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

sillylittlejill

Hi guys

Really want to do this next year so that we can hopefully get married the year after. OH has chosen a gorgeous castle in Derbyshire already!! He has expensive taste lol.

If we do it, I think what we'll do is put all the money when we get paid onto a tesco giftcard type thing so we can't spend more on food, we have done that this month and its sooo helpful! Just an idea

Is anyone doing it this year as a student? Next year I'm hoping to work part time as well as being in college, although I will have to get the train from carlisle-newcastle and back every day, which will cost me about £10 a day. I'm looking into financial support towards that but just wanted to double check whether that would come within the £4000 budget or not? Hoping not otherwise i'm pooped!

but yeah apart from that sign me up!! OH will be fine about it, he'll do anything to get out of debt!

xxx

redglass_2

First can I say to CW, may you find comfort and strength in the service tomorrow.

Did anybody else notice the news about credit card providers in Martin's newsletter? They are getting new powers meant to help them check if borrowers are 'irresponsible', but these new powers will also help them ferret out stoozers. Feeling a bit grumpy about this as it's only this year that I finally learnt to stooze! It was all going along so nicely and then came the BOE reduced rate followed by this...I think I'm going to pack in stoozing. Most of my savings are going toward some much-needed work on the house next month and then I'll put the rest into an ISA once I know how much is left. Are other stoozers also changing their plans?

Penny2myName

ok, am still deciding wether to blanch or laugh my head off. Just got a 'product sales' mail through door from Helifax trying to flog life cover.

Could your family still afford all of this every month?
Mortgage =£735 If I worked I actually pay rent and that is £240
Gas and Electric =£96 £80
Supermarket shopping =£798 I kid ye not, who ever worked this out spends more on food than mortgage. last month i spent £89, this month £105
Mobile, phone, internet and TV = £94 £53 and that's with two phone lines
Petrol =£194 Get bus (£65 for me and three kids a month)
Trips out and leisure = £252 What are these again???

Just had to post their costs, mainly due to the supermarket shopping amount... Are they nuts.

tryingtodobetter

Hi everyone

Not posted for a while things are very stressful here my Dad has just been diagnosed with cancer and as he lives by himself it is really hard. My DH is also unwell, he has severely high blood pressure and they think that it maybe due to a tumour on his kidney . I’m in the final year of my degree and finding it really hard to concentrate and get anything done. Sorry to come on here and moan as I realise others have their own problems too, just feeling a bit sorry for myself. Budget and meal plans have gone out the window too, but I’m not really concerned about that at the moment.

Cat_Addict

Sorry to hear your situation is rough. My Dad passed away last week and I so understand what you mean about everything going out the window. I feel for you, not that its much help but sending warm wishes.

sophiesmum_2

tryingtodobetter wrote: »

Hi everyone

Not posted for a while things are very stressful here my Dad has just been diagnosed with cancer and as he lives by himself it is really hard. My DH is also unwell, he has severely high blood pressure and they think that it maybe due to a tumour on his kidney . I’m in the final year of my degree and finding it really hard to concentrate and get anything done. Sorry to come on here and moan as I realise others have their own problems too, just feeling a bit sorry for myself. Budget and meal plans have gone out the window too, but I’m not really concerned about that at the moment.

(((hugs))) TTDB , Sorry to hear about your dad, I hate cancer:mad: , we are currently deling with my dad too, he is terminal and at moment is on one of the drugs trials from Christies, making him very poorly though. He says it will be worth it if it helps even one cancer patient in the future.
Can you get extra time for your studies any way, I was almost finished my OU degree but have put it on hold for a while for same reasons, I can study any time ........ my dad is here - and needs us now.

sophiesmum_2

My car renewal is due 30th Dec, just had my figures from current insurer and it still beats others I have checked out. Have taken the plunge and paid year up front out of this years challenge budget - but at least I will have no insurance direct debit coming out of budget money next year:D

Off to update sig - will be looking quite scary now I think but not much to cover from remaining money so should be doable.

sophiesmum_2

Cat_Addict wrote: »

Sorry to hear your situation is rough. My Dad passed away last week and I so understand what you mean about everything going out the window. I feel for you, not that its much help but sending warm wishes.

((hugs))) Sorry to hear about your dad, CA, just take it a day at a time, it's all you can do. Take care.

