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

cw18

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

I spotted Cheryl's signature, she spent something like £25 on whoopsies in January and they were actually worth £225ish

Not quite :rotfl:

I spent £169.30 on groceries.
Of that I spent £24.35 on Whoopsies, so £144.95 on full priced items (which includes BOGOF, B2G1F, weekly specials etc, so could be worth more than that anyway).
The TOTAL value of my groceries was £215.78 - so the real value of the Whoopsies was £70.83 (total value - what I paid full price for).


So far this month I've spent £14.75 on Whoopsies, which have a shelf value of £47.16 (the biggest saving being 7 boxes of 'chew bars' -- cereal bars -- that DS and I both eat, as do my GDs...... cost 30p/box, shelf value £1.75/box)

grandma247

I found this on a site I get emails from. Its amazing what you can do with straw.

1274

Hello all. I've got such a warm fuzzy feeling from this thread since yesterday. I'm full of a new will to reach out and be nice to people (not that I didn't before, but this is more so), prob because I've been so stressed about earning enough to pay the mortgage there wasn't much room for others, and now that the stress has gone there's a big gap that I want to fill up with being really nice to people. Weird or what? So I'll start with all my friends on here and offer what support I can. Taka never underestimate just what you've achieved in beating your ED and I hope work calms down for you a bit. SF my mother still treats me like I'm 5, even though I'm 30 odd years older than that so I know how you feel. Nyk being an urban type I can't even imagine what hatching eggs yourself is like (cows scare me when I go for country walks!) SFT congrats on having your offer accepted - if you need any mortgage paying off tips let me know, or get yourself over the the mortgage free board and join a challenge there (they're nice people, just like us on here, but with a bit more disposable income LOL!)

Frugaldom

savingfortravel wrote: »

Great news: Our 2nd offer was accepted so we will pay 4k under asking price!!!
Now we've got to get this place sold and we could be off to the country.

Nyk: Well done on the eggs!! How exciting!
SFT

Never mind the eggs, your offer's been accepted! Really pleased for you and will keep everything crossed that your current house sells quickly. Well done! :j

Off for a look at the potato growing in straw now

savingfortravel

1274-I have signed up to Mortgage Free Wanabee site but not been on lately. I agree, a lovely crowd. Well done again. Its so nice to hear the difference people are making to their lives. xx

Thanks Nyk. I'll be picking your brain about all kinds of things to do with countryside living. x
Tell you what everyone..if we sell this place in time and all goes well with cottage I will..drum roll...take OH out for a nice meal in a little Italian he likes (not Pizza Hut)...
Night, night (SF hope you feel a bit better, don't stay up late if poss, get a nice sleep)
SFT

angelatgraceland

Had a day out with dd today and her mate-didnt really go as planned moneywise but was still ok. Cinema ticket wasnt accepted for the film they wanted to see but at least they were charged kids rate.(no idea on age limits)
Promo vouchers for dining werent used as we changed venue to have chinese buffet instead. For £6.95 each it was "eat all you like" so for two 15 yr olds it was heaven. I didnt indulge but went shopping and used up my £25 M & S voucher instead-on food. Had a trek around the Mall and bought nothing, then to Asda and bought value hair stuff and painkillers. Popped in Waitrose an hour ago and their meat was down to silly prices-£4 odd down to about £1.25 so I spent £15 in there which cost me just over £9 as I used vouchers. I had about £35 worth of food for that. Got petrol for £18 and luckily DH MOT passed no probs except headlight adjustment-£58 odd. Yes-all in all-a moneysaving day. My car has its service tomorrow so that will cost and I need to tot up my spens. I may just make it to the end of the month!

bails

OH, HO, HO, the parent-child can of worms is open :rotfl::rotfl:As you can see SF, you are FAR from alone in this Just to add my own experience - I have really struggled with both my parents, despite (and because of ) them being lovely people who want the best for me. My dad for example, didn't think for years that I'd ever had 'a proper job'...despite being a teacher :rotfl:It's my mum and I that have always had most problems though, and I spent most of my 20s trying to 'fight' it. They live quite close to me (approx. 25 mins away) and I seriously considered moving to Manchester to create some 'space' in our relationship, as I couldn't see any other way. Since then though, through the counselling I've had to help me deal with my illness, I've come into a completely different relationship with both of them. They still disagree with the things I do and want in life sometimes and yet we have an adult relationship most of the time :T I'm so glad I've been able to make this shift with them as we are very close and they are a big part of my life. I also learnt to understand their 'stories' better and see them as people and not just parents, and this helped enormously with accepting their 'shortcomings' (which we all have).

I missed your post last night SFT so good job SF quoted it - CONGRATULATIONS on having your offer accepted! :j:jThat's fantastic news, I really hope your sale goes smoothly.
Exciting about the eggs Nyk, hope they all hatch!
I'm having a letting agent round later to give me an estimate of rental value for this place - with our mortgage down so low we'll easily cover that but it would be fantastic to earn some extra income from it that I can then plough back into improvements. We looked into shifting savings into our mortgage but it seems a carp deal Need to chat with my brother about it but doesn't look like a goer unfortunately :rolleyes:
Have a great day everyone, I've got more clothes decluttering planned this afternoon - it looks like Widow Twanky's here at the mo :rotfl:

skint_chick

SF you are definitely not alone on the parents front - I don't think anything I do is quite what they hoped for me. My dad is bitterly disappointed I've left my career job although my mum keeps telling him he shouldn't say anything.

I had to ask him 2years ago to put his name on my mortgage to buy out my evil ex while I sold the house - and he was so horrible about it I cried in front of the mortgage advisor:eek: My mum and I argue when we're together for more than an hour - the last Xmas I spent there I had to come home a day early she was being such a cow about my weight - and she's not exactly slim.

Sometimes they surprise me and are supportive the rest of the time I feel like the worst behaved ever - when I'm quite clearly not. It's a lot easier having a relationship by phone because I can be getting another call when I get wound up;)

Bails - you need to be careful about getting rental income over and above your mortgage - the taxman will be interested in it if you/OH have other income in that tax year - but there are lots of allowances you can claim for so the money can go on improvements not to HMRC If you want any advice then my door is always open - I've had rental properties for a few years so have finally got the hang of it! I'm off to the library to get the book you recommended :T

SFT - :beer: congratulations I'm really excited for you - are you going for a second viewing to take pics and measurements? I'd love to see some pictures so we can share in your plans for the house.

Frugaldom

skint_chick wrote: »

If you want any advice then my door is always open - I've had rental properties for a few years so have finally got the hang of it!

Is your offer open to all? It's something I think about quite often, especially with interest rates being what they are and savings earning a pittance. Paying the tax doesn't really bother me as I need to pay it on interest earned, so I'm sure it would work out less if I was doing improvements to the property along the way. Just another mad thought from planet Frugaldom

bails

Ooh, yes pics would be great!
Thanks Skint_chick, my dad also rents out properties but I may well pick your brain at some point so I can sound well-informed and impress him :rotfl: