Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

pennib

Nykmedia Brilliant idea I will try that next time. I think the assistant was quietly impressed;)

Sorry cant help with the steamer question. I just have the veg steamer. My son gave it too me (one of those extras that catalogue companies send out) and I though we'd never use it, but its in use most days. It's great cos you can set the timer and go away knowing that it wont boil over:T

Frugaldom

I updated previous post, Pennib, decision made, I have a new toy to play with, courtesy of the 'everything else' budget.

taka

lingojingo wrote: »

Hi Taka, my DD went to uni open day a couple of weeks ago and loved it! It's gone straight to the top of her list of places to study from next year.

:hello: I work at one of the Unis (there are 4 now I think) Its a great place to live - I love it! I did escape it for a few years to go to Uni elsewhere and work for a bit but couldn't stay away for too long. Scary house prices/rent though :eek: Feel free to PM me if you need any Edinburgh info at all!!

Nyk - can you not steam (rather than boil) your potatoes on a higher tier with the meat below? A lot of the pics of electric steamers show pots on the middle or top level

dfw844

Nyk,

You'll be pleased to hear you've got us all obsessing about electricity! Last night I had the hob on for dinner, and even though I turned it off before I finished cooking I noticed there was still loads of heat coming from it when I'd finished. So I put a pan of cold water on it. When no more heat was coming from the hob I tested the water and it was so hot! Then put it in the kettle and it contributed to my after-dinner cuppa. I poured it in the kettle and thought 'oh, it's going to go cold becuase the fabric of the kettle is cold'. And then I realised that the first bit of electricity usually just warms up the fabric of the kettle not the water, so it is the same saving anyway!

Ok, that was a very convoluted story, sorry. I'm getting a bit depressed actually. I am always broke! It's so ironic that now I am trying to 'save' for the first time instead of spend I have no money! I know it's because it's all going to the debts but I get paid tomorrow, and I already know I can only spend £110 until payday in October! That's after all bills have been met, but still, my usual budget for food alone is £120. So where am I going to find busfares, a trip to the cinema with my friend, money for the odd magazine? Am I destined to spend the next month alone in front of the TV?

I'm not going back to the credit card, because I'll only be delaying the 'pain' until next month. My only hope is £100 which validated in Quidco last week. It is saying 'payment date Sept', but it's not yet showing as Received, so it's only got a few more days if it's going to make the run at the beginning of October. Oh dear.

Anyway, that aside - Sophiesmum you are an inspiration. If only we could all be so graceful during the hard times. Your bro sounds like he was a great guy.

whitewing

4 free energy saving lightbulbs arrived today - thank you edf energy.

pennib

Pennib, well done with the discounts. Counteract their cash argument by paying by debit card and it saves them the cost of paying in cash. Or, order online via a cashback site using any discount codes you can find and paying using a cashback credit card, which saves you the cost of travelling to the place in the fist place. I've turned into a hermit!

PS: I always ask for discount on major purchases. It bamboozles the salespeople when your first question is, what's the cheapest way to pay for this? And never forget, if it's out of stock but still on display, ask for ex-display discount and take the one they have in the window or on the shelf. :cool:

Nykmedia, yes I do on-line order a lot....but somethings are too heavy and cancels out with postage, and somethings you really need to see and touch before buying. Dont mind ex-display stuff either:rotfl:
Did ask for a discount on a matteress in a local shop but as it was free delivery and it was such a bargain (was expecting to pay double, even on the net it wasnt that cheap) that I backed down. Was light-headed with the deal:rolleyes:

MrsHayes

Hi everyone hope you are all well. Ahhh the stupid internet is playing up yet again and it has taken me about half an hour to do this post!

Not much news here. Did the weekly shop last night in Lidl and Mr A. Overpsent by £5 but we have my sister and her boyfriend staying for the weekend and have to feed them too so I didn't think that was too bad. Just submitted our gas and electric readings for this quarter (I think I am going to take them monthly from now on to get a clearer picture) Gas pleasantly surprised me as it was lower than I expected but I think that is down to the new boiler. Electric dd has gone up by £2 a month although we are working very hard to get that down. Last night we had a powercut though and ended up going to bed at 10 as all we could do was sit about with candles (although it looked very pretty) Maybe we should do that more often?!

I had ordered some jumpers yesterday however after speaking to my sister she is going to bring me some from her primark at a quarter of the price so I have cancelled the order. I need some as it is definitely gettng chillier here and I have expanded somewhat since being pregnant!

NSD today apart from a curtain rail for frugalmites room (£7.20 from work) hoping for a NS week as we have to buy birthday and christening presents on Saturday and I need to put some more money aside as October is always a nightmare month monewise for us (4 birthdays, van tax and mot and big dogs jabs) Big dog was 2 yesterday bless him and my godson is 1 today so we are going to his birthday party on sunday which should be lovely. xxx

Ps. Sophiesmum I hope the funeral planing goes as well as can be expected. Thinking of you

Frugaldom

dfw844 - I think it's just a miserable, 'down' sort of a day, so don't worry about it. It's pouring rain outside yet again, I feel completely fed-up and my cashback payment is already in the bank! I have this mad compulsion to spend out of sheer boredom and frustration and am currently eyeing up this popcorn maker that I have absolutely no need for! Despite now being debt-free, I still feel no better off. I still can't afford to rent on my own, I'm no closer to being able to afford to buy a place if I look at the overall picture with brutal honesty and I've become addicted to frugal living, so can't just book a holiday to get away for a break because I now live in fear of missing a great opportunity 'because I spent X amount on whatever', IYSWIM. It's crazy! I'm convinced that the only way to lose the feeling of resentment at living like a pauper is to have the security of your own home, but then that's not secure unless there's no debt attached to it, like a mortgage... and so the saga continues until we get our next £2 coin, piece of spare change or phenomenal bargain to cheer us up a bit.

As for electricity, do you leave the oven door open afterwards to help heat the kitchen and save the excess boiled water in flasks for dishes and hot waterbottles? :rotfl:

Great news on the free lightbulbs, whitewing. e.on and Scottish Power were doing them as well - could you get another set in OH's name?

dfw844

Nyk - Your post really cheered me up, thanks! As for the popcorn maker, oh dear, I was online putting some organic toiletries into my virtual basket, but have now firmly deleted them! It's terrible isn't it. You don't need a popcorn maker! If everything goes to plan I'm going to be debt-free next year, and I'm quite worried about it to be honest. Do you honestly feel no better off now? I do 'own' my own home, but it's mortgaged so I don't really. Like you say, there's not really much security even in owning your own home if you don't own it outright.

Anyway, I feel rallied with your 'it's just one of those days' so I'm going put it down to that and just get on with something productive. I'm hoping that with my debts paid off trying to put money into a savings account will seem less stressful and give me more leeway than paying stuff back. I can't live on £110 every month!

pennib

Sorry your down in the dumps. It's the weather I'm sure, we have had very overcast and dismal giving me the hump and headaches. You usually are so positive and upbeat hopefully tomorrow you will be back to normal:A I usually bury my head in some hobby or other till the feeling passes:D (Nice hot choccy drink and biccys usually helps as well).