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

sophiesmum_2

sft - It is in post 2262

Cheryl ((hugs)) never an easy decision to make, but better than letting your dog suffer longer:(

Erm I appear to have just sent in another £20 order to approved foods but i will be receiving £170 worth of stuff for that and will be sorted for ryvitas, soup and couscous for the year (at least) Nyk make room for some sea salt croutons somewhere, I was 29p short of a nice round number so added 29 cases of croutons for 1p each lol

In other frugal news I helped Nyk declutter her kitchen by rehoming two boxes of recipe cards thanks Nyk!
Hello my name is SM and I have a cook book/recipe addiction lol - smuggled them into cottage so OH wouldn't roll his eyes at me again.

cw18

Thank all for the hugs

Went for a check-up first thing this morning ('cos she's still new to the 3 different meds I've been giving her), and had quite a chat with the vet. The fits appear to have stopped, but the messes have got worse this week (5 or 6 in a day, despite her being in the garden for at least 20 mins 3 times a day plus shorter visits in between) and she's still walking round in circles most of the time. Vet reckons it's not an ear infection causing the latter (would have started to improve by now with the anti-B's she's on), and a brain tumour would explain both problems (plus be a possible trigger for the fits that only started the middle of last year, and explain why her already failing sight went completely with the first fit).

The only way to confirm that diagnosis would be a referral for a very expensive scan, which I'd struggle to find the money for. I then have to take into account that her age (15.5) means there's a high risk she wouldn't come round from the anaesthetic (sp?) needed to do the scan, and there quite possibly wouldn't be anything they could do if it was confirmed

The vet did say there is another medication we could try, but without going into detail about it said it was expensive and she didn't actually hold out much hope of it making a significant difference. She continued to say she thought it was time I seriously considered saying goodbye, and that now (before the dog is in pain) is probably a less painful time for me and the family. (And that time could be getting close, as she was well over 7kg but is now barely more than 5kg despite still appearing to eat pretty well. That in itself suggests another diagnosis could be possible at least to me, though the vet seemed to want to avoid that subject if possible)

I could have left her with them today (which I would probably have done despite the vet encouraging me to have a last couple of days spoiling her), but my GDs are coming to visit on Sunday so I thought I'd give them a chance to say goodbye as well (they know she's ill and that the vet may have to 'give her injection to make her go to sleep forever' some time soon - it's something DD and I have been preparing them for since the first fit)


I just keep telling myself that she's had amost an extra 3 years to what she would have had if I hadn't taken her in...... the lady who was supposed to be giving her a new home pulled out at the last moment, so my friends thought they were going to have to put her to sleep the day before they emigrated. Then (less than a week after she moved in) I rushed her to the vets with what turned out to be a massive internal bleed due to cysts on her ovaries bursting - which resulted in an emergency hysterectomy for her. Had my friends vet signed her fit for travel, she'd either have been in-transit to New Zealand or in quarantine when this happened - so it probably wouldn't have been caught in time. My friends had been devastated when the vet refused to sign the paperwork (said he thought she was showing early signs of Asthma!), but after I let them know about the emergency they were a lot less upset (they'd have felt dreadful had she been found too late).




Allowed myself a small splurge on 'treats' for me this evening....... we found some (non-cream) cakes at work that went out of date yesterday, so my relief spoke to a manager to get permission to reduce them to 9p each which is the lowest reduction we're allowed to do (two should have been £3.49 each, the other 4 should have been £1.19 each), and one of the chaps from groceries took one of each type while I claimed the rest. Total spend of 36p, less 4p staff discount - and total "pig-out" time tonight and tomorrow Apparently we normally have to "waste" these finds in our area, though they allow the sale of pre-packed (factory made) bread that's a day out of date through the staff canteen

Also picked up some milk and pop from A!di on my way home (can't remember when I last had any pop, but really fancied some ?!?!?!? )




Is it just me missing some smileys? Couldn't get the rolleyes one to work yesterday, and have just realised the confused one's gone too.........

Frugaldom

:j I have almost finished the reshuffle of my kitchen and managed to get more space by dragging in a wooden frame & small piece of worktop that we rescued last year. I had completely forgotten about it until I went rummaging in our 'over-stuffed with clutter' garage. The unit is now cleaned up, installed in kitchen and converted into a cookery workstation, complete with hanging hooks and shelf for storing pots & pans. :cool: That. along with a reshuffle of other shelves & units has completely converted my kitchen from clutter-box to spacious catering room complete with dining space and, wait for it.... space for my recently acquired sewing machine! :j Loads more still to do, so this weekend is cupboard declutter & tidying, then it'll be the cosmetics, making it all colour co-ordinate. Total cost to date = NIL! :T

Next piece of good news is that my request for a jelly pan for this year's jam-making has received an offer of one already, from a fellow LETS member in the town. :j

To all those who are feeling under the weather in any way, shape or form, my simplest solution is to keep looking for something positive in your day, no matter how small and insignificant a thing it might seem, and focus on that, even if it's just a case of taking the time to post that you found a penny down the back of the couch or in the street. Life is full of trials, so we need to combine every bit of positive news in our online bubbling cauldron known as the Frugal Living challenge. Throw your penny's worth into the pot and let's hope that our combined strengths can help all to overcome whatever life throws at us.

Today I saw a major breakthrough with HS on the frugal front. He was unpacking orders and was OTT pleased with the amount of FREE bubblewrap in the packaging! He ended up folding that all up and raving about it before even unpacking the boxes! :rotfl: I've frugalised him to the point of no return! Definite OH potential beginning to shine through, methinks! :rotfl:

DS emptied his change pot and I counted out the contents for him (yes, I frugalised him, too). It bagged up into £42 in small change and he's donated the overspill to 'Phil the Pig'. :T (Note to newcomers - Phil is my papier mache piggy bank from when we all made them in 2008 during the challenge.)

Hope everyone finds something positive over the weekend. Frugal deeds here revolve around my kitchen - the hub of frugaldom - as I make up my cider vinegar elixir, empty cupboards, do a severe declutter and then repack ahelves in a frugally user-friendly way.

cw18

Love the sound of your cookery workstation Nyk

And well done on the jam/jelly pan :T


I have bags and boxes of bubblewrap and polystrene chips/popcorn. Can't actually remember the last time I binned any, and it's long been something the rest of the family has moaned about..... until they need some packaging material :rotfl:

Frugaldom

SM - ANOTHER App F00d order? :eek::rotfl: Hoping we all like sea salt croutons.

CW - We save all packaging for reusing, but HS doesn't usually get quite as enthusiatic about it as me... until today! :rotfl: PROGRESS!

sophiesmum_2

Nyk - I think the front bedroom may just evolve into a walk in storecupboard.The croutons are nice we had some in last order but were 49p then
Just unpacked my other AF order and have earmarked the bubblewrap (lots) for insulating my seeds when I get around to planting them.

rozeepozee

Brighton_belle wrote: »

rozee - the first year you do this challenge you are bound to underestimate stuff. By keeping good records, it means you gradually get to truely understand your costs. Year two you go up a step becasue you start off with more accurate figures.

I'm actually quite surprised at how conscientiusly I'm keeping account of every penny. DP thinks it's cos of my OCD but I'd normally have got bored by now. Having the support of online friends and mentors really makes a difference.

Thanks guys!

babyboysmommy

CW18 will be thinking of you over the coming days ((((hugs))))

Happymrsh

rozeepozee wrote: »

I'm actually quite surprised at how conscientiusly I'm keeping account of every penny. DP thinks it's cos of my OCD but I'd normally have got bored by now. Having the support of online friends and mentors really makes a difference.

Thanks guys!

I totally agree with you, i'm like that too, i get bored really easy and don't tend to stick on one task for long. I have great plans of what i'm going to do but it never lasts long.

But your right the support of people online really makes a differece. It feels good to read how well everone else is doing and i get a real sense of achievement writing down what i've done and if i'm doing well.

Thanks to you all for helping me keep on track :beer:

ceridwen

cw18 wrote: »

Is it just me missing some smileys? Couldn't get the rolleyes one to work yesterday, and have just realised the confused one's gone too.........

Nope....I keep trying to use some smileys..only to realize that the one I am about to use has gone walkabout - so have done some resorting to:

<insert confused smilie>

instead of the missing smilie until they "come back home" again:)

*************************************

Sorry to hear about your dogs illness. You've done what you can for your pet - that is all anyone can do. At least she's had love/care and attention from you whilst with you. At least also - you have a vet (by the sound of it) who tries to do their best for the welfare of animals "in their charge" - rather than doing allsorts of unnecessary/downright unhelpful treatment just in order to "line their own pockets" at the poor animals expense. That is one good thought anyway IYSWIM.