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

Brighton_belle

just been for a routine dental checkup & it cost £45:eek: .Always a bit frustrating that due to poor health I can only work 10 hrs a week but have sacrificed having a bedroom in order to have a lodger, so having 'helped myself' am not eligble for any help with anything like this.

Marru - I thought NYk was spot on I'm afraid. It's good to have goals and aspirations, but this doesn't sound like simplifying, more like piling the pressure on yourself. I speak as someone who is constantly thwarted in what I would like to do and have to accept scaled down versions, so you have my sympathy. But believe me, focussing on building your health and well being by eating well and having more chill out time rather than stressing about earning another £1000 is so important. Permanant loss of health is sooo not worth ANYTHING.
CW - it sounds like your DD is not doing well and is caught in the trap of too drained to do the things that would possibly improve her life. I think you are a great mum and she does need your help and a few years of your plan could really help turn her life around.

SM - well done on resisting the choccies and mncepies - you are right, it is worth starting now, rather than adding another 10lbs over xmas:D (makes note to self to start following own advice:D )
Can't believe we are more than half way though december.
Oh, just bought a large bag of glass beads for 50pfor my mosaics in the charity shop and 3 rolled lamb breasts for £5 from butcher. They are so tasty.

lil_lady_2

£4000 in one year?? :eek::eek::eek: just seen this thread for first time i would love to do this but now brace yourselves..... we have spent more then this in 2 months lol 2000 was on a car thou ....
does this include everything???
like my car insurance is 890 this year not to mention my partners

shaz_mum_of__2

Bails

I use a cash book for monitoring stockpile a pape per item tjen add to or change the numbers accordingly

i also use a black marker to write the dates on the tops to make easier to see from a distance.

Shaz

cw18

Brighton_belle wrote: »

just been for a routine dental checkup & it cost £45:eek: .

Do you have a private dentist? I assume you must have, as my checkup (plus a scrape and polish) cost me £16.50 this morning

cw18

lil_lady

different people include different things. cars are normally excluded if they're used for commuting purposes (they become a works expense), and rent/mortgage is also excluded by most people.

Different people also have different budgets --- the £4k isn't a hard and fast figures, especially as some people live on their own, while others have children.

I'm doing 2009 as an "all in" to include everything (apart from what I'm considering leaving on my mortgage and work needed around the house in order to get it to a standard required for child-minding), but am working to an £8k budget to accomodate it.

sophiesmum_2

Re keeping check of stocks - I have charts on the inside of cupboard door, I add or deduct as I get stuff out/put in. Easy to keep track as OH and DD banned from going in there:p . I decant stuff into kitchen cupboards as needed and make sure we have one of everything in use in kitchen cupboard. If anything runs out in kitchen they just add it to white board so I know to restock.
That way I know where i m up to and make sure stuff is used oldest first.

Raychee

Hi,

I'd like to join in, starting in 2009.

I'm going to set my budget at £4500 for the year. This only covers my half of things - groceries, phone bills, some fuel bills, presents, car, and a few other bits and pieces. My partner pays the mortgage, council tax etc. It sort of works out...

£1300 - Groceries
£60 - haircuts
£1080 - Petrol (I need my car for work - there's no choice there)
£138 - TV license
£204 - phone
£40 - mobile (no choice - 18 month contract.. can't change tarif for a while)
£200 - birthdays
Plus bills, car tax, mot, insurances etc

Crikey! I think it may be possible...

Raychee

sophiesmum_2

Welcome on board Raychee:D

Brighton_belle

CW - I assume you only get an nhs dentist if you are eligible for some benefit or other? . Otherwise i don't understand your question: all explanations welcome:D
EDIT: Just rung my dentist - they can only do dhs charges if you are on eligible benfits, a student or child. It sounds like there may be a few practices that do everyone on nhs charges regardles of income but they are few and far between.

cw18

Anyone can register with an NHS dentist -- if they can find one with vacancies. We were incredibly lucky last year, as the one we were with had "gone private" in 2006 and it was costing me £10/month just to have 2 check-ups a year. Then the one closer to us had a sign up in their window that they had vacancies, so I shot in and registered.

As it happened I had just received an exemption certificate, meaning I didn't pay for my check-up last November, my root canal work following that, or my check-up in May. But that expired at the end of June, so I now have to pay for treatment at NHS rates.