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

Skint_Lynne

looby-loo wrote: »

Nyk - I read you post #752 as 'I have a cupbard full of chocolate stuff' and I though Yeah! much more interesting than Sophiesmum's cupboard.

Skink Lynne - My veggie diet lasted half a day until I cooked lamb casserole, my absolutely favorite MSE dinner, sorry couldn't resist, I will start again tomorrow.

Other MSE things I have done today:-
Double glazed my bay window with film. It was easy to do and as well as keeping out draughts will keep the paintwork clean. (replacement windows quote was £12,000) Film cost me £10.

Sophiesmum - I try to be petrol neutral. Any BOGOFFs, vouchers, coupons, points, etc, go towards it. This year is the first year I am behind when petrol shot up and the value of Goldfish points has been reduced. I try to kid myself I'm driving round for free:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Hi Looby-Lou,

I'm pleased to report that I have managed to last the whole day, but it is only day 1. What I will say (without being too rude), is that it is very windy where I am today:rotfl: :rotfl: , probably too many veggies around here if you catch my drift!!!!

That's the downside to this eating plan. And I have had a NSD, I've just realised:T :T :T .

Catch you all tomorrow,

Nite Nite xx

1274

Hello to all the olduns and the newbies!

I've bought my first Christmas present for the year - a DVD for my mum. My whole family are IMPOSSIBLE to buy pressies for. My mum is on a permanent diet, doesn't drink and doesn't like smellies. My bro wants a lot of stuff but it all costs £50 plus. My dad always says he doesn't want anything. Can anyone suggest things around the £20 mark for this lot? I'm the easiest in the family to buy for, since I usually have a running list of about 20 things I'd like ranging from £10 to £50 for all occasions!

sophiesmum_2

nykmedia wrote: »

Confession time - I have never seen, 'Sleeping with the Enemy'! But I do have Sophiesmum's photos from here and could do a copy-cat version in the new house for next year.

Has anyone here heard of a chef-o-matic and know if it's any good? It looks like a breadmaker but, apparently, you can slow cook meats, stews, veggies, soups etc in it as well as bake bread. I'm really, really tempted, as it's half the price of a Remoska and cheaper than a breadmaker. The only reason I'm hesitant is because I've never actually seen one anywhere, but even just as a breadmaker, it seems a pretty good deal. I've Googled it and read quite a bit about it, although I had to guess most of what it said as it was all in Spanish, which isn't one of my best languages. Oh, ok then - I've never learned Spanish past counting to ten, I used the pictures and basic root meanings of easily recognised words. But it made me sound a little bit intelligent for a change.:rotfl:

Please can I have permission to [strike]buy[/strike] invest in ANOTHER [strike]new toy[/strike] possibly powersaving kitchen appliance?

Just had a google of the chef a matic (in English) does look like a variation on a breadmaker,although it is described as an electronic slowcooker the one I looked at was £130 though.I've never seen one before but it may be okay.

cw18

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

And I have had a NSD, I've just realised:T :T :T

For which the shoppers in the stores you would otherwise have visited are no doubt silently [STRIKE]deadly[/STRIKE] grateful :whistle:

Congratulations on completing the first day of your eating plan :T


(Have to confess a sudden increase of f&v/pulses normally hits me on about day 3, so am surprised you've "suffered" today!)

slowlyfading

:hello: everyone!
sophiesmum, impressive cupboard, and xmas pressie stash! I wish I had my own space - I'd be stockpiling away but mum doesn't seem too impressed with the idea.

I've updated my total to reflect what i spent this weekend - i went to a musical festival and saw Rolf Harris!!! Does that make me a geek? I loved it anyway! haha still on the way for budget, and I've started my christmas shopping, and am struggling for ideas for some members of the family! But anyway, its better than nothing.
Hope everyone is okay. xx

Frugaldom

I'm secretly disappointed in that film now
I was 'frugeekishly' hoping it was going to be about an out and out frugalite high-society wife who lives a doublelife married to a spendaholic high flyer. She would split her time between devising methods to secretly stockpile non-branded foodstuffs and masquerading as the perfect socialite wife - a cordon bleu chef with a penchant for always looking good whilst throwing exclusive dinner parties on an undisclosed budget. :rotfl: Oh well, there may still be room for my blockbuster movie script in the making. :rotfl:

Soup now in the slow cooker, I've bagged up the last of the apples from the garden, packed another box of clutter and listed more on Freecycle. If the stuff doesn't go, I'll take it all to the charity shop.

LoobyLoo, I wish my cupboard was full of chocolate stuff! :rotfl:

Sophiesmum, I found the same page you did with the chefomatic at £130ish, but they are much less than that on eBid and eBay.
It says £99 on 'As Seen on TV' but I don't have cable or satellite, so don't even know if that's a programme here, perhaps it's meant to say $99 instead of £99? I'm still considering my options as the postage & packaging is a bit steep.

1274 - my dad is almost impossible to buy pressies for, but he saves up to visit several specialist events each year, so I ended up starting a tradition of just wrapping him up some loose coin savings. Every year I try to think of an inventive way of wrapping them so it takes him all his time to open it up and count out how much is there! I've used sweet tubes, tablet containers, home made sealed banks, tins, a money belt and all sorts - he would be disappointed if I'd to get him anything else now. This year, I'm growing him a 'money tree' made from a branch with a few green 'leaves' made from folded pound notes and 'fruits' made from coins. :rotfl: (We still have pound notes in Scotland.)

Janey51

nyk you do live in the same fantasy world as me don't you

I am about to brave the roadworks, pheasants and local suicidal sheep before leaving for Nyk's house.
I will report back on the new residence.

Mum's Memory of the Day

Mum loves animals but we only ever had a budgie because Dad was in the Forces and if we went abroad then quarantine wouldn't have been an option. However,when Mum and Dad were first married, Mum did get a puppy.
In the Forces, the house you live in is inspected by the Housing Officer now and again. The first inspection was due and Mum cleaned and polished before the visit. She bought fresh flowers to make a good impression.
When she walked into the lounge with the Housing Officer, the pup had eaten the heads off all the flowers and just left the stalks in the vase.

sophiesmum_2

Nyk and Janey - have a good day, make sure you tell us all about the new house:D

bails

sophiesmum wrote: »

a bit of a control freak psychopath

I'm not sure this is possible :rotfl:
Have a lovely day Janey and Nyk; love the puppy story :rotfl:
Sorry not posting much at mo, all v hectic here. More normal service will resume next week after my brother's wedding x

Frugaldom

Good morning, just a hurried hello as I'm NOT organised here, at all.
Thankfully, after the earlier 'monsoon', it has started to dry up and the sun is now shining for Janey's drive over here. Must dash again, hope everyone has a frugal day. I've not had time to bake, so I'll be splashing out on shop bought bread & milk plus, perhaps, some biscuits. Isn't that what 'everything else' and contingency amounts' are for? Entertaining special guests?