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

purplevamp

Evening all! I'm trying to catch up on the threads so bear with me. I hope everyone is well and I have a pile of hugs if anyone wants one.

sophiesmum - haven't you been busy? I'm very impressed with your tommies. Mine haven't sprouted yet, although the first lot popped up then shrivelled to nothing :rolleyes:.

nyk - I've always shopped at Sainsburys. I find them very good value, much better than Mr T. And their basics range in vast, although the prices are sneaking up on those :mad:. They sell 1% milk (orange top) for £1 per 4 pints. Actually just noticed taka thinks the same

taka - I totally agree about the whoopsies being too pricey. It's like they know we want bargains but won't give them to us!!

loopylou - glad Daisy is feeding well. My DD didn't take to my milk so she was bottle fed, she did throw up after every feed for 11 months though!


I've had to ring my HA to complain about my neighbours kids. They've been throwing things into our garden, and it's been getting worse. In the last few weeks we've had:- broken toys, crisp packets, biscuit wrappers, raw egg, fried egg, carrots, oranges, plastic packaging, and today grapes and plums. My DH heard something tapping on the wall and went out to find the offending fruit. He picked it up and binned it, where he found more of them. He confronted the kids who said "we don't like grapes" my DH told them not to do it anymore because they'll be in a world of trouble, the kids laughed so he said "no, this is serious, you're already on thin ice". They should be getting a letter tomorrow or Thursday. He was very annoyed with them and he's normally so laid back. :mad: :mad:

I've been in court this week with jury service and tomorrow we've got to make our decision :eek:. Then DS2, DD and I are off to see Mickey Mouse's Magic Show for the evening.

savingfortravel

Hi Everyone!

Nyk: I call DH fluffy silver fox but I'm not sure that isa good name for the chick! Hope it gets warmer for you soon. Need to ask you about wood burners..my sister has a contact who is a tree surgeon and has lots of wood that he just dumps in a field to rot. Would any of it be suitable?
Skintchick: Thanks for the info about music magpie. I am sure DH has lots of those dodgy compilations hanging around. Sorry to hear about the knee. x
Loopylou: Great to hear how well Daisy is doing. Keeping my fingers crossed about DH's job.
EFC: Good to hear you're feeling better. x
Lilo: Hope you are recuperating. x
Sophiesmum: Your greenhouse looks fantastic. We are holding back due to our move but can't wait to start up a new garden. I grow chives too and would love more ideas for how to use them.

Advice needed

Would love some advice from people who live in older houses. Some of my relations are like the voice of doom regarding our move to the country. I admit to being very fortunate in the past, only living in modern or 20th century houses and I must be realistic about a 17th century Grade II building needing more maintenance. I feel convinced that it will be worth it for the location and (if I can be a touch romantic) the charm of the cottage. But some of my nearest and dearest regard this move as an absolute disaster. So am feeling a little wobble every now and again.. just keep running through in my head WHY we are doing this.

Usually have nerves of steel.
SFT

Brighton_belle

purplevamp wrote: »

I've had to ring my HA to complain about my neighbours kids. They've been throwing things into our garden, and it's been getting worse. In the last few weeks we've had:- broken toys, crisp packets, biscuit wrappers, raw egg, fried egg, carrots, oranges, plastic packaging, and today grapes and plums. My DH heard something tapping on the wall and went out to find the offending fruit. He picked it up and binned it, where he found more of them. He confronted the kids who said "we don't like grapes" my DH told them not to do it anymore because they'll be in a world of trouble, the kids laughed so he said "no, this is serious, you're already on thin ice". They should be getting a letter tomorrow or Thursday. He was very annoyed with them and he's normally so laid back. :mad: :mad:

QUOTE]
Forget the HA - I'd threaten them with a flying visit from 'is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's frugalwoman' aka Nyk - throwing good fruit away:eek:. In fact, thinkning about it why wasn't your other half delighted to get the freeby and turn them into a crumble:rotfl:

Hope the rest of jury service goes well.

A beautiful sunny day here but feel a bit too washed out at the mo to do anything with it.

mandragora_2

Hi, savingfortravel
If you've got a wood burner, then that's what it will burn - wood! I'd cultivate any friends who have access to free wood, as its a godsend - we run ours on offcuts my OH brings home from work (posh school, lots of Design Tech stuff) - staff now leave it by the side of the skip for him rather than throw it out. We don't spend anything on fuel for it, and only use the heating as a frugal top up for the rest of the house when needed.

We bought our place out in the wilds 25 years ago - it was a repo and it needed complete renovation; it was the only way we'd ever have afforded a biggish place & garden for the kids. Can't comment as to whether its been cheaper as a place during that time than a town-based alternative - probably not, when you think of things like petrol costs; however, its been great value - the kids had good freedom growing up; there's always space for things that you want to store; no pressure to buy new stuff, as going to the shops is a once a week functional event rather than a leisure activity, and lots of food for free from the veg patch, mushrooms & brambles etc in season...

savingfortravel

Thank you for that post..it was really uplifting and helpful. Apparently its wet wood so would need to be dried out for a year first...could be done under tarpaulin (sp) apparently. SFT

Savvy_sewing

Quote:-
Advice needed

Would love some advice from people who live in older houses. Some of my relations are like the voice of doom regarding our move to the country. I admit to being very fortunate in the past, only living in modern or 20th century houses and I must be realistic about a 17th century Grade II building needing more maintenance. I feel convinced that it will be worth it for the location and (if I can be a touch romantic) the charm of the cottage. But some of my nearest and dearest regard this move as an absolute disaster. So am feeling a little wobble every now and again.. just keep running through in my head WHY we are doing this.

Usually have nerves of steel.
SFT[/QUOTE]
Hello, I am 3 weeks away from taking over an old cottage in a village. The bathroom and kitchen are basic and in a lean too to the side of the main 4 rooms of the cottage.
I am currently living in a massive modern detached house, with all mod cons, including the freezer and fridge that makes Ice and gives you cold water on tap!. We have an ensuite and 3 loos!! So this is going to be a big thing for me too. I am going from the edge of a town, into a small village that doesnt even have a shop!
I am also going to be dividing up the family, and only DS and I will be living in the cottage. The twins and thier babies will be moving into assisted living with thier own flats.
Good luck with your venture, and we will changing our lifestyles at the same time.

Frugaldom

Hi SFT, no need to wobble, especially with the prospect of free wood! You just need a place to start storing it so it seasons and dries. Best thing is to make or invest in a log store or just stack the logs on a pallet with other pallets around 3 sides with a roof on top to keep the rain off. They need to have slats to let air flow through and logs are best seasoned for at least a year before burning them. I have a rota for my logs. I have enough by the fireside to last a day, a basketful sitting inside the back door drying out for the next day and a rota system for keeping everything topped up, same with the coal, although I only tend to use this for kindling the fire or banking it up when going out into the garden. I have spent about £165 so far this year on fuel and £370 on electricity. Heat and light are my biggest expenses.

Cost of rural living is entirely dependent on lifestyle and how rural you really are. I am happy working from home at frugalising the place and, as already said, shopping is a once a week (or less) trip into town for essentials. Internet does the rest, although Broadband and rural living makes for a less than satisfactory combination. I don't have a logburner, only an open fire and it doesn't even heat my water, I need to use electricity for that. If you have oil central heating, then the electricity shouldn't be much different from anywhere else, again this is dependent on your lifestyle.

I am biased - I grew up on a farm, I have never lived in a city and town-dwelling (even in a very small town of only 1000 people) drove me batty. :rotfl: Country life can only be found in the country, town life can only be found in the town - all you need to do is decide if you're a 'toonie' or not. :rotfl: If you want to have both, make sure your commuting time allows for tractors and milking herds in the roadways and that your boss won't fire you for being 3 hours late if a tree fallsand blocks the only road out.

If you intend to work full time, leaving the house empty most of the time, I'd recommend investing in modern central heating, either tanked gas or oil. Working all day in a warm environment and then coming home to a freezing, dark house is something I have heard several people complain about when making the move, forcing them to about turn and go back to 'civilisation', as they put it. But I don't think your house is that rural, is it?

PS: Why are you doing it? Just repeat all your reason here and you'll see for youyrself

Mooloo - good luck with the move, make sure there are buses or a taxi service if you don't have a car, as there aren't any home deliveries for groceries if you're like us and live too far from any of the main supermarkets.

redglass_2

nykmedia wrote: »

. Best thing is to make or invest in a log store or just stack the logs on a pallet with other pallets around 3 sides with a roof on top to keep the rain off. They need to have slats to let air flow through and logs are best seasoned for at least a year before burning them.

I would second this advice. I started off using logs (already seasoned) stacked on a pallet and with tarpaulin over them, but the tarp didn't really do the job and the logs got damp and slimy. :mad: Since I had a proper wood store built, they keep beautifully, smell fragrant, burn much more efficiently and I don't have to grapple with a wet tarpaulin on windy rainy nights. It is DEFINITELY worth the money, provided of course you have it to spare. My log store was erected in a corner of my yard by a local handyman - it's huge so I can keep other stuff in there, too, and it cost less than smaller log stores available via the internet. The only disadvantage is that if I move, I can't take it with me, but then it will add value to the house.

blueberrypie

Spends so far this month:
Groceries: £60.38 + £21.70 + £88.21 = £170.29
Cub Camp deposit: £5
TTO: £3.12
OH bought lunch at work: £2.30
Diesel for car: £66 *eek*
Total: £246.71

...which leaves £453.29 for the rest of the month. Hm.

Can't believe how much we've spent on groceries already - it should be enough to last at least another week (possibly with a top-up of fruit and milk), but even so, it seems a lot :-|

lyndasharp

SFT, go for it! It sounds like a wonderful place.

I've just been outside helping to plant veg at work. It's going to be used in the staff cafe, which I think is a great idea! The staff will be looking after it, and the bosses are happy for us to give up half an hour every now and again for watering and weeding. I hope more places do the same...