Frugal February starts here!

I'm signing up for Frugal February, inspired by Gemma Cartwright.

Frugal February participants stick to one simple rule, which is…

I vow, for one month from 1st Feb, to avoid shopping for anything other than essentials.

Food and drink don’t count but I'll try to make frugal choices. Essential beauty products (toothpaste, shampoo etc) can be replaced, but no expensive ‘treats’ – just the stuff I really, really need.

This is also about looking more carefully at the stuff I already have, and making sure that I use things up and read the books and watch the dvds I've already got rather than splashing out on new stuff.

The only fun-but-frugal shopping I'm going to do is to keep popping in the local charity shops!

I'm not very good at being frugal all the time, but find it useful to set myself this kind of challenge every so often in order to make sure that I think more carefully about what I'm spending.

Our household income is half what it used to be when my husband and I were both working, so expenditure needs to be kept under control. Also, we've had some success on the decluttering front over the last few months so I don't want the clutter to build up again.

Wish me luck! And let me know if you have any tips, or if you decide to sign up for Frugal February along with me.