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

grandma247

loobyloo yes I have noticed the price rises and I have also watched as things did not sell and they had to put the price back to normal levels on some things. They don't seem to get it that if you haven't got the money you leave it on the shelf.
I have tried cheaper syrup but nothing else is even close to t&l so I buy it cheap whenever I see it. It keeps for ages,a lot longer than the date on the tin and if you ever see black on the inside of the lid it is not off, the black is a natural thing that happens and does no harm.

Paulgonnabedebtfree

annie123 wrote: »

Is it ink jet or laser?

I refil my samsung izzi plus laser for £7-£10 ish plus p&p so I try to find free postage codes etc,

From a random google search this one came in at £15 for mine all in http://www.tonertopup.co.uk/shoppingcart.asp

still much cheaper than buying a new cartridge and very easy to do and never had any problems with doing it.
hth

Thanks for that one Annie.
I believe that both printers are laser. A Samsung ML-4500 and a Brother HL5150D. I know it might sound extravagant having two but there are good reasons for it. I already had the Samsung but started doing stuff that was a heck of a lot easier with a built in duplex facility - hence the Brother. So these days, I use the Brother for duplex work and the Samsung for stuff that is single sided - and for any rougher work. It was the Samsung toner cartridge that had the problems. Obviously I will have to pay full whack for the first Samsung replacement but lesson learned now and will try to do toner replacement only in future.

lynzpower

grandma247 wrote: »

loobyloo yes I have noticed the price rises and I have also watched as things did not sell and they had to put the price back to normal levels on some things. They don't seem to get it that if you haven't got the money you leave it on the shelf.
I have tried cheaper syrup but nothing else is even close to t&l so I buy it cheap whenever I see it. It keeps for ages,a lot longer than the date on the tin and if you ever see black on the inside of the lid it is not off, the black is a natural thing that happens and does no harm.

I actually didnt realise anyone else made G syrup till I bought a morrissons jar one - IIRC it was about 90p and a lot bigger packet- comes in a glass jar from MR M. I didnt think there was any discernible difference (and I decided not to go back to T&L again) , Ive been using it mainly for making cookies :drool:

[Deleted User]

morning all........

hope everyones ok. things have been hectic here, I just havent got time to read this thread:o it still moves too quick for me.

Still frugalling away nicely and aiming to pay chunks of the mortgage quicker. But probs wont post anymore.

xx

Frugaldom

Good morning, It's day 53 of the challenge, another new week is upon us and that's us into week 8 of the current challenge. The law of averages says I should have spent (4000 / 365 days) x 53 = £580.82 of my annual budget, so I checked my figures to see that the actual spend has been £580.66 :j I'm practically bang on target. :j

Paul, the toner cartridges have a set life term, so they can't be refilled indefinitely. If I remember correctly, I was able to refill my Samsung about 6 times before whatever mechanism failed. But toner has become astronomical in cost! Mine has almost doubled recently. Even using the link provided by Annie, toner for my Lexmark costs same for the refill as I was paying last year for an actual branded cartridge. I can't believe they have increased by so much. I'd to contact customers explaining an increase in overall costs and increased my own pricing by 10% - the first increase I've made in 3 years - one customer in particular didn't sound too pleased but there's nothing I can do about it.

Looby-Loo, we've had the discussion several times about the price increases following special offers. A perfect example is something that did cost £2.99 but went on special offer of 'Buy 2 for £5.00', followed by 'Buy 2 for £6'. The next offer was 'HALF PRICE OFFER! Buy 2 for £7' :eek: This particular example was for chicken breast fillets. When the offer ended, the individual packs were £7 - more than double what we had been paying previously. :mad: We really do seem to get treated as thought we are mentally incapable of simple arithmetic or checking prices weight for weight.

Golden syrup - I can't tell the difference and now make the most of the supermarket saver brands in glass jars unless the T&L tins go on special offer and work out cheaper per 100g.

gilligansyle

Morning all,

I've been lurking and reading the daily update as nothing new to add. This week my wages, which I use for day to day spending, were rubbish so had an enforced frugal week. Budget was £30 -£35 - spent so far £20 so quite please with that. I have found that the biggest saving I have made is cleaning stuff.
Am now happily using laundry gloop for just about everything, and have had stuff ordered from local chemist so I can start using more natural oils etc. So I have coconut oil, lavender and teatree essential oil and some basics all for £12, and this should keep me in cleaning stuff for the rest of the year. The most expensive part was the essential oils, everything else only cost around £1 each.

frugaldom you mentioned turning the power off to see how you manage, we would probably starve - once the bread ran out, as we have no way of heating anything without electricity, as we have no gas supply in the kitchen. Although technically we could use the barbecue I suppose. Made me think a bit though. Freezer would be a bit of a problem, but ok for a while. So what would others do?

edaniels1983

danielley wrote: »

Hello All

Frugalling is going well; not bought any clothes or beauty products yet this year. It’s been a fun challenge to see how much I can rotate clothes and eek out make up... I will have to buy some foundation this week I wouldn't be able to go to work unmade up, I look terrible, just will try a budget brand instead of my usual 'premium' products.

Work has been really trying the past few weeks, I have been there 10 years now and It really is time for a change, but when I look around, I can’t get anywhere near my current salary if I move... I suppose it’s a good thing I am learning to live on a more modest budget.

Planted some onions and herb seeds today plus the strawberry hanging basket that I got from Ald1, going to get one of the mini 4 tier greenhouses tomorrow, to ensure that the cats don’t attack the plants whilst they are in the house. Have priced up the greenhouse thing and the cheapest is Ald1 as it is £14.99 and includes a cover, whereas the W1lko's one is £12 but the cover is £3 odd. Also you have to pay to park at W1lkos got to factor that in!

Had a bit of a disappointment, the strawberry hanging basket was supposed to have 3 plants in it and it only had 2; does anyone think it’s worth speaking to Ald1 about it, I’ve planted it up now, but I wouldn't mind a partial refund..... Also I bought a mini tomato propagator set from H0mebase in the sales after Xmas and the tomato seeds are missing! It was only £1.99 and I have been able to use the tray, propagator lid and compost for some onion seeds so it’s not a total disaster.

What are your thoughts on freezing packet ham (sliced watery stuff) I got some for Mr Danielley's sandwiches and it was BOGOF but I’ve just realised the date was short.... I’m going to risk it, as I can’t really think of any uses for packet ham other than in sandwiches! And it would only get chucked otherwise! I will learn from this and next time I get a BOGOF I will check the date and if it is short and something that can’t really be frozen I will offer it to Mum or sister and pass on the saving...

Hope you are all doing well and not too many plants will have been affected by this snow.

x

the plastic greenhouses are 7.99 at B&M (bargain madness)

Frugaldom

Gilligansyle - the only reason I asked about the power being cut was as a result of this having happened to us on several occasions. As long as there's no power, the freezer can't really be opened but it does stay frozen overnight if needs must. We've no gas here and in last house there was no open fire, either, so we did resort to the BBQ and it worked great! Of course, it was helpful that it wasn't raining that day but, having learned that lesson, I now have large tarpaulins that could, if necessary, be made into a mock tent for sheltering said BBQ. I had also invested in a camping set of pans & kettle, so we're able to boil water and warm things up. (I bought these 3 houses ago, where we used them on the open fire.) I always have dried pot noodle type stuff in stock, so boiled water is enough to do a makeshift meal, but potatoes double wrapped in tinfoil on a tinfoil tray bake really quickly over a fire and taste lovely. I'm hoping to invest in a small woodburning stove this year for the kitchen - heating and cooking - and am just (still) waiting for landlord to arrange for electrician to remove the broken storage heater.

I think it's fun trying to devise ways of cooking stuff without power. I have instructions for making a hay box oven and another friend is in the process of making a 'cooker' and smoker from an old metal bread bin. I reckon a metal chocolates tin could be used to roast meat over a fire as long as it wasn't sat straight onto the bottom of it, but tin cans are just as handy, billy can style with a handle, for heating small quantities of stuff. Necessity really is the mother of invention, but we haven't really needed to devise anything yet, as the power has always come back on within the day. The longest we have gone this year has been 8 hours.

Kiwisaver_2

cha97michelle wrote: »

[*]I made a big batch of leek and potato soup in the SC this morning. It was a lovely texture since i used my new hand held blender, but unfortunately the taste was too bland and the kids weren't overly keen.

Sounds to me like you could add some salt and pepper to lift the flavour, I know everyone these days is on the lo-salt / no-salt bandwagon but there are just some things that can take a good dose and potatoes are one thing that need a decent shake of salt. I am a pepper freak anyway, the more the better. Also a knob of butter in a potato based soup can work wonders.

As for golden syrup, nobody makes it like T&L and I would walk miles and pay through the nose (and do) to get the proper stuff. Our local sugar manufacturer make the most pants golden syrup I have ever had the misfortune to taste, so I have to pay mega inflated price for the imported real deal. A while back one of my local supermarkets had T&L at a ridiculously reduced price, I guess being a foreign product it wasn't selling well, so I bought three tins. Yum!!

I've been reaping the benefits of the freebies I signed up for last week (mostly tampons and panty liners) and had four separate envelopes arrived over the oast few days and one was actually a whole packet of eight rather than the sample pack of three. Anyway, they were worth getting as they also sent vouchers for $1 off each purchase. So that was me today, spending far too long in the supermarket staring at the sanitary products Nice!!

Also tried a new trick (for me anyway) today and froze the chicken carcass and jelly for making soup at a later date. I realised that normally in cooler months I would make a soup or stewy type thing out of the carcass as a matter of course, since it's been hot here I've not bothered and been chucking it out. I don't usually have room in the freezer to do such things anyway, so it was an opportune moment of thriftiness.

I have a bit of a dilemma in having been invited to a baby shower at the weekend (someone I don't actually know and have never met). A friend invited me and I think I was just asked to make up the numbers as it was very short notice. Rather cheekily (I feel) on the invitation it has suggested gift items that should be brought. Toys, nappies, clothes etc Hmm! I think even a pack of nappies is too much to spend on someone who I don't know from Adam. I've been to one before and they opened the presents and cards in front of everyone, so there's no pressure. :eek: I looked tonight in the supermarket to see if they had any offers on bits like baby powder / lotion / shampoo and soap. I was thinking of putting a few item in a pretty bag or something, but that soon adds up doesn't it?

I can get a pack of 36 nappies for $20 on special - so if you were the mother to be would you be pleased or disappointed to receive 'just' a pack of nappies from a stranger?

rozeepozee

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

chopped up finely and made into sheperds pie, sandwichs, curry, lamb hash (like corned beef hash but with lamb ) ummm can't think of anything else but i tend to pick at lamb if it's in the fridge so never have much left over

ioiwe

Hmmm, thanks for the suggestions ioiwe but I think I needed to lock the fridge... not sure there's enough for left over anything now... Well, I am eating for three