Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

whitewing

Another question as I am busy trying to work out my budget.

I know we can only spend what we actually have, so won't be going overdrawn or anything. In terms of the holiday itself, what do you reckon is a reasonable amount of spending money for each day, so that we can have fun (it's my first proper holiday for 6 years) but not go mad. There are 2 adults and an 11 year old boy.

The cottage is paid for, and fuel costs down will not be included. But it will have to cover: food (self-catering), fuel if we need to top up, entry into attractions, ice creams etc.

We want to go to attractions we feel like, rather than having to restrict ourselves to national trust places etc. Been to Eden Project, so not worried about that again at the mo (but it was great).

Cottage we are staying in has plentiful supply of books, DVDs etc if weather's not great. Am thinking 1 day out and about, followed by 1 day relaxing near the cottage (sorting out wedding stuff as some needs to be done down there). We may have the odd evening meal out, but to be honest, Tesco Finest or M&S food is a huge treat to us these days, so we'll probably dine in the cottage garden most of the time! Can you tell I'm really excited.

I also know that some people reading this will be in a very different financial situation to us at the moment, and I just hope I am not making anyone feel bad with my posts. I spent many years as a single mum with no money sense, and no fella, and I'm having a small amount of 'making up for it' before I get sensible again

Janey51

whitewing your posts have really cheered me up. Its so nice to get caught up in the excitement of planning for a wedding/holiday. I think that, if I had had daughters instead of sons, I would have driven them mad when it came to weddings

I can't offer any advice about how much to budget when you have kids. When DH and I went to Devon at the beginning of the year, we allowed ourselves £30 a day for everything. Breakfast was included in our accommodation costs so that money was for meals, snacks, ice-creams, cream teas , entry fees etc. I had already got a good deal with Cashback for National Trust membership.
One of the best afternoons we spent was at the Gnome Sanctuary . I hate gnomes but it was an absolutely hilarious afternoon and DH's mobile has a photo of me complete with gnome hat. I have now started using his phone as I have never had one and it makes me smile/cry everytime I use it.
Thanks for ideas about nibbleys :T

sophiesmum very impressed with the garden and your produce. My greenhouse is now finally constructed. Watching the 2 friends of DH constructing it again and again and again :rolleyes: :rotfl: kept me entertained.
DH was going to have an electric supply laid to the greenhouse but I don't think I will be going ahead with that now as I will have to watch the pennies even more. So I will be looking to see what a cold greenhouse can help me grow. I eat so little (and even less since DH's death) that I don't want to end up with loads of stuff I can't eat. I have all the seeds/compost etc I need so it seems a shame to waste it and I love to watch things grow.
Its very therapeutic to see new life popping up as the seeds come through. Makes you realise how wonderful Mother Nature is.Even if she boobed by taking DH when I wasn't quite ready for that move on her part.

Sun is beating down so I am going to put the duvets out on the washing line to get some fresh air. Any tips to stop them being christened by low flying house martins :rotfl:

Frugaldom

Beautiful, sunny and extremely hot here, so washing's out, doors lying open, windows open and all I need now is to get chased upstairs by some horrid wasp - there's always one to spoil the thought of relaxing outside! :rotfl:

Sophiesmum, I love your garden ideas and will copy them for next year - it'll be pots, raised beds, netting and any other contraption anyone can think of to fend off slugs, snails, greenfly and cats.

I now have a wasp-looking thing slicing off chunks of the strawberry leaves and carrying them away to stuff in a hole in the coal bunker - must Google 'waspy thing chopping leaves' to find out what it is and how it nests in case it's something that could sting DGD (or me, for that matter!) Getting paranoid now in case the entire interior of the coal bunker is some sore of wasp nest but there's no buzzing coming from it and only one buzzy thing seems to be flying between it and the strawberries.

Whitewing, you have every right to worry about whatever you want and your situation isn't unusual. After ex & I split up it took me about 3 years to square up finances and get something into the bank, by which time DD was expecting, so all of the savings were used to help furnish a flat for them. 4 years on and I've saved a bit again, just in time for DD's 21st/engagement followed, next year, by her wedding, followed by DS's 21st the following year. It is never-ending and, having been in dire straits in the past, I think we are all wary of spending any cash, at all, on ourselves. But it's your wedding... so that makes a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference. You could do worse than treat yourselves to a National Trust annual family membership this week and it should be here in time for next. It could even be a wedding gift. Then your spends are just normal cost of living + holiday 'blow-out' fund. I wouldn't be able to guess a daily spend, so I'd have just that - a blow out fund that once it's gone, it's gone. Can you use a cashback credit card?

Janey - from my experience, the only thing that would stop the low-flying Martins, Swifts & Swallows from targeting the washing would be a drying line inside a poly tunnel that's sealed at both ends. Then you only need to worry about shaking out all the midges before taking them back indoors to get eaten alive. :rotfl:

Landlords have not been in contact, so I need to go chase them up and find out what the heck is going on - knowing whether or not we have a safe roof over our head is kind of important to me! :mad:

PS: I feel like the voiceover on Big Brother every time I update the day of the year and days remaining! It's deeeee 210 in the big frugalbrother house, frugalmates from hell are in the garden, drooling over the tomatoes. Frugalmates from heaven are in the kitchen, baking bread. Big FrugalBrother has set the next challenge. 12 frugalmates must live for a full year in the Big Frugalbrother household for one full year with a budget of £12,000. They must grow their own summer veggies, bake their own bread, cakes and scones and entertain themselves without TV, telephones, Internet, books or magazines... Anyone up for this? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Frugaldom

Sorry, I'm back again because I couldn't help laughing at something... I thought it was a great idea having live salad baskets, but if I grew leeks, carrots and onions in one pot, could I call it my soup pot?? :rotfl:

Thanks Sophiesmum, I never thought of leeky pots before now, it's a brilliant idea. :rotfl: :j :T

DdraigGoch

How lovely to hear you again, Janey :j As to the housemartin problem? Turn off Radio 2 ... :rotfl: sorry, bad joke ... seriously - designate 2 sheets for House Martin Duty and peg them above the duvets, sort of sacraficial poo sheets :rotfl: Works for me, and my washing line is under two huge trees.

dfw844

nykmedia wrote: »

It's deeeee 210 in the big frugalbrother house, frugalmates from hell are in the garden, drooling over the tomatoes.

You cracked me up with this! I read it all in my head, in the style of the voiceover guy. It's deeeee 210 :rotfl:

lingojingo

nykmedia wrote: »

PS: I feel like the voiceover on Big Brother every time I update the day of the year and days remaining! It's deeeee 210 in the big frugalbrother house, frugalmates from hell are in the garden, drooling over the tomatoes. Frugalmates from heaven are in the kitchen, baking bread. Big FrugalBrother has set the next challenge. 12 frugalmates must live for a full year in the Big Frugalbrother household for one full year with a budget of £12,000. They must grow their own summer veggies, bake their own bread, cakes and scones and entertain themselves without TV, telephones, Internet, books or magazines... Anyone up for this? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Yes, me! Hardly got room to swing a cat in my garden (not that I'd ever want to:eek:) but inspired by leeky pots and all sorts of other potty ideas, determined to grow some stuff next year.
Collaborating with fellow frugallers sounds a great idea and we'd have no worries about where to live! I'll probably have to move once DD goes to uni next year, as ex OH wants his share of equity in the house then and I can't afford to buy him out (nor he me), but 1/2 a house doesn't buy a whole one elsewhere!

EagerLearner

1274 wrote: »

Food shopping - Average spend is £112 per month and budget is £100, so I need to trim a little fat. I don't have a full size kitchen so, although I do cook, it's mostly stove top stuff like spag bol. No garden so my salad and fruit spends are a lot too. Any tips for stovetop cooking?

Going out - I still haven't figured out a way to cut this down. Go out around once per week and it's £30 odd every time for a pub visit and a cheap meal like pizza. I have used vouchers a couple of times, but have not told my friends about MSE so we don't specially go to the voucher places. How do the rest of you go out (adults not kids) on a budget?

Going a bit crazy - occasionally (well, three times since Jan ) I go a bit mad with the unnecessary spending on wants not needs. I think it's just the stress of living on a budget. Don't know how to cut this out because it's not at all planned

1274 - I am not officially on the challenge but reading with interest as we want to keep cutting down where we can. We have no kids or animals and spend roughly £120 a month on food shopping. We then have a rough allowance of 200 each for personal spend. I have told friends about MSE and over the past 2 years they have started to do the odd MSE thing as well now, so I don't feel bad at all. I go to YoSushi with friends whenever they have an offer on, or Pizza Express whenever we have a BOGOF offer there etc etc. We share free cinema previews etc too.

I also found the more I saved, the happier I felt - the home we want is closer to being achieved and I don't feel wasteful so much these days. I work full time and then on top I work self-employed a few nights, but I squeeze in home cooking on the weekend. Maybe it would help you to designate certain nights for certain things? Like Wednesday - meet friends and try to meet at a place I have a voucher for... I bet they will appreciate it in these credit crunch times. Re the shopping, not all Value items are that bad. Tinned tomatoes, flour, tinned kidney beans, stock cubes etc are all fine I find and saves quite a bit. There are lots of threads on MSE about vouchers to get online discounts at Tesco, ASDA etc - we save a lot by buying in bulk online and then the weekly shop is less. I try to get fuit and veg at the local shops rather than the supermarkets. Start a Price Book and you will see what I mean - just search MSE and Google for ideas, but it's essentially a way of tracking prices to make sure you always get the best. I would say that in 6 weeks of usage we have saved at least £25 by doing this :T

See my siggy for a budget spreadsheet - may help a bit? Try to get addicted to saving rather than seeing spending as something you *need* to do to feel happy If you are patient, it may also be worth doing Daily Clicks which pay you money for your time - PM me if you want more info but you do need to be determined. It can earn good money though.

Good luck to everyone on the challenge - maybe next year I will join in too!

Marru

nykmedia wrote: »

12 frugalmates must live for a full year in the Big Frugalbrother household for one full year with a budget of £12,000. They must grow their own summer veggies, bake their own bread, cakes and scones and entertain themselves without TV, telephones, Internet, books or magazines... Anyone up for this? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I am in if Sophiesmum is cooking :rotfl:I can help with the weeding...

Yes Bails - I am doing it - just popped here while eating my lunch...

Thanks Sophiesmum - my exercise regime and NCD's are going well. First week over target - 2 kg loss instead of targeted half kg. :T (I had to go and get my glasses to be really sure )

Off now or Bails will rush here to wave her whip....

bails

Ooh, it's been lovely catching up on the thread this afternoon :j Great to see a little of the old Janey poking her head out and I was in fits at the idea of sacrifical poo sheets DdraigGoch :rotfl:
Thanks for the photos Sophiesmum, great ideas for next year. I realise that I have grown my stuff far too 'by the book' (not that I've read a single gardening book ) and could afford to plant things much closer together (like your leeks). My original theory with the veg was to grow predominantly what OH likes/more expensive things, hence why I have a whole bed of broccoli! Neither of us really ate tomatoes (I couldn't/OH didn't like them) but now we both do I'll definitely borrow the hanging basket idea for next year. My raised beds and greenhouse came quite late on so I'm behind with everything but still hopeful of some crop. I'm waiting for OH to fix a second slug fence around the spinach bed and then I'll replant some lettuce (they've been eaten 3 times so far :rolleyes:). We have what I assume must be quite a mature apple tree already with lots of apples on - quite a few seem to be falling off early though, is there anything useful I can do with them? Need to ask the previous owner what type of apples they are too. I got far more redcurrants than anticipated yesterday and only a few blackcurrants (we moved the blackcurrant so I think this is why) and would like to do something with them...? And the best thing was that yesterday on our walk, the balckberries are miles off yet but I did stumble across some wild raspberries :j(wild as in not in anyone's garden) so we picked them! Could I take a cutting/section of this plant and put in my own garden, and how would I do that?
I could really relate to what Janey said about enjoying watching things grow, I get FAR too excited seeing my little seeds sprout and then turn into big plants :T

Whitewing I'm sure you haven't offended anyone and rightly deserve to be having a wonderful time on your weddingmoon. I wouldn't know a budget to set either but as Nyk says you must have a total figure of what you can afford so go from there.

As for cutting down on things 1274, I think being more frugal goes in stages - you get to point and you think 'there's no way I can cut back any more', you stay at that level for a time and then (especially with all the inspiration on MSE) you start seeing even more ways you can cut down. With the going out, what about going round to each other's houses, taking it in turns to cook. My brother's friends have a Thursday club where they all do this - they're quite a few of them so they probably only host it once every 3 months, they do the food, everyone brings wine and has a great time together, but for a fraction of the cost. Blowouts are a little trickier, as you say they're unplanned - have a think about when they happened and why and see if you can be aware of the trigger and then plan to do something else when you feel the urge coming on.
Marru and I had a surprisingly stressfree morning and she has now gone off to complete her jobs, ready to report back this afternoon I'm off to hang my washing out and then get my head down for a bit so have a fab afternoon everyone x