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

bails

Morning all, well almost afternoon!

After Nyk's post, I'm not sure what to do about the Qype thing- I can't really afford the energy to spend on it if I'm not definitely going to get the voucher. Is there anywhere where it says that you are earning towards the voucher does anyone know?

Yes HH62, it is. It comes as a bit of a shock, even if you previously thought you were good with money. But it does get easier honestly. The key is to be brave and record every little or big spend, however scary - then you can reassess what you're spending on and prioristise what's most important to you. For me that's my health and travelling - this is different for everyone - and I would much rather choose not to buy that new top or beers at the pub for example, in order to save the money for them. Of course, if I was in debt I would put my spare cash towards that. [for the record, I do consider my mortgage to be a debt and am planning to shift my savings there to reduce the interest, whilst using some money to improve the house rather than make overpayments at this stage]. Hope that helps. Do post if you're feeling low/stuck, even a full breakdown if you want us to help you find ways to cut back. Most importantly stick around and things will get better x
EDIT: sorry I can't remember, is the £600 the total money you have each month or is this a figure you've set yourself?

shaz_mum_of__2

SFT - well done on the big decision we decided to sell up and rent a vicarage in the country last year the intention was to rent and live on the profit from the sale of our house and hubbys redundancy.............................3 weeks later credit crunch !!! so we decided to do the self sufficientish thing at our house until we can move just no animals...........so far

ISOM farmers wife raising babies and animals sounds spot on to me ................is there a young farmers dating agency?? i seem to think there is one called country companions though

Mumzy- i guess the shopping thing is different for everyone i stockpile now but years ago when i survived on lone parent benefits i went to Mr a's everyday and only bought what i needed,now i use the local C00P when i run out of something ........it costs more but i won't buy anything else......if i go to a supermarket i cannot resist the offers and will spend more a lot of this challenge is figuring out what kind of shopper YOU are and making small changes which suit you .............one size doesn't fit all!! iykwim with the approved food thing you can swap and change your basket to reduce the postage costs as it works out the weight. A local market stall sells a lot of the stuff they do so(a little more expensively) i haven't bothered as yet


Off to uni soon ....after i go to the chippy....Talk later
HH62 i think the first month is the hardest as you are facing up to the reality and you want to do everything suggested on here take it at your pace its a long year ,i have spent alot this year already but have bought gifts in the sales and been doing a lot of improvements in the garden so it will level out later in the year...............just remember ...baby steps


Shaz

candygirl

Morning all:hello:
Just got my £8 blender from Amazon, so one bargain in the pot for today:D Am now waiting for a man to come round to give me a quote for the rust patch on my car, as it needs sorting or i'll be drivin round in a shell:rotfl: :rotfl:
Apart from that i'm deffo having a NSD as i'm not going out of the house:D

mumzyof2

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

SFT - well done on the big decision we decided to sell up and rent a vicarage in the country last year the intention was to rent and live on the profit from the sale of our house and hubbys redundancy.............................3 weeks later credit crunch !!! so we decided to do the self sufficientish thing at our house until we can move just no animals...........so far

ISOM farmers wife raising babies and animals sounds spot on to me ................is there a young farmers dating agency?? i seem to think there is one called country companions though

Mumzy- i guess the shopping thing is different for everyone i stockpile now but years ago when i survived on lone parent benefits i went to Mr a's everyday and only bought what i needed,now i use the local C00P when i run out of something ........it costs more but i won't buy anything else......if i go to a supermarket i cannot resist the offers and will spend more a lot of this challenge is figuring out what kind of shopper YOU are and making small changes which suit you .............one size doesn't fit all!! iykwim with the approved food thing you can swap and change your basket to reduce the postage costs as it works out the weight. A local market stall sells a lot of the stuff they do so(a little more expensively) i haven't bothered as yet


Off to uni soon ....after i go to the chippy....Talk later
HH62 i think the first month is the hardest as you are facing up to the reality and you want to do everything suggested on here take it at your pace its a long year ,i have spent alot this year already but have bought gifts in the sales and been doing a lot of improvements in the garden so it will level out later in the year

Shaz

YEAH I get what you mean, guess im just going to have to find out whats best for me. My local superarket is too far to walk every day.

Anyways been shop and spent £2.86 so need to update sig will do it after been for gas.

mumzyof2

candygirl wrote: »

Morning all:hello:
Just got my £8 blender from Amazon, so one bargain in the pot for today:D Am now waiting for a man to come round to give me a quote for the rust patch on my car, as it needs sorting or i'll be drivin round in a shell:rotfl: :rotfl:
Apart from that i'm deffo having a NSD as i'm not going out of the house:D

I wanted a toastie machine from amazon but postage always puts me off..why cant it be free like play is LOL. Im thinking il get one from argos as there only £5 odd..Im really wanting cheese and tomato toasties!
Hope the quote isnt going to cost you that much fro your poorly car

candygirl

mumzyof2 wrote: »

I wanted a toastie machine from amazon but postage always puts me off..why cant it be free like play is LOL. Im thinking il get one from argos as there only £5 odd..Im really wanting cheese and tomato toasties!
Hope the quote isnt going to cost you that much fro your poorly car

Hi hun
weirdly enough the postage was free!!It was an offer off HOTUKDEALS:D I just got my sandwich toaster from ASDA it was v cheap:D

bails

Great advice Shaz :T Sorry the country dream hasn't worked out quite yet; mine won't happen for a while either but we'll all get there :j
Mumzy, my mum is always telling about these plastic things you put straight in toaster that make toasties. Google them first as cheaper, or try Freecycle, they quite often come up here.
Hi Candygirl! Hope your car isn't too expensive.

mumzyof2

bails wrote: »

Great advice Shaz :T Sorry the country dream hasn't worked out quite yet; mine won't happen for a while either but we'll all get there :j
Mumzy, my mum is always telling about these plastic things you put straight in toaster that make toasties. Google them first as cheaper, or try Freecycle, they quite often come up here.
Hi Candygirl! Hope your car isn't too expensive.

ahh yes i know what you mean. I cant get on freecycle ive applied but no one ever accepts me for some reason. I will google them now though

Frugaldom

Good afternoon frugaltonians

Penny, I'm a little confused, has someone had posts deleted by the MSE mods again? We had a few problems in the past, sadly, but I do try to keep the challenge on topic best I can, hopefully without coming across as some sort of wacko dictator. I also know the grocery challenge have had similar problems with posts being deleted. I don't think we have banned subjects here, although I do prefer if they are kept user friendly for both sexes and all age groups, but this is my personal preference only, as I'm a bit squeamish on certain subjects. We could argue the point that long posts keep us here longer and make the cost of living cheaper as we have no time to spend money? :rotfl:

Bulking out dishes with oats, pulses, extra veggies, tinned tomatoes is brilliant for making meals stretch and it's also very healthy. I've learned loads of nutritious 'bulking out' tips from the MSE forums and will be using my batch cooked, oat-bulked spag bol sauce to make another 2 meals - spiced up and further bulked out with kidney beans for serving with rice tonight, plus the lasagne for the freezer. I can't vouch for a high percentage of meat content, however, as I split a pack of mince into at 6 portions before freezing. The above 3 meals include a total of approximately 65g of minced beef, hence the reason they are so cheap to make.

Is it definite that flour prices are being hiked? I need to stock up on flour, sugar and milk powder but have enough to last me until next month, but would make the trip into town specially before such huge increases if it's still possible. What's the best price anyone has seen plain flour recently? I'll take a look at the supermarket comparison site, but it's a bit pointless for me as I don't live anywhere near any of those stores. :rolleyes:

SFT - there's an official MSE thread about cutting costs of rural living, I've added it to post 1.

Marru

Hello all,

Rant warning:

I have had just the worst day so far. DD was sick 5 in the morning meaning that could'nt take her to nursery, the car came more expensive than I expected and didn't have money in account. Quick text for my brother and bless him he called me back and transferred the money for me so now we have car to use. Thank goodness. DD is complaining a poorly tummy, refused to eat scrambled eggs with cottage cheese. I yet again didn't manage to get to college, don't know if DD well enough tomorrow for me to go to the appointment with recruitement consultancy. I am broke, I am tired, I am fed up, I have so had it for having to deal with everything by myself. My dad has been sulking last eight years, my mum behaves like 5 year old, my ex is throwing tantrum because I refused to go and see his consultant...

Rant over

Not a NSD for me as went to shop to try to find stuff to cook for child with bad tummy and also to get big bar of chocolate of which with I am going to lock myself into the toilet as soon as I hit send button on this post. Not a good start for a weight loss.

Sorry about the rant. I will be back when I feel better.

Hopefully everyone else is having a better day,

Marru