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

JustKeepSwimming_2

lynzpower wrote: »

I think im going to order seeds off the internet as they do seem good ( lots of interesting varieties) Im also ordering this mag at 3 for a £1- looks quite good

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/c4.php

Thanks Lynzpower - I've just signed up for this as I need some help/inspiration/kick up backside to get my allotment sorted! It wasn't going to be a NSD today anyway :rolleyes:

Thriftkitten wrote: »

Any links to a thrifty frugal trolley dolly would be great, even if I am slightly scarred by my one and only trolley dolly experience...
I had a hairbrain idea to walk to Mr T's with DS2 one day and was dragging the dilapidated thing 2 miles home(trolley not DS2) and just happened to bump into the most sort after heart throb of the school 20 yrs previous, Me no make -up on, draggin a clapped out trolley dolly(not tartan but might as well been) tried to walk past ever so quick only to be stopped and given a hug by him and asked how I'm doing, my only one salvation was that after 20 yrs he looked worse than my dilapidated trolley and I wondered why I ever spent soooo many years swooning over him!!!!!

Oh Thriftkitten, I know this feeling sooooo well. Usually happens to me when at least 1 child is covered in perma-snot & I'm wearing maternity trousers (my youngest is 7 :eek: but they are so warm & comfy I can't say goodbye to them yet). In my case though georgeous man is still georgeous & I'm the one who looks like I've had a jolly hard life!

Fishcake - love the elephant pics!

Thats as far as I've got with catching up! I'm glad this thread has slowed down a little, but it's still way to fast for me! Must try harder...

Happy frugalling to all - we're off to Mr. T & a cake for the kids in town as a bribe for playing the "great library book hunt" game & behaving while shopping.

jtb2412

Morning everyone, hope you're all having a lovely Sunday

Busy listing more things on Ebay here (making the most of the free listing day). We got in the loft yesterday as I needed to find some old papers - I had to do a tax return even though I've not been S/E for 3 years, IR insisted I do another one even though they sent me a letter last year saying there was no need :rolleyes:. Anyway, nothing owed or due (which I knew) and it didn't take too long to do.

While we were up there we thought we might as well get rid of our old bike leathers - those days are gone - and they're now duly listed on Ebay. I just hope we get a fair bit for them as they're all good quality items. We may get bikes again once the kids have flown the next but it'll definitely not be fireblades in our 50's ! :eek: I'm thinking a nice Harley or Custom-made ........ ohhhhhhhh now there's a plan for the future .

My gas/elec changeover has been validated on Quidco so I'm looking forward to receiving £62 in the near future :j. Just got to wait for Sky to validate now (has tracked).

No spending yesterday other than 'ladies' products :rolleyes: and postage on Ebay (which I don't count as I don't pay for it).

So, budget looking good for January. It will be my last payday this month which will go towards holiday and then it's time to knuckle down - 2 more weeks of work and counting .

DH is cooking roast chicken dinner today :T and we've got celeriac soup for supper if we feel hungry. Leftover chicken will be fajitas tomorrow.

ellemm

gilligansyle wrote: »

Morning frugallers

Container veg etc. - question - I have a terraced house with a small yard, and normally manage some salad veg etc. Do things like spuds need really deep pots, is it worth doing in a yard? Anything else that is easy to grow, tips would be appreciated. Have thought about allotment, but not really worth it just for me, as DS will be leaving some time this year.

I grew 3 lots of potatoes in bags I bought from Suttons (I know not very frugal but have to start somewhere ) and they were quite successful-the potatoes were lovely but I was a bit disappointed there weren't more of them but aim to do the same this year. Still it was a start.
I also sowed lettuce seed but to be honest had better success with a 99p tray of lettuce seedlings bought from Lidl and planted out which lasted us all summer.

slowlyfading

savingfortravel wrote: »

SF-Hope it is free listing on ebay tomorrow as that will be helpful. I remember taking the Numeracy and Literacy tests when I did my PGCE. In those days you could repeat the tests as many times as you liked.

You can now as well, it would just be handy to pass them all first time! It is free listing today x x

NualaBuala

Hi frugalites!

I hope you're all having a good weekend. There are so many people I wanted to reply to individually but my memory is rubbish and I'm a bit under the weather today so I've forgotten what I wanted to say and who to.

2ndTR, I'm thinking of you and your Mum. I hope both of you get all the support you need and like others have said, we are all here for you.

Some folk were talking about TVs, was it you Lynz? I got a great deal on my flatscreen on Ibood, saved hundreds. It might be worth keeping an eye out for a bargain. I don't know if I'd buy a fancy TV now, I used to be into all that stuff but not any more. I gave away 2 TVs on freecycle - used to have one in all the main rooms I used but realised I don't need them.

I had the most delicious frugal lunch yesterday and had to share as I have very few culinary successes! I made potato cakes with onion and the end of a block of cheese in danger of going mouldy, loosely based on this recipe. The mash was almost a week old and I feared it wouldn't get used. But it was in tupperware in the fridge and it didn't go off - happy days. Best of all there are leftovers for today's lunch. Nom nom nom.:D

I had a nice night out with friends last night that cost me €9 thanks to a half price pizza voucher. Good times!

Other good news on the frugal front is that it has been milder here over the last few days so the heating has been off a lot more - good news for my gas bill. Will be interesting to see my usage when I imeasure tomorrow.

There's so much I ought to be doing today but feel absolutely wrecked so am not going to worry about it. Will watch a movie on Film4 and see how I feel later.

I bet as soon as I post I'll remember all the things I meant to say - I wish there wasn't a 3 post limit when doing the multi-quote reply thing.

slowlyfading

afternoon everyone

Had a really nice day yesterday - me and the BF went to Kendal for the day for a bit of a change from our normal saturdays. Had lunch in a nice cafe and had a wander. I had a £10 M&S voucher from Christmas so I decided to treat us to the Dine in for £10 offer they had, so we had Beef Roulades, new potatoes and lemon souffle for afters, which was all very yummy! Plus a bottle of wine, which I actually enjoyed for a change. :eek: Maybe I am finally becoming an adult... (enjoying wine is an adult thing in my mind lol :rotfl: )

So, today should hopefully be a NSD - its miserable outside and we have no plans to go anywhere today. Its my final week on Placement A this week so I'm off out on friday night for a meal and need to buy my mentor a thank you present too. It's gone so fast, its scary! :eek:

2ndTR - I'm so glad you've posted, I was thinking about you the other day. I think what you have done is the bravest and nicest thing in the world, and I know just how proud your mum will be. But remember to look after yourself as well x

Have a good day everyone x

Frugaldom

Good afternoon frugaltonians,

Just a quick visit before heading next door with homemade elderflower champagne, card & pressie to wish Mr SM a happy birthday. Looking forward to trifle & cake!

Yesterday's exploits preparing the 4 pheasants were well rewarded with a lot more meat than first anticipated, so it looks like there will be some luxury pie filling & soup making going on here soon, plus 4 servings of the best meat already into the freezer. It means I have something other than chicken in store for next visit from the parents, who seem to think we live on eggs and (store bought) chicken. :rotfl:

Paperwork galore to clear out here, so later this afternoon I'll be shredding for bedding - the hens don't mind shredded paper beneath their straw nests. Leaving the fire until later, as well, as there's no point in it burning when we're not here. Dinner should have been pheasant stew with roast potatoes and veggies, but HS doesn't want to eat it! :rolleyes: Frugal word of warning - make sure everyone in a frugal household understand where their food comes from before attempting t offer anything that's out of their 'normal' range of foods. HS almost gave up dairy products when he found out how milk production was kept going, so there's no need to worry about us rearing our own meat, it just isn't going to happen here. My quest for self-sufficientish frugal living remains firmly fixed on the financial aspect of earning from home to support a debt free, self-sustainable lifestyle.

Thanks to all who have added helpful and informative posts & links, hope all who were poorly are recovering well and, most importantly, I hope frugality is settling in for 2010. Re the new kitchen equipment - could you ask friends & neighbours if any of them have an item you fancy, then borrow theirs to save buying?

babyboysmommy

Went to Mr. T today & spent £ 13.20 on 1 self raising flour, 1 mixed dried fruit, 2 butter, 2kg castor sugar, 2 kitchen roll, 1 baby wipes, 1 bean salad, 3 bread & 2 shaving gel.

I have a spread sheet where I'm tracking every penny we spend & on what. I'm already spending less as a result

Also spent £1 on a train ride for my son & have reserved his birthday present in Argos to be collected tomorrow as it was reduced from £140 to £50 so a really good saving on something he will love. His birthday is not for a few months so it will be hidden in the loft until the time.

I really need to start going through the kitchen to see what we don't use so it can be rehomed, I just need the energy from somewhere to do it!

I have a whole chicken in the slow cooker for dinner this evening, there will be leftovers I'll make another meal from. For the very first time I'm going to make stock so that will go in the slow cooker over night

Nessa56

top_drawer wrote: »

Nessa - lol any tips on living the frugal single life?

TD

I wish I had, just newly (18 mths)living the single life so still learning.

When I bought my flat the water board wanted £240.00 per year !!!! so I got a water meter got my 3rd water bill in the other day and for 6 months it came to £65.00 as did my previous 2 bills so in 18 months i have not even paid the amount that they wanted for 1 year - very happy about that:j

I do tend to bulk buy when I see a bargain or on stuff that I use a lot, the thought behind that is the more I have in my store cupboard the fewer times I actually have to go into shops

I batch cook a lot as well and freeze so i can just grab something from the freezer to take for lunch at work again that has saved me loads recently

Can't think of anything else at the moment, don't know if any of the above is any help, hope so though

Have a good day all -sorry for the long post

v
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lillibet_dripping

Afternoon all:j
Don't get to post much during the week - not enough hours in the day:o. Now that the thread has slowed somewhat, I am managing to keep up on the reading though.
Had a bit of a lightbulb moment this weekend. I'm not sure where it came from - whether it was something I read on here or Down-to-Earth. For some time now, being frugal was not making me happy - I was concentrating too much on the things I felt 'deprived' of and the things I wasn't able to buy because I simply couldn't afford them. I now realise that the whole point of this exercise is to simplify life, to do away with the material things that I thought were making me happy but weren't, to find enjoyment in the simple things and to count my blessings (which are far more important than 'things').
To stick to a budget is now a matter of personal pride - I CAN DO IT:T
To stick to a meal plan is a personal achievement - I CAN DO IT:T
To keep MY money in MY pocket rather than in Mr. T's - YAY, GO ME:T
To waste nothing in my kitchen IS achievable - MY KIDS ARE FED REALLY WELL:T
I get frustrated with my friends who spend their weekends at Bluewater spending money they don't have - AND FEEL SORRY FOR THEM:eek:
I am not bothered by friends who are putting their annual, overseas holiday on the credit card whilst I am planning to go camping in this country. I will enjoy my holiday far more:T
Frugality is a way of life I am now embracing fully and finding such inner peace because I not forever trying to keep up with the Jones'.

Today, I have:
- enjoyed boiled eggs and soldiers from my own chickens (well, not the solider part:D)
- taken my three springer spaniels for a glorious walk along the sea wall
- dried my washing on the line - AND NOT MISSED NOT HAVING A TUMBLE DRIER
- had HM leek and potato soup for lunch
- will have whoopsied roast chicken dinner tonight, with enough left over for a pasta-bake recipe tomorrow and the carcass for stock
- looking forward to Larkrise to Candleford this evening with a log fire and a glass of wine
- fresh, clean sheets on the bed tonight
- everything in order for the coming week ahead

Sorry for the long post - got a bit carried away.....:o

Lilli
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