Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

Skint_Lynne

whitewing wrote: »

SL, I measure everything in terms of monthly grocery spend now. Even takeaways seem expensive. Got to have a life though.

Night, all!

I know Whitewing,

I've seen that some people are feeding families on less than that in a month though, and we are polishing it off in one sitting. As my dad says (he does not go out to eat as he says it is a rip off), beans and toast does the same job. I have never thought of it that way until recently. My family are very much outside eating types of people, I need to try and get out the habit and when I do go out to eat, then it will be a real treat.

You have got to live as well, but I am really looking forward to my challenge and seeing if I can manage it. I would be chuffed if I came in under the 4K.

SL x

sophiesmum_2

Brighton_belle wrote: »

:rotfl:
Janey - that is wonderful news about your mother:T . So relieved for you both.
Phew, tonight I have made: a carrot cake, a flapjack,(one on top of the other in the remoska) a huge pot of sweet potato soup, a very large cottage pie currently in the remoska, (2 portions to freeze),ice cream (will need whisking agin before final freeze over night), more HM yoghurt, and I have a loaf of no knead bread waiting to fill the remoska after dinner has been served. Oh, and boiled some eggs for tomorrow's picnic.:j . Am now having a well deserved sit down.
And frugalisingly, I walked home from work, rather than caught the bus (not always an option) and haven't spent a bean:D . It's going to be hard pushing through to wed 1st not spending anything or buying anymore food, but I know I am going to do it: this challenge is really helping so much: before I would have got through another £20-30 before the 1st of the month.
Any money left in my bank account by the eve of the 30th I will tansfer direct to my savings account:j .

Hi BB (and everyone else)

I had a lovely surprise yesterday - my mum gave me £150 worth of lakeland vouchers as a thankyou for helping her nurse Andrew. I had already dismissed the idea of a remoska as I couldn't justify the expense but think it took about three nano seconds to decide to buy one with the vouchers:p . My grand remoska, spare pan, rack and recipe book are now on the way:j , I also managed to spend another £30 on bits and pieces from the catalogue,:o I did manage to split the order into two lots though , got free postage x 2 and two free gifts Can't wait for it to arrive now:j

It was a spending day for me yesterday. I met a friend in town and bought shoes for work £12.99, a plastic scoop for my flour £1.49, a pressie for a little friend £5, and frittered another £10 on "stuff". So overall managed to spend around £59.50 yesterday :eek: :eek: and the £150 worth of vouchers . No wonder i can't sleep:rotfl: :rotfl:

bails

Marru wrote: »

I have spent half the night in tooth ache and worrying about my finances. I can't go to the dentist until DD's CTF has been sorted so that will be one more month of sleeples nights for me.

Sorry Marru but I'm going to get my big waggy finger out - you cannot have more sleepless nights in the hope of putting money into DD's CTF. You need to go to the dentist and get it sorted so that you are well enough to be able to do all the many things in your life, which includes looking after DD. Love and care come way before money in her bank account. Don't forget that you should be eligible for support for dentistry work, just ask to fill out a form at your Dentists.
Back to catching up now...
£178 SkintLynne :eek: I can't wait til this time next year and you see how much your spending habits will have changed :T CW, I understand that you are worried about your situation and how it will work out but have faith in the 4k challenge I had to give up my well paid job and move onto benefits and I was terrified about how I would cope. It's amazing how much you can change your habits, even when you think you are frugal you can shave more off here and there, it's awesome :j We've been living on my benefits and a student loan and yet have a good quality of life (in spite of my health). You find out what's really important and value life very differently.
Two top tips that spring to mind to help with recent posts - 1) never buy something until you've tried Freecycle for it first. I'm constantly staggered by what people give away and how generous people can be, and 2) try a skillsharing scheme for those jobs you can't do yourself.
As for next year's challenge, I think I'm going to include everything except what I'm going to call 'health and wellbeing' costs. I've learnt you can't put a price on your health, and if I include it in the challenge I'll be tempted to cut corners with it That's not to say that I won't be getting the best value for money I can though, like meds at trade prices etc I've got an estimate for the year worked out but I'll review it towards the end of this challenge to be as accurate as possible.
Redglass, I'd definitely eat the lentils too, for the same reasons as you I absolutely hate wasting food when I know so many go without.

lyndasharp

Redglass, I'd have eaten the lentils too. I used to be really squeamish about bugs in my food, but since I started getting organic veg boxes I've just had to learn not to be put off by small crawly things!

