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

bails

:rotfl:at the ads! Warmest thing in my house is the cats, why do you think I've got four of them?
Recent frugal activity:

• brought all the goodies home from the hotel, including a loofah and choc chip cookies
• had 8 inches cut off my hair so less shampoo/conditioner needed now
• just printed out Ask voucher for meal today with friends
• cuddling aforementioned cats for warmth (it's bloomin' freezing after being in other people's heated hotels/cottages/houses for a few days!)
• I'm wearing a woolly bobble hat, indoors :rotfl:

(we'll gloss over the fact that we went out for what we thought was a cheap pub meal the night before the wedding...and it was £70!!! :eek: Good job I'd saved a lot extra for the wedding as we spent the lot! I had been hoping my £1000 challenge would benefit...)
I have lots of things on the Half Term list, one of those is relooking at my 2009 budget and actually trying to make a sensible one.:D
In other news, OH and I have been talking about our plans to (hopefully) start a family and while this is great, the financial situation around this is daunting. I'd always assumed I'd have a job and therefore get maternity pay but it seems I won't be able to get anything with my current prognosis :rolleyes: Still, we're used to living on very little and my cunning plan is for my brother to start first and then steal all his baby stuff :rotfl:
In still other news, OH was very nearly knocked off his bike this morning by a woman turning across his path and 'not seeing him' :mad: The boy isn't fazed easily and was pretty shook up so it must've been very close indeed! His bike is bent but she did give him her phone number at least. These things remind us what's important eh?

cw18

Thanks for the feedback Nyk

When I was on PAYG, I did tend to use the credit in the 3-4 months between top-ups (while being sure I kept about a fiver on it for emergencies such as car break downs). I was on the O2 online version, and currently plan to go back onto the same as the SIM is still active - though it means younger DS will have to consider getting himself a SIM if I take it back :rolleyes2

In the month following top-up I never used all the free texts (shame they can't be carried over), so I replied to texts from DD (and elder DS, though I don't expect many from him now as he's posted in Germany) as soon as I got them. In the following months I only texted her back if really essential. She's on contract with free minutes to anyone ATM (and has been for years), so if I needed to speak to her when I was out and about I 'pranked' her and she called me back -- but I often make quick calls home to say I'll be longer than planned, or to check if what I've seen on special offer is something DH or DS fancies (it's not a bargain if no-one uses it, DH has forever changing taste buds thanks to chemo/radiotherapy, and I forget which flavours of things DS likes!!)

Have saved my budget post into a Word document so I can't lose it, so I guess I'm now all signed up for 2009 :eek:

Marru

I just got a letter from DVLA. My car is now MINE!!!!! I am going to splash out and get it fully valeted. As it happens just today I got a brochure from mobile valeting company.

Bails - lovely to have you back!! Let me know when you have recovered from your weekend and I shall drop to catch up with you if that is ok.

Went to college this morning and couldn't work there as they were updating the comps but didn't leave before raiding the library . So am at home now getting organised for serious studying with the aid of cheese twists and chocolate .

cw - very impressive number crunching! :T

Catch up soon...

Marru

cw18

Brighton_belle wrote: »

cw: looks like you have put a lot of work into your figures and you've done really well:T . And you are right -your mobiles are a complete necessity. Given your circs - do all in your circle really 'expect' xmas pressies'? I know it is nice to give something but with friends I only give (small) birthday gifts, so their day is special, wheres as xmas I see as a differnt thing altogether, and only get small things for the family members we will see on the day and don't give to friends(and we've all been relieved to stop swapping them: we'd rather just meet up and have a coffee together). It's not just the money, but the pressure of it all I find too draining. I've given up on xmas cards except for elderly relatives.
Children are the exception to the rule and always get something for both.

I doubt the adults will "expect" anything, but I do like to give -- even if it's only a token. I'm hoping to make several of them (as well as all my cards) as I'm a paper-crafter with enough "stash" to last me well into retirement (which is currently about 25 years to state pension!) But if time conspires against me (if DH gets worse and I need more time for him and the house, thereby eating into my crafting time) then I will be on the look-out for cheap items to wrap that will have to come out of the 'everything else' kitty.

