Meet a UK Reader | Joanne
Time to meet another reader! Joanne lives in the UK, so as I edited this post, I imagined hearing it with a British accent. 🙂
1. Tell us a little about yourself
My garden - with a very unusual blue and clear sky!
I’m 55 years old and I’ve been married 23 years in September and we have two sons aged 19 and 17.
My husband is an actor who also works as a market researcher, my eldest son is just about to start university, and my youngest starts VI form college in September.
We also have an almost 10-year-old Labradoodle who entertains us daily with his crazy antics!
I live in the middle of England about 12 miles from Birmingham. It’s colloquially called The Black Country due to its industrial past - Google it as it interesting how the area got its name.
I’ve done a little genealogy and all of my family on both sides are Black Country born and bred. We have quite a specific accent, very different to Brummie which is the Birmingham accent!!
(edit from Kristen: I had to look this up. Here's a YouTube video that talks about these two accents. And Joanne, do let us know if it's accurate or not.)
I’ve previously always worked as an administrator in various areas including education and health care.
Unfortunately, a really unpleasant change of management at my previous job resulted in a huge change for me and I am now working at a small holding looking after cats in the cattery; rescue cats; chickens; giant rabbits; 3 goats, 2 horses, and a dog and cat grooming room.
My favourite horse, Flossie - she hates all people except me! I’m her “person” apparently😄😄
I also resell on eBay and that’s is going really well too. I love my new job and lifestyle.
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I fell down an online frugal rabbit hole about 4 years ago and found The Frugal Girl.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
It’s a case of having to be interested, to be honest. Our retail business failed in the 2008/9 recession and we’ve had to be financially very, very careful since then.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
We need to be money-saving minded to ensure we are financially sound from one month to the next.
5. What's your best frugal win?
I cook from scratch every day and have little or no food waste which makes me really proud.
Friday night is pizza night!
I meal plan and have my groceries delivered weekly so that I’m in strict control of the food budget. I have a good food pantry which I’ve had for grad after an LDS friend explained the concept to me.
I also get free eggs and doggy grooming at my job which saves many ££££ 😄😄😄
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
I had, what I now like to refer to as a ‘starter marriage’ which ended after 5 years when I was 27 (no children).
I bought a small 2 up 2 down terraced house from the proceeds of the divorce with a tiny mortgage, which when I met my now-husband we decided to sell.
My house!
We spent the money from the sale wisely, extending our new marital property but I do wish I had kept that house and rented it out for the monthly income and to have a brick and mortar investment.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
We have a takeaway every other Saturday and we always eat out at a nice restaurant for birthdays and our anniversary throughout the year.
It’s something we could eliminate but we really enjoy it and keep it within an appropriate budget.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Make-up and hair cuts.
I have my nails done if I can afford it as I have shockingly weak nails from years of nibbling, but I’m super low maintenance apart from that.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
I’d convert it into ££ 😂😂 and then put it towards a family holiday.
10. Share a frugal tip with other Frugal Girl readers
Plan, plan, and then plan again in all that you do.
Food - meal plan and shopping lists
Clothing - buy used if you can and out of season if possible. I’ve just purchased via eBay a winter coat and boots which had I waited a bit longer would have cost me more.
Insurance - get quotes early and shop around
Track your spending and pay everything monthly if you can.
11. Is there anything different about living frugally in the UK as compared to other places, particularly the U.S.? We’d love to hear about it!
a view at the farm
I think the one thing that I notice in reading The Frugal Girl and the comments is the amount of vouchers/cashback/coupons that seem to be available to you in the US. It seems that rewards and incentives are much more prevalent over the pond than here in the U.K.
Obviously, the NHS here in the U.K. means we get free healthcare which is a massive boon financially. I recently slipped on a wet floor in the cattery (my fault) and sustained a radial head fracture of my left arm.
(Here's a photo of my bruised arm if you are the type who likes to see that sort of thing.)
So far I’ve had in-person A&E, orthopaedic consultant, and physiotherapist consultations plus 2 telephone checkups with zero outlay. I have no idea how we would have afforded this in the US.
________
Joanne, it was lovely to learn more about your life. Thank you!
I have a question about the two-up, two-down. I read the Wikipedia entry about these types of houses, and I was curious, did yours have its own bathroom? Or did you have a shared bathroom like the homes mentioned on Wikipedia?
________
Hi Joanne, lovely to meet you! Kudos to you for doing so well on food waste! I am a former student of English and the UK are still our favourite holiday destination. We hope to cross the Channel again in a year or so. There is so much beauty and always only 100 miles or so from the sea, wherever you are!
One of the things that struck me in shops, was the strong focus on "buy British". So I was very surprised to find out last weekend (BBC website quiz) that the UK relies on imported foods for 40% of what is eaten. I just wonder how much that percentage could go down if food waste could be banned entirely?
@J,
Thank you, I get so cross when people throw food away, I’m slowly converting my almost 80 year old mom to the benefits of freezing her leftovers.
Sadly the U.K. does import so much food and I’m 100% convinced that this would go down if food waste went down.
I hope you’ll be able to visit the U.K. soon xxx
Hi Kristen
Thank you for this feature, I feel really honoured to share things about me with your readers. It was a very good idea to make the bruise photo clickable, it isn’t particularly pleasant.
The Wikipedia entry is more or less correct however the slum clearance comment isn’t particularly accurate! My little old house was built in 1895 and had been extended downstairs so that the bathroom was inside. I would say 99% of these sort of houses have had some sort of extension and barely anyone has an outside loo nowadays. They are quite sought after in some parts of the U.K. as good, solid starter or downsize homes. They are often well built and, if the extension has been done properly, they can be quite spacious. The gardens are also quite big, often narrow but quite long with walled areas and established trees.
It was really interesting listening to the YouTube video regarding my accent. It’s pretty accurate although the actress is from Wolverhampton so to my ear her accent is quite different to mine! My husband who studies this sort of thing for his work as an actor says my accent is bordering on a Worcestershire accent as we live on the edge of the Black Country neighbouring Worcestershire!!!
I was impressed with how solid the houses pictured in the Wikipedia article looked; a very lovely starter home. And thank goodness people don't have to use outside bathrooms now.
@Joanne in the U.K., I really enjoyed reading about your life, and also enjoyed the photos and links. I think I will subscribe to the You Tube tutorial and speaking with accents, because that was amazing. My (American) brother has been living in London and traveling the globe for years and he does great imitations of accents and phrases he's picked up. His friends have so much fun with this kind of thing. To me, Kristen has a cute accent!
Have you been to the USA?
When I was a kid, we had a brown spicy liquid cooking sauce that we called WOO-ster-shy-er but it was spelled Worchestershire. Now I hear people say WORch-ter-sheer. How do you say it?
Thanks again!
@Jenny,
Worcestershire Sauce is a staple in my cupboard, I add it to most of my savoury cooking!!
Wuss ter sheer
Is the way to pronounce it!!
I love America and have been on holiday to:
Florida - Orlando (4 times), Miami and St Petersburg
Boston
Green Mountain, Vermont
New York
Lots Angeles
San Diego
Las Vegas (3 times)
I’d really like to explore the middle of the USA in the future, fingers crossed I’ll be able to do this in the future
Xx
Joanne,
It is wonderful to meet you. I hope you heal well from your recent fracture.
It is so fun to read about other readers far and wide. It sounds like you have a nice life. I love that you are working on food waste with your mom. Food waste is one of my top frugal activities though much of it is related to my desire to live green.
@K D,
My arm is healing very well thank you, still have to remind myself now and then not to lift anything too heavy!!
I think I do have a nice life and it’s lovely to hear someone else think so too!! Xx
Joanne, it’s lovely to meet you, your handsome pup and Flossie. Your new job sounds delightful — a big change from administrative work. After dealing with the boss from hell for 2 years, I left my 9 to 5 job 10 years ago and never looked back.
I’ve never gotten the hang of keeping a full pantry, so I am curious about yours. Some of the LDS keep 6 months if food stores. Is yours that large? What do you keep in yours? How do you stock it?
@Bee,
Oh yes I never thought I’d love working with animals. I had a terrible time with a boss from hell like you - bullying and gaslighting were daily occurrences - so the peace and appreciation I get from the animals and the environment I work in is so soothing it doesn’t feel like work.
My LDS friend kept about 3 months of storage as she didn’t have much space and I aspire to do the same. I’d say most of the time I have about 2 months of most cupboard items and a month of food in my freezer. I’d like more but I’d need to buy another freezer I think unfortunately I don’t have the room for that.
Xx
@Bee, I don't deliberately keep "x months" of food on hand but my emergency plan is generally to shelter in place rather than evacuate so I do keep more food than most. I do it by always having at least one extra in the pantry - for example, it's time to buy a box of salt when I open the one in the pantry - and I stock up when there are good coupons or sales (or preferably both). For example I just figured out how to store a lot more bags of dog food in order to take advantage of $5/1 peelies.
Another county heard from, as my grandmother would say.
@WilliamB and @Joanne In The UK,
Thank you for your input. I always seem to have plenty of coffee, rice, peanut butter and pet food — all necessities. Beyond that I don’t have much of a plan. I do stock up on some things when they are on sale like my favorite olive oil. However, I am amazed that some people can eat entirely from the pantry for an extended period of time. Being a Floridian, this is a skill I really should acquire. Three years ago, I lost the entire contents of my freezer during Hurricane season power outages.
@Bee,
Thinking of all the people suffering with the effects of Ida and hoping, Bee, that you are not among them.
Hi Joanne! Your "rare sky" in the first photo looks like the almost-constant New Mexico sky here.
I always thought the British term "small holding" and the American term "homestead" meant the same thing. However, it sounds as if the small holding you work at is much more like just a business rather than a family trying to be self-sufficient. Is there a different word you might use to denote a piece of property used by a family for their own subsistence, or is this just a particularly commercial small holding?
@kristin @ going country,
I’m not sure about the terminology Kristin for where I work, technically it’s called a farm but with only 5 fields I’m not sure it qualifies. My boss is determined to diversify and use the land she has to earn money for her large family so I suppose it’s a particularly commercial small holding. Self sufficiency isn’t her thing!
I’d love to visit New Mexico one day, a friend had spent time there and he’s planning to buy land and build his ‘forever’ home there when he retires. He’s promised I can visit anytime, fingers crossed this happens.
I speak often of wanting to live somewhere with a ‘big sky’ where I can look up and see all the stars at night - definitely can’t where I live now. I’m sure New Mexico would fulfil this ambition for me! Xxx
@Joanne in the U.K.,
My parents' parents were what is translated as cowmilkers. By this were meant people who had 1 or 2 cows, some pigs, a small number of goats or sheep perhaps and possibly a horse. And land to graze them, an orchard and a substantial alottment. They would also work as farm labourers during hay or harvest time, as that would mean they had child benefit and health insurance during the weeks they were employed.
This is smaller than small farming, it seems to me? How does it compare with crofters as in Scotland?
J.
Hi Joanne and thanks for sharing about your life. This was joyful to read, especially escaping a horrid boss/work situation—gaslighting!—and the sweet animals. What does Flossie do on the farm?
I was particularly interested in the discussion about accents since we enjoy many of the programs on BritBox and Acorn and love the varied accents. Is your husband in series TV or movies?
Our whole family enjoyed a visit to England a bunch of years ago and hope to return sometime.
Glad you’re enlightened healthcare system is serving you well and you’re nearly fully recovered.
