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

SmlSave

:hello: Hello everyone. (((hugs))) and a Happy New Year too

Thanks for reminding me about spouting beans sophiesmum :T I'd completely forgot about the sprouter I'd won in a raffle and and will have to get on and use it. My tummy is rumbling already just thinking about the nice stir-frys i can do - its too cold for salad at the mo, softie that I am.

Hope your ginger cake and carrot cake making goes well Skint Lynne. I have a really scrummy ginger cake recipe thats easy to make if anyone wants the recipe - just PM me! Its definitely not healthy with all the syrup that goes in but is freezable so I've got in the habit of freezing slices to stop me eating the whole cake!
:EasterBun

After finally sitting down and going through 2008’s spreadsheet I think I have worked out my challenge as close to correct as I can.

The challenge is worked out from my joint account with OH, I put in 40% and he puts in 60% of the total. We both have personal accounts that fund our ‘habits’ i.e. gym, cinema pass, clothes etc…

We’re planning to get married next year and after that get double glazing! So any money saved from doing this challenge is going towards the above. I did have one person ask where we’re going on honeymoon and looked shocked when I said we’re not because we have to get new windows, actually thinking about it lots of people have looked at me askew when I mention how we’re budgeting quite hard.

Also just heard yesterday that OH’s company is planning to do redundancies next month so we have a month of nail biting to see whether our two incomes become one

Here be the challenge budget:

Supermarket Shopping – 2400 - I am going to try and reduce this!
Electric – 384 – Currently overpaying
Gas – 300 – Currently overpaying
Sky – 324 – broadband, TV and phone package
BT - 144
Life Insurance – 350.16
House Insurance – 277.80
Presents – 240
Enjoy – 240
Travel – 240
TV - 140

Total = £ 5 039.96
Years Budget = £5000.00

Not included:

Mortgage – As unable to change it
Council Tax – As above, I wonder what it’ll go up to?
Water – Definitely a need
Car – Need for travel to work
DIY – More a want than a need but paid for out of money saved by doing challenge
Wedding – As above with DIY

I have a small space I the garden which I’m planning to grow a few bits; namely peas, lettuce, courgettes, potatoes, strawberries, loganberries, tomatoes –in hanging baskets since mine got blight in the ground this year – and a few other things if I can fit them in. Fingers crossed this will help reduce the supermarket shopping. Oh, and I’m also rationing alcohol…poor OH

I have a whisky bottle (empty) that anything under 50p goes into and can’t wait till it’s full to count it! Not that it will be full anytime soon, its bout a quarter full now after 6 months! It is a big bottle. :rolleyes:

I'm going to try and catch up now with what I've missed, am on page 30 so far

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all -see Im sticking my nose through the door again already :rotfl:

Just wanted to say to Fallen Angel Shelly -Don't know if you have tried it -but when I make onion bread -I use the "crispy onions" (found near the mayo etc in the supermarket )instead of the dried ones -it is gorgeous - they cost a little more but have more flavour so you don't need many -I also have a recipe if anyone wants it

SiannieLaz

Morning All,
Wanted a NSD today, but gonna have to buy cat food, only £4.40 for the week tho, so not too bad. Managed a store cupboard week so far. OH cooked last nite and spent about £15 on ingredients, I had all but 1 thing he needed already in the fridge/freezer! Good job this challenge is just for my money! Although as my grocery shopping is to feed both of us, I'm going to start asking him for something towards it. He gives me £500 per month, £477 of which covers exactly half the bills, so that only leaves £23 that he contributes to groceries per month - I definately need more money!
Gutted the weather has stayed so cold, I wanted to start working on my allotment before work this week, hopefully it will have warmed up by the weekend so I can get started. I've only got a half plot, but it still looks huge to me, so I'm going to divide it up into quarters and work on one at a time. There is lots of rubbish in it, so hopefully I'll have one quarter ready for planting at the very least!
Anyhoo, got an essay to write, which I'm going to try to do whilst at work as I'm so quiet. Have a frugal week all
xxxxx

candygirl

Morning all:hello:
My DD's just been to see the midwife at the docs and she reckons the baby's small:( fundus is measuring 27cm and she said it should be 38, but i've looked online and it said it's roughly 1cm for every week preg, and she's 29 weeks They said she has to go back in 3 weeks, and if it's still small have a scan.I'm v worried:(
She is quite tall and slim though so.....
Anyway just had my tiscali payment out today, so will go and adjust my total, having said that i'm going out with Mum today so will prob spend more:eek: :eek:

tryingtodobetter

candygirl wrote: »

Morning all:hello:
My DD's just been to see the midwife at the docs and she reckons the baby's small:( fundus is measuring 27cm and she said it should be 38, but i've looked online and it said it's roughly 1cm for every week preg, and she's 29 weeks They said she has to go back in 3 weeks, and if it's still small have a scan.I'm v worried:(
:eek: :eek:

They said this to me all the way through my pregnancy for DS1 I was about 6 weeks under the measurement all the way through, anyway DS1 arrived and was 8lb 6oz so hardly small!! Try not to worry, they will send her for a scan to check the size if need be.

On the money saving front I have finally remebered free bingo so I have reserved some tickets and will be popping back there throughout the day to get the rest. I won £60 playing through my £10 to get £15 cash back off Oily hands so £65 profit :j :j

Hope everyone has a great day.

TTDB.x.

grandma247

Bails If the jumper was machine washable it will never felt because the wool has been treated in such a way that it can't felt. I think they shave or flatten the fibres in the spinning process.

nickynoo08

Hiya peeps had a busy morning so far. Filled up d/w and w/m will put them on after tea when heating comes on then i can dry clothes on rads.
Just got back from a 2hr walk with my friend - we talk and walk and obviously had a lot to catch up on. My legs are killing me now. Having a much needed nsd today, but i'll prob need to pick up some more milk AGAIN tomoro.
Can anyone help please? You've all inspired me and i want to start growing herbs and chillis in my kitchen on my window sil. Have only got a tiny back yard - litteraly just big enough for wheelie bin:rotfl: . Do i need anything special or can i just go right ahead n plant them (when i get them next week) i've never grown anything before in my life so be gentle:o.
Nyk - totally with you on stockpiling. I normally just stockpile toiletries - have enough to last us 6months, but i'm seriously thinking about stocking up on tinned goods while they are still cheapish. Already got a few bits n bobs but i think for the next few months i'll be getting a few extra of everything just in case the value products dissapear altogether.

Todays plan....
Fill d/w, dry, put away
Fill w/m dry, iron,put away
Keep heating to a minimum and wear loadsa layers instead

Todays food...
B -cereal
L -cheese toastie
T -something out of freezer - only me and ds tonight. OH working nights so will do him a pack up so he's not tempted to splurge on choccies;)

bails

I know we're all finding it hard to keep up with the number of posts on the thread and while it is important to come up with ways to make it easier to read, I would also hate to think that someone couldn't post if they felt they needed support.

Perhaps we could do what we can to keep posts down - reply to several posts in one post, only quote the relevant part of a post (if you don't know how to do this: click on quote and then highlight the bits of the post you don't need then delete. Just make sure you leave the square brackets at either end), try not to use the forum like MSN ie having a conversation but PM in that instance - any more suggestions? I'm certainly not having a go at anyone here, as I do some of these things too What I would hope is that if we are 'frugal' with these things then the thread will slow down enough. I still also think it will ease off as time goes on (and remember that the 87 pages have taken longer than the 8 days of the challenge as the thread was started a fair bit before that.)

I know it's important to keep 'on topic' and yet it's also really important to me that we can sustain the level of friendship, support and community spirit we've built up here over the past year, both for old and new challengers alike, which means people still feeling able to post when they need us. I would hate to think that, for pure example, Janey or Kittikins wouldn't have felt able to post, or that others won't feel okay to do so in the future. What does everyone else think?

Sorry, I'm now making the thread long by talking about how long it is :rolleyes::rotfl:

*Please avert your eyes if you find personal talk offensive, I'm sorry in advance*

Can I ask for some help for any natural/homeopathic remedies you may know of for the (mostly) women's problem beginning with a c? I've just been prescribed my 3rd lot of antibiotics in a short space of time - is there any other cure in conventional medicine :rolleyes: - and I simply can't take them as my immune system is already severely weakened by the last two lots . This may seem off topic but please trust me it is very relevant to my finances, my Health and Wellbeing costs are 5k+ a year as it is and if I go downhill these costs will go up plus I won't be able to work.:( Thanks so much for any advice you have (know about the cranberry juice) and will pop off to see if I can find out which one of you was talking about homeopathy the other day.

Candygirl, I hope TTDB's post has reassured you a little, try not to worry x
Thanks for that info Grandma, you are indeed a fountain of knowledge :T So can I assume from that if I find something which is handwash only it will work?

fallen_angel_shelley

Bails- have you tired drinking cranbury juice? also if you go to the chemist, they do a cranbury treatment which is very good, so im told. hope that helps and that the 'c' is what i think it is.

The guy has just been to read my elec meter, he all most took the front door of he knocked so hard frightend the bl00dy life out of me, anyway couldn't let him in to read because the cupboard where it is, is full of junk and the meter is right at the back, i dreading the bill:eek: we had a new heating system put in last summer, HA told me it was cheaper (economy10) and it isn't, only cheap if you use at the right time, 1-5am, 1-4pm and 8-10pm, i do try hard and only use the WM, cooker and heat water at these times but some times its hard.

Shelley x

purplevamp

fallen angel shelley - currants should be ok, I know they burn when you cook them in the oven and they're not totally in the bread/cake. Being in the bm should be fine, try it and let us know

Nyk - good idea re: new thread for Feb, like you said you don't want to get into trouble :rotfl: . Are people normally this chatty at the beginning of the challenge?! It's a full time job keeping up!! Not complaining as it's lovely to hear how everyone is getting on and picking up useful bits of information. What I do is open a separate window for replying, whilst reading the posts, then if something pops up that I want to reply to I just type in the other window (iyswim???) I'll try to keep my posts to a minimum...

nickynoo08 - I grew chillies and peppers on my window sill last year and was very pleased with the results, I'm going to do it again this year.

Received my turkey recipe book which I won on the meal or no meal advent calendar comps. No turkey to use up but better late than never :rolleyes:

Woke up this morning to find my broad bean plants limping all over the sink, so i had to tape 3 wooden skewers together for each plant to hold them up.

Today was going to be a NSD for me but we've got 1 banana and 1 apple left, so will send DH to the shops before picking the children up. He has been warned about buying random stuff