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

cbsexec

hope you don't mind me popping into your great thread - have just read the bit Nykmedia where you were buying rice at £1.19 a small packet - just thought to let you know that in Mr T's "ethnic" section they do a huge bag of rice for £4.99 - hope that helps:)

Brighton_belle

bails wrote: »

... Oh, and the guy who won the solo race (26 laps of the course on his own in 24 hours, no stops, no sleep, more than the height of Everest covered - ultimate respect :T:T) crossed the finish line and immediately got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend! A special finish to a special weekend

So that's why my OH hasn't proposed yet: he believes he needs to prove himself worthy of me in a spectacular manner first, clearly:D.
Great to hear you on a roll bails. Have a great time at glasto.

£100 a chicken sounds well worth it Nyk!!

Sunny day here; got to pick up some paint I ordered with part of money off voucher and then paint an old set of drawers I've had all my life and my Dad had as a child too. Currently gloss white...soon to be matt raspberry.
Well the longest day has been and gone - rang my dad yesterday as is my tradition on the longest day, to remind him the days will now be getting shorter and it'll soon be xmas(family joke - dad has always moaned endlessly about both events so now I just tease him mercilessly)

Right, time to do another 20 mins sorting...

cw18

bails wrote: »

Well done on all your cupboard clearing CW - was wondering why you've got tinned fruit if you don't really like it, is it a health thing?

Yep - totally a health thing (though the 4 huge tins of pineapple were bought for DH). I really, really struggle to eat fruit - but much prefer tinned to fresh. I think part of the reason is I can't get good quality individual pieces of fruit locally, and if I buy a bag of something I'm stuck with it for a week or else end up throwing loads out But with tinned I can pretty much open what/when I fancy.

Had a very basic cholesterol check last September, which has indicated mine was slightly high. I've since discovered both my parents are on medication for this, but my GP isn't concerned about that due the ages they were when it was picked up. However she's given me a form to get a proper (fasting) test done - I just had to finish a course of anti-biotics first (now fininshed so need to book an appt to have the blood taken). But having the test done is on the condition that if it comes back slightly raised I work on my diet and exercise to try and get it under control - which I'm more than happy to do as I hate taking medication of any sort. And from a chat about what this could possibly mean doing, I know for a fact I'm looking at having to eat more F&V than I've ever eaten in my life :eek:

Frugaldom

Bails, glad to see you are having a fab time

cbsexec, thanks for the note about rice in Mr T, if I lived anywhere near a large supermarket then I would use it, trust me on that

BB, the £100+ is for a pair of chickens, not just 1
At that price, they are bought by breeders, show homes and poultry enthusiasts, nobody buys them for the pot, so no need to worry, Bails.

At last the sun has decided to shine here, so I am finishing up with work for now and going out into the garden, except I have just remembered that I have forgotten to have lunch!

On a completely different note, did anyone else get the email about energy prices in the future? Take a look, see what you think. It really brings it home when trying to live on a tight budget with a view to earning enough from live. It also dwarfs the initial cost of having your own power source.

bails

Yes, had I thought it through £50 for a roast would be a little steep for anyone (wouldn't it?...)
Those drawers are going to look lovely BB.
Of to read your link Nyk.

whitewing

Bails, if you think that's steep, I had the shock of my life when I looked into drycleaning my wedding dress (that I never got round to last year).

Approx £65 for the dryclean and a further £60-ish for the pretty handmade box and acid free paper.

Fortunately, someone else had been equally shocked on MSE - their top tip was to use Tesco clubcard vouchers and Johnsons. There is not a Johnsons to close to us but worth the trip for the cost saving provided they extend their offer as I haven't got enough points yet.

angela110660

savingfortravel wrote: »

Jamie-Hope you're son is ok too.

village just happened to be holding its summer fete which we popped into. Sadly there was only a handful of people there but we had a lovely time..I picked up some children's books/novels for me and a book called 'A country girl at heart' by Peggy Cole-all her experiences of rural East Anglia since 1930s and has some fantastic recipes for country style wines.

sft

Thank you for mentioning that book - my MIL lives in East Anglia and reads avidly. She would love this book I am sure and I have never heard mention of this writer so I quickly looked on Ebay and there was a copy for sale/bid so I bought it for her. Brilliant and thanks again.

savingfortravel

Hi Everyone! I'm on my broadband. Just posted pictures of cottage on my blog!

Living off the buffet bits from yesterday...lots left..Mr SFT made a delicious coleslaw with a white cabbage I was given with a huge lettuce and 6 free range eggs by a parent at school for a £1. Also very happy that my sister and her partner made such fantastic puddings and left us loads yesterday.
Angela-Glad you liked the sound of that book. I live in the next county down so its very typical of this area..including the reference to traditional 'step dancing' It's really interesting so far but sad also how village life has changed...people looking out for each other, dying trades etc.

Andromache-Well done for fantastic exam results
Chika-Congrats on the job.
BB-Can't wait to see photos from your wonderful bike rides.
Nyk-Did you know any of the chicken breeds I mentioned yesterday?
Bails-Love to read your blog, esp the travel one.
CW-I would love to know how much you save from doing your challenge..must be very satisfying.

slowlyfading

sft, what's your blog? would love to have a look

Just to say I'm still here, budgetting and whatnot, I'm just not in a great place right now, and don't want to moan on the thread. xx

savingfortravel

http://sftandthe101challenge.blogspot.com


sft