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

kayleighj_2

In which case minus MOT, Car insurance, petrol, car finance, it saves me £5284 unfortunately I cant live without my car,

Meaning my living costs are: £1542

New 2009 Challenge wont be £4000 then, that would be silly! lol

redglass_2

Arrrggghhh, my mouth is watering. I will NOT go out and buy chocolate, I will NOT go out and buy chocolate....(thinks: I will make chocolate sauce with rum, cocoa and dried fruit instead, will go down a treat on some Greek yoghurt). Ahem.

sam79_2

hi there
sorry for the questions....

so i dont include.

1. rent
2. council tax
3. water rates

i do include

1. weekly shopping
2. electric payment
3. oil direct debit
4. car insurance
5. car tax
6. household contents insurance
7. tv license
8. home phone line rental
9. mobile phone rental

what im not sure is do i include petrol for my car?

do i pay my debts out of the 4k....catalogue and store cards loan and credit cards?

thanks
regards
samantha

lingojingo

redglass wrote: »

Arrrggghhh, my mouth is watering. I will NOT go out and buy chocolate, I will NOT go out and buy chocolate....(thinks: I will make chocolate sauce with rum, cocoa and dried fruit instead, will go down a treat on some Greek yoghurt). Ahem.

Don't think you can get away without that being noticed, Redglass :rotfl:
Now you've got my mouth watering too!

Nyk - the small holding sounds fantastic, I'm so jealous (but really pleased for you, hope you can stay there for ages now). Freecycle should be good for the chests of drawers. I've just received 4 dining chairs to replace our 3 rickety ones, they were delivered as we don't have any transport, some people are so lovely :j

blissfullydebtfreewannabe

Hi all,

I've been watching from the sidelines, and it looks like you've all done amazingly well. Can I join, in preparation for 2009?

Thanks

Frugaldom

For the benefits of newcomers who may not have read the full thread or start of the challenge, this is what I include in my 'cost of living' budget:

Food
Toiletries, hair, health & beauty
Laundry & cleaning products
Drink
Electricity / gas / oil / coal / logs
Telephone
Television
Mobile phones
Internet access
Gifts, wrapping, cards, postage, packaging
Days out
Socialising / entertaining / visiting friends & relatives
Essential travel
Clothes
Footwear
Home insurance
Household repairs / replacements
Contingency fund for miscellaneous costs not previously included

This challenge is about the cost of running a household and doing that on a budget that allows for paying off debts and then affording extras. To work out how much you have to run your household, start with the total amount you have coming in and then deduct all debt payments, rent, mortgage, council tax, water bills and whatever costs are involved in having a job (transport, lunches, child care etc). The amount you have left is the amount you have to cover the cost of living and any extras. I choose to allocate £4,000 for my cost of living allowance for a household of 3 for a full year and have found this to be sufficient to allow me to build up some savings whilst remaining focussed on achieving and maintaining a debt free status.

Hope this helps

sam79_2

thanks nykmedia am defo going to give it a go. do i need to go on a list? roll on jan 1st 2009

sophiesmum_2

Nyk - I have a confession, I have just opened my sealed pot terramundi - Actually OH drilled the bottom out very nicely so that I can use it again:D He is on nights tonight so I had to do it before he went.So 4 1/2 hours early than it should be but woo Hoo , lots of lovely notes and coins and a total of £1076.29p :j :j :j :j

A big chunk of this approx £600+ has come from this challenge which I have put in pot in lieu of electricity payments as I don't pay for mine, most of rest has come from bits and bats that I have put in and a few £20 notes that OH has deposited occasionally, and some £2 coins saved since I opened my £2 coin pot.

If I added this to my £1000 in 100 days fund I would have the cash up front for the first quarter of next year:j Does it count do you reckon????
I can't think of anything I need or want at the moment so it will just go in bank otherwise.

Frugaldom

WOW! WOW! WOW! :eek: (No, I'm not a dog, I'm a ... stounded! :rotfl: )

Sophiesmum - That's amazing! Over £1000 in your sealed pot? I'll be lucky if I make it to the £76 with my small change. :rotfl:

Welcome on board, new peeps, I'll just go and add your names to the challenger list on post 1 now. The new thread will be starting in a couple of weeks, so get in some practice while you can Hope you all have fun next year.

The 2008 challenge seems to have absolutely flown in! So much has happened and the months have just disappeared. It's hard to believe tomorrow is December! :eek:

candygirl

NYKMEDIA please can you add me to start in January please hun.Hopefully i'll be sorted benefit wise by then, and will have to do the 4k thing anyway;)