Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

redglass_2

[quote=whitewing;_Think_it_would_only_work_with_one_child_in_the_house._The_potential_for_baiting_from_siblings_would_be_irresistible_(if_of_course_they_knew_about_it)[/quote]

Yes, you're right! They did have only one child living with them. :rotfl:

I know it's not an original observation, but the attempt to manage frugally makes you appreciate everything much more, doesn't it? I had a friend round to dinner on Thursday and she brought me presents: beans and tomatoes from her allotment, home-made jam and a bottle of wine. I would always have been pleased, of course, but trying to be frugal made it extra special. I've become more resourceful, too: I do a lot more fixing, improvising and exchanging than I used to (latest invention: a window-pull devised from string and a coin with a hole in the middle). I thought I lived cheaply as a student, but all I really knew about was thrift shops - the rest was 'too much trouble'. I think it's great that young people like Mumzy and Slowlyfading are getting to grips with all this early on. I wish I had, but then it's never too late.
PS Janey, don't forget that old wartime stand-by: unravelling garments and re-knitting the yarn! No, I haven't actually gone that far yet but given time to knit, I might well.....

Mollymop5

I've just updated my signature! I now have £1523.93 left for the rest of the year which works out at £380.98 per month.Looks like I'm going to have to have a sort out and sell some stuff if the kids want xmas pressies this year.
I will be making lots of soups and casseroles from now.Thank goodness the summer holidays are coming to an end! This has got to mean more money in my purse.

looby-loo_2

Hello everyone. I have lost the plot completely since August and can see no way of returning. Life has completely changed and I can't see it going back. I still pop in to read but have given up trying to concentrate. Still getting lots of ideas, or reminders from here - I was always OS so that isn't going to change whatever.

mama67

nykmedia wrote: »

Prudent that is really good for your utilities! Ours is about double that when I factor in winter heating. I'm still working on the figures after reading that article, as the 4k in this challenge includes all the utilities - screening spending diary as we speak as there certainly could be a new challenge coming up - it's called trying to get grown-up kids in fulltime employment to pay their way. My DS would need to pay £68.20 per week and I can't help but laugh at his reaction if I'd to suggest that! :eek: :rotfl:

What are the general views on how much to charge kids for their keep?
How does anyone else work it out?
Anyone?

When I first left school and was on YTS I paid £10 per week for lodge etc.

Once I got a "proper" job I paid £100 per month. This is 20 years ago.

DH when fishing would have £30 sent home every week and then give his mum more once he had landed and had got paid; obviously he wasn't actually at home if out on the trawlers.

We have already been discussing this with DS1 (aged 13) as he was saying that his friend was moaning that he had to give his mum £40 p/w whilst bringing home £120.

We said we thought this was fair and that is the type of figure that we would be looking at.

He has a parttime job and he save 1/5 of that every payday, and does contribute to takeaways if/when we have them.

lingojingo

redglass wrote: »

I don't have children so I am no expert here, but I heard about someone (I think it was in the Tightwad Gazette) who instead of making her son pay rent, etc, agreed with him that he would pay the electricity bill for the entire household and that would be his contribution. The result was an amazing decrease in electricity consumption as her DS ran all over the house turning off lights, etc - and it trained him for when he got his own place.

Fantastic!!!!! Wish I'd thought of that when DS was here all the time! He could have used his earnings as kitchen porter, and his EMA:rotfl:

lingojingo

Janey51 wrote: »

lyndasharp you never got rained on? Methinks you took a wrong turning somewhere and you actually missed Scotland :rotfl:

DD went to uni open day in Edinburg, she stayed Thursday night, and was so warm she had her bedroom window open! Iwas wrapped in a quilt watching TV as it was freezing here when she phoned me!

Frugaldom

Hello

Welcome back to LYNDASHARP, glad you enjoyed your holiday. Sorry, I missed your earlier post.

JamieDodger - WELL DONE! Glad you chose that route

MollyMop, I was away Christmas shopping last weekend using vouchers - it's totally amazing how much you can save when the vouchers were free in the first place (and there's a half price sale on at the moment).

Looby-loo, as long as you are still with us and are still managing to keep control of the finances without incurring debt then you are succeeding, regardless of the budget total

There's a little market on here today, so I'm going to pop along and see what's there. Hoping to get a cardie, as there's still nobody responded to my wanted ads!

Marru, I've started my eBid challenge again, I'm hoping for a money neutral year on there next year so you're welcome to 'practice'. I am just so bad at listing, I make every excuse under the sun to 'not have time', that's why I've had to turn my own challenge around - buy something then must recoup the money before I can buy anything else.

1274, my nearest 'big town' is about 60 miles away, my nearest Mr T is 40 miles away, nearest Mr A 45 miles away and nearest train station 22 miles away. There's no butchers, bakers, cobblers, clothing stores, mains gas, digital signal, gyms, colleges, childminders, private nurseries etc, etc, etc... it's a 14 mile round trip for the nearest charity shop (but we have been promised an Aldi store in that town). Bet you can't say that about London. :rotfl:

HS just arrived back and informs me that he spotted the LL in town (LL lives in Sheffield!) so I wonder if he's just visiting family and will try to avoid us or if he's here to pay a visit to the house and possibly remove more of the furnishings. Hmm...

Brighton_belle

1274 wrote: »

What do the rest of you spend or think you'll spend "all in"?

This has made me look at my spreadsheets. If I take out mtg,, utilities,insurance, car, phone, based on 2 months figues x 6 to make 12 months, then I am living on £6,325:eek: . I think this is the figure I need to work on bringing down, so I'll do this average at the end of every month - so at the end of Sept I can calc accumulated totals over 3 months x 4 to get the next 'reading'. This is food for 2 adults, + household costs for 4, like loo rolls, washing up liquid etc & house maintenance. The rest is just for me - clothes,medical,hobbies etc.
It's easier to exclude utilities because I have lodgers and they pay their hard earned dosh to live here and be comfortable and so they are free to put the heating on etc when ever they like We are a happy and harmonious household and there is no way I am going to make them feel uncomfortable about that, though my OH & I would go without for longer. I'd quite like one of those devises where you measure elec consumtion, to encourage unplugging stuff at the walls though, as I am starting to read that white goods still take electricity even if not on but that would be spending quite a lot of money, even if to try and save money. Having just done that with a remoska, I don't want to keep doing that. This has been a very useful exercise, so thanks again - I'm beginning to get a clearer picture now so can formulate goals better - all in training for 2009:D.
Edit in: just done calc/projections for 'everything else and this totals £7,451 (this includes cable TV for lodgers which they pay me back for on top of rent but obviously isn't alterable)so now I'm thinking I will run two separate totals and try and shave what i can off that one too - makes it feel more managaeble for me. Have nothing left at end of month to save at the mo, which is a new situation for me, but OH is in dire circs and I was off sick first 3 months of the year and i don't get paid for that other than very minimal ssp)
Redglass - you are so right about frugal living making you appreciate everything more -last year, friends with an allotment gave us stuff and I let quite a bit go to waste and I didn't now what to do with it:o . This year is has been a complete god send and I've used every last scrap. Ditto cash for birthday has been appreciated more than ever.
Nyk - Maybe with DS being only 19, this is the time for him to have fun with his money and spend too much on friperies. (Though I would feel just the same as you). He's got no responsibilites, yet he seems to have a good grip on not getting into debt:T ,plenty of time to have to get serious with spending and not be able to afford stuff. If he gets it out of his system now, that actually might do him a favour when he is older?

Woodyrocks

Hi All! Can I just say respect due to all of you for even taking this challenge onboard. The thought of doing it leaves my mind boggled!

Noob alert so please bear with me and the silly question to follow -

£4000 a yr works out to around £333per month. Can someone tell me what this is meant to cover i.e rent, childcare, travel, bills or is it just food & other daily expenses? I would love to TRY and do this next year because it is getting to be a joke how much I am spending on randomness each month (£650 on shoes last month :eek:) but I need to know what exactly the limitations of the challenge are likely to be.

TYAVMIA

dfw844

Hi everyone,

Sorry not been about much since my 'holiday' at the parents, I've just been snowed under with work / washing / generally sorting out my life again!

I'm doing really well this month, but don't want to jinx it after my awful August, so won't say too much. And tomorrow I promise to update my signature properly as I have been very lazy on that front. There's less motivation to do it when the figures aren't dropping dramatically.

Nyk:

nykmedia wrote: »

What are the general views on how much to charge kids for their keep?
How does anyone else work it out?
Anyone?

I moved back to my parents after university. My dad charged me 20% of my takehome pay. He used to check my payslip and everything! I thought this was quite fair though because I was on comission so if I had a bad month it wasn't so much, but if I had a good month he saw the benefit too.

Anyway, eventually I was paying him so much rent I thought 'I could live somewhere I wanted to for that much!', so I moved out. And he said his plan had worked perfectly!!

Only kidding, I love my parents to death. This episode was part of his lifelong mission to 'teach me the value of money'. Obviously that plan was less successful...