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

chika

:beer: :rotfl: :beer: :rotfl: :beer:

Hahaha thank you for making me smile. I think I'm going to print that out (at work for free ink and paper of course) and pin it up.

Just want to say thanks to everyone - this is the friendliest board I've ever come across. I was in despair a couple of hours ago, now I'm laughing at my computer screen thinking things aren't so bad after all! Cheers

cw18

chika wrote: »

Hi Cheryl. I'm not a local local, I'm originally from Yorkshire so not a million miles away. I've been here nearly three years now though so beginning to get the accent and find my way about!

I'm a "Lancashire Lass" myself -- but emigrated to Greater Manchester about 7.5 years ago.

Penny2myName

Thought I would join in for once. I started as a Greater Manchester girl and emigrated to South Yorkshire 23 years. Back there on Thursday for a funeral and will proberbly see a number of the Manchester side of my family for the last time. Well since my Nanna was 90, the rest of her generation wont be far behind her.

lyndasharp

Just thought I'd pop by and say hello. I've been too busy to keep up with posts so sorry for everything I've missed!

We're redecorating H2B's flat, spent all weekend there and it's starting to look much nicer, another couple of weekends work should make it presentable for sale. Also fixed the garage door in our house last night, I thought it might have been expensive but we managed to sort it out for free thanks to some handy hints from a door parts seller on ebay.

This month has been really cheap as my first mortgage payment doesn't come out until 1st March, same for the council tax, so I've not had any bills to pay. Think I'm on around £200 for the month (in my spreadsheet but it's on a different computer) - though the expenses will all catch up with me soon enough!

2NDTIMEROUNDER

Goodmorning people. I have fallen behind the thread, a good tens of pages so forgive me for not saying a good word where its due. Hope you all are doing fine though.

Good to see new people joining in still. A nice big welcome to chika. Hope you cover your shortfall for the year real soon, you have the right can-do attitude though so it should be just a matter of time, but hard work without doubt. Good luck!:)

My challenge economics are going fine I guess- food budget has fallen through the floor, partly due to reduced buying of unecessary stuff, sudden weight loss due to cycling to work ( hope the weather improves a bit more though, I have had enough of snow bound push-cycling:rolleyes: ), and not feeling in top form for some time, but now things have picked up. Hope it stays the same.

I have taken the plunge and planted a few seeds of swiss chard on the kitchen windowsill in a couple of pots for my greens which I have started using a lot in my diet these days as I have to reduce several off the scales readings that came back with last months blood tests. Used to do a lot of gardening while growing up in a large garden and then on a huge roof terrace. Moving trees and plants and pots and soil and tools and everything else that is needed to tend tens of plants big and small up and down an elevator for 5 years was not fun in the end so I gave up. It was costing a lot of money as well so it was not a pleasure any longer but a chore.:o The green gene had died off for at least 10 years but its back, thanks to you guys, so thank you :T A small scale compared to that, yes, but dont want to go overboard again, even if I had the garden which I dont.

Anyway keep the good work up all of you and will speak again.

mothershipton

just reading this thread and wanted to say well done to all of you sticking to £4k spends this year. Just worked out Ive spent £2.5K already this year so would never achieve this target. if i can spend less than the £27K we spent last year then I will be happy. Just browsing the approved foods website which looks very interesting but Im not sure hubby will be very happy with all the extra food lurking around the house

grandma247

chika wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow, if its started to get smaller it might just dissapear without medical intervention...

Thats what i'm hoping.

bails

Morning everyone and welcome to Chicka, glad to see the team have made you feel so at home already I'm sure someone else was due to start soon too, sorry I can't remember the name but welcome too! :hello: Hi to MotherShipton as well, thanks for posting.
Right, down to business before you all shoot me - yes, the puppy photos :rotfl:Well, surprisingly, she's much less scared of the camera than I thought so I do have a couple to show you...I just don't know where OH has put the lead I promise I'll get on the case very soon though, need to reply to some things before I forget them entirely.

Some very good advice for you about the road/houses SFT, hope you get some useful info from the planning office etc. I know how much you really want this house, just hold onto it lightly for now and trust that the best thing for you will happen in the end
Really pleased to hear you're feeling better EFC :T and I hope your eye can heal itself Grandma.
Nyk, that family sound like good people to know. That's the direction we're hoping to head in with producing our own energy etc. OH's step sister lives in a tiny disused cow shed in the Pyrenees, they are the most self-sufficent people I know, incredible how they manage with a small baby :T And friends we saw last night who live locally also live in a tiny barn with a solar shower made by OH. I hope to go the cob house route but all the other things are part of the plan
Well done for planting up some chard 2ndTR, every little helps and it's far better it's a manageable amount you're happy with.
Good luck with selling H2B's flat Lynda and well done for fixing the garage door :T
Love the letter Draig :rotfl:reminds me of when HRH popped in for a visit...morning Ma'am
Hope you're feeling even better today BB x
Uh oh, brain has frozen - sorry peeps, trying my best and I am reading everyone's posts. I'm a little snowed under with things that need sorting at the mo but will be able to pop on here more regularly again this week. We've moved up into our attic now, which is lovely - we've not plastered as OH's step dad has offered to come and do it for us, saving me £400 (minus materials) :j He can't make it til the end of April but we're more than happy to wait Because of the attic move, we've been having a huge sort out which has kept me very busy - gradually getting there, decluttering and putting some things aside to sell :T There's a lot more still to do but just going to chip away at it.
Ah bless, pup is snoring at my feet :smileyhea Frustratingly we can't take her for a walk til 5th March (last jabs) so she'll be a 6-month old collie who's never been for a walk :eek: You can imagine how much energy she has to burn off! She's doing very well though and isn't really chewing anything (just some newspaper), we're working on the house training and it's early days with the cats (she's scared of them when they move slowly, if they run her instinct is to chase :rolleyes:) but I'm hoping we'll knock that on the head asap.
Right, off to try and locate the lead for the camera...

smiler34

Hi all just had a look through my cupboard and found if I just buy a few bits I will have enough meals until a week on wednesday. So have been to sainsburys and spent £14 this morning on bits to make up my meals. Used my £20 sainsburys voucher from ipoints so didn't cost me owt either. Got a couple of the pound easter eggs for kids as well in that so did quite well, that has saved me £46 from this weeks shopping budget. My dps phone contract has ended so will be decreasing his phone bill from 30 to 15 a month and he will also be selling the new phone which should fetch us just short of £200 so that will take big chunk of credit card. I have a load of cross stitch things to sell as I accumulated a lot, Im gonna keep a few projects just in case I get time again but I'm gonna have to be brutal with the rest.
I'm also trying to find cheapest lay down pram and a car seat for new baby which I will hopefully get with eat healthy in pregnancy grant when I'm 25 weeks. Don't need it to eat healthily, thanks to all the recipes on here I already do. Anyway hopefully gonna sort through my cross stitch stuff tonight and then start putting bits on ebay. Thanks for all advice guys and I'll let you know how I get on.

shaz_mum_of__2

Im a student too:hello:....................................a mature one in sociology



Welcome Chika your in the right place i am not sure i will manage my challenge fully but participating opens your eyes and closes your purse:rotfl:


Must go put tea in the slowcooker(savoury mince ) and get to uni





Shaz