Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

taka

Hi all :hello:

I seem to have spent my day off today playing with spreadsheets instead of doing my much needed housework I haven't even unpacked my shiny new hoover yet :rolleyes:

I think I have decided the folowing will be in/not be in my 4k challenge 2009...

In - £4k challenge
Groceries inc cleaning & laundry products
Toiletries
Clothes
Birthdays and Xmas
Tv licence
Broadband and telephone
Mobile
Contents insurance
Gas and electricity
Haircuts
Dental and prescription costs
Misc stuff and very basic DIY styleeee flat repairs/maintainance
Going out/Entertainment
* Loose change fund - currently pays for my hobbies
* £2 fund - not sure what I'll spend this on - possibly a dishwasher?

Out - not included
Life assurance
Bus pass (need for work)
Buildings insurance
House repairs and renovations - this is going to be scary... I need a new bathroom :eek:
Mortgage
Council tax (inc water as I'm in Scotland)
Holiday
Savings

Misc stuff to note...
* Loose change fund (anything that hits my purse 5p or under gets moved to this rather than spent - usually from my grocery budget)
* £2 fund (any £2 coin that hits my purse etc - usually from my grocery budget)

Oh and currently my £4k budget for 2009 is running at just over £5k :eek: and thats only for me :eek: ... I think I need lots of frugal costcutting of budget before 2009 begins or some serious cost neutralising of various catagories My grocery budget needs serious pruning too!

I've also set up a what I have in the house/at work to eat spreadsheet and meal planned my next 2 weeks ... now I just need to stick to it!! :rotfl: Its amazing just how much stuff I actually have in the house when I thought I had hardly anything in :rolleyes: Hmmmmm anyone know what to do with 12 cans of chopped tomatoes?? If I stick to it (famous last words :rolleyes:) I may still make this months Grocery challenge even if I'm about 40 pages behind on the thread :rotfl:

Jumble-bee - impressive budgeting!! You may want to spread out your 5 weeks worth of work though or you'll start having to pay NI on it (unless you want to pay this) :cool:

Skint Lynne - good luck with your interview!

Skint_Lynne

Taka,

Where abouts are you in Scotland, a general area will do if you don't want to reveal. I'm in the Glasgow area.

SL x

Brighton_belle

taka wrote: »

Hi all :hello:

I seem to have spent my day off today playing with spreadsheets instead of doing my much needed housework I haven't even unpacked my shiny new hoover yet :rolleyes:

Haha, taka, I seem to have spent half the day doing the same thing: your list looks good and very similar to mine . Do you feel you have a much better idea now of what you are working towards - I certainly do, both within the challenge and the bits outside of it. Feels good, if scary, but with the way things are going, I really needed to do this.
We have £22 for the rest of the month's grocery challenge:eek: . This should just be for veg, fruit & eggs.
My challenge list crosses between items just for me, or me & OH and sometime for a household of 4 adults.
Oh, and good luck SL for tomorrow:T

sophiesmum_2

Hi Frunchkins,
Spent today whizzing from one place to another dealing with paperwork and beaurocracy:rolleyes:,We still have the funeral directors to deal with tomorrow ,wonder if they have any ferrari red coffins?:rolleyes: , Andrew would have loved that:p We have already ordered a formula one car flower arrangement from us all, he didn't like flowers much but loved F1;)
We have also been planning the service, music, etc - there is such a lot to think about in such a short time. One of my other brothers is making a huge memory board with literally hundreds of photos of Andrew on it, we have been rummaging through the loft etc to dig them all out, from when he was small to now, I don't think we found any photos where he wasn't laughing or pulling a silly face, and there are pictures of him with everyone including his carers, and people at his centre, friends, relatives, babies,Nigel Mansell, even the cat and Mickey Mouse:D It will be a visible reminder to everyone of the Andrew we all knew before he became ill.We are also planning to circulate some notebooks around the reception so people can write their memories of him or personal messages. It will probably be the first and last time that people from all different spheres of his life will all be together at the same time.
I have volunteered to do a little talk about him at the church but every time I try and get something on paper my mind goes blank- I will probably end up ad libbing on the day:eek:

Tomorrow I need to go into town with mum while we both buy something to wear on the day, will probably go with the usual sort of thing -but can just imagine him, game for a laugh as always, willing us all to go in fancy dress costumes:rotfl:
Will make a dent in the budget though no doubt, and the flowers, and donation to Marie Curie,clothes for DD and DS and all the other stuff that comes around - Not including any of it in my challenge though;)

Frugaldom

Good luck with interview Skint Lynne! I'm planning a trip to visit relatives soon, they stay about 15-20 miles outside Glasgow so I'll not be too far away from you

Taka - I got a bathroom suite from freecycle and there's another one on the Lanarkshire list this week (I listed in 3 counties).

