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

kayleighj_2

Just having worked out my next years bills will come to £6826.

This is including; car insurance, car tax, tv, car repayments, petrol, life insurance, MOT, internet (ending in 6months), rent *to mum for bills and food*
Without rent its £5626
Am I adding too much to this £4000 challenge, and if not I have no idea where I will crimp £2826 from!!

sam79_2

hi there folks...
what a brilliant idea.
im a single mum of 2 with a pt job and would love to give the live on 4k for a yr challenge. sounds great.

any tips gratefully received for money saving and getting paid for internet jobs that ive seen on here like mystery shopper and scratchcards...what are they all about

anyway
hi

sophiesmum_2

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Hello again

Marru rice can be frozen just rinse well to remove any starch first and freeze in a tub

men can be so insensitive and it's the kids that suffer i took to not telling my son his dad was coming and i always assumed he wouldn't that way my sanity and ears were saved

Sophiesmum the chocolate butterfly was it Mr A choc from the sweetie aisle or the baking aisle? did you add anything or doanything to it, just read the slab thread and seems a lot of confusion over melting etc

been looking here
http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/cid/5ORZAG8AVO4KZB6CN2FXNK261NW5H4NX/chocolate-bars-Chcoslab/

and determined to make some extra prezzies now
Shaz

I used the white asda eating choc , I have read the posts about tempering the choc but I made some slabs last year too and they were fine. After a while in fridge they weren't any more melty than any other chocolate. I melt mine in microwave and check it every 10 secs or so, as soon as it starts to melt, but still has lumps in I take it out and the lumps melt anyway so it never really gets really runny.
These are the ones I made last year - didn't have any problems with any of them.I made them all quite thick though, and some of these had bits in the white was cranberry and walnut and the TOM one had rice crisps in.


My friend has picked me up a bear mould today so going to do one of those tonight too, maybe with biscuit pieces in it:D she also picked me up two xmas tins from morrisons for £1.49 each which are lovely and may be filled with gingerbread any time soon, not sure who for yet though as pressies are sorted. May make them for my lovely dad Anyway £4 to deduct from budget now.

Frugaldom

Marru, how annoying about ex-OH not collecting DD! This is the kind of thing that gets me really irritated as I've heard so many people having same problem. As if a text or phone call couldn't have been made, at the very least!

Kayleigh, we don't count luxury items into the challenge and a car is classed as a luxury item, so it's not, strictly, anything to do with the cost of living. If you need a car for work, then it's part of the cost of working, if you see what I mean.

Sam79 you are very welcome to join us next year. Costs included are only what it costs to live and run the household. Debts, holidays, luxury items and costs incurred by jobs are not counted, nor are rent/mortgage or council tax, as these are all dependent on individual circumstances.

Sophiesmum, that's one huge picture of chocolate slabs, they've resized the entire page of this thread! :rotfl: Guess what I want to eat now?

I've made another pot of soup in the slow cooker, it was simmering away whilst we were out in the garden. It's going to be another freezing night here but this afternoon was quite warm when sheltered from the north wind. I managed to dig out more of the overgrown back steps and moved several more planters. I now have my tub of mint and the makeshift lettuce 'coldframe' at the back door along with a corner tub that I'm considering growing a few spring onions in, if it's big enough. We dragged the broken chest of drawers from the rubbish (there's a heap-load of rubbish been left in and around the garage here) and have now got it in place as a mini coldframe come raised bed for spring. It actually looks alright, but it'll need a couple of bags of compost added before I plant anything. The garden is a bit bigger than we first thought and I've pegged off a third 'run' for fencing before spring. I'm still not sure what will be in them all, but they are each about 6 to 8 feet square, three in a row. The more I look at the space we have, the more I think, 'mini-small holding'. There's definitely enough space for some hens, a pig and a milking goat. :rotfl:

Off to rescue some chicken portions that are roasting in the mini-oven and then I'll be back later to upload a few more photographs.

shaz_mum_of__2

They look great
I have a 2lb silicone loaf mould is this the right size for 200g choc would you say?

this chocolate?






honest no more questions after this

i just need to persuade someone to make me a cranberry and granola version

Shaz

Janey hope you are lurking and OK

sophiesmum_2

Sorry Nyk saved that one last year before i knew how to size photos - have now resized it - gee I am getting better at this computer malarkey than I thought

The TOM one was done in an 8" square baking tin so it was big anyway, he likes choc a lot;)

sophiesmum_2

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

They look great
I have a 2lb silicone loaf mould is this the right size for 200g choc would you say?

this chocolate?






honest no more questions after this

i just need to persuade someone to make me a cranberry and granola version

Shaz

Janey hope you are lurking and OK

Thats the one shaz - and yes made mine in aan asda 2lb silicon loaf mould:D it has ridges on the bottom., makes a nice pattern on your choc slab.

Marru

Ok, Ex turned up and I sent them off five minutes ago. Play centre has been closed for twenty minutes now so I sent them to find a pub to have their supper and have a drive. I am having curry and wine for tea and then some chocolate for pudding

sophiesmum_2

Marru wrote: »

Ok, Ex turned up and I sent them off five minutes ago. Play centre has been closed for twenty minutes now so I sent them to find a pub to have their supper and have a drive. I am having curry and wine for tea and then some chocolate for pudding

Well by this time of evening little one will be tired and grumpy so I hope she puts him through a little of what you have had to deal with whilst waiting for him. Ridiculous time to pick up a 4 year old to take them out :mad: :mad:
Enjoy yout te and hope you manage to get something acomplished before they get back.:D

Frugaldom

Back again


This is what we've done with the old broken chest of drawers. They were solid enough to remove the back and then sink into newly dug earth at the back of the garage against the south facing wall. This will now be used as a cold frame, once I get a lid made for it, and then used as a small, raised bed in spring. I just need to find another 2 old chests of drawers (Freecycle?) to have them along that back wall and then it won't matter about the grass on the outside of them as we dig it out for the raised beds/coldframes I think the lids will just be made from sturdy plastic, so fingers are crossed in the hope that the washing machine & cooker arrive wrapped in heavy duty polythene bags on Wednesday. I think this one will be used for garlic and spring onions and I'll keep the corner pot at the back door for more herbs, as I use quite a bit of coriander, parsley and mint.