You guys! Get excited! It’s happening again… the January Uber Frugal Month Group Challenge (UFM) is BACK! Like an attack! (but a good sort of attack). I cannot possibly think of a better way to kick off 2018 than with a month of extreme frugality!! I know you’re totally hooked by the incredibly tempting words “extreme frugality.”
However, the Uber Frugal Month is so much more than a mere money-saving challenge. Yes, you will save more money (I can almost guarantee this) and yes, over 21,200 people have already taken the Challenge and saved THOUSANDS of dollars and yes, the Challenge has enabled people to pay off debt, save towards financial independence, and put themselves in a more stable financial position than they’d ever imagined. But that’s just for starters.
The Uber Frugal Month Challenge transforms how you think about money and ultimately, transforms your relationship with spending, saving, and financial planning. A friend recently told me that she thinks the UFM is similar to a weight-loss challenge whereby, yeah, you lose weight, but more crucially, you change your mindset toward food for the rest of your life and as a result, create a sustainable, lifelong path of positive eating (and in this case, positive spending and saving!). I couldn’t agree more!
January 2018: The UFM Accountability Edition
For this January’s group Challenge, I’ve devised a theme: Accountability! We take the Challenge as a group twice a year–in January and July–as a means of creating built-in accountability for each other. But this time, I challenge you to take that accountability a step further and invite a friend to take the Challenge with you!
Find someone in your life and con them into ask them to do the UFM with you. It could be a friend, your spouse, a relative, your colleagues (groups of co-workers have told me they enjoy taking the Challenge together because it keeps them on track while at work and removes the temptation to go out to lunch/coffee! Genius, I say!).
Sign-up together to take charge of your financial lives and commit to helping one another stay on track. Be a resource for each other. Serve as inspiration, motivation, and guidance for one another. And if you don’t have anyone in your life at this time who wants to take the Challenge with you–fear not, for I will be leading the Uber Frugal Month Facebook page as a venue for us to share ideas and keep each other accountable!
Newsflash: The UFM Will Go On Hiatus After January
In the past, I’ve had the Uber Frugal Month open for ongoing registration, meaning you could sign-up at any time throughout the year. However, given a few big life changes on the horizon for me–namely having our second baby in February and having my first book publish in March–I’ve decided that the UFM will go on hiatus after our January 2018 group Challenge.
It will come back at some point, but for now, January is your last chance to take the UFM. So if you’ve always wanted to take it, or are dying to take it again, or think you might possibly want to take it–now’s your moment!
And Now For My World-Famous FAQs Section!
Q: What, exactly, is this Uber Frugal Month Challenge thing?
It’s a 31-day program I created that follows the steps my husband and I took to recalibrate our approach to consumerism, ramp our savings rate up to over 70%, and ultimately, achieve financial independence. To sign-up for the Challenge, simply put your email address in the box below and you’ll be all set to go!
Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup
We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Signup to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting January 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.
Q: What do you mean “31-day program”? Sounds painful/long.
Not at all painful! Only one month long! You’ll receive an email from me every day for 31 days, starting on January 1, 2018. Each email contains a theme for the day, an action item, links to recommended reading, and a mantra for inspiration.
The first step, which you’ll be prompted to do in the first email, is to read through and complete the questions contained in this post:
Uber Frugal Month: The Ultimate Guide To Saving More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible
You can get started on that adventure now since it does take some time to perform the soul-searching that’s required to really do the Uber Frugal Month with gusto.
Q: Who should take the UFM?
Anyone and everyone (except for dogs… sorry, Frugal Hound).
- If you’ve never been frugal a day in your life, but are ready to improve your financial health and make real changes in how you manage your money, then the UFM is for you.
- If you feel like you’re in an awesome place with your frugality, the UFM is a nice touch-up and a good reminder of why you’re frugal and how you might augment your savings and your overall philosophical approach to a simple, fulfilling lifestyle.
- If you previously took the UFM but bailed without finishing (no judgment from me) or weren’t ready to follow through on all of the action items, now’s your chance to try it again.
- If you thought about taking it last time, but didn’t sign-up, do it now!
- If you’ve already taken the Challenge, but want to touch base with where you are on your financial journey, join us again!
- If you think you might want to save more money, but aren’t sure, join us!
- If you have no clue what your longterm financial goals are (or even how much money you have or how much money you’re spending), then the UFM is definitely for you!
Q: If I’ve already taken the UFM, can I take it again?
Absolutely! I had my tech guy (aka Mr. Frugalwoods) set up the email thing-y such that you can sign-up to re-take the Challenge with the same email address you used to take the Challenge previously. You do, however, need to sign-up again in order to join us starting on January 1st.
Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup
We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Signup to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting January 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.
Q: What does it mean to take the UFM as a group in the month of January?
It means that I will moderate the UFM Facebook page every day and lead discussions and conversation prompts to help you along your journey. This Facebook page is active only twice a year during the two months that we take the Challenge as a group (January and July). You can join the Uber Frugal Month Facebook page here. Note that this is different from the regular Frugalwoods Facebook page, which I moderate year-round.
If you take the Challenge in January, you are doing so with the knowledge that thousands of other frugal adherents are participating in the UFM right alongside you. There’s power and motivation in knowing that you are not alone on this epic frugal journey.
Q: How much does the UFM cost to take?
It is absolutely free! So, no excuses!
Q: How do I know if my sign-up was successful?
You’ll receive an email from me confirming your registration. The Challenge will commence on January 1, 2018!
Q: When are the UFM emails sent?
You’ll receive an email from me every single morning for the entire month (January 1-January 31, 2018) at 5:00am EST. The emails are sent automatically at the same time everyday to everyone signed up for the Challenge and so, fear not, they will arrive. I’m so paranoid about the emails that I manually check every morning to make sure they’re sent!
However, please note that the time at which emails are delivered to your inbox depends upon your email and internet providers–some providers are slower than others to deliver messages. If you suspect you’re not receiving your UFM emails, please do the following:
- First, check your spam and all other folders (search for “UFM” as every email begins with that in the subject line).
- Second, if you think you’ve accidentally unsubscribed from the Challenge, you can sign-up again on the blog.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of Frugalwoods readers who sign-up for the Challenge, I can’t send out the emails individually. We are a two-person team over here–me and Mr. Frugalwoods—and much as I would love to email each of you personally, I have very real limitations on my time as a work-from-home mama of a toddler, a homesteader on 66 acres, a pregnant woman, and a person with a book coming out in March! People, I don’t even have time to brush my hair everyday (and it shows… ).
Q: Can I access the UFM in any other way?
Nope, you gotta sign-up for the emails.
Q: How should I prepare for the Challenge?
- Read Uber Frugal Month: The Ultimate Guide To Saving More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible and follow all of the instructions contained in that post.
- Join the UFM Facebook page and introduce yourself!
- Be proud of yourself for taking this powerful step toward creating the life you want to live–not the life you have to live.
Q: Can I take the UFM after January 2018?
No. I’m putting the UFM on hiatus after our January 2018 group Challenge, although it will come back at some point in the future. So don’t delay if you want to take the Challenge!
You Don’t Have To Take My Word For It
In the immortal words of Reading Rainbow, you don’t have to take my word for it on how awesomely transformative the UFM is.
Luckily for you, I’ve collected testimonials from past Challenge participants who’ve written heartfelt notes about how the UFM revolutionized their finances and ultimately, their lives. Here are but a few selected for your enjoyment:
Catherine wrote, “Following along with the UFM has given me a chance to really look at my spending. Not just the categories, but the motivation behind the desire to spend. The biggest shift has been in my attitude and gratitude towards free things. For instance, I was offered some hand me down pants. Before doing his challenge, I would have politely refused them since they aren’t EXACTLY what I wanted. Well I took them anyway. I needed work pants, and normally I keep looking for the perfect thing until desperation makes me grab the nearest option at hand. That’s how I end up with pants two sizes too big that cost more than I wanted to spend. This time I took the free pants, even if they weren’t perfect. You know what? They work great. Perfection isn’t just the enemy of frugality, it’s the enemy of good.”
KL shared, “I’ve really enjoyed this frugal month and will miss seeing your emails every morning! I appreciate your emphasis on lowering consumerism, questioning the status quo, and centering gratitude. While initially I thought it would be very difficult, I was able to make instant changes that I hope will be lasting. Inspired by this challenge, I delved into my monthly finances and found that I was paying exorbitant bank fees every month. So I switched from the big box bank that I hated anyway to an online bank with no fees. I made other little changes like this and found an extra $120/month in my budget, all by being mindful and engaged with my spending. I went into this challenge hoping to re-frame the way I think about daily spending. I accomplished that and in doing so, re-framed my daily habits. This is all to say that this frugal month has left me feeling peaceful and immensely grateful. I’m excited to continue on this frugal journey.”
Kristen said, “I actually saved $450 this month, which is a $450 increase over my savings… ever before! I left my old job at an awkward time that made this month only have 1 paycheck (biweekly pay periods) before getting my first paycheck at my new job. Honestly, I didn’t even miss it! When my unused vacation time pays out, I will be putting that money away! I’m excited to keep moving toward frugality so that I can spend my time and money on the things that really matter to me. Thanks for your website, and this program. It is really a great resource! I could not have done this without the daily emails for encouragement.”
Ellie wrote, “Thank you, Mrs. Frugalwoods! I wasn’t nearly as frugal as your family, but the simple rules I made for myself saved me $900 this month, where I usually break even! (or save around $100 on good month, even though I’ve been budgeting for years). Your plan and daily emails really helped me get started and stay on track.”
Chase shared, “Thanks for all the encouragement this month. It has been great for my wife and I and we saved more money than we thought possible while still living life to the fullest. We rarely missed things we used to spend money on and we found increasing joy by little things like eating in and the pride that comes from saving money for bigger, longer goals.“
Megan said, “Thank you so much for doing the Uber Frugal Month Challenge. I went back and forth with the idea of signing up because I too had excuses pop into my head. We were finishing vacation at the being on the month, my husbands birthday is in July, my kids started back to school on July 26th (crazy I know!). But then I thought well why not sign up and at least learn some things from your daily emails. And though spending wise may not have been to your frugal standards, we did cut out a lot of our eating out, I shopped for back to school clothes at a resale shop, and have started visiting our library for free entertainment. I have been reading your blog for quite a while now and really enjoy what you have to say on this topic. You have gotten me to think about retirement and how I need to make changes to obtain that goal some day. How I need to pay off debt so that I can feel better by not being stressed out about paying bills on time and having enough to pay them. And how consumerism is really just the root of evil! Okay maybe it isn’t that bad but what an eye opener. Why do I buy all this useless stuff that just sits around and collects dust? It has become a habit that my mother passed to me. But through your wisdom I know now that those things don’t really make me happy. Spending time doing things I like and being with my family are what make me happy. So again, thank you so much and I look forward to the next Uber Frugal Month for a refresher.”
Alice relayed, “Thank you so much for hosting the Uber Frugal Month! Your approach is really helpful with my longstanding wish/need to commit to frugalism. In the past I’ve been a yo-yo frugalist, and the approach, as it is in dieting, tends to leave you more defeated than never having tried at all… Your blog’s firm yet kind approach is exactly what I needed. The daily reminders became a meditation of sorts that were very helpful in keeping me on track.“
Lena wrote, “I am 55 years old and live in Sweden. I am saving for early retirement – I want to own my own time… During the UFM I have spent less money than I thought was possible but the most important wins have been increased creativity and contentment in my lifestyle. Not buying hasn’t made me feeling deprived – it has made me feel richer, knowing I could buy if I wanted and choosing not to. It has made me more aware of what I have. I have discovered I have plenty. I lack nothing. Much of what you have recommended during this month was already in place in my lifestyle, such as cutting my own hair and shopping second hand, but I feel I have come a long way further during this month, putting everything together into a strategy to reach a life goal. I have also changed some habits, such as drinking tap water and saving the bottled water for special occasions. This was easy when I put my mind to it! When I decided to enjoy it as a challenge instead of feeling deprived. I thank you for your support and for inspiring me. My life is so wonderful and now I see it more clearly. Happiness was not one of the outcomes I had expected from the UFM but it was a major outcome.. who would have thought that!
