I can only save $10-$20/month but I have been doing it ! So far I have saved over $265. 😊

The best thing about starting to save even the tiniest amount, is that once it starts growing, it’s a thrill and then you don’t want to dip into it because you love watching it get bigger and suddenly you have momentum.

I have never saved, and thanks to you I started putting away just $25 a month. It isn’t a large amount, but it feels so good to be doing SOMETHING, and it is encouraging to see the amount actually starting to grow. You are a lifesaver for me. Thank you.

We have found that just being honest with our adult children about our retirement coming in 3 years and needing to make life sustainable going forward. We sat them down and explained we were starting 1 gift at birthdays and Christmas for our grandchildren. No more cards and gifts for adult children. Truly, we all just enjoy each other's company, and no one needs gifts to feel our love for each other. I realize this is not possible for some families and feel very blessed this is not a problem in our family. Life can be fun and celebrated just getting together. 😊

Worst thing to do is to try and keep up with somebody else’s lifestyle!

I visited a friend today who said she’d really noticed the rise in her food budget. So I chatted with her about my yellow sticker budget buys. I told her about buying several things in a pack and getting them home and immediately splitting them up into individual portions. I get a kick out of knowing that say instead of an item costing a £2.00 for four, then with yellow sticker I got it for £1. Instead of being tempted and eating all four at once, I maybe eat one and put the other three in the freezer because they’ve reached their sell by date. Save money and inches as I’m not pigging on the “bargain”!

I have gone back and started watching you from your day 1 short test. You speak nothing but sense Jane and Michael. We live a similar life ,for health reasons we have moved to a low carb diet (no Keto!) people think we must be rich because most of our shopping these days include meat ,cheese, bacon etc. Funnily enough our costs have gone down .(no sugar, bread, cake, biscuits ,sweets, chocolate.)We joined Costco and every couple of months we make the 2.5hr Journey to our nearest one, to buy in bulk things that we need, also gives me a chance to go to Ikea if I need more freezer containers or zip lock bags👍. This is all budgeted for and most gets divided and frozen. We get an allowance, our bills are all in advance (increased payments a small percentage years ago) We pay double each fortnight (Australian Pensions) on our small and shrinking mortgage. Our future wood and vehicle costs are in an account we don't touch (deposited fortnightly) It makes more sense to us to be in credit with our payments than a savings account as interest is so low here. I am going to snuggle under a rug in front of the fire and watch more of your 3 yr old posts. At 71 I think I can still learn from others . Keep well and CARRY ON 😘

Hello! I am a very frugal single momma, I am teaching my 15 yo daughter to be frugal too! I am pretty excited about our life. My daughter attends a private Christian school, she used to say her friends are "rich". Now, instead of rich she says "in debt". LOL She gets it! :)

I was feeling a little shabby because I have been wearing old jeans and the same shirts. I go over to my son, Paul's house several times a week to look after my granddaughters when their mother is working as a nurse. I wanted some light weight summer clothes, so I went to the Interfaith Christian Resale shop in the next town over from our home to look around. I was able to find a pair of light weight, white pants and a cotton shirt to wear with it. I paid $5 for each piece of lightly used clothing. I feel a little better about getting a 'new to me' outfit for $10 plus tax. I don't want to dress up to take care of children, and casual clothing is good enough to wear around a house.

Very wise words! When you retire- even if you have planned for years- you never have enough! Agree about stopping the shopping!

“For the love of cheese and biscuits…!” 😂😂😂 That is a wonderful line and I’m going to use it with myself! Jane, you make me smile. I have been on a frugal journey most of my adult life, and there is always room for improvement. I appreciate your tips (even if they are a reminder to me), but mostly when you used to lay out your budget for us. It really helped me see where I needed to do better. Thank you for making these videos!

