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

andromache_2

OMG redglass, that's amazing! Congratulations! I'm so pleased for you about getting the job that you wanted. You must be really chuffed with yourself. :T I'm so excited for you even though I have no idea what it is :rotfl: Anyway, it totally makes sense to me that you should make the most of this opportunity and if it's going to demand time so that you can't carry on with this challenge then that's the way it is. There are plenty of money-making/saving opportunities from this site which I've ignored in the name of effective time management so it seems sensible to me. Do pop in and say hi though and let us know how the job goes - would be sad to lose you altogether!

BTW I wanted to say thank you very much to everyone who was kind enough to offer me advice about which PAYG deal to go for; I've only ever had contract phones before so I'm a bit clueless about how they work and the people who drew my attention to various offers were really helpful. Will report back when I've finally got round to choosing the best offer.

Hope everyone is well!

cw18

Seems like LOTS of congratulations in order to LOTS of people --- so CONGRATULATIONS :T

Special congrats to Redglass -- sounds like you've got yourself the job of your dreams the way you speak of it. Wishing you all the best for a long and successful career It would be nice to hear how you're getting on - both with the job and with the 'watching the pennies' in a more relaxed style - so I shal reiterate the request/agreement that it would be nice to 'see' you from time-to-time.




As for me - younger DS hasn't been well this week, so I've had him underfoot instead of out at college. As a result I still haven't cleared a bedroom out for elder DS (arriving home tomorrow :eek: ), but I have almost completed a 52 day meal plan which ran from Tuesday and goes right up to 30th April (and includes 5 weeks feeding elder DS over and above the 'norm'). The "worrying" thing is that (apart from a couple more bags of sausages, a bag of frozen sweetcorn, potatoes, and small quantities of mushrooms and other fresh veg) I've still only got a very small shopping list in terms of ingredients for the main meals :eek:

I still have 4 'blanks' to fill in, but one of those is Easter Day when I'm seriously considering blowing the budget and cooking 'real' steaks with all the trimmings - something we all love, and haven't had in over 2 years now



Went to a local chemist on Tuesday to get rid of a load of old medications (98% of them were DH's - I hadn't realised how badly he'd 'stockpiled', which in some cases means he almost certainly wasn't taking the doses he was meant to :mad: ). If anyone has a 'small shopper' bag from Mr T, then I'll just say mine was full -- and I still have one room to get into and deal with that I'm sure has more of DH's hidden in drawers!!!

Also nipped into the local charity shop to check they're still taking clothing donations as I need to clear out a lot of DH's stuff -- it's starting to get me down that I'm still 'falling over' it all Have been told Thursdays are the best days to take large quantities in, so was going to try dropping some off today -- but it's a 5+ minute walk without carrying anything heavy, and it's raining today May have to see if I can load up my shopping trolley and take it that way

Whilst there I picked up a hard-backed cookery book for 30p -- the copyright and published dates in it are 1959, and it certainly has that look/smell/feel about it. Started flicking through yesterday, and need to pencil in oven temperatures (the recipes refer to 'moderate' and 'hot' ovens, which are converted to Gas Mark and Farhenheit - plus a letter - in the early pages.... so I must add Centigrade in for my sanity )


It also has loads of 'around the house' tips at the back of the book, including how to fix a lock, how to lay linoleum tiles, and in which order you should paint the panels on your door.......

Did you know that if you add salt to the final rinse water when washing clothes it will stop them freezing on the line? Or that if you add turpentine to the water it will cause yellowing whites to become white again !!!! Don't think I'm going to rush to try either of those :rotfl:

Oh! And the best thing for cleaning the rollers on your wringing machine is apparently liquid paraffin (which should be rinsed off at once with warm water) :rolleyes2

slowlyfading

redglass, it's a shame to read that you're going to leave us - i have loved reading your posts over the last year or so! please do try to pop in as often as possible, and CONGRATULATIONS on the new job! :j

This is a quick post as I'm going desert camping tonight! So we've got to get ready and sort things out, as we leave in just under 2 hours! it'll take quite a while in a car to get there, but hopefully it'll be worth the drive. I've been umming and ahhing about going as i'm not sure its really my thing, but you can't do that many other places can you? So i've bit the bullet and we're going! I'll let you know if I survive...

Hope everyone else is okay - I've skimmed through the thread but can't remember what I've read to be honest so am sending big (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf xx

grandma247

cw18 wrote: »

if you add turpentine to the water it will cause yellowing whites to become white again !!!! Don't think I'm going to rush to try either of those :rotfl:

It was probably pure turpentine oil and not the stuff that passes for turpentine these days. I used to work in a chemists and he gave me some of the oil to remove paint from a brand new jumper, it worked and was very gentle so there was no damage to the jumper.

I do admire you for being able to go through your hubbys stuff and get rid of it so soon. I know people who found it hard even 2 years later.

taka

Urmmmm turps is dangerous to the environment - people used to wash clothing in it?? :eek: :eek: I'm sure it has a hazard label on with a dead fish on... Arghhhh... spot the geeky scientist :rotfl:

Redglass - congrats and good luck with your new job! Please do pop in as you'll be missed if you vanish altogether!

SF - enjoy your trip! I hope you take warm clothes -deserts (certainly in Australia anyway) are freezing at night! Sounds like you are enjoying seeing your Dad!

Skint-chick - well done on the overpayments!

((((Hugs)))), congrats and commiserations to anyone who needs them! I'm so busy at the mo to be able to keep up properly!

jtb2412

Really busy here too (still here in spirit most of the time though !) .... will try to catch up tonight if I have time. Sending out kind thoughts where appropriate and well done to everyone still on the wagon !

