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

pencekeeper

Hi

I don’t know if it’s too late to join, but I’ve only just become aware of this thread and I think it’s a fantastic idea.

Budget 2010:

Council Tax £1000
Home/contents insurance £300
Car Fuel £1000
Electricity/Gas £550
Water £110
TV License £0
Internet £204
Food £2500
Household/Other £500

Total: £6664
Amount I can really affect: £5160

I am also currently overpaying mortgage by £1200 a month, whilst I am still in employment (which is far from guaranteed).

Anyway, so I’m setting the budget for this year (excluding Council Tax, insurance, Internet and Mortgage) as £5000, half of which is food.

grandma247

Lilo I am so sorry to hear about your stepbrother.

Lynz I hope your recovery is swift.

Meat trays and those trays that hold party food with the three compartments make good seed trays. I got one of the party trays before the holidays for £1.25 instead of £5 and just as I was throwing it away I realised what a good spacesaver it would be for seeds that I don't sow lots of. I will be looking out for more of those. They are very sturdy too.

Not had much time for the last week as have been de cluttering in the loft and so far have 6 carrier bags of paperwork that either needs to be burned or put at the bottom of the empty compost bin to rot down.
Doing well on the frugal front ,nothing much to report yet. The car only cost us £30 to repair and the man who sold us the part told dh what to buy to seal the fuel leak so have to find out if we can get it locally as sil found it online for £6 but postage would be added to that.

pencekeeper

Should also quickly explain TV License being £0 is that it's just expired and I don't intend to renew it. You don't need a license to own a TV - just to watch or record TV broadcasts as they are being shown. I don't (TV untuned, no freeview/cable etc) so no license needed.

SuzyWuzy_2

For anyone near a Netto supermarket and wanting seeds...

I bought some seeds yesterday from there for 19p , I got some carrot and little gem lettuce and the offer of 24 pack of Charming toilet rolls for 5.99

Not a supermarket I'd normally go to but I stocked up and bought 48 toilet rolls!

Hope that helps someone

Suzanne

x


Edit - Sorry but I posted before I caught up. I do read the thread daily but I don't post BUT your all an inspriation!

Natalie - Hope you get sorted out with the Housing problem
Lilo - Sorry about your stepbrother
x

xnatalie81x

THANKS GUYS

Woke up with migraine this morning and i know it is the stress - only 3mths of this to go! Hoping the recorded delivery letter comes this morning and i will go to the council offices. I have some points on the list already so am hoping they will give me some more and then i get 10% at end of March (anniversary of being on register) which should take me to the lower limit of what properties around here are going for. My LL has said i can leave whenever and she will work out the rent - she is really lovely! SOooooooooo i hope things go how i want them to.

shaz_mum_of__2

Homegrown life- kitchen mess

the key is a place for everything and everything in its place here anyway

i have systems for everything that comes in

mail goes into an in tray(garden seed tray)
mobiles wallets keys etc i have a cheap plastic basket fro near the door where we come in
anything not put away or left out by kids etc goes i here too at the end of the day

i have a box for shoes next to the door and coats are put away in the cupbaord immeadiately
i have a magnetc shopping list thing on fridge door and all washing up is in the bowl until washed and then put staight away!!!

i also have 3 recycling boxes on the top of my upright fridge and freezer for paper plastic and cardboard the jars i mainly reuse but tins etc go in the recycling bin kept outside the door

not sure if that s what you meant but hope it helps kids are usually better at complying with these rules than men in my experience though..lol

Shaz

gilligansyle

xnatalie81x wrote: »

THANKS GUYS

Woke up with migraine this morning and i know it is the stress - only 3mths of this to go! Hoping the recorded delivery letter comes this morning and i will go to the council offices. I have some points on the list already so am hoping they will give me some more and then i get 10% at end of March (anniversary of being on register) which should take me to the lower limit of what properties around here are going for. My LL has said i can leave whenever and she will work out the rent - she is really lovely! SOooooooooo i hope things go how i want them to.

They should give you more as your circumstances have changed. They will usually refer you first to their homelessness service to see if it can be prevented/you're not lying, but is not normally a problem. General rule is that you can't refuse an offer if you're homeless. Definitely get local councillor on your case if nothing happens.

On the frugal front,friend came for tea and I resisted temptation to go out an buy food. Normally would have made a lasagna or somethng and then bought a cake. Instead defrosted some chicken pieces bought on offere, and threw stuff in to make a sort of chasseur thingy and then used up some apples and made a tart tatin. So another NSD.
Just reading some posts and its funny how your perception of things changes. I have all the major supermarkets within 2 to 3 miles, and a Somerfield, Spar, Tesco Metro within walking distance, but considered the Aldi at 5 miles away, too far to go, however, I still won't buy veg in supermarkets, no matter how cheap because I don't find it fresh enough. Its cheaper for me to go to greengrocers as I can just buy what I need, and it keeps for longer. Same for butchers really.
nyk your story about distance from the road reminded me why I can't live the dream. Love my city comforts too much!

Frugaldom

Good morning frugalite fans

Best wishes to all of you who have been less than 100% healthwise and to those with poorly friends and relatives, I know there are now several and hope that by being a part of our frugal community, it helps you through life's trials.

Welcome Pencekeeper, hope you enjoy being part of the challenge, I've now added your name to the challenger list.

Natalie, could you find another private rental, even if it means moving a few miles from where you currently are just to get one within your price range?

My topic of the day is 'NEEDS OR WANTS' and, as it's the start of the 'let's grow our own' season then I decided to divide my list into needs and wants. I need somewhere to start off the seeds, but a propogator would be a mere want. I use the plastic trays from fruit or meat as they are so readily available and so easy to make lids for by pairing them up. I save the plastic drinks bottles and use them inside (tops) and outside (bulk of bottle) as mini-cloches, like this:


This is a lettuce seedling under the top off a 2 litre drinks bottle, screwcap removed. Seed buying will be kept to a minimum this year and I'm hoping the Beeb will have their free offer. Fortunately, being part of a LETS group, there's always someone offering seedlings or plug plants, so my free range eggs, will be traded for them.

Postman just delivered our free pack of Clipper Green Tea plus 30p off voucher. DS was nominated for this freebie, as he's the tea drinker in this house. He'll be really pleased, as he's on yet another health & fitness programme, but this one recommends drinking green tea! :rolleyes: Hmph! Postie also brought National Insurance bill from HMRC, but I count that as deducted at source, so no impact on my actual challenge budget.

Time for elevenses now, catch up again soon.

Edited in - just read my 'junk' mail and it's the Scottish Power intro to the computer 'pod' that allows you to top up your prepayment meter from home! This sounds great, it would save having to remember to top up, but SP want £13.99 (special offer, 30% off, I might add) for the USB device! Is this a genuine 'need' or just a fleeting 'want'? Hmm... I'm sensing that unless the thing is free, it's not for me! :rotfl:

Just spotted this - "Asda is running one of it's famous Baby and Toddler events from Tuesday 19th Jan to Saturday 6th of Feb..." for all you current and impending 'baby owners'

babyboysmommy

Natalie - I hope you get some answers about your housing soon, being in limbo is horrid.
Lilo - very sorry to hear about your step-brother

Had to go shopping today but only bought a few essentials so really pleased that I avoided all the temptations Also posted 2 books I've sold on eBay, I've made £15 profit so pleased with that as they had been gathering dust for a while. I hope to get more things together for eBay before the weekend.

homegrown_life

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Homegrown life- kitchen mess

the key is a place for everything and everything in its place here anyway

i have systems for everything that comes in

mail goes into an in tray(garden seed tray)
mobiles wallets keys etc i have a cheap plastic basket fro near the door where we come in
anything not put away or left out by kids etc goes i here too at the end of the day

i have a box for shoes next to the door and coats are put away in the cupbaord immeadiately
i have a magnetc shopping list thing on fridge door and all washing up is in the bowl until washed and then put staight away!!!

i also have 3 recycling boxes on the top of my upright fridge and freezer for paper plastic and cardboard the jars i mainly reuse but tins etc go in the recycling bin kept outside the door

not sure if that s what you meant but hope it helps kids are usually better at complying with these rules than men in my experience though..lol

Shaz

Thanks Shaz, that's really helpful. Generally we're not the tidiest family anyway, so some good ideas there. I might try relocating our recycling to the top of our fridge as it's so small in our kitchen anyway. Worth a try maybe.

What I meant though was that it doesn't matter how simple a recipe is I just seem to make such a mess and as my kitchen is so small and rubbishly designed that it just then looks awful straight away, and then I don't have enough room for pots and to do things and I end up knocking stuff over and get really stressed . I suppose I just need to get better at washing up more as it's made, but sometimes I feel chained to the sink! After tea is ok as that's when the kids help though Would help if I could work out a better storage system for all our stuff too. Argh, I just need a new kitchen. Doubt the landlords will oblige though

Thanks anyway, I'm going to work on it . I like cooking, I don't want to be stressed about it