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

Skint_Lynne

Good morning,

I ended up going to bed quite early (immediately after my last post last night), and I woke about 4am. So put another load of washing on then and went back to bed at 5 and woke up about 8.30. I'm just about finished the washing, just 1 more load to go in and I'm going for lunch today, picking my friend up about 12.30. I'm looking forward to it as I've not seen her for ages. It will be good to catch up. I'll maybe get som qype reviews done before I go out.

I'll go to in laws after lunch and then to parents after that. Then a night in with MSE and qype methinks. If I wasn't going for lunch, it would defo be a NSD. I'll just need to strive for that on Tuesday (I need to post a parcel for DH tomorrow). Speak later. xx

shaz_mum_of__2

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

Good luck with the move shaz,

My mum had collected more than 20 years worth of clutter, what a nightmare. If they ever move again though, it should be much easier. You've done the right thing sending DH down to pack, that means you don't need to sort through anything, smart thinking:T :T

:rotfl::rotfl:She has been in same house 45yrs and she is a hoarder i think hubbys plan is pack everything and sort at this end................cringe..............plus he keeps getting distracted by "useful"stuff that we should keep i'm an avid freecycler so hopefully some good will come of it:rotfl::rotfl:


Having a nsd as little sis is cooking my lunch and having a good catchup later while the footie is on


I had a thought about hoarding/recycling etc and sophiesmums table what item do you have that you have had a long time not quite an heirloom but one you cannot part with??


Mine is a pine rocking chair which my parents bought some time between having me and my sister so its 35-40 years old and still looks great .It was hidden under clothes in my room at home when i was a teenager and used as a tv stand in my first home it has spent a couple of years in the loft here from squeezing 2 houses into 1 but i have recently given it pride of place in my kitchen next to the (gas )wood burner .............................what about you?


Shaz

fallen_angel_shelley

Good morning everyone.
Congratulations JB on the new arrival.
I have not been posting but have been lurking. My b00ts.com order arrived last Tuesday, it went through at full price and should have been 75% off, I called them as soon as the order went through and they said that I would be refunded the 75%, so I gave them a call when it arrived and CS said they wouldn’t do it at 1st, so I pointed out that they said they would, CS said he would put a supervisor on to talk to me, same CS came and said ok this time we will refund, they ended up knocking of more than the 75% as well. :T
Ex-DH took me and DS out yesterday for something to eat, so we made the most of it and stuffed our faces, I’m sure DS has hollow legs. I also popped in to b00t’s to use up a load of £5 of No7 vouchers that I had, spent £13.04p and it would of cost about £50.43p without vouchers, it’s stuff I will use as well and some was for DD.
I hope my Dad phones tonight, I’m worried about him being on his own and been so ill, I really don’t understand why my half sister can’t give up a bit more of her time and go and stay with him for a while, until my auntie goes back (my Dad & witch half sister live in Gran Canaria). Apparently she is far too busy to give up her time to look after her dying Dad!:mad: I bet she won’t be too busy when he has gone to attend the reading of his will. Sorry for going on, but if I had of still lived in London when my Mum was terminally ill, I would of come back up here straight away, but luckily I was back up here by then. Sorry once again for the rant.
Not doing much today other than, studying and cooking sunday lunch.
hope everyone has a nice and productive day.
Shelley x

lingojingo

savingfortravel wrote: »

Orange Wednesday ..........does the text ticket come back on your mobile phone and can it be used for any film showing that Wednesday?

Hi SFT, yes, you text 'film' to 241 and then they text back with a long number which you either show or read out to the ticket seller at the cinema, and you can watch any film that day. Depending on coverage the reply could be instant or take up to an hour. I always do it first thing in the morning to make sure I get the reply in time!

I kept my very old, basic phone on PAYG just for orange wednesday (had to change main phone as orange network coverage isn't very good here).

HH62

I'm still here hanging on by the skin of my teeth.
I've totally lost track of my spending now this month - will have to wait till the CC statement comes in to check it all. I know I'm way over my budget though.

February looks like a much less expensive month. It was weird. As soon as I realised I was going over budget I seemed to think 'oh sod it' and went mad spending. A bit like when you've been dieting, eat a teeny piece of cake and then use it as an excuse to eat from a trough for the next 6 months. Well that's what I do, anyway...:eek:

Today should come in at under a tenner. I'm off to the farm shop for some bits and pieces.
Tomorrow I'm working ... :j so will earn £80.

Hope everyone is ok.

Frugaldom

Happy Burns day to anyone who celebrates it Nobody here likes haggis, so it's dinner as usual for us, although we may push the boat out and have a wee dram to commemorate the bard.

