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

cw18

P2MY - this £60 has nothing to do with cold weather payments, it's an extra Christmas bonus (or general election bribe depending on how you look at it :rolleyes2 ). But you don't qualify for either type on IS unless you have certain other elements/allowances/premiums coming in as well.

wornoutmumoftwo

I had quite a good day today, took DS1 up to the hospital for his routine eye test and he's doing well, don't need to go back for six months anf hopefully he'll be out of glasses i a couple of years (he has a squint in one eye and is longsightled - slightly).

Came home to discover a £10 cheque from Tesco which I earned by blogging for them over the christmas period, (if i'd bothered to read my emails I could have earned myself £40 but not complaining as the lesson is learned).

Fingers crossed for the £60, both my boys are on DLA so you never know.

Made a paella dish tonight (with chicken and bacon and not a prawn in sight - can't stand them). It actually tasted quite nice and was filling, a great one for using up left over meat and veg.

Bread - The bain of my life, I have had that breadmaker a year and I still can't get a decent bread out of it. I want a soft, white loaf or roll, and wondered if anyone had a recipe. I don't mind baking in the oven.

And finally, there was a strange object in the sky this morning....I think it was the sun but it's that long since I've seen it I can't be sure. (We're in rainy, wet scotland).

mumzyof2

Evening everyone

I cant keep track of all my spends so i decided not to carry on - I just cant seem to keep track of all my spends. I dont know how you all do it. But hopefully i can still post.

Today i have took DS to school and then watched alvin and the chimunks .. its a grea film.. and then my friend took me to KFC and paid for me I also went to boots for something (il tell you all in a few dats..hopefully) and spent £6 odd on those..
Came home and played xbox with DS and then had sausage casserole that i made in the sc.
Tomorrow i have college in the morning. Only like 3 weeks left till my test at level 1. and then i dont know if to do Level 2 in english or go on to level 1 or 2 maths (whichever they put me in for). Ad then after that do a IT course.

Does anyone know where i can get cheap party stuff for my DD birthay next month..she is 3? and also how much would/did you spend on your 3 year old? as dont know how much to spend on her so early after xmas too. She has lots of clothes and toys. but loves hugh school musical ut has all the dvds lol.

My mum was going to pay off all my debt but i did not feel right so she is paying off the smallest 3 debts (700pound) and im paying her back at £10 a week. I have come off my DMP and going on my own payment plan with my creditors..as il pay it off quicker.
Im starting to meal plan and get my meat from the market. last week i got 10 pork steaks and 12 chicken breasts for £20. hopefully thats good i dont know if anyone can tell me.

purplevamp

Taka - if it's your fave perfume and it's on offer, then I'd get it. It's only an extravagance if you don't really want it.

BB/grandma247 - I think back in the "old days" (eg the 70's or before if you remember them - not me though!!) we were a lot younger and didn't have the worries and responsibilities that we have now (imo). I agree with the community spirit this site generates, long may it continue :T

jtb2421 - [strike]I've got a chicken skeleton in my freezer. I'm just waiting until I [strike]use up the 4pt turkey stock and 2 pt chicken stock[/strike] get time to make a stock. I'm sure it'll be fine if frozen, think I read that somewhere on here (probably from SM )[/strike] Just read you've binned it. Ignore me

Cat Addict - your little lunch bag sounds so sweet. What a cheeky **** your hubbies boss is. :eek:



Back to business - had to buy a shirt for DS1 for wedding on Friday, nice black one from Pr!mark for only £2.94, Mr S for fruit and half price Frosties £4.75, BT 35.50. So quite pleased with myself as I haven't bought any impulse buys this year (so far...)

shaz_mum_of__2

wow i just can't keep up but from what i remember

nyk congrats on not losing the greenhouse

Sophiesmum - your pantry list looks very like mine i managed to get 6 packs of the branston beans today at Mr M and 6 packs of typhoo t bags too so thats enough for the rest of the year probably i also got spaghetti hoops at 4 tins for a quid the free(with the mirror) potatoes are on sale for 50p in there too

not sure who wanted slowcooker recipes but this is a good thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=43570

Having beef rogan josh tonight which was leftover from my boxing day buffet but spent loads today including £60 on 3 tons of topsoil for our front garden "potager"

Skint lynne i am with you budgeting should be on the curriculum as well as proper cookery classes for boys and girls

Shaz

Guesty6

wornoutmumoftwo wrote: »

Came home to discover a £10 cheque from Tesco which I earned by blogging for them over the christmas period, (if i'd bothered to read my emails I could have earned myself £40 but not complaining as the lesson is learned).

CAn you send me some details on this or point me in the right direction?

I had a NSD today so very pleased with that, got all the Ride2Work forms to fill out so I can get my bike and start cycling to work

wornoutmumoftwo

CAn you send me some details on this or point me in the right direction?

I can't remember how I joined, think I just got an email one day. It's a private group apparently but left a message asking how someone would go about joining.

http://www.virtualsurveys.com/
The group is run by this lot, and the blogging was a one off over christmas.

I have just joined a paid to blog site though, so I'll see if that's any good.

slowlyfading

Evening everyone.

Went to pick up the dog's ashes today - me and mum are going to go on her favourite walk and scatter them there. We both felt we couldn't face burying her, so this seems like a good alternative. All seems so final now, but we are both getting on with it, so to speak.

I've had another NSD today, so that's always good. I had my first person lesson (for me, I'm studying for the diploma on the piano) but my dad left me some money to pay for that, so I'm not counting it. Also taught my second piano lesson, that's £6 in the pot which is good. My bank account isn't looking so great at the moment, mainly due to the lack of hours at the bakery but hopefully that should change soon.

I can't remember what I've read, but I hope you've all had a good day. Sending (((HUGS))) to those who want/need them, and well done for all of you who have been so productive today!

sf x

lyndasharp

Sorry, no time to catch up at the moment. I seem to be really earning the extra money in my new job - left at 7am this morning, back at 7pm. Still, if anyone wants to look round a nice National Trust house I can thoroughly recommend Standen in Sussex, it's a very lovely arts and crafts house with lots of William Morris wallpaper. London tomorrow, then Dunham Massey on Thursday (near Manchester) and Attingham in Shropshire on Friday!!!!

The good news is that we finally exchanged contracts today, yippee! Moving date set for 30th jan, which is good in some ways as it gives me an extra pay day, but bad because I'm just going to have to put up with being really excited for nearly 3 more weeks!

In_Search_Of_Me

evening all...sorry mumzyof2 that youre dropping out because of that. I use spending diary.com for daily spends and also write in a small daily diary...in terms of bills etc they are just transferred from my main to ddm account and I just leave that as the money is covered each month iykwim. I used to get i a real pickle when my ddms came from same account as daily money so this way I know whats what! Whats left after the money transfers is mine and debt money...would you reconsider and give it a go - its an easy way to keep track...
hugs thos ethat need them; hope you feel better soon bails. Came home early from work as have had a migraine since yesterday and cant shift it...despite 5 hours sleep this pm its still there....
a second nsd today and 150 paid into bank today! lol re poking money! despite being a dfw for ages feel I've turned a corner in not wanting to spend - a novelty for me!
Looked at getting a mooncup but they were 21 in boots plus look huge!!! further investigation/thought required plus unsure about the ikky factor!
skint chick good that you came to a decision - sometimes the thought processes are exhausting arent they!
watching golden globes and just want to give the women a big bowl of mash!! theyre waaaay too skinny!