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

purplevamp

Afternoon peeps :j

sophiesmum - :eek: hope she's ok, I didn't think they allowed smoking in old peoples homes anymore (unless it's a different setup to what I'm thinking)

xnatalie81x - Try this link for a free online calculator

whitewing - Happy anniversary :j


I've got a busy day tomorrow, I'm off to the hospital to see a consultant about my gastric/chest pains, (need to pee in a pot :rotfl:), off to work, then have to sort out my security for the NHS Tracing (work related), then pick the children up from after school club. Normally Monday is my extra hour at work day and then up the town, but I have to get the kids, DH normally does it... Not a NSD (again) as DH is picking up some cheese and beans whilst DD is at her friends party. The flapjacks were lovely btw

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

HH62

Right, things are going well so far today. NS, yes but also getting things done.

I've managed to make a start on sorting out my finances for the next few months.

I was clearing the fridge out and found enough veggies to make some nice soup. so I made that. I'm weird like that, I love having a panful of soup bubbling away on the hob, it makes me feel all cosy. Three months ago I'd have just binned them when they started to wilt a bit. :eek:Shameful really, I know, but I just didn't think about things.

Couple of jobs round the house are bothering me at the moment. The ex that I described as 'lovely' a few weeks ago has turned distinctly 'unlovely' lately and reminded me exactly why I ended up divorcing him, and that's a pity because I've got some things to do that I am not able to do so I may have to hire a handy man. :rolleyes: I could get some tools, I'd need a drill, screwdrivers and nails and things and try to do the jobs myself, but by the time i've bought those I'd probably be just as well paying someone to do the work.
If anyone knows how to bleed a ladder radiatior, the tall towel rail ones, can you please tell me? My bathroom is freezing as only the bottom half of the rad is hot.

Hope everyone is doing ok!

kittiej

HH62 go and ask on the DIY board, they are usually really good over there.

Pulled some beetroot up yesterday so will have that with dinner, yum, and spent most of today reading through my Gardener's World mags (subscription paid for with clubcard vouchers) and planning my veggies for this year.

I'm going to grow loads more than last year and hopefully the weather will be a little more stable this time!

Blairweech

http://www.toptipsforgirls.com/tip/how_to_bleed_an_upright_heated_towel_rail/6266/

I totally understand where you are coming from with the handyman thing, I can do certain things but anything that involves a drill I am :eek: So no shelves for me!

Frugaldom

My, what chatty people on here, it's taken me ages to catch up, copy, paste, reread and now I have my post ready to reply, half of it's out of date already. :rotfl: Oh well, just ignore the bits that have been resolved already.

SlowlyFading & Sarah147, hope you are both feeling better

Skint_Chic, hope the diet goes well and good luck with the MFW challenge, it sounds as if you are getting everything under control in 2009. Have you tried advertising on Freecycle, Gumtree, Freeshare or elsewhere for some free material or else buy some cheap curtains from charity shop. You might get a little production line going turning out those bags as gifts or swaps (Can you tell I'm learning about LETS at the moment?)

I'd love to move to the country and have a large garden and grow all my own veggies, have chickens, rabbits and sew and bake. But it's not realistic that I could afford that type of house.

I think you can do these things anywhere you want, it doesn't need to be the country. If you aren't allowed chickens or rabbits, have some quail and a guinea pig. Any size garden can be utilized for veggies, even the veranda or balcony of a flat - tubs are the answer.

Enjoyingfinancialchallenges - another Freecycler with a sewing machine! You should all start home-based enterprises. I'd swap a ham & mushroom pie if someone could quickly sew up my kitchen curtains if you all lived near me.

BB that is excellent news on the savings made by buying meat from local butchers, well done!

Skint Lynne, you had a post removed??? Oh noooooooo.... beware the forum police. Mind you, if I recall, you might have quoted the spammer which would have meant the web link sopied. I never acknowledge, thank or quote them, they are best completely ignored and reported.

Sophiesmum, that was lucky escape for your oldie! They really should have more sense by their age. Or was it elderly lady just wanting to see hunky firemen? LOL

xnataliex - here's a FREE CALCULATOR http://www.calculator.org/jcalc98.html

Whitewing, Happy six-month-versary and congratulations on the weight loss.

Purplevamp, hope all goes well at hospital visit.

I've been into town to top up essential in case the snow arrived, which it did, just as we arrived in town. :rolleyes: Sugar has gone up another 10% (92p per bag here is now the cheapest :mad: ), but I did manage to get another couple of bags of 48p flour and 4 ham houghs averaging about £1.60 each, so that's 4 pots of soup and 8 large ham & whatever pies. The shiny new Ald! store has all the boards down now and a big sign announcing it'll be open from 9am on the 19th, so I don't plan on buying any more groceries before then if I can help it.

It's still really cold here, hall thermometer reading 11C and livingroom 14C, but that should go up a bit as soon as the fire gets going properly. I might go and try out my new baking trays that arrived on Friday, as we're running out of biscuits. That will help heat the place up a bit.

Spending wise, I'm doing as I always do at the start of the year, however, there are not the same bargains this year as there have been previously. Or perhaps I have become so frugalised that I just cannot see the value in stuff these days, most of it looks cheap and completely unneccessary. What has happened to quality?

My miscellaneous spending outside of the 4k budget stands at £173.17 and my free income stands at £175.95 so, as far as I'm concerned, I'm within budget. :j We can do this, I know we can.

HH62

Blairweech wrote: »

http://www.toptipsforgirls.com/tip/how_to_bleed_an_upright_heated_towel_rail/6266/

I totally understand where you are coming from with the handyman thing, I can do certain things but anything that involves a drill I am :eek: So no shelves for me!

Thanks so much for that link! I thought it would be something really complicated, like taking the **$$*** thing off the wall or something. It sounds easy.
So, radiator key is on my list for when I go shopping.

Skint_Lynne

Brighton_belle wrote: »

JD there's an ikea opening in southampton:eek: :eek: .I always had the wonderful excuse that the croyden (?) one was too far:D . I sense danger...:D
Sophies mum:eek: . Life's never dull with your oldies is it:rotfl: .
Had a lovely brunch of bacon eggs toast etc.
Another lots of sc lentil recipe now divvied up for lunches for the rest of the month and in freezer.
Aiming for another NSD. Off to friends for a cuppa with a HM lemon drizzle cake and plan to go via the dump to off load some (totally unreusable) clutter.
Lynne - Was your post deleted becasue you quoted the spammer (therefore repeated his info), rather than because of what you said? I've seen far worse 'abuse' on other forums than a suggestion someone was daft, against genuine forum members! Hope you feel better as the day passes.

Yes BB, I did quote the spammer, and that's why the post was removed. That's what I meant to say, that I wouldn't quote them again, and I still think that he is daft anyway:rotfl:

sophiesmum_2

PV - it is a sheltered complex of 54 flats for oldies. They all have their own totally self contained flat but share communal recreational spaces, gardens, lundry etc and me:D Luckily I only have 5 smokers to worry about out of the 54.

Nyk - I think they get naughtier with age:D

Whitewing - great progress on your weightloss journey:T

Skintchick - I had PCOS and follow the low GI, low carb diet 90% of time - it does help a lot. Mine ended up with a 10lb tumour in my womb which I had removed last year and a total hysterectomy. Now just have to shift the excess weight that I ended up with because of it. It has left me insulin resistant though so tend to still follow the diet in general.If you look at my daily menus you will see potatoes very few and far between and mostly wholegrains low GI foods. Good luck with getting to grips with it all.

taka

:hello: Just a quick post to say I am back safe and sound and Canada was fab... I've been super busy since I got back (Wed evening) so have planned the rest of today doing 2 things - my washing and catching up on here! I'm still on p141 :eek: so may be some time :doh: :rotfl: :rolleyes:

sophiesmum_2

Welcome back Taka, hope the trip was great, did you get on the piste at all ?- ( as in skiing not drinking :rotfl: )

Think we had all the snow here whilst you were away:D