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Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

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  • nykmedia wrote: »
    Live on £4,000 for a Year - 2009 Challenge

    Groceries - £1200 (includes toiletries, cleaning & laundry products for 3 adults)
    • Toiletries £65
    • Laundry & cleaning £25
    • Groceries (£1 per person per day) £1,095
    • Miscellaneous £10
    This post will be updated regularly

    How do you manage on £1 per person per day?

    Save £12k in 2023 Challenge £12,000/£1,620
    The 365 day 1p Challenge 2023 Saver number 52 £667.95/£72.60
    CC debt 1/1/23 8385.21 

  • Marru
    Marru Posts: 4,126 Forumite
    My luck is in!

    I got a tenner from cash back bingo tonight which brings me to the level where I can withdraw so that is £30 on its way to my bank account. (I am going to go and play with £4.- thou :o).

    It is so quiet in here as DD is in bed and my poor dog is exhausted. She has had an hour long walk with me yesterday and today when I have been walking a client dog. My dog will be 15 in May so she is doing well with keeping up with us but I don't think she will be up in the kitchen with me when I soon will go and get my supper (which I alomost lost as caught DD earlier trying to share my last bits of chicken with The Dog :eek:, it was a close rescue)

    About weigh loss, I would like to drop 10kg this year and how I am going to do it is to instead of counting calories just being mindful of not eating empty calories. For example banana might have more calories than low calory chocolate bar but it also has nutritions that our body needs. So when eating empty calories body will want more as the nutrients need hasn't been met. I hope it makes sense. And of course doing excersise a combination of stretching (yoga) and aerobic (walking outside) would help. That is the plan anyway, wish me luck.

    I couldn't buy any eggs today as I "forgot" my purse home ;). So I am going now to see what I can rustle up with what I got.

    Have a great evening everyone,

    Marru
    "Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end."

    1. Positive Mental Attitude..Remember my motto!Yes, I was very selective about what I said today.. Everything was positive (which I am as a person but others aren’t and drag our department down with it..But the SFT approach won through today. Ha, Ha!)
    2. Sort out more clutter from 2nd bedroom. OH is going to do a bit today too. Well done to us both.
    3. Fitter not fatter-Could it be a 3rd Non-Chocolate Day Still could be..
    4. Fitter not fatter-Exercise bike/sit-ups/arm lifts All done!!
    5. Evening bath to relax before going to bed. Will have this now before Masterchef starts..
    6. OH is cooking me lots of soup-tomato, spicy parsnip and stilton and brocolli today. Lucky me.-All done by the time I returned from school. What a star!
    :cool: Frugal Living 2010 member MFW by 2014 Was 88,000 now £46,877.90 Grocery Budget for Dec-April=£173.72/£244 (Groc Budget 2010 from Ebay/Voucher savings/Quidco -If we can do it will save our £980 GC budget) Now living the dream -in our tiny country cottage-all thanks to MS forums. x 39 2 go
    Stockpile Savings: £89.72 Voucher savings £8
  • Ram-murdock...please can I have the spicky carrot soup recipe.. asked before and no luck and thought I'd dreamt it up/made it up as I know someone mentioned it and it was you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SFT

    Someone else mentioned it early in the thread but i couldnt find the post either so just made up my own version!!:p

    Tonight i used: 1kg carrot, 1 onion, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 1ltr veg stock, a smal knob of butter and about 200-500ml milk/water/mixture of both to thin out or make creamy.

    Fry onion + butter until soft, then add stock, curry powder and chopped carrots (about 1cm thick each). Cook until carrots are soft, blend in mixer and add milk/water to make desired consistency.

    tonight i cooked it with the lid on the pot and the mixture was quite watery so i didnt transfer all the water into the mixer.

    I dont like carrots but i love this soup - i'm inspired to try new ideas for soup so please pass on any you have!!:j
    £4000 a year challenge member

    House Deposit fund - 78% (5th September 2009)
  • hgbels
    hgbels Posts: 131 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    oops only 6 days in and I am not doing too well. I have not managed to read half the posts and when I try and catch up I then do not get time to post. So good wishes to all and I will now go a catch up.

    I have now started a spending diary and have managed two trips out with the LO's without snacks.
    we went to softplay yesterday (£7.50) and swimming today (membership). I have had to keep saying that if we go out and have snacks we can not go back again. Hopefully this will sink in soon as I have bought (using tesco clubcards) Merlin Annual passes so lots of free trips out planned - went on the London Eye twice at the weekend.

    Income side is OK but spends are not good - mainly as I do not have kitchen so can not cook. Hoepfully this will improve as the builders finish

    Hels
  • Frugaldom
    Frugaldom Posts: 7,139 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    How do you manage on £1 per person per day?

    I don't look at it as £3 every day, as this would be impossible for me, I look at it as £90 per month or about £275 per quarter. Not living near a shop helps but also hinders, as it limits bargain spotting, so when I make the trip to a big supermarket I stock up on anything that I use often. I don't buy expensive foodstuffs nor do I buy processed pre-cooked foods/meals and we don't have any takeaways near us.

    Back soon, house/renovation programme on TV now is filmed locally :)
    We're just outside Galloway Forest too, but we don't own a hunting lodge like that :D
    I reserve the right not to spend.
    The less I spend, the more I can afford.


    Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.
  • nykmedia wrote: »
    I don't look at it as £3 every day, as this would be impossible for me, I look at it as £90 per month or about £275 per quarter. Not living near a shop helps but also hinders, as it limits bargain spotting, so when I make the trip to a big supermarket I stock up on anything that I use often. I don't buy expensive foodstuffs nor do I buy processed pre-cooked foods/meals and we don't have any takeaways near us.

    Back soon, house/renovation programme on TV now is filmed locally :)
    We're just outside Galloway Forest too, but we don't own a hunting lodge like that :D

    Thanks, I'm looking at £350 /mth, likewise, don't buy processed or takeaways....will raid freezer soon.....

    Save £12k in 2023 Challenge £12,000/£1,620
    The 365 day 1p Challenge 2023 Saver number 52 £667.95/£72.60
    CC debt 1/1/23 8385.21 

  • Skint_Lynne
    Skint_Lynne Posts: 1,363 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    sophiesmum wrote: »
    Thanks everyone, have chilled out a bit now about the chooks. Very disppointed as had set my heart on having some but worse things happen i suppose. The allotment share I was supposed to be having with the decking guy still hasn't worked out, he keeps sying he will get it sorted but then goes and dumps lots of old flags and stuff there whilst he is doing jobs so think I will just tell him to forget it, although that site does allow chickens.
    Think I will put my name down on the other local lottie sites and see what comes up, I may get my chooks yet:confused: .
    Having negotiations with OH about the flat versus house thing.
    Currently have flat, utilities provided as part of salary, could now move to open market renting and would get about £2,500 extra salary which is obviously not going to cover rent/utilities/ commute costs etc , but would give us more privacy, more "off duty" time and I could even look for a different job possibly within social services with better pay.

    Suppose it is all about getting the work/life balance sorted, no point killing myself in another job just to pay for accommodation which I will never be there to enjoy.
    Also need to remind myself that I can have the "good Life" wherever I live, it is more a philosophy of how to live my life. Okay so I can't have chickens but I can still enjoy my veggie growing, baking, preserving , batch cooking,stockpiling and simplifying my life whether I' m living here or in the countryside in a house. In fact i can probably enjoy it more as I don't have to worry about rent, electricity costs etc, and we can save more here towards our life in the sun for the same reasons;)

    Note to self ...... stop feeling disappointed and sorry for yourself and get on with it!!!!!!!!:o :o

    I think you should defo stay where you are for now, your reasons for looking at another house are all valid ones, but the money side of things is good, ie free rent and utilities. Most of all, I really think you would miss your oldies. The way you come across, it's more than a job you've got, if you know what I mean. The chickadees will make it to your door at some time. xx
  • mk_wotsit
    mk_wotsit Posts: 275 Forumite
    Suffering from a lazyitis backache after my week off work. It's good to be back out in the fresh air and moving about again.

    I chopped up some Roses chocs and made some cookies today. We're still drowning in Xmas chocs though!

    A question for you chicken keepers? .... one of my old girls is laying very strange eggs. They're sort of ridged/wrinkled!!! and must be very uncomfortable to lay!! :eek: The shells are hard though. They've got oystershell grit and i give them layers pellets, mixed corn and food scraps.
    Maybe she's just getting a bit worn out and past it!

    Got some new Canadian bread flour direct from a flourmill (in the village of Bugbrooke, Northants) ... 16kg bag for £11...it makes delicious bread! :T
    Best wins: ITV Real Deal CASH,Trip to Lapland.
  • In_Search_Of_Me
    In_Search_Of_Me Posts: 10,634 Forumite
    phew at last caught up again...is this a bit like ww when loads on in jan and it drops off later in the year lol! Good that people enthused though and am not complaining - just wondered!
    Well determined I was to have a nsd and set off to w*** with my lunch...only realising later that I forgot the soup - no matter resolved to have bread and butter when my boss discovred soup (exp jul 08!!) so had that. Very nice it was too!
    Went to library to look for books and got 3 out on beading (trying to make and sell stuff) and got caught on yet another ***** library fine of 8.36! Its all coming back to me as to why I stopped using libraries lol!! Will note in my diary when theyre due from now on as thats a whopping 30+ in the last week! Definately makes me think more about my spending! Hoping tomorrow WILL be a nsd!!
    Sorry about chooks...they do smell quite a bit...can understand the frustration with health and safety...did an event in summer when wanted bouncy caste and the amount of paperwork was ridiculous...risk assessment, insurance, dislaimers....whole worlds gone mad but was determined to have it cos the kids love em! Was all going well until the rain began!!! Re Malta my granny used to live there and its lovely...very friendly and gorgeous bakeries fro my memory!
    great new re the ipod win! Well done!
    Nowt else to report other than am getting into more of a routine with updating spending diary etc but feeling very tired today so early night for me!
    Nerd no 109 Long haulers supporters DFW #1! Even in the darkest moments, love and hope are always possible.

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