Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 2

shaz_mum_of__2

Pips mum

just a quickie ...............you will need to add apple as strawbs have no/low pectin content so it wont set



Hope you read this in time ......great bargain though!

Shaz

Savvy_sewing

I think I shop at the wrong places, and at the wrong times, I never get reduced goods that have more then about 20% off!!
I will have to get myself out of the house in the evenings I suppose?

Skint_Lynne

It's just your luck Mooloo, I look at the whoopsies section a lot and very rarely get anything. Just persevere and you will get lucky sometimes. xx

Savvy_sewing

Well I am at least trying to grow a few veg, in my new garden. Although most of it is still a jumgle of weeds. It will be a long time before I can make it pay its way!. But thats the challenge. My Action Plan, is to potter in the garden for 30 minutes a day.
With my health problems I can't always manage to do that, but its a goal.
I want to grow the veg etc and possibly some fruits over the next year or so. There is only DS and myself now, so it seems more feasible then it did with 8 of us in the last house!.

Frugaldom

Good morning, frugalfriends

Fingers crossed for SFT and the move to the country being completed by this weekend. You must be so excited!

SM, thank goodness you have brought everyone up to date, I didn't want to say too much.

CW18, I'm intrigued. You're really searching for properties up here? Should I be thinking along the lines of one down (SM), 260 to go and have everyong on the challenger list move to Frugaldom? :rotfl: You need to PM me your list of properties and I can give you the low down on the good, the bad and the ugly. I don't want to incriminate myself on the boards by saying so and so an number whatever is a drunk etc :rotfl:

It's another glorious, sunny day here today. I got quite burnt yesterday, so have looked out the factor 50 for today's stint in the garden.

Mooloo, I'm trying a vertical growing system for potatoes in a 2 x 2 square. I'll go and get the link and post it before I forget again. back soon

OK, here it is, compliments of Shaz I'm doing this using 4 x 1 metre tree stakes (75p each) and 2' planks sawn from recycled decking. I can't wait to find out how many potatoes will grow but if it really does work, I'll have solved all the problems of how to grow 100kg of spuds in my garden to feed 3 of us for a full year.

Here's a photo of my first one - I should only need 2 these to produce enough potatoes to last us a full year. The potatoes I planted were chopped up from reduced supermarket ones that had gone to seed.

cw18

nykmedia wrote: »

CW18, I'm intrigued. You're really searching for properties up here? Should I be thinking along the lines of one down (SM), 260 to go and have everyong on the challenger list move to Frugaldom? :rotfl: You need to PM me your list of properties and I can give you the low down on the good, the bad and the ugly. I don't want to incriminate myself on the boards by saying so and so an number whatever is a drunk etc :rotfl:

I'm exploring all options, but if I change areas of the country it would be nice to know some locals before moving.....

The one I spotted and asked about the other day appears to be more of an option in your area than anywhere around here -- the number around us that aren't working out/surviving are unbelievable, so would almost be a guarantee of losing all my money :eek:

Savvy_sewing

nykmedia wrote: »

Good morning, frugalfriends

Fingers crossed for SFT and the move to the country being completed by this weekend. You must be so excited!

SM, thank goodness you have brought everyone up to date, I didn't want to say too much.

CW18, I'm intrigued. You're really searching for properties up here? Should I be thinking along the lines of one down (SM), 260 to go and have everyong on the challenger list move to Frugaldom? :rotfl: You need to PM me your list of properties and I can give you the low down on the good, the bad and the ugly. I don't want to incriminate myself on the boards by saying so and so an number whatever is a drunk etc :rotfl:

It's another glorious, sunny day here today. I got quite burnt yesterday, so have looked out the factor 50 for today's stint in the garden.

Mooloo, I'm trying a vertical growing system for potatoes in a 2 x 2 square. I'll go and get the link and post it before I forget again. back soon

OK, here it is, compliments of Shaz I'm doing this using 4 x 1 metre tree stakes (75p each) and 2' planks sawn from recycled decking. I can't wait to find out how many potatoes will grow but if it really does work, I'll have solved all the problems of how to grow 100kg of spuds in my garden to feed 3 of us for a full year.

Here's a photo of my first one - I should only need 2 these to produce enough potatoes to last us a full year. The potatoes I planted were chopped up from reduced supermarket ones that had gone to seed.

Gosh, that looks like a good idea! I will have to ask my BF if he could help me build one. Will we be too late in the season now? I really am a newbie at gardening, having moved from piller to post all my life, I havent bothered much? This move, I am determined to make my home, and enjoy the land that comes with the rent!. Lets face it, if I am renting the land I ought to make it work for me.

slowlyfading

:eek::eek: sophiesmum, I'm glad you and DH are alright xx

cha97michelle

Morning frugang.

Haven't posted in a little while as i have been signed off work with depression and didn't feel like i had much to add to the conversation even if i was still being fairly frugal.

However, i noticed today that my 1st courgette had flowered so that brought enough of a smile on my face to make me get on a bit.

Frugal activities this week - i spotted a bag of reduced apples in the supermarket this week - not exactly cheap but it was good enough to snap up to try out the dehydrator i got back in April for my birthday. I made a tub of apple crisps and a tub of banana chips. I'm finding the apple chips were lovely, so i have got the dehydrator on again today making some more. The banana chips were less good, and i am wondering if this was because they were fairly brown bananas so they taste a bit funny to me.

sophiesmum so glad to hear you and your DH are ok. Hopefully it won't set you back too much in all of your plans.

nyk that potato idea looks great. We have potatoes growing everywhere it feels, so that would be good to let us grow some other stuff too. Sounds like a good plan for us for next year.

I think i am going to need you guys more than ever. I am seriously considering packing in my job as it is making my depression a lot worse and it is affecting my health and my relationship with my family too much. So i need to really look after the pennies as they are coming in at the minute as there might not be any more coming from me in a short while.In my head i am going back in September, and working till Christmas, but i will have to see how my health withstands that and will plan accordingly. I know i survived when i was on maternity leave but we still had savings that we dipped into, so i think even more of a thinking cap on to see what i can do.

Michelle x

Brighton_belle

michelle - so sorry to hear you are not feeling so good. Lots of hugs coming your way.Two small children and a demanding career job is an awful lot to cope with in my opinion, but then I speak from the perspective of someone who lost their health and it has been a long journey to claim it back, that is still on going.
Therefore from my perspective, I hope you find any way possible to be a full time mum and housekeeper until when ever you are ready to branch out again - nothing stays the same for ever, and it is now that needs to be dealt with.
Don't be ashamed of the depresion either - it's just your body's legitimate expression of overload. Heed the warning in any way you can and you will get better. Don't forget you are also sleep deprived, as a mother of young children, and that accounts for a lot too.
You know you'll get loads of support here. And I for one always love hearing about your family life.

Edit - michelle - just a thought, but if you give up your job and get better, you may find you soon have the energy to take on some tutoring work for a few hrs a week: there are things you will find you can do once you get a little better I think, but don't wear you out or iterfear with your family life too much.


SM - so glad that you & OH are ok:eek:.Annoying about the tires,:rolleyes: though as cheryl said - s*d the money, you are ok. Reminded me of us last week getting a great free book case and breaking the windscreen of the car loading it: kerching £75 excess paid out for replacement.

Got a bid on my bike on ebay so at least I know it will sell, just a question of any more than my minimum...