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

Frugaldom

Hi folks, February is upon us already and it feels like there could be more snow on the way, so I'm going to try to get into town soon to stock up on basic essentials.

Sorry I've no time to respond to individuals, but I do read all the posts.

February is weightloss month for me and it's also start of garden work and, hopefully, egg hatching for this year's new chicks. With any luck, I'll have quail eggs this summer! Coalman's due tomorrow, so that'll cost me £57.50 for 5 bags of his cheapest, then I may order in another load of logs so I can stay ahead of the game. I'll also need to order feeding for the feathered critturs this month and top-up my mobile by £5. Could be another expensive month here.

Electricity is our biggest expense. I budgeted an average of £20 per week but after that really cold snap, my overall average has shot up 10%, so that needs to be worked on to get it back down asap. That one week of £50+ into the meter has upset the entire year and needs to be clawed back for the budget to work.

Porridge breakfast, homemade wholemeal toast & spaghetti or beans for lunch and dinner will probably be game pie with potatoes & veg if the cooked pheasant defrosts in time.

Got a 50p refund from Orange mobile after complaining that it cost me 25p to call 450 and talk to customer services, so I'm still in credit from last year and will top up as soon as they manage to update their silly online system. Does anyone else have trouble with online forms that ask for street/door number as compulsory? It's ridiculous how often this happens, it's as if the original programmers had never considered the concept of there being people who didn't live in ordinary streets! Weird!

Lunchtime already! Arg... haven't even been back outside today, but I did get photos of a spectacular dawn for updating website.

ChinaTea

Nothing much happened here over the weekend. 2 more NSD days bringing the total to January to 17. DS brought me a curtain pole for the spare room that wouldn't fit his new windows and he out it up so can now get curtains (from charity shop) up. Will be the 1st time in 10 years there has been curtains at that window, just had a blind previously.

Still have to finalise budget for Jan but know that it is well under my normal spend and hope to do even better in Feb.

Re the laundry gloop. My grandma used to save all the old soap ends then when there was enough she put them in a jar with hot water shook till they disolved then when she did her washing ( in a copper in the outside wash house) she poured some in and added a handful of washing soda. The jar lasted for several weeks being heated slightly each week in front of the range. She didn't measure anything although she didn't have the luxury of a machine, not much to get clogged up in a copper. Things haven't changed that much.

The car needs to go to the garage for a minor repair on Thursday. It's puling to 1 side, not the tyre pressure DS thinks it may be the tracking. Anyways the garage is opposite Aldis so will pay a visit to look at the fruit bushes and seeds and need some cereal for DGS. He stays over on a saturday night and usually has Aldis/lidls chocolate crisp thingys. 59p versus nearly £2 at MrS.

Attempting to make marmalade this afternoon for the 1st time, lunch first and it's really bitterly cold here so some soup made yesterday me thinks.

slowlyfading

Thanks for the hugs everyone.

Well, uni has been so boring this morning! just sat in the library on a computer now, waiting for the afternoon session to start at 2pm. I've got lunch on my uni card so haven't actually spent anything. I am hoping to get my first NSD today but will confirm it later.

The BF is coming across tomorrow the remainder of the week and I can't wait. I have tomorrow off from lectures and am directed task all day, so some of it will be spent relaxing

Have a good afternoon

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j:j
Got all my jobs that I'd set out to do yesterday and now have a nice clear garage having taken all the recycling up to the tip. I've also got a freecycler coming today to collect more bits and another one on Sat.
Have spent some today on loo cleaner and milk as it's cheaper than from the supermarket but did find 5p enroute. I know I'm sad but I'm always chuffed when I find a coin- it feels like someone's giving me a pressie:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Tried my frugal curry recipe yesterday and it was quite nice so thought I'd share with you in case it's of interest to anyone.
I hard boiled 3 eggs and then used the hot water from that to boil the rice and veg [I was using up the lurking cabbage:D]. Meanwhile I fried an onion in another pan and then added the 9p curry sauce to the onion to heat it through [I also added a handful of value sultanas and a small amount of desiccated coconut that needed using]. Once everything was cooked/warmed through I then added the chopped egg to the sauce and poured it over the rice/veg combo
It didn't create too much washing up and even OH who is a confirmed meat eater said he enjoyed it. Phew!!
Tonight it's back to the frugal blind making and a catch up of the Mo Mowlam prog I recorded last night
Have a frugallicious day!
Arilx

Thriftkitten

Hi, I havent had a chance to look over everything on my spreadsheet, but I have just noticed that I made a saving of £78.00 odd on my January groceries, Yay!!! feeling extremely proud and hoping to do the same next month if not better, Hope all frugallers are well and will catch up on some of the posts later x

knithappens

Mooloo, cant wait to see the bibs, they are so cute, i was looking at buying some but they are so expensive, a ittle extra money earner could be making some and selling them on etsy or ebay.

