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

cha97michelle

Evening everyone.

A NSD here today, and i will hoipefully keep it that way for the time being, although i might have to make some bread over the weekend to keep us going. I am not that tempted though as i pick up so much bargain bread if i go at the right time it hardly seems worth the effort.

marru glad to hear you got the job. Enjoy your treats tonight.

janey i hope you are feeling a bit better now. It must be especially hard living out of the way and on your own. Hugs from me too.

We need to crack on in the garden a bit this weekend. DH has most weekends this month digging out all of the bushes in a large bed in the top part of the garden, and rebuilding the wall to make it into a raised bed. The blooming pain in the butt cat has started using it as his personal litter tray. Hopefully only him and not all of the neighbourhood cats. So i think we need to get that netted and sorted as soon as possible, because it will not be fun in there if he continues.

Iwas interested by all your discussions on motivation. I find i have lots of ideas but don't do much about them through the week as i get so shattered. Basically DS2 wakes up between 5 and 6, DS1 between 6 and 7. DS1 will have a couple of half hour naps during the day, but DS1 rarely has one, and has also started monkeying around at bedtime, so 7pm is now nearer 8. So we then cook dinner and finish tidying the toys away, wash up, and then both collapse. Then we have to spend all weekend doing all the jobs not done in the week. It's really hard. I got loads more done when DS1 had a sleep too and i could manage to get them both asleep at the same time. I think i probably need to think about what i need to do, as the days just disappear and i want to be very organised and have the house sorted for going back to work in March. One thing a day might not seem to bad if it might only take x amount of time.

The boys will grow up so quickly i guess i shouldn't worry and just enjoy it. It would be nice though to feel organised and less tired. Anyway, off to catch a bit of telly and then try to get in bed before 11 tonight.

Michelle, x

mk_wotsit

January has gone and I've managed to stay within my budget of £80 per wk.
That included a haircut, choir fees and pilates class, and a severe cutback of snacks and junk!
Good News! - My Capital One credit card is £147 in CREDIT due to lots of lovely cashback! :T

Pythagorous

Deleted - decided more appropriate to create a seperate thread. Sorry!

2NDTIMEROUNDER

Thank you to everybody who have shared their pearls of wisdom on list making, time management, basically life destressing. I have always known I am not the only one struggling with what needs to be done and finding the energy to do it, but its good having being reminded again that it is an ongoing thing for many people.:o Good to know FrankieM that you have managed to put things in perspective a bit better regarding your daily things to do. Hope you will find it easier now. ( A today s list and a sort of master list works for me best)

Regarding recording my expenditure, I have decided to start using Quic*en software. I had bought an older version off ebay some time ago for something like 5 pounds I think and never used it. It doesn t need to be the latest version. I find it easier to record and categorise expenses, instead of a spreadsheet. I will still keep the spreadsheet but this software is much easier to use to generate graphs and budgets and repeat spending as having visual info in front of me keeps me more motivated.

Many congrats Marru. I bet you are really pleased and so you should. Hope you enjoy your time in the new job and find it fulfilling and productive.

NYK, after reading everything you report on Scottish weather I am beginning to have second thoughts on moving up there now.:rolleyes: Hope the weather levels out soon though so that you can fix/rearrange the roof leak and the garden outbuildings even though according to this it does not seem likely for the next couple of days. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1132144/Britain-braced-snow-Siberian-winds-Arctic-freeze-makes-comeback.html Well done on the larder. I guess in no time it will be a well stocked minimarket in there.:D I seriously think that your future lies in pie making for selling.:) Let me know if the colouring I use for my posts are the ones that you cant read so that I can change or leave out completely. I will just use bold,if still ok with everyone else.

Skint Lynne good luck with the interviews. You are very right, as with everything practice does make a difference in the end. I like your positive attitude re being a law of averages.:T Good luck also Sianne with the job hunt. Very proactive and brave, you are.

Bails I am too, thinking of when I will be able to have a dog again regarding the own house situation. Miss having a pet and hope to be able to do it in the near future. Hope you decide soon what is right for you and your husband.:D The adoption fees look very high for me but at least they serve a very good purpose keeping shelters afloat.

