Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

bails

Thanks Sophiesmum, we had a lovely time! It was 45 degrees :eek: (still 36 at 9pm!) so too hot to sit out in, even for a sunworshipper like me
Just skim read a few pages and am sending hugs out to Janey, hope the house situation resolves itself soon, Marru and Lyndasharp, and anyone else who may need one.
Welcome to any new challengers too, I'm sure you've been made to feel very welcome already.
We're in Brighton now for a few days - exhausted today so hanging out but hoping to see BB while I'm here (will text you) and may peruse some charity shops...well, it would be rude not to, eh?! Fiances will have to wait til I have my spending diary infront of me to update properly, but the holiday definitely comes under the 'luxuries' budget.
August will be for time spent in the garden attempting to get some kind of crop for my efforts and planning the next steps for work - I've come back all fired up about two different projects (local community youth work and writing my book) so hope to make some headway with both of those too.
Have a great day all, I'm off for a rest x

Marru

bails wrote: »

Fiances will have to wait

Is there something you are not telling us or is it just my lack of comprehension of foreign languages? :rotfl:

Frugaldom

bails wrote: »

...Fiances will have to wait til I have my spending diary infront of me to update properly, but the holiday definitely comes under the 'luxuries' budget...

Hi Bails, welcome back and I'm glad you enjoyed Greece but are you absolutely SURE there was no proposal??? :rotfl: A Freudian slip, perhaps? :rotfl: Enjoy Brighton

Redglass, glad you enjoyed Dublin Does the town of Lurkington adjoin Frugonia, by any chance? If so, it would make it so much easier for you just to pop in and sign the visitor book every now and again. I'm sure we can tempt you over that border somehow. :rotfl:

My frugal 5-a-day isn't going well today.
Breakfast - Cup of coffee & 2 slices toast (0)
Lunch - Pasta with hm tomato & vegetable sauce (2.5)

I've now thrown a heap of veggies into the slow cooker with chicken stock from the freezer. If I can have that ready for teatime that will be 1 portion each, then follow it with fruit & custard (1 portion each) I'll only be half a portion short.
Hmm... If I bake a small loaf with 1.5 portions of sultanas and we eat that later with our coffee, that would be today's 5-a-day complete! I just need to go get some eggs first. (Stomping off and sulking because I need to spend money today!)

whitewing

Had a very mixed week so far. DS is now on summer holidays. Should be saving on fuel but am gallivanting round the country picking up things for wedding. Got H2B's suit and am very happy with that. And the tailor gave him a free hat as a pressie (£15 worth). Need some shoes but hopefully will pick up tomorrow. Couldn't find anything for DS yet though.

Also this week have been given 2 big bunches of flowers. Beautifully bright. Mum gave us a load of plums, satsumas, peppers and a pineapple that she didn't want. And we've had lunch out at friends' twice.

However, we spent £60 on a meal out on Monday, purely because I was a grumpy so-and-so and I had really bad cravings for chips. The local chippy was shut but the pub wasn't! It was a really lovely meal but I didn't actually need 3 courses or the bottle of wine. Actually I don't regret it. I fell in love all over again.

We also had to go to town two days in a row (different towns). And rather than be frugal and take a packed lunch, we bought lunch out. We did manage a 20% discount on M&S and we downgraded to Tesco on day 2. But then we went to the Sweetie Shop for Slush Puppies and spent £5 so I could pay by card. (Frugal sin). And then I was very susceptible to window advertising so we got a Mr Bean DVD. DS was thrilled.

Ignoring the meal we have spent at least £24 on stuff we could have frugalised. I don't mind that so much, except now I have the spending bug. We have two complete weeks before we go on weddingmoon. And I am desperate to spend money on tat. I want to buy sticks of rock, a new bag, and all sorts of rubbish that I could buy on holiday anyway. I let H2B buy a 4th shirt for the wedding suit yesterday. And I would have quite happily let him spend £400 on a pair of handmade shoes he tried on when he collected his suit. In fact I was practically forcing him to. Fortunately he saw sense and refused. But I am still thinking abut getting them as a surprise. He would kill me though.

