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

Twinkles08

Congrats SF-well done!

Rozeepozee,I have previously used a mixture of cardboard which I wrapped rd the buggy,bubblewrap and binbags as the outer layer.My buggy for baby arrived from ebay today and it was wrapped in old foam and bin bags.Not v eco friendly thou I'm afraid.
We're still plodding along nicely and at the mo and are still within budget.
I had some exciting news today.I've been cross stitching for about 8 yrs now and mainly stitch presents and cards for family and friends as I get to enjoy my hobby and knock up a cheap but personal gift for them.I stitched a dove wedding sampler for a v close friend who got married in August (I was bridesmaid n my dd was flowergirl)Anyway a magazine has approached me saying they'd love to do a feature in the mag about it.So thrilled 'cos I didn't submit my work they saw it and approached me!I didn't think my work was good enough but I set v high standards for myself.:p

JayJay14

:jCongratulations SF:j

No spend today except for my lunch - have a chippy lunch in the office every friday, but didn't have my usual fish special, stuck to a cheaper option. Now have moths in my purse:rotfl:
DS has promised to bring me some money he owes me tomorow so I told O to stay away from the bank, I find if I take it out it disapears far to quickly.

OH signed on today and was told he had been declined benefit on the grounds that he hasn't paid contributions:eek: Well he has been in continuous employment for about the last 20 years this came as a bit of a shock. He had to ring national insurance to find out what was going on, and they just said 'oh yes so you have - the computer just does that sometimes' How many people out there are being done out of their rightful benefits in this way? OH thinks it's all sorted now but I've told him I'm not holding breath.

I am going to have a good look at the freezer and do some batch cooking, including sorting out some things for lunches next week - I'm getting tired of sandwiches every day. OH will be doing garden things and I think I will get started on some seed planting.

Puddleglum

:jFantastic news SF, congratulations.:j

Not much news here today. Yesterday, when I went to update my main spreadsheet I discovered that I had forgotten to budget for Scouts and Brownies. Don't know how I managed that but it means that the anything else budget is going to be pretty well empty by the end of the year! We have also invested in a tent for Glastonbury and family holidays. Wonder what else may be missing from the budget sheet?:(

I have invested 82p in very plain washing powder for the dish washer and it seems to be working fine. Washing powder doesn't seem to have the same kind of abrasive power that dish washer powder does but for most things it works. Will let you know if any of the family notice anything strange.:rotfl:

gilligansyle

Evening all

Not been doing anything specifically frugal, have cleared space in the yard ready for this seasons veg etc.

But the biggest thing is I've been looking at my budget for the last few weeks and my wages generally mean that I have around £50 a week for groceries and cleaning stuff etc. Some of this is things for DS which he actually gives me money for, so last week I cut my budget back to £40 and still have some left, which I will use to pay off a debt.

This week therefore I have set myself an imaginary budget of £25. I have gone through my freezer and my cupboard and think its do-able, at least for this week. It means I will be able to get rid of the debt faster and start saving properly.

Keep up the good work all.

lynzpower

FrankieM wrote: »

Congratulations sf

Thanks frugaldom for the chicken info. If holidays are a no-go, then perhaps now isn't the right time for me to get any.

I was in Wickes today and they doing 5 lots of 75L bags of compost for £12, which works out at approx 65p for 20L, so cheaper than Aldi. Does compost last or does it go funny in those plastic bags. DH reminded me about our home made compost but I'm not sure how mulched it will be or how much I made need for my seeds.

i have a copy of gardening which ( this months?) not sure- i can go look if you like.

they compared compost- and I naively thought- composts they are much of a muchness- HM is better, but all bagged is the same. OH NO.

the best was B&Qs - the worst homebase ( I can find what variant) if anyone wants to know. I have toyed with buying cheap compost a few weeks ago ( wilkos, nettos etc) but put it off - glad I did.

The pictures compared the composts- Which grew basil. The B&Q compost had a lovely basil plant- larg leafed- the homebase one barely started, 2 mini leaves wilting.

I found it really staggering! I aim to go for broke this year and try to grow loads of different things, I am definitely getting the B&Q compost as I want the best start, and I dont want to invite failire :rotfl:

lynzpower

We have also invested in a tent for Glastonbury and family holidays. Wonder what else may be missing from the budget sheet?

