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

Kerry_Woman

Congratulations Fishcake. Hope all goes well in the move and that you enjoy your new home.

Sold my first book on Green Metropolis. Have to post it off by Saturday.

JayJay14

Congrats fishcake - that will set your mind more at rest in the run up to b-day.

OH did the run to Aldi and came home with a desert cherry and a plum, now we have to work out where to put them:D

Have finished in the office until 1st march, just have an all day training course tomorrow then on hols for a week. Off to a wedding fare on Sunday, though DD1 is the frugal sort but it will be nice to have a look at all the stuff.

The garden expenditure has rocketed with compost, manure and fruit trees, but I should get £30 through in about a week from envirophone for OH's old pda, also have £4.50 due from quidco and £9.99 tracking on topcashback. When these pay out we'll b ahead (until we spend more that is - though I don't think we have much elso to get. May need some stakes later in the year but not much else. (actually, need a couple of stakes for the fruit trees so will need to organise that this weekend)

Will be going to Asda soon to take DD1 home from work so will see if there is anything worth getting.

candygirl

Woooo FISHCAKE that's fan news hun:j:jNowt frugal to report today, so nite nite x:A;)

ifonlyitwaseasier

Pagan - it's june 20th i hopefully have enough time to gee myself up and get trained!!

LilacPixie

Sorry I only seem to come here to moan. OH car insurance renewal is in. £590 a year that is an increase of £160 from last year with no claims!! The only difference is he is a year older, has a years more driving experience and a year more no claims bonus. GRRRR

cw18

Mine goes up every year, despite the same differences (though I've been on max NCD for years)

I always run comparisons looking for a better deal, and both the last 2 have meant me calling my firm to tell them I don't want to renew - and then taking out a new policy with them via Quidc0. This made my 2009 renewal cheaper even though I doubled the "allowed" mileage on the policy......

grandma247

I hope your move goes well fishcake. Busy still and got the second batch of gds here till saturday. Just waiting for them to settle down. It seems to take an age as they all mess about.
Done the other versions of the rolls. Nearly had a disaster with the plain ones because the oven went out. Trouble is it might have been one of the other set of gds that turned it off. I managed to see it in time so they are ok.
Will post the recipes and my notes in a day or so depending on how much time I have.

Blairweech

Fishcake - Congrats on the flat and I hope the move is minium stress!

I am packing my stuff but keep on running out of boxes Have cancelled the phone/internet (£27.50 cessation charge :mad:). Handing in my notice at work today...

cw18

Been out this morning and ordered the wood for my raised beds. Went to a 'local-ish' timber merchant, and found them incredibly helpful They said they assumed I'd want it treating, to which I said I wasn't sure as needed to be careful due to growing food in the boxes - so the guy went and double checked (though he was sure he was right), and apparently the stuff they use is perfectly safe......

It's being delivered (all cut to size) next Friday - just in time for me having a week off work :T

Some of that week is going to have to be spent clearing up/dejunking/deep cleaning inside the house, but I should be able to spend some time outside getting the garden started too --- and I then have another week off 2 weeks later, so should be 'all systems go' by the time I go back to work after that

NualaBuala

Hi frugal friends :wave:

I'm been doing a big catch-up here today. Being back at college, exhaustion and computer problems have kept me away for a while. Hope this finds you all frugal and fab.

SlowlyFading – congratulations on getting the job! I’m thrilled for you! They obviously knew a good thing when they saw you and snapped you up.

Budgeteer, - I’ve had Aha moments too. I’ve switched to using cloths instead of kitchen roll. I have lots of clean tea towels and cloths to hand so I can just grab as needed. I love your idea of using a towel in the veg drawer and will be trying your hot choc!

LilacPixie, sounds like a hard situation and hope you’re ok – hugs. Lets hope your OH has a lightbulb moment and joins you in the frugal life.

Erme, I’m not a Christian but I believe in kindness and compassion so I think you are doing something wonderful – so long as it’s not harmful to you. I’m sending all my good thoughts and wishes your way that your lodger gets a job and finds a home of his own. Hope you got on ok at the Dr.


Fishcake, Hooray! So happy you have a new home. And great to have a little patch of garden!

Cheryl, good luck on your date and keep us posted! I’m deeply committed to staying single so my romantic side lives vicariously through other people’s love lives!

Thriftkitten – grrr! Hope the car is sorted and you recover from the hit to your budget. Great idea organising the pancake race, sounds like thrifty fun!

ChinaTea – hope you’re doing ok. I would never have thought of the flour for the oil, what a great idea.

Top_Drawer – so sorry to hear about your Grandad, big hugs.

Homegrown_life, I can identify with not feeling up to cooking when you’re low, hope you’ll feel better soon. The broccoli soup sounds yum – well done! Sounds like you’re in superwoman mode now!

Xspender – great that the iron is kicking in. Worth every penny!

Lynz, I wish I’d read your post with compost info before I bought a bag of peat-free compost from Homebase. B&Q is further away from me and I depend on others for lifts so can’t be too fussy. I wonder can I add a feed to it to make it more nutritious. I’m planning to use it in containers to grow herbs and a few veggies.


I've been good taking my lunches and snacks to college. But have been bad by spending a ridiculous amount on takeaways this week because I’m so exhausted. I am still within budget as I've saved in other areas but it is still a waste and I need to do better. I am hoping to do a big batch cooking session when my energy levels improve.


My knitted poncho is just about finished - just have to sew up one seam tonight in front of TV. It will be so cosy and will save having heat on when I'm working at my desk.


I think I mentioned I got a bird feeder from Ald1 a while ago. Well the birds just LOVE it - a bit too much! I'm using a 2.5kg bag of mixed seeds I got on offer in Homeba$e. Well the birds are addicted - I filled the feeder about half way and it was empty within a day or two! I love watching them feed though - it's better than telly. I used to sprinkle the seed on the ground, or on the coal bunker and it lasted much longer.



Any ideas for a frugal pressie for my friend who has moved out of home for the first time? She and her bf have got their first apartment together and I’d love to get something that they’ll both enjoy. Something housey maybe. I don’t think my baking is good enough to inflict on them and ideally it would be something non-perishable as I’m not sure when I’ll get to see them. Not booze as they’re not much into drinking.


Have a fun and frugal Friday folks!