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

bails

I need a new pair of walking boots as my beloved pair that have travelled round the world with me (and with someone else - long story!) have finally lost their grip. OH thinks I should throw them away - not likely! :eek: They'll be sent home to be used for dog walking and to provide happy memories every time I lace them up So, a new pair is £100 my parents tell me :eek: No say I, let me consult the MS Oracle - a few minutes later I have a brand new pair of boots winging their way to OH's parents with 50% off plus 20% voucher discount, hopefully 6% Quidc0 and 1% cashback :T

No matter how many times you find a discount, it never stops feeling FANTASTIC! :j:j

ETA: hugs Mooloo, it really will get easier. Stick with us and it does start to fall into place x

Great news about Mr SFT's extra work :T

Job 'chat' at 7pm here (1.15pm with you). If I did get this job, imagine how FAAAAAAAAAAR my money would go :j

savingfortravel

bails wrote: »

I need a new pair of walking boots as my beloved pair that have travelled round the world with me (and with someone else - long story!) have finally lost their grip. OH thinks I should throw them away - not likely! :eek: They'll be sent home to be used for dog walking and to provide happy memories every time I lace them up So, a new pair is £100 my parents tell me :eek: No say I, let me consult the MS Oracle - a few minutes later I have a brand new pair of boots winging their way to OH's parents with 50% off plus 20% voucher discount, hopefully 6% Quidc0 and 1% cashback :T

No matter how many times you find a discount, it never stops feeling FANTASTIC! :j:j

i need new boots. How did you get all that discount? sft AND WELL DONE!1

[Deleted User]

Morning everyone

I havent posted in so long... things are really busy here. Daisy is getting so big, rolling over now very fast and destroying paperwork! Went to Ikea yesterday night (past her bedtime) and bought a cupboard to keep laptop/paperwork in so she cant destroy anymore. Havent been very good with sticking to budget, NEXT year I will have to be alot better. I think getting SMP lulls you into a false sense of security but now thats stopped its really sunk in "Ohhh I CAN'T buy anything/how am I going to pay for shopping!?" etc etc. I must spend my time better, i.e. write meal plans again and use up leftovers. Its just me thinking ahead which I dont seem to be very good at.
DH has still got work which is great, will have to take alot of time off over Christmas as everything seems to shut down. The in-laws have been so good, have been really helping us out, buying us abit of shopping here and there, really helps.
Anyway, must go Daisy needs feeding and changing. Toddler group this morning, walk down the road, coffee and cake for £1 and entertainment for the babies for a couple of hours yay!! And a chat with sane adults that can answer you back!

xx

Just read this all back, what a load of waffle hope I havent bored you all

FrankieM

Morning,
Well, my spends for last night came to £12.50. £6.50 for the orange wednesday tickets and £6 for a large mixed kebab that we shared afterwards. I have £20 tucked in my purse for emergencies and I thought I might have to use it, but no. I'm really chuffed.
This morning it's 'zone cleaning' for me. It's the bathroom, which actually gets done by the children, so nothing for me to do there.
Also have some paid work to do. No plans to go out anywhere so should be a no spend day.
Have veggie casserole/chunky soup for lunch ( leftovers from lastnight's tea) and I've got some mackerel in the freezer from my slimming world days to use up for tonight's tea. As no one really likes fish other than me, I'm not sure what to do with it, but it has to be done!
blairweech I think I've missed previous info about the course you're doing. It sounds really interesting. What is the course and what are your plans after you've finished, if you don't mind going through it again.
mooloo I hope you're feeling better this morning

Hope you all have a good day.

Blairweech

Frankie - It is a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture. I am hoping to go on to work in the agricultural industry, maybe as a farm manager or something similar, with the eventual prize being owning a smallholding

Frugaldom

Hi fruguys and gals, not sure what the weather's like where you all are but it is HORRIBLE here - rain, gales, mud, flood, tie everything down, stay indoors and sit it out time. Fortunately, the internet connection and electricity supply are both still with us, though stupid digital TV signal hasn't got a hope of reaching us in this! :rolleyes:

Blairweech, you're welcome to join me in anything frugal, it's what I do for a living, I reckon.

Mooloo, I'm guessing you must just get to the stage of wondering 'WHY?' So here's my answer - it's because you can make it look like you cope so admirably with it all and give strength to others in similar situations. It's about families, they're what makes the world go round and I guess we sometimes forget about that and get distracted by other 'stuff'. Have you considered getting a houseshare to help alleviate the pressure of making the rent and bills on your own each month? Or could you get some sort of attendance allowance to help cover the travelling expenses associated with visiting your DDs? Could DS do more to help at home by way of getting involved in something locally, even if it's just chopping wood for a share of it? We have a local LETS member who 'hires out' their son to do odd jobs.

I think I forgot to come back and post yesterday, I got too distracted looking for bargains, discount codes and cashback. Well done Bails, your boots sound a real bargain!

Hi Loopylou, nice to see you popping back on, guessing your hands are full with Daisy these days.

Next year's challenge will begin with a bew list of challengees as there are so many on the current list that have disappeared. But I;ll wait until closer to New Year before getting the names in order.

bails

SFT, my boot of choice is the KSB, which are £99.99 in M1llets. I went online and they have a pair reduced to £49.99. The only drawback is that they are pink - so not my colour of choice - but with so much off there was no doubt in my mind which ones to get They're dusky pink so soon won't notice the colour I reckon. Then I searched on here for codes for the shop and a thread brought up a 20% off code from vouchercodes (only valid til the end of today). I went through Quidc0 in the hope of an extra 6% and used OH's cashback creditcard (I haven't been able to get one because of my circumstances but will get the best one I can as soon as I'm employed again) for a further 1%. Hope that helps

Hi Loopy, nice to see you! Hope you can get the frugal reins back on, just take it one small step at a time x

Savvy_sewing

Thanks for the hugs.
I have gone through the bankstatements, and the current balances. I have a figure now I can juggle about with, as my ESA has gone into the bank today.
The rent cheque has arrived from the council, so thats winging its way to the bank, via the post. If I breathe deeply and think out of the box, I am sure I can rework the finances.
My overspending have been going on Petrol and quick trips to the supermarket to catch up on odds and sodds, and to bail out the twins.So I have to be stronger, and insist that the twins start to pay me back, and that they fund the fuel if I have to drive them anywhere. I will have to stop giving DS money every few days, as I am withdrawing more cash then ever before.
So now I see where my mess has come from. Luckily before I used the account and overdrew. So no major harm done. Phew. I have committed to having the grandchildren over the next two nights as their Mums are 21 today. Twin2 is celebrating tonight, and twin1 is tomorrow. So I will have to drive 80miles over the next two days. Oh, plus the 32 miles I have to drive for DS too and from the nearest bus stop. So it is obvious that my Fuel budget was not realistic, and with the cost of fuel going up again. I will have to look to reassigning my budget!.
Back to a grocery/store cupboard challenge.
Work out a large shop delivery next week, when my Tax credits arrive to stop me doing little top up shops, which are costing me.
Think thats it. Now I better get on and tidyup the house before I do anything else. It will take me a while as my movements are a bit slow tday!.

shaz_mum_of__2

Well done mooloo ........figuring out the problem is half the battle

whitewing

I haven't disappeared Nyk. Just chugging along, not being particularly interesting. I still want to be on your list next year.