My Frugal year

Anyone else in the same boat as me here?

Used to be relatable, now it's just posting about being frugal with "I know I'm lucky because I've had a slight increase of income".

Good for you, not everyone gets handed a magic Instagram book deal to clear their debt though

Also just seems a complete snowflake and can't handle any questions which isn't blowing smoke up her arse. And is clearly on the beg for baby freebies given her latest stories.

I'm not alone in this am I?

I largely really rate her but must admit that I unfollowed her when she got that box sofa because I felt she was going down the professional flogger route promoting shit like that but then since saw that she’d taken some course and pivoted more into 1:1 advice so thought maybe she’s come back from the brink?

Ngl am very interested to see what this thread throws up

I followed her when her account was really new and she had about 300 followers. She was anonymous, which I somehow really liked, and I watched her colour those squares and climb out of debt. I thought her account was fabulous.

As soon as she revealed her identity and showed her face, the defensive fragile ego stories started. No one could question or challenge her and I noped out of there, as constructive criticism, or even plain old criticism, can be useful, and it’s better to have no ego around work product.

So I unfollowed well before she shilled anything other than her book.

I follow as like others find her advice really helpful and the idea of mindful spending etc. However having seen her baby list tonight I'm quite shocked at some of the thingsbshe thinks are nessecary / essential purchases especially as this is her 3rd baby. But maybe she had to be more tight before with her budget

I mostly like this account.... I think a £195 highchair is ridiculous, though.

Hellomynameis said:

I follow as like others find her advice really helpful and the idea of mindful spending etc. However having seen her baby list tonight I'm quite shocked at some of the thingsbshe thinks are nessecary / essential purchases especially as this is her 3rd baby. But maybe she had to be more tight before with her budget

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I saw that spreadsheet and finally understood how she got in to so much debt in the first place.

I had initially assumed she was a first time mum who therefore wants everything new for the new baby. But that’s her third child? Who spends so much money on new items for a THIRD baby?
I wonder if old habits are creeping in and she’s back onto a spending spree.
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rather not stop said:

I mostly like this account.... I think a £195 highchair is ridiculous, though.

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We got gifted that highchair by grandparents and have used it for both kids non stop for nearly 9 years now. I reckon another year or two until they’ll no longer want to use it and it looks really well by the dining table whilst not taking any space. I’ll probably get £50-60 for it when we’re done. BUT if I suddenly had another baby and needed one, I’d 100% buy second hand because they last so well!

I liked her in the very beginning too. But now I look back on it, I feel like she knew what she was doing with being anonymous etc. Naturally more people would be interested in you/who you are.

Then the whole "gosh little old me with a book deal" attitude

They're clearly well off but she claims she's not changed. Then she was moaning about her husband's redundancy and struggling, yet he has a new job already. Honestly, shut up

That baby spreadsheet has tipped me over the edge though, the fact that she's left some items blank and about hopefully getting a good deal - aka hopefully she'll be gifted it like all the other insta knobs

Libertine said:

I followed her when her account was really new and she had about 300 followers. She was anonymous, which I somehow really liked, and I watched her colour those squares and climb out of debt. I thought her account was fabulous.

As soon as she revealed her identity and showed her face, the defensive fragile ego stories started. No one could question or challenge her and I noped out of there, as constructive criticism, or even plain old criticism, can be useful, and it’s better to have no ego around work product.

So I unfollowed well before she shilled anything other than her book.

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I bought the book and loved it - it’s the first time outside of tattle I’ve seen someone write about the influencing industry and how predatory it is for women and I loved it. I didn’t read the final section of the book on debt cos n/a so can’t speak to its validity and idk how much I love someone who’s not a regulated financial adviser dishing out advice on that?

I’ve recommended her book on here a few times when overconsumption gets discussed so am defs a net promoter. The only beef I have is… you know like green washing how big brands pretend to be eco with an earth collection or partnering with someone with greej? Clare allows herself to be like the good finance washer woman in associating with some of the WORST offenders for non ad declaration and promoting needless consumption - Alexandra Stedman / the frugality being the biggest one I’ve noticed! Like what’s the deal there? Is it cos it helps grow the MFY account’s reach therefore she gets better rates for ads? I don’t expect her to be actively beefing but it’s defs a !!

I might have bought the book because I was excited for Claire. I think I flicked through it and decided it wasn’t for me.

I should donate it to our street library or see if someone at work would like it.

I think Alex Stedman was a very early promoter of MFY, which tells me Alex may not have a great relationship with money, but Claire might feel she ‘owes’ Alex?

I was surprised when she announced she was having a third child. In my mind that’s the least frugal thing you can do as a family. It feels like the financial implications are more significant than the move from one to two.
Still, I’m sure she’s considered all this and run the numbers. Quite a few of my friends (mostly very comfortable money wise) deliberately decided against a third purely from a financial perspective.

