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

ram_murdock

Thanks SFT, i think the seller is being unrealistic with the price but all i can do is wait and see.

Pipsmum- baby pip is gorgeous!

Been meaning to ask for ages, anyone from northern ireland on this thread?

Mollymop5

nykmedia wrote: »

Hi MollyMop, we get mice as well and local garage is forever getting cars in with wiring problems because they try to nest in engine space. We don't have a cat in the house, although there is one outside, and I have filled in all the gaps I can find so I know the mice can't get into the rooms. I'm using old wives' tale remedies for now - peppermint oil, cloves, bay leaves - the mice don't seem to like the smell of any of these and SEEM to have given up trying to get in. I don't have traps set, as I reckoned placing food in them would attract more than I'd catch, and I don't have poison down as I don't want anything eating a poisoned mouse or else it dying behind a skirting board and stinking the place out. If they can't source food anywhere then they should eventually go. Best suggestion I have (and was given) is to search the entire house for access points and then stop them gaining entry. Good luck

Thanks Nyk.I spent £20 on an electronic plug in today which is meant to keep mice at bay :rolleyes:.I then had my phonecall to pest control returned where he told me I'd wasted my money and should pay him £25 to come and place a trap in my airing cupboard, one in my loft and another in my kitchen.I explained that I'd searched my house and not found any evidence that they had made their way into any rooms and apart from hearing them i the ceiling that was it.I will check out my airing cupboard tomorrow but know my home is sealed quite nicely.I haven't heard anything tonight (touch wood), this could be luck or my gadget might just work.i'm keeping it plugged in for now anyway thats for sure.I won't be paying pest control though.If I need to bait traps i will do it myself ( or get my ex to do it lol)

Thanks for everyones advice and Sophiesmums link to the other thread it was interesting reading lastnight when i couldn't sleep lol.

angelatgraceland

BigMummaF wrote: »

Hello. I don't think I had a chance to commit to officially signing up before we got virus-etted, but I do read whenever the poota lets me
I was wondering if anyone could explain mysupermarket.co.uk to me please? I have used it to make up my little black book of prices, but keep finding discrepancies twix shop & site. For instance, I was supposed to be going to our closest MrA this week, which is a good 45 minute drive each way, so made sure I did 'the check'. Instead tho, we ended up at the local MrT & I went to get some dried mint...on the site it was showing £6 per100g but on the SEL it was £5.50. Does the site charge extra because it's an on-line shop & offers 'points' do you think? All I know is, it's knocked my faith in my thinking I'm doing everything I can to get the best prices for the basics. Isn't it enough to have to use good electricity on these comparison sites without then having to double-check their information :mad:
I've got my head on this week/month/year...sorry ....but it must have something to do with only No1 offspring still being in employment. No2 has today received the paperwork & Redundancy is now complete, while mine was just before christmas & No3 a while back now. I'm keeping everything X for a good growing season because the odds are against me before I begin No windowsills; black thumbs as opposed to green fingers & not a clue what I'm supposed to be doing :rotfl:but I'd like Iceberg Lettuce & tomatoes of some description at least.
So, if you don't mind, I'd like to work towards sorting out a workable budget by using your excellent ideas but not actually catagorise until later in the year. Grocery is not too much of a problem because I cook from scratch & cleaning is either :starmod:drops or white vinegar, & I use i-measure every week to frighten us into tighter control of the utilities :eek:
Thanks for listening. x

Ok-it is not the fault of the site firstly. Internet prices can often be different to instore prices. This also applies to the offers-some are internet only and very often the internet prices are lower. It is really only worth using the comparison site if you intend making an online order. If you want to visit the store it really will not be at all accurate. It is useful for some to do a shop online and print it off-then not proceed with the purchase-simply to get a nice neat shopping list with approximate prices.
As far as your budget goes for groceries it may help to firstly calculate all of your income. Then total all of your unavoidable-unadjustable outgoings such as mortgage or rentt, utilities etc. See what is left and divide it by 12.
This will give you some sort of figure to work on. List various categories so that you can make a rough gess as to how much you are going to be ale to spend on them. From this calculation and past shopping experiences you should come up with a figure where you can start.
The main things are:
Only take out with you 1/52 of your available spending money for any week
cash is easier to keep track of
keep a spending diary and list every single purchase
keep receipts/ask for them and staple them all together at end of week
clear out purse and end of week and start afresh.
Later in the year you will have the info to work out a true budget.
Try this for 3 months-then you can calculate the next 9 months by those figures.
Good luck-and keep asking questions!