Great video. We struggled to manage my going on disability and my husband leaving work to be my caretaker. We had less than 18,000 in our retirement plans and now 7 years later, we are playing catch up with our savings. But with strict budgeting and penny pinching we are starting to see the light of day. We are saving 30-50% of our monthly income and yet still able to take a vacation. But it is also frugally planned, and we will prepare 90% of our own meals.

It's never too late to start saving for retirement and start being frugal for your next chapter in life.

When I was planning my 2023 no buy year, I took inventory of what I had. Man o man do I have stuff in excess. I made a list of 10 things I will not buy this year, so far so good. If you can only do one thing to start your frugal journal, start with tracking your spending. You may be amazed at how much you spend.

I totally appreciate how you break down frugality and budgeting so that it is not odious. I have lived with people who do not understand the difference between being frugal and being miserly. This one that I know about fought me to send $25,000 USD to a computer scammer and then whined about a $35.00 roast that was on considerable mark-down that I bought for New Year's party. Her share was half. There is such a difference between being frugal and being penny-wise and pound foolish. I have another 18 month to go before retirement and looking forward to it.

I have to admit that I don't set a weekly meal plan, but I do use creativity everyday to make decent meals that often become lunches the next day. Having a decently stocked pantry and selected items in the freezer, things seem to come together. I love your cooking days. So inspiring!

As a mom with 2 little ones + 1 teenager, what helps me save even the last $10 is I look at my children and remind myself it’s worth it to save because I’m saving for my children so when the rainy day comes, we have something to fall back on. This helps me a lot avoid impulse buys and even walk away from what I think is a good buy but I can distinguish as a want and not a need. Thank you to this channel, very encouraging and also gives me peace when I listen to.

Thanks again for your wise words. Its a pity governments waste so much of our money when we are being careful.Looking forward to Friday. Best wishes to you both.

Exactly!! Get organised and stop blaming disorganisation on busyness. 100% agree with you, Jane. An excellent video thank you! Hi from Australia 🇦🇺. 👋

Another practical video presented in such a lovely manner as only the British can do...! 🌷🙋‍♀️

Since the first of the year, we've been shopping our house before we go to the store. Now it seems like we've found a trove of forgotten treasures. It's amazing all the things we've already bought that we simply do not remember buying.

"For the love of cheese and biscuits!" I love British colloquialism. Great video Jane!

I loved the 'tough love' message, absolutely right on target. I would enjoy watching videos on scheduling and organizing. I really enjoyed your videos on menu planning and budgeting. Thank you for taking the time to teach these things.

Hello from the US in Mississippi. I love your accent! It’s so proper. I have a deep deep southern drawl and sometimes my friends even laugh at it. It’s nothing like the tv makes it sound. And we don’t all talk slowly. My husband says I sound like a cheerleader on crack. My friends sometimes tell me, Nikki! Breathe! Breathe! I just laugh and tell them to listen because I’m not repeating it. 😂 Hearing another accent is nice. I’ve throughly enjoyed it.

I’m moving into my debt free home next week. Can’t wait to get my budget started. I’ve always saved first but now I’m going to really budget every penny.

I enjoy all of your videos. I'm better off because I paid over 60,000 worth of debt (my car and some mortgage) since November 2020. I have 65,000 left on my mortgage. Have a wonderful evening.

Great advice and reminder. While watching this, I made 18 breakfast burritos for the freezer so that my husband and son don't have the need to stop and buy breakfast. Healthier too.

Love your channel, Jane. I didn't comment on the poll, but I think I'd consider myself better off, too. We keep saving bit by bit, and I'm getting a better handle on the food budget, after the initial shock of inflation there. Our budgeting and spending isn't perfect, but we're going the right direction!

