We live în Romania, so we've been în some sort of "chrisis" since forever? But we still push through. It's really hard sometimes, but we make it every month. Prices are crazy high and salaries.....are crazy low. With one child, no one to help us and a mortgage.....it's sooooo tough but....somehow we make it through. Just try our best, have faith in God and work hard. We can do it!!!!!!

To keep my hard-earned money in my own pocket, I have started to first shop in my own home before buying because quite often, there is something that can be modified for the purpose. For example I wanted to make panettone and searched for a panettone pan to buy. As i was searching, I remembered my own advice so I looked at my collection of cake tins instead. There was a cake tin with the right diameter but not tall enough. I was able to use it by making a collar that is higher that the sides of the tin. This gave me the shape of a panettone. I also had paper bags that I could use to bake the panettone in and various other ideas that would also work. Instead of buying new clothes, I will often find something I can alter such as a dress from when I was much younger and stopped wearing it when one day when I decided the length was too short for me. It has been hanging in my wardrobe for over 30 years. I kept it because I liked the print. When I came across it last year., I transformed it into a top by shortening the dress. I'm sure I'll find a use for the chopped off portion of the dress for something else. My ironing board is decades old and the surface mesh was rusting and chunks had fallen off. Instead of buying a new one, I had a sheet of plywood in the garage. I traced the shape of the surface to be replaced onto the plywood, cut out the shape and drilled holes so that steam can go through when ironing. I used to be too quick to buy items. Shopping in my own home first has saved me lots of money. There are so many more examples but that will be pages long to list them all.

In my garden journal, 4 years ago I got a pound of butter on sale for $3 no limits. Same butter on sale now is $5 with small limits. Boneless chicken breasts are almost $5/lb on sale, reg about $9 to $11/lb. Really glad I'm able to bottle meat, butter and veg. I saw the writing on the wall 10 years ago and have many large pails of dried beans, pasta, salt, grains, coffee, tea, toiletries, etc along with tinned goods in my basement. You name it, I've probably stored lots of it. My married kids often shop at 'Mom's'. In turn, they help me in the garden and any heavy jobs. Functioning as a 'tribe' helps all of us.

We all need to be inspired by every word you uttered in this video. I find that keeping a complete inventory of all goods in my home is very helpful. In January, I just plain deleted some types of goods after completing the inventory. No more even bargain clothing, books, prepared foods. gadgets, etc. will cross my doorway. I will use up all my yarn before purchasing more [the biggest sacrifice} I am even rationing my batch cooking frozen servings to make seven servings insteat of five for the freezer. I use as little energy as possible. And, I look for more ideas. No, none of us like this but, hey, you do what you need to do and then you get on to something that gives you pleasure like a good book, knitting, play the piano, or have a good visit with a friend. Life can be happy. The only thing that I have the power to change is my outlook. Thanks.

Right at the start of 2020, we came down to a single income as we had our third child and it was no longer economically viable for me to go back to work. Combined with inflation, stagnant wages, shrinkflation, the works, we have reduced to one car (which my husband has sole use of Mon-Fri), gotten rid of the TV licence, buy all clothes and shoes secondhand, are vegetarian for two-thirds of the week, use a community fridge, wear coats in the house, grow our own veg, pickle, ferment, jam, bake... I have actually learnt to enjoy it but there are nights I go to bed absolutely exhausted! It's so funny you mentioned rationing because I have always been a bit obsessed with the Homefront during WWII and reading about how people coped back then is probably the only thing that keeps me going!

I think one of the ways we can slash budgets is to slash our meat consumption. I remember rationing after WW2 but my mother, one of ten children also remembered in her own childhood much earlier, that through the week, the only person who got meat on his plate was father. The rest of the family ate the delicious veggies stewed in the meat gravy, and the gravy itself was mopped up with bread. No-one died and there wasn't a food bank in sight. And for years after the war, chicken was a luxury. We had it at Christmas! We nearly all eat more protein than we need for health these days. So self imposed rationing of the expensive or unnecessary things makes absolute common sense. And that's my choice now. It ony feels doomy and gloomy if you allow it to be. Resilience to hardship seems much reduced these days. So well done for the pep talk Jane. You are a master of your art! 👍

We retired to a smaller house with a big area for veggie garden, fruit trees and berries. I was able to put up sweet corn, a variety of tomato based items, jam, veggies and relishes the last few years. Lots for us and sharing with friends and family. Love my full canning pantry.

