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

sophiesmum_2

2TR - Still thinking of you and your mum, keep talking to her, did you know that hearing is the last sense to diminish when someone is in a coma or dying? If ever I am with any of my oldies at the end,(and there have been many) then I always talk to them as much as possible so at least they know they are with someone who cares about them.
Hope today brings better news for you xx

bails

Thanks for that info SM, always good to know. Your oldies are very lucky, I'm sure they'll be very sad when you leave xx

Brighton_belle

thanks for keeping us updated 2TR. I hope her improved temp is the first of other improvements, though i understand it promises nothing at this stage. I hope you have others who are able to sit with your mum too. You will need to try and get a little sleep too if you can, so you can keep strong and well yourself.

Blair - fantastic stuff that you have sent off your uni app:T:T How exciting.

Thanks bigmumma re fire ext info. Yes, we have an escape plan: I have a fold up escape ladder stored upstairs that i make sure every new lodger knows where it is stored, that hooks on to a window frame and unfurls so we can get out from upstairs if stair way blocked by fire/thick smoke.We also have an emergency set of front door keys on a hook downstairs (in a cupboard,) so we can always get out quickly without having to search for our day to day keys). We also have smoke alarms, fire blanket & extinguisher. Everyone should make sure they know what to do if the house is full of smoke/dark/fire etc.
I don't think your funeral/will plans are at all morbid, but a sign of true loving care for those you leave behind. Non of us know when our last day on earth will be and sorting these things make a terrible time for our loved ones just a little less complicated and stressful.

Cheerfuness - you are not a wuss, becasue dispite how you felt, you still sat down and faced budgetting:T. Well done finding my feet too for working on it. I used my work's accounts template for my accounting at home an tweeked it as I learned what worked best for me.

Nyk - great that the fleece curtains are paying off. Have fun with the cookie cutters, look foreward to pics.

Skint_Lynne

Good afternoon frugallers,

I have been in the shop today, but not doing as much work as I should, have been on the internet.:rolleyes:

I've really been thinking about my ultimate plan of saving for a rainy day, although I have been doing good things, I am not 100% there yet, will need to keep trying. I intend on getting 'back to the beginning' and perhaps reading through the old threads again for some inspiration. That should get me back on track!

2TR, I'm glad there's a glimmer of hope, you and yours are in my thoughts. xx

Will check in later. xx

liloandstitch

Sorry I didnt get a chance to post yesterday, 2nd time round. I would like to add my good wishes to everyone elses on this thread for her recovery. I agree that you need to try and get yourself some rest, you need to keep your strength up too.

Well, I have returned off sick, so I must really get back on the wagon. I have worked out my new budget, and one week in, so far so good. My shopping is currently well under budget so I am really pleased.

Lilo

findingmyfeet

morning everyone,

well yesterday went rather pear shaped , great plans but too many distractions!
Did get a look at the fuel bills for the year and nearly choked when i added them all together, elec/gas/wood just over £1800. That nearly gave me palpitations. I pay direct debit and had a rough idea of the cost but put a year down on paper together and its awful. So went around unplugging the teenagers gadgets/stand bys, phone chargers without phones attached etc and wasnt very popular when they got home!!! This one i will be watching closely. Bit of good news was im almost £300 in credit so thats good with winter approaching. Tried to get monthly dd reduced a bit but they told me no- it would be reviewed later.

Sun out here this morning so washing out drying already and no heating on.
Today will try to estimate food bill next , that should be more shocking but will be less than i was spending last year as i have cut back alot.

quite an eye opener when you look at a years stuff.

Thanks for all nice comments.

2tr- still thinking of you and yours x

grandma247

findingmyfeet
For your teens maybe you could have a visual such as a printed or drawn thermometer on the wall to show how much money in fuel has been used weekly and explain what you want your target to be.
I have had prepayment meters for years and I found the threat of not having enough electricity to run their gadgets was enough to make them switch off when not in use.

Frugaldom

Good morning

Sun has decided to shine this morning, althugh it feels frosty cold outside. I LOVE my new fleece window coverings and door curtains and bubblewrap and draught excluder tape! I got up this morning, first morning after the foam tape round front door exploits and, without even having had the fire kindled yesterday, the house temp is an average 16 degrees! :j:j:j With the added benefit of sunshine streaming in the back windows, I reckon that all these frugal plans being put into action will pay dividends this winter and save me a fortune on electricity.

Findingmyfeet, I've allowed £1500 for this year on electricity, logs & coal until I can make the house more eco-friendly with regards to all the draughts. Our houses sit in what I can only describe as a frost pocket in the middle of a hurricane alley. At times, it's like living in a vortex when we step outside, with wind blowing from all directions. The frost lasted until mid May this year and we've already had a touch of ground frost. :rotfl: I had great plans for having no heaters on from 1st May - 1st November in an effort to cut back on electricity but only managed to get to 19 weeks before DS began to freeze. His room is almost north facing, so no sunshine in there, or the livingroom here, until next spring. I have one small bedroom heater set on low and the rest is down to my pinching all the ideas I can from the 'preparing for winter' thread.

Frugal soup - I used a head of broccoli along with a couple of chopped onions and sliced carrot to simmer overnight in the slow cooker to make veggie stock. This morning, when I tasted it, I was really surprised at the result. DS has suggested leaving the rough cut veggies in the stock and adding some pasta to turn it into a chinese-style soup for tea! How frugalistic is that for a 20 year-old male?! I was :eek: It would have been even nicer with sweetcorn added but HS doesn't like that, so I'm just going to do exactly as DS suggested and serve it up as clear soup with noodles and chunky veg. Just needs some seasoning.

Hope everyone has a good day and I really hope all is as well as can be expected with your mum, 2ndtimerounder. Like others say, make sure you get some sleep and look after yourself so you are fit to cope with whatever the situation dictates.

cw18

Had to bob out this morning (parcel to post to DS in Germany, and prescription to collect from GP and have filled at chemist), so called into C00p while passing.

Clearance prices still nothing to write home about (though I did pick up 4 things), but while I was paying I was chatting to the 2 girls on the tills. Apparently they've not officially been told the store has been sold - nor who to, so they can be applying for jobs - but the word is out that it's to become a B+M B@rgains!!! Soooooo not what I was hoping for, but could still be useful I suppose

And our 'butcher' shop - which has been empty for almost 3 years - now has notices in the window stating that Willi@m Hi11 have applied for permission to open up there. Not happy with that one either, as we already have 2 bookmakers in the centre of our small town :eek:

findingmyfeet

grandma247-i will be trying allsorts to get them to turn their stuff off. dont mind if they are actually using them at the time, its leaving them on when they arent even in the house etc thats getting my back up !
nyk-my house in a similar position, old cottage open countryside, old windows draughts everywhere etc. managed to get the loft insulated in april this year ( saw the bnq offer on here so got it done for less than £30)so hopefully that will be a great help. just making a curtain for the front door and draught excluder. biggy will be the windows but will do as funds allow.
most of the wood i do get free so cant blame it on them much either.