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

sophiesmum_2

nykmedia wrote: »

Cha97Michelle, Brilliant site link, I've registered for their email updates just in case there's anything worth ordering and paying the £5.25 delivery Thanks for that.

Just reading a thread on os board and someone has posted a code for approved foods (MSE1 for 5% discount ) - every little helps;) would reduce the delivery chrge costs,

Skint_Lynne

Marru wrote: »

Hello,

I was reading yesterday but didn't post as I was aching everywhere including my head. After dose of paracetamol last night and another one this morning I am only now starting to get some release from that aching head. Bless DD she was so wonderful. I went for my bath last night as I was so ill I couldn't wait until she was in bed so I left her downstairs watching her videos. When I came out of my bath she had changed into her night clothes and put herself to bed. She has got such a lot of praise today!!!

Penny: Belated Birthday Wishes for you!!! And I know exactly where you come from with that last comment .

Lynda and Sophiesmum: When I was in driving school up in the frozen north (and I don't mean Scotland) we had mandatory breaking test in the winter on slippery ice. And I was driving a lorry...:rotfl:

Lynne: Please make sure you are not paying to work. If you need outsiders view on your figures please feel free sending me a PM. I used to be an auditor in my previous life.

Shaz: I am in exactly the same situation as you. I was running this franchise that didn't go well (and left me with lots of debts) and now due to my illness I am retraining. I have not filed for bankruptcy but I have been tempted and there is not a single week that I don't think about it at least once.

And if there was something else I was going to comment then please excuse me as that head ache managed to wipe most of my hard disk space :rolleyes:.

I had involuntary NSD yesterday as I forgot to take my purse with me and didn't have time to come back to get it. So it was second night of rice, beans and tuna for me. Then today I went to my local coop to get stuff for my stir fry and everything I needed was whoopsied!!! :T Plus I got houmous whoopsied as well so that will make me sandwiches for college for further five days.

But I do have to confess that I have sinned. I ordered this meditation programme from States. I have done their training courses and they have 1 year money back guarantee. I have listened the demo and loved it. It came in the post today. Also I [strike]wasted money[/strike] got a Christmas presents for myself when I ordered couple of CDs which also came today AND I got a HHHHUUUUUGE parcel from my Fairy Godmother and that arrived today as well (I will dive into it when DD has gone to bed) So it feels like Christmas arrived for me today.

I think that is enough prattling for one day.

Have a great evening everybody!!

Marru

Thanks for the offer Marru,

The last time I was at the accountant, I had made a very tiny profit, so I had no tax to pay, but no losses either. I don't know what it will be like next time though. If I get a lot more of these parties then it will be a sunnier future for the business. If i need your services in the future I'll give you a shout.:A

Buffythedebtslayer

Sorry to just dive in but I wanted to ask you all something re next year's challenge,

I have to have driving lessons, it is getting silly now I must learn to drive.

I have some hours already paid for but will need more they will be around 40 quid a week, so 160 a month.

I was trying to do it out of my 300 a month spending money but I am ashamed to say that I cannot afford it.

Can i treat it like a debt I have to pay or is it a luxury?

I hate driving but living up a hill with my retired Mum means I have to do it

so what do I count it as?
xx

Skint_Lynne

Buffy, I personally do not think this would be out of your challenge money. I think the challenge is for the cost of living, so the driving lessons is not a household expense. HTH. xx

andromache_2

I think you should tailor the challenge so that it's as useful to you as possible, Buffy; I don't count train fares to go and visit OH as they are unpredictable and expensive and they aren't something I want to scrimp on - I see doing this challenge as enabling me to afford the train fares (among other things). Maybe you could look at your driving lessons in the same way?

Janey51

Well, it's certainly Christmassy. 6" of deep and crisp and more falling.
Very pretty.

But half the electric tripped out an hour ago so...no Sky, no central heating and no kitchen lights or electric cooker.
No point in summoning help as the roads are too bad and no gritters up here.
If I knew about changing fuses I would have a look in the fuse box but it is not one of my talents.

But I have food, a warm(ish) kitchen, coffee, chocolate and I can watch BBC iplayer if I need entertainment.

the_cat

:mad: NOT a good start to the day:mad:

No pretty snow here. Just pouring rain and howling gale. It is so dark that we all overslept and have spent the first 20 mins of the day running round the house shouting at everyone to hurry up.
Added to this I have found a small damp patch on the bedroom ceiling. Think it is the roof:mad: :mad: so will be calling builder later. Thankfully not at water pouring in stage yet but will still be an expense.

It may just be that I have had a couple of rotten days, but the impending rate drop has unsettled me again. Every time it happens I feel my hard work at repaying the mortgage and saving is less and less worthwhile. It makes me angry and I start stropping like a petulant child. It is making me question whether this is still the best way forward........

Current mortgage rate 3.75% - likely to go down by about 1%
Inflation 5%
Savings rates - soon to be almost 0%:mad: :mad:
Plus the government will now pay up apparently if OH is out of a job so the peace of mind angle is less convincing

Now I have been putting off home improvements in order to overpay mortgage. I now don't know whether I should do the work instead - especially as we are coming up to January sales time

Anyone still awake????? Sorry for rambling!!!!!!!

lyndasharp

No pretty snow here either, but at least the rain has stopped and the sun has come out. Janey, hope you get your electrics sorted out soon.

I was very good in Hobbycraft yesterday, and spent 66p. Bf bought prezzies for his niece and nephews. The shop had lots of signs up saying new prices with different VAT rates would be charged at the tills, though they weren't listed on the shelf price. However his shopping, which should have been about £20 less 2.5%, only came to £15! We decided not to mention anything at the tills, but if you are planning any craft shopping it might be worth a visit in case they have messed up their pricing everywhere!

Frugaldom

Good morning Frunchkins, I hope you are all managing to keep warm!
Janey, if it helps, look at your main electricity meter where the fuses are and see if all the switches are set to 'on'. If it's a newish meter then there's a separate 'trip' switch that cuts out and can easily be switched back on again to reset the fuses. I remember my first house, with the original fuse wire! And (horror of horrors thinking of it now) who all used to fix fuses with tin foil biscuit wrappers? :eek: Thinking back on that, I'm quite appalled at some of the things we did! :rotfl:

the_cat, I fully understand your concerns about dwindling interest rates and inflation creeping up, it is a crazy time! If I was in your situation and the home improvements could be done without incurring any further debt, ie adding to the mortgage, then I would go ahead and get them done, assuming the house is your longterm home. So long as mortgage payments are kept up to date, you could be increasing the overall value of your property whilst turning it into the home you really want and are happy to own. As soon as you can afford it, then get back to your plan of paying off early, that way if the worst ever happens income wise, you'll at least know that the roof over your head is safe. (Only my thoughts on the matter, as I know of no tax benefits of having a mortgage, so I'd assume one is as well without the debt as soon as possible. )

I've decided that ANY free money is GOOD money, so tiny interest rates will not stop me saving whatever I can and fighting to forever be debtfree. Why should I buy stuff I don't NEED? I'm more worried that the Government's finances won't stretch to my [STRIKE]60th[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]65th[/STRIKE] 67th birthday and there'll be no pension pot left! I don't have a private pension. I don't own my own home. My savings could soon be growing at less than the rate of inflation. How will I pay my rent if I haven't bought a house? If the current financial climate continues for any length of time, folks are soon going to get around to thinking, 'stuff it, let the Government worry about it, it's not my problem'. And they really think they need to spend £millions on research to find out IF depression could possibly be sparked by / linked to people's personal financial situations? :rotfl:

Penny2myName

nykmedia wrote: »

And they really think they need to spend £millions on research to find out IF depression could possibly be sparked by / linked to people's personal financial situations? :rotfl:

Debt has nothing to do with my depression, infact it makes me happy as Larry, its the joy of my life, I look forward to the sleepless nights trying to figure out how I am going to get the kids to school AND feed them each week. Why would anyone even consider such a possible link. But if the government would like to free up a bit of that research cash to pay off my debts, They can then take my after effect response as part of their research.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: