Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

andromache_2

Hi all!

I've spent the last couple of days reading through the thread in dribs and drabs so I think I've caught up on everyone's news! Lots of hugs to everyone who needs them, particularly SM - I hope you've got lots of support around you - and blairweech, sf and BB.

I hope nyk and SM have a fun trip to Belfast today! Speaking of which, nyk, in my budget this year I've included two great trips to Spain (3 nights) and Poland (2 nights) which cost me less than £100 each; achieved with Ryanair £1 flights, an Electron card from Halifax, and staying in youth hostels where self-catering was available. At those prices, I hope you manage to put your passport to good use! I just had to get an emergency renewal of my passport in August and it cost £101 including getting a new set of photos, ouch!

Hope your daughter settles in OK at uni, lingo! aw, how exciting for her. And glad to hear the first couple of days have gone OK for you, sf; it must be pretty daunting to have to make a whole new set of friends but I'm sure you'll manage it Nice to see you checking in, bails, and I look forward to hearing how the base camp visit went.

I know there were lots of other bits of news but I can't remember it all! Hope everyone's doing OK

I just got back from holiday with OH which was amazing; quite expensive (a bit over £1k I think) but totally worth it and I do feel like I earned it! Really really good. Got quite a lot to sort out before uni starts in October, including making out postgrad scholarship applications which is quite scary :eek:

OK, now I've caught up I shouldn't stay away so long next time! Have a nice day everyone

shaz_mum_of__2

Mrs s

I have made over £300 this year without much effort really ,by using TCB for buying insurance mainly plus the free bingo scratchcards

You can always sell stuff to make up the deficit too made about £100 selling bits and bobs from around the house and selling books on amazon

Shaz

slowlyfading

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

SF - pleased you have settled in ,shame about the food - is it free then or do you pay like a canteen?

No, I got a catering card which has £100 put on at the start of each month until the end of Jan - its part of the cost of accommodation here. Bit expensive in the place where we get food though I think, so I don't really know if its worth it but didn't have a choice!

whitewing

Had to pop on and show you this thread for Japonica Jam and Japonica Jelly (even the name is delicious):

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=25212005&posted=1#post25212005

BigMummaF

I've got hooked on the Australian cookery programme "4 Ingredients" With a lot of yooze guys buying from Appd F00d, there's recipes that might help you out with your stash of sauces along with a good deal of others that rely on just basic stuff.
They made two versions of an amazing-looking fruit cake the other day--one gluten-free--using just flour & dried fruit soaked in fruit juice! It's on the Food Channel on $ky if you have it...
The offspring are responsible for that particular bill thank goodness but as we are all usually home most evenings, it is also our main source of entertainment. Any cinema is a good 20min drive away SIZE=1]the ones showing latest releases are even further[/SIZE so petrol & parking bumps up the cost of a night at the flix for them. The bowling allies are the same & an ice rink is probably an hour further on again. There have been so many local hostelries closed this past year alone, but who really wants to be sitting in a pub every evening or have the cash to do so anyways We have a 'leisure centre' but it closes to the public from about six to allow specific groups to do their own thing, so if you fancy a swim after work one night you're baloogered unless you fork out for various--usually expensive--subscriptions :mad:
In our little town, as I was growing up & before the family came along, we had two cinemas & three venues that had local groups playing on a Saturday &/or Sunday evening so you could have a bop. We've dwindled to a travelling cinema showing films about six months behind the big chains & a pub with a licence to stay open till 2am on a week-end. There's a well-known eaterie SIZE=1][I]what farmers do to crops[/I][/SIZE] ] but that takes last orders at 8pm on a week-day & the fish & chip shops all close by 9pm. Another pub chain [[SIZE=1][I]will she/won't he use the stirring thingy[/I][SIZE=2 serves meals till about 8:30 & that leaves a handful of pubs & a 24hr MrT. And we're supposedly a holiday destination! The whole bluddin place closes at 5:30 :wall:it's like being on enforced curfew!!![/SIZE]
[/SIZE]No2 & I were talking about this only yesterday. If you live outside the big towns & cities, so many young folk on short time--or worse completely out of work--have absolutely nothing to do other than get cheap beer from the supermarket & descend on someone's home.. Is it any wonder there is so much trouble involving alcohol, although it could also be argued--how can they afford to get so blitheringly drunk :cool:

