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

liloandstitch

Hi everyone. Have fallen back off the wagon. So, I am starting again today, with a target of £3000 for the remainder of the year. If I can stick to this, it will give me a huge help on the savings front, but it will be a challenge, as my spending to date has been considerably higher .......

Thanks for the shiny new thread Nyk

Lilo

redglass_2

nykmedia wrote: »

Are you sure it doesn't mean non-transferable to a different route rather than different person? I've never known any driver ask for ID.

You could be right! OTOH it sounds a bit too sensible....:rolleyes:

Have just caught up - sort of - on Whitewing's news. Oooh, excitement!

whitewing

redglass et al,

It's gets even more exciting. I've just done the test and it's positive.

I got a pack of non-frugal 2 tests. Did one, and thought if it were +ve I'd keep the 2nd and do it tomorrow with DH as we're supposed to be having a day off tomorrow.

But I came out of the bathroom and burst into tears. Showed DH, expecting him to panic, and he is really, really chuffed. (And said I could tell you!)

We'll tell my closest friend but not tell others until nearer the 3 months I think. I know lots of people who had miscarriages between babies 1 and 2 (although admittedly they didn't wait 12 years!), so I don't want to get too carried away.

tryingtodobetter

:j:j Congratulations Whitewing and Mr Whitewing, what fantastic news:j:j

cw18

:T Woo Hoo :T Will be keeping fingers well and truly firmly crossed for yoy over the coming weeks whitewing

Frugaldom

SmlSave & others - Elderflower champagne - I am using the recipe I founf on the BBC site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363 except I will be using around 6 or 8 heads of flowers, as the ones here look quite small in comparison to some I have seen in the past.

Lynda, just spotted your accident prone day. I had one of those, too. Where yours was for the want of a hard hat and a pair of bicycle clips, mine was for the want of suitable footwear and a pair of safety goggles. Suffice to say, H&S quotations may seem like things too obvious to be taken seriously but they are all there for a reason - there's always someone silly enough to get in a pickle through forgetting the basics :rotfl:

Mama67, thanks for the info re C0-0p, I guess I can expect £2 something

Shaz, I'm going to quote your post re £50/month room retainer fee to DS. Sounds like a great idea to me and it would certainly cover any extras for a few weeks when home on holioday or with friends or whatever. Thanks for that suggestion.

Bails, glad you enjoyed Glastonbury, I guess there would have been a few Michael Jackson tributes slotted in at the last minute, too. Re the gym membership, if you are away for several months, I would cancel completely and then see what discounts they'll offer to tempt you to rejoin when you get back

Ddraig - I can't think of anything sensible to say about a caravan bathroom instead of an ensuite because you have just filled my head with a picture of you climbing out the bedroom window and into a tiny caravan parked up alongside the exterior wall! Sorry :rotfl:

SFT - I have budgeted for a tonne of coal, 6 loads of logs @ £40 per load delivered, and £1,200 :eek: for electricity with 3 of us here. This will be supplemented with as many cones, sticks, paper bricks and wood as can be obtained freely and all we have is a single open fire that doesn't heat the water, if your multi-fuel stive has a back boiler then it could save you at least 150kWh of electricity per month (£10 to £20 depending on whether or not you have E7 rates). Energy prices are a major source of contention in this household, as there are so few alternatives when the house is rented and landlord won't allow any changes to existing system. If you are relying more heavily on a woodburner for water etc, I'd double up on the logs and reduce the coal & electricity accordingly. This is just a quick assessment from my point of view, others may see it differently. Your electricity won't be as high as ours if you are both out at work during the day, but storage heaters make little difference to that. Hope this helps

Skint Lynne, going to quote from your last post of the previous thread as it was so well said and I think you have done brilliantly. Results aren't always about the money, they are more about the way we live with regards to how we perceive that money and in this, you have excelled - well done! Oh, and don't forget to switch off your electricity at the mains before poking about insode that shower box. We don't want blue flashes over Glasgow.

Skint_Lynne wrote:

I have not done as well as I'd hoped re: keeping accurate figures etc due to losing my notebook but I do have a lot of positives which are:

Knowing the difference between wants and needs.
Using food to it's full capacity - ie keeping leftovers and not wasting anything - also, baking etc.
Having a stockpile of food and toiletries.
Checking to see if I can get discounts from anything.
Buying presents in advance - very convenient as well as moneysaving.
Being adventurous and trying things that I wouldn't have done before.
Thinking before spending.

Welcome back, Lilo, It's always good to see the return of a prodical frugalite

WHITEWING... YOU MEAN??????? :eek::j:T Congratulations, you crazy, frugalite, hopefully carrying a frugalmite, person, you! I really hope everything goes to plan but can understand your worries, so we won't dwell on the subject too long until after the 12th week. Who said they had loads of wool to spare? (Runs off to check back the old thread :rotfl:)

shaz_mum_of__2

Way to go whitewing....................hmm and mr whitewing too!!

Shaz

bails

OMG, that's so amazing Whitewing, I am absolutely over the moon for you! :j:j
Keeping my fingers crossed for you over the coming weeks; do you know roughly how many weeks you are?

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xxxxx

shaz_mum_of__2

First day of the second half and first big spend

car insurance for the 4x4 £398 inc rac cover fully comp etc

This was 40 quid cheaper than renewal and the RAC cover we already have expires in less than a month and is £138(last years price) so we won't need that now so overall a saving of about £180 and £35 cashback

We have also added business use to this car so hubby and i can swap ..............i seem to be doing a lot of miles at the minute and he gets reimbursed for his costs ............................theoretically we will save £50 pcm on diesel ......we'll see?

also had to buy DS some short jammies but got a bargain at ethel a's 2 pairs for £3.50 also neede to buy him a new pair shoes for the last 4 weeks of term,:mad::mad::mad: he had big holes in the soles but i bough a cheap pair which he can use for "playing out" during the holidays and i got 20% student discount too!

Off on the coop whoopsie hunt soon although i think it may just be too hot to walk :snow_grin

Shaz

Frugaldom

OK, that's 2 so far, any offers from whoever is going to be the third? Bails? Himalayan trek with extra luggage? :rotfl: SF - be careful on holiday MrDT, how's the missus? Ooh! Didn't Martin get married fairly recently? Perhaps it could be the lovely Lara? :j Mr & Mrs MSE and frugal family? (But don't tell him I said that. :shhh: )