I love all your tips and especially your and Mike’s mindset, working together with a common goal. Well done and thanks for sharing with all of us 🙏🫶🏻🙏

I enjoyed this video and Yes I would like to see a video on organizing and scheduling

You are so right about saving. I started working at the age of 16 and automatically contributed to our social security system. I am gong to be 60 next month. At age 62, I will have contributed over 40 years and will only collect about a thousand dollars per month. If anyone thinks they are gonna live off of social security in the US, they are not going to make it. It's never too late to start. I got a government job at age 40 and in addition to contributing to our pension, I contributed to our tax free annuity for government employees. I started contributing $25 per paycheck. As the years went by, every time I got a raise I put it towards my tax free annuity. I plan to leave that money in there until I have to start withdrawing at age 72. We found Dave Ramey's seven baby steps when I was 50 years old. I never knew how to manage money and live on a budget until that time. We are on track to retire in two years,. It's never too late to learn to save an manage money.

I have decided not to have a written budget. I'm just sick of it all, I'm 64 years old, dang it if I want a fancy steak dinner I'm going to go get it. I don't go broke and limit myself, still turn off the lights when I leave the room. However, the house and car are paid off, I'm done penny pinching and doing without, making my life harder than it needs to be. I don't go willy nilly and just buy any bright and shiny thing, I'm just not willing to go without a bowl of ice cream when I want one. So, I scrounge up my change and go get ice cream even if I am overpaying for it. I planted a big garden and have eaten pots of fresh green beans with tater's this last two weeks. It's time for a steak dinner and a bowl of ice cream. I've done my part.

I loved it when you talked about " enough is enough ". We all have or could have, far too much stuff. Even if you shop second-hand, it is quickly too much as it can be so cheap. There is a limit to how many clothes you can wear so stop buying more ! Growing up we didn't have piles & piles of clothes & furniture, we had what was enough. My message is- stop buying stuff because it is cheap. If you don't need it, it is expensive.

Because of you and Mike, I track my expenses with a fine tooth comb. I look at every single expense on Sunday evening, to see how we are tracking with our budget. We are doing well, thank you!

Great video, I’ll watch again later as well 👍

Most jobs here in the US have a percent that u can "put away" into a retirement account, called a 401K, n the employer will match that, when I worked it was up to 6% they would match, I told my kids to ALWAYS put into this plan, because basically u are getting FREE money from ur job, NEVER turn down free money

I cannot imagine not know what is happening and where I am going with our finances. Each year I sketch out a plan for our money and I change if things come up. Each month I have a guide. Daily I have a plan. The tight time comes each month with getting through the last few days. We have only so much in our budget to get through the month.

Jane, I used to go to a huge popular flea market here, what you call a videgrenier every month. I would spend $100 every month and bring back some stuff I loved but mostly junk I didn’t need and had no place to put it. I could’ve been saving that money every month. Since the pandemic, I haven’t been at all and don’t really miss it….way too many people anyway lol.

Hi Jane and Mike, you talk so much common sense. Definitely the best Frugal channel.

I’m watching all the adverts so you get a few extra pennies

For the love of cheese & biscuits. I love this saying Jane. Thanks for a spot on video. I’m dreading my elc/gas 16:11 fixed rate running out in August. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I'm 61yrs old and have been on disability Pension since my 30s in Australia. I've been following frugal living plan since last year. Only since January have I been saving. Now I share my good news. January till this July I have saved $5,500. Praise God I have a working budget now. I urge financial planning for everyone. In the past I bought so much for my lovely unit. Many specials. I no longer swipe my card. I have so much in my unit. I think I'll wear all my lovely clothes and designer handbags 👜. I have regrets now and hope someone out there will see the warning. Thank you dearly frugal living leaders. Bless us oh Lord with frugal living Amen. 🙏 Amen 🙏

Thank you Jane. I have struggled this month with Amazon shopping. As we head into the second half of the year, I will be doing a major assessment of spending and work on my discipline. There are always so many ways I can do better!

I added £100 pounds to my savings too, its only at £175 but it's a start.

I always enjoy your tough money chats--they always give me something new to think about. Yes, I would love to see some videos on organization and scheduling. Since last year I've imposed a moratorium on myself for estate sales/garage sales/thrift stores. If I don't have a specific truly needed item in mind and the cash in hand to pay for it I don't go in. If I go in and they don't have what I'm looking for I walk right back out. It's tough, but it's stemmed a flow of money out of our budget. Thanks for all your hard work on your videos, Jane and Mike!

P.S. love that lamp and shade Jane another of your thrifting items?

I love your expressions “for the love of cheese and biscuits “ I love it ❤ your advice is excellent and so on point for today’s times.

Thanks for this presentation. If my money management is going to go off the rails it is most likely to happen this time of year (also Christmas). Automating savings really works. I was a late starter on this one except for pension plan, but anytime is a good time to start and there is peace of mind once you see savings build up. You have to go on saving and managing money even when retired. The advice on savings was to aim for at least 10% to 20% and once you look at your income and what you are spending you will probably see some "wasted" cash that could be put to better use as savings as I did. Keeping a coin box for smaller coins too as they can be awkward to manage quickly in shops when you are older and there is a queue behind you. This modest sum will be used for a day out or a small treat when the box is full. I agree totally that you have to be disciplined and make time to look at income and spending regularly.

Excellent video. Wish I could get some family members to heed your excellent advice. We are retired still save about 25% of very modest pension and social security. Hate shopping except for garden, books and art supplies. Still working thru fabric stash, some inherited! Thank you Jane and Mike. Susan

Just discovered your channel and you remind me so much of my personal tutor I was assigned to during my university days in England. You are very honest but also very wise, understanding and encouraging. I love that you are being realistic and not telling people to invest in crypto or real estate, but rather to make small adjustments "even if it's just one dollar a week" like you said, for their own sake and betterment of their lives. You have a new subscriber! :D

I have watched this video several times. I will watch again, it’s so good for keeping me en pointe 🇦🇺🇦🇺❤️

I recently transferred eight LARGE banker boxes of clothing, assorted sizes that no longer fit, from my closet to the spare room. Pants, coats sweaters, tee shirts, dresses and so it goes on ... 😳One containing just underwear that is still new. I have foot trouble and therefore many pairs of brand name shoes that I pass onto friends after one wear, as I can't wear them, Clarks, Hotter, Sofft tried 'em all. My friends like it, but it has to stop! Valuable words you share 💕

Right now we’re not putting any $$ into savings but that’s because we’re trying to pay down debt as fast as we can (We do have a $2k emergency fund though thanks to your recommendations & that was a game changer so thank you for that suggestion). Once the debt is gone we’ll start putting that $$ into savings again❤

I thank the good lord that we have savings because in the last week my husbands chair literally collapsed, our dryer died and our car started making a strange noise and will cost about $1800 to fix.

Jane, I put 5% into Emergency Fund (which was recently wiped out) and 10% into Sinking Fund (possibly not quite enough as things I haven't thought off keep cropping up). That's all I can afford just now.

I check every a.m. my finances, weather, and what I need to accomplish for the day. Also, get out for exercise and fresh air, plan meals...

Thank you very much for this wisdom. My new mantra is 'enough is enough' There is work to do on that part😊

"You don't have to keep up with the Jones' because they are in debt". That's a good one!

👍👍👍i find it difficult to live on a budget but we pay orselves always first an d a am not a shopperand i ad.i admire you that you do it so good with the budget

Always learn when I listen to you. I'm frugal but there's always room for improvement. For the love of cheese and biscuits, I will ease up on charity shops, I've enough, you're so right. 😂

Hi there! Happy to have found you. I am from Texas, USA. I have found through my YT bookshelf, if you will, that there is an 80/20 rule with regard to clothing (probably other areas as well). We typically wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Decluttering things that are old, stained, torn, no longer fit well, etc. has been amazing for me. It really does help my mind when I look in my wardrobe and everything is an option. And you are right, how many t-shirts (fill in the blank) do we really NEED! I am still working on things and decluttering, but it has changed my family's life for the better. Love that I found your channel!!

I'd love to see more videos about keeping organized and "busy" with home things and inventory to save money

Thankyou so much. I've had sinking funds set up for a few years now. Its great to know the money is there for when you need it. It also helps me to feel secure and in control!

One thing that has come from our dietary changes is that a lot of my clothes don't fit me very well. Taking things in for now till I reach my goal weight - or they just fall off. Then I will start buying frugally JUST what I need.

Great video J&M, I have a daily, weekly, monthly & seasonal plan for all my schedules. Life is then so much easier when being organised & it definitely saves me money & time & I have just enough in all areas. I have done this for years & would not have it any way. I would love to see videos on your organisation tips. Thank you for all your help & inspiration.😊

Yes please to the organising videos, I love being organised!

I went to a local grocery store with a friend recently. She has a car and I don't and I told her I switched to this store and my food cost dropped by $20 per week. She did some of her shopping at the same time but said she did not save and that there were products she would not buy because if she purchased the brand she is used to buying it would cost more. That is her choice. I saved at least $20 from what I have spent at other stores. I look for bargains and sales, am happy to buy reduced item things, and love this market's international foods section because the products there often cost less.

Love the idea. You two are always so helpful❤

♥ Thank you so much for the video. this month was (is being) insane in extra expenses, but this girl has everything under control :) "for the love of all things fluffy and pretty" made me laugh :)

Not only are the Jones's in debt, but how many of these social media influencers that their whole channel is " this shopping haul, amazon shopping haul, Target shopping haul, "... gad! Enough with the shopping hauls! It's like life isn't fun unless you do shopping hauls every week. It's quite disgusting, and sad for our younger kids who think this is normal.

My bad decision is feeling PANICKED when i start to run low on food and COMPELLED to shop in between my regularly scheduled trips. Like yesterday on my way home from visiting a relative in the hospital. I felt i SHOULD shop since I was near the store and was running low on things. But i was tired and hadn't prepared a list so i came straight home instead . I dug into my freezer and pantry and found items for a quick meal and a dessert. I'm sure I saved myself money and time as i would not have remembered everything i needed and would have had to make another shopping trip anyway. And i avoided the late day crowd at the store. 🙄👍

I have put an "embargo" on all unnecessary spending. When I go to the store I know what I am going to buy before I get there. I don't mind walking out with a half empty cart (trolley).

Yes would love more videos on organization.thank you loved the video x

yes I am I am interested in organizing and scheduling. Thanks pam

Thanks Jane and Mike, this was just what I needed , good no nonsense advice.

My parents taught me how to budget and how to save. Channels like yours help me to keep motivated and try out new tips and tricks. It really helps in focusing on our long term goals. It really helps in keeping my quality of life high on a low budget, I don’t feel I lack anything but am able to save

Great video! Everything you said is so true!! I wish more people would be honest about things instead of making excuses. Well done!

Thank you I needed this today! I was exhausted and it was time to make dinner and I just wanted to get take away. Which is 40 quid for my family. But instead I thought no I'll put in my big girl pants and go and make a fish pie and let Jane put me straight...and you did! You've such a mum/teacher way about you - I remember when I was a kid and I wanted to copy what my peers were doing and my mum or teacher would say 'if she jumped off a cliff would you copy her?' -and you remind me of that! 'We dont have to copy our peers: they are in debt' is the grown up version of that so thank you

I have begun saving, not a lot but I have done it in envelopes and jars on transferwise. It's all earmarked for certain bills, for example I will need to say goodbye to my dog soon (she is almost 18 and her kidneys dont have long) so I know I have enough to let her go at the right time and have her ashes back, which isnt cheap. I also know that Octobers bills will be paid without touching that months earnings. I am renovating a house so every couple of months the money I have saved I buy materials. By the end of the year that spending is done and I can't wait to start putting that each month into my long term savings. Your page and channel have really helped me get on top of my spending and being in control of my finances, I feel so much more relaxed and less stressed over all.

Thank you for another great video, i thought of you in lidl this morning when i saw a French apple tart, must try and make one as they were £3.99! Shopping is a hard one for me, but i will try and remember your line from the video. Cheese and biscuits 😂

"For the love of cheese and biscuits" 😊 you do make me chuckle. Great no nonsense advice as always. Thank you.😊

Great advice Jane and Mike.

Love your background today, beautiful lamp and shade! Your wall print is so sweet! Thanks as always for your advise.

I'm working on my retirement budget. (70 days to go!! 🤯) It still needs some work, but I'm basing on pension and Social Security to start. Not only no withdrawals from retirement savings, but no to projected dividends/gains - you never know when it's going to be an extended down market. It starts with the needs, including savings, sinking funds (those appliances are getting old!). And my current take-home pay is adjusted to my after savings retirement income (the rest into retirement funds before I see it!). Wants are in there too... I want to travel... I want to go out to dinner once in a while... I'm much better at thinking through "things", where before I was really good at justifying purchases. But these are after the needs and savings... and planned for. Still some work to do. And once I settle into the new routine, thoughtfully putting those retirement savings to good use, and not to frivolous purchases. p.s... working through my freezer and pantry through the summer... No additions until I've rotated through quite a bit more! The garden and sprout jars provide all the greenery one old gal can handle. Grocery savings can go to a sinking fund for a later stock up.

You and other channels have helped give me that push to start saving even though I have a tiny income and high expenses relative to that. I'm very close to my initial goal of having 3000 euros for emergencies. I am going to bump that number up once I get there, but I've honestly been able to save this far quicker than I imagined. I've got an automatic transfer set up every week. The amount is small enough that I don't even notice. And then whenever I get some additional income or travel costs back from gigs I do for example, I add that as well. I try never to commit to saving any more than I can go without, so I don't have to withdraw anything. It's working well so far!

Jane I felt you should have said, Sally I’m talking to you, when you were talking about yard sale shopping. I am so guilty of buying things like books at sales because they are only 25cents although I already have fifty at home waiting to be read. I get awesome deals on clothes for the grandchildren BUT they now have enough. I am going to carry your voice in my head the next time I go out yard saleing. Thanks for a great video.

Another great video! Love your decor!

Please, videos on organization would be beneficial for all of us. Also, I know it would be a lot of work but have you considered a live video?

Jane, you are always a plethora of wise sage advice. I would love to see an organizational video. That would be lovely.

Definitely would like organising videos 😂

great video!!!!! Thank you.

I love your videos Thank you so much for all the work you put into them.♥♥♥♥

I took EVR with a work pension. Knowing my OAP and this WP would be lumped together and taxed accordingly, I took another job with a WP and paid into that for just a few years. But that small pension cancels out the tax I have to pay on the other two. Hope this makes sense.

Good job Jane. It is not easy, fun, or delightful to stop the spending and save money for your life when working everyday is not possible. It is essential to learn to live on less and enjoy life more. It is interesting that the skills we learn while saving money are the essential skills we will rely on when we are not working. It is what makes retirement possible, easy, fun and delightful.

Thank you once again for a great video ❤️💋

Yes to content on scheduling and organising.

Thank you. One suggestion you made a while ago was to see if you can do something cheaper. I think about that every time. Saved me so much!

Nice lamp!

Another excellent film guys . Incredible teaching ,so naturally presented and real 👍. Well done Jane and Mike 👍👍much appreciated xxx

O.k., I still spend too much money for whatever. But I started saving as much as possible some time ago. I have a saving account at my bank where I transfer some money monthly, I've got a monthly savings plan for an ETF-Fond. Every month when my salaray arrives on my account I calculate how much I can take in cash and hide it somewhere at my place. This is the money for my vacation. I love traveling. Another amount is transfered to an account where I receive a good percentage of interests. And it really makes me happy to see the figures when I check all my savings.