Sorry got a bit of a rant on there! But it does so annoy me when do-gooders say "there is so much available" for any particular resource..not to all of us maties! Definitely not to everyone....

cw18

BigMummaF - I know how you feel about lack of local activities.

Where we used to live we had 2 very expensive food shops (Sp@r, and one that changed hands a couple of times ending up as a C00p just before we moved away), a newsagents, a PO, a chippy, a booky, a sandwich bar (which only survived 'cos of the large employer across the road), a couple of pubs and a social club. The closest large supermarket was 10 miles either way, cinema was 10 miles one way from a couple of years before we moved (13 or so the opposite way before then, which also meant paying for parking), theatres etc 13 miles, swimming (limited hours) and train station 4 miles, and bowling heaven only knows where. All there was for kids in the village was guiding/scouting, ballet and karate - all once a week. Closest fast food was 10 miles, but around the time we moved one opened about 3 miles away.

Where we are now we have guiding/scouting, a large dance studio, army cadets and a swimming pool (like you, there are some restrictions on hours due to special groups or limitations such as 'ladies only', 'lane swimming', 'adults only', 'activity session') within a 10 min walk. The closest train station (which I've never used) is about 2.5 miles. Cinema and bowling are about 7 miles, but on a large complex with 2 huuuuge supermarkets, and a fair number of other stores that regularly appear on an 'out of town' complex - along with several of the fast food and pizza chains. But buses here are much better (despite having lost several services in the 8 years we've been here) and a lot cheaper too, so even without a car it's possible to get elsewhere in an evening - and on a Friday and Saturday the buses run from the city centre until well after midnight meaning you can have a night out without needing to use a taxi for a 13 mile trip home....... We do have far tooooo many pubs though (I don't use them, but can instantly think of 7 within a 10 min walk (one of which is a chain that includes meals), and we also have 3 nightclubs and a social club !!!

Frugaldom

Hi guys

SM and I had a very good trip yesterday - sun shone, got sunburned, spent very little considering the amount of time we were away and the number of things we saw & learned. Little disappointed in the HSS Voyager but found it funny that it was being piloted by Captain Kirke, so renamed it HSS Enterprise Spend a grand total of less than £35 for everything - buses, ferry crossings, city tour, lunch and sweets

Hope everyone is well and that CW's dog recovers quickly. On the bigamy topic, I'm feeling left out as I don't appear to have any of them and I've traced both sides of the family - all rather boring here, I'm afraid, but on dad's side they certainly weren't frugal!! :eek: On the contrary, they'd have been quite the little jetsetters, had commercial airlines been invented! According to some of the diaries, they sailed everywhere back then and it took months to get anywhere. :rotfl:They went Sunday driving to the country in their automobiles, frequented the hat makers and dressmakers in the big city (Glasgow) often, sipped tea whilst comparing notes on their newest maids and all packed off to the holiday homes by the sea for summer! :rotfl: Wonder what happened to me? I don't sound anything like my namesake! Hmph! :rotfl:

What's for doing where I stay? Well, within 20 minutes walking distance, I can go for a cuppa and a natter with one of the 6 neighbours. :rotfl: However, within 40 mins drive, I can hop on a ferry and go to Belfast and it has loads to do if you're minted!

