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

cw18

While looking for something this morning I found two grocery receipts from January that I'd totally forgotten about -- and they added up to £12.10 :eek:

For a couple of minutes I seriously considered leaving them off as I'd already 'closed' my January accounts -- but then I realised that this equates to almost 3.5 days of the grocery budget for me and DS during school hols / almost 3 days during term time when I'm also (partially) feeding GDs........ plus it wouldn't give me an accurate figure over the year if I do this every month, and once I do it once it would be easy to 'lose' some every month!!!

So I've been a good girl and been back and adjusted the figures on my spreadsheet (and in my signature)

Aril

Hello all fellow frugallers:D
Quick delurk to say our local Poundland has a 1.5kg granulated sugar for £1 [not surprisingly] which works out at 67p per kg.
Ho hum back to the murky depths of lurkdom!!
Aril

nickynoo08

Afternoon all, not been on for the last few days. Not had chance to catch up yet but will try to at some point today.
My app food order came today:D, still cant believe how much i got for the amnt i spent, just need to find a home for it all now:rolleyes:.
As far as my feb budget goes i think i may go over slightly, but as i was a fair bit under in jan i'll still be on target for the year. Been doing loads of o/t at work so not been as organised as i normaly would of, but i'm off today and tomoro so gonna do some planning for next month to get myself back on track.

MrDT

Just got a call from DHL, my approved food order has turned up at my parents house but nobody is home to take delivery. Nobody in next door either. Got to laugh as I sent it to my parents house not mine as there would "almost certainly be someone home during the day" :rolleyes:

Oh well, I have a trip to the depot lined up for the weekend now.

Frugaldom

Good morning to all and a special hello to Pipsmum and baby pip. Hopefully, things are also progressing well with baby Loopylou, who is due same [strike]week[/strike] day my chicken & quail eggs should hatch, so it'll be a frugalbabylicious first week of March. :rotfl:

I got impatient and shone a torch through the bantam eggs last night. DS helped steady the torch and we did a close inspection and, I am pleased to announce, the 'frugal scan' system revealed that all 6 eggs have tiny embryonic chicks inside. :j :T I KNOW they say not to count your chicks before they're hatched, but everybody does, it's the only way to know for sure you aren't paying to heat an ordinary egg that could go bad and contaminate the others. So, on day 7 of 21 in the incubation project, we have 6/6 bantams and no scan dates yet for the quails. (Owing to the fact I don't actually own a candling lamp, only a small torch strong enough to see through light coloured egg shells! :rotfl: )

My beautiful, 99p 'pondliner' arrived today, lovely blue colour and decorated with fishes and dolphins - the ducks should love it! :rotfl: For anyone else pursuing the mini-garden pond project this year, mine's going to be twice the size of the bubblewarp lined one the frog lived in last year and my log man is getting me wood chips to make the pond area look nice and non-muddy. :T Just need an offer of some broken slabs via Freecycle and that would solve the garden path problem across the muddy lawn to the shed.

Not planning on spending anything today.
2 crocuses have flowered among the grass of the 'lawn'.
Friend's been for cuppa and we've 'hatched a plot' to further the frugal cause.
It's taken me nearly 3 hours to post this as I forgot to hit 'submit reply' before making cuppa for friend :rotfl:

slowlyfading

taka, that's amazing news about your ED, you must feel so proud of yourself I may PM about something in a minute, if that's okay? xx
1274, WOW, congrats on paying off the mortgage! :j that must feel amazing.

I'm having a bit of a rough time at the moment, I think it may be the anti climax for the past week or so to be honest. Me and my mum are not getting on at all, and we keep having mega arguments about stupid things, like food, and its just not a nice atmosphere in the house at all. Its making so that I spend a lot of time out of the house, or just in my room and I'm beginning to feel trapped here. I am slipping back into something dangerous as well, which is not a good thing - i don't know how to cope with it anymore.

In money terms, I think I'm doing okay. I haven't worked out on a day to day thingy yet, but I'm still managing to keep on track for the monthly total (I think? ) ... I've just done a quick calculation and I think I'm about £140 under budget, so that's good at least thats one positive thing i can write about today.

Sending big (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf x

sophiesmum_2

Good afternoon frunchkins:D
Been away from the court today for a manager's meeting, not long got back. Had a lovely quiet drive through the countryside to get to meeting this morning, saw some pheasants and squirrels and lots of other birdlife whilst driving down little country lanes so really enjoyed the ride there - lovely start to the day:j
Had a buffet lunch provided for us too so not a bad day all round so far.:D

General frugal aims for today;

• storecupboard tea
• lunch for free at meeting, curry from freezer for OH
• reduce, reuse,recycle one item-OH exercise bike being picked up by youth group (freecycled)
• do something nice for me - lovely drive this morning:D
• do something nice for someone else- took pressie from stash for another manager who is having chemo
• fitter not fatter - swimming later

Todays frugal meals;

• frozen berry smoothie
• several chicken drumsticks,scotch egg, salad,from buffet at work
• HM broccoli and stilton soup, hi bran crackers

Fruit and veg portions;
2 fruit, 0 pulses,4veggies,:D

Expenditure or additional income

No spend day:D


Remaining target cash for first 6 months food spends - £246.34 left from budget of £400 for first six months.
Extra income generated £152.43 /spent £33 / left £119.43

sophiesmum_2

slowlyfading wrote: »

taka, that's amazing news about your ED, you must feel so proud of yourself I may PM about something in a minute, if that's okay? xx
1274, WOW, congrats on paying off the mortgage! :j that must feel amazing.

I'm having a bit of a rough time at the moment, I think it may be the anti climax for the past week or so to be honest. Me and my mum are not getting on at all, and we keep having mega arguments about stupid things, like food, and its just not a nice atmosphere in the house at all. Its making so that I spend a lot of time out of the house, or just in my room and I'm beginning to feel trapped here. I am slipping back into something dangerous as well, which is not a good thing - i don't know how to cope with it anymore.

In money terms, I think I'm doing okay. I haven't worked out on a day to day thingy yet, but I'm still managing to keep on track for the monthly total (I think? ) ... I've just done a quick calculation and I think I'm about £140 under budget, so that's good at least thats one positive thing i can write about today.

Sending big (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf x

SF - if you feel you are slipping back into old ways, try and get some help now - whilst you are still in control and able to recognise the fact. If you need to let off some steam or just want someone impartial to confide in I'm happy to offer a virtual "ear".xx

slowlyfading

sophiesmum wrote: »

SF - if you feel you are slipping back into old ways, try and get some help now - whilst you are still in control and able to recognise the fact. If you need to let off some steam or just want someone impartial to confide in I'm happy to offer a virtual "ear".xx

Thanks, I'll send you a pm in a minute xx

Frugaldom

Sorry to hear about the domestic frictions, SF, I know things can become rather 'strained' when families are together at the best of times - I argue with my mum almost every time either of us visits and stays with the other for any length of time. It's normal that us daughters never follow the exact paths drawn out by our mothers (be it diet, school subjects, homework, hobbies, career, lifestyle, hair style, dress sense, choice of partners etc, etc, etc :rotfl: ). Could you take up a new hobby or project that can be pursued elsewhere? Do you have access to a garden or allotment with a garden shed that could become a workspace or mini office, depending on what you want to do, so you don't find yourself within the same confined space with your mum for too long? I fully realise that most mothers [STRIKE]grumble[/STRIKE] worry about their daughters, but it shouldn't mean suffocating the friendship out of the relationship. If you don't have a garden where you are living, perhaps a friend or neighbour would have one you could adopt? No point in suffering the consequences when you have been working so hard at sorting your future and finances out so well.