Lynn shared, “Thank you so much for taking the time and thought to take us through another Uber frugal month. I have just taken out a book from my local library, a Sunday Times bestseller, (I’m in the UK) called ‘Happy’ by Derren Brown. It is described as “brilliant,” “crammed with wisdom and insight”, and many other superlatives. He quotes several philosophers from ancient Greece to the modern era in the quest to find happiness and understand what it is. As I am reading it, all of the concepts are familiar as I have been reading about them for the past year or so in your superb, well written and considered posts. Congratulations! You have managed to sum up in your blog what has taken a 528 page book, with another 5 pages of references, to explain. Reading your posts, and the thoughtful and intelligent responses, have made me think about how I live my life, and how to make changes to live it in a way that works for me and my family. I have realised how important it is to me to tread as lightly as possible on our planet and have altered my behaviour to try and live as best I can according to my principles, and not being worried about what other people think. I can honestly say that I am far more content in my early sixties than at any time in my life now that I have stopped living the life that I was expected to. Thanks again and please keep up the good work!
Zoe wrote, “Thank you for all you do. I can genuinely say that your blog has changed our families financial future. After joining your 30 day challenge we went from going into our savings each month for years to saving thousands. Your writing impacted me so profoundly. Thank you for helping our family in more ways than you know. Please keep up the amazing work.”
Suzy relayed, “Just a note to thank you for the UFM and your blog. I’m at a stage in my life where I really need to embrace frugality, but more importantly, I really want to embrace it, for its own sake as well as because I have less to spend. I constantly read the Tightwad Gazette and your blog, and gain so much support as well as practical advice from doing so. I am already seeing significant benefits from the changes I have made over the last year or so. For me the financial benefits are probably equalled by the emotional benefits as I work on building a luxuriously frugal lifestyle without feeling deprived or resentful. I want you to know that your blog is making a real difference for me and my life. My life is totally different to yours but I think I have similar aspirations, to live what is at heart a fairly simple life with meaningful work (especially in the house and garden), always to be learning, and to live with gratitude. I think I just didn’t realize before that frugality promotes all these things. Thank you for sharing your life and your thoughts so generously.”
If you’d like to read even more testimonials from people who’ve been transformed by taking the Uber Frugal Month Challenge, you can do so here.
Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup
We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Signup to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting January 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.
OK But I Do Have More to Say About Why You Should Take the UFM…
This Challenge is not merely about saving money. It’s about identifying what you want to do with your life and identifying how to bring your money into alignment with those goals. Where you want to be in 10 years is a much better guidepost for how to structure your finances than simply budgeting and plodding along on a month-to-month basis. And that is exactly what the UFM prompts you to articulate. I want you to THINK BIG. Question your life. Question how you use your money. Question how you use your time. Question what you REALLY WANT to do with the time you have on earth.
Sounds pretty overwhelming, eh? I thought the same thing when I started my journey to living the life I want to live, not the live I felt like I should live or had to live. But here’s the thing: you can either start working towards your longterm goals now, or you can waste time and fritter away months and years during which you could’ve been making actionable, positive changes in your life. Start today and don’t look back. The Uber Frugal Month will help guide you on this journey.
The Challenge starts on January 1, 2018–hungover or not!–so sign-up now to ensure you’ll be starting your new year on a positive, life-improving, transformative note.
Have you taken the UFM before? Are you signing up for January?
Uber Frugal Month Challenge Signup
We all need encouragement and inspiration on our financial journey! Signup to receive an email a day from me for 31 days starting January 1, 2018. Every email has a tip, a mantra, an action item, and recommended reading, all designed to help you transform your finances.
YAAAAS!!!! I am definitely going to sign up for this especially after watching my account drained by paying the property tax bill in December. The joys of not having a mortgage and paying the county directly 🙂 So I am definitely looking forward to participating this year 🙂
Yay! The challenge is back! I love that your challenge is free, and it could help us save money as well! Mr. FAF and I are already a very frugal couple. But I’d like to take it to the next level and try extreme frugality with Mr. FAF.
However, he said that we’re already frugal and need to enjoy life a little. Do you have any advice on how to get him on board with the challenge?
P.S. I am SUPER excited for your book. I’ll have to wait for 4 more months to read it, and the excitement is building up fast!
