Monday, 13 January 2014

My Challenges, Your Challenges

 
 
There are so many of us challenging ourselves to do so many different things this year.  It can be an amazing whirl around Blog land to gather inspiration.  Most of us are doing the Challenges to help us save money and also to focus on aspects of our lives that we want to improve on.
 
My sidebar is full of fellow Bloggers and Blogging Buddies and their challenges, and I love, love, love to visit them regularly to seek inspiration and as so many of them are similar to things that I do myself they also help keep me on the straight and narrow.   
 
Just to pluck three Blogs out of the air I can think of SFT's  Life After Mortgage and her amazing on-going Sealed Pot Challenge, it's being involved in this that has given me the inspiration for this and last years main Challenges, then there is Elaine over at Mortgage Free in Three with her mission to pay off her mortgage in just three years (we are now rather excitingly into the third and final year) and the similarly titled and equally inspiring Stacey over at Mortgage Free Journey.  These and lots of others including the royalty of frugal blogs Froogs (Frugal Queen), Ilona (MeanQueen) and another favourite of mine Laura at No More Spending, with her brilliant monthly round ups and 'food porn' pictures give me and so many others ideas and useful tips.
 
What's your favourite Blog read of the moment?
 
(And please don't cop out and say it's mine, I'm not after praise, just knowing you're here reading and commenting is praise enough ... you really are keeping me on the straight and narrow.)  
 
 Is there a Blog you have just discovered or that has just recently started.  If you love your own the most or would just like a few more folk to visit it to make their own minds up about it please don't be bashful ... let us have a link to it, (or by simply leaving a comment we have the ability to find you through simply clicking on your name). 
 
Lets keep the inspiration flowing around Blogland and save money in the process.
 
Sue xx

35 comments:

  1. Hi, Sue!
    I've been reading your blog every day since this summer and I quite like it.It's one of my favourites.
    Another one of my favourites though is Anglesey Allsorts . Wonderful blog!
    In these uncertain economic times you are both an inspiration.
    HelenD

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    1. It is isn't it and she lives not too far from me :-)

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  2. I love lovely greens - http://www.lovelygreens.com/

    and also really like

    the quince tree http://thequincetree65.blogspot.co.uk/


    plus you obviously

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    1. Two lovely blogs, I visit them frequently!!

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  3. How to decide on a favourite?
    I like blogs by Suffolk people, people who live the way we do, people who live in a completely different way, people who are self employed, people who like making things, people who do home schooling.
    Oh heck - can't decide!

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    1. Haha ... you like them all don't you .... there's nothing like a little trawl around Blogland is there :-)

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  4. I really enjoy these blogs; http://www.digthischick.net/ and http://www.soulemama.com/ I have been following them for quite a while now but only recently discovered your blog. I'm enjoying your posts btw!

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    1. I don't know either of these, I'm off for a look, thanks :-)

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  5. I just found yours a few months ago through noticing that you quite often comment on the same blogs as me. I'm really enjoying your posts Sue, I also read Frugal Queen, Mortgage Free in 3, Going Gently (what a laugh!), Ilona's blog and Down to Earth. Unfortunately, Frugal Mummy has said goodbye to blogging which is a shame. It's so good to have a support network through these blogs because often you feel out of step living frugally and simply. And it's great to pick up tips and advice from others x

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    1. What a shame that Tracey has ended her blog, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't commented, she seemed to have slipped down my sidebar whilst I was internet-less on Sunday and I might have missed that if it were not for you mentioning it.

      I think tips and advice are one of the best bits of Blogging and like you say finding like-minded souls in this frugal and slightly out of step world we occupy.

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  6. I don't know why Tracey has stopped. There were lots of comments from people wishing her well. I enjoyed her blog and thought she was honest and brave - I'm sure her posts have been a huge support to many.

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  7. One blog i've only recently discovered and really enjoy is bealtainecottage.com. my problem is there are too many blogs i enjoy, but not enough time to read them all!

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  8. Thank you so much for the shout out Sue! I come here every day to see what you and LH have been up to...your blog is a joy and an inspiration.

    I'm just now trying to organise my bloglovin' account as my blog reading has got out of hand - lots of my favorites are on your blogroll.

    xx

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  9. I love Elaine at MF3, yours :- ) and NYK at Frugal Blog. I've also just discovered Beltaine Cottage and http://shoestringcottage.wordpress.com I also follow a lot of refashioning and sewing blogs, the links are on my blog

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  10. Im just discovering you all, and I love it, I look forward to my evening read of all your lovely blogs :) the internet is an amazing thing :) xx

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  11. I also have to many to name, some live my ideal life on a Scottish island, some knit and inspire my creative side, some inspire me to be more frugal and some are just incredibly funny to read. Love them all x

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  12. I see she has already commented, but I want to recommend simplesuffolksmallholder's blog, frugalinsuffolk, fresh and interesting. Also frugalknitwit.

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  13. I love the following ones,

    http://www.greeningofgavin.com/ I love gavins blog I have been reading if for years
    http://www.talesfromahappyhouse.com/ found this one recently.
    http://www.thedayafteryesterday.co.uk/ this lady makes me laugh and cry
    http://mimithorisson.com/ amazing pictures and recipes
    http://notjustgreenfingers.wordpress.com/ recently found this one also

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    1. Thanks for the mention Sol, it's very kind of you.

      I love reading blogs as they are so inspirational, but I really only have a small amount of time to read them each day. The very first blog I ever read was 'Down to earth' written by Rhonda in Australia and it still is my very favourite blog. She talks so much sense, especially when you feel no one understands the way you want to live as living a 'simple life' is different to the fast track life that everyone around you lives.

      Blogging can be hard at time, especially when you have a million things you should be doing instead, but to everyone out there that writes a blog...pls remember you are all such an inspiration and thank you for being such wonderful on-line support.

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  14. I must admit that 'Down to Earth' by Rhonda Jean Hetzel is my all time favourite, after that I love to have a giggle with Ilona from Life After Money, then Anglesey Allsorts and Taste the Goode Life as well as others I frequently dip into. They and your blog make blog land so much more than just some pages to browse. Everyone has some story to tell, some hints and tips to share, or some good ideas for simpler living, so we all learn from each other. It`s the feeling of community and like mindedness that we all love to dip into whenever we need it.

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  15. I love mortgagefree journey,Laura's Move to Portugal, Sara's A Frugal Wife, Family of 3 and Living Rich on the Cheap!

    And yours of course!

    Sft x

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  16. Almost forgot-the Queen of Blogs-FRUGALDOM!

    Sft x

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  17. I really like this one and am currently working my way through the archives
    http://ayearwithoutsupermarkets.com/
    And this is another newish discovery and am also reading back through the previous posts- she and I seem to have many similar interests
    http://codlinsandcream2.blogspot.co.uk/
    Arilx

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  18. My daily reads are froogs, mean queen, chelmarsh chunterings, Sarinas allsorts as well as all the mortgage free ones. I love finding new blogs , it's just finding the time to get through them all. X

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  19. I think blogging has kept me sane the last couple of years whilst we have been travellng, (a big thank you to everyone) I tend to read and comment on the same ones as Sue, most of the ones listed above but do 'drift in and out' with others. The best thing about blogging is you can chose to follow someone with the same outlook/hobbies/situation as yourself, even if that is not 'normal'. Long may it continue ...

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  20. HI Sue

    Great question!

    Love yours of course, or else I wouldn't be reading! Love the others you referenced, in particular SFT's travel and Stacey's Mortgage Free Journey.

    I also read Alex's Living the Small Life http://livingthesmalllife.blogspot.com.au/, CheapChick's Living Rich on the Cheap http://livingrichonthecheap.blogspot.com.au/ and Sarina's blog http://sarinasallsorts.blogspot.com.au/

    xx

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  21. I like Taste the Goode Life. She is the queen of cooking frugally and using up all leftovers. http://shirleygoode.blogspot.co.uk

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  22. A lot of the blogs I follow I found through your sidebar. A new one is http://agoodlifeintydd.blogspot.fr/.

    When I see you have a new post up I make myself a cup of tea and sit down to read. I live in quite an isolated area and it's like popping to a friends for a cuppa and having other friends pop in for a chat (the comments) and just before i go back to work I wander round the neighbourhood (sidebar) to see who else has got something interesting to say. Makes my day!

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    1. What a lovely comment - thank you. It's nice that we are all blogging friends together, it's almost like a 'virtual village' popping in and out of each others homes/lives for a few minutes most day.

      Thank you for reading and for commenting, I've loved the response to this post.

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  23. Hi Sue, I am another great fan of Shirley Goode at Taste the Goode Life. She is a dear friend of mine and writes as she speaks, very chatty. She was a TV cook in the 80's and had her own series on frugal cookery. Its a pity they don't repeat it now as it would be very relevant to most people. Although she is eighty years old she is still a great cook and regularly cooks for parties and gatherings.

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  24. I tend to come on your sidebar and read the blogs you are reading. Keep forgetting to put them on my own side bar :o)

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  25. I have been reading http://www.greenkitchenstories.com, which is where I found a fantastic recipe for broccoli pesto. They often have innovative veggie recipes. I have also recently started reading http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com because I have always sewn, but want to learn how to 'fit' better.

    Favourites? The ones I read every day are you Sue, and Froogs

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  26. Notbuyinganything.blogspot.com is genius. Written by a man and so very thought provoking. Love it.

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  27. I agree Sue, I think there's lots of lovely blogs that provide a lot of inspiration and information for newcomers like me. It's good to have a community that you can learn something from :)

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  28. Love each and every one of you. (You know who I am talking about, my blog buddies) x

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