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

dND

Hi everyone, I'm still here even if life has rather overtaken me for the last week or so and I've not been on the forum.

I don't stand a chance of reading all the posts I've missed so :grouphug: to all those who need them :j to those who are due them.

I was meaning to post the end of month total but that's been and gone and I'm already spending the February monies. So far this month it's 90€ on logs, 29€79 on groceries, 20€72 electricity(bringing account back to 0) and 13€25 on a 25kg bag of bicarb.

Running totals
Electricity 20.72/610
Oil 0/1300
Logs 90/300
Paraffin 52.29/100
Foodstuffs 141.82/2200
Toiletries, cleaning etc 30.39/100
Cat food 2.42/400
Entertainment 17.47/400
Gifts 6.55/100
Diesel 95/1350
Everything else 52.82/1040

Total 509.48/7900

The figures are still very skewed as I'm using up store cupboard stuff (I had 4 sacks of cat food bought on offer) and I know my diesel and entertainment spends will be much higher when people are here in the summer but I'm pleased to see the spends being kept in check. This challenge has really helped reduce my impulse buying. :T

Now off to update my signature, I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Deborah

fallen_angel_shelley

Good morning. Congratulations to SF & SL :T and everyone else that has had good news this week and big hugs for those that need one. I am still taking part in the 4K challenge just not been posting much but have been up-dating my sig and lurking. So far this week I have had 2 NSD (mon & wed):j, today could be a NSD as well, just depends on what I do with my hour between lectuers later. Got loads of uni work on the go right now.

Ex-DH frightend me the day, he phoned to say that DS hadn't got home from college and had I seen him, I hadn't, we tried phoning him but got no reply, I was very worried as he was 2 hours late by this time, EX then text me an hour later to say he had found him, in bed, DS had come in from college and gone straght to bed because he was felling ill after the MMR booster jab he had the week before.


take care everyone if you have to go out in the snow.


Shelley x

bails

Congratulations SL, really happy for you! :T
Glad you found your son Shelley!
Hi everyone! :hello:
Got some good bargains yesterday before the lecture - had my eye on some reduced stilton with apricots but waited and got them for 30p each (they'd have been binned if not sold at this price :mad:) and 6 swede for 15p each. Will need to do something with the swede tonight hopefully as we're away all weekend; the stilton will be used in yummy risotttos :T
I'll be spending today, some non-4k money (health budget) and also need to work out what to give my friend's baby for 1st birthday - any frugal ideas out there?

cha97michelle

I'm just lurking around at home today, so it should hopefully be my first NSD of the month. I was thinking i might take the boys to rhyme time at the library, but it is snowing heavily again and i don't fancy getting both of them cold and soaked for the sake of 1 hour out, especially as both have colds already.

My butternut squash, carrot and red lentil soup is cooking in the slow cooker, and it looks like there will be loads of portions of that for the freezer for future weeks. I might have to have a rejig of the freezer to get it in. I think i could do with making a loaf today too rather than buying one.

shelley i can understand why you were worried. Did ex not think to check his room 1st? Men can be daft can't they

marru we got a tax rebat on the 2nd and were shocked how quick they paid it. Result.

bails wrote: »

I'll be spending today, some non-4k money (health budget) and also need to work out what to give my friend's baby for 1st birthday - any frugal ideas out there?

I have a couple
1) try and collect a set of 2008 coins with the sheild design on, stick to some card, try and find the text online about the guy who won the competition to design it. You'd need a £1, 2p, 1p, 10p, 5p, 20p, 50p. The designer was a student called Matthew Dent. (only know this as someone bought our DS2 the official set when he was born, and it is lovely, but probably cost a bomb)

2) get a set of stamps that were issued in 2008, we buy our DS1 a set of stamps every year for him to keep. These can be as cheap as £4 and you could put a little note in about wanting them to have a souvenir of the year they were born.

3) make a time capsule type thing - put in a couple of things that are around now, thinking perhaps packaging, list of what was in the charts on the day he was born, what happened in the news, popular telly programmes, pack of footy stickers? Whatever really, with the plan of the parents saving it till the child is older.

Anyway, back to the kiddlies.
Michelle, x

fallen_angel_shelley

Michelle- No, he didn't think to look if he was in his room, he said he had noticed the lights on up stairs, when he got in, but was to lazzy to go and turn them off:rolleyes: MEN:mad:

lilac_lady

By reading the latest posts, I've had a bit more help on staying on the frugal path.

dND - you are so right, this challenge does stop impulse spending. Needs not wants - it's good to be reminded of that basic rule.

cha97michelle - I never thought about saving a single kind of £1 coin before. there's too many of them to save them all but if I pick a specific pattern, I may be persuaded into trying a little side savings project.

