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

redglass_2

I had to work till late yesterday so I've only just read the gracious communications from Their Royal Highnesses. Please - no more! I can't take any more, my sides hurt and the woman next door must think I'm mad, sitting by myself at night, screaming with laughter....:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Frugaldom

1274 wrote: »

...Top tips I have learned in no particular order:
1) water down the milk - it not only doubles the amount you get but keeps you out of Tescos so you buy less other stuff on impulse (see tantrum above)
2) update your spreadsheet/spending diary daily. My worst slippages coincide with times when I don't update for a week or two
3) ask for money back when there's been a mistake by a company (I've just been given £15 by my mortgage co for mixing up the DD, half of my internet bill in Aug for a bad connection and had £5 off my mobile bill for the year and a further £20 in Jan for not informing me of a change in their t&c)
4) use the vouchers on MSE for "free" money off stuff
5) throw little bits of money into savings/debt payments/mortgage payments. I started 2008 with a six figure mortgage and it's now a third of that. Some were big payments, but I was also paying £70 a week for some months (very nearly what I used to spend on lunches before MSE)

:eek: Poundwoman??? I KNEW someone on here said they used to spend near enough the 4k a year on work lunches/coffees! Come on, own up, are you REALLY poundwoman? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Hope your cold goes away soon, Lynda. Try not to do too much sympathy shopping, you have a new house to 'do up'

All these top tips are great. I was going to collate them all into page 1 but then thought, naaaaaaaaaaaaah, let folks read through ALL the pages so they appreciate finding the extra tasty morsels. :cool: It makes the story more exciting and keeps our frugal readers in suspense.

JAMIEDODGER

OOOh paid another £6 into my 'start 2009 with a months challenge money in hand' account...:D

thats £20.45 in there now.....only another £557.50 to go lol!!!!

Skint_Lynne

PrincessAnn wrote: »

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."

I think this is so true PA,

Did you pick up on my tip on the last thread that I had bought new soles for my boots for £3.99 instead of buying new ones at £50? I'll bet you are impressed with that, frugal or what?

I like your signature at the bottom of the page, have you met Hilary Alexander, she seems to be impressed with your frugalness!!!:rotfl: :rotfl:

Your humble servant,

SL x

mumzyof2

£2.39 spent today..got to go busy busy will post tomo

1274

nykmedia wrote: »

:eek: Poundwoman??? I KNEW someone on here said they used to spend near enough the 4k a year on work lunches/coffees! Come on, own up, are you REALLY poundwoman? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Hope your cold goes away soon, Lynda. Try not to do too much sympathy shopping, you have a new house to 'do up'

All these top tips are great. I was going to collate them all into page 1 but then thought, naaaaaaaaaaaaah, let folks read through ALL the pages so they appreciate finding the extra tasty morsels. :cool: It makes the story more exciting and keeps our frugal readers in suspense.

No fair Nyk, I'm poundwoman's doppelganger! A coffee each working day (£2.50) plus fancy sandwich (£4) plus lunchtime smoothie (£1.50) plus crisps, yog or fruit (£0.50) works out at £42.50 and then you have to add the Fri night drinks at £20 a week. No wonder I was taking £50 cash out each week and spending it all. Thank god that's all stopped with the help of the 4K challenge (although I do slip about half the time and buy a £1.30 sandwich and still have my daily coffee which is costed into my 16K challenge)

tryingtodobetter

Hello everyone, hope you are all well :j I have been rather busy over the past week as have started my final year at Uni so everything been a bit hectic as I try and get back into the swing of things.

However I have had time to do a mock budget for next year, please tell me what you think e.g. things I have missed and things I could save on:

Monthly

Mortgage - £440.74
Sky - £25.99
M/I - £9.96
Council Tax - £126.00
TV Licence - £11.95
Broadband - £14.99
Gas/Elec - £80
= £709.63 per month
= £8515.56 per annum

Quarterly

Phone - £70
Water - £110
= £45 per month
= £540 per annum

Yearly

Car Tax - £120
Car Insurance - £120
MOT - £50
Service/repairs - £250
Christmas - £400
Birthdays - £150
Shoes/Clothes - £100
= £99.16 per month
= £1190 per annum

Changeable Monthly Expenditure

Groceries - £200
Petrol - £60
Entertainment - £40
= £300 per month
= £3600 per annum

Children’s Expenses

Beavers - £84
Swimming -£200
Guitar - £240
= 43.66 per month
= £524 per annum

Total Yearly Expenses = £14369.56

I await your knowledge.

lyndasharp

nykmedia wrote: »

Hope your cold goes away soon, Lynda. Try not to do too much sympathy shopping, you have a new house to 'do up'

So far my ebay bidding has been on a kitchen sink, a dishwasher, and an oven. All useful bits :j I've been outbid on the oven though, will wait until the last minute before putting another bid in. I've also picked the wallpaper to go on the feature wall in my new bedroom, though I'm not going to buy it until I move in and measure up!

I've also made coffee sponge cake, that should make me feel better. Sponge cakes are so much nicer now I have fresh eggs to use... think I'll be back here to get egg supplies after I move out.

System

i have just packed my school bag ready to 'go back to school' tomorrow!

boooooo i dont wanna go back to school, i want to do nothing for ever and ever and ever!

we do get a free lunch tomorrow through, so its not all bad

cha97michelle

Evening everyone.

I am finally caught up on the whole of your year of being frugal, so i feel able to post non-fraudulantly and be a part of the challenge. nyk can you please add me to the 1st post, and i will be including my child benefit for my 2 boys.

I should probably introduce myself. I'm Michelle, 29 - married with 2 under 2's. I have been on maternity leave since March, and will not be back at work till March 2009, when i will go back 3 days a week and have childcare for 2 to pay for. I am a science teacher for 11-18 year olds, and usually also mark SAT papers (something else i didn't manage this year as i had my lovely DS2 the same week as the exams, otherwise i would have done.)

My motivation for joining you is i have been watching my savings dwindle over the past 2 years as i have only worked for 2 terms out of the last 6, and i have a fear of going into debt if i don't sort it. Also DH works in the entertainment industry providing hire equipment for corporate events, and they have already had a few events cancelled in the past few weeks from big household names like banks that have had difficulties. :eek: I think his job will be safe, but others who work with him freelance may not be so lucky, but i want a security blanket in place.


I have also got 2 child trust funds i want to pay into, ISAs for myself and DH, and we need to make sure we have cash around for when our 5year fixed rate deal mortgage (4.95%) ends next May. We have been good so far and overpayed in the 1st couple of years as lump sums, and then stopped a reduction in our payments so we are still overpaying now. I think we have a good buffer against the credit crunch, but i still feel uneasy.


My particular challenge will be that i have 2 in nappies which cost a lot, but i have a good stockpile bought when on offer. (It is the one area where i am a snob as we do an experiment at school and the risk assessment says use only pampers due to a risk of inhaling the absorbant chemicals, so i will only put them next to my boys skins.) I do well on clothing them as my sister has a boy one year older, and she passes on everything (clothes/car seat/slippers/shoes/towels - you name it,) as she won't re-use if she has more kids. We have no social life as DS2 has yet to spend a whole night asleep and is really random when he will wake up, and he has been fully breast fed till now, although i am just weaning him onto bottles of formula and food as i feel so run down and exhausted.


So, i NEED to do this. I have got DH on board. We have started with a £1.38 spend today, and my particular tip is i will only go to the main supermarket when absolutely necessary. I have been walking up to buy one item we have desperately needed, and it has helped spread the cash a bit.

I really hope i can make some progress here with your help.

Michelle, x