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

skintwellie

Hi all!

Sorry to hear your sad news SFT, will say a prayer for little boy's recovery.

I don't know how to 'do' my signature, can anyone help me out?
Still, I am £262.55 over my budget :eek: :eek: :eek:
I have kept meticulous spending records and a whopping £128.00 has gone on heating (we are all electric). Unfortunately due to me being poorly I have had to keep the rooms warmer than I would normally would.
We have also spent £302.20 on groceries as we didn't have a stockpile. After my first order from Approved Foods, the website has had 12 day delays so I've been shopping online at Asda.

The plusses are that I have made £34.25 towards my 'free Christmas' including a cheque from Earnawad. (Seemed to take forever to get to mininmum payout!)

Have also won a meal out voucher and paintballing day :T which will make good pressies.

Am going to check out frugal recipes so that I can plan some cheaper meals to get my budget back in line.

Overspent today, cos had to buy food for birds:o as over 8 inches of snow here and birds look famished.

Fantastic that most of you are in budget:beer: I'm sure my budget will pan out over the year (here's hoping!!!!!)

savingfortravel

SF-Kind thoughts on their way. Thinking of you and your family xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SFT

skint_chick

skintwellie you go up to headings in blue find the one labelled user cp - then from left hand side choices pick edit signature and work away - using different colours for each challenge /amount etc works well so ppl can see easily what you're up to

HTH

ram_murdock

Good evening all!!

Tallied up my spends for January - just within budget. I spent 25% (86.78)of my monthly budget on groceries!! A little excessive for me when i live on my own and when i spent 17% (56.55) of my budget on eating out!! These wil be the two areas that i will try to cut down the most this month but treated BF to lunch out yesterday so already spent £34 eating out in february!! :eek:

Good luck with the new jobs Marru and Skint chick. New jobs are so nerve-wrecking!!

Sorry to hear about your sore neck Mumzy - i've had a sore neck all weekend but putting it down to the start of the flu!!

Just back from weight watchers - a 1lb on this week - i'm gutted as i spent all week being healthy but for that one meal out with my BF! Going to have to hit the gym a few more times this week. Only 8 weeks to my big holiday and i really want to have shifted a stone by then.

Any how, off to have a nice bath now!! Have a nice evening all!!
P.S. i'm so jealous of you's all having snow - there is none where i am in Northern Ireland!! :rolleyes:

Janey51

sophiesmum Thanks for asking about Mum. She is settled in but still desperate to escape. She thinks she can get a job and move into her own house. Sorry to hear your bad news.

skintwellie don't worry about your budget being blown on heating. Don't forget the long hot summer :rolleyes: will mean no heating so it will balance out. My oil is £370/1000L at the moment but in the summer it was nearly £750....no way of budgeting for that which is why it isn't in my challenge.

Have had a ridiculously sinful treat...Low Sugar Alpen with milk and a bit of single cream
I am on a mission to put on half a stone so I'm not so bony any more. I lost such a lot of weight after DH died and I need to put some on.
Never thought I would ever be trying to put weight ON :rotfl:

Sarah147

Good evening frugal ladies and frugal gentlemen

Forgive me for I have sinned, it's been several days since my last post and I have been very naughty with my spending. I am going to sit down and work out my January spends and see where I can cut back this month.

Had my works leaving do on Friday and spend a fair bit (we had a lovely meal and drinks) but was worth it as not seen these people for a month or so and it was great to catch up. They also surprised me with vouchers for two of my favourite shops; H&M and HMV as well as a beautiful bracelet from Accessorise. I was very touched and humbled by the whole thing , especially as some of my old work mates have not been as lucky as me and are going to be made redundant very soon.

On Saturday and Sunday I had my weekend away in London which I booked when I thought I was going to be out of a job (a last dash treat), the train from Newcastle to London return was only £10 (yes, a fiver each way!), the hotel was £35 (basic but clean) and the ticket to see the wonderful Wicked was £20. I brought my food and drink with me. It would have been a low spending weekend had I not stumbled across the Abercrombie and Fitch shop I went a little mad but my sister had paid me back £60 she owed me the previous week so not as bad as it should/could have been. Today I have spend a tenner in groceries in Sainsburys which I expect to last the week. Planning on a nice quiet week, spending very little, although it is a friend's 30th night out on friday which I am really looking forward to.

Must do better in February...
Must do better in February...
Must do better in February...

Frugaldom

Still catching up

Skint Wellie, your electricity was less than mine and our house isn't what I'd call warm. On top of the £132 electricity, we also spend about £1.50 per day on logs & coal. I reckon we spent about £175 just on 'energy' in January.

Marru - health comes first, no matter how busy you get or how late you run, eating is an essential, eat something, even if it's just a bowl of cereal or bread & jam with a drink of milk.

12 whoopsied mandarins + 1kg sugar = 4 jars of marmalade and I'm really pleased with the end result as it was very quick to make - 30 mins in total.
Even counting in the electricity used for the cooking, it works out at 36p per jar, so much cheaper than I can buy it anywhere and completely additive free. :j This brief foray into the kitchen should compensate for my failing to get around to making the bagels. This is the first 'preserving' I have done since moving house, so I really need to get more shelves organised in the new pantry before the bug bites. I'll also need to try and get more jars & bottles - Freecycle, here I come.

Marru

Thank you mummy Nyk,

I can tell that I did some yoga that warmed me nicely from inside and then hot shower that warmed me up outside and then lovely lovely meal of mash with cheese sauce and burgers and now I am going to have the last piece of apple pie for pudding so I am well and truly ok. Very tired thou so probably snuggling up for a sleep with The Dog soon.

Sarah147

Forgot to say, I witnessed something on Sunday that really made me think.

I was walking along the river Thames by Westminister and noticed a RNLI lifeboat and a policeboat in the river, on looking to the side, there was a young woman hanging off the side of the bridge threatening to jump, whilst numerous policemen were trying to persuade her to come down. Really shook me up, I hope she is ok, who knows what problems were going through her mind to make her decide to even attempt to end her life in that way puts my daily gripes over money and all manner of other insignificant things into perspective that is for sure.

Skint_Lynne

Hi Guys,

Well I think the interview went okay.........apart from the excel exercise I had to do, I am very rusty on that. I think it's a bit far away from home anyway around 40 minutes drive everyday and no company car or petrol allowance, so I won't be bothered if I don't get asked back. I would rather get tomorrow's to be honest, if I get there!!! I'll check the website out in the morning before I set off.

The sisters are staying the night, they are doing the shop for me tomorrow. It's been really snowy today, the main roads are fine but it's dodgy on the back roads and in the housing estates. Slow and steady wins the race. Our wee dog loved the snow today, he was out diving around in it and he would not come back indoors. I went over a back road this morning which was a bit shady and the smallest sister was really scared cause we had a couple of mini swerves, she didn't know that that was 'normal' in the snow, and as I am such a fantastic driver:p , that nothing would happen. Saw a few poor souls who were not so lucky, a smashed up clio on the motorway on the way to the interview and a car that was stuck on a hill. Never mind, hopefully thsi weather will be away shortly. I'll let u all know how tomorrow goes asap. I really would like this one, so keep all your fingers and toes crossed. Thanks for all your good wishes. xx