Today so far has been a no spend day. We have just been out for a walk and H2B has now gone to work.

I need to get back into frugal mindset. Because we are going shoe shopping tomorrow. I have already transferred over some money from the savings account. (I blame the MOT last week).

It's a slippery, slippery, slippery slope.......*desperate plea for help*

bails

Whitewing, STOP SPENDING NOW!! You know the quick thrill will be replaced by frustration at having wasted your money. Think about what you could do with the money instead, something that would truly improve your life with H2B and DS x
Well, I just did a scary thing - I phoned up my old school and asked to go in next week! I am dead nervous about this but I am determined to go, as I want to see everyone again (when I was signed off, it was only for 2 weeks; that was almost 3 years ago). I know there'll be some backstabbing etc but I'm trying not to care, I'm doing it for myself and hopefully the kids, so they'll understand I didn't abandon them. Tell me I'm doing the right thing someone? I'm a bag of nerves already!:eek:

Ha ha, and no, no proposals this end, it truly was a typo :rotfl:

Brighton_belle

welcome back bails:j . Can't wait to hear about the book writing project. We had your HM feta/pepper/pine nut sauce last night with pasta - so easy and totally define. I forget which forum I found it on - been a bit of a forum tart this last week.
The kids will have moved on in 3 yrs bails I should think. BUt it sounds like you need some form of resoltion to close a chapter here so if you feel the strong need to go then it a good thing to be doing.

Frugaldom

Whitewing - in response to your desperate plea for help - £400 for a pair of shoes :eek: whilst living on a frugal budget, worrying about work, paying for a wedding and thinking of having a new frugalmite? :eek: Are you mad? (Did that work?)

PS: Still not dragged myself out to buy the eggs

whitewing

Yes it's working. When I see it in red and think of it as one tenth of my challenge budget. I keep comparing it to my dress that I will never wear again, and thinking that he will wear his shoes again! As they are more expensive than our car, he probably ought to drive 'em. (Our car was a bargain and is worth slightly more than we paid). Yes, think of the shoes...think of the car...think of the shoes....think of the car.

£400 of shoes...madness! Even if they won't require insurance, MOT, tax, lol!

bails

Now you're starting to talk sense Whitewing, phew! For a minute there I thought we'd lost you to the dark side :rotfl:
The kids have moved on BB, to prison it would seem It is for me, of course, and also I hope a little for them - having spent their whole lives being abandoned I'm hoping this one time at least they'll know it wasn't anything they did. Glad you enjoyed the feta pesto, it really is yummy (part of the low GL thang too).
Right, I really must get off this thing! See you all soon x

Frugaldom

Whitewing - FOCUS! CONCENTRATE!

1. Those shoes would be absolutely hopeless in a crisis! Imagine if you had to sell something quickly to keep the bailiffs (not Bails) from the door or make a quick getaway from some place you didn't want to be... those shoes would never cut it! For starters, they'd only fit one, whereas a car of such value could possibly fit a family of 4 with accompanying suitcases.
2. Secondly, the shoes would never fetch much as secondhand items on eBay or eBid in the event OH decided he didn't want to wear them.
3. Thirdly, the wedding dress can be saved, sold or adapted into a prom gown in the event any future frugalmite be a girl! :cool:

Still trying, how are we doing? Bails, it's back over to you, I'm sure we can save her, prepare the re-sus unit, call for back-up.... :rotfl:

PS: Note to Bails - sorry your kiddies are probably in jail but have some faith. Think of them as little mice that got caught up in a bad experience - you rescued them temporarily and they are still alive and well, albeit in little cages, being looked after until they are well enough to be released back into the wild to fend for themselves safely.

PPS: Spent £15.69 so far this week - £14.99 Internet and 70p for half a dozen farm eggs. YES! I forced myself to go buy them so I could get some baking done.