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

knithappens

ha big spend day ( but barginous too) my ex decides to buy my son a new bed(ebay, bed is lovely) , he has never bought him anything, does not contribute, no csa etc( they mest up my claim i gave up, got this far with no help, just keep swimming, just keep swimming) he drops it off sunday but no instructions, and guess who is left to dismantle old bed and put up new bed, so today i do just that, except after being assured a standard single mattress fits is does not, i need a 2"6, the mattress it came with was awful, used and i dont know how he expected little man to sleep on it, yuk. I am a second hand queen, but this mattress was less than desirable.
So guess who has to foot the bill for the matress, yep me, ( I already paid him half for the bed - yes i know a bed he was supposed to buy)

But the good news, matressman.co.uk love that place got my matress for 71.10 after £20 knocked off because of a scuff mark ( original price £179.99) plus i should get 6% quidco too, so not too drastic and I know little man will have a nice clean bed.

And am so proud i managed to assemble the bed all by myself with no instructions.

I also manged to underestimate my income by £2000 with tax credits so updated those and got a lump sum for what they owed, so that helped pay for the matress.

oooh and thankyou for the fish pie sauce tips yesterday ladies, bubba loved it, i managed to make 10, so froze 9, i used the little pots the organix baby food come in i got reduced at home bargains, just the right size for her dinners, instead of buying the avent etc little weaning pots what a rip off, this way i managed to reuse, and recycle yayy for me.

slowlyfading

lynzpower wrote: »

Well done on passing your test SF! Thats great! :T :T

If you need any help with your form, holler up, Application forms are my speciality

Ooh that might be handy to know! It looks strange at the moment as well because half of the form is based around your current job and the pass rate of students etc., which doesn't apply to an NQT! It's the bit where I have to say what I'd bring to the role and how I'd comply with the school's ethos and core values where I'm struggling :rolleyes:

knithappens

slowlyfading wrote: »

Ooh that might be handy to know! It looks strange at the moment as well because half of the form is based around your current job and the pass rate of students etc., which doesn't apply to an NQT! It's the bit where I have to say what I'd bring to the role and how I'd comply with the school's ethos and core values where I'm struggling :rolleyes:

in that part state that you have not seen a class through being an NQT but what you have done to support this, and link it to the school ethos, - usually the schools ethos is about inclusion, every child matters etc, send me a PM if you need a hand

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

nykmedia wrote: »

E.On rep - what are the options for folks like us on a prepayment white meter using Scottish Power's 'Comfort Plus' 3 tiered tariff? None of the comparison sites seem to offer this option.

To be honest nykmedia, not sure about Scottish Power's products.

From the description, the meter sounds like one of our specialist meters which have limited availability. Therefore, it's not possible to include on the comparison sites because of the restricted nature of the product.

Indeed, it's possible that not all suppliers will be able to support the meter.

I would suggest calling other suppliers to see if they support the meter. If they do,ask for an individual quote so you can compare with your current deal.

Sorry if this is a bit vague nykmedia but hope it helps point you in the right direction.

Give me a shout if you have any further questions as will always do my best to help.

Malc

Happymrsh

Meant to also say when i was looking round for any good presents to buy up for Christmas I found this pefume set and thought someone may be interested.

My husband bought me the 50ml of this perfume for christmas and it cost £30. This set includes a 75ml perfume, 75ml shower gel and 75ml body lotion and is only £13.95+p&p RRP £35.00+p&p

Again I can't post links as i'm new some change * for dots.

www*fragrancedirect*co*uk/Beckham-Fragrances/Beckham-Signature-Story-For-Her-Gift-Set-75ml/invt/0024828

They also have the mens sets on there for the same price.

Frugaldom

This afternon I have planned out my garden, planted up my bread tray with leek seeds and started off a few aubergine seeds in a pot on the kitchen windowsill. I've never tried growing aubergines nor have I ever bought any for cooking, but the seeds were free, so I'll give them a go.

Dinner tonight is soup and pudding affair, with chunky game broth and leftover finger rolls, followed by pineapple cake & custard. I love 'use it up' meals! DS is at DD's for dinner tonight, so no need to worry about him grumbling at lack of main meat course! Told him last night that if he wants fancy, shmancy meals then his dig money would be £50 a week from the day he turns 21. :rotfl: He's back with the frugal programme now! :rotfl:

Thanks Mr E.ON rep man, I haven't been able to find anyone who can support the system we have, as the storage heaters are based on a remotely controlled monitoring system determined by weather/temperature, SP boost the supply to the storage heaters at whatever time is appropriate day or night, at a special low rate. Maybe I should just keep at the landlord to replace the broken heater, as this seems to be one of the few things we can receive here, what with our dodgy broadband signal, no mobile signal, intermittent digital TV signal depending on weather, no buses, no trains and no shopping deliveries. Anyone want to move to frugaldom? (Anyone ELSE - SM'S already staked her claim! :rotfl:)

lynzpower

DS is at DD's for dinner tonight, so no need to worry about him grumbling at lack of main meat course! Told him last night that if he wants fancy, shmancy meals then his dig money would be £50 a week from the day he turns 21. He's back with the frugal programme now!

:rotfl: :rotfl:

Fishcake_Random

Slowlyfading- congrats on passing.

Well I found a hideous jumper for £2 in my fave charity shop but the wool was gorgous really soft and a lovely pale lilac grey so I'm hoping to dye it once knitted up perhaps. I've just got the back panel to unravel.
OH picked up some baby toys that I applied for on freegle and came back with a massive box of vtech toys which I'm so please with, including some in the night garden toys and a vtech globe. Allthough not really baby toys they will be perfect to put away till shes ready for them, they look barely used. Amazing.
I have also put my £20 stash in my purse ready for the boots sale which is supposed to start tomorrow. I popped in today and they have some lovely sets left on the shelf that I can pick up for birthdays and xmas. Can't wait, I'll be hanging on the door at 10 to 9 lol.
Hope we all had a nice day
x x x x

cw18

Happymrsh wrote: »

Just wondering how close you all live to a Big Supermarket?

5-10 minute walk each way to a (small) Mr M
3.5 mile round trip (which I'll walk in nice weather) to a Mr T (larger, but still not big)
about 8 mile round trip to another Mr T, but I haven't been since they 'shrunk' it while extending the original (already large) store. Not sure if it's open again yet
12 mile round trip to a reasonable Mr S (rarely go as I don't rate them) and a large Mr A
20-ish mile round trip to a retail park with both a large Mr A and a large Mr T

I also have a small branch of each of C00p, A!di and Lid! within easy walking distance, but rarely visit these unless I need milk or vanilla ice-cream (in which case I always use A!di)

pagangirl

Happymrsh hopefully you got your meat bargains for the freezer. I just got to S0mrfields yesterday in time for yellow stickers - extra spend but worth it as managed to get 2 lb beef mince £2.48, Diced beef £1.75, 2 cheese n onion pies 90p, small crusty loaf 38p and some frying steak £1.75, savings £7.86 as all at 1/2 price or less. Thought it was my birthday and christmas come early Will make at least 16 dinners and freezer is now full, so won't need to go buy anytime soon unless for fresh stuff.

Did inventory of toiletries the other day (hangs head in shame), apart from maybe shampoo/toothpast/deodorant - will not need to buy anything else for at least the next 2 years (or more).

My trouble - I am a squirrel, I hoard, then go buy more coz I can't find what I've got.
Long time coming, but now sorted and listed. Time well spent.

Hugs to all