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

pagangirl

:j:j:j Yaaaaaaaay - just noticed I got 2 stars :j:j:j

rictus123

Hey everyone :wave: How are we all tonight? Broke something at work today which will cost a few hundred to sort Lucky i dont have to pay for it though Back numberplate fell off today so when its warmer il have to glue it again. Payday in just 9 days Will have an extra £70 in it hopefully after i work this Saturday! Mot is due in less than 30 days from now...phoning up tomorrow and putting it in on Thursday for a pre mot...seem if its worth sorting.

xnatalie81x

BABY SHOWER: Is an opportunity for MUM to meet up with all her friends and get pampered and play games before arrival of flump. I went to a brill one. I bought some pampering stuff for the mum and we played games that were kind of baby oriented and it was really good fun and a great chance to meet new friends and have fun with old ones.

It is defo not about collecting gifts! It is about enjoying your last few weeks of baby free-ness.

Erme

Hi all...Have been fixated (again ) so not been online for a few days...The fixations cost ALL my savings for this month and I'm back on the cigs after blowing £50 on the elec one last week .

Anyhow...in terms of BB I got a pair of Birkenstocks for £4 ala charity shop on Monday (when fixated) and they're nearly new. So chuffed . I don't care they're white. I will paint them. They're toe bar and I wanted a pair of those last year but 0 justify it.

Also a month in on FL and it's having an effect. I spend so much less on ebay now even when fixated . Tx guys (hugs)...

So today is menu plan and food shop. Cos I have practically nothing in for lunch will have to eat out (again but at least I'm eating ) so will go to Fair Trade cafe and get lunch for £1.50 and maybe a coffee (and try and blag that) and then Mr. T cos of the ice I can't bike to Mr A.

Also have paid (I'm so in the habit of this now...as soon as big giro comes in I transfer the £) OD & Loan this 4 weeks so just have tithe to sort out for this week. DV OD should be clear by around June time (including savings and holiday spend) so then the £ will go on loan. I'm aiming to get the loan cleared by end of 1st quarter 2011 but we'll see. The long term aim is to practice my FL so that when I do get a job I won't need so much to live on and be happy and that'll open up more jobs. Also if ever my benefits do drop drastically in the next few years whilst I'm in training/looking for a job it won't be so stressful . It's as good as reason as any to do FL.

Nothing for me is selling on ebay so am green for ?candy? who's stuff is selling. Seriously thinking of putting half bust blackberry on ebid and like the housefull of broken sewing machines on Scot Ads? or Gumtree and ebid if they don't sell. Some I'll only get £5 for but then every little helps (and I have about 4 or 5 to sell I think) and it's not like I don't know what's wrong with ALL of them so can advise.

Whilst it's cost just as much for all these machines as buying a cable for the janome I've had good fun learning and playing and my confidence sewing has really improved. I dare so so much more now with a sewing machine . Also I picked up the RD book of Sewing (1978 copy) ala charity shop for 1.50 so I have enough patterns etc now and a lot can be downloaded from machine sites (like Brother, Husqvarna etc).

I've been researching grow bags for my GYO ala windowsill. Mr PL will have then in in 4-6 weeks so am just going to phone/pop in every few weeks till they have them. Think they're my best bet. Has anyone else ordered the GW £2.49 seeds btw?

And my final bargain was ribbon reduced in HC from 99p to 29p which is handy as have two birthdays this week so can use ribbon and brown paper for wrapping frugal pressies (thinking hair barrette for one home made and coasters or something for the chap made from my Paperfx kit I got from the charity shop. Paperfx was all the rage for wee ones a few years ago but it's quite good for frugal pressies and I can pick them up now for £5 - they were about £20).

Anyhow tis all my news. Wish I could get rid of the elec but I'm in a high rise so think the council would object if I started buidling fires in the kitchen LOL (never mind the communal smoke alarm going off every 2 secs. Could be a rather nasty bill from the fire brigade tee hee)...

Am hormonal and can't wait for cycle to start now I have the frugal MYO sanitary wear. They are just sooo comfortable. Better than shop bought .

Offkskie now....blessings.....Rictus don't worry about a wee blip. You are doing so well man you have nothing to worry about....blips are part of life...pray you not get too cold today though...

E

lynzpower

Hiya all

just thought id briefly check in. Its the last week of my working month, so i have deadlines. Doing well with not spending money when out for lunch. I had one lunch last week ( £4 no drink). No lunches bought this week,although I know I will be in the area of a superb "proper" chippy and as the weather looks bad I'll treat myself I think. Need something hot in the daytime!

Nothing much doing yet in the propagator. I am very impatient.

I am now 100% convinced about buying the dehydrator from Westfalia ( ive been ogling this for weeks struggling to justify it)

I went to check my account this morning and was paid my bonus :j so I think I can spare 30.00 from it the rest will be saved. I am adjusting my figures going forward I think I will save 700.00 directly at the start of the month +any bonus. I will do the figure shuffling and purchasing tonight I wasn't expecting to get paid yet ( even though I know I should know IYSWIM )

I know this is not the actual end of the month, but almost at the end of the month and have only spent 43.09 on FOOD AND GROCERIES can you believe that - unreal, iM so impressed. We have eaten really well (albeit from stores )

We are skirting towards really needing to go and do a "big shop" something I've been resisting as no one place has the right prices. I don't want to do a tour of every supermarket going to compare the prices, I just don't really have time this week.Although we are served to the hilt here in inner London - a few places are really expensive ( mr S & Mr T im talking to you ) and really want to "grab bargains". I want to buy meat but I just don't trust many of the butchers around here. The hygiene leaves a lot to be desired in many of them. ( wiping noses on sleeves, cutting a ham on a red board etc) However, I'm on the hunt for oxtail and short beef ribs for some recipes I've seen and I cant get these in a supermarket.

Looking forward to the weekend as Im meeting a friend I haven't seen in ages, and also I'm going to the Museum of Garden History as they have a Seed Fair on.

http://www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/visitingthemuseum/ really excited about going here as its only down the road, and looks fab.

CHIKA - v jealous of your Degus I keep looking at them when we go into Pets at home and I swear they are TOO CUTE! We have a dog though and although we pick Jazzie up to see if she wants to be friends with them ( she is a v gentle dog) I guess cos she cant smell them in the tank she doesn't really know they are there IYSWIM. So i think getting degus with Jazzie is really not a good idea.

ON the spending side OH finally took Jazzie to the vet to start her pet passport :j
The vet gave OH a great deal ( OH is a bit of a haggler) so got that and a few other bits done for 240 all in . In 6 months that means we can take her abroad, so we can have those holidays and breaks on trains/ ferries to the continent. i have visions of us all going on a lovely long walking holiday in Sweden or Holland eating backpacker meals Ive made in the dehydrator.

Oh sold a record he found in a charity shop for 50p for 25.00 so again we are happy with the "empire" still haven't got around to dealing with ebay, but I'm sure it will come. ( must force myself)

Anyway, hope you all have a frugal day love and hugs to all.

cw18

lynzpower wrote: »

However, I'm on the hunt for oxtail and short beef ribs for some recipes I've seen and I cant get these in a supermarket.

If one of your local supermakets has an in-store butcher, it could be worth asking. I asked the butcher at work (Mr M) a while back about Oxtail, and was told we don't carry it in our store ('cos we're only a little one) - but I actually spotted some in yesterday. So it might be possible for them to order it in if they know someone wants it

thriftylass

Just sneaking on quickly at work (we're not allowed anymore on non-work site in work hours
I'm still here though, was on holiday without internet and came home to a broken internet that we don't know when it'll be fixed :eek:. So having major withdrawel symptoms:p. Virgin isn't even sure what it is (got a new rooter and modem and still doesn't work). So we'll see. I'll catch up as soon as this is sorted.

chika

Lynz - I know what you mean about the butchers in innern London - The ones in Brixton market make me heave. I'll ask my grandad who lives in Vauxhall and is a bit fastidious where he gets his from and PM you. I've also seen oxtail in Mr M too - it was quite reasonably priced and obviously the standards are better than the cornershop butchers. The degus are too cute I agree. I'm getting a bit annoyed with everyone thinking they are rats - I'm currently sat typing with one of them running around my desk and playing "football" with a little round rubber.