@Erika JS,
Flossie has no particular role other than to keep another horse company, lucky girl. She’s about 20 and her companion is 32 so they are enjoying their twilight years being looked after by me!
Accents are definitely a thing here at home, my DH often has to audition in different accents causing much hilarity. Welsh is super hard, he’s quite good in reality but I’m useless and usually end up somewhere in the Indian subcontinent with mine. He’s very much a working actor; bits and pieces on TV some Shakespeare and theatre work. He’s currently filming a feature film so let’s hope that’s a success, fingers crossed! Xx
(Kristen, people usually write VI as "sixth form" college.)
Hi Joanne, I'm an Anglophile who's been to Britain so many times, I can barely count. I've been so lucky to experience your beautiful, fascinating country.
Back in the day, really rich aristocrats, some of them anyway, installed bathrooms for the servants. For themselves, they had servants carry hot water to portable tubs in their bedrooms, and the servants would also carry away the "slops" from the chamber pots.
And yet George Orwell points out that there was snobbery and discrimination against poor people having bathrooms, as well, since it was considered the poor would just keep coal in their tubs instead of bathing.
Thank you for sharing your story, Joann. I grew up in England (N. Yorks) and your life brings back so many memories!
I will add for the readers in other countries, the NHS (health care) is paid for up front in taxes, instead of at the time of service as the US does. Having lived, and worked, in both systems there are huge advantages and disadvantages to each way. Nothing perfect in this life!
I'm glad you have a job that is a better environment, Joann.
@Kara, thank you, I so weary of people saying they have "free" healthcare. Common sense would tell us it can not possibly be free. It is a one payer system, but very high taxes are collected up front to cover these services. You can like or hate this system, but it's not free.
@Anne,
I’m sorry about the ‘free comment’ regarding the NHS. Of course I and my family have paid our taxes over the years and this has all ‘gone into the pot’ so to speak. I think the point I was trying to put over was that as a family I do not know where we would have found the money to pay, up front, for the treatment I received for my broken arm. Neither would my MIL for her recent breast cancer treatment or my dad for the brain aneurysm he had a couple of years ago.
The comments I see on here and other US frugal websites about the amount of debt people have for medical treatment makes me super grateful we have the system we do.
Thank you Anne for pointing this out xx
@Anne, I’m UK and I don’t consider them that high. You also still get treatment if you haven’t paid income tax, as long as you meet the citizenship criteria. We also have the possibility of paying for health insurance and for private care if we want to, and private care is generally much cheaper that similar healthcare in the US.
The thing that always gets me is that costs are more upfront in the UK, where as when I visit or read about the US, an initial price is quoted but with state tax, sales tax, tipping and everything so the price you guys pay is much higher than that originally quoted.
@Joanne in the U.K.,
I had that same elbow injury about 20 years ago after I fell headfirst on some stone steps - it was very lucky that I didn't fall off the Cornish cliff that I was descending! It was far more painful that childbirth so you have my every sympathy
Cheerio Joanne!!
"I fell down an online frugal rabbit hole"
That's a great way to put it. I found that many of the websites I started with when I fell down the frugal rabbit hole either are gone or have stopped being useful (why, oh why, did the Coupon Database stop including non-digital coupons???), but FG has the best staying power.
@WilliamB,
Those rabbit holes can lead us many places? I’m so glad I found this one!
Well, that is a very nice compliment. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Joanne! You are living the dream of a lot of people - to leave a bad work situation and get out in the country and work with animals. I’m sure it must be so good for your mental health!
I’m in Canada, so we also have national health care. I’m so grateful to live in a country that does. It’s paid in taxes, but I know firsthand that how much taxes you pay varies according to your income - there have been years my income was so low I paid none - and now I’m fine with paying more because the whole thing is safer for everyone and cheaper for the country as a whole. We have to pay for our own dental here, and just that is challenging enough. I can’t imagine having to make the choice every time between things like tests or x-rays and not having to go into more debt. I think a lot of people’s health would fare much worse under those circumstances.
