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

cw18

Sounds like everyone else is being frugally busy -- while I'm still trying to get motivated to start :eek:

First job HAS to be blitzing the house, but every time I move boxes into a room I end up needing to get back in there -- so I'm getting nowhere fast (actually feel like I'm going backwards some days!). So today I've taken the plunge, and committed some of my 'revamp' budget (which isn't part of this challenge) to hiring a secure storage unit.

I've actually booked it from 6th April, as the school breaks up on 3rd so I then have two child-free weeks to run up and down to the place moving boxes in (and elder DS is home until 19th April to help out too). Would have taken it from the Saturday, but that's younger GD's birthday party - and then I'm out with friends all day on the Sunday.

It will impact my challenge budget a bit though, as it's about an 11 mile round trip each time I go - so that's going to hit the petrol category. I'm not tooo worried at the moment though, as I'm currently under budget on that and don't plan to make the trip too often once I've moved stuff down (until it's time to bring it all back!)

So I need to get boxes packed up over the next couple of week (plan to sift through stuff as I pack, so I'm not paying for storing things I then junk) ready for the initial trips down to fill the unit. Then I should have space in the house to dejunk more, and that will hopefully mean I can get into a suitable position to get all the flooring that needs replacing done in one go which should make that cheaper as well as less of an inconvenience (hall, cloakroom and dining-room downstairs, plus bedroom that's now my craft room, family bathroom and en-suite upstairs hopefully changing from carpet to a warm 'quick clean' alternative, plus living room really needs a new carpet!).

And I want those areas (as a minimum) decorating before I bring everything back too !!!!


And somewhere along the line I need to try and sort out what I'm doing with the garden - haven't even started to think about planting any veg yet, as I'm really not confident that I know what I'm doing (nor that it wouldn't be in the way when I get the garden sorted properly )

Blairweech

Shaz - Thankyou so much, I knew I did not need a propagator really

Spent £180 on 4 new tyres for the car. Needed, and the money and is not going towards my challenge amount, but still.

Found out one of our friends has gone bankrupt today They have lost everything - the house, the cars, the kids houses. All very sad.

Right, off to plant my veg seeds

shaz_mum_of__2

nykmedia wrote: »

Shaz - Had your potatoes chitted/sprouted before you planted them? It's only my first lot that are beginning to grow and they have been south facing, so getting the best of whatever heat the sun has managed to throw at them.

Yep

I Have put them all in thye flower buckets and put them on the covered patio but put a couple buckets in the greenhouse for succession i did plant one variety un chitted as they were a last minute buy a variety called smile a red potato with little cream colour variations which look like smiley mouths!

Need to update the blog really


Shaz

bails

Hello everyone, I'm so sorry I've not been around and still haven't caught up - no time tonight either but will do my best to at least read the recent posts tomorrow night.

I hope everyone is well and frugalling away, hugs to anyone who needs one and I will be back soon xx

savingfortravel

Hi Everyone!
Long post coming..sorry..
Haven't posted for a while. I am sorry to confess that my dream of moving had become a bit of an obsession. Last night had a bit of a lightbulb moment..like SM's OH I did the lottery on Saturday for the first time in years (needed change for the bus).and got 4 numbers too. Now normally £53 in my pocket would have felt like magic but it didn't and then I realised that my 'wants' had taken over my needs. I am generally a contented non-materialistic person who enjoys living simply and appreciating things and the value of money but my desire to live in a country location has turned into a great big want. Sure it would be nice but if our house doesn't sell and the properites we want do it is not the end of the world. I know I am blessed with what I have and I feel so ungrateful for not appreciating that over the last week. So confession over..I am back in the zone..went on a school regulations course in london today and had delicious Pret..a.wotsit sandwiches for lunch and treated myself to some more later on using the £3 of my win.
Anyway I have been reading every day and so pleased at what everyone is achieving.
Nice to see you back Bails.
SFT

jtb2412

Hi everyone

Hope all is going well? Apologies for not keeping up with this thread, but things are sooooooooo hectic here, I hardly have time to sit down lately !

Busy in the garden, down the allotment, Guides and work but I'm still doing the challenge and kind of getting on ok.

My grocery spends are worryingly high though and I'm scared i'm not going to be able to stick to my budget despite only buying what I need and not buying 'branded' items. Must just be the general cost of living . I can't wait to start picking my own produce so that I can bring my food costs down :rolleyes: .

Gas and Elec not come in yet, am looking forward to seeing how they compare to my I-measure figures ....... plus they've not read my meter this quarter so it's probably a guestimated bill again. They did get it pretty spot on last time - will have to wait and see !

Garden spending is not huge but still spending nonetheless - I've started a spreadsheet and I'm going to record what we pick from the lotty/garden and compare it per kg etc on a like-for-like with Mr T. That way I'll be able to see whether our hobby is actually saving us money or causing us to spend it :rolleyes: .

Am off for a bit of a soak in the bath but will promise to try and catch up a bit either tonight or tomorrow. Hope all the regulars are doing ok (and the lurkers xx) - TTFN xx

cha97michelle

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in a good few days either as we have been really busy and we keep having financial highs and lows.

After DH's car needed repairing last week and cost £500, mine was playing up this week and cost £200. It made me realise how ok we are though, as most people who had been on maternity leave for a year would find this unaffordable, but we are still coping, and i am sure that is down to here.

On a good note though, we got details through on the new mortgage payments starting next month, which are £140 per month cheaper than currently, so i will keep my payments high and be able to overpay a lot for a while.

DH had today off work after working away last weekend, so the new veg patch has now been thoroughly dug over and we have moved a step closer to being done. Now we should be able to stick some wood together to make the raised beds and get some planting done. I started some stuff up indoors today and they are on a sunny window upstairs (the office) well out of the way of DH and DS as they both knocked off my previous efforts. I planted lettuce, leeks, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers and set some potatoes off to chit on the downstairs windowsill but hopefully out of reach of kids. We also managed to find a snail colony and a mouse's nest in the veg patch - both were suitably disposed of (the snails were sent on a holiday into the horse field at the back of our house where they can munch to their hearts content)

I have spent the day getting stuff washed and dried. I also had a nurse's appointment, popped to the co-op which shuts on Friday but no bargains, and had my DS1's parents evening at nursery. That had to be my favourite part of the day.

We are shattered tonight. We have a quick tea, some frozen.C'co wedges, with some hm burgers - just mince and red onion but i thought i would experiment another time.

Hopefully all this lovely sun will have our veggies growing quick so we can spend less. Another one who spends a fortune at the shops, but only really on essentials.

Right, dinner time.

Skint_Lynne

Had a nice drive up to Aberdeen today, and had some company along the way, my sisters came along with me as the shop was closed today.

I had a look in Tesco tonight, I got 2 reduced fillet of beef roasts for £13, the total value was £33, so a good bargain. I cut one of them up and got 7 fillet steaks off it and kept the other as a roast, so a good result all round.:D

It was a smashing day today, hopefully, we will have a nice summer (but probably this is wishful thinking).:rolleyes:

I am kanckered, so off to bed. Nite nite. xx

sophiesmum_2

SL - very brave of you taking your sisters with you for the day - hope they didn't drag you into kfc again:D

Just been doing my planting plan for my 3 planned square feet raised beds,and everything else I am hoping to stick in concrete corner. It looks really good so far - translating plans to real life is another matter though:rolleyes: hope we get a good weekend this week I really need to get started on it.

Also planted more seeds tonight

redglass_2

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Im sprouting chick peas aduki beans and mung beans. Is there anything else suitable for sprouting?

My book about raw foods lists the following: sunflower seeds, mustard seed, alfalfa seed, pumpkin seed, buckwheat, chia (whatever that is), flax (linseed), mint, red clover seeds, most beans and peas including lentils, fenugreek, radish, sesame, wheat, rye, peanuts, almonds, tricitale (don't know what that is either) rye, barley, millet and even oats (if you get whole oats or 'oat groats'). Most seeds and beans and grains seem possible as long as they are whole, undamaged and not too old, though some things are more difficult than others.

Kidney bean sprouts and greens grown from seed potatoes, or tomato seeds, are poisonous. :eek: If you find any trace of brilliant purple in the sprouts, dispose of them - it's ergot! (I once had a batch of sprouts infected with it this - fortunately I didn't 'try them to see' as it gives you nightmarish hallucinations :eek:) but it only ever happened once. Personally I find the taste of soybean sprouts unpleasant but you might not.

Some of them can be quite a faff to grow and according to the book the easiest are alfalfa, aduki, mung, lentils, fenugreek, radish, chickpeas and wheat, so you've chosen well...:D. Edited to add that some health food shops sell special sprouting mixtures but they might be more expensive than just mixing up your own.