Pippilongstocking

Hello chaps

Done my budget for Jan (Actual/budget) green for OK red for over

Oil 100/100
Elec 85/85
Groceries 128.40/100
Petrol 106.06/50
Travel 107/50
Misc 78.45/35

Jan 707.43/500 -

Budget so far 707.43/6000

Over with groceries, travel, petrol and MISC -

Groceries I tend to go up and down each month depending on where the kids are - so I'll try and pull that budget back a bit in future - I've set 100 a month for everything for a family of 3/4 - dunno if I am being too unrealistic I'm only buyign reduced/bogoff stuff aside fruit and veggies (which I also try and get reduced) - but aiming to try and stick to 1200 for the year.

Petrol - normal car was OK with £50 - campervan petrol (£56.06) - had to fill the petrol tank there as the petrol guage is now broken - so I know its got a full tank but it was a bit of a killer filling it up - dunno if its fixable (?) Which means I will have to use this petrol up in Feb where I can.

Misc - (whoops) - cinema for family £18, a takeaway £34 (insert horrific face - must try harder I know that's a bad area for me as these are expensive here) and otherwise - misc spends were OK aside this - but this year is a real eyeopener so far.

Travel - have a flight booked in Feb - so £50 budget for this is Jan/ another £50 will cover this in Feb and extra from quidco money £49

About to catch up wiht you all - is a snow day here managed less than half a day at work. We're over on our oil use this month - but hoping this also will even out.

Got two free bags wood today - so have one room cosy with the fire on - there's nothing like free wood to keep you cosy.
Started to crochet a blanket - trying to do grannie squares - I'm a work in progress......

PS got a MR T voucher from a chum for helping with her DS after school - no idea how much as not taken it to the store - but will use that for BOGOF's and reduced stuff so it goes so much further

Lily_The_Legend

Hi everyone,

Well I've read today's posts so far. Don't have the time to go back and read the weekend's posts and thank them!

I went food shopping on my lunchbreak, but as that is out of the grocery money does that mean it is a NSD?

Had an unfrugal weekend but didn't spend quite as much as I thought I would. Plus I had a fab time at my cousin's wedding. I felt a little green around the gills yesterday (too much alcohol and rich food) but had recovered by the evening, which was just as well as I'd offered to go and cook my mum a birthday meal! :eek:

Just a few messages to those of you on here. Sorry, can't reply to everyone, but hugs to everyone who needs them.

Candygirl – I get Tesco Clubcard points with Eon and they come in really handy

Jtb2412 – Congratulations on the competition win meal out! Fingers crossed your mum’s op goes well.

xNatalie81x – Focusing on a separate issue each week is a fab idea, and I may copy you

Kiwisaver and Aril – Think I may also follow your lead and start writing down frugal tips

Babyboysmummy – Glad you’re enjoying being a stay at home mum. Maybe I could be a stay at home wife/housewife! (Don’t have children!)

KazLA

jtb2412 wrote: »

I'm also expecting a phonecall at some point today ...... my mum is having her hip replacement operation this afternoon. She's only 56 but has really bad arthiritis in her hip joint so they've decided to operate. She's really worried it won't work and she'll have been through the mill for nothing .

Hope the op went well and does the job...


I have dried my washing outside for the first time this year! I had got totally fed up of making the effort to go and put it out, only to bring it in still wet hours later - but even though it's freezing today, it was quite windy and am looking forward to getting into a lovely fresh smelling bed tonight! It's never the same dried indoors...

I have read through some more bits from page one and ordered my free sample of soap nuts! Sure a couple of days ago someone said about having enough gloop and soapnuts for so long, when would you use the nuts and when the gloop (or std powder)?

Have made a lasagne for tea - want to say for the first time, but sure I've made one before, but not for ages... Happy that I'm sticking to the meal planner for the week (so far!)

Really need to look at the budget, but everytime I think about it, my brain gets tied in knots!

We both pay half for the bills and have our own current accounts, so really want to just include my own things - and half the bills, so feels a bit confusing...

Also how do I account for savings, e.g. putting £24 away for holiday and £8 for Christmas. The £24 is specifically to pay for a holiday that will be due in the Summer, so is kind of already spent, but the £8 for Christmas won't be used until nearer the time, but is not exactly available money..

Hope someone can help untie the knots!

Off to test the lasagne!

Lily_The_Legend

Also meant to say I'm taking some magazines home from work tonight so will chill out and read those. Also picked up the free Asda one, plus I got another free magazine at the hotel on Sunday as we checked out! I've only bought one magazine (and that was a cheapy one) since the start of January, which is good for me, as I used to be addicted to buying them!