@Jem,
I do feel my mental health is do much better now I’m not in such a horrid environment. I look forward to going to work which is refreshing after dreading going to work for so long. Xx
@Jem, dental is not entirely free in the UK. You can get some basic stuff but not many dentists offer NHS. Most seem only to take private clients. It's better than eye care though. I have very complex eye problems and the lenses for my glasses cost £400 - the NHS kindly lets me have a free eye exam once a year and gives me a voucher for about £30 towards products... So back when I was a student I just had to put up with not being able to see very well as I couldn't afford to update either my glasses (even with the cheapest possible frames), or my contacts.
Thanks for sharing, Joanne! Little or no food waste is fantastic. Way to go!!
Your line about converting the $1000 to ££ made me laugh! Good point!
Hello, Joanne. It is wonderful to meet you. Having a horse, dogs, cats and chickens as work friends would be my idea of heaven.
I always enjoy seeing the bold declaration on British food packaging that it's grown in Britain. I dislike having to hunt around for where something came from on our food in the United States. And as under strain as your NHS is, that it soldiers on and does such a wonderful job must give great peace of mind to your nation. Well worth the tax dollars upfront!
Joanne: I thoroughly enjoyed learning about your life. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing about your life, Joanne. Isn't it wonderful working with animals? I am a pet-sitter (as one of my "side jobs") and much prefer it to my corporate job. 🙂 I have visited the UK 3 times, the most recently in 2019. My boyfriend and I stayed with several of my pen pals, which always makes for a more interesting visit. We hope to return again in a few years. There's so much to see!
@Beth B.,
Oh yes it’s is wonderful to work with animals, I’m chatting to them all the time and I do wonder what they think of me sometimes!!
There is do much to see in the U.K. I agree. My eldest son is off to a Uni in Scotland so I’m looking forward to being able to explore that part of the U.K. as, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been north of the border!!
Xx
This was a particularly fun read!
@Carlisa Sanders,
Thank you!! Xx
Animals! Pizza! What a great life! Seriously, Joanne, I enjoyed hearing about your world. Thanks for playing!
I find it interesting that people who have government-funded healthcare call it "free healthcare". I'm Canadian and I also love my free healthcare.
But Americans seem more likely to call it "socialized healthcare".
And while that is accurate, I think the fact those of us with it say "free healthcare" without thinking, speaks volumes.
To your point, when I was a kid and my dad was in the military, we did refer to our healthcare as "free".
@Ashley Whitt, it always feels to me that when US residents say ‘socialised’ they mean it in a bad way. Like “why do I have to take care of you if you can’t take care of yourself”. But I think that may partly be because healthcare is so expensive in the US, as if that’s the actual cost for that treatment.
Hi Joanne! This was a lot of fun to read. I was immediately drawn in because our demographics are eerily similar ... we're the same age, we've been married about the same length of time, and our kids are about the same ages. I also would give almost the same answers that you did to the questions what do you like to splurge on, what are you not tempted to splurge on, and what would you do with an extra $1000. I love Flossie's braid, and that she loves you!
@BJS,
Hello my demographic twin!! Xx
Lovely to meet you and hear about England. Your new job sounds so great -- it is amazing how much work stress affects our lives and, happily, animals never gaslight or bully! I try not to waste food, too but you sound like a master . Hope to visit England someday -- thank you for sharing with us!
@priskill,
Indeed - I may have to clean up after the animals (and you all know what that means!!!) but they are never mean or bully or gaslight. Even the rescue cats we sometimes have who hiss and run away when I go into their pens all come around in the end and enjoy the cuddles I give them.
I hope you can visit England someday!
Xx
I live in a very similar house and our old outside toilets are still in the shared yard (shared between 8 houses)
Thanks for contributing, one of my goals is to visit England someday!