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

enjoyfinancialchallenges

Hi everyone, I've now found a way of having lots of NSDs, stopping in bed! Unfortunately though I've had sciatica for the last week so it wasnt really out of choice its more that I cant move and certainly cant drive because its my accelerator leg that is the most painful. After suffering all week and getting no respite from the pain I went to the doctors and was prescribed some strong medication. Anyway that has stopped me even considering spending. I havent really felt like eating either but had made a vegetable soup last week which lasted for ages. Apart from that and porridge in the mornings thats all I've needed. Drinking is a pain because what goes in has to come out and any movement is difficult for me. My lovely live-out loverman did some shopping for me but it wasnt of the frugal nature he just bought what I asked him to...bless him.:A

During the last week Ive realised just how much I left off my financial lists so will need to add more cash to it. The need to buy a new car battery, new glasses, plus put another £250.00 towards my car repairs from Dec. means an ammended plan is needed to cater for all these extra bits. I wasnt planning on managing on £4000 though because I have included all my expenses and its now over £8000 but at least it concentrates the mind and until I know where the money is going I cant cut down so am finding this site extremely useful and love reading how others are managing.

Once more must go whilst I'm still not fully doped and can find my bed. G'dnight everyone.

jtb2412

Morning all - hope things are well in frugal land !

A few updates here (have adjusted sig):

Window cleaner came yesterday which I'm glad about because windows were awful after the snow :eek: . Coupled with the fact that we live on a main road and the car fumes - they were a bit 'mingin' (as my DD2 would say) :rotfl: . I am counting this in £4K as it's not a necessity. But, I'd rather get someone in to do it than risk DH up the ladder :rolleyes: .

Also managed to get DH's birthday pressie yesterday so have updated the money neutral bit of sig too. Now need to start making some more. We've decided to try and sell some plants (mainly chilli ones) at car boots and see if we can get some extra from those as well as all the other bits i'll be selling (including my size 12 clothes ). Have decided if I ever get to that size again i'll treat myself to a new wardrobe (an 'in the future' incentive).

Was on a first aid course all day yesterday which was quite a giggle. I wasn't looking forward to it very much (done about 5 of them now but they run out of date so have to keep updating) but it turned out to be ok and quite good fun ! DH cooked a lovely roast chicken dinner for me so that was a nice homecoming.

Plans for the rest of this week:

Today: Tidy house - neglected the housework for 3 days and it looks a bit too lived in for my liking .

Tomorrow: Take kids beachcombing/metal detecting (have to watch the weather on this one and may have to swap the day). Keep house tidy (easier said than done in the holidays !)

Thursday: Go down allotment to get some more digging done.

Friday: Spend the day in the greenhouse getting some seeds potted and housework/washing.

Saturday: Allotment if weather ok - if not, more seed sowing.

Sunday: Allotment if weather ok (should be finished then and ready to go ! :j ) Bit of housework if needed.

Kids have a teacher training day on Monday so don't go back to school until next Tues (which is DHs 40th so we're off out for the day !) Then out for a meal on Tues evening which we're really looking forward to - especially as I'm paying with Mr T vouchers :T .

SL only you can decide what you feel is right and it sounds to me like you've made a good decision. I know money is a great help at times but personally I think being happy is worth more than any amount of money. Like you said, you don't know why the other person left - the job could have been terrible and then you'd be in a pretty nasty situation.

Taka - huge congratulations. I can't begin to imagine how hard you have been working to achieve that but you deserve lots of praise and encouragement. xxxxx

Marru - glad to see your still here, would love to keep up with your progress on your thread if you'll have me? Glad to see things are getting organised and you look like you've made good progress already :T

SFT - how exciting ! the last property sounds fantastic - good luck with it all ! xx

EFC - hope you're feeling better this morning - take it easy xx

Right I'm off to start the housework - have a lovely day everyone :beer:

shaz_mum_of__2

EFC - you have my empathy , i have a neck/shoulder/back problem and theres no pain like it (althogh the shiatsu and accupuncture are really helping):j

Taka -well done on beating your demon it must have been so satisfying:T

Nyk - well done on all the outdoor jobs..........................are the curtains done yet?:rotfl:made some progress in our plot this weekend will update blog soon ...............i have a question what will you do with the quail is it eggs or for meat? i have never had it whats it like ?



Sophiesmum - I hate the smell of paint too .but love the smell of new carpet and have to lay down and sniff them
Lynne -i think your right to stay where you are trust your instincts


SFT the house sounds great if a little small but only you know your requirements and mortgage free sounds great


I think it was blair weech that said they hadn't done any stockpiling recently .........me neither prices are too high although mr a was selling c0untry life butter for 47p so i bought 10 and froze this is almost 40p les than sm@rtprice


Pasta stocks running low too but i refuse to pay 45p for value?? any deals anywhere anyone??


Hubby and i off this week together so not very frugal ..............off browsing at a local antiques barn today ..............get the doghouse ready:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


I want an oil lamp and a bread tin with H0vis imprinted in ?


Shaz

bails

Morning everyone, just logging on to say I've got a busy week planned so I probably won't be around much. OH has just brought all my clothes down from the attic as we're going for our Valentine's meal tonight (postponed last week) and I need to find my black dress - I'm ashamed to say how many bags there are So my plan is to tackle them tomorrow, a depressing experience as it'll be lots of much smaller sizes and sports gear but great to have it done. Along with that, I've got lesson planning, preparing for the dog's arrival and about 200 other things on my to do list :rotfl:If I don't resurface in a couple of weeks, someone call an ambulance
Sorry to hear about your pain EFC, hope you feel better soon.

Have a great week all and stay out of that doghouse! xx

whitewing

efc - free eye test at dolland and aitchison for nectar card holders, or half price if you don't have nectar.

glasses direct are great and cheap. My brother had really good service from them.

SiannieLaz

morning all:hello:
just a quickkie as I still haven't finished my assignment which is due tomorrow. Weekend didn't go as planned due to ructions with OH, but never mind.
BB - thanks chick
Bails - making me jealous, I so miss having a dog
Redglass - you go girl!
Taka - well done, you're obviously a strong person and should be incredibly proud of yourself :T
SFT - fingers crossed you get the one you want
SL - sounds like you made the right decision for you
EFC - hope your better soon
Now I have a perm job, OH has decided we need to move so going to look at rental properties starting today. My little 1 bed is too small since he moved in, and having his two kids every other weekend is a nightmare as far as space is concerned. Have found a 3 bed for £800 a month, really cheap for round here and the location is perfect, so fingers crossed although as it will be the 1st place we've looked at, i'd be surprised if it worked out.
Had a good weekend spend wise, was in studying all the time so didn't spend a thing! Although I haven't done any shopping and I haven't got time to go until I've finished my assignment!
Have a good one all, back to the books for me and I hope no-one at work notices!!
xxx

redglass_2

bails wrote: »

. Not so good was a phonecall to Working Links (the people the gov. employ to help incapacity peeps back to work) where the woman was incredibly rude to me and told outright lies about me to cover her own (inadequate) back!! :mad::mad: /quote]

This has happened to me, too, Bails, at my doctor's surgery - the receptionist had forgotten to contact me about a problem with my prescription - something that could potentially have caused me added health problems - and I was just trying to find out why I hadn't been informed when the doctor appeared on the scene and asked what the problem was. The receptionist suddenly switched into a new, fictitious version of events in which I had 'asked her to prescribe drugs, and she had to explain to me that she's not a doctor'. Like I'm that dumb! :mad:
You get these chancers in every walk of life but it's always scary when they turn up in a 'caring profession'. Luckily their colleagues usually absorb the shock (not too good for the colleagues, alas).

Re ambition: I appreciate the kind interest but I'm staying a bit coy about it, hope people don't mind. There's a new development in that the deal is not what I thought it was, so the meeting has been postponed but definitely not cancelled. Sorry this all sounds so mysterious, it's for a good reason, honestly.

Oooooh nearly forgot, I know someone who's met Poundwoman! Do I get a prize? She isn't very convinced about the £1 a day stuff, BTW.
.

redglass_2

What a lot of news!
Marru, lovely to hear that you know what you want and are going for it. Good luck!
Good luck, SKintChick!
SFT, i think your favourite house sounds just perfect.
Ram-Murdock, well done on the weight loss. We are neck and neck as I've also lost 4lb.
SkintLynne, i reckon you're right. The culture of a workplace can make or break you and if you've got a good one that's worth more than money. It's also playing fair, as you said.
Enjoyfinancialchallenges, I am a terrible bore about this, but I reckon physio is THE thing. It works quickly and they can give exercises to help prevent it happening again. I tried everything else with my back (the pain sometimes became sciatica, so I know how excruciating it is) and only physio worked. Sorry, will shut up now. Maybe I should change my monniker to PhysioBore.
Bails, I hope we soon get a photo of your puppy.

Frugaldom

Hi fruguys and gals,

SFT, I think you'll know which house is for you as soon as you walk into it and the 3rd one does come across as being your favourite. If I was you, I'd sit and work out a 'pros and cons' list for each compared against what your longterm plans include - visitors to stay, how much do you want to grow in the garden, will you have pets, will this be your last move and, if so, can you imagine retirement there, if you decide to go travelling for a couple of years could you get decent rental income from it, is it within walking distance of a bus route or does it have neighbours who could help out in a car trouble crisis etc, etc, etc Sorry, I'm probably no help as I'm a 'consider all angles' type of person and then STILL end up making impulse decisions in the deep down belief that all problems are surmountable :rotfl: I'd do anything not to have to live in town, though.

Skint_Lynne, I agree with the others, thought of as 2nd best wouldn't be my favourite option when it came to having a boss, regardless of the money. I'd rather enjoy my work for less money than suffer the consequences of 'think of the money' unless it's a short term remedy to a serious financial problem.

Skint Chick, thinking about you and sending good vibes for your interview

EFC, hope the sciatica pain is a little bit more tolerable for you today.

SMO2, the quail are primarily for eggs, but it never fails that I end up with more males than females, so males will be sold or exchanged. Quail eggs are very smooth and silky compared to hen eggs and can be pickled or preserved in aspic. Quail meat is lovely roast with red wine sauce but I have never eaten any home reared ones. I really do lke the eggs though, friends are always amused by the casual way we baked and ate them by the dozen, laughing at how extravagant it seemed when comparing them to shop prices for anyone who buys them as a delicacy. 3 per person is about the norm :rotfl: For the purposes of avoiding distress to anyone, I'll say that all males sold are going as aviary pets and quail wonderland. I haven't got what it takes to be able to kill and eat anything home reared, despite growing up (and now living on) a beef farm and having reared all sorts of poultry, game, fowl, lambs, goats etc. :rolleyes:

Bails, enjoy your Valentine's meal tonight and good luck with getting rid of your extra clothes - remember, we only want to hear the pitter patter of tiny paws soon.:rotfl:

Redglass, it's always best to play your cards close to your chest until you know where everyone else is 'at', so say nothing that could jeopardise any situation - just my tuppence worth I'm still not convinced about 'poundwoman' either, although I would be if she could live on £1 per day in a remore area of the countryside. :rotfl: Maybe I should publish a book. :rolleyes:

Just off into town again to collect the polystyrene. Let's hope it goes to plan this time and I'll TRY MY BEST not to spend [strike]anything[/strike] too much whilst there; I almost forgot about buying the sugar! :eek:

I still haven't finished the curtains

skint_chick

Skint Lynne- you def made the right choice about the job - the most important thing is that you like the company you work for not the wages. And if the other company didn't pick you first then they are obviously not worth working for anyway!

SFT - you didn't waste any time the house sounds lovely and if the garden is right and you won't have a mortgage for much longer then it makes sense because if you want to do some work at a later stage then you will have all the money you save from not having mortgage payments. It sounds like it's right on all fronts so I hope it works out well and your offer is accepted.

My job interview went really really well - the job sounds perfect for me and there are opportunities there to add extra bits on to it. The other 2people in for the job don't have relevant experience and so I'm fairly hopeful. But I should know tomorrow - the wait is :eek: Going out for a big walk with OH to keep up my exercise regime.