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

Skint_Lynne

Hi everyone,

I'm counting down the sleeps now, only 3more to go until I visit frugaldom. I'm picking up one of my friends on the way, and then we'll get ourselves down there.

The friend that I am taking is a kind of frugaller as well, it was her that got me into gardening a few years back. She also bakes her own bread, and watches what she is doing. She has a lovely home with a big garden. She is so looking forward to meeting Nyk and SM andshe is now an avid reader of Nyk's blog. My friend is like a kind of big sister figure to me, she is good with advice and always tells you the truth, ie how it is. She makes me think things through.

I've not seen her for a while, so the journey there and back will give us a good chance to have a natter.

I've not spent much today, only bread and milk purchased as DH is coming home overnight to pick something up, then he will be away again until next week.

I've got an interview with an agency tomorrow, and then a proper interview with the company they have put me forward for next week. I really fancy this job, so fingers and toes crossed.

Speak later xx

grandma247

Cheryl oats are very good for lowering cholesterol and I have just started eating barley for breakfast. My " bad" cholesterol was 6 but they said my "good" cholesterol was so high it put me in the low risk catagory. Also due to the barley I have lost some weight which was just water retention around my middle, legs and feet.
I am going to investigate more cheap ways to eat healthier although we have a pretty good diet now. I want to add more grains and beans etc. Hopefully over the next few weeks I am going to experiment with making a better breakfast bar using these ingredients. If I can come up with an acceptable tasting bar I will post the recipe.
edit: How wierd is that I just read the article patchwork cat posted and barley is on there so it looks like my body is telling me what to eat. I already eat most of the other stuff.
Just a warning about soya, some women experience problems when taking it such as an excessive loss or worsening of meno symptoms. My Dil was one of these and when I found info on the internet for her she stopped the soya in all forms and her condition improved immediately. Apparently fermented soya is better for you if you can get it.

cw18

grandma247 wrote: »

Hopefully over the next few weeks I am going to experiment with making a better breakfast bar using these ingredients. If I can come up with an acceptable tasting bar I will post the recipe.

That would be fantastic :T

I'm not a "porridge" person, but have tried to introduce it into my diet in baby steps over the last 6 months or so - and I've also been eating more Muesli since doing my cupboard stocktake :rolleyes2

I'm actually debating trying the mince stretching using oats (as well as soya). I've managed to get away with small quantities of green lentils, but DS nearly picked up on it the one time I didn't add peas to the mince as well

Skint_Lynne

I love porridge, it's one of my favourite things, yum yum. It must be my scottishness. xx

Frugaldom

Good morning from another porridge fan, we all love it here.

SL, it'll be great seeing you here, although you won't get to meet SM, I'm afraid, as she'll have left by then. Please don't build your hopes up too much as I'm just an ordinary person in a very ordinary house with an ordinary garden that has a few hens and ducks, and I hope you don't mind kitchen dwelling for cuppa, as I don't have a proper livingroom with 3 piece suite etc - with 3 of us here and 2 working from home, there's not a lot of space.

I hope SF gets good weather, has a good flight and enjoys her holiday with bf, she's been so looking forward to it. SF, if you happen to read this whilst away, have a brilliant time and BE CAREFUL!

Anyone heard how Mumzy is getting on or know when she's due to have her baby? Maybe I'll PM and see how she's doing. I haven't heard from Janey, so I'm hoping she made the most of her holiday and is feeling a bit better.

Off to bake a lemon drizzle cake, as it's HS's birthday, and then I'll see if the neighbours want to pop round for coffee & cake later. Other than dragging SM to the LETS meet, they've been busy sawing and hammering all week making all sorts of stuff for their garden. I'm glad they weren't looking out window this morning when I was out at hens! Twinny almost landed in SM's new veggie patch, which is alongside our duck run! :eek: I just managed to grab her when she jumped from the duckhouse roof onto the dividing fence and was wobbling about on the top of it! :eek: Suffice to say, young hens swiftly returned to imprisonment until I can resolve that problem. I suspect we'll be relocating the duck house after HS spent all yesterday afternoon lowering it. :rolleyes: I also need to get rid of the extra chickens asap, was hoping SM would have some but wouldn't be surprised if she changes her mind about keeping any livestock at all after witnessing the antics of mine. :rotfl:

fallen_angel_shelley

nykmedia wrote: »

Anyone heard how Mumzy is getting on or know when she's due to have her baby? Maybe I'll PM and see how she's doing.

Hi. im on facebook and see mumzy posting all the time. She is about 19 weeks now and finds out today if she is having a girl or boy. I will let her know that you were asking about her.

