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

cw18

Blairweech wrote: »

CW - Just checked the website and it does not state when it ends, my coupon ran out on the 9th August (groceries bought at the start of July). The fuel was cheaper there anyway @ 99.99p/litre, as opposed to about £1.05 everywhere else. Have you seen the weekly email? Tesco are doing a big points bonus on perfume, might make the trip a bit more worthwhile for you.

Thanks for that Will have to see if I can rack my shopping list up to £50 (which is looking doubtful at the moment). May have to shop for DD at the same time again :rolleyes2

Did see the perfume thing, but there's no guarantee they'd have any in stock - plus I don't swap my vouchers for any of the 4x rewards as there's nothing on them I'm even vaguely interested in I've always spent them in store at face value up to now, but will probably double up for clothes purchases in future (did that last month as I had some in hand!) Would still be worth doing if I could use them as Christmas pressies, but I don't know anyone who uses any of them - and I've had to chop my present buying down to immediate family only (children, GDs, parents, bro, SIL x 2, BIL, nephews x 2)

Hope you sort out your financing, you seem to be having a lot of hassle with it all!

I'm sure I will -- and once I get it sorted with the CB this time, that should be everything up and running until he leaves college (with just a possible temporary 'blip' at tax year end due to CTC)

whitewing

cw

Was it Tesco? (I can't remember now I've scrolled down). If it was, you will probably find they accept the till spit at the other store. They did for us - accepted it at the 'wrong' store 14 miles away, even though I pointed it out before I did the shopping (as it had 'store of issue only' or something similar).

To be honest, they'd be very silly not to accept it at any of their stores.

cw18

yes, it's Mr T that I have the £2 off till spit for (says 'store of issue', which I assumed must be encoded into it somewhere ) But, to be honest, I think I'd struggle to spend the required £20 today/tomorrow - and if I did that would be an extra £20 I'd have to find next Friday in order to get my 5p/litre off for filling my car, which will (in itself) save me just over £2 anyway, so it's all swings and round-a-bouts :rolleyes2


Have just managed to mow my back lawn for the first time in 4 weeks - but only 'cos my neighbours did their lawns yesterday :eek: My back is a much higher priority than my fronts (due to the dogs), but I got about a third of the way over only to find my bin half full :eek: DS yelled at me out of his bedroom window to stop making so much noise, as I was banging the wheelie bin up and down to try and compact the contents Eventually had to concede there was no way I'd fit all the clippings into my bin, so went and checked next doors...... They don't have as much lawn as me, and as it had been done late yesterday morning it had been 'settling' for 24 hours anyway - meaning it was back to about a third empty :T Both bins are now totally chocka, and I've still not used the strimmer - but that can wait for elder DS coming home and doing the lawns over the next month, which he's already offered to do... he must be feeling ill :rotfl:

taka

cw18 wrote: »

I luuuuurve bats.

Closest I've ever been to one was in a cathedral, when the in-built radar of one them failed and it flew into a pillar. The poor things was lying of the floor totally stunned, but it fastinating to see it so close up (and to see just how furry their bodies actually are).

We used to regularly have three or four doing a 'low altitude fly by' outside the front door of our last house in the early evenings as it started to turn dark - and I loved standing outside watching them.

nykmedia wrote: »

CW, there are loads of bats here, at least 3 different types, from what I can see if I judge by the sizes. Mum has Pipistrelles nesting at side of her house, so she watches the babies climbing around, clinging onto the wall. I've seen quite a few and have held them, they look like flying vampire mice. :rotfl:We used to get them into the vet surgery and had to freeze any dead ones until they'd been properly identified, as some of them are protected species. Still don't like them and I don't like the June bugs they have in Suffolk, either. Yuck! I got told that they CAN get tangled in your hair and need to be cut out, but I'm not sure if that was someone just winding me up because they knew I was scared from them.

:j I love bats too! There were bats (pipistrelles we think) that lived in the roof next to one of the velux windows in my Grandparents cottage. If you put you ear to the wall you could hear them squeaking away. Once one missed the entrance to the nest and came into the cottage via the velux window instead. My wee brother spotted it hopping down the stairs and cried out that there was a funny black frog hopping down the stairs! :rotfl: Bless him he was only 6 or 7 at the time! We had great fun trying to persuade it to leave despite all the doors and windows open. My dad eventually caught it when it decided my dad's trousers would make a suitable resting place! :rotfl: It looked so cute (and slightly irate!) and it was a real priviledge to see one up close!

DdraigGoch wrote: »

Sorry not to have been around much, been a bit busy.

Turns out that my eldest, DS, now has swine 'flu, so we're keeping a close eye on him. Around us they're not giving Tamiflu out like sweeties, you have to REALLY need it. A good idea, imho.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us all - not just the DG family, though obviously I'd appreciate it - but all of those who are worried for whatever reasons and particularly for those £4k-ers, our own little "e-family".

I may not pop in for a little while, ................ or you might not be able to get rid of me :rotfl:

All the best to SFT on her travels, to Bails on her journey to Cottage Heaven, and everyone else. It's so nice to see "old/unseen" members popping in again

I hope your DS makes a speedy recovery!

Frugaldom

Good morning to all, hope everyone's having a good weekend and our flu victims are recovering.

Shaz, hope you had a great week and enjoyed meeting Weezl & family.

I'm glad I got all the washing done & dried yesterday, as it's pouring here today. Weatherman got it right for a change. It means I got completely soaked this morning but the silly hens & ducks are out there looking like drowned creatures or, as some may say, they're gie drookit!

Now that the weather has finally broken, I'll be looking at getting indoors organised for autumn again. That's 8 months since we moved here, time has just flown by! Whitewing, you realise the next 8 months could fly by just as quick and then it'll be nappies for you! (Not literally for YOU, but you know what I mean. :rotfl:) You need to let us know as soon as the first 12 weeks have passed so we can start searching out all those baby bargains for you. Any twins in the family? AEB, did you get a date for your 3 arriving? And Bails! Less than a fortnight and then you're away your gteat adventure, am I right? :jI think when we get to the end of this year, we'll need to have a post just to include all the main events of 2008 & 9, just to remind everyone of how 'real' the 4k challenge is. For those who haven't quite reached their goals, it will be inspirational. I know there have been a few sad losses along the way, since I moved this challenge onto MSE, but I'm pleased to see that everyone remains strong and, on the whole, focussed on achieving what they set out to do. It proves that moral support is every bit as essential as any physical or financial help.

OK, philosophical hat being replaced by practicalities hat - who was it that was discussing using the insulating paint for decorating? It was some time ago, but I can't remember when or who or if whoever got around to it. Summer's flying past and I need to start thinking 'keep warm in winter'. As it looks like I'm going to be able to stay on in this house, it's time to start setting myself new targets and challenges. DD's wedding is less than 6 weeks away and then the finances can be focussed firmly on Frugaldom. (I love alliteration, don't you? :rotfl:)

Buzzbox

nykmedia wrote: »

OK, philosophical hat being replaced by practicalities hat - who was it that was discussing using the insulating paint for decorating? It was some time ago, but I can't remember when or who or if whoever got around to it. Summer's flying past and I need to start thinking 'keep warm in winter'. As it looks like I'm going to be able to stay on in this house, it's time to start setting myself new targets and challenges. DD's wedding is less than 6 weeks away and then the finances can be focussed firmly on Frugaldom. (I love alliteration, don't you? :rotfl:)

At least you now will have SM as a neighbour through the bitter cold and to come up with more frugal ideas to keep warm! On that note, what vegetables are good for growing during winter?

I am now officially part of the local LETS group, looks interesting so far, can not wait to get my username details to see what the folks around me has on offer so I can expand my skill set.

cw18

nykmedia wrote: »

It proves that moral support is every bit as essential as any physical or financial help.

In my eyes the moral support is the most important/effective.

Financial help (whilst useful, especially when you find yourself in a tight hole with little/no notice) is great as a "quick" fix.

Physical help is often only available short-term - and it can be too easy to start to rely on it/take it for granted which can cause ill-feeling (one reason I'm insisting DD start to contibute towards the costs of me looking after my GDs).

But I find it's the moral support that keeps me going and teaches me how to manage in the long-term

cw18

Buzzbox wrote: »

At least you now will have SM as a neighbour through the bitter cold and to come up with more frugal ideas to keep warm!

How long do you reckon before they start taking it in turns to cook meals for the occupants of both households? I figure it would save them both money on their energy bills :rolleyes2

Buzzbox

cw18 wrote: »

How long do you reckon before they start taking it in turns to cook meals for the occupants of both households? I figure it would save them both money on their energy bills :rolleyes2

:rotfl: That would be the smart thing to do, like take aways the frugal way! If I was Nyk, I would get a couldron to make stews and soups whilst they are kindling their fires! A two for one deal! :cool:

BigMummaF

cw18 wrote: »

Did see the perfume thing, but there's no guarantee they'd have any in stock - plus I don't swap my vouchers for any of the 4x rewards as there's nothing on them I'm even vaguely interested in I've always spent them in store at face value up to now, but will probably double up for clothes purchases in future (did that last month as I had some in hand!)

Have you tried that out yet? I did a couple of weeks back & what a palava :eek: It's all very complicated so I hope you'll stick with me as I try to explain
You can only exchange the clubcard points in values of £5, to 'double-up vouchers' worth a tenner. I'm not entirely certain what will happen to the £1:50 'change' from the £6:50 points one I did--he said something about it going back onto my 'total' but whether that means it will stay as 150 points on my next statement or only earn me one to simulate an actual spend of £1:50 [as in a couple of pints of milk] I didn't think to ask :doh:
You need to spend the whole £10 or more in one go, in order to use your voucher. You have to say which department you intend to 'spend' your voucher & they are NOT transferrable so if you can't get the size of socks you can't make it up with a pack of batteries. They only last for three months from date of issue.
On a plus side the chap said as far as he knew, this was a long term promotion.
HTH.