We sold up and moved out to Bulgaria in May 2013. We have bought a (very) smallholding with a three bed, two shower house, numerous outbuildings and half an acre. So we have no mortgage or loans, direct debits or any debts at all. A lovely feeling. But...
...we have no income either, apart from a miniscule works pension. We have spent most of our capital setting up here, so frugality is a necessity, as is growing and processing as much as we can for us and the chickens. We don't smoke and drink very little other than the occasional beer which costs about 80p for two litres. We have enough soft furnishings and clothes and DIY and kitchen equipment to last us a good few years.
We have started on our frugal adventure, collecting meat trays, yoghurt pots and loo roll tubes for seedlings. Compost is well on the go. Next year I will be making more of my own yoghurt and cheese so I don't know what we will do for plant pots, but something will turn up. We don't have news papers so that's no option. We have also collected some seed though will have to do more next year. We have a large collection of seed which I bought with money received from a collection at work, many of them are things not generally grown here, but we want to try to work a way of growing British favourites to sell to ex-pats who are missing them. But we have months of temperatures in the mid thirties with little rain so it will be a challenge when most stuff grows in cool wet conditions.
So we'll see how we go on no budget!