Thank you, Jane, for this reminder and perspective. I've quit buying so much stock up foods. This is my 4th no spend year. Of course, I have to buy groceries, pay utilities, etc., but I do everything possible to keep those prices low. I'm on Social Security Disability income, and it did go up $78 a monthly starting in January. That raise disqualified me from about $450 worth of benefits I still had. So my utility expenses went up that much for receiving that extra $78. It's very difficult now. It was difficult before, but now I don't know exactly how I can adjust... but it has to be done. I can eat from my stock for a while, but when it's gone, I can't see a way to replenish it. I trust in God's provision, so I'm not worried. I do all I can and take some things to the extreme. After that I reply on God, Who always comes through, unfailingly. Again, thank you, Jane. (And I'm just about always genuinely upbeat. I'm thankful for what I have! 😊

‚Be proud of being frugal’ is a very good advice. I am and I try to get my students on board with me. Yesterday one of them said in front of the Class: ‚Mrs G, because of you I have more money.‘ I was so proud of him. One more member in the life boat… Thank you for sharing all of your insights. Take care.

There needs to be a "love" not just a "like" button for your videos - especially this one! I so appreciate your positive, can-do approach to challenging times. Your videos are so encouraging and informative. It's like having a like-minded friend in my frugal corner. Thank you! In terms of areas where we are rationing to save more in the few years we have left before retirement, we do many of the things you do like stretching and substituting foods, driving less (making one car work around transit schedules best we can), monitoring utility usage, mending everything possible versus replacing items, looking months in advance of when we might need something replaced to find the best price possible, adding extra to sinking funds for taxes and insurance through the other cuts we've made. We've already had a discussion with our adult children about cutting back even more this year on birthday and Christmas gifts though we were never extravagant with gifts. I am trying the best I can to have a no-spend year the way you define no-spend. All the bills are paid, things are repaired if needed, but the discretionary budget for me this year is under $100 for the entire year. Everything else is in a well-defined budget category. I love bartering/swapping and borrowing/sharing ownership of things we only use a few times per year. Example: I have a dehydrator I will loan to my daughter and family, and they loan me their tortilla maker and air fryer (that was a gift to them from me) as needed. Since we live nearby, there's no need for all of us to own everything. With a can-do attitude, we can accomplish much and survive and thrive even in challenging times!

As grocery prices rise, we're growing/gathering many more of our fruits and veggies, hunting/fishing more and even changing the types/cuts of meats and proteins we're eating. Doing all we can do to live within our means and sharing any excess with friends and family. God bless you and Mike for helping others cope with this squeeze! ❤ from Canada 🇨🇦

Thank you always for your message Jane. I am still only saving $10/month ($5 in each of two accounts), but at least it is something, and I have saved $205 so far and will not touch it. My goal is to save $500. We are also cooking almost everything from scratch and enjoying it! No processed or pre-made foods (I have food allergies and my husband is diabetic so it is best for us anyway) Everytime you say lasagna I get hungry for it! I too made a big batch of veggie lasanga and froze 2/3 of it. Heat and eat and delicious.

The military has a saying: Identify, Adapt, and Overcome. It has become my mantra, when it comes to figuring out how to find more savings in my budget.

I have put pride aside and began going to our community food distributions monthly...this has been an immense help. Thanks for another great and needed video!

My little but significant cut has been going out to eat which is something my husband and I decided to do even less for 2024. We have looked at our budget and made a commitment to cut some items by 2% this year because last year we cut our budget by 6%. At this time in the U.S. is primary voting time, we looked more carefully at what each candidate DID accomplish that helped the community, country and state. This may not be something that some people think of as being frugal, but voting the same people in positions and not getting the results that benefit people as a whole is something to think about for the country. Thanks again for sharing.

Love your positive attitude in facing tough choices. Too many on here are all "gloom and doom; woe is me" so your approach is so refreshing. Kudos to you and Mike.

It is tough to budget but I am thankful I am still able to have meat most days and I am still able to pay my bills and also able to save money. I had to change a few things but that's OK. I have a roof over my head a vehicle that is paid for . I have also been able to help some very elderly folks who live near me.

We too are not increasing our food budget this year, we are pensioners so plans this year for us is to cut down junk food buying completely and o grow more in as much food as we can in every available garden space, including the front drive with container salads. l experimented last year and found that a trough can hold little gem lettuces ....each planted 4" apart and the £1 packet had 7,000 seeds!! We sow just a few seeds each week for our needs and iv still got tons of seeds left for this year.We had a massive saving compared to how much each lettuce cost in the supermarket. Same with tomato seeds, we grew our our own last year , started them on the windowsill and planted 24 in our 2 raised beds. We are still using them from the freezer for our Italian frugal slow cooker recipes.The little gem lettuces, baby spinach and spring onions are so easy to grow, l would even grow them on a balcony if that's all the space l had.

Nothing will ever go back. We need to adjust our mindset and prioritize. New subscriber here. Love your channel.

You have such lovely, healthy hair. How nice to be young! since I lost my hubs last fall , I am limiting my veg garden to the raised beds this summer. I will plant some fruiting bushes in the in ground areas. I am having to replace my. Undies this afternoon on sale, with a ten percent additional senior day discount.

Ironically, yesterday was first spend day in a very long time .. bought 3 bottles of shampoo buy 3 get 1 free, marked down beef and salmon and veg but paid full price for packet of donuts and bought some good tea at tea shop, then ordered a jasmine plant ( had wanted it 8 yrs)that had free shipping. Felt dizzy and giddy. Today am very content to resume no spending, staying home, heat low. Before becoming disabled bought a house needing rehab and live in the garage apt which now needs repairs, had been ultrafrugal all my working life. 3 yrs living on savings only till got social security made me glad for not spending many years.

The library is a great resource of entertainment and information. I recently searched frugal and dozens of books came up. Some are out of date but recipes and diy for cheap are timeless

I work less and pay less tax. With the extra time I enjoy myself by saving money with pride and join in community events to get local support and ideas about what is going on locally. Thanks for your positivity Jane.

A very sobering message but given in a positive way. We must find hope and we (I) appreciate your hopeful comments. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

I downsized. I cut my favorite processed foods and I use gift cards (I earned) and coupons. I crochet blankets from skeins brought from secondhand stores. I been shopping at secondhand stores for so long. When my daughter took me to an Old Navy store, I had a culture shock. 😊😊 The pups are huggable. Thank you for the video.

My niece and I talked about this earlier today - the importance of creativity and a good attitude about meeting the challenges. You’re spot on, we are in this for the long haul.

I was able to rent a garden plot for this season from a community garden. I will grow as much as I am able and can afford. Also I just downsized to a studio apartment which will save me $250 a month. It’s not much but it’s a start.

Jane for a split second I thought you and Mike had adopted a meerkat 😅 yes I do feel extremely grateful for what we have, thanks for this 💪💪💪

I got a 12% raise recently, but it was a merit increase, not usual for everyone in the office. It will go toward debt repayment, then savings. I’m single, no partner or kids, but have a great support system of friends. Great video. Love the fluffies. ❤

Thank you for the pep talk. We are elderly and social security does not go far. We are relying on the food bank. We are frugal and give away any extras to others who are in need.

used to take 1 or 2 baths a week, mainly a a relaxation treat with a book, now short showers only since the energy crisis started. Bulk out meals with extra beans or liver instead of more meat, have 1 meat free evening meal per week. Have moved down a tier in the supermarket, using many of the value ranges. The only joints of meat we buy now for the Sunday roast are pork and chicken, had a treat at Christmas with a piece of beef but my favourite is a lovely leg of Welsh lamb, a dim & distant memory - another great video jane & Michael

We are being mindful of everything and being creative. This week, we needed to fix our brakes so it was DIY time. What would have cost $1400 (Canadian dollars), cost us about $400 by ordering the parts to do it. It took 5 hours but so worth it. We also took bread back to the store for a refund because it was in date but very stale. My grocery shop this week will be minimum cost because we will be cashing in reward points.

I told one of my friends it is the little bits that add up. Don't dollar your money to death. So enjoy your videos.

Yes every little saving helps Jane, which over time amounts to a large amount of money. I think this has made me realise how extravagant I was at times in the past when I was working. Now that I shop around more I have found many alternatives which are cheaper and as good, some even better, than the big brands. I'm determined to beat these high prices and to keep costs down as much as possible. It's not only food costs, it's others such as tradesmen, who charge a lot now and there seems to be less of them around these days. Also, many seem to choose what jobs they want to do and are less keen to undertake the smaller ones. I do try to do as much as I can myself but at times I've no choice other than to ask a professional. Fingers crossed this is not needed too often right now. 🤞It's always nice to know that you and your other viewers are of the same mindset as myself. It's so encouraging. Thanks again to you both for sharing this video. 🤗

Thank you for helping us succeed. Thank you Jane Mike and Puppies.

Thanks for the new video Jane and Mike. We try to stay positive and to enjoy the things/activities that are free. It is difficult to have to say "no" to the children more and more often. We decided not to buy any clothes or shoes in 2024. What we have is still good enough! Looking forward to your next videos!

Another great video Jane. For me it’s all about stretching the expensive ingredients and not wasting veg. I had some very soft sprouting potatoes, I would have usually thrown away. I microwaved them and made mash, put it on top of a chicken, bacon and leek sauced thing and made 4 portions of pie. I’ve already had 2 portions of the sauced chicken thing. Which means 2 large chicken breasts made 6 portions of food. Used 6 slices of very cheap bacon and had 4 bacon baps from the leftover 4 slices. Because it was cheap and fatty bacon the cat has had a weeks worth of bacon fat treats. Now that is being frugal and thrifty x

I’m a few short years from retirement. I regard these last working years as frugality training. Not really looking forward to retirement, but at least I can be positive and practise good frugal habits. Proud to say I’m getting better. Thanks for your advice and support ❤ 🇨🇦

Powerful and inspirational!!! You’re right. It’s not getting any better. We must continue to be incredibly mindful of our finances and save, save, save! No one is coming to rescue us but us! Love your message. Inflation will NOT beat us!

My emergency got chopped down with sudden brick wall issues to the house due to bad workmanship when they first built then yonks ago. Struggling to save it back up due to inflation. I have been eating junk food and sometimes takeaways. My Achilles heel

We don't have "no buy" times, but we do cut back. Sometimes, though, when a special deal comes along, it makes sense to take advantage. My husband's office chair finally gave up (after many repairs). He saw a used chair at a carpet store for $25 and bought it. It's in perfect condition. I enjoy your channel.

Im saving money by not eating out. I cook almost everything at home, from scratch. I make my own spice blends, cook dry beans in my instant pot and have embraced meal prepping. Every Saturday I put on a podcast and prepare all my work lunches and vegetables for the week.

It is getting harder to buy food here in Texas. We still eat well, but we have stopped buying most convenience food. The downside is more time cooking and more dishes to do. When you work a full-time job & 2 small part-time jobs, sometimes the convenience food is easier. I prep & plan ahead, but there are always time constraints.

I love your new sweater that you are wearing. I remember you showed it to us last week. I’m doing my third low buy year (with the exception of travel) so I can pay extra money in my mortgage principal. I’m trying to pay it down before I retire at age 65 in 2027. I’m very intentional with my money and use what I already have and not making any unnecessary purchases.

Great advice as always. We downsized before my husband's passing and I am now container and raised bed gardening. I am grateful for my social security but it is not easy to stretch it anymore.

Thanks for such a positive take on what we are all dealing with. It is so refreshing to hear someone on You Tube tallk about what they doing and how they are "staying on top" of our increasing challenges. We have an added challenge, as do so many of us, that's aging. Not only aging but dealing with health problems and low energy to plant our seeds that we have already purchased. We will try to do what we can do. Thanks again, it was a pleasure to listen you. Liz

The positive approach to a growing necessity. Marvelous. Thank you Jane and Michael.

