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

[Deleted User]

Hello all

Cw - Pebbles is gorgeous!
Sophiesmum - Very annoying about hub-caps. :mad:

I went to an NCT sale today, not very exciting tho, no major bargains. Although Mr M's was rather exciting! Got a few loaves of bread reduced to 9p each, some yummy pepper and cheese bread for 9p and some yummy cream cakes for 19p. mmmm....... I think that baby should stop fancying cake so much tho. Otherwise I'll end up looking like a cake! :rolleyes:

Almost excited about starting challenge next year....

Hope everyone else is okay xx

Frugaldom

Hi fruguys and frugals,

Sending best wishes to all who need them, sorry I never seem to have the time to respond individually these days, but it's a little bit hectic here.

LyndaSharp, I love the look of the 3-bed semi and can hardly believe how much more house you get for a few £000 more. I've never lived in a flat, so don't know what that would be like, probably awful for us, as my DS is one of the noisiest, clumsiest, clumpiest human beings I have even met, so all the neighbours would hate us. :rotfl:

Sophiesmum, sorry about the hubcaps, I hope you put in a report to the local police. It may seem minor to them but it's theft, nonetheless.

It was a beautiful day here from early hours, so I've been darting back and forth into garden to rake cut grass, fix up the bird table, arrange pots for herbs etc and chop wood. I'll really need to get coal, as I'm on to the last bucketful of what was left over from my last but one house. We took half bag of coal and a few logs we had left with us to last house, then found out we couldn't light the fires. Waste not, want not, they got burned eventually. This is 3rd address we've had in past 2 years, so I'm hoping that we'll be here until we can buy our own place outright. (Hence this challenge.)

No word about puppy, so I'm guessing that they have all been spoken for, but I'm not unduly worried, as there'll be plenty others needing good homes. I should really get the garden in order first, so I know what can and can't get walked on by doggy feet!

I've been sent a huge batch of seeds from a friend who had accumulated too many freebie packs. Here's what's included: ( I LOVE FREE! )

• Cabbage
• Red Cherry tomatoes
• Mixed salad leaves
• Beetroot - Boltardy
• Coriander
• Oriental mixed salad leaves
• Chives
• Peppers
• Basil
• Spring Onion
• Basil
• Carrots - Chantenay Red Cored
• Lettuce - Little Gem
• Courgettes
• Runner Beans
• Broccoli

The above is in addition to all the seeds I have accumulated from this year, so I shouldn't be lacking selection. I won't need to worry about berries, as there are plenty of brambles along the road here, and my 4 strawberry plants from earlier this year have now become 12, all potted up and ready to bring over here from the old place. There are 3 old clothes poles in the garden that I'm going to use to copy Sophiesmum's idea of hanging baskets so the slugs & snails can't demolish everything. I've also got my makeshift salad leaves tub that can be resown. Hopefully, I can get it established as a perpetual producer of freebie greens, even through a Scottish winter. 'Big Jim' is still flourishing, although he's out grown his pot, again! Not sure if there'll be any more peppers to come but the last lot have been dried for winter use.

Sorry this turned into a long post, I don't get much of a chance to chat here but I have read all the posts to date and hope to resume a semblance of normality next month. Got parents coming to stay for a few days, still to finish moving stuff and unpacking boxes, work to keep up with and the 2009 challenge to prepare. I'm doing exact same again - £4,000 for the year. I've got my new spreadsheet ready for the electricity readings and will also be having one for groceries. I'll copy my new budget on here later.

sophiesmum_2

:j :j :j well done on all the free seeds nyk, with those and your extra space you should be able to make some serious headway with the veggies. I have been buying some veggies last few weeks for variety but still have lots of runner beans, tomato based sauces and lots of gooseberry, rhubarb and blackberry crumbles (sorry marru)left in freezer. It's worth doing the work in the summer to be able to have a blackberry and apple crumble in the winter.In fact we hardly ate any in the summer but enjoying them now:p I still have enough jams etc to last most of next year too:D

Still hanging on for guy to clear his stuff from allotment so I can get stuck in - if he takes much longer I will miss the chance of winter crops Will be seeing his wife next week though so think a few gentle reminders will be dropped then;)

Frugaldom

Back again, I've switched onto my own Internet account now and have access to my files. Feel free to skip past this post as it is more for my own record to show how I have progressed from previous years. Thanks to all you lovely frunchkin friends, I am doing really, really well, considering I've had to fit house moves into both 2007 and 2008. Thank goodness I haven't had to move far! :rotfl:

2009 Cost of Living Challenge - Live on £4,000

This is how I have broken down my budget, which is for a household of 3 adults. Cost of transport/travel has not been included, nor has rent, council tax or water.

Contents Insurance - NIL (cashback cancelled it out completely)
TV Licence - £145
Electricity - £900
Extra Fuel - £200
Telephone - £150
Internet - £240 (This is for 3 of us on Broadband)
Mobiles - £100 (DS pays his own)
Groceries, toiletries, cleaning & laundry products - £1200
Gifts - £400 (26 @ £15 + trimmings)
NTS family membership - £78
Everything else - £365
Contingency - £222
Total household running costs = £4,000


The above is how I will start out the challenge but, as the year progresses, the budget will be 'tweaked' according to progress.

If anyone who is already taking part in the challenge is planning on stockpiling for next year, then this 'should' come out of this year's budget if you are buying it now.

Don't forget that we had an extra day to account for this year, meaning the weekly average spend worked out at £76.50 and average monthly spend at £333.33 For 2009, weekly spending should average £76.71 but the monthly average remains the same.