Cha97Michelle wrote:

We are now left with a dilemna. We payed £300 for the break, paying for MIL/FIL/BIL and girlfriend to go too as their xmas pressie. MIL slipped DH a cheque for £150 as she knows we are struggling at the minute. I don't want to cash it but DH said we should. I don't want to as we then didn't get them a present. I guess i can keep the cheque and only cash it if we are desperate.

Cha, if the in-laws gave you the cheque as a present then perhaps you should just accept it, cash it and appreciate it, because that could be you in a few years time, helping out your own family if/when times get hard. Think about it, at least.

Janey, I hope the treasure hunting goes well and produces some interesting results. In true 'Janey fashion', I won't be surprised to see you on the local news having turned up something extraordinary, like a wartime tank or something similar. :rotfl: Have fun!

Shaz - longterm possessions for me would need to be something small, like a christening cup. I have had so many house moves over the past 10 years that I now find it best not to become attached to anything as I can't take it with me.

We had more gale force winds and torrential rain overnight! Luckily, the newly reconstructed shed, despite not yet being made wind and watertight, stayed put! :j HS is outside now finishing off securing it then it's just to be felted and that will provide us with a new 'spare room' and allo me to make the most of kitchen and cupboard space - a must for frugal living.

Just catching up so will be back soon to finish my post.

Marru

Hello,

Just a quick one as am being climbed on. Haven't had a chance to read all the messages so will get to that later.

The problem with the car key is that it doesn't send the required signal to immobiliser which means that the immobiliser thinks the car is being stolen and cuts the fuel going into the engine. Only way to get it sorted it to get a new key and that has to come from the manufacturer as they are made to order as the code needs to be put into the key while the key is being made. I am waiting to get the key from France and the order delivery is 5-10 working days and no amount of nagging is unfortunatly going to make it any quicker.

For me having a transport and not having to think about it and getting worried about it is essential. This whole car episode has caused me to have a two big crashes in my healt within days. So I consider the cost of a car hire as a health cost for me as I have been so much better now that I have this big thing under control.

Onto more positive things:

Candygirl - thank you so much about the tip about the cheesy carrot and potato mash. I made a big pot of that yesterday and it was lush (and used up some woopsied carrots and potatoes so was practically free)

Frugal menu today

Breakfast - porridge with tinned peaches
Lunch - chicken omelette with green peas and cheese
Supper - above mentioned mash with veggie sausages

I hope everybody is having a good day. I will get back in the evening after DD is in bed to read properly.

Marru

Brighton_belle

Cha - you did give your in laws a present - a week of wonderful memories and laughter with their family and grandchilldren. They will treasure that forever and that is beyond price - you organised it and made it happen. The 'paying of it bit' is the least of it, IYSWIM.
I echo what Nyk says about the cheque - it was given with love and wasn't about paying back, but quietly wanting to help you out. They know it is tough financially with a young family. I am sure you will be the same sort of mum to your own children.

SM - have PM'ed you re glue.

Today's frugal simplifying:

1. defrost freezer.
2. remove kitchen cabinet from wall
3. Take returns to B&Q so get refund of £15
4. take defunct video to dump.
5. Make giant apple crumble in remoska & freeze portions

sorry to hear about your dad shelley - very hard for you being so far away x

lilac_lady

My morning has been lazy so I'm planning a more productive afternoon. I'm planning to make apple tarts with reduced 50p bag of apples and 5p whoopsie shortcrust pastry, have (another) decluttering session, file some paperwork and vacuum upstairs. If I do all that, I'm going to sit and watch a film later.

Congratulations to JennyB. It brings back memories of the first time I looked at my newborn son. Instant love flooded through me and I hope JB gets the same feeling.

I'm keeping the central heating at 18% mostly with a boost up to 20% when it feels colder. Put my meter readings on line and am now £57 in credit with electricity and £108 (!!!) in credit with gas. I got my loft insulated and cavity wall insulation last year so I think it's helped a lot. Please don't cut back (too much) on heating as it can make you ill.

I've had 2 NSDs at the week-end and even did without fresh milk and a paper to achieve this. I'm getting worried about me as I'm still determined to be frugal and it's nearly the end of January!

Edit - the apple tarts turned into door stops. Not so MSE after all! How do you all manage to produce perfect stuff every time?

whitewing

Congratulations Jb and welcome to a mad, mad world, not-so-little baby. I'm all broody as I got to munch a 4 month old baby girl yesterday who beamed at me and beamed at DH. DH declined to hold her though so I still don't have an image of him holding a baby to daydream over.

Have just subscribed to the Sunday Times on line, which cuts 20p a week off the paper price (as I have realised that there is no way DH will be weaned off it completely!) In fact, it will probably save us more than that as we won't have to get £10 cash out and dribble away the rest of it.

I have also paid DS's weekly Boys Brigade subscription as a lump sum cheque. For us, cash is a killer as we fritter it away whereas we think if we pay by card.

Out for some exercise later. Busy week next week, which is excellent for my business.