Brighton belle - I also do the £2 savings and the loose change in a sealed pot, it's amazing how exciting receiving a £2 coin is these days! I've spent mine on the garden and from now on they are going into savings pot for a house.

tori4

Hi there

Really like the idea and this coming new yr I think we will only have £4k to live on if we are lucky.

So can someone explain in the simplest way poss what we do?

I did look at part 1 but was v late and had already been budgeting etc most of the evening.

We are a family of 4 Mum Dad two children. Dad is full time working and Iam self empolyed childminder just started so now wage yet. We have a little from the tax credits, but a lot of DD inc morgagte.

My big concern is gas and electricty how do u cover this and food in the £4k let alone petrol, gifts,hols, etc.

Hopeing to become a new challenger with your help please.

Tori
Pround mum of two

taka

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

Taka,

Where abouts are you in Scotland, a general area will do if you don't want to reveal. I'm in the Glasgow area.

SL x

I'm in Edinburgh :hello:

Hi tori and kerron :hello: I'll be including/excluding what is listed a couple of posts up. I think this is similar to a lot of people in this challenge. I'd have a look at the last 10 pages or so as many people have recently posted their lists too

Mollymop5

Evening everyone.Just as i predicted my third letter arrived today offering me agin a reduced full anfd final settlement of £150.I'm still saving but keeping up to date with the other thread to see what's happening before I part with my money.Oh to be nearly debt free though now instead of another ........... well a very long time that's for sure lol.

whitewing

Sophiesmum, best of luck withe all the arrangements. If you can write out the eulogy it is great for sending to people who are unable to attend. After my grandparents passed away, we must have printed off 50 copies.

Good luck with the interview SL.

Mollymop, good luck with saving.

I've just had to write a letter that I've been putting off. Got another one to do that I've been putting off. Both responding to Friday's post. But I did get a fabulous thank you letter from an long-ago customer of mine, which has made my day. You can't buy that feeling.

DH gets paid tomorrow. Hmmm. He'll want to buy food (we have very little). I want to buy Xmas presents. I guess food is more important.

Janey, I should have been working this afternoon but instead I sat out in the sun. Didn't even need a jumper! (Sorry to rub it in).

Brighton_belle

tori4 wrote: »

Hi there
Really like the idea and this coming new yr I think we will only have £4k to live on if we are lucky.
So can someone explain in the simplest way poss what we do?

Hi tori4, this is what you roughly include but also read taka above and as she suggests, perhaps the last few pages as people have been posting in prep for next year. Most of all - don't feel overwhelmed, take this a step at a time if you need to. I started by joining the grocery challenge and then have gradually followed this thread for 2 months before getting to grips with it, and loads more to do yet:
Included: the essentials over which you have some control:
food
toiletries
cleaning & laundry products
essential hsehold repairs/maintainance
essential clothes
gifts
transport - but not work related costs
tv/internet/mobile
gas/elec/b. & contents ins.

Not included: considered luxeries (i.e what ever you can save by keeping the above within £4,000 can be spent however you choose):
books
house decoration
work related costs(clothes/car etc)
unessential clothes
holidays
hobbies
entertainment
Also not included:
mtg/rent/pension
c. tax
water rates
debt payments

Haha, Nyk - it wasn't me that listed re the £2 coin club or loose change, it was taka, however I have this ridiculous sense that this is 'a sign' (cue spooky music)I have to follow this path:rotfl: . Ho hum, there goes my change, kerching!! Just unearthed a couple of 'beach hut' saving boxes my bro gave me a few years ago.
I have set up my paypal amazon sales income to go straight into a separate saving account so am using that to save for hobbies. I'll pay for P&P out of my general income so the saving income will include profit & Amazon postage allocation.