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

Happymrsh

Ok, Well my month officially ends today as we get paid tomorrow (last Friday of every month).

As i didn't start till half wayish through Jan I am now officially starting to count EVERY penny from tomorrow (even though i have been for the last 2 weeks!!!) but as far as spread sheets go I start tomorrow. Am all set up and ready to go

Thanks everyone for the support so far :beer:

candygirl

Just reporting back, laundry powder works fine and is about 3p a go, so very mse, but need some smells in it, so will be getting essential oil tomoz:D:D:D
AEB no wonder you are so thin!!I am exhausted reading about your day!!!
TOPDRAWER if you see any big things of white vinegar in Preston, can you let me know hun xx
SF well done on passing the exam xx

Happymrsh

candygirl wrote: »

Just reporting back, laundry powder works fine and is about 3p a go, so very mse, but need some smells in it, so will be getting essential oil tomoz:D:D:D

I used patchouli in mine, smells lovely. I have some lavender for the next lot i make which i think will be nice. Its fab stuff isn't it, i can't believe how well it works and so cheap to make

chika

top_drawer wrote: »

Hello everyone,

A low (kind of) spend day today .... I was at my sewing class which I paid for in bulk awhile ago ... I am going well on my skirt despite having the most horrid fabric in the world!!

So my purchases today were resticted to SR flour, some diet bars and my lunch - all in all £6.51 spent including bus fares/tea at class etc.

Tonight I have been researching home made beauty products and wondered whether it was possible to buy regularly used products in bulk. I have found a oriental and a chinese supermarket in my area so will have to visit to see if I can get White vinagar in bulk .... but what about baking soda etc? also any ideas on where to get emulisfying wax, shea butter and glycerin other than on the web?

I have come across this website but for white vinagar im looking at max postage ... any other ideas anyone?

Jen you can get big containers of white vinegar cheaply in most Asian supermarkets. In the ones in Rusholme in Manchester its £2.49 for five litres. The also do big tubs of bicarb too but I've never checked the price. You can get shea butter, wax and glycerin from here http://www.mothernaturesgoodies.co.uk/ Their cocoa butter is amazing too. I half want to start creating lotions and potions now too.

candygirl

Happymrsh wrote: »

I used patchouli in mine, smells lovely. I have some lavender for the next lot i make which i think will be nice. Its fab stuff isn't it, i can't believe how well it works and so cheap to make

OOH I used to love patchouli but it's a bit strong for me now, love lavender though, so will get that:D:DIf i'd known about this years ago i'd have saved a mint:eek::eek::eek:

aeb_2

grandma247 wrote: »

Aeb I used to have complan made with milk to get the extra calories and nutrients because I could never face breakfast but my body needed it. I know it has milk in it but the extra helped. If you only have a few weeks to go stick with it if you really want to and encourage the cup drinking too.
An elderly friend also gave me a tip when I had my second and that was to cook pinhead oats and eat them in the early afternoon as I found my milk was weaker then and the baby was fretful. It worked.
You have done so well up to now.

Thank you. Complan in milk sounds a good idea, I don't seem to be short of milk, in fact I've been feeling a bit uncomfortable for the last few days as I think the weaning is taking over and they have a little less. I had some porrige made with milk for supper too. All quiet now so head down till 5.

mooomin

Morning all!

Only £1.27 spent yesterday on milk (£1), bread (reduced to 15p) and HobNob flapjacks (reduced to 12p!) which I couldn't resist. Spreadsheet not updated but I'm looking forward to seeing if I'm under budget!

xnatalie81x

FRUGAL FRIDAY

This week Focus on: Lunches

DS1 and DD: left over pasta, 1x yog 8p, 1 hm cake 10p, cucumber sticks 5p, grapes (1.50 per box split into 10 portions) 30p, squash 5p = 58p (29p each)

me, oh and DS2: noodles and cheese (3 packs noodles 30p and cheese 30p) 60p (20p each)

Aims:
1. get OH accounts done and take to council offices
2. Decide on next weeks focus
3. Source cheap computer ink

Other to do today

get ready and take DS1 to school
Get home and sort out paperwork
GClean out hens and collect eggs
Get moo ready and take to nursery
Make lunch for me, OH and DS2
Spend a couple of hours at allotment (i want to check on veg and do some digging)
Go and collect DS1 and DD from school
After school snacks and homework/colouring/reading
Clean bathroom, landing, kids room, my room and stairs
Clean kitchen, front room, downstairs hall
Make dinner and clean up
Bath time
Catch up on MSE in between jobs
CRAWL INTO BED

FrankieM

Morning All,

aeb I can remember when I fell pregnant with my 4th i was still brestfeeding my 3rd, he was only 4 mths and I was told to stop. I wish I'd kept on and just seen how it went. If there are supplements you can take or extra food you can eat and you want to keep feeding then give it a go. It's such a short amount a time in the scheme of things.

natalie I think you doing a great job! Is your focus on lunches just about the amount you spend?

Today I have 'zone cleaning' and grocery shopping. I haven't got much on my list, thankfully, cause there isn't much in my account DH got paid today so it's looking better than it was.
I was planning on not getting any Student Finance but with text books and extra fuel costs, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet. At the moment the interest rate is 0% but it may change after August. I'm hoping it doesn't change by a huge amount. I've posted a thread on Student Moneysaving asking if anyone has any idea how these things work, but if anyone on here knows I'd really appreciate it.

Other than that..I need to put a chq in the bank (yay!) and buy 3 b'day presents (boo!), go to Tesco and go to the butcher.
I'm doing Veggie Lasagne and chips for tea and I don't have to pick anyone up from anywhere which is a first for this week.

Hope you all have a good day.

cw18

Road Tax panic over....

Called the number in the email (only to be told it's changed, and asked to wait while the call was redirected), but got through to a real person very quickly.

He said it was posted on 18th (good going as I only ordered at 11:50pm on 17th), and they can either post out a replacement or I could pick up a duplicate from our 'local' DVLA office. As it isn't that local, parking in the area is a nightmare, queues are normally horrific, and I'd struggle to fit a visit in around work I opted to have a replacement posted out. Was told it should arrive next Tues/Wed, so I then asked how I'm fixed for using the car in the meantime. As long as I have my reference number with me (or, preferably, a copy of the email confirming my order) I'm fine to use the car as I have paid for it. But having the reference number/proof makes it quicker/easier should I be stopped in the meantime

pink_numbers wrote: »

Thanks cw18 I do have vet category also, and I save up for it each month, I just didn't expect a £500 bill!! Although I had the money in savings, so no skin off my nose, it would really really screw up my total spend

do I bite the bullet and throw it into the total? :eek:

I knew I'd had a massive overspend on my vets category last year, so I've just been back to check my figures.

The spreadsheet extract below shows my 2009 budgets as I originally set them, and what I actually spent for each. As you can see I overspent on the vets category by £579.30 ( :eek: ), but managed to claw it back from other categories. I actually overspent on 4 areas (those in red) and managed to claw something back from 16 categories (some only amounting to pennies, but it all helped ) - thus ending the year with £58.47 left :T