That is such a great question! One recommendation I have is to take the UFM Challenge together because, ultimately, it’s not really about money–it’s about what you want to do with your life. The Challenge prompts you to articulate your longterm goals and, if you and your husband do those exercises together, it’ll be an opportunity for you to discuss your individual and shared goals. After identifying your goals together, I find it becomes a lot easier to talk about the money side of things because money is what fuels and enables those goals to come to fruition. I also have a post dedicated to this topic that might be helpful: Reader Suggestions On: How To Convince Your Husband Or Wife To Be Frugal. I hope this helps and good luck :)!
I will check out the article. Thank you! 🙂
I’m taking the challenge again! This will be my third time. I feel like each time has been really helpful toward a refocus on spending where my priorities are. You did a great job setting it up. 🙂
I did the challenge last year, but having recently moved cross country I am not sure I was ready for it. My goal is to do these challenges a few times a year. I have done similar things on my own in the past and love the idea of knowing others are in the game with me. Thank you, Mrs. Frugalwoods!
Oh my goodness, has it been a year already?! Let me encourage anyone that’s on the fence to just jump in and give this a try. You’re probably going to make a New Year’s resolution anyway, why not make it something that will have immeasurable benefit on your life and comes with a community of other people all going through it at the same time. You won’t be disappointed!
Keep spreading that frugal gospel, Mrs. Frugalwoods!
January is a great month for the challenge! A new year, the first month, and “Let’s start at the very beginning” (from the Sound of Music). Thank you for launching the challenge. I’m sure this will make a big difference to many people’s lives for better. Cheers!
I’ve been really looking forward to the January UFM, it’s one of my favorite things every year. This year I’ve got a bigger challenge than normal… we have a short weekend trip to Disney World planned and I want to make it an UBER frugal trip (something we have never done before, with our WDW trips.) We can’t get away with spend nothing but we can spend very little (and stick to a trip budget) — at least I hope we can. It’s going to be challenging!
Oh frugal + Disney is hard but it can be done! We saved money by having groceries delivered to our hotel room (or you could go get them, but we had no car). We also did not buy ‘extra’ anything – just the park tickets and the cheapest roof over our heads. And we went in August so it was nice to know we wouldn’t need to buy water; ask any vendor and they’ll give you a cup of cold water free 🙂
I am extremely excited to take the challenge with the accountability aspect added in! I’m also patiently waiting for your book to be released, I’ve had it pre-ordered for over a month!
YES! We are excited and ready to rumble!
Hey look, it’s me!
I’m excited to join in on the uber frugal month again, and try to beat my $450 record 😀 I’ve gotten past a lot of my moving expenses and am down to such a VERY SMALL amount of debt (thanks, last UFM!), so now is the time to refocus on saving as much as possible to pay that off!
I kind of did the UFM back in September. I was reading and learning more than practicing. This time in Jan, I’m actually going to practice extreme frugality. I’m curious to learn how this will change my spending, savings, and life. Looking forward to it.
This would be my second UFM month with you guys hehe. Let’s rumble 😎. “Like an attack!” Bawahaha, thanks for the morning giggle.
Last January was life changing for me! I won’t miss this opportunity to recharge my frugal batteries. It helps so much to do this with others!
Hooray! So happy to hear it and so glad you’re taking the Challenge again 🙂
I’m in! Your wintery homestead photos are idyllic ❄️
Just last Sunday I was wondering to myself if you’d do an UFM in January or not. Yes!
It’s back, baby!!! After last year’s UFM, I still carry a slip in my wallet with my long-term financial goals written on it. Thanks, Frugalwoods! 🙂
We took the challenge last January and saved $700. I had planned to do it again, like every other month or three, but could never get back on track (beyond our normal level of thriftiness). When I mentioned the challenge to my MIL last January, she said she thought I was already uber frugal. Compared to her, yes. 🙂 But compared to other thrifty/frugal folk, no, just mid-line, average thrifty. I had already decided we’re going to do the challenge in January again (whether it was part of an official Frugalwoods challenge or not). While it’s hard (for me) to get into the groove at other times throughout the year, by December I’m very ready. We have a full pantry & freezers, not on purpose–I don’t stock up for frugal challenges–and the excess is screaming out to be used up.
Woohoo! So glad to have you joining us again 🙂
Yay, another January UFM! One of my 2018 goals is to do at least one no-spend month, and what better way to start than with this? I’ve signed up before pre-blog and only half-heartedly participated, saying I’d go back and actually do it later. Well now that I do monthly spending reports/have public accountability, I’ve got no excuse! 😉
Will the content be the same emails that were sent in this year’s challenges? Or are there updates?
The Challenge is the same. There are a few minor updates here and there, but otherwise it is indeed the same.
Woo hoo! I signed up last year and diligently read all the emails, but wasn’t ready to actually participate. This year I am ready!
I have never done it but sounds like a good challenge. I will try to get my 19 and 21 year old daughters to participate too:)
I am just on Day 9 of UFM – it was meant to start on 1 December, but that to Mrs FW’s fabulous efficiency, I started it on 30 November. I am actually already fairly frugal in my day-to-day spending. Where I find UFM really helpful is in what computer nerds like Mr FW would call the “background programmes”. On the first day, I restructured my health insurance cover to something more suitable for a savings of €40 a month. On the second day, I changed my broadband provider for savings which will be €96 over the next six months (and after that, my broadband will cost the same as before.) On Sunday, I made pancakes with self-raising flour which needed using, topped with maple syrup which also needed using. Conversely, today I finished a can of broccoli soup whose impulse-purchase had been definitely a mistake. But hey, it’s only the one lunch, people! I also increased my retirement savings by 1% and my monthly mortgage payments by €50. I made plans to re-invest some funds which are currently sitting in an account which attracts virtually no interest.
Just today, I cancelled an overdraft facility with my bank which I had used exactly three times in eight years, for an annual fee of €25; started research into switching energy providers to one that is not only more green, but also with a more generous and suitable rewards policy; and checked out a free energy-saving diagnostics kit from my local library. In that context, the tale of Mr and Mrs FW’s freezer behemoth in their Cambridge basement was definitely an inspiration here.
And that’s only nine days in! What I am mostly learning is that I can fall into too much autopilot and inertia with these kinds of service-provider expenses, like banking, insurance, utilities etc. Which is of course exactly what these outfits profit from. So grateful that UFM lets me discover my inner Frugal Godzilla! 🙂
What a great story and outline of simply ways you’ve already saved. Great job! I hope the rest of the month opens up as many more opportunities!
Stephen, this is awesome! Way to go and congrats! I’m so happy to hear you’re uncovering all of these amazing ways to save. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Liz! Further on the snowball effect UFM can have, following the home energy audit (which I might never have started without UFM), major research is now afoot on replacing my boiler and heating controls and on re-glazing my windows with low-e glass. There is grant-funding in my country to help with the expense (this may be true of other EU countries and many US states as well, in case my story inspires someone else here), and previous frugality means I can pay cash for all the works. The return on investment in terms of lower bills should be better than even the stock market, to say nothing of the priceless feeling of contributing my share to slowing global warming! Should have done this ages ago, really, but I must confess that I hung on to my current boiler out of false economy and because I didn’t want the hassle and the disruption. UFM was clearly the kick in the pants I needed!
ok – can we please take a moment to point out the obvious? The email sending team….absolutely adorable!
Haha, thank you! We do our best 😉
I’m in, this will be my second time taking it. I’m ready for it right now…haha!!
I took the challenge last January realizing that I wouldn’t be able to be as frugal as I would have liked because we were moving. But this year we have moved and settled into our new home. So now I can really work on the frugality that I’ve wanted to accomplish. I’m ready for it to begin!
We took the challenge last January and I can tell you it drastically changed the way we manage our money. We have a very good income, but live in an expensive area of the country (Silicon Valley). I have always focused on planning for retirement and managing our investments, but did not put any intention behind our spending. With the UFM we started looking at our spending habits and realized that although we weren’t going crazy buying luxury items, we did not look at the ways we could be saving on “normal” expenses.
The biggest changes have come from eating out less and shopping for food at less expensive places. Our grocery bills are much better now and we all have an awareness of the cost variance of everyday items found at different grocery stores. We save almost $700 monthly on groceries now compared to our past spending by simply planning our shopping lists in advance and going to lower cost grocery stores (Grocery Outlet, Food Max, Costco, etc).
The intention part of the UFM is what I enjoyed the most. Not just spending money because it’s there, but truly appreciating the money and using it mindfully. All good things! Thank you Liz!
Can’t wait to particpate and to get the book! I pre-ordered on Amazon and can’t wait to read it!
Thanks for being so detailed and having all of these great resources!
I took the challenge twice this year and reading your blog and taking the challenge has changed my life. I have always been careful with money and looked for bargains but this has made me so aware of not needing so much. I also did a minimalist challenge for a month where on day one you get rid of one item and by day 10 it is 10 items for the day. Ending up with day 30 having 30 items to be dispatched. That made me so aware of the waste of money i was throwing out or giving away. I also did a 6 month no buy on clothing and broke that to buy some Christmas clothes that i didn’t really need. So now it will be great to get on track again on my awareness of how i spend and why. Thank for your wonderful blog.
I will be doing it again. My only worry is that things are already pretty tight, I’m just hoping this makes some sort of difference. Anyway, I’m looking forward to it 🙂
January is a good time to do the challenge! I always get side-tracked.
This will be our first one. I feel like over the years we have cut out a lot but still feel that there is more we can do, just not sure what. We are definitely up to join in though and learn some new stuff. I can’t say that I have always embraced the word frugal but have been warming up to it. I pre-ordered your book and am looking forward to it and very much looking forward to this challenge.
This will be my second go round and I am anxious to see if I can beat the savings from last year. I am closing in on reaching some big goals and starting to outline some new ones. The UFM will be a reminder to tighten up, especially grocery/housing spending. I am using up pantry items more in preparation, why not be UF in December?!? Not on facebook, so I hope some folks will still use email comments to support us non-fb fans.
I am a Norwegian joining for the first time, and looking forward to it. For many years I have practiced frugality in my daily life. As a single mother I wanted to be able to pay for the important stuff, such as a house in a nice area, and education and a drivers license for my daughter (a license here costs between 2500-3500 dollars!). Soon, I am embarking on a new adventure as I am moving to a different country. Every dollar saved will make to move easier.
Excited to do join the challenge for the first time! I did my own version a while back but I think it’ll be more fun with company. Always thought the more the merrier!
Spreadsheets are my guilty pleasure. When I did my own version of this I had fun calculating the amount of money I’d spend in ten years doing x habit and comparing it what I’d have saved in tens years (with average 6% interest). That was really motivating for those pesky ‘small’ $5-10 routine purchases.
I took this challenge in January, and recorded my feelings while going through it in a journal. It was tough, but I was able to put aside a lot of money that I hadn’t been able to put away before. Reading my daily journal notes from that time has opened my eyes about what my struggles were (and some still are) with frugal living, and I know what I need to work on to integrate frugality into my longterm goals. I’ll take the challenge again, and record my experiences once again, to see the evolution. Thanks for the invite!
Hi! I’m brazilian and will be taking the challenge with my girlfriend even though we don’t live together.
I took a whole no spend year in 2013 but can’t really describe myself as frugal. My wages are now lower than they were last years and finances are tight so i hope to save more and change my current mindset in order to live a simpler and less expensive life.
Please excuse my rusty english!
Oh yeah! I just signed up! I first heard of you guys when you were on Choose FI earlier this year. I wanted to take the challenge then but let life get in the way. I am psyched to start off 2018 with a frugal boost! Thank you!
Great idea and thanks for the challenge. Also, awesome pictures of your homestead.
You are such an inspiring family! I’m trying to make small but significant changes for my health and well-being this year, and financial health is high on the list. Looking forward to what the uber frugal month brings!
signed up! I’m sure I can be more frugal so looking forward to the challenge!
I want to sign up. Is this where I do it?
Wonderful! You can sign-up by putting your email address into one of the sign-up boxes above. So glad you’re joining us!
I took the challenge last January and it was difficult and painful. So far it’s been easy, I’ve bought nothing but a half a tank of gas. I guess that shows I was transformed last time! Our big tv died during the last challenge and stuck to my guns about getting a new one even with the super bowl on the horizon. We simply moved our rarely used smaller bedroom tv down to the living room. I agreed to buy a new one in February and we forgot. Turns out we didn’t need it, the smaller tv works fine. I wonder what we will learn this time.