Andromache, glad you enjoyed yourself - I'm getting clued up on the cheap hols! I'm opting for the Post Office prepaid Electron via cashback site so it's easy for loading and have just received my EHIS (European Health Insurance Card) in the post this morning. Believe it or not, I actually found a FREE Ryanair flight on one of the routes from Prestwick, my 'local' international airport and am investing in an acurately measured hand 'bag' to avoid the need for carrying luggage. Post Office also do travel insurance from £5.50 per European journey via cashback site but I've now also found some really cheap accommodation in Egypt (£5 ish B&B pppn), but need to book flights from Glasgow for that. I also need my new passport! :rotfl:Paperwork arrived for that, £80.50 being posted away next week, photos free by HS but can't get counter signature until after the weekend as friend is on call.

Who asked about eB!d? You don't need to use PayPa|, you can use either PPPay or G00gle checkout or several other methods, as they have increased the number of payment options acceptable. Sales are much slower there but I find it OK if you look at it as a personal sales platform rather than an auction site. I seldom pay any fees as I have lifelong Seller+ membership, seldom include extra photographs and usually only use the free listing options. I'm a cheapskate. You will get a nice new T shirt by way of intro offer if you buy a lifetime membership but even with their half price offer, £49.99 is a hefty price to pay for a T shirt if you've only a couple of items to list (Please don't see this as advertising for eB!d, I openly admit to having connections to the site, I joined them in 2000 before I'd even heard of €Bay.) :rotfl:

PS: As well as the T shirt, I also have mugs, mousemats, stickers, pens and a baseball cap - gotta do something with all the free loyalty points.

slowlyfading

Evening everyone.

This will be quick, as the BF should be getting here soon and I'm so excited! Today is my 12th NSD of September, which is pretty good since my target was 13, and its only half way through the month Tomorrow will be a spend day though as I've got to pop into town to buy some bits and pieces.

Hope everyone has had a good day. Nyk, sounds like you enjoyed your trip out, yay!

have a good evening everyone xx

Blairweech

Hi folks,

Nyk - Your frugal holiday options sound great! It's amazing what you can find with a little research isn't it? Wonder if you can do anything about my holiday...am at £1500 so far :eek: Tis Sri Lanka though, so don't think I fancy taking the ferry . Am glad you enjoyed your 'day-trip', and hope you feel rested for it

SF -Congrats on the NSD days, I really should start setting myself targets like that

Am back up at my parents this weekend - got my university open day on Monday, so thought I may as well spend the weekend here. Had chinese takeout for tea :cool:, as I am too mean to buy a takeout for myself usually so it was a nice treat!

Going to Dunster tomorrow - last time we went the castle was not open so we just looked around the town, but this time it will be open. Freeeeee, as we both have NT membership :j

Frugaldom

Good morning frugal friends

I am hoping that this week will see thinhs back to normal after all the wedding preps followed by spontaneous daytrip mini-cruise. The garden is a bit of a mess as I haven't quite kept up with that but I at least got the bathroom painted (free paint) and the curtains made (free material). I did spend about £80 on new stuff - linen baskets, bath mats, shower curtain, bin etc and then got really mad when the wicker baskets dropped to half price this week!! :mad: Still, the bathroom got done before any of the guests arrived, as did all the hen runs and new coops. Money has been spent but as you'll see by my signature, I am doing my best to recoup all the 'other' spending, including our NT membership and my bond/assurance policy. Got the statement in for that this week, it has amassed an extra £3.76 on bonuses, so my tax free £1,500 pay out in 2018 is now at £1507.76 :rotfl:

It's rather dull here this morning but I guess it's just getting into Autumn and the days are shortening. Chickens are now staying in until about 7.15am, so a few extra minutes in bed each morning. Breadmaker is on making healthy Omega 3 bread, which should br ready by the time DS and HS decide to surface. DS is working >here< this weekend so wasn't home until after 2am - bet he loves it! All that good ole fashioned country and western stuff will make a pleasant change to his normal thunderous racket that he calls music. :rotfl: I'm tempted to take a run across there tonight but can't imagine HS being too keen to accompany me - wonder if SM likes C&W? (Or line dancing, for that matter! :rotfl:)