Frugaldom

Good afternoon frunchkin friends and welcome to our newcomers
(I'll get your names added to the list of challengers asap - before you change your minds )

Sending out nice thoughts and virtual support to all who need it, well done WW on the weightloss and BB, you've got it! Nice budget Janey, thinking of you and hoping you get back to posting soon.

Parents have been and are now en route home after a semi-chaotic couple of days. Mum & I visited DD & DGD for coffee and catch-up, then we did a little bit of shopping, except mum insisted on making it her treat, for which I am very grateful. She even bought a little 10kg bag of coal to make do until coalman arrived to fill the new bunker, except he arrived a day early and we met him on the single track road as we were taking the 10kg bag home! :rolleyes: :rotfl: Anyhow, it turned out to be the coldest night here since arriving, so the entire 10kg bag was used up by the end of the night. :eek: Imagine if we'd to buy it that way? £3.99 for 10kg :eek: Anyhow, I have actually saved a small fortune, thanks to family, and have paid for the first 5 bags of coal from money sent as a housewarming gift. However, in try 4k budgeting style, I have included the cost of the coal (£52.50 for 5 bags) in this challenge and am about to add the gift money to my savings for next year's budget. And to top it all off, mum has given me her electric saw as they had already sawn up all their extra wood from their outhouse, bagged it up and brought it here as kindling! :T (They no longer have their open fire, so no longer need to cut logs.)

I already knew about the credit card companies and credit referencing agencies, there's a discussion about it somewhere on MSE that I'd posted in, so I had already considered all my options with regards to stoozing. I do use credit cards regularly, but had run out of stoozing options. Low interest rates make it a pretty pointless exercise for me, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead, pay back the lump sums when the 0% runs out and concentrate on optimising useage of the cashback cards, paying monthly balances in full.

Co-op dividends have been paid out but, sadly, I only qualified for £2.20 because I had shown them so little loyalty owing to the stockpiling methods of shopping elsewhere. But it's still free cash, so it's also been added to my savings pot.

Hoping to be organised by next week, keys go back for old house this weekend, just hoping there's no agro over return of deposit. In meantime, it's back to updating changes of address on the dozens of sites I keep finding I have joined! :rolleyes: Then clean out the fire, chop some more sticks, maybe go collect a log or two, kindle the fire, unpack a couple more boxes and update my spreadsheets. Do I really need to make dinner tonight?

Oh, wildlife update! We have a wren coming onto the bird table and, yesterday, mum & I stopped to take photographs of the red squirrel that crossed the drive in front of us. He ran up a nearby tree and sat, perching on his hind legs, tiny paws clutching whatever tasty morsel he had retrieved and twitched his tail at us. They're so cute with their tufty ears! Was anyone else a member of the 'Tufty Club' at primary school? I can't remember what t was for, just remember the badges we all got. :rotfl:

cw18

Penny2myName wrote: »

ok, am still deciding wether to blanch or laugh my head off. Just got a 'product sales' mail through door from Helifax trying to flog life cover.

Could your family still afford all of this every month?
Mortgage =£735 If I worked I actually pay rent and that is £240
Gas and Electric =£96 £80
Supermarket shopping =£798 I kid ye not, who ever worked this out spends more on food than mortgage. last month i spent £89, this month £105
Mobile, phone, internet and TV = £94 £53 and that's with two phone lines
Petrol =£194 Get bus (£65 for me and three kids a month)
Trips out and leisure = £252 What are these again???

Just had to post their costs, mainly due to the supermarket shopping amount... Are they nuts.

:eek:

for the last 12 months mine have been

Mortgage =£735 £570-ish as an average over the year
Gas and Electric =£96 £72.50
Supermarket shopping =£798 I kid ye not, have been running around the £150-£200 for 3 of
Mobile, phone, internet and TV = £94 £94 as an average (I think) so bang on this one -- but that's down to my mobile (£42.50/month) as I went on a package with free Internet from phone when I went back to work in Feb. Will be going back to PAYG from end of contract (August), so will then be closer to £50. Includes home line and calls, B/Band and TV License, plus PAYG for DH this last year
Petrol =£194 £35-£40
Trips out and leisure = £252 Certainly not as much as that - not even if I add in all my craft material purchases !!!!