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

cw18

Just bobbing though very quickly.

NSD today - mainly due to extra hours at work. I was on the rota until 8pm, but as that's store close time (and still cleaning to finish and waste to get rid of after that) the lady I'm covering for said she's never away before 8:30pm......... and I didn't clock out until a couple of minutes to 9 :eek: So an 8 hour shift on a day that should only be 4, and I've got the same again on Wednesday - and also Monday & Wednesday of next week

Got home about 9:15, heated through the soup I (fortunately) thought to get out of the freezer before going to work, and have eaten that with some 'soup' rolls (Whoopsied, bought yesterday). Doing a quick catch up until I can feed the little dog (she's not allowed anything for an hour after her meds, which was one of my first jobs when I got in), then I'm off to bed due to the fact I'm due back in work at 7am tomorrow.............



Did order a pair of safety shoes through work today, but the payment for those gets taken out of a pay cheque after they've been delivered - so probably won't be the next one (Friday of next week) as cut off for that is this Sunday - so I'll record the spend on the relevant pay day.

Was ever so slightly slightly miffed to discover they're dearer than we were told during induction (we were told £7, but while the mens versions are £7.10 the ladies versions are £14.10 :mad: ), but I think still worth getting so I can keep my shoes for when I need something 'smart' (given I have to pay £50-£80 a time to get a comfortable fit). Plus they have a much better tread on them, and will save my toes the next time I knock one of the wrolls of wrapper off the machine - twice in the last week, and onto the same toes both times :rolleyes2


Bails : hope you have a good journey, and that the rest of your trip goes smoothly

NualaBuala

Cheryl, hope you get enough sleep before you've to get up for work! Does your employer not have to pay for the safety shoes if they're needed for work? If not, perhaps you can claim tax relief on the money spent? Not sure how it works in the UK.

lyndasharp

cw18 wrote: »

Just been to check this one out, as it's a title I've enjoyed reading before. But I'm confused as the 3 for £3 offer is by D/Deb only, and Quidco says they only pay out for C/Card orders

Hi CW, I thought that too, but there was a thread in the freebies section where other people have been paid for just taking the offers

Bails - have a fantastic time! Look forward to hearing your updates.

Fishcake - I think I forgot to say before, that elephant pic was sooo cute! Well done for finishing a second one - when I make things my tolerance runs out after the first one so there's never any pairs of anything. Luckily H2B is good at making bulk things, which is why we have more than one cushion :rotfl:

I had a relatively frugal day, as all my expenses were work ones, and managed to refill my car with petrol at rather less than the motorway price of 120.9 :eek:. I had trouble believing it really was that expensive, but at least I only needed to use the toilet at that service station. Had a bit of a hellish drive to Wales taking 4.5 hours for what should be a 3 hour drive. Forgot to bring a swimsuit too, so I couldn't take advantage of the free spa at the hotel I'm staying in. Never mind, another time maybe!

cw18

Safety shoes aren't needed..... but they're available as an 'option' we can take up at a subsidised rate. Not sure about the tax element of it - one I can possibly try out on Inland Revenue, on the basis of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'.......

Think the piece of kit I've dislodged is only coming out as we're getting towards the end of the roll of wrap - so it's not got as much weight to hold it in place. With a bit of luck it'll be changed to a full one in the next couple of days, and I'll be safe again for another few weeks Everyone else reels it back in from a different angle, but I've adapted a personal one due to my back problem - the way everyone else leans could knock my back out, especially as it's something we have to do several times a day.

savingfortravel

Bails-Just PMed you to wish you good luck!

Just a quick post..will have to catch up tomorrow.

My frugal achievements today were:

• HM spicy soup for lunch
• 20 more tins of BBbeans-up to our goal of 100 now! :j
• 3 tubs of Fl*ra Buttery at 75p each.

SFT

NualaBuala

Ah well, for the sake of few (ok, more than a few!) pounds, better safe than sorry. I like having clothes/shoes especially for work anyway, keeps the everyday stuff from getting worn out and saves having to think too hard about what to wear.

xnatalie81x

Landlady is selling our house so we are homeless from end April! Just what i needed off to council on Thu to find out what to do........... All the 3 beds around here are more than the LHA for one and no where will take us into a 2 bed with 3 children.

This will affect budget as i will have to do some figure re-arranging but should be ok. Now will be making note of all post coming into house so remember who to tell when we do move. I really hope that the council can re-house us........................

My b'day on the 27th - great!

Skint_Lynne

I am sorry Natalie,

Hopefully this is a 'every cloud has a silver lining' story. I hope you get somewhere nice. Good luck at the council. xx

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Landlady is selling our house so we are homeless from end April! Just what i needed off to council on Thu to find out what to do........... All the 3 beds around here are more than the LHA for one and no where will take us into a 2 bed with 3 children.

This will affect budget as i will have to do some figure re-arranging but should be ok. Now will be making note of all post coming into house so remember who to tell when we do move. I really hope that the council can re-house us........................

My b'day on the 27th - great!

NualaBuala

Hugs Natalie, moving is so hard at the best of times I think and even harder when money is an issue. Like Lynne says, I hope it will turn out to be for the best.

I will be moving in the not-too-distant future and have a tab on my spreadsheet to list companies/organisations etc I will need to notify of my change of address. I just add them as I think of them as I don't trust my memory!

My whole life is on my spreadsheet now and it is always open: It has a tab each for:

• my meal plans (such as they are)
• planned spending (with a section where I put the date and the item so I can think it over before buying, also a shopping list column)
• overall budget plan for the year
• balances of what I owe in total, what's in all of my accounts and my purse. (I even have a graph of my loan - I find it very satisfying to have a visual reminder of the outstanding amount getting smaller, I'm so sad! )
• spending diary linked to a yearly spending sheet showing amount spent/amount left for each category
• change of address
• my declutter list (with where I will list it e.g. freecycle/ebay and how much I get for it)
• store cupboard/freezer list (needs to be updated)
• homemade gift/craft project ideas
• to-do list
• tax stuff

No doubt more will get added in time! I back it up on Google from time to time just in case.

Fishcake_Random

Well seeing as the fishfinger is on a mission to keep mummy awake this evening I've entertained myself by taking some pics.
The elephant mark 2, who is now wrapped and ready for his post office journey as a thank you for a friend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26183176@N03/4286502874/

And a quick one of the socks I made for OH's friend
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26183176@N03/4285764985/in/photostream/

Is it annoying to keep posting my projects here??

Also OH came up with a stunning idea as my next knitting project is possibly going to be a top/cardigan type thing. I was moaning about how much it would cost to make as it needs several balls of wool and he said why not unpick something else big and use that. Well being new to knitting I don't have any big projects to unpick so tomo I'm going to scout a charity shop I know that sells them for £1. If I can find one in a colour I like then I might be onto a winner.
Clever OH's eh?
x x x x