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Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1
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Bails, hope you feel better soon!
Marru, glad you're getting on top of things, I hope DD is well soon.
Mumzy, I'm spending just over £40 a week on electricity, logs and coal (we don't have gas) to heat a total of 4 rooms, so £30 could be about right for this time of year if you have heating and hot water on every day. To be honest, I don't think it sounds an awful lot when you consider how much the prices have gone up over the past year. And it's still less than 20 cigs per day and a bottle of wine on the weekend, so well worth it if it's what's needed to make life comfortable for you all.
Tonight's lasagne went down a treat, second meal for 3 from one lot of mince, and by adding a tin of mixed pulses and a sachet of spicy tomato sauce to the remainder of the mince/veggies/oats I have enough for another meal for 3 safely tucked away in the freezer. If someone had said a year ago that my DS would be eating mixed pulses and meals made with oats & grains, I'd have laughed! I just keep telling him it's full of protein and good practice for when he signs up! :rotfl:
This meal planning caper is hard work! Tomorrow night, dinner will be... umm.... late?I'll get back to you after raiding the freezer. :rotfl:
Edited in - OK, I've found a few slices of frozen roast beef, so I'll defrost that, slice it into strips and tomorrow we'll have frugal beef chow mein. I have plenty of noodles, veggies and soy sauce, pity I never managed to get the mung beans for sprouting. (The shop has closed down.)I reserve the right not to spend.
The less I spend, the more I can afford.
Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.0 -
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Evening all...sounds as if people have had tough days so hugs! Lol at the farmer shaz..not just time to advertise in farmers weekly at the mo but will keep ya posted! Feel sure that there are ample people looking for a suitable man for me anyhoo...!!
An ok day spend wise - a bit on red bull, crips and choc plus £1 lunch due to loooong meeting...
Re struggling I think it just takes time to "settle in" to the newness of it plus that alarming rate at which money can be spent when youre trying not to spend it! Logging spends can be alarming but I find when I do it keeps me in check - when I dont is when I have probs!!
Am going to have to tile the hall because cat continues to wee on it and its silly hiring carpet cleaners etc when its obviously not going to change...unsure how I'll manage as bound to be quite a cost...needs must and the stench is mank and embarassing when people come round...
Hugs Marru...as said - you cant be all things to all people, doing everything! Sounds as if youre feeling overwhelmed and I wonder when you last had some you fun time? hugs for you...
Payday for me tomorrow so my new spends begin!! Have done well so far and underspent which is good but will be needed for things like tiles etc...
oo forgot to say re come dine with me...looks like a great week!! Where do they find them eh!! Valerie doesent seem to eat/like much and the way her top lip doesnt move is bizarre!! Carpet man is, IMO, off his box! In fact all of them would be an interesting psych experiment if todays anything to go by!!! love it!Nerd no 109 Long haulers supporters DFW #1! Even in the darkest moments, love and hope are always possible.0 -
Im from near preston too
Nyk Yes i dont mind paying that much in gas costs as even if i had no money at all i could not live without a warm house. Some people will say my house is too hot..but i find it just right and so do kids. My summer gas AND elec was £400 and odd..but now im on pre payment for both. I pay £3 a week debt also on this.Sealed Pot dec 08 - dec 09 so far £27.67, Live off £4k Spent £330.20 GC £1,200 for 2009 Spent £50.78 PaD so far £650.07Debts: L/woods £154.00 C/One PAID O/D £649.90 Next £299.95 O/D PAID Gas £72.60 Electric £155.73 Mum £640.00 Orange £490.320 -
not done a great deal today.
DD is off work this week, but is using the time to blitz her house -- so she's doing school drop-offs (means I can have a lie-in every morning, and didn't get up until 9am today :T ) but I'm still doing pickups. But she's collecting from me about an hour earlier than normal, and will probably do the pickups herself on Wednesday.
All I've really done is phone and close the c/card account I tried to do over the weekend. This time I was asked if there was a specific reason I wanted to cancel -- simply stated a major drop in income due to loss of job, at which I was told "but it wouldn't actually cost you anything to keep the account open just in case you need it" !!! Told the chap quite firmly I didn't want the temptation -- so I should be getting a letter from them to confirm it's been closed in the next few days.
The other thing I've done (totally unplanned) is call my main bank. I had problems trying to use my debit card on-line on Saturday night (so used an alternative card), and thought at the time I'd have to phone if I had the problem again. Used it through P@ypal without a problem last night, so figured it was just a hiccup. But DS got an email from a company today to say a payment he used it for on Saturday (on-line role-playing game, with my permission and he gave me the cash) had been declined.
Logged on to my bank account to find I'd received a secure message this afternoon asking me to contact the Fraud department -- and it turns out that (because of the total change in useage pattern over the last 4 weeks or so) they'd frozen it in case it wasn't me using it !!! So the card is now 'unfrozen' and we've had to call the gaming people (fortunately an 0800 number) to advise them the problem has now been sorted, and payment will be made if they resubmit!!
Whilst I'm glad they watch for things like this, I do wish they'd tried to make contact sooner !!!! If I'd been away from home (bearing in mind one of the payments that flagged the investigation was a flight to Germany for elder DS that was purchased 10 days ago) I might have been stuck without any means of paying for anything :mad:
The one time it happened with a c/card company (the one I closed today) they phoned me as soon as they received a request for a 'suspect' transaction -- so I can't understand why my bank didn't do the same thingCheryl0 -
[quote=Am going to have to tile the hall because cat continues to wee on it and its silly hiring carpet cleaners etc when its obviously not going to change...unsure how I'll manage as bound to be quite a cost...needs must and the stench is mank and embarassing when people come round...
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try rubbing methylated spirits into the area. Cats hate the smell. It will be safe when dry0 -
Thanks grandma....anything worth a try!! Will keep you posted! Loathe to get new flooring as it will cost a good few hundred squid so all suggestions (bar get rid of cats!) welcome!Nerd no 109 Long haulers supporters DFW #1! Even in the darkest moments, love and hope are always possible.0
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grandma247 wrote: »[quote=Am going to have to tile the hall because cat continues to wee on it and its silly hiring carpet cleaners etc when its obviously not going to change...unsure how I'll manage as bound to be quite a cost...needs must and the stench is mank and embarassing when people come round...
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try rubbing methylated spirits into the area. Cats hate the smell. It will be safe when dry"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf"
(Kabat-Zinn 2004):D:D:D0 -
evening all
another quickie from me and im now feeling very bad at my lack of catch up
spent only £10.95 today in bluewater boots, took buggy up and got paid in cash for that and fares etc covered so decided it would be rude not to visit boots
another 10 shampoo and 5 conditioner squirreled away, 3 free no 7 items with the blinkies, 1500 points all for the £10.95 spend and have £32 in points already on my card for xmas 2009
sold another item on ebay now have 303 odd in paypal 42 is being held for some reason untill buyer leaves feedback ho hum ive sent it recorded so fingers crossed i get that soon
paid gas bill fineally so owe nothing yet on gas or elec just have to wait for next bill which i think is due march (the joys)
have to clean the house well tonight (not that its dirty) brother and his girlfriend are staying tomorrow, also have the joys of getting beds stripped cleaned and re made
have no idea what to lift from freezer for tea tomorrow, thinking cottage pie as done in the moska it will feed 3 adults and 3 icckle unsDFW nerd club number 039'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' :money: i will be debt free aug 2010
2008 live on 4k +cb £6,247.98/£6282.80 :T
sealed pot 2670g
2009 target £4k + cb £643.89:eek: /£6412.800 -
Can I have a round of applause please, it's my first NSD of the month, whoop whoop.
Caused entirely by the fact I forgot to bring my purse to work but they all count :rotfl:
Won't be an NSD tomorrow as I have a dentist appointment and no doubt it will cost sixteen quid for a clean. Sigh.
Signed up for QYPE but not sure if I want anything you can spend the voucher on, may be ok for presents but not sure it is worth my time. Hmmmm not sure yet.... The Amazon offer last year was fantastic and I got my goodies from them in the post the other day, the little toy is soooo cute0
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