Another glastonbury goer :wave: a few of us on here :cool:

Which tent did you get im looking for one. Dont know whether to spend a little, or get something thats a "keeper" .

Skint_Lynne

Evening all,

I had an overnight stay last night, I had a busy day, driving for most of it. I added up that I must have been on the road for 7 hours. My boss decided to send me to a meeting which she said was in York, it was 30 miles on the wrong side of there, I almost ended up in Leeds.:eek:

This was after driving from Glasgow to Sunderland, then to the place beyond York, then back to Middlesbrough where I stayed last night, I had an appointment near there today.

I'm glad to be home. DH is back on Tuesday for his time off before he goes away. We'll make the best of it, even might get away for an overnight stay somewhere, I'll not see him for a while after all.:( Even though I complain about him sometimes, I will miss him when he is away, it is a worry, but the best thing to do is switch off and forget about it. As he says, if it is on the news, I have been lucky that day, it's just the poor people that get the knock on the door that have to pick up the pieces.

Now, back to the topic. I am doing well with my budget every week, I always have something left, so I have been putting what I have left into a savings fund. This will let me have money for any bigger purchases I need to make such as road tax, or if I go to Costco. I feel that my system is working for me, you get to a point when you know what is comfortable for you as an individual. Everyone is different, but as long as you are trying to be frugal as a way of life and changing gradually, then you will get there. No point in being good for a while, then blowing your savings on something pointless (which I have done in my younger days:o).

My biggest and most enjoyable change is my cooking skills improving and doing more baking. I am aiming to get some veg growing underway as I missed this last year and getting the knitting needles dusted down. I kept my nana's needles when she died, I bought her knitting bag for christmas when I was only young, so it is another wee reminder of her.

I will never be self sufficent, never own chickens or move out into the sticks. I love the country and visiting it, but it is not for me, I being near the smoke too much.:D

BUT: Every day, I find myself thinking of more frugal ways of working, without it impacting on my quality of life. You can be frugal anywhere you want!

Will check in later guys. xx

Brighton_belle

Skint_Lynne wrote: »

I will never be self sufficent, never own chickens or move out into the sticks. I love the country and visiting it, but it is not for me, I being near the smoke too much.:D

BUT: Every day, I find myself thinking of more frugal ways of working, without it impacting on my quality of life. You can be frugal anywhere you want!

Will check in later guys. xx

That sounds where I am at Lynne. I love living where I do, and am a definite urbanite but am committed to simplifying our life as much as possible and frugalising where I/we can within our health & energy limitations. We already live on a fairly low income and don't aspire to riches, we just want enough to enjoy hobbies and simple treats.

Hope you havea good time with your DH. I am very conscious of our troops overseas and will be thinking of you over the coming months.

candygirl

Optimisticpair wrote: »

Monty eventually sussed she wasn't really into getting stuck in to farming. He suggested she got a farm manager in and just do the alpaca and wool products marketing herself.

I'm glad he isn't advising me. He had her spend 2k she didn't apparently have on 14 ewes and progeny before he discovered she wasn't passionate about grassland management, blackberry jam making and shearing.

She was determined to stay on so good on her. But IMHO she will have to learn to love her new lifestyle and tap the potential and see her 14 acres as more than paddocks if she wants to succeed.

It reminded me to value my knowing what to do with land and livestock. It sent it home to me that you can have a dream of the country life but feel at sixes and sevens from the culture shock and suffer a big dent in confidence from that if you didn't grow up with that background. I hope she succeeds.

I thought she seemed a bit switched off to be honest in the first half;)Did she get planning permission in the end for the log cabin?:D

Well done on getting the job SF:j:j:j

Skint_Lynne

SF, Congratulations:staradmin,

You will need the gold star I have put in, as you have to give these to model pupils.

BB, Thanks for your good wishes re: DH, I know he will turn up like a bad penny, (that is my sense of humour). He thinks it is funny when I say this, however, the MIL, does not. She will be bawling her eyes out for the next 7 months, not the way to live. The sooner he is there, the sooner he is back annoying me, using all my toilet roll and refusing my leftovers and old food. He might even splash out on a kebab. (I know you will get this joke).:rotfl: