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

bails

Nice to see you posting Whitewing, keeping my fingers crossed for you too.

What a fantastic example of living the frugal high life Andromache, I love it :T I told OH and he was very mildly impressed :rolleyes:...still much work to do there!

mah_jong

Just an update for the year, I have not got an exact final food figure for the year but do not expect to spend more than 45 quid over the next few days, so will use that.

From the list I used at the start of the year and the help of MS money figures as follows, I am single by the way.

Groceries/toiletries/cleaning products 1046
Heating 477
Lighting 348
Telephone 143
Internet 120
TV License 140
Home insurance 148
Gifts for others 450
House Pets (if you have any)NONE
Basic travel NONE
Essential home maintenance NONE
Essential household goods/furnishings 255
Essential clothing/footwear 155
Cigarettes (if you smoke) DON'T
Alcohol (if you drink) ONLY WHEN OUT SOCIALIZING , NOT IN THE HOUSE BY MYSELF!

Thoughts ......

Which if I am correct makes £3282, however you can argue that as I have only put in my land line and not my mobile it should be more, however if I was in debt I would get rid of it, its a luxury in my mind. (I pay £15 monthly).

There were family big 0 birthdays and weddings this year, so prezzies spend high, clothing higher than 120 as this is the first year in ages i have gone over the recommended amount as I needed various items.

shaz_mum_of__2

Whitewing fingers crossed for you
Strange how pregnancy and pmt have same symptoms!!

Been shopping for some bits today and nearly killed the youngest i hate it when i turn into a fishwife in shops ....................but kids don't understand christmas stress its all fun to them i guess

Having a bad day painwise so bit moody anyway and MIL and hubby due at 3 expecting roast dinner ...........................................

Its in the oven but the rest is still in the fridge i had planned to cook the ham today ,while the oven was on and bake a ginger sponge ,but not sure how long the ham will keep once cooked i normally keep cooked meat about 3 days (ex-caterers are very ruthless lol )

Anyhow better go peel spuds i guess and prep veg and i have to make coleslaw too ..............................at least i am getting dinner cooked tomorrow a very nice lady on my course has invited us all to tea she is bangladeshi and is cooking traditional food .....i can't wait

Shaz

Brighton_belle

Morning all. Sounds like we all have bigs lists and dipping energy in one way or another.
I need to bake xmas pressie biscuits today and organise myself for xmasday trifle & boxing day savoury rice dish.
I'm looking for pointers/advice. OH & I haven't been away for yonks so I never 'take in' deals such as andromache has just mentioned. However, we have decided to go away in Jan - basically my Honorary neice said on the phone yesterday(8) she didn't mind whether she had a present from me for xmas, she was just really upset she hadn't seen me for so long( :(3 yrs) This has made me determined to visit her and little bro: I've had to realise I'm never going to be 'well enough' and I'm relatively not too bad at the mo and I just need to do it. Astonishly, OH has decided he wants to come too, so we need to book a B&B for 1 or 2 nights in Weston-super-mare in Jan mid week. Any suggestions form you travellers on how to bargain hunt?

sophiesmum_2

lovely to hear from you Whitewing, and fingers crossed XX

Shaz - I do the three day thing with the meat too - (ex chef) Going to cook my ham on xmas eve and turkey on xmas day.I just got them from costco, their meat etc is really excellent quality.

Decided on turkey breast (ie half of a large crown without the bones)as there will be no waste whatsoever from that and it will be quicker to cook so won't dry out- I hate dry turkey!!!!. Pound for pound works out best value as you are not paying for giblets, skin and bones.
The ham I will slowcook xmas eve and then just finish in oven to crisp up the rind.


Turkey breast 3.05kg in weight was £19.83 -£6.49per kg.
Ham joint 3.89kg in weight was £22.78 -£5.85per kg.

Xmas lunch now down to four of us one of whom is hardly eating so my brain is now in overdrive planning what to do with the rest of meat once xmas dinner over, even allowing for some for sandwiches, will be lots to use up Off to update sig now with spends.

Frugaldom

Shaz, that's a particularly spectacular photo of the pork pie! It's every bit as good as anything I have ever seen featured in a cookery book! I agree with the OP, I think you have found your calling - stuff going back to work, home cooking looks like it's calling your name. I'm really inspried by all the yummy food photos and will try my best to do better in 2009. At least I have a real cooker this year. I've been using the hot ring bought from fleabay since March, seriously impedes bulk cooking and adventurous meals but it's a bit weird remembering I now have a real cooker now. It's weirder still that I saved enough money during the 2008 challenge that I was able to buy my bargains when I got the opportunity - my very own brand new cooker and washing machine! :rotfl: :T

Whitewing - GOOD LUCK YOU CRAZY FOOL - and I mean that in the nicest possible way. :rotfl: :rotfl:

Bails - :beer: I'm glad someone else was able to get 15% off their €Bay purchase, I was 'eggstatic' when I found the code! I have never, ever had anything off from there before, so when I counted up all my unused and unallocated savings, I knew exactly what I was going looking for. I was over the moon when I also found it was the powerseller's Christmas half price special deal PLUS free delivery! :T :j All 3 parts of it have now arrived and just needs constructing. As HS has suddenly found it fun to play with powertools, I am sure he'll oblige. He's out there now, putting together my Christmas gift potting shelf for the greenhouse; yesterday, he construcred the REAL log store - I did mention he had picked up the frugal habit, I got him signed up to TCB and he was into the half price sales like my fat night-visitor cat was into the pilchards & tomato sauce! :rotfl:
SUCCESS at last!:j I just need him to learn some DIY and to understand that [strike]if[/strike] when I get the quail & chickens that they don't live forever and that it is alright for us to eat their eggs!

Today's expedition into nearby town amounted to the following:

Final few groceries of milk, bread, fruit & veg amounted to £17.09
A last minute half price extra gift - £1.24
Christmas cards - 50p for a box of 40 - for Christmas 2009 :rotfl:
Top up for Electricity meter - £20
Total 2008 budget spent to date - £3,969.32
Total amount left to last to 31/12/08 - £30.68, £30 of which will probably go on electricity next week. Ooh! That might mean that Phil the Pig could find himself 68p heavier!

My larder is full, my kitchen cupboards are full, my fridge and my freezer is full and I even remembered to take my vouchers for 2 free litres of Candia UHT milk, so they are stashed for emergencies as well. I have everything in for Christmas and New Year's dinner, so there really shouldn't be a need to buy anything else between now and then. I have wine to have with the meals (red and white), I have spirits and mixers, I have crackers... have I forgotten anything? Oh! :rotfl: autumn meadows are selling huge jars of gherkins for £1.09, so I had to treat myself to one of those because the big glass jar looks ideal to decorate and use as a biscuit barrel or similar afterwards. They also may fantastic candle lanterns if you know anyone handy with glass paints. Mind you, DS reckons you could probably keep a fish in this jar! :rotfl:

I've done a smallish stockpile order for 2009, but that's being deducted from next year's budget. I've tracked my order (Approved Food) and it's sitting in our 'local' depot about 60 miles from here! :rolleyes: Should he here tomorrow morning and the guy did apologise for it being late. Anyhow, I have spent a total of £60.02 off my 2009 budget but it won't come out the bank until late January, as I'm going to attempt my 2009 challenge on a 1% cashback credit card that currently pays 4% interest on positive balances. No doubt it will drop, but I'm going to transfer £2,300 to it next month and see how I manage. It only has a £1,700 credit limit, so that takes me to my £4,000 and SHOULD encourage me to earn the extra as I spend.
Isn't it crazy that a credit card in credit can pay you more interest than an ordinary bank account? :eek:

sophiesmum_2

Hmm. I think there may be a bargain e bay 15% off chicken house/run being constructed chez Nyk:p

Re the Candia milk - if you have got the semi skimmed Nyk it is really creamy and can be diluted by about 1/3 without much noticeable difference. This is the type costco sell and we dilute for oldies all the time for tea making - no one has noticed yet after two years;) But as we get through 18 litres a week(before diluting) it helps stretch it a bit. If we use other uht's we need to use 24 litres as they aren't as creamy.

Frugaldom

sophiesmum wrote: »

Hmm. I think there may be a bargain e bay 15% off chicken house/run being constructed chez Nyk:p

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: It's almost a chicken house and run... I opted for something that allegedly retails at £199.99 - this is it - got £14.99 off by using the voucher code, another £4.80 off for going via cashback and there'll be a further 85p back on my 1% cashback card. So, less than £80 for the whole lot delivered and I don't care how extravagant it seems, fresh quail eggs are worth. (It's also part of my 2009 masterplan for self-sufficientish living).

sophiesmum_2

looks great, I am so jealous:p Quails eggs are great they look so pretty, costco have them think thet are about £3/£4 a pack for about 18 so def worth it for delicacy:D

Frugaldom

sophiesmum wrote: »

looks great, I am so jealous:p Quails eggs are great they look so pretty, costco have them think thet are about £3/£4 a pack for about 18 so def worth it for delicacy:D

I used to rear poultry & game commercially, buying in the hatching eggs, setting the incubators then rearing the chicks. Quail are brilliant little birds, even just having a couple on them on the bottom of an ordinary aviary. They are practically fully grown by 6 weeks and ready to start laying, whereas the chickens take about 20 weeks. It's something I hope to do again one day, but I'm not yet organised enough. :rolleyes: I'll [strike]try to[/strike] stick to minimum poultry & game numbers, along with my veggie & herb growing for next year, and the existing runs we have here are probably salvageable enough for chickens.

PS: I'll be jealous of your organisational, catering and savings skills if you're going to be jealous of my quail housing. :rotfl: