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

cw18

((hugs)) to everyone dealing with the loss of a loved one - take care of yourselves as well as others around you, and don't be hard on yourselves if the budgetting slips a bit in the first few weeks


well done to those who are getting their OHs on board with the finances :beer:

just been and recovered my brolly (first one I've ever had that I've liked, but managed to leave it on the side in A!di last night when I had to go and get more milk - like others I need a cow in my garden, but only when elder DS is home and he's somehow managed to fudge an extra week on his Christmas leave ). Really pleased it was still there and I managed to get it back :T Also stocked up on tea-bags while I was there - have now bought 6 boxes this week (4 today), which should last me at least 6 months. I'd spotted that their latest delivery doesn't have the 50% extra free, so decided it was worth stocking up now......

jtb2412

Sorry to hear about your losses EDaniels and Meg, thinking of you here xx

I've had a busy few days (more snow so have been working from home), ebaying, decluttering etc etc so haven't had much time to catch up with you all. That will change in 2 weeks though when I finish work :j.

Snow has all but gone here, although quite a heavy dusting yesterday meant the teachers couldn't get in and we had the option of taking the children home if we wanted to so being a lovely mummy, I took DS home .

Budget is going well although my 'anything else' section has already tipped over the allocated monthly amount :eek:. I've had a couple of unplanned spends which shouldn't be repeated so hopefully I'll be able to claw some back next month.

Grocery budget is looking good . I popped into Somer*ie*ds before work to pick up some of their typhoo £2 teabags (x2), Branston Beans 4 pack (x2), cheese (x3) and ham (x2) as they were all half price or better than 1/2 price. If I could have carried more I would have bought more (I walk everywhere) - my arms were a little tired by the time I got to work :rolleyes:.

I think I'm going to have to think about getting a dolly trolley but I know the kids will be mortified and I don't want to be laughed at - are there any other 30-somethings on here that have one, do you get giggled at?

I did have to spend £4 in a charity shop today - DS has a 'victorian' day next week and I needed to get him a flat cap for his outfit. I did think I'd be lucky to find one but I did so snapped it up quick. Just got to make him a waistcoat now, I think I have an old pair of curtains up in the loft that will be ideal .

Diet is going well here too, 4lb of the 8lb I put on over Xmas has gone and the food spending has actually gone down a bit, smaller portions = more leftovers :T.

Right, I'm at work so I really ought to do something (I'm on my own today which is how I like it ). Might have another cuppa first though :rotfl:.

cw18

jtb2412 wrote: »

I think I'm going to have to think about getting a dolly trolley but I know the kids will be mortified and I don't want to be laughed at - are there any other 30-somethings on here that have one, do you get giggled at?

I bought myself a trolley in the latter part of 2006 (when I was off work with my bad back, though I'd left my 30's behind at the start of that year so don't count as a 'thirty-something' I suppose ), and younger DS was initially mortified as the type I went for is "an old fogey one"..... ie. it's one you push rather than pull. I went for this for three reasons

1. I can balance a basket on top of it while in the shops
2. it holds a lot more than the towing style
3. if I were pulling one I'd be twisting my back a bit - so a 'no-no' for me anyway

He still won't be seen out with me if I'm using it (he was 18 last July), but totally understands why I have it and no longer takes the mickey out of me if he sees me leaving the house/coming home with it. Nor does he worry about comments from his friends anymore

catznine

Firstly ((((hugs))) to EDaniels and Meg, my heart goes out to you both, there are no words sufficient but you are in my thoughts and prayers.

At the end of the first 2 weeks of this challenge, I have had a little review and reality has set in!:o realised the things I didn't take into account but hope that where savings have been made the extra expenses are now covered.

Budget as at beginning of challenge Spend so far

Food £200.00 (£72.98)
Mobile phone £10.99 (£10.99)
Mob insurance £ 4.99 (£ 4.99)
dog food £10.00 (£2.20)
Toiletries and cleaning £15.00 (£ -)
Donations/charity shop £35.00 (£ 3.00)
Petrol £20.00 (£ -)
Presents £15.00 (£ -)
Vits/meds £15.00 (£3.30)
pocket money £20.00 (£ -)

unbudgeted spends:-

Subs (January so hit hard) £17.40 & more to come!
Postage costs (forgot about this ) £1.29
Clothing (ooops!) £11.97 warm socks



total spend £128.12 - £350 a month allowed so £221.88 left this month! :j

I've not needed petrol as I've not gone far in the bad weather but I did need some warm socks!:eek: The subscriptions came as a bit of a shock but now I know and they are almost all paid now. Postage will just have to come out of pocket money in future, as will clothing although I normally get most of that from charity shops and comes out of the charity donations budget.

Going to a friends 40th birthday celebrations on Saturday but will have a go at making a card and either some cupcakes or some iced novelty cookies! I have all the makings of these in the cupboards thankfully. I think most of the money is going to be saved in the kitchen to be honest! Thank goodness for soya mince and tinned tuna!:rotfl:

Hope you are all keeping warm and those that have fallen are healing well!

xnatalie81x

I am keeping up with the thread but had nothing to post until today

Order placed today:
Item DescriptionQuantityPrice EachTotalPVC ROARY SWIMBAG (santa pressie) 1 £1.00 £1.00 KIDS GARDEN TOOL SET (3xsanta pressie and 1 for friends dd)4 £1.00 £4.00 CUTLERY SET PINK (friends dd bday and my dd xmas)2 £1.00 £2.00 CUTLERY SET BLUE (my 2 sons santa pressies)2 £1.00 £2.00 HOLIDAY GLOW MOISTURISER NORMAL/COMBINATION (mil,sis,sis and mum for hampers)4 £1.00 £4.00 PEACH HAND AND BODY LOTION (mil, mum hampers for xmas)2 £1.00 £2.00 WOOD MASSAGER (mil and mum for hampers xmas)2 £1.00 £2.00 ICE CREAM PARTY (4 ice cream pots for kids' cousins x2 and friends ds and dd - will fill with sweets and wrap)1 £3.99 £3.99 ARTS AND CRAFT COLLECTION (for kids' cousins x2)2 £1.00 £2.00 CORNER TRESTLE (for my kitchen to make better use of space ) 2 £1.99 £3.98 Postage & Packing £3.99 Offer Applied (10% off and some items b1g1f such as moisturisers/hand cream/knife and fork sets)-£7.20 Total (not bad!!!)£23.76



bulk of xmas and bday pressies now bought just MIL b'day and pressies for kids' school friends parties to buy and for xmas main pressies for my 3 kids (all santa ones done - 5 each) and more bits for MIL/mum and 2 sisters for hampers plus one more pressie for neighbours ds!

I would estimate another £80 maximum to finish all xmas and b'day pressies for year. Budget for combined is 400 (i do split but won't bore you) so far spent £117.28 so if on target will be about £200 under budget for this category

Doing well elsewhere too. I do give a weekly food budget but i then combine and do 2 weeks at a time. 1st-14th Jan i managed to underspend by £10.50 and the cash is now in grocery envelope. All money left at end of week/2week period will go into this envelope and be kept for future use! Am pleased as it is winter so allotment dead. If i am saving 10 a fotnight now then imagine the summer months when i have a thriving allotment

Hens still laying 3 eggs a day so omlette for dinner once a week and scrambled egg for breakfast once a week too. Am using value washing powder instead of dishwasher powder. Unsure of saving but it is lasting a long time!!!

Great to keep up with you all Even with the snow i managed to go to work yesterday so only a week of wages missed £91 down already.

babyboysmommy

jtb2412 wrote: »

I think I'm going to have to think about getting a dolly trolley but I know the kids will be mortified and I don't want to be laughed at - are there any other 30-somethings on here that have one, do you get giggled at?

I've had one for a while now, my 14 year old is not impressed but the 3.5 year old loves it! It's the kind you pull behind you, it holds loads & has proved to be a really good purchase. When I'm out no one takes any notice unless my youngest is pulling it along, then he gets lots of smiles

candygirl

I got a trolley last year and DD freaked out with embarrassment, but I rarely use it except on hols when bringing stuff back from the shops;)
Am happy today cos my cold weather payment has gone in the bank:j:j
Am going to gym in a bit, then to dentist, post office n library:eek::eek:Busy day today;)
EDANIELS and MEG i'm so sorry to hear of your losses:A
NATLALIE- where did you get all the bargains from?:eek::eek:
ROZEE lol about your Son in the locker:rotfl::rotfl:
Have fabbily frugal days everyone xxx:A

jayII

Hi, can I join?

I've been looking at this thread on and off for a while, and have decided to bite the bullet. I don't have much time for doing matched betting and so on (off work sick today, but should be back tomorrow). So I will start off slowly, with watching my everyday spends.

Frugal_Mouse

EDaniels and Meg, so sorry for your loss. Sending you and your families (((hugs))) x

lingojingo

catznine wrote: »

Firstly ((((hugs))) to EDaniels and Meg, my heart goes out to you both, there are no words sufficient but you are in my thoughts and prayers.

EDaniels and Meg ((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))) from me too. hope you both manage to sort out affordable funeral arrangements, and remember to look after yourselves too.

catznine I know from when my Dad died, it usually doesn't really matter what words people use, it's the fact they say something which shows they care, that means a lot.