Live on £4000 for a year - part 4 (Oct - Dec 2008)

cha97michelle

I wasn't going to post again today, but i had to share my bargain free food with you all (not literally but YKWIM).

I decided to go and try the rhyme time baby group run by the surestart centre at my local library. It's a mile away walking with a 2stone nearly 2 year old and a 19Ib 5month old in the double buggy, so i had to really motivate myself to go, but i am so glad i did.

1) free exercise - no wonder i am thinner now than before i got married 3 years ago
2) the group was free to join in with for an hours painting, singing, colouring, and a story.
3) each of my boys was given a free book, and the price tags on them say it would have cost £10 if i had paid for these
4) they had a selection of veg that the kids were shown and let play with, and they were going to chuck the lot out, when one of the ladies offered the lot to me if i wanted it. There were a few that were cut up and licked that i didn't bring but i ended up with a gravy tub with about half a dozen small onions and carrots, a parsnip, and a mini squash. I dare say i can make that into a number of portions of veg soup in my slow cooker and that will be many a lunchtime meal for myself and DS1, and maybe DS2 if his weaning continues as it is. One woman thought it should all be binned as the kids had touched it, but it all has skins on and i will wash and peel it so what is the problem?


so well worth my effort. this must be what pound woman meant by free buffets.


I spent another few pounds though, as i saw some reduced bread in Mr Som. as i walked past, and then my nextdoor neighbour came round for a cuppa and brought some cards she was selling. There was a lovely christmasy one of the church my parents got married at and we were christened at, so i had to buy it. :rolleyes:

Thank you for your support and ideas for kiddies parties. I loved the garden idea -the kids did go outside when it was his 1st birthday party last year but i can't rely on the weather, but i will write that one down in my ideas book for DS2's party next May.

Also vetinary supplies - i get my frontline from vetuk.co.uk as i have to also buy my 2 cats special prescription food for their kidneys. I find them reasonably priced, and prompt delivery. If you get on their mailing list they send you discount codes, and i stocked up when frontline was 3 for 2 earlier in the year. Hope that is helpful to someone.

I don't always post/write this much, but for some reason this challenge has got to me. A severe case of frugalitis i think.

Michelle, x

bails

A severe case indeed Michelle, well done!
I just read the 'how to beat the recession' thread but didn't learn anything (although it was good to be reminded of a couple of things)...I think they should come over here!:D
Does anyone use the '5p for a call however long' numbers? I have free calls to lots but this might help occasionally, do you have to pay to join up?

Frugaldom

cha97michelle wrote: »

...I don't always post/write this much, but for some reason this challenge has got to me. A severe case of frugalitis i think.

Michelle, x

:T :j :beer: Yeah! We got someone else addicted! :rotfl:

• No luck on free bingo today, but I'm sitting it out 'just in case'.
• Still no word about the house - guess tomorrow is going to have to be another day.
• No further contact from midnight caller asking about the laptop, shall just wait and see if payment arrives.
• Can't keep up with free clicks today, as free bingo in background is 'freezing' my computer screen and I've had to work on spreadsheets most of the day at same time.
• Going for hm lentil soup, it's been simmering in the slow cooker all afternoon and smells ready to eat now.

Brighton_belle

cw18 wrote: »

sorry, but I'm with your friends on this one..... it's the only way to get it to brew strong enough to actually taste of something other than milky water (and that's even with only a tiny dribble of skimmed milk!). My Dad will only drink tea made in a teapot, but to get it strong enough for me (and even after I pour his and then stir the bags round a bit more before pouring mine) I've discovered I actually have to use 3 bags for the 2 of us :eek:

Hahah, really cw - I hate milky weak tea too but I find 1 bag mug so strong my spoon can stand up in it:rotfl: . Anyway, the aim is to be frugal to our comfort levels, so I quite agree there is no point cutting back if you are then not going to enjoy your food or drink. That would be a complete waste.
3 more £2coins frommonthly butcher's shop:j .

cw18

Brighton_belle wrote: »

but I find 1 bag mug so strong my spoon can stand up in it:rotfl:

Is there any other way to drink it?

