Frugal Living Tips: Jun 2014 Edition

So here we are a few days later than usual with last month’s roundup of happenings – both personal and also in the wider personal finance world.

Last month I had two potential “budget busting” situations that caused me some issues…

Power Steering Leak

Firstly the power steering in my car decided to spring a spectacular leak and empty power steering fluid all over the drive. Despite a topup, my steering fluid would be empty by the end of any modest journey.

This caused all sorts of issues. Firstly there was the mess left under my car wherever I parked. Secondly there was the embarrassing “drip” left as I drove down the road. And of course it also made it feel like I was trying to steer an articulated lorry rather than my trusty little car.

What to do?

A quick visit to my local garage revealed some pretty bad news. Apparently the previous owner had used the wrong steering fluid and as a result the seals had perished. I’d be needing a whole new set of seals – and possibly even a steering rack – a job that would cost more than the entire car did last summer.

Not good.

As it’s my first car – and a pretty old one at that – I always knew it wouldn’t go on forever. But equally I didn’t want to scrap it quite so soon.

Fortunately while surfing the internet looking for solutions I came across Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak – which promised to rejuvenate the seals of a power steering unit and fix leaks instantly. Having nothing to lose I bought a bottle from Amazon and tried it out.

Now – this isn’t pleasant stuff. It’s thick and gloopy and looks like brown hair gel. The bottle promised an instant improvement though so after filling up my steering reservoir with it I went off for a drive.

It was like driving a different car! From holding onto the steering wheel firmly with both hands when going round tight bends suddenly I could steer with one finger – and the leak stopped entirely!

To date – some 3 weeks later – my steering is still performing perfectly! You could say I’m a pretty happy camper saving saved many hundreds of dollars on the possible alternatives!

Fixing A Noisy Toilet

The second issue we had was that our toilet started to make a dreadful noise every time it was flushed. I deep booming, moaning noise that lasted the whole length of the flush and was not only annoying – but also starting to worry me that the neighbours coul here it.

Now here in the UK at least, plumbers charge vast amounts of money. So if could fix it myself I was darn well going to give it a try! As it turns out (after carrying out some diagnostic tests I found online) the problem was a worn water inlet valve. I also discovered that it was possible to buy and replace the unit yourself.

Now, I’m no DIY expert (though every time we go on a foreign holiday our hotel room toilet always seems to break and I end up fixing it!) but I thought I’d give it a go. I invested in a replacement and spent an afternoon sweating, panting, swearing and – at one point – giving myself a blister.

I’ll admit – it wasn’t a fun job and part way through I was starting to regret the confidence I had had in my limited DIY abilities!

But – the important point is we succeeded! The toilet got repaired and the flush is now almost silent. No more worries over the neighbours – or flushing late at night when I get home from work and my girlfriend is fast asleep. And goodness knows how much money we managed to save thanks to a little “elbow grease”.

So all in all, not only did I learn a few new skills last month but by investing (at most) half a day we saved hundreds of dollars on what it could have cost to resolve these two issues. Happy days 🙂

We even made the most of the sunshine and visited Sissinghurst where I found this rather impressive garden bench!

So what else went on last month? Well while the personal finance bloggosphere seemed a little quieter than usual (spring weather?) there were still some gems that I wanted to direct your attention to.

The Single Most Important Financial Skill

I’ve said it time and again; the biggest obstacle to gaining control over your finances and finally getting out of debt is… yourself! In this thought-provoking article, the experts over at The Simple Dollar really hit the nail on the head, examining this key issue and revealing some useful tricks for gaining psychological control over your spending.

Dreaming of Our Future Budget

Are you in debt? Have you paid off your debt? Because your budget while you’re knuckling down and paying off debt – in comparison to your budget afterwards – can often look entirely different.

Personally, I tried to keep my budget under control – and switched the money I was spending on debt repayments to money going into savings instead. But all the same there’s a feeling of having a little “breathing room”.

In this interesting post, Catherine considers their budget post-debt and dreams of all the possibilities.

Debt Success Stories: Richard Paid Off $40,000 In Debt

Incase you didn’t see this articl when I shared it on Facbook or Twitter, I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Hayley over at Disease Called Debt earlier on this month.

She asked some pretty searching questions about my debt situation a few years ago – and how I’ve managed to become debt free. If you’d like to learn more about my own personal finance journey, Hayley’s interview is a great place to start.

Is This Where You Can Cut The Most The Quickest?

Getting your spending under control is essential if you’re going to become financially independent. But too many people focus on the “smaller” expenses rather than the real biggies. This article examines some of the elements that can have the biggest impact on your expenses – so you can start saving money sooner rather than later.

Why We Love Our Minimalist Lifestyle

The ever-inspiring Cash Cow Couple discuss their minimizalist lifestyle in depth. In many ways I see minimalism and frugality and a perfect partnership – both feeding off each other and supporting your overall goal. If your finances could do with a detox then this article might be just the inspiration you need.

How We Became Mortgage Free In Five Years

Imagine what becomng mortgage-free could do for your monthly budget. Just consider the cost of your rent or mortgage going up in smoke. For many people, such a situation would free up 30%+ of your money each month opening up all sorts of other possibilities for you.

And it’s not an impossible dream, as the team over at Canadian Budget Binder reveal. Find out exactly how they did it – and you too could soon be on the path to financial freedom.

How To Not Worry About Money Ever Again (And Its Not What You Think!)

As a personal finance blogger I probably spend far too much time thinking, talking, reading and writing about money. I’ll let you decide whether you think that’s healthy or not.

But this article from Jacob served as quite a wake-up call for me. Here he outlines a simple yet effective way to stop worrying about money. I won’t reveal the secret here (it’s a good one) but if you feel you spend too much time budgeting (or worrying) about your finances then this is one article worth clicking over to.

What happened for you in May? Did you manage to save yourself a bunch of money somehow? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below…