Thanks to you both and to all the others who are doing wonders.

liloandstitch

Well I have managed to knock the takeaways on the head - being off work is helping, I am cooking meals for the evening rather than being too lazy. I actually had £45 left from last weeks £70.00 as we did not eat our, or need to buy in much food (ate out of the store cupboard). Used some of it this week to stock up on cards for the year - our post office is having a refurb and selling off its cards off 1/2 price. I know I should make them - and have all the stuff, but havent had time up til now and havent needed the extra stress!! I have bought this years, and anything I manage to make now I have more time can be used to stock pile for next year. I also had to spend £7.10 on another prescription for DH, he is having trouble taking statins, as it sets off serious joint pain due to a spine condition. This is his 3rd lot, and if this doesnt work he wont be taking them, and we have to try and do something else to reduce his heart risk - his cholesterol is genetic, so all we can do is try and increase his 'good' cholesterol, take plant sterols and increase his exercise!!!!!

Anyway, this week is doing well - mostly NSDs this week except yesterday (cards and prescription). I have also found 2 for 1 on rail travel in the Sun, so that should reduce the cost of some of our travel for the Marsden over the next month.

Have a good day everyone, and lol to the missing son found in bed!!!!!
Lilo

skint_chick

bails - chamichelle's ideas are good - i got coins and stamp sets when i was born and still have them - if you want to do the 2008 coins I've got a 1p 2p 5p and 10p you can have to start you off! If you can knit then you could knit a little cardigan a size too big or a cot blanket- my mum does this for every baby she hears about

Shelley - Men! I'm sure you were glad at that point he was an ex :rolleyes:

Bad news - too much snow for mystery shopping so rescheduled (but don't have to eat fast food for lunch and dinner)

Good news - I finally have a reason why I struggle to lose weight and can't get pregnant - I have polycystic ovaries. At long last I know what is wrong and have reserved library books about it so I can find out how to minimise the effects - special low GI low carb diet and lots of exercise.

NSD as I'm at home and have my mosaic project glued down so all I need to do is mix some blue grout once it's dried I'm really pleased - it's not perfect but it is my first attempt in 14years!!

bails

I'm afraid I need to vent...

I was just getting out of my car outside my house as a car came towards me. I thought he's bound to slow down for the literally two seconds it'll take me to shut the door and move out of the road but no, not only does he keep driving he deliberately speeds up so that he splashes me from head to toe in dirty water :mad::mad::mad: The best bit? He's my neighbour!!!! :mad::mad: I walked up to his car and when he finally opened the car door it took all my strength to only say 'Was that really necessary?' quite calmly. His reply? 'What did you want me to do, stop or something?' :eek: At which point the air was filled with some very colourful language. I have spent the last 10 minutes seething and thinking of all the ways I'd like to get my own back - report his car stolen , key the side etc - and am now much calmer :rotfl:If you want to be an idiot, that's one thing, but to do it literally on your own doorstep - now that's a true imbecile.
And, breathe...:D

Thanks for the pressie advice, they're good ideas but don't think I've got time to organise them this time; will keep them for the many, many babies that are on the way!

Sorry to hear you have PCO skint_chick but I understand that it helps to have a diagnosis to work with. MS might not be such a great idea for the eating plan though

In frugal news, my appointment was cancelled due to the snow so I saved myself £38 :T And even better, the lovely OH managed to fix my car so I don't have to take it to the garage :T He's very clever and now I have yet another reason to love him :heartpuls The attic is starting to look great, my dad is doing a fab job, bless him, and is even coming up all weekend while we're away. Idiotic neighbours aside, I am a very lucky girl indeed
ps no news on Sierra Leone yet...

andromache_2

How does the Sierra Leone placement interact with the India plan, bails? It does sound exciting, anyway, especially if you get to visit I think OH and I have just about decided to go to India this summer for 7 weeks! I need to spend some time this weekend researching where we want to go (it's a big country...) and finding the cheapest flights and so on. Will be great hopefully though I'm so busy with other stuff at the minute that I'm not getting myself excited about it yet as I don't have time to plan it.

Well done to sf and sl on the job front and to everyone else who is sticking on the frugal path :cool: