg at the local fruit shop and for stockpiling of any bargains I come across. Any of the $40 not spent will be accounted for and carried forward into the next week.
In total, we are aiming for twelve weeks on this challenge, but who knows how far we can push it?
Week one, Day 1:
Gift cards $1900
Stockpile $40
Spent so far $0.00
Awesome idea for a challange, looking forward to seeing how long you can go - keep us updated.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to use FF points. I'm also interested in how long it will last.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of groceries today could almost be considered a joke if it wasn't true. That's one of the reasons I love SS too; it gets you thinking outside the box for ways to save and spend less in the supermarket. Be sure to keep us updated with your progress.