Sarah147 wrote: »

Hello all, hope everyone is well today.

Would appreciate some advice. How do you stop over eating? Seriously, recently I have been eating like a total gannet. Since I have started my new job I have put on half a stone. I just cant seem to stop over eating, especially when I am not even hungry. I don't know whether it is boredom or whatever but it is going to catch up with my health soon and I am feeling lethargic and not sleeping that good. Any techniques to stop this anyone? I am not over weight but I really want to stop gorging myself. Take today, I had a beautiful homemade bean soup for lunch but still had the need to have a couple of bags of crisps afterwards. Any advice welcomed!


I have done well with not spending this month bar flights for a friends wedding which was an unavoidable spend. I just find that I don't want to buy anything, there is nothing I really need. I have food in the freezer, a roof over my head... the rest doesnt matter and, like others have said, I would rather treat my friends to little things here than there. Just cause we are cutting back on the pennies, it doesn't mean we have to be tight with those that mean the world to us I bought a chippy supper for my sister today and in return she recyled a top to me that she has never worn but which I Love. I also got a voucher in the post today for a free big eat bag of Walkers crisps. Yum

Well-Ive been there and Ive got the tshirts-so many times. I now also have the extra 3 stone so I know your fear and I commend you on thinking about this now!
Firstly-do you eat breakfast? What is it? If it is cereal-sugar-it does not last for energy-you get a quick burst and then a great dip as the sugars/carbs wear off.
Scrambled egg in the micro is a good breakfast-maybe with some baked beans? Protiens give longerlasting energy. Also its a cheap breakfast.
Dont take crisps to work! They are rather addictive and moreish and all of that salt is bad for you.Why not take a peanut butter sandwich or something to snack on?
Possibly the bean soup was not enough on its own? I love soup but sometimes its not enough. Do you need something sweet? Sugarfree jelly has approx 8 calories per 1/4 pint serving-again, it isnt expensive-approx 10p per serving at the max if you make your own.
Going too long without food can also make you binge-especially late at night when your body should be resting-not digesting.
Take some salads-slices of ham-carrot sticks etc to snack on-not crisps or biscuits. They are empty calories.
Stop eating when you are no longer hungry-not because you havent finished your food.
Take a walk every lunchtime if you can-after your lunch-its good to get out of your workplace for 10 mins or so.
There are lots of recipes and ideas for snacks and lunches on here so you should soon be inspired.
Your last sentance is lovely but it comes with a but(or a Butt) chippy suppers and big bags of crisps?
Try to think of other rewards for both of you. Pay for a swim or a game of tennis or something or a picnic in the park when the weather brightens up. If your sis has children-give her a night off and babysit-not everything costs any money at all. Something you can do tegether is nice tho so I know how tempting the chippy is! Im no "angel" I only aspire to be!
I am currently in the process of mending my ways and polishing my wings! My waistline shows my sins.
I do love the idea of the recycled top!

Edit: Boredom is indeed a major factor!!!

grandma247

Sarah try drinking a glass of water. Sometimes you think you are hungry when really it is thirst. Daft I know but true.
Also try an apple or two. Fresh or dried seems to help. I have a drink with the dried so it swells a bit and makes you feel fuller. (i can eat more dried apple than fresh)
If you are trying to loose weight stay away from crisps etc. Maybe something with oats such a scottish oatcakes, homemade of course so you can choose how much salt and fat you put in.

redglass_2

Open up that thar Frugal Doghouse, I've been soooooo baaaaaddd. It's partly because of big expenses (load of logs, shed to put them in) and a lot of stockpiling that should pay off in the months to come. Even so, I am way off budget and that's not even counting in some items that I re-classified as luxuries (hangs head in shame). I've got lazy and started slipping back into little things that add up, such as buying lunch at work.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that my fuel bills will probably pan out OK over the year, as I was very stingy and built up lots of credit before the winter bills came in. Still, I've got to shape up better than this....there are loads of birthdays and other commitments in the next few months. :eek:



