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

angelatgraceland

Paulgonnabedebtfree wrote: »

Well you only have to be half as scared now. I don't think these women things bite usually so we should be OK.

Also, I don't drink, don't smoke and I don't eat meat or fish. None of those decisions were ever made with moneysaving in mind but they will stand me in good stead as I shed my debts. Nothing particularly virtuous about the above as I understand that Adolf Hitler was also a teetotal, non-smoking vegetarian. I'm pleased to say though that that is where the similarity ends.

That made me smile! No underlining your nose then?(a moustache by another name). Misread your username first time around cos Ive a silly sense of humour: Paul gonnabed debt free. Sounds tiring but the best way to get a good nights sleep! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Now-seriously-while I still have the last funds of 2008 I topped up my car with petrol(petrolprices.com)-just have to top up DH car also.
Treated myself to a pair of ankleboots for £6.40 instead of £25-so I don't need any more shoes(write out 1000 lines I think):rotfl:
Located exercise books to keep as budget diaries-no expense there. :money: Decided the pressurecooker I was given has too many bits missing to be economical to repair. Someone else says they may be replacing theirs so I can have their old complete one(so I will wait). Just wish I had access to a cow as it may save money on milk-hoping Ive enough to last ages but may buy some buffet food for New Years Eve as that is what we normally do-stay in and snack. That won't cost a lot as Ive already got cheese and wine halfprice.
Yes Im also on new budget countdown and I shall do 2 totals on my sig-one for month and one for first quarter. Watching movies online now free-I swear I won't buy any more DVDs however cheap they are! Must try to watch all my old videos then I can give them away. There is a great sense of freedom in decluttering.:rolleyes:
Fed my meter readings into imeasure and OMG-combined for 3 days they are: £25.28-it cannot continue! Just put the central heating back on and the electric fire off. Our heating is totally innefficient and is an issue we need to remedy as soon as we can but we need a big declutter before any heating engineer can put in radiators!:eek: :eek: :eek:
Thinking of not eating meat Im doing another big veggie curry in my SC as DD23 has been eating curry everyday for the past week(no Im not gonna be a grandma)but its so cheap and healthy Im not gonna put her off-I guess I just make nice curries!:j :j :j

dND

hgbels wrote: »

Hi All

I really want to try and join in with this challenge but don't think I will manage to keep detailed records. I read bits last year, but my circumstances ahve now changed dramatically. I was contracting last year, and my contract finished just before Xmas, and given the current climate and family demands, I will not be working for the whole of next year.

I'm lucky as I do not have any debts, but we will be trying to survive on DH's earnings and so not ues my savings. I have two preschoolers - one who is starting school in April. They will both be in preschool for two hours each morning time which I want to spend getting fit and raising money.

Afternoons will be OS cookery - I hope to save some money

I'l try and post when I can - good luck to everyone.
I am going to go back to the start of the thread to catch up

Hels

Hi Hgbels,

I felt like you when I found the thread last year so did my own practice version of the challenge. I found keeping the spending diary the most useful thing and the simple task of listing what I'd spent the money on - things like chocolate and bits and pieces really made me realise how often I did it. I set up a spreadsheet and began tracking and was shocked to see how much these seemingly little spends totalled up to over the year.:eek:

So I guess what I'm saying is that even if you don't want to join officially it's (IMHO) really worth doing your own version while lurking around the thread, as practice run for next year even.

And if you do want to join during the year this lovely lot are so welcoming :A

Deborah

kittiej

Hi Peeps

Just a quickie tonight as I'm a bit knackered.

Well I went to Lidl's to stock up on my washing tablets only to find they've gone up by 35p. I was really gutted so I bought 1 box and will mull over whether to buy another 9 boxes or not.

I also had a delivery from asda, my OH thinks I'm absolutely bonkers now.
I bought a years worth of toiletries, I was gutted again when the driver told me [EMAIL="there@d"]there'd[/EMAIL] been a spillage and a bottle of my sp shampoo had managed to cover most of my shopping. So that took me 1/2 hour to wipe everything down.

On a plus side I'd ordered 5 x 1.5kg bags of Asda strong flour and they sent me 2 and 1 X 3kg bag of Allinsons bread flour at no extra cost, I'd also ordered Asda brown sauce and they sent me HP so that cheered me up a bit.

Anyway I'm off to bed cos I want to start work early so I can finish by 2pm hopefully instead of 4pm.

See you all tomorrow my lovelies.

Kate

cw18

kittiej wrote: »

On a plus side I'd ordered 5 x 1.5kg bags of Asda strong flour and they sent me 2 and 1 X 3kg bag of Allinsons bread flour at no extra cost,

I assume they refunded the cost of 1 of your bags of Asda flour then, as the bag of Allinson's only replaces 2 of the 3 you were missing

bails

CW, you are always so on the money with figures :rotfl:This must have something to do with what you did for a living right? (sorry I should probably remember that )

dND, thanks for the help for hgbels, well said! :T Anyone is welcome to post as much as they like even if they're not 'officially' doing the challenge, and you can sign up any time throughout the year if you feel like it too. You're also more than welcome to lurk (we know you're out there :hello:) - we're just happy to have everyone along for the ride!

I'm off for New Year in the Lakes tomorrow morning so will wish everyone a Happy New Year - good luck with the first couple of days, don't painc if it all seems a but much to start with and I'll 'see' you all on the 3rd for a fantastic year of frugalising :jxx

angelatgraceland

skintwellie wrote: »

Hi fellow frugalites. :j

Last week my order came from Approved Food and I was very pleased. I got a huge amount of food for £22 including delivery. I ordered loads of drinks for 10p each which is great for son's packed lunches. The trays of pasta sauces are out of date by four months but I've used several and they're fine.:rotfl:
Big thanks to whoever recommended the site:T


Have printed off money diary from MONEYWISE site to record daily spends on. (Hoping for plenty of NSDs though).

Well Ive just taken a look at this site and put in an order for just under £49 includes £10.50 carriage. Ive added up approx total of goods at "proper" prices and think its approx £150 worth! Even if Im way out and only £100 worth its a bargain! Many thanks for this-it says they are closed for hol but I ordered anyway and just hope for the best. As it wont come this side of New year its def 2009 budget so that will be my first spend!
For anyone thinking of buying a calendar-remember that these are available free in Word and Works and you can download them from Microsoft free to print off! Just print off a month at a time as you need. Can even print it on recycled paper. There are of lot of bits of calendar software here too:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Search/newsearch.php3?S_S=2009+calendar&image.x=0&image.y=0
My budget is starting on Saturday so I need to hide away until then I think.

cw18

bails wrote: »

CW, you are always so on the money with figures :rotfl:This must have something to do with what you did for a living right? (sorry I should probably remember that )

Computer programming.....

13 years in the Nuclear Industry (and no, I don't glow in the dark) which meant all our calculations had to be checked rigorously before we could implement anything!

And then 10 years in the financial market (mostly Unit Trusts, but a little bit on ISA's -- though even that was mainly on the UT side of those -- and a tiny dabble into producing statements for life insurances)


So number crunching has long been a way of life for me, as I started in the IT industry just before my 20th birthday :rolleyes2

Buffythedebtslayer

free pound log in for B*tlins today

xxx

charliedavis

Hi

I'd like to be signed up please. Thank you so much for this thread as I really needed a boot up the backside! I'm in the unusual situation of having successfully started a business 2 years ago and have tripled my income since then- however managed to also increase my outgoings and managed to get my business in the same amount of debt as I am also in personally. (£35k each!) I am feeling very stupid and know I need to seriously get a grip on my spending. I'm responsible for employing other people so have serious money pressures to deal with and the end of each month is always very stressful dealing with cashflow issues.

I've had a tendency to pay myself whenever I need money which in hindsight has been really stupid. I now need to save furiously to pay a large tax bill and also get out of debt.

I have taken out mortgage payments and bills. I'm newly married with 2 kids but am responsible for all the bills and often bailing my husband too although he works fulltime for Parcel Force (don't ask!)

So here's my 4k challenge:

Clothes and shoes £360 this is pretty hard to cut down on as I tend to present an "image" in work
Groceries £2400
Eating out £600
Toiletries £120
Hair cuts £380
Gifts £0
Total £3860

Holidays are out next year as the tax bill is more important!

ALL money left over will be saved towards the tax bill and paying off debts. I have credit card debts of £21000 that I expect to be wiped clean as a result of the Cartel Client Review (I am one of the test cases so will keep you updated of my progress).

Gifts are zero and eating out is less than I will spend over the year as we are signed up as a business to Bartercard meaning we can sell items on it for a huge profit (usually 4 times what it is worth) and buy items such as hotel stays, meals out, cinema tickets etc. Hopefully anyone else who owns a business might find it useful to investigate this?

Please help me to stay motivated - reading this thread has already helped. I've been on it all day and have already done a large stockpile shop of cheap items for the cupboard to stop eating out. I've also taken a hard look at my budget and we have cut the cleaner and ironing service out for next year (I work very long hours) and are splitting the tasks between us.

Looking forward to spending lots of time on this thread!

puss14

Hi All
This is my first year doing this so very excited. Converted 4000 ponds into Aussie $ and is approx $8400 so thats what I am budgeting for.

Groceries 2700
Power 1000
Mobile 50
TV 600
Clothes 200
Ins 600
Gas 400
Pets 600
Ent 300
Gifts 400
Petrol 400
Car Service200
Rego 550
Holiday 400

GT= $8400 or $700 pm

I have not included phone or internet as they are needed for work purposes. I also have not allocated any money for beauty care or services, but I have a big stockpile of products which should last me to September when I will request skincare stuff for my birthday. Also my OH had his first attempt at cutting my hair the other day and did a good job so he is now my stylist:rolleyes: . OH has been using a shaver on his head and hasn't paid for a haircut in 2 years:D . This is going to work for me, bring on 2009:j :j