MY FINANCIAL FAST OF FRUGAL FEBRUARY -MY RESULTS ARE IN, HOW MUCH DID I SAVE & WHAT DID I LEARN?

<p>Everyone has a different value system with money, I might value a handbag, you might value a new pair of shoes or a nice restaurant. We are all different and it is important that we respect each others value systems without any judgement. At the end of the day, it is about living a life authentically aligned to our value systems. The same principal goes for being frugal - everyone has their own value system in the way they chose to save money. For my annual Frugal February challenge, (6th year in a row) I tried to be as frugal as I could with my current budget. This is what I did, where I saved and how it all added up - please also note that after our essential bills and expenses, we have a very normal family budget to stick to - this challenge wasn't easy as our current budget is already maxed out with lots of saving hacks so there wasn't much room to stretch it further - however I did give it a good go and was pleasantly surprised. </p> <p>Also, whilst Frugal February actually goes against my principals of abundance and gratitude - I prefer to say I am more mindful than frugal...nonetheless, this is a beautifully humbling financial challenge, that recalibrates me and projects me back into my financial focus for a productive 2022.</p> <p>$1,465 - result...</p> <p>Lunch to work and made my own snacks</p> <p>Cleaned my own office</p> <p>Clean my own car</p> <p>DIY Manicures</p> <p>No lifestyle shopping (e.g. clothing but I did buy some super cute slippers for $6 from Kmart)</p> <p>Frugal Weekends at home</p> <p>Cooked in bulk - food planned - I kept to our $300 pw grocery shop (I tried to cut this down but it was impossible)</p> <p>Caught up with friends at home or went for walks instead of cafes</p> <p>My own self tan and beauty hacks</p> <p>Decluttered my wardrobe</p> <p>$1465 saved over 28 days, excluding the savings from our gas, electricity and Foxtel (here we saved over $120 per month - but these savings say within our family savings to help cover new swimming lessons) - two step