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

Frugaldom

dND - re the rabbit keeping, we used to save the used teabags for our rabbits, we'd mix them with porridge oats, carrot tops and peelings. They also got hay & had access to grass, so I don't remember ever buying commercially produced rabbit food.

Tasks for the day - create 20 lunches for less than £5 - succeeded

mumzyof2

Thanks for the websites. mrsm also sent me some links and after looking at them all, sew and so seems to be the best one. Going to have a look at the stall on the market as the one on sew and so was £16 odd including del which is not bad but will see if ca get it any cheaper

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/cgi-bin/find/db.cgi?db=zoom&do=search_results&Prod_Code=59399&ww=1

In_Search_Of_Me

mumzyof2 wrote: »

in search of me are they in america?

no theyre in the uk....have got stuff from them couple of times with no prob...:D

In_Search_Of_Me

nykmedia wrote: »

dND - re the rabbit keeping, we used to save the used teabags for our rabbits, we'd mix them with porridge oats, carrot tops and peelings.

wonder if this would do for hamsters?

liloandstitch

carolbee wrote: »

I am looking for a house near the Kent Botany Bay, on the Palm Bay estate to be exact, I live a bit further up the coast at the mo, at the place known for its oysters, we are not alone!

Hi Carolbee, I am just up the road from you, in the market town of kings!!! We go bowling near you (although I dont think I can afford it now on this challenge!!)

Well done to pipsmum on the baby 9lb 4oz ouch!!

Lilo

Frugaldom

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

wonder if this would do for hamsters?

Hamsters are omnivores, whereas the rabbits are herbivores so, although they would eat all of the items I listed (and the plastic dish if you used one :rotfl: ), the diet wouldn't provide all their essential proteins. I think they eat grubs and insects in the wild, as well as seeds, grain etc.

I've just been poking about in amongst the forum rules in case we get into trouble for the number of posts being logged. I'm pleased to say that I cannot find anything relating to this subject any more, only a cautionary word about keeping the threads on topic, not advertising anything and not offering anything to one another (free or otherwise). So it looks like we are alright to continue without having to start a new thread on 1st February. I also had a look at last year's challenge and we were well over 5,000 posts in the first quarter. This is just a really popular subject and, despite many of you choosing not to do an actual 4k challenge, if we can keep the posts relevant to the household budget subject, then we should be safe from the 'forum police'. Just remember that what you say on here can be published elsewhere and is accessible to all, so please be careful not to offend or invite any sort of unwanted attention. (Tax, insurance, benefits, VAT, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines... they've probably all got someone on here, so... HELLO! :hello: Welcome to the best challenge thread on the MSE forums!) :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

the_cat

Firstly congrats to Pipsmum!! Hugs to everyone who needs one and :j :T to those with good news.

Haven't posted for a few days as haven't spent/done anything out of the ordinary. As we are all struggling to keep up with the news it seemed silly to post about nothing in particular just for the sake of it.

Having said all that I still haven't done anything special, but am plodding away at the challenge and doing quite well. Have only spent £83.83 so far this year! Quick question though - how do you account for your gas/elec spends? I could either wait for actual bills or use direct debit amounts and add that monthly, but that wouldn't be very acurate.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a NSD - must have a good tidy up and do some cooking. Also need to sort through the freezers and make a meal plan for the next few days. Lots of bits and pieces to use up I expect!

Frugaldom

the_cat wrote: »

...Quick question though - how do you account for your gas/elec spends? I could either wait for actual bills or use direct debit amounts and add that monthly, but that wouldn't be very acurate.

To get a true statement of how your budget is fairing, it's best to use the figures that are there at the time, so deduct all spends as they occur. If you happen to get a refund or rebate of any description, simply add it back into your budget amount when it arrives

cha97michelle

Evening everyone

I had a night off last night so i could do some exercise on the wii fit, but until we have finished off the christmas supplies i don't think it will do me much good.

Frugal good news:
I have spent very little, although needed a new 2009 diary, and got DS1 a pair of kiddies gardening gloves as he made his woollen mittens absolutely filthy trying to help DH dig the garden at the weekend. Food wise, i;ve still thrown nothing out, and i bought a medium size chicken for £3.50 from Mr S, and i have had nearly as many meals out of it as a £5.50 one from Mr M. Cashflow wise i managed to get to the bank to pay in a cheque my dad gave me. DS2 had his 8 month check up too today, so we got 2 free books, free toothpaste and toothbrush for him, and a drinking cup.

Frugal bad news:
I shifted some money about and i only have £400 left in my savings account, which is all i have to last me till i can start paying money back in again, which won't be till my first pay cheque in April. Manageable i thought,

but then DH's car broke down on the way to work, and after having £65 spent on it only last Wednesday to pass its MOT, it now needs a new fuel injection pump.

So, i think i really need to be here to help me make things stretch as i am trully awful and have spent 1/10th of the £4000 already. I have a horrible panicked feeling, but i know i am in the right place to help me. I just hope i can do this with my 2 being so small and still in nappies. I don' think it helps all the doom and gloom on the radio as it makes me panic more.

Anyway, i'm not going to dwell on it. We're lucky that DH borrowed my dad's car so he could get to work, and normally we would fill it to say thank you, but this time DH is going to hoover it out and clean it for them and only replace what he uses. Mum and Dad won't care what we do, but i thouht they would appreciate this.

mumzy kids parties, i don't know if you have a Mr A near you, but they do beanie teddies for £1 each, e.g. animals, fairies. I got one for each party bag when i did them. I've also been given nice party favours such as jigsaws or kids games from both Mr T and A. Poundland might also be good for some bits.

Michelle, x

pipsmum well done and huge congratulations from me for little one. My DS2 was only 9Ib2oz, and was nearly 24Ib when they weighed him today. He's a tall boy.

fallen_angel_shelley

Good evening. I picked up my fruit & veg and it only cost £5.50, I know it would of cost more at MrT's and also picked up 2 large tins of D0ve deodorant for £4, DD got me on to it, it has a lovely fresh soapy smell. other than that I haven't spent anything else, but tomorrow is going to be a different story i'm of to b00ts in the morning to see if the 75% of sale is on and if it is i'm going to pick up some bits for next christmas, so in a way it is money saving:rotfl:and i'm also going to get a couple of books for uni, I will get the money back for them because I get DSA with been dyslexic.


DS told me tonight that he is thinking of not going back to college in september and is thinking of doing an apprenticeship, hairdressing, so i'm not sure how this will affect my student loans/grant, I will have to look in to it.


Shelley x