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

Lesley_Gaye

We had our first day this season with no heating at all yesterday, no gas central heating, and no open fire in the evening either! That'll save some pennies

Have you guys heard of Spotify? It's a new find for me, and I didn't realise that it's only been up and running for a few weeks. It's a website where you can stream music to your computer and listen to it for free (well one advert every 20 mins or so). I am currently listening to the the new Faryl album.

They say that they have all the music in the world except Led Zeppelin and the Beatles, that is rather an exaggeration as there are lots of musicians I have searched for that they haven't got, but as they are supposedly adding 10,000 tracks a DAY, that will probably soon change, and to be honest, there is so much on there that it is like having a really gigantic iPod.

You can't currently download and listen on anything except your computer, but I have heard that there are plans to change that

Penny2myName

Dont know what I did wrong, but my potatoes haven't even started to show a shoot over top soil yet and planted them on Valentines day

andromache_2

ooh, yes, spotify is brill - so easy to set up. My friends and I have been using it since the invitation-only beta version came out. It's perfect for me since I only ever listen to music on my computer anyway; I don't really like listening to music when I'm out and about. Definitely recommended

DawnW

Penny2myName wrote: »

Dont know what I did wrong, but my potatoes haven't even started to show a shoot over top soil yet and planted them on Valentines day

You planted your potatoes very early Penny. The traditional time to plant even early ones is Easter (unless in a greenhouse). The soil is still too cold for much to grow. Mine are still sprouting on the windowsill in the spare bedroom! You will have to wait a bit longer for them to come up I am afraid! When they do come up, it is best to cover the little shoots gently with soil initially, to protect them from frost. Hope this helps!

slowlyfading

well hello everyone!

I got back on Saturday, after a very long day. I had to get up at 2:30am to get to the airport for my flight from Kuwait, then had a 5 hour wait in terminal 5 at Heathrow, then a flight to Manchester and then a 3 hour drive home. Got home at 9pm and went straight to bed!

Kuwait was amazing - I honestly didn't want to leave so soon by the end of it. It was totally different to what I expected it to be, not that I knew what to expect, if that makes sense? its much more built up than I thought it would be, that's for sure. I think that they have a good standard of living - there is no tax over there, so for example, pretol costs as little as 9p per litre. Food is reasonably cheap too if you go to a big supermarket - I got a huge tub of watermelon for 40p! Couldn't believe it, as its my favourite fruit and it normally costs a fortune for a slice in the UK :rotfl:

The desert camping was certainly an experience! On the drive there, we saw a herd of camels and I got a bit excited there must have been about 30 though, so it was an amazing moment! Didn't get a picture of that though, was a bit disappointed. We built a huge campfire in the middle of camp, to sit round when it got a bit chilly. I saw the moon rise, which was amazing - something you definitely don't see normally. and I went offroading in a jeep! and i drove it! :eek: was lots of fun, and again, something I would never have thought of doing normally!

I've updated my sig to show what I've spent so far, and I think I'm doing quite well. I got a great bargain yesterday in Boots - I was going in to buy some Herbal Essences conditioner, and first they were BOGOF on 400mls, and then there were some of the old style bottles left, which had a new one fastened to the back as a sample of the new range but a full sized bottle, so I got 4 bottles (2 shampoo, 2 conditioner) for £2.98! :j so that made my day, lol :rotfl:

Hope everyone is okay, sending (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf xx

andromache_2

No wonder you only popped in briefly when you got home yesterday, sf, you must have been shattered! I'm glad you had such a good time and got to see your dad. I went on a desert trip in Dubai but we didn't camp out all night so your experience sounds very 'authentic' to me!

I went to the dentist this morning before I leave for the Easter vacation since they give us an NHS dental service here so I wanted to make use of it so that's £16.20 down the drain and my total spend is starting to look massive, but I'm pretty confident that I have enough left to last me... (famous last words perhaps).

slowlyfading

Thanks, I was so shattered! I hate going to the dentist, as mine charges £21.50 for a check up, and it literally takes him 5 mins to do everything and then gets all that! I'm sure you'll do it too

lingojingo

Hi all,
sorry not been on much lately, been inundated with visitors for my very extended half century celebrations! My Mum finally went home yesterday (that sounds terrible, i wasn't getting rid of her, just that she was the last to go :rotfl:) and now I'm getting ready for the school trip to Paris
We're due to set off at midnight tonight :eek: Coach from Yorkshire to the south coast, then ferry across the channel, then coach down to Paris and we're going up the Eiffel Tower with 26 very tired students tomorrow afternoon! They're all good kids , I'm sure it will be fun (and hard work, but so worth it).
As I'll be working it hasn't cost me anything except for my lunches and any other shopping I may choose to do, so should be a frugal trip too!
Hugs and well done's to all who deserve them, and see you all after the weekend.

sophiesmum_2

Have a good trip LJ - birthday celebrations sound as though they went down well:D

SF - your trip sounds great, you sound so much more positive now. Have you seen the lovely boyfriend since you got back?

sophiesmum_2

This is the concrete corner that I am going to turn into a hive of veggie growing industry this year:rolleyes: looks depressing doesn't it???


I plan to put in 12 hanging baskets for tumbling toms, two 8 x 4 square foot gardening raised beds, a small 2 x 4foot raised bed, 3 grow bags for potatoes, 2 three tier basket stands, 2 pots for blueberry bushes, and whatever else I can cram in there

This is the boring lawn part of the garden that I am not allowed to dig up - what a waste!!!!! We have another two of these this size on the front and back of grounds.
My greenhouse area is along the side of the building at the back on the left and the area above is along the side of the building at the back on the right.