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

purplevamp

Floxxie - I tried the google sum search...and it worked :shocked: , you learn something new every day!

SL - have a lovely time away, even if it is work. Also I know cocoa is best left for cooking, but what's the difference between hot chocolate and drinking chocolate? Anyone know??

lynda - :eek: cary stuff, hope you're ok now


Well, spent hardly anything today, just bus fares, and insurance.

Went to the hospital today abot my pains. My ECG was good, blood pressure was excellent , and the consultant thinks my pain is caused by...wait for it...big boobs :eek: , they're not even that big :rotfl: . I'm relieved that it's nothing serious but a bit annoyed that it's taken them so long (about 3 years) to come to that conclusion. DH laughed at the "diagnosis", but I need to lose some weight as my small frame can't take the weight.

angelatgraceland

Well its an nsd for me today although I did go out to take DS to jobcentre and collect a computer for him to fix for someone as a favour. Snowing again so I dont know what tomorrow brings. If its ok its a trip to the JC again-this time with DD. This is getting us all down. DS had a letter today to say he was uncessful in his application as a call handler for the Police-thats a shame as it was a local job. Gave away a couple of things on Freecycle today-I am working at the decluttering and a bag is filling up for the charity shop with anything not collected on Freecycle. Since being on MSE forums Ive lost my attachment to "things" which really is a great feeling of freedom. My house will never be minimalist but I have to declutter as we want new central heating in a couple of months and I want to have a little less junk to box up and hide!
Soaking blackeyed beans and split peas to put in a sausage casserole tomorrow. Only doing it because I mistook chicken stock for soup and it now needs using! Still-it has solved tomorrows menu decision. Will also do some jellies-I saved my yoghurt pots the other day so I wont need to use my cups. Individual ones work better for us. Yesterdays purchase of fruit has long gone and the milk is disappearing but it will have to do. Im supposed to be working Wednesday but I may end up being stuck in and losing another days pay. Cant grumble though-far worse to be homeless in New South Wales-those poor families brought tears to my eyes. We complain about the snow-it puts it into perspective!

Floxxie

purplevamp wrote: »

Floxxie - I tried the google sum search...and it worked :shocked: , you learn something new every day!

Went to the hospital today abot my pains. My ECG was good, blood pressure was excellent , and the consultant thinks my pain is caused by...wait for it...big boobs :eek: , they're not even that big :rotfl: . I'm relieved that it's nothing serious but a bit annoyed that it's taken them so long (about 3 years) to come to that conclusion. DH laughed at the "diagnosis", but I need to lose some weight as my small frame can't take the weight.

Hurray! Thought you were going to say it didn't work.

Re boobs - have been there myself. Lost the weight and then had a reduction. It changed my life (and weight).

Good luck with reducing your size

Floxxie

DdraigGoch

Another NSD here today - thanks, snow!

Thanks, BB, for the reminder - no, I forgot again I really shall have to get on with it, it's most uncomfortable in a bed when the sheets are too small! :rolleyes:

I think that one of the things I'm going to be stocking up on is couscous as I seem to have lived on it for the past few days - doesn't need peeling [always a good start!], doesn't need cooking [better and better...] and only takes 5 minutes [the ideal food, obviously!] The fact that I can make it up with stock from either the freezer or a cube, chuck in any leftovers and, lo, a decent tasting meal for one has convinced me that couscous is catching up on rice as a favoured ingredient for lazy days ...

I'm still living off the leftovers of the Chinese New Year dinner I did over a week ago [yes, all bits safely stored, in fridge or freezer] ! :j

I think that I'm going to invest any money left over from my grocery challenge, if there is any, in stockpiling both essentials and ingredients for Make-A-Mix mixes. It's an American book I've had for years and quite forgotten about. The principle is that you make up a load of, say, white sauce mix or shortcrust pastry mix and then you can just whip food up out of what's to hand. It worked when the children were a lot younger, so no reason for it not to work now. I still have a few of the large storage jars, I have a fair amount of freezer space - compared to normal :rotfl: - so, AFTER I'VE CONVERTED AT LEAST ONE SHEET [:o ], I'll have to set to and then stand back and beam with pride at my pantry shelves:rotfl:

Wish me luck for Wednesday please, I'm getting quite nervous now.

DG

Skint_Lynne

Morning all,

I'm just going to get ready and have a cup of coffee and one of those breakfast bar things, I don't really like them, but they are better than nothing - good job I bought them!! breakfast does not start until 7am in here and I will be long gone!! I get a late start tomorrow - 9am, so that's better. I think it will be a quick week anyway, back home I go on Friday!! I think that I get my car tomorrow, so at least I can maybe go to the shops on Thursday, I saw one of those Wilkos you all talk about so maybe have a mooch around on Thursday night, (hopefully it is late night shopping there).

I don't know why people think that work trips are glamorous, I would rather be in my own house. At least I am using other folks heating and toilet roll (a la Janey:D ).

Check in later. xx

JAMIEDODGER

Morning frugal people!!:)

Got a lot of decorating done yesterday, managed to give stairwell two complete coats with the aid of an extension pole! Its looking lovely now!:)

Have a meeting later this morning and a parents evening tonight! In between these I need to go to lidl and tescos to stock up a bit for half term week when I will not be going anywhere near the shops:D

Budget is looking fairly healthy so far for February:T I do still have a few bills to go out but they are mainly at the end of the month.

Mot due next month, although I have the money to cover it and any work that needs doing, I am starting to worry how much it will cost me:eek:

sophiesmum_2

Good morning frunchkins:D
In a really good mood this morning as have another few hours off this afternoon, which combined with my lunch hour means I only have to work 8 - 1 today:j :j

General frugal aims for today;

• storecupboard lunch and tea
• reduce, reuse,recycle one item-lots of cardboard and glass to recycle point
• do something nice for me -lieu time from work this afternoon
• do something nice for someone else-
• fitter not fatter - swim and jacuzzi, chair based exercise class with oldies

Todays frugal meals;

• HM muesli, HM yoghurt, tinned mandarins
• tinned red salmon with green salad
• batch cooked quorn chilli from freezer with wholegrain rice

Fruit and veg portions;
1 fruit, 2 pulses,4 veggies,:D

Expenditure or additional income

Aiming for another no spend day - didn't manage it spent £1.50 in Asda on lots of lovely reduced salady stuff

Remaining target cash for first 6 months food spends - £249.94 left from budget of £400 for first six months.

DdraigGoch

Well, it's snowing in Wales again, but then again - it is Winter! One year I actually phoned British Rail up to remind them it was coming ... they were not too amused. I wonder why?

Today I have retreated to one room as the wood's all wet and in huge lumps. I can't light the fire until DH gets back and chops some more. Hey ho, at least I have somewhere I can retreat to and an electric heater [my head will be dizzy if I watch the meter, methinks ....] My frugal meal for the day will be fried rice, using up the last of the remains of the CNY dinner :rotfl: . I'm hoping to be so busy tidying out our bedroom that I keep warm AND manage to do the notorious 27 Fling Boogie [FlyLady, for those lucky people who've not heard of it before] at the same time.

It's DH's 45th on Thursday - do you think I'd better start thinking about getting him a present? :rolleyes: :rotfl: Seriously! I ended up giving him his birthday present at Christmas, so am rather bare in the birthday present department and now am utterly skint too - oops.

angelatgraceland

mmm its my dd birthday also on Thursday and I need to get her someting and she likes a birthday family buffet. She will be 15. I did get her a ukelele which she wanted(funny I know)but I may end up giving her money and if its fine on the weekend taking her out for her birthday "present". Went out to JC again with eldest dd and dint go in the shops but I will pop out this afternoon for lowcarb food. I think I need to join the dieters fast!

purplevamp

Morning :hello:

Nearly a NSD for me but it's DS2's swimming day so that's only £3. Whilst trying to find a missing jar lid in the bin (:o ) I found DS1's sandwich from Fridays lunch sneaked in at the bottom. He'd only had a small bite out of it, and I think he used his EMA to buy something better :mad: . Now I don't mind if he wanted something else, or didn't like what I gave him (sausages in hm bread) but it's the fact he didn't tell me and tried to hide it, that'll be fun when I talk to him about it tonight...

DdraigGoch - :rotfl: @ British Rail. My Dad, Grandad and Uncle used to work for them and we'd get free travel until we were (I think) 15.

angelatgraceland & DdraigGoch (again) - it seems to be birthday season, my DS1 is 18 on Monday :eek: . Talking of ukeleles I've just seen Bette midler on Loose Women playing one, she was actually very good :rotfl: .