Excellent message today. I believe the term “tough love” fits your discussion. You must have been an amazing teacher, Jane. Been frugal most of our lives so we consistently ..from habit, follow all the rules and thus far still are managing to pay ourselves first even on fixed income. 👵🏻

Your sweater looks great. Thank you for all your advice. ❤

I’ve really been trying hard at the moment. I’m being careful with my food budget, I’m putting money in to savings (which I’ve never been good at doing), I’ve put a freeze on any spending on the house or garden, I’m not buying books or anything other than necessities. I have felt down about things at the moment but I’m celebrating my little wins. Thanks for the inspiration x

We are living in scary times I appreciate the positivity!! Thanks Jane you have got me thinking how I can save money!!!! We are suffering too here in New Jersey, USA

I cut back on the amount of food I buy as well as driving. I'm making my money stretch. So far , it's working. Love your videos.

Energy, food and goods prices in general will only rise over the long term; a combination of the impacts of peak oil, the continuing climate impacts, wars and supply chain disruptions. I'm afraid that those who think this is a temporary state of affairs simply aren't paying attention to the tell-tale signs of systemic stress. In addition to all this, global borrowing rates are steadily increasing and governments are struggling to pay the interest on our global 306 trillion dollars of debt (itself a result of the massive injection of funds deemed necessary to get us through the banking crisis and Covid). Things are looking bleak, so the skills and experience you bring in respect of living frugally will be increasingly helpful. There are very challenging times ahead.

I have not eaten any kind of meat for over 30 years for ethical reasons. No wonder more people are having vegatarian options during the week. Thats the way to go people.

My husband is a deer Hunter so we never have to buy meat. We have several pecan trees in our yard so every fall I gather up 8-10 gallons of them and put them in the freezer. I have 3 raised beds and I try to grow vegetables also.

Your video was delightfully encouraging, uplifting, wisdom-filled, intelligent, helpful and even love-filled. While no one can instantly change the current situation, it's absolutely priceless to have a voice of optimism, understanding and cheerfulness boosting our spirits. What a gift to us all. Thank you so much !

Some months ago I was so disturbed by the content of a women's magazine that I wrote to them about it. In a time when so many families are struggling, it seems heartless to do articles on $80 face cream and top-of-the-line everything for one's home. I told them that over the years they had changed from something helpful for the average family to being tone deaf in the current economic climate. Surprisingly, they wrote back and said they were going to have at least some discussion about this. (The magazine does seem to be struggling.) I wish I could send them a link to this video! Maybe it would make it clearer to them where the world is going.

Re-watching this video. I am sitting here making a list of the different meats and meals that we enjoy. To help save money and time I will be taking one protein each week and make several freezer meals. Some of these meals will be frozen raw and others will be cooked and portioned out for my husband and I. This winter we have been keeping our heat turned down a couple degrees, lights are turned off as often as possible. I am doing less driving by saving up my trips out and doing them in one outing instead of several. My husband is disabled and I have a little more than 3 yrs to early retirement. I am picking up as much overtime as possible and trying to cut back on expenses. I'm working on a few things to have a home based business that I can start soon and continue after retirement. Will be getting my garden up and running this spring to help offset the huge cost of some groceries. I will be hanging out a lot of our laundry to dry and setting up an area to dry some inside during the cold months here.

We don’t know anyone that got a 10% pay rise. My husband got 6%, but that brought his wage closer to minimum wage than it was before and 6% of not very much isn’t very much either. He also lost money due to being taxed more as the rate was frozen, which in reality means paying more tax. He might have a slightly better paid job soon 🤞 I can’t work due to being disabled and an unpaid carer for a family member. I see my job as getting the most out of our money. Your videos and those of other frugal KZfaqrs cheer me up as it feels like listening to kindred spirits. We’re all in this together.

Our family is very careful with money. Hard to believe how high everything has gotten.

I don't buy coffee/tea in the coffee shop any longer. I make my own and bring with me.

I watched all the ads! That's helps, right? And it's free for me to do. I am budgeting down to my last US penny cuz I like to travel. I found, & I'm closing out several recurring expenses that will save me $ over the course of a year. Also super planning out my roadtrip this summer to minimize those expenses even more. It takes a lot of time, all this planning, but that's what I'm rich in.

Love the furry babies. I know times are getting tough but I shudder at the thought that some abandon their loyal and loving pets

Food prices have increased so much throughout the world, the price of water and electricity have also increase. I was in Turkey 2 weeks ago and was shocked at the price of good, and am relieved that we can still survive here in South Africa.

Prescription medication shortages reported all over the US. Also access to doctors/ specialists are taking many months. Very worrisome!

For some reason, I haven’t had any of your videos on my feed until today. Glad I found you again. Your hair is lovely down. Thank you for all the great ideas. I work from home, so I eat at home every day. If I get thirsty while out doing my weekly grocery shop, I have started bringing a glass of water with a lid with me, so I have cut out my weekly iced green tea from my favorite shop. My granddaughter’s birthday is in March, but I bought her gift in January at an after Christmas sale. I have never liked meat very much, so I will have eggs for dinner one or two days a week, and make bean burritos one day, so that has helped with grocery costs. I have also turned the heat down 2 degrees and the air conditioning up 2 degrees. Every little bit helps.

A very timely message! I would love for you to share more of your frugal tips. I hope to retire this year and want all the frugal tips I can get.

Thank you for this! I needed to hear - "share your life boat."❤

Well said Jane, we are the same generation and we remember tough times of old.

Love watching your garden 🪴 grow 😊. I have always enjoyed eating fresh fruits 🍎 and vegetables 🥕 over processed foods. Keeping a track on spending is important, everything I spend is recorded in my diary 📔. All groceries and fresh fruit have soared in price in Australia 🇦🇺. The price of meat 🥩 and Oz is a meat producing country is extremely high. Milk is 2.40 per litre. Now our politicians are trying to ask questions with the two biggest supermarket chains about price gouging. Yes and one chain has announced lower prices on numerous items and I am going to check it all out. Thank you Jane and Mike for another good video 🎉

Hello, Jane & Mike. I so appreciate your "ration " analogy. Much as we have all been noticing this trend, especially now with the focus on shrinkflation, I could not come up with an effective term .You nailed it!

A frugal tip I have is making a notebook & fill it with recipes off KZfaq & try them main meals or desserts. If you like them great if you don't then don't make it again . & I saw a reddit post we're a mother made burgers & fries wrapped them in wax paper & put on old music for her kids & they ate like they were at a old fashioned diner .

we've been in this recession and it's hitting everyone. i love to shop wether in the clearence or regular aisle. i have no problem hitting up the discount section. i have taught my children how to stock up before it became the norm. because i always done it. now they have their own families and they know.

Appreciate your encouragement and money saving ideas👍🏻

I am a knitter, I crochet, weave and spin wool from local sheep, I also can and freeze items from my garden every year. If you diversify yourself and have a circle of community that wants to create a swap for items go for it! I have a friend that has chickens that I trade jams and herbs for eggs, I have a community garden friend that I make knit wear for to trade for fresh produce, another friend provides me with walnuts and fruits for my volunteer work. I have been turning away from the crazy grocery store prices for anything I can do myself or local through connections. Get to know your community and have those conversations about what we can do for one another, volunteer to help for a small portion of goods if you don't have a skill yet. Many are struggling but we shouldn't struggle alone.

Great video Jane, having to change the way & what food items are purchased...cutting back on meals to help make them stretch but also to get a few pounds off...a garden this Spring, planting more fruit trees, more canning will be done...

I see you are wearing your new purchased!❤ I have the same pension amount so I eat less. 🥁Intermittent fasting more often. More vegetable leftovers into smoothies for soups.🥁 And...I finally catched up with my budget when I understood the "earned in november" to start the month or december. Realized I was spending my "fonds de roulement" instead of spending the earned money❤ of the previous month. Now I Will spend in March what earned in February🎉😂❤🥁

My husband’s meager Pension from Ford, just got reduced by $150.00/mo to increase the Life Insurance payments - due to the increased payouts they incurred from Covid!! 🤯

Thank you Jane and Mike for a VERY instructive and inspiring video!! We are all in this together and learning from each other is inspiring.

We are cleaning out and I am doing a light styling of my moms flat to sell, she has moved into a nursing home. To change out and upgrade 3 ceiling lamps, just the work, I bought the lamps elsewhere, we got an invoice of over 450 Euros. Absolutely insane. I dont remember when a litre of milk costed 1 euro.. today we pay around 2 euros for a litre of milk. 😅 Shrinkflation is the big issue here. less slices of bacon in a package, 1/2 kilo of meat, is now 400 grams.... Our salaries increased about 4.5 - 5% last year, inflation in 2023 was about 6.2%. I sell things I dont need online, I need a new dining table, I am getting close to replace it by selling things I dont need. sold my old dining table this morning. A big win, and very satisfactory.

