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

Skint_Lynne

grandma247 wrote: »

Its ages since I made scones but I used 2 tsp of baking powder per 8oz of flour. 3 if using wholemeal flour. even if it is sr flour. Also scones need only the lightest handling so they rise well. don't work the dough like bread just mix, flatten on a board to the depth you want and cut out. I hope this is helpful

Thanks a lot Grandma, I'll try that the next time I attempt them. I'll remember about the dough as well, because I did treat it the same as any other one.

I've had quite a productive afternoon, I made potato and leek soup, I've got a chicken casserole in the slow, I made some flapjacks for the first time and they are really nice, and I've got the chicken carcass from dinner simmering for stock. It's the first time I've done that, so we'll see how it turns out. I put a bay leaf, some onion and some peppercorns in along with it to give it some more flavour. I was laughing tonight at my mum, she said strip that chicken and take the carcass home, you can make some stock with it. A year ago, she would have binned the lot.:rotfl:

No waste round here anymore...................da da da da. (Now I'm making up frugal tunes).:rotfl:

skint_chick

frugal lunch for tomorrow - 2xwholewheat wraps @ 20p, mini tub of hummus (1 of 3pack) 33p, handful chopped radishes 10p, mixed salad bag from Mr A 50p, Granny Smith 20p, little bag of organic nuts 10p, handful of chicken pieces from Mr A chicken (still cooling) 20p

Total £1.63.

I've got the same planned for Tues only with a carrot, tomato, and radish salad with raisins and sunflower seeds. I've only spent £75 this month on food because of careful planning, although I spent £125 in Jan so it's averaging out at £100 a month exactly as planned. I think that's amazing considering I used to easily spend £35-40 a week and be eating out twice a week and have fast food on the weekend. We have plenty stockpiled so only have to top up with fresh fruit and veg, and milk in March as I have stuff in the freezer I need to use up.

SL - I stole this scone recipe from the Down to Earth blog and they are yummy

• 2 cups self raising flour OR plain/all purpose flour with one teaspoon of baking powder for each cup
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 30g butter chopped
• 1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to very hot, 220C. Get your tray ready by greasing it or adding parchment paper.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add butter and rub in lightly until it looks like breadcrumbs.
3. Pour in buttermilk and mix in using a butter knife, mix to a soft and sticky dough.

4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly for 30 seconds. Press out the dough to form a round about 2cm (1 inch) thick. Cut into rounds using a cutter or floured wine glass.
To make 50 scones, you will need 2 kg (5 lb) of SR flour.

redglass_2

Hello Fellow Frugalists
I was inspired to get back to my lotty this afternoon and now all my muscles have seized up...think I'd better crawl into a hot bath! Never mind, it'll be worth it in summer and I've had a nice peaceful productive day. :)That's all really...just wanted to say hello. Oooh... nearly forgot.... can't wait to see Bails's puppy. :smileyhea

slowlyfading

Bails, you can't say you've got the puppy and NOT post a pic!!!

1274

Bails congratulations on the puppy!

Nyk I stayed on a co-operative farm for 2 days while I was on holiday last year. The residents lived in (variously) a yurt, a bus, a farmhouse and a campervan. I got to pick beans and things from their garden (never done that before - normally I pick beans from the internet supermarket). One of the women there made the best thai chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted one night for dinner and we had a drum circle around the campfire. Not sure drum circles are my thing, but I quite fancy the idea of living in a bus for a while. Of course, it would have to be within driving distance of a good coffee shop (I found out about the co-op whilst indulging my favourite habit in a coffee shop the co-op ran to raise funds for things they couldn'tgrow)

Oh, back to my title, I have to think of some new life goals for saving (spending is taken care of by the live on 16K) and getting fitter not fatter (SM's good phrase). Will post again when I have some

chika

:hello:

Hi there! Can I join in? I know its almost the end of Feb but everyone has to start somewhere right?!

I'm Chika and I'm a student in Manchester. I've always worked part time and supplimented student loans by doing odd bits of work that come about. Last week I had the shock of my life when I found out money that I thought was coming from the student loans and uni wasn't going to be given to me (its a long story they are in the right but just didn't think to tell me in advance) and a company that I had spent ages doing some very tedious and quite demanding work for has gone under leaving me seriously out of pocket.. So after all of that I have about £3000 less to play with than before :eek:

I have some debts which need paying. Some old CC's but more importantly one to my boss who I would like to pay back quite quickly. I currently work for her pt doing childcare, PA and household admin type tasks. the wage I get from here isn't that predictable but averages out at about £100 a week during school terms.

I'm training to be a teacher and as part of the course I have to do placements so for the next three months I won't be able to work in the week as often as before so my income will be drastically reduced. Thankfully my student loan will cover rent and utility bills so I need to cover debt repayments and my other living costs. I've gone over my bank statements since September and it seems that I spend way too much in the Supermarkets and M&S. Also a stupid amount in New Look and Boots. I also keep taking out big sums of cash every few days which I can't account for. I need to stop this, work out budgets and try and stick to them so this chellenge is just perfect.

My initial reaction last week was to cry and think why me but I have tried to snap out of that and fix up. I applied for three jobs on Friday and all of them are going to interview me tomorrow which I am made up about. These are just weekend jobs but it means I will have more money to add to the pot. I obviously need to cut down my spending but I don't want my life or happiness to suffer as a result. (I hope that makes sense!)

When I first thought of frugal living I thought of miserable people, washing loo roll and sitting in freezing cold houses wearing 100 layers because they didn't want to turn on the heating! Reading through this thread has helped me to dispel that myth. Thank you all for that. You seem like a really friendly, happy community and I would love to be part of it.

DdraigGoch

Last night I had a "surprise" dinner with friends - the surprise bit was that they turned up! It turned out that 2 couples couldn't make it - I knew in advance - but I couldn't get hold of the third couple, so presumed they weren't coming [but prepped just in case] and they did The whole point of this little narrative is that I did a starter, main and pud from my stores, so it didn't cost us a penny

I had already made some welsh cake mix ahead, frozen in a milk container, and just added an extra egg, chopped apple and a bit more milk to the mix and it turned out very well - phew. The chili had extra beans added and the starter was mini nibbles I ran up v v quickly. So, it turned out that stockpiling and making ahead worked, just a lot sooner than I was expecting.

Thanks for everyone's bright ideas on here. Hugs, hope, shoulders to cry on and cheers of encouragement to everyone who needs/wants them [haven't caught up properly - this is my apology]

all the best
DG

Frugaldom

chika wrote: »

:hello:

Hi there! Can I join in? I know its almost the end of Feb but everyone has to start somewhere right?!...

When I first thought of frugal living I thought of miserable people, washing loo roll and sitting in freezing cold houses wearing 100 layers because they didn't want to turn on the heating! Reading through this thread has helped me to dispel that myth. Thank you all for that. You seem like a really friendly, happy community and I would love to be part of it.

Welcome Chika! It is never too late to join us and I see you have already made yourself familiar with how we (really) live. :rotfl: We do the above when it comes the time to choose between heating and Internet, though, so don't let us dispel your myth too soon. Achieving & maintaining a debt free status is still priority, so sacrifices do need to be made, even if it means using 0range Wednesdays with a packet of crisps and a bottle of tap water hidden in a handbag rather than swiping plastic for haute cuisine at The Hilt0n. One thing that I can assure you of is that none of us are really miserable, even when we're miserable and we try not to come across as cold even when we're freezing. :rotfl:

chika

Haha thank you! I didn't mean to be offensive btw. I've just been and turned the heating off so I'll be the cold miserable one in a jumper soon anyway

savingfortravel

Welcome Chika!!
Hope we can all help you. There are wonderful people on this thread that are experts in all manner of things and offer loads of support.
SFT

Love your signature by the way x