Saturday 10 November 2012

Moneymaking Challenges

2013 Frugaleur Challenge


12th - 18th November is Global Entrepreneurship Week so this is a good week to launch our new challenge.

With just over 7 weeks remaining of 2012 I decided it was time to start planning ahead and setting some new challenges for 2013. Times are getting hard, income is at an all time low and spending at an all time high, so I need to look especially hard at redressing this balance before things get out of hand. OK, I've no rent or mortgage to pay now but the truth is, there wouldn't be enough income to cover rent if it had to be paid! Something, somewhere, just isn't adding up correctly.
 
Prices are escalating on everything while the Government has allowed an extra £75 BILLION of new money to be pumped into the system, diluting the value of the pound as it goes. They don't seem to reflect this devaluation when they spout off inflation figures, so we're left wondering how much our pound is going to be worth by the time we reach retirement age, especially if we fail to generate sufficient income to make up all these shortfalls. It's scary stuff!
 
Fired up with enthusiasm, I set to work dusting down old projects that had to be shelved in the past for a variety of reasons, mainly personal circumstances and finances. I began the relaunch of www.scottishwebdirectory.com and hope to gradually fill the pages with everything Scottish and I'm equally hopeful of incorporating a few affiliate links that may cover the costs of running the project, plus earn a bit extra. We're talking pennies here, not pounds... even if the site only generates 35p profit each day, that's enough to cover the cost of annual Class 2 National Insurance Contributions. Of course, it doesn't help when so few people actually want to be linked to a free directory - this part has me baffled! I don't understand why people wouldn't want even a tiny bit of extra promotion for their own businesses, especially when it is offered free. (Comments regarding this peculiar state of affairs are very welcome.)
 
Next up, I need to plan ahead for the frugal living and frugal working challenges that are conducted through the Frugaldom forums. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it? Nobody actually needs the forum, few read it and even fewer post on it. It's a bit like blogging - there's no real purpose to it other than sharing parts of your daily routine and lifestyle with a handful of strangers in the hope that it entertans, amuses, enlightens or even helps them in some small way. Money isn't the be all and end all of this life. Which brings me back to income.
 
Love or loath money, we all need it, but it isn't always easy to find the enthusiasm, determination or even the confidence to launch yourself headlong into a new business venture or land yourself a well-paid job that you love doing. That's why the frugal working challenges are kept low budget, in an attempt to make them affordable to all.
 
Just as we have frugal living challenges, so, too, we have frugal working challenges, based on the pricipal that anyone can be a entrepreneurs, even when following a frugal lifestyle. Anyone can set themselves up a frugal micro-business with very little cash outlay. Indeed, the 2012 challenge had a maximum start-up budget of just £10. Succeeding in turning a profit and generating a significant income seems to be down to some sort of single-mindedness that tells you to keep going, against all odds. To this end, I'd like to remind you that Sir Richard Branson began his enterprising rise to fame and fortune off the back of, I think, £3 he borrowed from his mum back around 1966. This, he used to pay for the printing of his first 'magazine'.
 
Opportunities to become a frugal entrepreneur, or fugaleur, as I now call them, are all around us, we simply need to grasp the opportunities as soon as we spot them. Had someone set aside £3 back in 1966, their money would now be worth just under £50 (plus whatever interest accrued) so that's the starting figure for the all new 2013 Frugaleur Challenge.
 
If you would like to 'play along', you'll find details at www.frugaleur.com along with a link to the relevant section of the Frugaldom forums. Could 2013 be YOUR year?

9 comments:

  1. Well, although I know I have dropped out from blogging, commenting etc (due to working on the house, getting a little part time job, stress getting the kids exams sorted,off to uni/college etc, etc) I REALLY appreciate reading what you and the other frugalers are up to.

    The other point - and this is a critiscim about me and NOT you or the other frugalers, is that I have been hanging my head in shame as I haven't been able to follow my good intentions at all this year, and I have been too ashamed to raise my head and comment/follow on the forum.

    Although I haven't really done anything specifically very naughty, we still haven't a penny saved, have increased our credit card by some £800 plus due to various car problems, getting our son his bed-sit etc, visitors from UK etc, I have been so stressed by it all, a pain to live with accordingly, I thought my little job would help financially, but to be honest, it has only replaced what I would have made on Ebay etc.

    SO - there you are! Confession time - but also a big thanks for the inspiration - all I need now is the will to act on it!

    SO DON'T GIVE UP!...and I promise to return to the forum if you promise not to yell at me (hanging head in shame:(

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  2. Oh, and I forgot to say - why not charge the bu**ers for advertising in the directory - it might only need be something like £5, but perhaps people are surprised at getting owt for nowt - they might think 'where's the catch'?

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  3. I am so grateful for your blog and the forums although i don't post there much-like carol said, Im failing miserably at my self-set frugal challenges.
    I need to up my game though as i think Im going to have to give up even my PT job soon on grounds of health. i am currently trying to come up with a few other streams of income so will be watching your frugaleur challenge with interest, and may well join in! Im about to launch an etsy shop as step 1 towards self-employment...not expecting to earn more than a little pin money but its a start! Will see how it goes!
    -sevenswans (my name on the forum ;)

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  4. To be honest I have no moneymaking plans except to sell more of the quilted items I make, even thats a bit hit and miss. Things I think will sell don't, which is a bit disappointing and makes me wonder why I bother.

    I am very grateful for the sales I have made this year through my Blog and also through the frugal forum, they have enabled me to pay off the last bit of money owed for the new machine I bought last December. I had to literally scrape the barrel to find the dosh and even then I was short,I was fortunate to be able to pay it off interest free over 10 months, so the machine is now MINE!!!

    I do enjoy reading what others are doing on a daily basis and I would really miss the forum if it closed. I also do the energy challenge and the live for £4000 challenge although I do occasionaly loose the thread.

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  5. Hi guys, thanks for the comments and updates.

    Carol, I promise not to yell if you promise not to give up the frugal fight to become debt free - it is so worth it, even if it's to be done one penny at a time! :)

    Rachel, I am probably the worst person I know for failing to list stuff on eBid or eBay so my 2013 frugaleur challenge is going to be a really challenging challenge - I just don't like selling anything, I prefer giving it away. This is probably the reason why it can be so frustrating when I fail to even give away something for free.

    Silversewer, you do such fantastic work with your machine that I am in awe of your sewing skills and would love to be as creative as you. I think the reason some of us are more concerned about the earning side of things is that we worry about income with no guarantees of a pension when the time comes, some 20+ years from now.

    When things get tough, frugal living is absolutely essential when relying entirely on your own ability to generate an income. It's to safeguard a minimal lifestyle, so nobody should feel bad about temporarily losing site of their goals - this is for the longterm. :)

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  6. I promise to make more of an effort to post on the forum. With being in Canada, I am not sure if what I do over here applies to you guys?

    Gill

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  7. I think frugal living and setting up (or expanding) business on a budget is similar all over the world; we know what needs to be done, we need to do it with not a lot of money - it's all relative and relevant. :)

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  8. I'll most definitely get my thinking cap on, I need new challenges for 2013, it's going to be our year of saving every single penny as we have now started to look out for our forever home. Being able to add to them even a few pennies at a time would be brilliant.

    Sue xx

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  9. I'm terrible for posting on your forums. I joined, and have subsequently remained silent! But please don't stop them... this blog and the forums are an inspiration for me!

    My aim for 2013 is to de-clutter all the tat I have collected over the years. Some will be gifted/donated hopefully doing my bit for charity along the way, but I should probably try and make a little money out of some of it. 2013 looks to be a long year of de-cluttering. I can't believe how much junk I have!

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