You said you will be taking on any sponsorships offered. Please chose them wisely. We all respect your information and it would be disturbing if you sponsor something unethical. Thanks for the video. I'm going to try a garden again. My first garden was miserable. I took a free class on gardening, I hope the education helps. Thank you for reminding us we are blessed with what we do have.

New to trying to budget and cut back. My partner is self employed and we are seeing his busihess begin to wind down. His overheads have gone through roof, fuel insurances etc, and work is drying up. I'm looking for work near to age 60. I have been a stay at home mum for last few years. Scary stuff on the horizon Jane. I don't know how my body will cope with work. I have few medical issues

I totally agree about the bits you save adding up and the bits you spend adding up too. Since i discovered frugality 5 years ago, i love to talk about personal finance but have discovered that people are really sensitive on the subject of money and debt, so have stopped trying to make suggestions.

This is all quite true,. especially in Europe and other countries. Have you thought about getting part time jobs to ease your stress and budget? More money coming in makes a big difference. I am a home owner, completely debt free, retired and will be getting Medicare and social security soon. Looking forward to even more financial freedom.

I also check the prices on items previously bought. And a good point about the clothing, they have very big increases. Good thing I've taken good care of what I have.

As always …great encouragement from you!

Thank you for your encouragement. Our crockpot has been a huge budget helper. I've been experimenting with bread recipes as well. Bulk purchased flour and yeast are still pretty cheap here.

Thanks Jane, really looking forward to seeing all the veggies you grow this year. I will be trying to grow and preserve much more this year, so will be interested in seeing that too if you can x

This video was perfect for me - and many others, I'm sure. I was getting into a slightly negative mindset, letting myself get dragged down by the endless budgeting, cutting corners, etc. I shall remember what you have said "we are not going to let inflation beat us." So, switching to my positive mindset, I am going to plan my veg garden this week, see how much extra I can squeeze in, while all the time remembering that I am fortunate to have that garden. Thank you x

Wonderful for Dolly to get such a loving home

Aggregation of marginal gains! Thank you for sharing!

Hello jane i follow your amazing videos every week. You said something tecently which many might have overlooked but it really stood out for me. You said in the 1980s you just got a job, any job, not thinking about a career. You are right and thats how i remember thise days, a job to pay the bills, not a career. Those days seemed much simpler. Thank you for your uplifting messages.

I love you Jane 🌟

A great pep talk Jane! Much needed, and you presented with such a positive attitude. Many thanks.

Thank you, Jane. I needed this message.

I still love your new dot sweater. Thanks for the pep talk. I plan on rationing my food since I've gained weight and it's a good way to lose it. When the weight comes off I'll fit into my older clothes which are my favorites, I'll feel better about myself and want to eat less comfort foods which are so fattening. Now that it's nicer out I can walk to the store or ride a bike and save bus fare while enjoying my exercise. Little things add up both in the losses and the gains (and papers piling up on my desk). Today I finally made my chicken broth from a carcass I had frozen in water. It took 3 days to thaw (mostly) in my fridge. I took half for the rest of the week and froze the second half so I have broth for later. I still have a turkey neck from Christmas to make soup out of for next week. I had chicken broth with hot sauce in it in a mug alongside some cheese and the last of my tortilla chips for dinner. Less caloric, very comforting and frugal. I gave the cat some broth and chicken before I put salt or seasonings in the rest of the batch. He likes it too.

I'm hoping for a better tonato season this year. Last year it was cold for a long time and then when it got warm it didn't rain. Also that the berries I planted last year will produce some this year. I plan to plant lettuce in my pots so I can getca crop in before the tomatoes, pepper's, onions and potatoes go in. I got some free 5 gallon containers last year, I just need to drill holes in the bottom for drainage. We are eating less meat also.

We have been eating through our freezer/pantry for the last few months so have nog had to buy much. We are blessed to have access to livestock and a large garden.

You are 100% correct, all we can do is adapt and then thrive ❤

Depending on the brand but one litre of milk in Australia is $2.80; one kg of chicken breast $17.00, a can of Heinz soup $4.40; six eggs $4.10