It's weird with her because I loved her in the beginning.. and was genuinely happy that they managed to buy a house after renting.
I went off her a bit when she did a spending diary and I saw that she spent so much on eating out etc, she justified this with being busy/ pregnant and didn't take well to peoples opinions if they didn't agree. If she was still in the early days of her account she wouldn't have been spending like that.. obviously she's a lot more well off now but the people that followed her in the beginning, are prob still in a place where they have to be frugal with money if they are paying debt etc, as they probably haven't had quite the cash injection that she had to help her out of debt
And I guess she's not so relatable to them anymore.. it's a blessing and a curse if Instagram I guess

D78 said:

It's weird with her because I loved her in the beginning.. and was genuinely happy that they managed to buy a house after renting.
I went off her a bit when she did a spending diary and I saw that she spent so much on eating out etc, she justified this with being busy/ pregnant and didn't take well to peoples opinions if they didn't agree. If she was still in the early days of her account she wouldn't have been spending like that.. obviously she's a lot more well off now but the people that followed her in the beginning, are prob still in a place where they have to be frugal with money if they are paying debt etc, as they probably haven't had quite the cash injection that she had to help her out of debt
And I guess she's not so relatable to them anymore.. it's a blessing and a curse if Instagram I guess

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It's ok.. if you're in debt just gain some followers, get a book deal and boom! Problem solved I don't buy the whole oblivious act from her. She knew insta book deals pay well and that's probably what she set her sights on. Now she's got it and does the whole "I've not changed" when reality is, she earns a salary most folk can only dream off, plus has her husband's incomes on top of it. And the whole "I've been so worried about how will I earn money when the baby is here". Fuck off. You've got your books and endless loop of ads you're set up for life wouldn't surprise me if the baby is a content baby for brand partnerships etc (goes back to my point yesterday of highlighting things she hadn't bought for baby with the "hopefully we can get a good deal" rubbish (aka gifts)

Thing is, you can't tell her this, or even hint at it because when people have called her out previously, she posts the screenshot on her stories with the caption "any comments like this will be deleted, I don't need toxics vibes" blah blah.. basically can't handle any form of critique. True insta wanker then

I really like her, but she did do spon con for Klarna who are honestly one of the worst offenders for targeting women and pushing them to buy things they can't afford.

youguyzzz said:

I really like her, but she did do spon con for Klarna who are honestly one of the worst offenders for targeting women and pushing them to buy things they can't afford.

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Wow. I'm sure in the past she's slated Klarna? What a hypocrite

Also her babyish, plummy voice that she puts on and constant her touching irritates me

youguyzzz said:

I really like her, but she did do spon con for Klarna who are honestly one of the worst offenders for targeting women and pushing them to buy things they can't afford.

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No way! Didn't she campaign against Buy Now Pay Later? That's an eye-opener.

No way?? Really shocked about the Klarna ad.

There was also a ubiquitous Hello Fresh ad/discount code last night…

Such a shame as I too had always thought she held herself to higher standards
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Ha ha we’re all shocked & outraged saying the same thing

CornedBeefHashtag said:

No way?? Really shocked about the Klarna ad.

There was also a ubiquitous Hello Fresh ad/discount code last night…

Such a shame as I too had always thought she held herself to higher standards
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Ha ha we’re all shocked & outraged saying the same thing

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Honestly same - I’m appalled re Klarna and won’t be recommending her or her book anymore. I’m like a #FBPE rage Nan patronisingly recommending Jack Monroe’s slop/scams to people

Stunned she’d flog Hello Fresh when Sainsburys have come up with lollipop.ai which is a brilliant tool to replicate that service/offering at “normal” supermarket prices!

Can't say I'm shocked tbh, she sold her soul ages ago I'm just glad there's others who have seen the light like me haha

The Klarna ad totally fits with what I suspected once she posted this - that she is really not being discerning about partnerships any longer. What a fall from grace.

That post was a telling on a few fronts. It goes to show how quickly she became accustomed to a much higher income. Also it’s simply part of being freelance is setting aside a considerable chunk every time you are paid to get you through any work lulls. Peaks and troughs are part and parcel of that type of work. Some people aren’t cut out for it and are better suited to the lower but stable PAYE income.

As to her husbands work - the rest of us in that situation have just cut our cloth accordingly. As people do every day. And he got a new, better paid job almost straight away? Sorry but I’m seeing the inevitable influencer greed creep in.

She has chosen financial influencing, that’s going to come with a higher level of scrutiny than say fashion or beauty and rightly so, so switch to something else if you don’t like it.

Between this and the fashion girlies suddenly promoting Fat Face, Alex ‘make my own sad sandwiches and ice lollies for days out’ Stedman promoting Pret and a few other examples around — it’s really revealing how influencer marketing is becoming a different beast. There’s not as much cash sloshing around but influencers are used to a certain level of income so the bar is going lower and lower.