Shelley

Brighton_belle

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

I love porridge, it's one of my favourite things, yum yum. It must be my scottishness. xx

yes Lynne it's because it runs in your veins. It's a genetic scottish thing:D. Have a fab time visiting our esteemed ordinary woman in her ordinary hoose.
I was hoping to see bails to day but I suspect I will be usurped by a baby: can't understand it as I am better conversationalist and a majority of the time less incontinent...

At my mosaic class on Wed, a member piped up that she wished she had someone to advise her how to stop going over drawn by £5,000 every year:eek:. Yours truely stepped in with a few suggestions:D. Told her in 10 yrs she would have £50,000 debt plus interest for starters. It's all spent on lifestyle stuff and her excuse was 'the children' and then 'we live in such a material world'. I was rather astonished.That outlook just ain't part of my world. In the nicest possible way I did suggest that when she couldn't pay for her kids to go to uni in 10 yrs time (as she dreams of doing) she could comfort them with the fact they did enjoy ice cream for pudding every night since they were little and wasn't that a fair trade off?
Anyway - offered lots of baby steps tips and by the end of the session the entire class was telling me to go into business helping people sort out their budgeting probs:rotfl:(her included).
I think next week I'll take in this website's details!

Have moved the furniture around in our sitting rooom for the 3rd time in recent weeks and finally think I've got the combo right for max storage for minimum sense of being hemmed in by stuff.

thriftylass

Brighton_belle wrote: »

At my mosaic class on Wed, a member piped up that she wished she had someone to advise her how to stop going over drawn by £5,000 every year:eek:. Yours truely stepped in with a few suggestions:D. Told her in 10 yrs she would have £50,000 debt plus interest for starters. It's all spent on lifestyle stuff and her excuse was 'the children' and then 'we live in such a material world'. I was rather astonished.That outlook just ain't part of my world. In the nicest possible way I did suggest that when she couldn't pay for her kids to go to uni in 10 yrs time (as she dreams of doing) she could comfort them with the fact they did enjoy ice cream for pudding every night since they were little and wasn't that a fair trade off?
Anyway - offered lots of baby steps tips and by the end of the session the entire class was telling me to go into business helping people sort out their budgeting probs:rotfl:(her included).
I think next week I'll take in this website's details!

Have moved the furniture around in our sitting rooom for the 3rd time in recent weeks and finally think I've got the combo right for max storage for minimum sense of being hemmed in by stuff.

Well done on giving her sound advice :T. I know I don't always stick to the budget I set myself but never go overdrawn or overspent by what I can't afford. I don't understand how people can spend their money like that. If it is a material world and your kids want what the neighbour's son has then just don't give in. The Uni vs icecream was a brilliant example. If I ever have kids I wouldn't buy them stuff if I can't afford it. At least she finally asked for help, I wish more people were like that.

patchwork_cat

The first thing I say to people when they are struggling is go on MSE, but I am very frustrated by all the people who say yes I will and then don't. ( I have just written a long diatribe about a friend who keeps saying I will go on and doesn't and then deleted it, as you never know when she will and she might read this and never speak to me again!!) Suffice to say I get quite frustrated at people who don't and then still struggle.

Unfortunatley at times I have spent about what I have saved on bargains I have spotted. However that falls into Martin's category of live better for the same amount! I mean before this site I would never have thought I could get 2 leather settees for free. Using extra points codes from Tesco and then vouchers. (Mind the quality isn't great, but still for effectively free or delivery cost for brand new!)

Brighton_belle

thriftylass wrote: »

Well done on giving her sound advice :T. I know I don't always stick to the budget I set myself but never go overdrawn or overspent by what I can't afford. I don't understand how people can spend their money like that. If it is a material world and your kids want what the neighbour's son has then just don't give in. If I ever have kids I wouldn't buy them stuff if I can't afford it. At least she finally asked for help, I wish more people were like that.

Thanks thriftlass. It made me realise how many of the tips and lifestyle choices we make on here have become ingrained in me over the last year! It was a shock to hear someone so unaware of the basics.
It's not just the kids she can't say no too - it's herself. If she wants it, she puts it on her credit card. They've 'just had a wonderful holiday in Portugal on the CC':eek:.
Yes, I gave her full credit for her honesty and acknowledged the fear she felt around looking at her finances.
I'm not perfect either but I just couldn't face getting caught in the trap of debt and just don't spend what I haven't got. I would like to build up a bigger savings safety net though but it will be difficult til OH gets a permanent job.
I admire everyone on these forums who have faced their money issues and are now doing something about it.