MrDT re the income challenge. What is MB?:o

Blairweech thats not a VISA card. Its a slave card!:eek: :mad:

Have a nice weekend everyone and sorry once again for the long post but most of the time I find it rude not to comment on other peoples efforts.

Janey51

Stunningly beautiful sunrise this morning which I have recorded for posterity and sent off to some of my friends who are city people to make them jealous
But of course we all know that "Red Sky in the Morning" is a warning of the Siberian Blast to come :eek:
I am all but out of logs but still have oil and calor gas and, at a push, could use the electric fire if the power doesn't go out. But it would have to be very very bad before you get me switching on the electric. I still have quilts, hot water bottles and going to bed in reserve.
Of course, the most Frugal option is to go and stay with friends and use their heating but I have the Frugal Felines to think about and (as previously mentioned) 3 cats make a wonderful free source of heat.

Thanks for hugs and offers of hugs from fellow frugalites last night. I should remember it is only 7 months since DH died so not surprising I feel bad at times.

I am going to do a cupboard inventory today.

And update my signature. Not doing too bad but I want to cut back next month as I have frittered some money away when I look at my receipts. It is always a surprise when I realise the odd little thing I bought unintentionally when I only went to buy a bunch of bananas.
And, no matter how cheap some "Whoopsies" are, they are not a bargain if they are still nestling in the freezer uncooked 6 months later :rolleyes:

grandma247

Good morning Janey it is nice to see you are a little brighter.
I used to love to watch the sun come up when we lived in Yorkshire at the foot of the moors. Too many years ago now.
We have very high winds here so I don't think I will be going anywhere today until teatime and only then because we have been invited out.

Mollymop5

Well it's the end of the 1st month and I'm happy to report that i've managed to stay in budget.Nothing to save though as I'm right up to my limit on this challenge but I have managed to save £500 this month of none challenge money.This could go toward repaying a debt but as my Housing Association is due to make alot of mess in my home in April with rewiring, new combi boiler and radiators and a new kitchen I've decided to hold onto this money to redecorate.i'm hoping the amount will grow between now and April too.I don't post much but read daily.well done to all those with achievements this month.Hugs to those who need them and thanks to Nyk for setting up the challenge again this year :

Brighton_belle

Glad you feel a little brighter this morning Janey. I find it impossible to feel anything other than your DH would want you to be hugged by someone right now too and knows how much you loved him so disloyality isn't in the picture.

Cold but sunny here on the south coast.

Todays simplifying/frugalistic to do list:

1. wash kitchen & openplan diningroom/hall to remove thick layer of builders dust DONE
2. asda shop with mysupermarket list in hand
3. go to B&Q with returns and price up brackets for kitchen shelving. (I seem to have developed my dad's habbit of recusing wood from all over the place and saving it forever: about time some of the pieces in the attic were used:o )
4. take items to dump
5. renew car insurance

Master list is rather big at the moment with house jobs but I've got to be realistic. If I get the above done, fantastic

lilac_lady

NSD day today so my January total has ended up as £7.70 over budget even though I thought I was being really thrifty. I'm sort of ok with that but am determined that I'll make it up next month. Looking over my receipts, it's the food shopping that's made it go over so I'm going to try and give the big supermarkets a miss and see if that helps.

I know if I hadn't joined this challenge my spending would be worse so it's keeping me in check.

cha97michelle

It's a beautiful day here today. The snowdrops are out, DH is doing more work on the wall for the raised veg patch (taking forever as he is re-using the york stone from the original wall to save costs.) DS1 has been out playing too for a bit, but its a bit nippy so he is now in with me again.

I've been productive and been investigating mortgage options for when our fixed rate ends on 31/03, and it is looking good as we currently pay 4.99% and without doing anything our rate will drop to 3.5% with the option of unlimited overpayments that we can borrow back at any time. It doesn't look like there are many better options around, though i will continue looking.

I've also done a couple of washloads, and dealt with the post, and played with DS2.

We're going to have a cooked breakfast in a bit for our lunch, and then i will make minestrone soup for tea time. It is definitely the weather for warm food. We have all the stuff in. I might do a whoopsie hunt this evening as the last day of the month is supposed to be ok, and if nothing else i will get some bread.

I'm just going to pay DH's CC bill, and then time to sort some veggies for the soup i think.
Michelle, x