I'm going to count everything except mortgage payments and house renovation money in my challenge next year. The house stuff will have it's own little pot of money so I can keep track of it separately. I'm going to get a rough estimate from Homebase today for a kitchen, but I think I'm going to end up getting it from a little local firm, who may well be slightly more expensive but also seemed much more friendly and helpful! As for MFI, I really didn't like their attitude - they wouldn't do a rough estimate at a weekend as they will only design kitchens if people are definitely buying (need to put money in the tills, ker-ching, the salesman really did say that!!!!!), I'd have to go back during the week when they were quieter (there were about 3 kitchen design people standing around doing nothing). They also said I wouldn't be able to take the plans away in case I got it estimated elsewhere.

I threatened to leave Barclaycard and managed to get 1% cashback out of them for the next 3 months. Not as much as some of Martin's recommended cashback cards, but it will be easier than applying for a new one and I've been happy with their card so far - especially with the free mp4 player and the petrol cashback!

lingojingo

lyndasharp wrote: »

As for MFI, I really didn't like their attitude - they wouldn't do a rough estimate at a weekend as they will only design kitchens if people are definitely buying (need to put money in the tills, ker-ching, the salesman really did say that!!!!!), I'd have to go back during the week when they were quieter (there were about 3 kitchen design people standing around doing nothing). They also said I wouldn't be able to take the plans away in case I got it estimated elsewhere.

Sorry to hear that Lynda, MFI here were really helpful. I got an ex display kitchen knocked down to about quarter price last November. We had to dismantle it and take it away ourselves, by a certain date when they wanted to put in a new display. If you know someone who can fit it for you that would save you a bomb. I was the labourer, as I'm not at all experienced in DIY and don't have many tools, and my friends OH did a great job of fitting it.

System

oooh i am excited cos lots of my ebay listings end today!

guess what i got at a table sale on fri? 'the money diet' plus there were biscuits that looked awfully like twinks on the baking stall, i wonder if there was another mse-r there!

Marru

Hello everybody!!!

Thanks Bails! :heart2: I have talked DD's dad on the phone about the money civilly and he is now on my side (I hope) on trying to get money in there and he is also going to ask his mum (she promised money for DD's present long time ago and it never materialised - she lives 10 hour flight away and I have never met her). I will look into getting my tooth sorted - fancy recommending a dentist?

SL - well impressed with your frugalchickness! Well done :T
Sophiesmum - I am so excited with you about the order - I think it tickles you same way as enrolling to my correspondence course tickles me.
Redglass - I would have eaten them too. I was brought up in the country where us kids ate berries from bushes and veggies straight from ground and got used to having creepy crawlies in them.

Remember that free bet that was a non runner last weekend? I got it reinstated for me and placed it yesterday and made £69.91 :j. That is 140% return on SNR bet, amazing!!! Need to do some more qualifiers today. Haven't had the courage to check my lotto ticket yet.

NEWSFLASH!!! My new piggy boy will arrive tonight!!! Just when I talked myself out of finding one this one found me. I can't wait!

And to top it all my washing is drying outside and my morning snack box for DD is working and allowing me to get some extra rest on weekend mornings.

Off now to get cracking with my task list. Catch up with you later.

Have a great day!!

Marru

Brighton_belle

sophiesmum wrote: »

My grand remoska, spare pan, rack and recipe book are now on the way:j ,

. Welcome to the fold sophiesmum:D . What some of us on the remoska forum have found is that it has encouraged us to cook far more and a greater range of (for me) cheaper food too. Something about the oven always seemed big and scary to me, without the added cost factor too:o . I also, with the example of others there, am starting to use the hob less, as I can do rice and many hobthings in the remoska with the rest of the meal.

Bails, you beat me too it with marru: Marru - if you leave your tooth, it is quite possible that within a month it will become an abcess - these are very very painful - you will have to have antibiotics and take a week off from college feeling very unwell. Bails is completely right - it's great that you are aware of your DD long term financial future, but she needs a fit happy mummy now. ANd you need to be fit to be happy for yourself and have the energy to do all you want to. I'll get off me soapbox now:D . Edit: well done Marru - brilliant idea abot the morning snack box too.

Had a mixed day yesterday. Georgeous weather, and so we combined going 15 mile out of town to collect a bookcase from a freecycler with a lovely walk and picnic. Resisted all cream teas and didn't spend a penny (things getting despatare whitewing:rotfl: )and found a fantastic source of untouched blackberries:j . However, the freecycler, despite our agreed time wasn't in. Went back an hr later and they refused to open the door despite obviously being in . Bit upsetting, as the petrol used was a big deal to us. Still, we did get a nice walk, though sadly I over did it and and today is a shatered duvet day. Have just been offered a box of tiles for my mosaic hobby on freecycle though & OH has picked up:j .
Didn't know about scottish water boing all in with C Tax Nyk, I always assumed it was becasuse it was a cost we had no control over (unless metred).
SL - the £178 bill is only relative to how many were there - if there were 20 of you I'd say that was a bargain:D . Anyway - good on you to be turning yourself around. And your right - better not to mention it to DH if it means agro - what's the point: just quietly get on with it yourself.

redglass_2

Hello everyone,
Marru, good decision as the pain from a tooth can travel up a neural 'pathway' into the side of your head and then it gets very nasty. (Been there.) Have a lovely time settling in your new piggy.
BB, I would report your thoughtless freecyclers to the moderator of your local group. That sort of thing is definitely not on!
Sophiesmum, look forward to hearing what you do with the Remoska.
SL, no of course I'm not offended! Hope I didn't make you feel too squirmy.
Jumblebee, good luck with Ebay.
To all those who would've eaten the lentils, I have now eaten the first bowlful and not yet found a beetle, but there are lots of lentils to go. If I stop posting you will know I've dropped dead with beetle poisoning.
Question: Does anyone on here have a chest freezer that they keep outside the house? I mean really outside, exposed to the weather, rather than in a garage? I would like another freezer but there's nowhere to put it except in the back yard.

Skint_Lynne

Brighton_belle wrote: »

. Welcome to the fold sophiesmum:D . What some of us on the remoska forum have found is that it has encouraged us to cook far more and a greater range of (for me) cheaper food too. Something about the oven always seemed big and scary to me, without the added cost factor too:o . I also, with the example of others there, am starting to use the hob less, as I can do rice and many hobthings in the remoska with the rest of the meal.

Bails, you beat me too it with marru: Marru - if you leave your tooth, it is quite possible that within a month it will become an abcess - these are very very painful - you will have to have antibiotics and take a week off from college feeling very unwell. Bails is completely right - it's great that you are aware of your DD long term financial future, but she needs a fit happy mummy now. ANd you need to be fit to be happy for yourself and have the energy to do all you want to. I'll get off me soapbox now:D . Edit: well done Marru - brilliant idea abot the morning snack box too.

Had a mixed day yesterday. Georgeous weather, and so we combined going 15 mile out of town to collect a bookcase from a freecycler with a lovely walk and picnic. Resisted all cream teas and didn't spend a penny (things getting despatare whitewing:rotfl: )and found a fantastic source of untouched blackberries:j . However, the freecycler, despite our agreed time wasn't in. Went back an hr later and they refused to open the door despite obviously being in . Bit upsetting, as the petrol used was a big deal to us. Still, we did get a nice walk, though sadly I over did it and and today is a shatered duvet day. Have just been offered a box of tiles for my mosaic hobby on freecycle though & OH has picked up:j .
Didn't know about scottish water boing all in with C Tax Nyk, I always assumed it was becasuse it was a cost we had no control over (unless metred).
SL - the £178 bill is only relative to how many were there - if there were 20 of you I'd say that was a bargain:D . Anyway - good on you to be turning yourself around. And your right - better not to mention it to DH if it means agro - what's the point: just quietly get on with it yourself.

BB there was 6 of us (and my baby nephew who did not have anything, his mum gave him a bottle). So it roughly worked out at £30 per head. It's not too drastic I guess, but I will need to break out of the habit. We are always eating out. Last year, the Christmas dinner was £60 per head, there was 10 of us, it came to around £700 when drinks were added, I said then that it was far too much money, so we are staying in this year, (I think). If my dad knew he would go :eek: :eek: :eek: .

I just want to change my habits and have a bit of money aside instead of scraping round all the time. I really admire Lynda for saving up a big house deposit and NYK for saving for mortgage free living. I think at the same time that if they can do it, then there's no reason why I can't change my ways and join them. It's all about the way you live, try and not waste anything. For the first time ever, I am even looking at how many units of electricity I am using. I am going to do a proper reading tomorrow for that and the gas and then go onto the i-measure site and set up an account. I'll see how that goes.

I'm going for a lie down now before I visit my in-laws.

SL x