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

Skint_Lynne

Evening folks,

I had a nsd today, so am pretty pleased with that. I done a party tonight, so that's a bit extra in the pot. The next one is a week tonight. I have an interview next Tuesday, have to travel down south for it, so fingers crossed!! At least this time I am flying, so I can relax a bit more. Not many posts to go until I morph, I think it happens at 750, so perhaps tomorrow I will be higher up the pecking order.:D

whitewing

redglass,

Whenever I have something that I don't want but which has some kind of sentimental value, I take a photo or three before I get rid of it.

That is why I have a photo of DS's singing toothbrush!

Take photos and sell the rings. There's no room in your life for things that don't make you happy.

skint_chick

Marri Lou - I'd seen the 3 offer but I'd really like a fancy new phone!

My current one has several dents and a dodgy reception because the aerial inside it is bent. I use it to take pictures when I'm out so main priority is a good camera. I've seen a few offers at £20-27/mth - I'm spending £30-£33 now so I would still be saving. I use my mobile to call my parents and long distance friends rather than my landline.

NSD today as catching up on paperwork filing, housework, laundry - OH is doing diy.

Skint Lynne - good luck with the interview - is it a local job?

Redglass- I agree with Marri Lou - you shouldn't feel bad about selling the jewellery - sounds like your mum would have and if it doesn't give you good memories then you should use the money to get yourself something that makes you feel good when you look at it or that will be useful to you.

Skint_Lynne

skint_chick wrote: »

Marri Lou - I'd seen the 3 offer but I'd really like a fancy new phone!

My current one has several dents and a dodgy reception because the aerial inside it is bent. I use it to take pictures when I'm out so main priority is a good camera. I've seen a few offers at £20-27/mth - I'm spending £30-£33 now so I would still be saving. I use my mobile to call my parents and long distance friends rather than my landline.

NSD today as catching up on paperwork filing, housework, laundry - OH is doing diy.

Skint Lynne - good luck with the interview - is it a local job?

Redglass- I agree with Marri Lou - you shouldn't feel bad about selling the jewellery - sounds like your mum would have and if it doesn't give you good memories then you should use the money to get yourself something that makes you feel good when you look at it or that will be useful to you.

Yes, SC, it's local but the company are based in Leicester. I am flying to Birmingham and someone will pick me up from there. Fingers crossed!! xx

Skint_Lynne

I am going to be really naughty and put in 2 posts one after the other, as I cannot wait to see if I 'change'. I know I will get into trouble from Nyk, but I am desperate.:o

Skint_Lynne

Is this the one? Post 750 and I will be a serious moneysaving fan!!!

Edit: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy, it's changed over. xx

Frugaldom

Hello frugalchums :hello:

Spending seems to have come to a halt for now, thank goodness, but it still looks like I'll have used up about 12.5% of my entire year's budget in the space of 4 weeks but that's what January sales are for - pressie buying for the rest of the year.

This week, as already stated, has been dedicated to finishing unpacking and utilising what space we have to the very best of our ability. For the benefits of newbies - we downsized when we moved house in November, so now need to fit 3 adults,a guinea pig and 2 lots of home-based workspaces into a 4 room house. Houseshare is making the most of attic space, replacing flooring and salvaging wood of any description to convert it into shelves whilst we have been eagerly awaiting calm enough weather to get the shed built (completed yesterday) to free up valuable cupboard & porch space whilst finishing off the unpacking.

Sophiesmum, I have now found what I was looking for and got the photograph for you - it was the cheapest space-saving 'tool' I have ever bought and each slot holds 4 packets. It's attached to the inside of the larder door and there's still plenty of hanging space beneath it for stuff like pinnies, bags, tin foil, food wrap etc. These could be really easily made but, at 50p, I was cheaper buying this one in the charity auctions a couple of years ago - fully washable because it's all plastic Sorry about quality of piccie, batteries in camera needing recharged (You'll recognise the Knorr packs from App F00d as I'm sure you wouldn't have missed those. :cool: )



Slowly getting there, my biggest spends are catching up with being in a different house again, buying in coal, stocking up on seasoned logs, buying basic essentials, starting a brand new garden project and stocking up the shelves as I slowly get all the unpacking done. I WILL have it all done by the 31st, it's my goal.

Good luck with the interview, Skint Lynne

ISOM, well said! We all need to find and improve on our strong points and forget about trying to achieve the impossible. If everyone was good at everything, there would be no employment, we'd just do everything for ourselves.

Sarah147, I did NOT watch the chicken programme because I dislike the way most of these types of programmes are edited to suit their own agendas. Yes, these chickens are kept in massive, climate/light/feeding controlled sheds. Where I worked had about 6000 birds per unit! BUT they were not a mass of birds with no space to move. The birds FOLLOW YOU, some even mob you, just like they would do to anyone going in there. The cameras never pan the entire length and breadth of the units to show the empty space that's available to them, they only show the squawking mobs flocking round them. So-called 'free range' birds can do the same when you go in among them in their pens. :rolleyes: I stand by my beliefs - not all intensively reared animals or birds are treated badly during the rearing process and it is much more humane than how many animals are treated in other countries.

On a different note, however, I'm truly shocked/baffled/bamboozled by how many people don't even know how we get most of our milk! (I don't mean simply by milking a cow.)

No offence meant by any of this, I realise we all have our own choices to make, but food is food and we have plenty of it. We do the best with what we can afford whilst people elsewhere in this world starve to death - THAT'S what makes me most angry, the inability to resolve that situation. OK, soapbox going away, I should have left it until last to unpack.

Skint-chic, if you are being truly serious about clearing any debt and saving money, do you really NEED a contract mobile phone? Overseas calls from your landline can be really cheap using codes like the ones provided in the free tools section of MSE.

Food for thought for all readers - if you had NO DEBTS and, more importantly, NO MONEY, where would your priorities lie?

sophiesmum_2

Good afternoon frunchkins:D
Just catching up whilst on lunch hour. SL congrats at your new status, maybe nyk won't notice two little extra posts;) :rotfl:
Had my nose stuck in paperwork all morning so in need of some light relief a la dfw style.

General frugal aims for today;

• storecupboard lunch and tea
• reduce, reuse,recycle one item-lots of paper to recycling from office
• do something nice for me - ate two ferrero rochers that I found in desk drawer from xmas:p
• do something nice for someone else - went out in pouring rain with two cuppas for workmen painting exterior of building
• do one thing just for fun - go for swim , jacuzzi and sauna tonight
• fitter not fatter - swimming

Todays frugal meals;

• fruit smoothie
• HM batch cooked mushroom soup
• Hm batch cooked carrot and lentil soup, rhubarb and apple crumble, custard

Fruit and veg portions;
3 fruit, 2 pulses,3veggies,:D

Expenditure or additional income

No spend day planned -





Remaining target cash for first 6 months food spends - £256.84 left from budget of £400 for first six months.

Edited -
Nyk the storage thingy is definately the way to go, going to sort out some stuff and get a huge one made for the inside of my stockpile cupboard, it looks great.

No money - priorities - warmth , food , shelter anything else you can do without to a point.

mumzyof2

Afternoon alll

I decided to go tesco today. But first went to town and put my cheque in the bank. Then to boots and got he last one of te cheap conditoner it was 73p i think, i hope i got right one sophiesmum?

Then went tesco and got some cheapycards as DS has 3 bday parties to go to one on the 7th and then the following 2 saturdays I got the birthday children a pncil case and crayons and all i need now is 3 x colouring books.
They had plastic mrmen plates for £1 so got two of those. Robinsons cups for 9p each so got 4 of them
They had no cheapy clothes for DD.
Got sme disney princess xmas wrapping paper for 25p but there is nothing on it that says merry xmas so that will do for wrappin her scooter up.
I also recieved part of that payment this morning..so tats why i been buying things for the kids as it is really needs to be spent on the kids and not me. But got DS some shorts and me some skirts for hols!

Spent today:

£14.66 intesco
£2.40 bus
£6.00 in peacocks
£0.78 in boots (got 100 points though)

Total spent : £23.84

Dont need any more food now. I had to buy corned beef and i was shocked as cheapest there was, was £1.18!

angelatgraceland

Skint_chic-as Nyk says-contract phones are not the most moneysaving. Get a good deal on landline/broadband and you calls should be included in the package. I only make landline calls to landline. I keep the mobile for emergencies only basically and spend approx £2 per month on it!
I pay approx £27 per month for landline and broadband which is what you are quoting for mobile contract. It all depends how necessary it is to talk from a mobile phone in preference to a landline.