I've assembled all the items to cook some gloop which I will do later - I'm quite excited. I have a million tubes of aloe vera so I'll add some of that too as the eco stuff i buy has it in and it makes my clothes really soft. Fingers crossed it works well...

I've found some more teaching jobs that I'm going to apply for. one just up the road from my mother's which will be handy as I think I'm going to move home when uni is finished in April anyway. My mum needs to be taught frugal ways and I think I could sort her out if I was there to keep an eye on her. Plus there would be no long commute. Please cross your fingers for me!

Just for anyone who is in the market for clothes / house stuff - the N3xt sale is still on albeit hidden on the website. if you type in www . next . co.uk/sale then it comes up. I just bought a new suit Jacket £12, Trousers £8 for interviews and a smart coat for £20. If I would have bought it all at full price then it would have been at £140 so I'm pleased.

Frugaldom

Hi Fruguys and gals,

Glad everyone's ticking along, appropriate responses to all can be assumed, I never seem to get around to responding to the chatty ones.

Blizzard conditions here, so I'm glad I have a huge stock of everything in and won't need to venture outside the immediate vicinity. Have defrosted another chicken but will do that in the oven so I can collect the fat as I'm now using this instead of oil in breadmaking. It saves having to buy oil and would otherwise be wasted, so I'll be attempting to render as much as possible from now on then clarifying it for storing. According to my research, it should keep for months and it can be frozen.

I'm planning on having a go at making my own cream cheese later this week. I have a large carton of natural yoghurt (45p Basics) that I'll use as a starter for homemade yoghurt and from thereonin, I'm led to believe I can just keep perpetuating this from each batch I make. SM will be my advisor on this project as it was after tasting her delicious cream cheese with garlic & herbs that I wanted to try making my own. It costs so much for 'Phili' that it would be great to be able to produce something similar for dips and spreads at home. (Just try a search for homemade cream cheese and you should come up with the post where it was last discussed.)

CW - I've just noticed the 'Sold' notice on that house we'd earmarked for you, so I'm afraid you've missed your chance - unless you're holding out on us? :rotfl:

Erme, sorry to sound overly-inquisitive, but how does your illness manifest itself? You did really well restricting the blow-out to just your savings whilst still managing to keep on top of the essential bills, of that you should be proud! You seem to have some level of control compared to a couple of people I've known, so well done thus far! :T Just don't light that fire in the kitchen. :rotfl:

Lynz, apologies your way, too. Just seeing your post within a forum named 'Frugal Living' made me laugh. A budget that incorporates a pet passport for foreign travel/taking a dog on several holidays is so, so far removed from my world that I'm having a giggling fit thinking about it! :rotfl:Again, I'm really sorry, it isn't anything you should take personally, it's just so far removed from my lifestyle that you'd probably have hysterics at some of the things I do to avoid spending. :rotfl:

cw18

Frugaldom wrote: »

CW - I've just noticed the 'Sold' motice on that house we'd earmarked for you, so I'm afraid you've missed your chance - unless you're holding out on us? :rotfl:

Holding out? Me? Nah....:rotfl:

Definitely finding this challenge easier this year....

NSDs are mounting up, and I've managed to move the money between accounts for March's bills (all my D/Debs go out of a bank account I use just for that) this morning, whereas up until now (mainly due to DS1 keeping on borrowing money and dragging his heels paying back) I've not managed it until the pension hits my 'main' account - and that's not due in until tomorrow (with salary due on Friday) :T And it's not because DS1 has suddenly started paying back either !!!! The truly amazing thing is that I'd even have had enough if a Council Tax payment were due in March (which it isn't).

In theory I should have enough tomorrow to move across what's needed for April's bills - but I won't as the bill paying account pays even more of a pittance in interest than my main account Might temporarily move it into my savings account though, purely to keep it out of temptations way (and I may also get an extra penny or two in interest).