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

cw18

lilac_lady wrote: »

Ist October and I feel renewed regarding saving instead of spending. I'd like to know the one best tip you have learned from posting in the past 9 months. Mine was to spend a weekly fixed amount of cash only oncethe DDs were deducted at the beginning of the month. If you part with cash it really concentrates your mind on what you're buying. Good luck to those of you who are heading for the finish line.

I've not been following this thread for anything like that long, but have been cutting back on grocery spends over the last 18 months. The biggest change I've made is refusing to pander to DH and DS such that I only ever make tried, tested and liked meals. I now buy things from Whoopsie! that still look nice and that I have half an idea for using -- and the blokes get what's put in front of them most of the time.

Hubby used to kick up a fuss at having chicken two weeks on a row, or fish two weeks on a row (even if they were totally differnt meals/types) -- and heaven help me if I served both in the same week :eek: But last week we had fish twice (boil in the bag in sauce from a BOGOF, and salmon from a half price deal), and the first week of September he had chicken three times -- roast with veg, cold with salad, and then in a curry. Plus he had boil in the bag fish between the salad and the curry, and salmon the day after the curry..... so 3 meals of chicken and 2 of fish all in the space of 5 days!!! A couple of years ago he'd have been binning the meals after the second or third day, but he didn't even make a comment this time

I will admit I don't experiment with brand new things very often now, but the list of meals I cook has extended, and I've changed the ingredients in a number of our 'old' meals to bring the cost down (am adding extra veg into meals, and have also recently started replacing some of the mince in cottage pie/lasagne/spag bol etc with lentils).

Skint_Lynne

My best tip is to try these forums first if you are looking for information, instead of paying someone for it. I got hooked on these because I received an email from a company looking to claim back credit card charges on my behalf. I got the paperwork from them and discovered after reading the small print, that they would take 25% of anything that was claimed back.

I decided to look for Martin Lewis on the internet as I had seen him on telly and came across this site. It is a fantastic lifeline and I am trying to put as many people onto it as I can.

It has helped me an awful lot, so if you need any advice, just come onto the forums, the majority of people on here are great.

SL x

PrincessAnn

Royal Tip (as the dear BBC quoted previously on their website): "A good suit goes on for ever. If it is properly made and has a classic look you can go on wearing it ad infinitum.
"The economy is bred into me. My parents believe that things are not to be wasted."

Frugaldom

whitewing wrote: »

... notice how small seemingly insignificant amounts add up to big spends :eek: or big savings .

:T Brilliant! I totally agree with this!

I think that my single most important 'tip' needs a little story to elaborate it. Are we sitting comfortable? OK, let's begin:

How to be rich, part 1
No matter how much or how little money you have coming in each day, week, month or year, you are ultimately responsible for it and must maintain control at all times. There's nobody else to blame when your money misbehaves or disappears. Finances are much worse than children and wayward husbands, finances NEVER grow up and take complete financial responsibility for themselves! Like partners, pets or children, you always need to be aware that it's your lifelong moral and physical responsibility to guide them in the right direction! :rotfl: Never forget that being rich isn't just about having cash in the bank.

OK, so I am a trainee eccentric :cool:

Eugh! Just updated my signature to reflect all of today's spends: £147.69 in total!
Groceries £28.89
Electricity £112.30 (for last quarter)
NTS membership £6.50
Still, it means there aren't any 'major' bills left to pay this year other than one telephone bill and the credit card payment for the dehumidifier, so that can only be good

PS: Money OCD aside, I really do have a seperate account for my quit smoking money, but when you are as obsessive and stubborn as me, 'quitting' smoking is easy when seen as nothing more than another string to my savings bow

SiannieLaz

Hi All,
would love to join starting 2009, any chance of getting my name on the list?
cheers

SiannieLaz

:T Hi All,
would love to join starting 2009, any chance of getting my name on the list?
cheers

System

happy final quarter to you,
happy final quarter to you,
happy final quarter dear frunckin,
don't waste your money on old poo!

_party_

(I recycled the song i had for last quarter to be frugal )

whitewing

SiannieLaz,

Welcome. Why not start today as 'practising', and then have a proper target for 2009. Budgeting takes rather a long while to get used to, lol! (Mine's going thro its teenage phase at the mo).

Frugaldom

SiannieLaz wrote: »

:T Hi All,
would love to join starting 2009, any chance of getting my name on the list?
cheers

Hi SiannieLaz, you are more than welcome to take part for the final quarter of 2008 as a practice run for the 2009 challenge. Welcome on board the good ship Frugalpop, thanks for joining us. :T I'll go add your name right away, before you have time to reconsider. :rotfl:

whitewing

Oh Jumble Bee,

You sang it so beautifully....brought a tear to my eye xxx