- .

sophiesmum_2

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

I've not had my voucher. Maybe it will arrive tomorrow. I rmember that whitewing had her ipod long before mine arrived. Maybe they do English addresses first and then do Scotland. Must be their system. (I hope).:p

Don't worry SL I haven't had mine yet either:p

Laughing at your butter hunting:D , hope your store gets some soon. Ours is a humongous 24 hr Asda/Walmart superstore so maybe the big stores do get the offers first doesn't seem fair though.

angelatgraceland

Come on #Redglass! Pick yourself up! You know where you went wrong and a new month means a new start! We all slip at sometime or other. Its all ups and down and swings and roundabouts. Stockpiling pays off so do not feel bad about that-just make sure you behave in March or you might be wearing the studded collar and chained to the aforesaid doghouse!

chika

Sarah147 wrote: »

Hello all, hope everyone is well today.

Would appreciate some advice. How do you stop over eating? Seriously, recently I have been eating like a total gannet. Since I have started my new job I have put on half a stone. I just cant seem to stop over eating, especially when I am not even hungry. I don't know whether it is boredom or whatever but it is going to catch up with my health soon and I am feeling lethargic and not sleeping that good. Any techniques to stop this anyone? I am not over weight but I really want to stop gorging myself. Take today, I had a beautiful homemade bean soup for lunch but still had the need to have a couple of bags of crisps afterwards. Any advice welcomed!

Hi Sarah,

I think most of the advice I was going to give has been covered but Mostly have a good breakfast and lunch. Was your portion of soup big enough? Also sometimes hunger is literally thirst, the signals that the body sends for both are very similar.

To be honest if you need a snack then have one, just avoid salty crisps and chocolate etc. Try and take things with you to snack on like carrot sticks, celery, fruit, nuts etc.

If you crave crisps, then try this. I'm no good at quantities but get a parsnip (the thick ones work best) peel and slice quite thinly. Either spray with low fat cooking spray or toss in olive oil (just a little). Then pick a flavour, I think mixed herbs and a bit of sea salt work well, or you could use cumin, cayenne, balsamic vinegar (or any other flavour your like) and sprinkle over the parsnips. The arrange on greaseproof paper and bake in a hot oven for 20 to 30 minuts or until just browning. These are delish and have that nice crunch! You can also make them with other veg like beetroot, butternut squash, carrots etc.

2NDTIMEROUNDER

Goodmorning everybody.
Hope everybody is doing ok! I woke up with immense energy to do things today, and put things (right) that have been bothering me and holding me back for some time now, see many months if not years.:o Hope it lasts this time though....:)

Decided to cook a bit more these days to keep in line with the challenge and be more healthy-ish by avoiding additives, refined oils etc. Had some apples last night and some bananas which looked dead so what to do, what to do with these? Even throwing them out takes energy - bag them, and go down the stairs to the outside bin. So lets use the energy more efficiently to do a nice crumble - recipe found on youtube (!) of all places. Half tin was banana crumble the other appe crumble. 30 minutes later the whole flat smelt amazingly.So with a bit of flour, some butter, sugar,water and cinnamon and 10 minutes of preparation I got a huge baking tin of food that will last for days and freeze if not eaten on time. Cooking food per se I am fairly good at, but baking stuff I always thought takes more detailed knowledge of what to do. I will try and find a cheap book and give it a try.

Bails re puppy names. I hope you like italian names because I have lots for you. We had always named dogs and cats in the family like this as every name has a meaning, or reflects a physical attribute of the animal or a special characteristic of its character. I will wait and see the pic first though.:)

Pipsmum your little one is so cool in his Wales shirt. Bet you are proud of him.


Have a nice one today, all of you.

shaz_mum_of__2

2NDTIMEROUNDER wrote: »

Cooking food per se I am fairly good at, but baking stuff I always thought takes more detailed knowledge of what to do. I will try and find a cheap book and give it a try.

The Be-Ro flour cookbook is a good one for beginners its with the flour at Mr M i don't know about other stores though, Most of the recipes are on their website too the easy fruitcake is lovely

http://www.be-ro.com/

Shaz