Spending going well (within budget) and it's really nice not having to keep thinking about what groceries to buy this week (did a monthly shop and although it took a lot of time to organise, I think i've saved time, effort and money in the long run).

Waiting for my gas and elec bill to come in, due any day now so will update sig when I get them.

Been rushed off my rather big feet with the garden and allotment and getting everything planted. I didn't really think about having to at least quadruple what I planted last year when we got our lotty but it's all good fun and I'm enjoying the 'quiet time' in the greenhouse at the moment.

Also got a big fundraiser coming up for Guides which I'm organising more or less single-handedly. The other leader is great but it's not her forte so I'm doing most things and giving her the odd task to do here and there. I do like to keep busy though - it stops me from spending money ! :money:

Plans for this weekend are garden on Saturday (weather looking a bit hit and miss so will potter around here) and then lotty on Sunday - DH going to start building polytunnles from some water pipe he persuaded a nice builder to give him, bean supports and we MUST get the potato bed covered to warm up.

I've also got to find time to think about doing a car boot in a few weeks time - I think I'm going to have to invest in a few crates of Red B**l :eek: :rotfl:

Have a great day everyone, hopefully catch up later !

lilac_lady

Got my gas meter read and discovered that my bill was £228 covering the last three months. I wasn't too pleased till my neighbour (who lives in an identical house) told me that her bill was over £400. I pay by direct debit so didn't have to stump up the cash this month.

I don't know what my bill would have been if it wasn't for fellow posters on here. Thanks again folks!

BTW, I haven't sat and shivered but haven't been reckless either - the thermostat was set at 20 degrees when really cold and 17/18 for the rest of the quarter.

grandma247

I found a little info about turpentine . Real turpentine oil is made from the resin of pine trees. I have not found any info that it is bad for fish but it probably is in large quantites because a pond that has pine trees close by will not have live frogs or tadpoles in it as the resin that drips into the water will kill them.
here and here
edit : I found some info in this pdf and it is dangerous to fish see section 12 http://www.diggersaust.com.au/files/pure_gum_turpentine.pdf

mama67

cw18 wrote: »

Seems like LOTS of congratulations in order to LOTS of people --- so CONGRATULATIONS :T

Special congrats to Redglass -- sounds like you've got yourself the job of your dreams the way you speak of it. Wishing you all the best for a long and successful career It would be nice to hear how you're getting on - both with the job and with the 'watching the pennies' in a more relaxed style - so I shal reiterate the request/agreement that it would be nice to 'see' you from time-to-time.




As for me - younger DS hasn't been well this week, so I've had him underfoot instead of out at college. As a result I still haven't cleared a bedroom out for elder DS (arriving home tomorrow :eek: ), but I have almost completed a 52 day meal plan which ran from Tuesday and goes right up to 30th April (and includes 5 weeks feeding elder DS over and above the 'norm'). The "worrying" thing is that (apart from a couple more bags of sausages, a bag of frozen sweetcorn, potatoes, and small quantities of mushrooms and other fresh veg) I've still only got a very small shopping list in terms of ingredients for the main meals :eek:

I still have 4 'blanks' to fill in, but one of those is Easter Day when I'm seriously considering blowing the budget and cooking 'real' steaks with all the trimmings - something we all love, and haven't had in over 2 years now



Went to a local chemist on Tuesday to get rid of a load of old medications (98% of them were DH's - I hadn't realised how badly he'd 'stockpiled', which in some cases means he almost certainly wasn't taking the doses he was meant to :mad: ). If anyone has a 'small shopper' bag from Mr T, then I'll just say mine was full -- and I still have one room to get into and deal with that I'm sure has more of DH's hidden in drawers!!!

Also nipped into the local charity shop to check they're still taking clothing donations as I need to clear out a lot of DH's stuff -- it's starting to get me down that I'm still 'falling over' it all Have been told Thursdays are the best days to take large quantities in, so was going to try dropping some off today -- but it's a 5+ minute walk without carrying anything heavy, and it's raining today May have to see if I can load up my shopping trolley and take it that way

Whilst there I picked up a hard-backed cookery book for 30p -- the copyright and published dates in it are 1959, and it certainly has that look/smell/feel about it. Started flicking through yesterday, and need to pencil in oven temperatures (the recipes refer to 'moderate' and 'hot' ovens, which are converted to Gas Mark and Farhenheit - plus a letter - in the early pages.... so I must add Centigrade in for my sanity )


It also has loads of 'around the house' tips at the back of the book, including how to fix a lock, how to lay linoleum tiles, and in which order you should paint the panels on your door.......

Did you know that if you add salt to the final rinse water when washing clothes it will stop them freezing on the line? Or that if you add turpentine to the water it will cause yellowing whites to become white again !!!! Don't think I'm going to rush to try either of those :rotfl:

Oh! And the best thing for cleaning the rollers on your wringing machine is apparently liquid paraffin (which should be rinsed off at once with warm water) :rolleyes2

Cheryl, don't know if they still do this but the Cancer Research Shop came with a van and collected all the things we had when my mum died, it just took a phonecall.

Admittedly this was back in 1988.

cw18

Thanks mama67.

Didn't get out to drop anything off today, so may try that when I've got everything sorted.....

There is a small pile already on one side for elder DS to go through in case he can make use of any of it, so would like to get through the rest over the next 5 weeks (while DS is home on leave) as I don't know when he'll next be back. The hill walking gear in particular could be of interest to him, as I know a lot of it was expensive !!