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

bails

Yes, hope you are ok 2ndTR. Glad to hear Janey fine. Have a lovely evening all, shattered here so OH just about to dish up rice and dahl whilst watching Himalayas on TV
ps Marru, the immobiliser once went on our car - we were broken down in the middle of winter snows in the middle of nowhere on the Isle of Lewis with nothing to keep us warm :eek: Anyhoo, it turned out we'd driven over something which had switched the immobiliser on (in the boot) - all that had to be done was switch it back and the car was fine. Not sure if this is the same thing but might help?

angelatgraceland

Anyone who has/had kids under 16 between April 2001 and April 2003 see this form for tax rebate. Only a few days left to claim!Woth at least £529 "Childrens tax credit relief".
https://www.taxcredits.org.uk

sophiesmum_2

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Anyone who has/had kids under 16 between April 2001 and April 20053see this form for tax rebate. Only a few days left to claim!Woth at least £529 "Childrens tax credit relief".
www.taxcredits.org.uk

Just a word of warning that is a fee charging company who also take all the interest and try to look like an official site, you can claim this through the inland revenue and customs website - check under childrens tax allowances - and you will not lose any of payment - I claimed this last year for my sil:D

This is the official link-
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/ctc.htm

andan

Hi guys, just checking in as i haven't been on here for a while, tends to get a bit too busy for me. However wanted to update so have read the last page or so.

Spends are still low, although i have noticed that i seem to spend a fair amount on petrol, so will be glad when spring comes and i can start cycling to work which will help with the petrol costs. Too cold and dangerous for me to cycle at the mo.

My approved foods order arrived the order and i was very pleased, especially with the bottles of diet coke as this will help me when i am out and about.

A kind dfw is going to send me some free veg seeds so that is a great bonus and then i can get that started. Still losing the battle with OH regarding the heating.

Not likely to be going out over the weekend so that should hopefully be two NSD's for me.

Off to check out the freebie section in a mo for some freebies and continue to hunt for cheap theatre tickets and travel to London. All in all though i feel i am on track and just generally trying to rain in the spending.

However i haven't needed to go shopping yet this month but am starting to push it now! Weve had some wierd concoctions of late, so might browse tesco and see what deals they have that i can take advantage of. However, am hoping to get by on what i have in the house for the next week.

angelatgraceland

sophiesmum wrote: »

Just a word of warning that is a fee charging company who also take all the interest and try to look like an official site, you can claim this through the inland revenue and customs website - check under childrens tax allowances - and you will not lose any of payment - I claimed this last year for my sil:D

This is the official link-
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/ctc.htm

Yes-if you click on the link it will offer you a pdf to download from the address quoted by sophiesmum-so always worth checking where its coming from/going to!

Marru

bails wrote: »

Marru, the immobiliser once went on our car - we were broken down in the middle of winter snows in the middle of nowhere on the Isle of Lewis with nothing to keep us warm :eek: Anyhoo, it turned out we'd driven over something which had switched the immobiliser on (in the boot) - all that had to be done was switch it back and the car was fine. Not sure if this is the same thing but might help?

OMG, what an experience. Thank you for this. I will touch base with the garage tomorrow. I hope I will get my car back sooner rather than later but despite that I am NOT going to London. Anybody in healthcare industry: Is consultant dealing with diabetic patient be likely to ask to see the whole family in appointment when the said family has split up and live 2.5 h drive away from each other?

I just realised that if any of the recruitment consultancies will find me a job I need to get some decent clothes. My work clothes have almost gone to extinction as have only one pair of trousers and one jacket left. Thank goodnes for Curly and all those lovely vouchers that she/he has sent me. Sometimes I think what would I have done if I hadn't found this site and especially this thread and it scares me so much that I have to stop thinking about it.

Now I really am going. Night night!

Marru

sophiesmum_2

Hi Andan,
Looks like you are doing fine:D , as for OH tell him you will feed him nice things from Tesco's if he keeps the heating down:rotfl:

sophiesmum_2

Marru - my dad is diabetic and none of us kids or my mum have ever had to see doctor with him in last 20 years.

dND

Not a NSD here as I finally decided to do a bit of shopping and went to Bergerac. The publicity from one supermarket highlighted their value range and I noticed they had dropped the price of their white vinegar by 2 centimes. Not a lot but I thought I’d get a dozen litre bottles which I think will see me through the year so that was a grand total of 4€20. They also had their value washing powder at 3€99 for just over 5kg so I thought I’d give that a go, as it’s cheaper than Lidl’s own brand.

The main reason I chose that shop was they had advertised a really good offer on the ground coffee I like but when I got there the offer had been substituted for another pack format that actually worked out more expensive than the original packs before the special price had been applied ISWIM. I might drop into the branch in the Villeneuve if I’m that way before the offer is due to end. I’m trying to stay away from this supermarket because I rarely come away with a spend of less than 50€ no matter how hard I try. It’s only a few centimes more on each item but it’s frightening how quickly it mounts up.

Other purchase included cat food for the cat I’ve discovered living in the barn, diesel for the car and a couple of bottles of wine for the communal ladies evening I’m going to next week. By providing wine, I get out of cooking and as the house is nowhere near straight yet I can’t host a meal either. Thankfully wine isn’t too expensive here and the 2 bottles of reasonable wine came to 6€55.

So current totals are 259€98/7900€. I think I’m doing well at the moment but there will be some hefty bills to include when the electricity payments kick in and I need to refill the oil tank.

Marru. Were you parked by anything electrical? Sometimes pylons or transmitters can effect the immobilisation system.

2ndTR: I second Sophiesmum, it’s good to have a male perspective too. Hope the health problem isn’t too serious as well.

ISOM: I’m happy to be pm’d on mooncup/divacup

Happy frugalling everyone,
Deborah

grandma247

Well done Nykmedia with last years budget. I like the body shop stuff but I love Lush. My oh and I treat ourselves to something once a year from there when we go into Manchester. We never spend more than £10 each and we make it last as long as possible. They do have a website but I stay clear of it because I would go mad spending.