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

Mollymop5

Mecca gave me my bonus £10 so have played that this morning.After my initial £10 deposit is put back I am now £8.60 in pocket.so pleased I came out better off.I was prepared to loose my £10 in order to get the quidco cashback but for once I was lucky
Thanks for your help Nyk.That's my lot though.Like Foxy bingo i won't be deposititng any money.I quit whileI'm ahead.I'm no gambler lol.

It's a glorious sunny day so my rule about doing nothing is out the window and my washing is on the line so I don't need to put dryer on.got more to do.i'm really looking forward to xmas and 2009.This is usually the time I dread as I have made no financial plans.This year Iam ready for the xmas buying andon the hunt for the best deals.I know what my direct debits will be for next year and know how much I have left to spend and save.2009 Is the year my savings grow.i know it and can't wait.This thread has been great for keeping me on the straight and narrow.I've joined other threads but haven't always kept up with reading or posting.Thank you everyone on here for posting everyday.I love reading and taking tips.Ooo I'm really happy today for some reason.wonder what I can do..................

thriftylass

Hello,

I've been reading most of the previous posts in the living on 4000pounds challenge and I'm intrigued. I'd love to take part, sort of test run it til the end of this year and properly join for next year. I don't have to pay of any debt off but I want to start saving properly since I just finished my studies and paid of all my student debt which left me without any savings for a rainy day. Plus I want to show my hubby that saving pays off (he doesn't believe in it but luckily hasn't aquired any major debt but at the same time doesn't put money aside for OUR future -house, baby? etc). I'm looking forward to share money saving ideas etc. and I'll post some of mine soon.

redglass_2

Good afternoon, frugalists!
Wet and soggy here, so no allotment digging...and I was all psyched up for it...:sad: On the other hand, I used my 'polystyrene haybox' yesterday to cook a soup. It worked brilliantly - the soup had big chunks of potato in it and they were cooked right through. :j:j:j Since it's getting cold and we'll all be hugging the fire/stove/radiators and planning our frugal hot meals, I thought I'd just share some frugal tips that I found in the Tightwad Gazette:

1. If you soak dried beans and then put them in the freezer uncooked, the water inside them expands and helps break down the fibres so they cook faster when you do come to use them. Tried this with haricots and it seems to work.
2. You can also cut fuel use by defrosting the beans naturally in a steel or cast iron pan or dish. The metal is a good conductor of heat and 'equalises' temperatures faster. This also seems to work (OK, maybe not as fast as a microwave, but it's FREE!).
3. This last tip's not all that seasonal but lots of people might find it useful. I got it from a chiropodist. If (like me) you are prone to athlete's foot, you can prevent it with surgical spirit. After washing and drying your feet, wipe a little surgical spirit between your toes. Don't do this on broken skin, as it will sting - instead, do the usual thing with the creams until the skin is healed and then start using surgical spirit every day. This has worked brilliantly for me. It's loads cheaper, and less messy, plus you can use the surgical spirit for lots of other things.

System

hello frunchy-frunks

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah me no likey being back at school, me likey pottering at home

however I have used my student discount already, so its not all bad (i got new jeans cos my other ones seem to have, ahem, shrunk in the wash :rolleyes:)

got some good goodies yesterday at jumbles, inc a cath kidston sewing box and a big bag of local grwon fruit n veg, then went to a silent auction (ye olde ebay) and was a ye olde last minute sniper and sniped a lurverly watch new in its box for £3.20

redglass_2

Mollymop5 wrote: »

Mecca gave me my bonus £10 so have played that this morning.After my initial £10 deposit is put back I am now £8.60 in pocket.so pleased I came out better off.I was prepared to loose my £10 in order to get the quidco cashback but for once I was lucky

Hi Mollymop
Have just re-read your message.
Do you mean you only gambled Mecca's £10 and not your own? When I signed on for the first time, a window flashed up on Quidco saying that if you didn't spend your own £10 you wouldn't qualify for the £30 cashback. Have I misunderstood you?
(Don't think I'll ever make a gambler, either - it's like watching paint dry, except that you don't get a nice painted surface at the end of the process. :rolleyes: Still, I can do a lot with £30! )

thriftylass

Lovely Sunday afternoon, just back from a walk. The fresh air got me thinking, I just joined this thread and already are totally excited about the challenge:T. Reading through the threads got me really motivated , hope I can stick to this, am known to give up too easily on challenges I set myself. It's still a long while to go but I got most of my christmas presents sorted (that's a first in years), well the ideas at least. I want to avoid the shopping frenzy this year and avoid buying useless stuff just for the sake of having a gift. So this year I'll go crafty, like I used to as a kid. Got a few good ideas off other threads, like making gifts in jars, handmade soap and candles etc, works out a lot cheaper and hopefully people will appreciate the thought, time and effort that went into it rather than the monetary value.

sophiesmum_2

Hi Thriftylass
Agree with the pressies, I made some hampers last year and they went down really well, also the choc slabs were a hit with my big kids;)
These were a couple of mine:







Going down the line of home made edibles this year:D

JAMIEDODGER

they look sooooooooooooooooooooo nice (can you tell im on a diet!)

sophiesmum_2

JAMIEDODGER wrote: »

they look sooooooooooooooooooooo nice (can you tell im on a diet!)

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

They looked even nicer when they were wrapped in cello but I forgot to take photos afterwards:doh:

thriftylass

Those gift baskets look great, will use them for insiration.
I read through some more previous posts and found the Sealed Pot challenge, what is it? Is it like saving all your shrapnel in a piggy bank?