• I know my SIL will appreciate a selection of hand-made cards she can then give to people (she's on long term IB herself, so would also help stretch her money) - so that's her b'day sorted
• BIL is more difficult, but I'm guessing male-orientated cards would do for him to give his mates (on DLA and unable to work since being knocked off his motorbike a few years back) - probably for Christmas, as we've often missed his b'day in the past (he doesn't bother with ours either)
• Can't make 'card packs' for my parents (Mum also papercrafts) or bro' & wife (her mother makes their cards), but my parents would probably appreciate an album with pics of my GDs. I'm also hoping to get hold of a marrow next year (couldn't find one anywhere this year!) to make some marrow chutney which I love -- and I know my Dad would appreciate some of that too (and home made pickled onions). My brother would probably also appreciate the pickles, so that's Christmas sorted for the menfolk and possibly my Mum.
• My "kids" (by January they'll be just turned 25, almost 20 and 17.5) fully understand money is tight -- but I will find money for something for them.
• My nephews (2 of, currently 4 and 2) only get about a fiver each now, and I've cut back on my GDs this year (about £100 each for Christmas 2006, probably £50 each last year, and down to about £25-30 this year)

I'm also planning on making 2010 calendars as Christmas presents for SIL, my parents and DD. As I'm going to be seeing my GDs on a more regular basis during school term times, from January 2009 the plan is to take a photo of them each month doing/wearing something as relevant for the month as possible. These will then be used to make up large calendars (I already have the undated blank calendars and all the papers with the months etc. printed on them), so that in Jan 2010 the recipients will be looking at pics of the girls from Jan 2009 etc. Thought this would be especially good for DD, as it means she can easily compare how they've changed in 12 months :T

I'm actually hoping the "everything else" kitty remains pretty much untouched -- although I'm finding all the walking to/from shops looking for bargains means I'm getting through footwear faster than I used to when I was stuck in an office all day. Wouldn't be surprised to find I need to spend £100+ there, as I have wide feet and have to watch styles/heights due to back problems

Skint_Lynne

Good morning,

Well, I've got my notebook ready to record any spends I have, but so far, a NSD. I'll have lunch shortly, it's been not too bad this morning, so hopefully, it will keep up. I'm just catching wup with my brother on the news, it's halloween on Friday, so the wee one is dressing as a devil, and he will be 1 year old a week today, he is soooooo cute.

I looked out what I had present wise for Christmas last night, so I'm doing not too badly, I'll just need to figure out what to buy for the ones I've not got anything for.

I think I'll do a load of hampers next year, especially for the girls in the family. These will be fun to do. I also fancy trying to learn to knit, I would like to do an arran cardigan for the wee fella, but I think these are complicated, I'll think about it.

Have a good day everyone,

SL x

Brighton_belle

cw - sounds like you are totally sorted with regards pressies:T . Some great ideas there and I do agree, there is pleasure in giving a little something. It's just so many folks seems to tie them selves up in knots with some weird obligation to spend £50/£100 per person regardless and it is truely beyond my understanding. Even £20pp would cripple me. And also, all my family have at least 5x my income and have so much. But it is nice to be part of the pressie exchange when we are all together on xmas day so I'll be making this year. Better get on with soon.
Pub meal sounds a killer bails - I image in was a 'split the bill equally' deal and no one else considering your circs:mad: . Still, not as costly as what you probably had to spend on tissues:D & great you had a lovely time over all.

thriftylass

Oh, I grew impatient . I said I’d wait with outlining a budget till the end of my first one or two month test running this challenge. But I couldn’t. I had 3 weeks worth of spending notes including bills etc. that gave me a good idea where my money is going. I feel like I improved a bit on groceries etc but overall I think it was a realistic representation of my spending over the last couple of months. Scary…:eek:

So my budget (will test it in Nov/Dec) is as follows (kept it really simple, just three groups)

£2000 yr/~£166 month food and household for two adults, incl pet food and the odd milk or bread from corner shop if I ran out - kept roughly as it is now

£1500 yr/~£125 month my share of bills (~£900/£75 leccy-£40, storage-£27 and pet insurance-£7) and essentials (~£600/£50 for unavoidables, like pressies or visiting friends and flying home, stuff for computer, fuel in case I get to use the car, christmas dinners, mobile phone) - reduced by about 30%

£1000 yr/~£83 month unessentials (like going out for meals, pub, little treats like a coffee in town, cinema, clothes) - halved compared to current spending

total £4500 yr/~£391 month

Some still sound a lot, like the unessentials, but if I consider I used to spend about £175 on unessentials (half of that on smokes and the pub), to halve that amount sounds realistic, doesn’t it? For various reasons I won’t be going out much and I stopped smoking. So that should help. The budget means I would actually reduce my monthly spending by 30-40% in total. I’ll probably break “official rules” because I won’t include holidays (but I included trips home), because that new budget would allow me so save loads which I could then use for holidays and long term saving :T . Also not included is the monthly contribution that goes to my BF, but that covers mortgage and council tax anyway. We share all other bills according to earnings and I listed my share above, so bills are included.

