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

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(((BIGS HUGS))) Marru

Hello everyone! Had a good weekend with preliminarily booking our wedding venue and the Registrars, we chose our fabric for the waistcoats (MIL is collecting off-cuts for us) and we got two of the shelves up! :dance:

Hopefully the only things I'll need this week are milk and bread, maybe some sausages :rolleyes: , as I work through the contents of the cupboards - I even took an inventory of them yesterday :shocked:

Off back to [STRIKE]lurk[/STRIKE] work

Frugaldom

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Off to uni soon ....after i go to the chippy....Talk later

I saw that! :rotfl:

HH - be brave, it's always difficult at the start. Remember - clear the first 3 days and then clear the first 3 weeks (almost there) and then 3 months... it's the initial shock that helps you learn to accept a situation, as soon as you can ritualise that 'shock' then, by the laws of nature, it should automatically become ingrained as part of your routine. By 31st December 2009 I'll have cleared 3 years. Although it is still quite difficult keeping to the same budget without involving inflation, I have no debts. That makes it all worth while. :j I want it to stay that way. I don't earn much, but I have no intentions of ever going back to work for someone else. I'd sooner drop my budget and adapt my lifestyle accordingly.

Marru - I think that it's important that your and DD's health and welfare take priority right now. Please don't be offended by anything I say, it is meant in the best possible way, but is also just my personal thoughts on a situation that seems, by your posts, to be escalating. I wish I could help you somehow, as do many others, I am sure, but learning how best to cope with situations and accepting the realities are such important factors that they need to be grasped before someone else attempts to take control of them for you. Right now you are trying to juggle being a good mum with being a good student, whilst being responsible for the welfare of your animals, walking other people's dogs, running your home and earning a living, not to mention trying to pay off debts, deal with an ex that is still part of your life and worrying about other family members. Then there's all the extra stuff you do - decluttering, listing, selling, matched betting etc, etc, etc. I truly admire you for doing so well and getting this far without cracking up, so stay strong! But now I think it's a case of having to look at the naked truth - nobody can do everything to please everyone. It is a physical, financial and psychological impossibility. Perhaps the time has come again to reconsider all your options. You and your DD need to have a good, happy, healthy relationship and life together and that might need to take precedence right now, even if it means complete change of lifestyle/location/living arrangements. Your DD needs your care and attention more than anyone or anything else; if you need help to provide that then it might be best to start there. Be brutally honest and accept that it's for the best rather than beat ourself up over things. (((hugs)))

candygirl

bails wrote: »

Candygirl, just a suggestion, feel free to ignore - what about humane traps and then releasing them at least 3 miles away (so they don't come back)?
Sorry to hear about the school shoes and guttering, extra spends like that are a real pain!
Just to let you know, Marru has an immediate plan of action and then we'll get things back on track later. I'm sure she appreciates all your kind words x
You're doing a lovely thing for your family SL, hang in there and you can focus on your personal challenge with us soon enough. Well done for printing off the vouchers, you have successfully reached the next level of frugalitis!

That's what i'd do hun, but my Mum isn't as animal friendly:rolleyes: :rolleyes: She just wants rid, but if mice can survive in her house which is very very clean and clinical, god help me in my pigsty:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

HH62

Thanks to
shaz_mum_of_2,
bails
and
nykmedia.

I'm feeling a bit better. Am going to make some time on Wednesday this week to get all my weekend receipts together and face the reality !! I didn't go completely mad but I spent unnecessarily that is my weak spot.

bails to answer your question. £600 is the total amount I have coming in, however I'm starting a p/t job next week and that will take me up to £680 a month so that's great news !

Skint_Lynne

HH62 wrote: »

Thanks to
shaz_mum_of_2,
bails
and
nykmedia.

I'm feeling a bit better. Am going to make some time on Wednesday this week to get all my weekend receipts together and face the reality !! I didn't go completely mad but I spent unnecessarily that is my weak spot.

bails to answer your question. £600 is the total amount I have coming in, however I'm starting a p/t job next week and that will take me up to £680 a month so that's great news !

Hi HH,

I think that the best thing to do is actually look at your spends and take it from there. Im my case, I have been keeping a spending diary since November and had no idea that I spent as much. I spent almost £50 on takeaway food on Friday alone, due to housemoving. If that was last year, I would have had no idea. so, take the bull by the horns, look at what you spent, reflect and absorb the info, and take it from there. Don't beat yourself up about it either, take it from here, you know where you are falling down, you are proactively dealing with things by posting on here and keeping records.

Rome wasn't built in a day...............xx

Marru

Thanks everyone. I have been doing so well in siplifying things and dealing with things even difficult ones. Today just at the car hire I reached my what Bails called final straw. On the positive note I had the money in my savings account and I was able to reach my brother to transfer it for me (and it was his phone bill calling me from Finland:eek:, I just paid only 10p for the text ). I will survive this and will now pick myself up, go and post couple of books I have sold and walk the dogs with DD in tow. Fresh air for both of us. Aunty Bails will come later to make sure I will stay in track so Nyk don't worry I have had the "Bails Experience" :cool: before and I can guarantee the effectinevess of it. :smileyhea

Catch up later,

Marru

mama67

((Marru)), when you get chance clear your PM box just tried to send you a PM.

Package on way for monkey.

Marru

mama67 wrote: »

((Marru)), when you get chance clear your PM box just tried to send you a PM.

Package on way for monkey.

Have just cleared PM box and thank you so much, that package just saved the day and a big drama during the lunch time!!!! :lovethoug

wornoutmumoftwo

I'm feeling a bit better. Am going to make some time on Wednesday this week to get all my weekend receipts together and face the reality !! I didn't go completely mad but I spent unnecessarily that is my weak spot.

Well my budget is ok, I suppose, well, maybe not, I'm headed towards a 9k spend this year and have been pretty much spending as normal as I need to identify the area to cut back on and this is the only way to do it, (That's my excuse anyway).

I've already identified some areas - the boys for one - the odd sweet/comic/toy etc etc, which Isn't in the budget but I have been making a note of it and I think that from now on I'm going to put a weekly amount away for them and then if they want something they are paying for it out of that.

My figures include savings for christmas/birthday....electricity usage as I'm on a prepayment meter and note it down daily, got us down to £3 a day a the moment and really can't reduce it anymore unless we start taking cold baths/showers.

I've spent a lot on food and this is higher then normal for this month but i've been stockpiling, so I know that although i'm high this month it will balance through the year (fingers crossed - been stocking up on teabags anyway).

You can't really fail at this challenge, although I did drop out last year, it's more about being aware of spends and after a while it does work, so just hang on in there.

AND...(Drumroll please...:rotfl:)

I made a loaf of bread that turned out perfect, it's only taken a year!
Strange thing is I thought I'd made a mistake, I put in all the ingredients as normal, let it mix up and then stopped it as I was going out and didn't want it cooking with no-one here.

I set the timer for a couple of hours later and it turned out perfect, so now I'm thinking that's the way I should do it, that the mix at the start and then the delay cooking time must be the reason.

That's all for now, going to start a de-clutter, haven't got anything for ebay really but if I can make space I'll have more places to store my stockpiling!:rotfl:

mumzyof2

Marru - Glad your feeling a little better

I just had to pay 20p to pay for my gas on my card as cash machine was not working. I put £15 on it on thursday and its all gone and was on my emergency money.. Just put another £15 on now. Hopefully that will last me till thursday. I cant seem to get the gas down as £30 for a week seems alot. I have heating on low all day as downstairs gets cold really quick as its open plan and no carpets (laminate)

So spent another £20.55 at shop!