FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 1. (Living on £4,000 a year)

candygirl

flippin36 wrote: »

Savingfortravel - I thought I knew meanqueen from her photo. I was trying to think where I'd seen her before and I managed to find a program that I must have watched. I remembered her when she mentioned boys pants in her blog!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-hunt-for-britains-tightest-person/4od#2926877

She's great isn't she. I hope she finds Mr Right one day.

I looked at her blog last night, and she is ace, really inspirational:D:D

jtb2412

Hi all, far too many posts for me to catch up on in detail so apologies for not mentioning names I am skim reading though so keeping up with things most of the time.

I'm sitting nursing a sore bottom and hand at the moment - popped into town for some supplies and I slipped . DS thought it was hilarious ! :mad: :rolleyes:. I'm ok though but a bit embarassed :rotfl:.

It's going to snow again here I think, I need to go food shopping tonight too, I hope there's plenty left in the shops :eek:

I popped into a couple of charity shops while I was down town and I got myself a little pressie to cheer myself up after my fall. A garlic pot (been after one for ages and they're usually quite expensive). Was brand new in box too so I'm a happy lady .

DHs petrol expenses went in today so that's a little more to see us through until the end of the month.

Ebay is doing well, quite a few things will sell but I've only little niknaks so no major money to be made there. It all adds up though and will go towards my present neutral challenge.

Right I must go and do some tidying up while DH is back at work - why is it always messier when men are around !

TTFN, and be careful everyone, it's slippery out there

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j:j
A very warm welcome to all the newbies- please do post everyone has something to offer and I for one, certainly have so much more to learn.

Small spend today on milk and OH is going to Mr T with the small person [school still closed] to buy stuff like flour so we can make some bread by hand. Will update my totals once I get home.

Frugal plans for this evening are to make a batch of soup that should do us for Saturday and Sunday lunches and perhaps a large glass of red vino whilst watching Dancing On Ice or QI. Every Friday night we always just have a light supper just for a change- mushrooms on toast tonight.

Tomorrow I'm back here working in the morning [if all the students don't cancel] and then on Sunday we need to start clearing the front room as my lovely Dad is going to help me decorate it next month. I stripped the paper off back in August and got the paint [also bought some completely mad patchwork curtains for £7.50 from the charity shop for it] and then got no further as anxiety/depression flared up really badly and had to go back onto meds for the first time in 10 years. Am a lot better now provided I don't overload myself and ask for help [which I'm not very good at] Shall be delighted once it's done and looking swanky:D:D

Have a lovely frugalling day and be careful in the snow.

Arilx

minjara

Hey there and thank you for your welcome fellow frugalers.

Right on we go with my monthly income and expenditure.

Income

JSA - £203.80

Expenditure

Rent - £60
Mobile - £40
Transport - £10
JL Debt - £40
HSBC Debt - £30

Not much outgoing, now I'm going to be moving in with my dad from 23rd. I got my last pay from my job today but most of that has gone, £70 to pay the last of my loan, £40 to electricity and £65 to HSBC debt (last large payment before it was reduced). These are payments from staying with my partner. I have £80 left at the mo and I'm going to go to Approved food i think and get some small bits and pieces there as its cheap. Most of my days are going to be NSD thank god as I'll be staying in the house mostly. So I'm going to say at the mo, if working on a 12 month basis (god forbid im out of work that long) £2280 for my spending. If I then get a job n have to recalculate I will do.

FrankieM

Afternoon,
I have made flapjack and ordered from Approved Food. It's my first time, so I'll be seeing if it works out well financially for me.

I've started looking at the Make £100 into £10k thread. Is anyone taking part?

rictus123

Iv seen so many posters phone sky and bluff there going to cancel as its too expensive then get money off

worth a try

ifonlyitwaseasier

afternoon all

apologies to the recipe waiting peeps, t'other PC has a couple of additional internal hard drives and i think the recipe one is loose (don't ask!!) so i'll get my it buddy to have a squint at it and get the info for me/fix it so i can get it, i WILL get my recipe stash back!!

have just about caught up with the thread, has taken about an hour tho !!!!

did spend a little yesterday however it's form the "money given to us as a a gift" pile so not counting it from the main budget as if we hadn't had it we wouldn't have spent it iykwim.

Lingo - OMG was the person in the first pic in shorts??????????? are they mad????

ioiwe

candygirl

Arrrgggh my water wont go down my kitchen sink and have tried boiling water, drain clearer etc.Think it might be frozen as I don't have central heating:eek::eek:Have put the oven on full and opened the doors under the sink, might try the hairdryer on it later, any other ideas?I cannot afford a plumber right now:o

rozeepozee

Hi all! I've had a spending day today. About £8 in Tesco buying spuds, celery, milk and crumpets and £15 on my Mother's Help who is now essential if I am to get through the day not in agony due to the weight of my twin bump (how did you manage this aeb?). She is going to look after my son for the afternoon while I rest.

My OH was effectively laid off from his Thursday work with no notice (he's a teacher works in FE) so he's now only working Fridays which is a blessing in disguise as Friday is the only day my Mother's Helo is available... ho hum. I've not taken into account his income from teaching (very limited) or his spends (very limited) in this challenge.

bails, you wanted to know a bit more of my story (the one my son deleted!). Well, I come from a working class family, I was the first on my generation to go to Uni in the 80s and then qualified as a lawyer. Fast forward to the late 90s and I'd started my own business, earning..... more than I could ever spend (six figures), living in London with an apparently "enviable lifestyle" but not enjoying it, absolutely knackered and over stressed and with a tattered relationship.

I decided to get out, I retired from my practice age 31 :rolleyes:, sold my part of the business, bought a small portfolio of properties on small mortgages, bought my own place up North outright (so if my plans all went t!ts up, the bank could never take away my home), stopped work (apart from voluntary work), had a long rest and partied hard :beer:, met the man of my dreams, followed him to Aus for two years, we came back, I retrained as a psychotherapist (out of interest more than a desire to have a second career), had a little boy in 2006 and we are expecting twins in April. Here I am, aged 41, pretty happy with where I'm at.

The properties mean we have a lot of capital tied up in them but only a limited income, hence my frugalities - plus, I had every material possession I could ever want (fast car, nice house, fancy clothes, jewellery, shoes, watches, expensive etcetera!) and I was bloody miserable so I know that aspiring to that is a delusion. What's important to me now is to have a happy family life and freedom to enjoy our time together. We've just bought a campervan and will be using it as much as possible to get about the UK in the years to come.

'Sfunny how so many people on this thread have similar aspirations. We too dream of a smallholding somewhere, possibly by the coast (Aberysthwyth area is in favour at the moment, as we like the idea of being near a university town). But we're in "breeding mode" at the moment, so I think that will be for a few years time... we'll see. We've both spent a lot of time in large cities and are wary of how hard it could be to leave behind our substantial social network of friends (many with children the same age as us) and all the amenities of the city (schools, further learning opportunities, jobs, hospitals etc).

So, there you have it. How much is enough? That's what we're trying to work out

Ooh! I've just checked The Spreadsheet and in my first week, although I underbudgeted for petrol, I've only spent £8.96 of my £50 per week grocery budget. That's cheered me up (sad or what!). Eating up the remains of the freezer and store cupboards is really helping!

mumtoomany

Hi all,

Candygirl: have you checked the drain outside? it may just be there that the freeze is.

Frankie: yes I'm in the £10,000 in a year thing. Not very far yet!

Well an expensive couple of days. Tesco yesterday to top up on dog mixer and cheep branston beans (4 for 89p)spent £55.16. AHHHH. mostly reduced meat and bakery stuff also 18 blocks of cheese (the only thing we already had too much of) alll a quarter of original price, in freezer. Birthday present for OH too a DVD.
Today approved foods arrived ordered 24th december so £52 there, also a couple of bits that DD2 ordered. Ex girlfriend of DS came round, needs £19 for her uni application. Her parents won't pay, can't afford it!!! (Mum alone earns in a day what DH and I earn in a week!) So £19 for M.
Add to this the Direct debits for Gas Electric and TV, have spent a fortune so far. Must do better.
Take care in the cold and snow all,

Mumtoomany.