So that’s the current plan. I’ll see how it goes over the next two months. If I can manage that with Christmas and a holiday coming up, next year should be a breeze .

cw18

thriftylass wrote: »

We share all other bills according to earnings......

I'm so pleased to see someone else does it this way :T

When DH and I both worked I did exactly the same -- add up all the outgoings, deduct child benefit and CTC, then split the rest according to basic wages of the two of us (though we did each pay our own mot, servicing, road tax and diesel bills).

My friends thought I was nuts not to take more off DH (he earned about 2/3 of what I did), and his friends thought I was cruel not to split the 'free' money exactly in half!!

With overtime/bonuses etc, we clubbed together for the kids birthdays/christmas or any work needed on the house, and I paid for the accomodation on holiday while he provided the holiday spending money (with one exception all family holidays were in the UK while we both worked, so balanced out pretty much as if I'd accounted for them in the budget).

Frugaldom

Budget looks good, thriftylass, well done on the quitting smoking and the general reductions in overheads. :j

We are now all official for the housemove - just back from completing the lease, so it's all signed and only thng to wait for now is confirmation that the deposit has arrived in bank and then we get the keys by the 7th November!

Whilst in town, we popped into the hardwear store where I managed to get a cheap thermometer so I can keep checks on how things are here. I work in livingroom as it's the warmest room in the house now the storage heater is on but it's dropped to 15C just in the past half hour. I've made the rash decision to attempt to heat the place to what the Government says is the legal minimum for office workers (16C) but think it'll be impossible, as the storafe heater loses heat all day until it gets boosted after 11pm. This could be a challenge in itself! I'm off to see what the temperature is in the hallway, kitchen and bedrooms now, as it's looking impossible to achieve and maintain 16C using only storage heaters on E7 electricity. :think:

PS: O added the £2.60 for the thermometer into my 'everything else' budget and it's in signature

whitewing

I'm happy but had a frustrating day as I don't seem to be able to communicate with anyone properly (they are either ignoring me, bothering me, doing a million fraud checks or trying to flog me stuff rather than answer my query. Grr. Still cross with Lloyds TSB. Every month I send money abroad. They rejected it again. So I phoned up and - loads of hassle later - they decided that I should use their system to send money abroad. No. So they they said they had a credit card right there for me that I could use rather than my debit card. No. Stop trying to flog me stuff and resolve the issue I have. The issue being that it comes up for fraud checking and even after I confirm it was me it still doesn't go through).

Anyway, went to the doctors about the weight loss and am okay to get going. She weighed me and my scales seem to match theirs (depressing when theirs weigh heavier). So I am going to start stockpiling my additional weight soon. Logic tells me to stockpile tins of fruit and veg or soup. I want to stockpile flour as it's easier to visualise a nine-and-a-half stone woman covered in additional layers of flour. But I worry about weevils.

Took DS to the oral hygienist as his brushing skills aren't the best. She scared him with plenty of photos of yukky mouths; then gave him a free toothbrush and toothpaste which pleased him immensely. I sat in on that and was much more motivated to not eat sugary food as a result. So I've bought disclosing tablets for us all to use daily on the basis that if it takes ages to get rid if the stains then we'll be too lazy to eat unhealthily!

Talking of isa's. Thicko question coming up. With the current economic situation I am uneasy with overpaying the mortgage as I was doing in case I need emergency money. (Mortgage rate is higher than isa rate unfortunately). I decided that I will start saving to isas instead (assuming DH and I can have one cash isa each; not savvy enough for stocks/shares bit). I understand that you can't replace withdrawals. If I set an isa for this tax year and saved the full amount, and then did one next tax year and filled it by Aug 09, then needed to withdraw £1000 in Sept 2009, what happens? Does this mean I can't then replace that £1000 in Feb 2010?

(This is all a pipe dream anyway at the moment, in the same league as being skinny!)