DawnW

I love this thread. It is really inspirational, and makes me feel as though I am not weird after all! I shall just be an observer (if you will have me) for this quarter, as I have a (very) full time job and other stressful stuff going on, and wouldn't have the time to do spreadsheets etc. However, I hope to go part time (4 days a week, which probably means 6 instead of 7:) so maybe next year I could join in properly... My aim is to pay off my mortgage, which I took on late in life (55) with my OH. I mean overpay it, so as to get rid of it early. I hate debt, and mortgages are just another debt, although interestingly, a lot of people don't think of it this way! We have been skint for most of our married lives (36 years this year - I think, lost count!) , and often in lots of debt, though I always managed to keep up payments. We have brought up 3 lovely kids, and paid for them all to go to college or uni, depending on what they wanted. We were into self sufficiency in the 70s / 80s and still cook from scratch, keep chickens (I have 3) and grow veg and fruit, though no milking goats or meat animals now.
We now have 4 grandchildren :eek: who are great fun, as I can do all the sorts of things I did with my own kids that you can't really do without a child or two in tow. The other weekend I went on a den building day at a local NT woodland place with 2 grandsons 11 and 13 and my youngest daughter and her boyfriend (auntie H. and uncle A.). I was the only one that got an axe injury - though only a scratch.

Not skint now though , as I have had well paid jobs for the last 7 years. My OH has never earned much, as he has always worked on farms, and we have brought up our kids in tied houses. We have more rights now, and the pay is better, but I worried for years about what would happen if he lost his job - at one time in the dim and distant past you could just be kicked out on the street :eek: That is why I have saved so hard to get a house, though it took me a while as I was a SAHM when the kids were small, as there was not the childcare available then, especially in rural areas. We can't live in our house at the moment, as OH's contract states that we still have to live in the tied house:mad: The house is pretty grotty but at least it is in a nice place. We rent out our house, to a family who are not very good at paying their rent :eek: but I am too soft to give them notice, unless they really start to take the p1$$ of course! I look forward to following all your adventures, and joining in every now and then if you will have me!
Dawn

Frugaldom

Hi Dawn, welcome to the frugalfun village hotspot Everyone is welcome here and we'd all love you to hang around whenever you get the chance and tell us more about those self-sufficientish 70s and 80s. (I'm a big fan of 'The Good Life' and always had livestock of some description when growing up.)

As for the debate about the teabags - even I use one bag per mug BUT, I have switched to Mr T's own saver brand costing some ridiculous 32p for 80! :rotfl:
I actually stock piled teabags in 2002/3 whilst working 'down south' , A big store near Bury St Edmunds (Roy's, if anyone stays near there) brought in a mountain of Scottish Blend teabags all with free mugs attached. Guess who had at least a dozen of those orange and blue mugs? Nobody wanted to buy Scottish Blend tea down there because it was for our soft, Scottish water. Suffolk water is pretty hard stuff. Anyway, I stockpiled and brought hundreds of teabags home with me. :rotfl: I'm sure they lasted until well into 2004 and I still have several mugs left. Now, however, I have downshifted and can't get any lower, but can still thoroughly enjoy a nice cup of tea along with my homemade hobnobs

bails

Welcome Dawn, great to have you onboard!
I use my teabags twice, even my dad does amazingly!

cw18

Nah! I tried the cheapo-cheap tea bags, and ended up having to use them 2 at a time :eek: So I went back up to the 'stores own label', and will happily sit there

I have managed to get hubby to drop from his 'nothing else comes close Nescafe' to the stores own equivalent though -- and a few months back he was with me when we needed some. As I reached for a jar of Mr T's he reached for Nescafe as it was on offer (a good one for them) -- until I pointed out the prices, when he quickly put the Nescafe back...... the biggest result being him admitting he didn't realise there was such a big difference in the price until then. He now ignores any flyers that have Nescafe on promotion, whereas it always used to get pointed out to me :T

lyndasharp

When I'm using a teapot I always do it like my Mum told me - one bag each and one for the pot!

Valuation on house has come back OK, though I haven't had the full survey report through yet. I signed up for a posh steam iron test on Bzz Agent, had to pay £20 for the iron but as I don't have one I'd have to go and get one from somewhere anyway. Also got a new microwave for £9.99 on ebay, and hopefully a bathroom sink off freecycle. Tomorrow the oven and hob ends on ebay... fingers crossed for another bargain

I had a bizarre thing in my veg box today. It's called a romanescu. It's almost too pretty to eat.... Has anyone got any ideas of what to do with it? Apart from take photos of it, I've done that already :rotfl: