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

Frugaldom

Hi guys

TV licence is paid for the year here, that's HS's domain. We're not considering cancelling it, I was just wondering if anyone agreed with me that the inability to view TV should exempt you from having to buy a licence. (I know you need a colour licence for TV on the computer and there's a separate license for radios.) There is no digital signal here at all until next week, when it gets introduced for the first time, then analogue is being switched off within the next few weeks, so no television unless you have an aerial and equipment that supports the digital signal. They have help & support groups plus there's help available for the elderly and disabled. Our main TV has built in video and DVD player, so it will be staying put, it just won't receive digital. I've checked the new (ish) little TV and can confirm that it has freeview built in, so we should be OK, as long as the aerial picks up the signal. If not, we'll watch through next door's windows. :rotfl:

Baking got postponed because I'd forgotten I had no margarine Stupid Ald! doesn't sell large tubs of anything! :rolleyes: Going to have to go to Co-op tomorrow for a top-up shop of all the things I couldn't get at the weekend in Ald!. The only things I did spot there that might have been handy, were their digital TV receiver boxes. :rotfl:

Update - You don't need a TV licence if your TV is only used for videos and DVDs, so no TV signal = no licence required.

Skint_Lynne

Hi guys,

I was working 'from home', okay the shop today, but am off to Oban tomorrow. I'm taking the sisters with me as the shop is closed on a Wednesday, so it is a nice day out for them. Maybe mum will come along as well. It is in line with being frugal as there are no travelling costs involved.:D

I was just thinking about mooloo, I sympathise with you re: fuel costs, I was around £40 per week as I am never out of the car and my own car is a gas guzzler. I have lost this cost though as I get my fuel through work now and I don't seem to do half as much running around. I think my average fuel cost is £150 per week now, but I to loads of travelling,eg, one day I am in Oban, and the next down in Newcastle. It's good for the tesc0 and nec$ar points though.;)

Nyk, re: the freeview box, I am with BT for the phone etc and I got a freeview box from them as part of my package, so no added costs. It's really good and you only need to pay if you decide to rent a film or anything else from them, I never use this facility and it has worked out really well for me. I have this in my bedroom as DH has sky downstairs which he pays for. I used to have telewest years ago which became virgin media and I paid around £100 per month for computer phone and TV package.:eek: I got rid of it after a dispute and never missed it. I just use the freeview box which is great. I would call them if your phone line is through them, you should be entitled to one of these.

Frugaldom

Good morning

Thanks for the info, SL, I don't have a BT package, only a phoneline, but will keep it in mind as soon as my contract expires. Because there's no way of finding out if we'll receive the signal until they actually switch it on, we're going to just risk losing TV for a bit. We have one TV with Freeview built in, so it should pick up the signal as soon as it's available.

I was just thinking about costs of technology in the home and it's quite expensive for anyone on a tight budget, even just using the basics: It costs us £45 or thereabouts per month just to have a TV licence, telephone line and Internet connection and that's without making any telephone calls or including any mobiles. I pay the telephone and Internet but not the TV licence - if it was up to me, I wouldn't even have TV.

Hope everyone is well. It's less than 2 weeks to the halfway mark, so I'm desperately trying not to spend. I want to be on target with, at least 50% of my 4k remaining by then, but food prices look like scuppering my grocery budget.

shaz_mum_of__2

Nyk

we have a freeview box connected to the 2 tvs in our house but we only get a few channels , there used to be a website you could check which channels your local transmitter transmits.


the challenge as such is going well here but overall had an expensive month

Mot plus repairs £150
Car tax £127.50
House insurance £180(£80 cashback)
Car insurance £400 (got £80 cashback)
Caravan club fees £36
2 passports (forget exactly but 1 adult and 1 child approx £130

Expensive month but all paid in advance so the following months will be much better



Shaz

Savvy_sewing

I have looked into the local bus service.. There is One Bus on a Wednesday and One bus on a Friday. !!! I would not be able to go to Oxford/Back at the weekends.
I will have to enquire about the Taxi Bus, and the cost of taxis. Need to really think about things as I have had a car for 30 years. It will be a big thing living in a small village, with no shop.
Before I actually get rid of the car, (I may have to if I cant find another income soon anyway) I will try to change my life style so that I am not jumping into the car for the smallest thing. (And for the family, not myself).

bails

I agree it can be a big step to get rid of your car Mooloo and will take some getting used to. When my car died a couple of years back I seriously considered not getting another one, for environmental and economical reasons, but in the end I did as without one and being so ill at the time I would have been massively isolated again. It's a personal thing so take the time to make the best decision for you (and not your family). I don't know how much you would get for your car but there are cheap, more economical cars out there - mine was £950 and my OH's was £250 and they both work really well! Good luck with it.

Sorry you're not around so much at the mo SM, miss you on here! Glad things are progressing so well with the new home though, when do you move in for good? I'm sure your oldies will miss you terribly.

My plans for today have had to change as the dog kept us up most of the night :rolleyes: so decluttering the garage is out the window to be replaced by less stressful jobs. I need to rearrange the sleeping arrangements for the dog again so she stays settled at night (picked up bad habits from my parents' dog and their more indulgent ways :rolleyes:) and I'm going to take her on a long walk to tire her out, get her some chews from the Dogs Home etc. I'd also really like to work on my 101 lists and make a new blog but we'll see...plus the usual washing/cleaning.

Money is tight this month and we've got a weekend away with friends this weekend and then Glastonbury...I'm really looking forward to both and it's important to spend time with our friends before we head off, I just need to be creative with my spends. I so can't wait til I get my first pay cheque again, it's going to be an awesome day!

Have a great day everyone, hope you save some money x

Mollymop5

Hi still about and reading daily.
i have a freeview box provide free as I joined a teletext user panel.I text a code to them weekly( which is free as part of my free texts with my provider) in return I am to get £50 M&S vouchers per year.My 1st year is coming up so will let you know if I get them.Either way i got a free box which has been great.
This way an offer on MSE.will go and search now and provide details if I find it.I haven't got my origional email with the offer ect.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=594288&highlight=teletext+user+panel
decide for yourselves.I've been very lucky and have had no problems.should I not receive my vouchers i will be chasing them up.as I've said though i did receive a free box anyway

Frugaldom

Thanks for that, MollyMop, will have a read at that link soon.

The weather here has finally broken and I awoke to torrential rain and high winds, so the garden has had a very good soaking overnight. Hoping that brings the veggies/tatties on a bit quicker as I'm getting fed up with the sprouted efforts that Ald! sells as fresh produce :rolleyes: and the agri-stores don't stock anything at this time of year because it doesn't sell quick enough.

Will catch up soon, just putting in an appearance to update my signature to Day 168 and will update spends later. I have removed the spends for DD's wedding from my cash neutral challenge as I'm paying for them with the savings made from living on my 4k budget - I haven't touched my actual savings in the bank yet, so that is brilliant for me! :j:D

bails

Well done Nyk, you are an inspiration!

shaz_mum_of__2

wow nyk a cash neutral wedding ...............well your bit anyway

Been and stocked up on fruit a @ldi you must have a bad one nyk all the stuff in the 2 here is great however there are 2 liddls and one of them is minging the others fab?? both new builds too

I am setting myself a mini challenge " a storecupboard and 49p veg only challenge" i am spending way to much time and money on food mainly due to the banana monster sorry DS and our liking for fresh milk ..............plus some of the stockpiled stuff needs rotating so a mini challenge in order

Starting on monday as i will need to buy a few essential like coffee and flour and marg before starting properly


shaz