Key words to help keep you on track:
Free, Frugal, Homemade, Recycled, Homegrown, Discounted, Cashback, Vouchers... you get the picture. :rotfl:

My signature shows various 'FREE' income I have received this year, so far.

Interest Beater - £291.03 (tax free winnings)
Cashback - £494.96
Vouchers - £170
£1000 in 100 days challenge - £397.38
SUB TOTAL - £1,353.37

I also quit smoking and save the £1.35 per day into a new account, which is currently sitting at £441.45

My total extra savings this year to date, £1,794.82

I still have my sealed pot to open, I'm hoping to have about £100 in that, plus another £51.30 from the ciggie fund
plus about £100 cashback due end December
plus whatever else I can raise in my £1000 in 100 days
plus whatever, if anything, is left over from this year's budget.

In total, I should have around £2000 'extra' for 2009 and I'm planning to try to make next year as cash neutral as possible, although I haven't worked out the finer points of that just yet. Grocery coupons and loyalty points are used as and when I choose - I call that a perk of the frugal housekeeper's job. :cool:

I hope the above helps all who have been asking or were wondering about how the next challenge will be run - we are all debt free wannabes here because we don't want debt!

Skint_Lynne

Hi Nyk,

Is the challenge going to be ran 'here' or on old style?

cw18

Great to "see you" Nyk Sounds like you need a bit of chill time on the 'net with all the flitting you're still doing !!!

In light of recent events I need to revisit my 2009 budget, but the biggest problem is that I don't currently know (and probably won't for several weeks) what income I'll have to try and fit into!! The only figure I do know with any degree of certainty is £18.80/wk child benefit -- and even that hasn't started yet from an application in September, and won't until I send back a form that arrived at the end of last week...... another job to add to my 'to do' list for Monday me thinks !!!

I won't even be able to use next month to work on a "guesstimate" of grocery or gas and electricity (or water) expenses, as elder son is home until around 6th and then back from 13th until 30th -- so I'm basically still doing everything for three for the full month

A rough calculation using the highest amounts I can imagine as income means we're around £1,000 a month short on what we've had as income since February -- even after allowing for the fact I won't have to pay the mortgage or three life insurance premiums any more (and after allowing for the 25% discount on Council Tax, for which the revised bill arrived today -- pretty impressed with that turn-around as I phoned Wednesday morning and they generated/posted it 2nd class it on Thursday)


I should also have been shopping around for buildings and contents insurance this week (my renewal note arrived early this week, due to start on 10th Dec), but with everything else I have to do I'm going to be terribly non-frugal and not bother. The premium looks much the same as last year, but it has dawned on me today I should probably phone anyway as I'm sure I had to declare all permanent residents when I took the policy out a few years back.

Skint_Lynne

I think that I am going to run with a total and just deduct whatever I spend from it.

I have figured out that these are included:

House/Contents insurance
Gas and Electric
Phone and Internet
Shopping, Toiletries etc.
Gifts

I am not sure about these:

Clothes (what if they are for work?)
Mobile (I mostly use this for work).

I know these arent:
Petrol
Debt Payments
Work Expenses
Mortgage
Council Tax
Savings (non existent for me!!)

What about if your washing machine or fridge breaks down? I am not sure if this comes off the 4K or is this is another budget.

I will of course, be watching every penny. As you all know, things are tight at the shop and I am hoping to get a job soon to keep things afloat, that way anything that comes into the shop will stay there.

I've got a 2nd interview for something on Monday, so fingers and toes crossed, I just hope that it is my turn to be lucky.

Getting back to the challenge, I am hoping to pad my budget out a bit by getting my gifts money neutral. This means surveys and car boot sales etc. Did anyone else try Qype? i have done it and I know that whitewing was doing it as well. I hope it comes off okay. Ebay does not seem to work for me, I always end up worse off when I get involved in that:rotfl:

It's not that long until the challenge starts. I hope I can do it within the 4K, but even if I am over, it's got to be better than the way I am just now!!

cw18

My petrol will have to come out of it (as will all car expenses) as I don't have any commuting costs !! If you have separate "wardrobes" for work and home, then I'd say don't include the work lot. Mobile is more difficult, but I would say personal useage should be included (again, that's all mine is for!)

Washing machine etc. I've always assumed comes out of the "contingency" fund (and I've just replaced the one large appliance that was likely to give on me -- and the new one also uses about a third of the electricity of the old one )

Skint_Lynne

I use my mobile to text OH in Kenya just now, but he should be back in UK for new year, this cost will be wiped out then. Any personal mobile usage, I will make sure it comes off the challenge money.

I was worried in case I had a big expense like a fridge or something, I can't remember if Nyk actually paid for hers off of the 4K!!

The petrol thing is horrendus, I have tried to cut down the bill for that, I find it helps filling the car up each week instead of going for dribs and drabs, that seems to be more expensive. I have never started keeping tabs on the leccy and gas I use, I really should start to do this..................and soon.

I'll need to go just now, I have a visitor tonight and she is none too chuffed, she is moaning at me. I am babysitting for lucky the border collie (my brother's dog), she want's to go out, again:rolleyes:

slowlyfading

:hello: everyone.

cw - pebbles is lovely!
Janey - (((HUGS))) to you, hope you're okay. xxx

Well, its been SNOWING today! :j :j Although, we went out for a meal, and in hindsight, it wasn't a good idea. The drive home was horrible, and I really thought we weren't going to make it - there were quite a few abandoned cars, and we only have a Corsa. The hill that we used is now closed, and its not surprising really. But, I've had another NSD which is always good. I've got an 18th birthday party tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to get to that!
Hope everyone else is okay. xx