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

pagangirl

Janey - just re-read your text - so sorry about the house repairs, sounds horrendous - big hugs hun

Friend wants me to go visit Bury Market soon, have not been before, but heard it is really good. Does anyone know which day best to go? Won't be this month, so spends will come out of March budget. Someone will have to tie me hands behind me back, coz I luuurve markets :whistle: Can get some good bargains tho

cw18

Janey51 wrote: »

Hello frugalites. Been so long since I was on this thread I will be surprised if I still know anyone.

** waves to Janey **

summertea wrote: »

i was thinking about rewriting my budget to allow for the increases but it feels a bit like cheating how does everyone else sort it out?

I've jigged money between categories (both last year and last month!), but luckily not needed to increase my overall bottom line for either annual budget. However, if I realised I'd totally forgotten something, I'd rather increase my bottom line now that spend the whole year thinking "well, I'm going to blow the budget anyway - so who cares by how much" - as the temptation to overspend all over the place could then get too big :eek:

FrankieM

summertea I would do the same thing as cw18. I think its completely ok to rejig budgets...sometimes things just happen.

Oh and hi janey

chika

Hi everyone hope you are all having a good day and people with snow aren't too cold.

Pagangirl I think the best day for Bury Market is Saturday - I'd never been before last year but I really loved it.

JayJay14

OH has had the quote for his car insurance and it is really OTT. He's going to try the comparison sites but doesn't think he can do much about it as he has had a couple of accidents in recent years and lost his protected no claims. This means that my estimate for the car insurance section of the budget is way under, I have him on my car insurance but it cost about £150 extra to do so, but if I take him off and he has car problems then he won't be able to get to work if he manages to get a job. It's a big dillema.

We are also having problems sorting out the mortgage insurance while he is out of work. They now say they need a letter which they had in Sept 2007 but have now lost. They admit they have lost it however they expect him to replace it!!!! He thinks I'm being paranoid when I say that they will try anything not to pay up, but I'm starting to get a bit worried to say the least.

May have to start looking at some other options.

grandma247

pagangirl I like Bury market too. we have been twice now and got some good bargains in the meat market.

Janey I hope you are well soon. Spring is only a few weeks away and things may look a lot better then.

rictus123

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1620853 the photo there is the main road beside me! Very white and thats more than 5 hours of snow ago!

cha97michelle

Hi Janey. Sorry to hear you are not well and have had house problems but it is lovely to hear how you are doing.


Not a lot doing here. I have blown the grocery budget for the month as i included food spends when on holiday the other week. I'm hoping i can reclaim though in the good months. I'm not going to worry too much at the minute.

I am working on it though. The seeds i planted the other day - the lettuces have started to germinate but look a bit pale - i might put them under my SAD lightbulb if they continue that colour. My mung beans are also growing well into bean sprouts. My first attempt at those but i love them and i am hoping they will be tasty.

I've also had to spend on a filling at the dentist today and i bought some booze as a birthday present as it is my dad and BIL's birthday tomorrow.

No plans now for the rest of the week apart from maybe a trip to the library with the kids. I still have a quarter of a tank of petrol left from filling up before christmas so i can avoid that expense for a little longer too.

I can't wait now for some sunshine and better weather. I am fed up of the cold and looking out at snow. I will find it a lot more inspirational.

Fishcake_Random

Hey all,
Well I'm officially moved into the new flat now and everything is going well. The only casualty was my aloe vera plant which took a knock during the move but seems to be surviving.
We wont be back online for about another week so I won't be posting to often for a bit I am catching up when I can.
We are still within budget for Feb ...just but I'm not too stressed.
`I saw my midwife yesterday and baby is happy and healthy, shes dropped now so midwife wants me to do a birth plan asap as she doesnt think I will last to much longer. Although I'm full term (37 weeks) for another two weeks apparently they arent classed as premature after 35weeks unless they are under 5lbs and midwife recons I'm middle 6 at the mo. I'm pretty sure she will come when she wants to lol, but washing baby clothes and things is a least keeping me well entertained lol.
Hope your all keeping okay, and a special wave to Rozee because I know shes getting close to her big day to!
x x x xx

Erme

Frugal if you want to talk DX I have about 3 all mental health. I get a bit hyper and fixated and just HAVE to get x or y like yesterday and have been known to blow about £3k in prague in a week in the past (despite staying in a YH LOL) so the budgeting doesn't always go to plan. I also suffer with paranoia and eating probs (so sometimes I have to get SOME food ANY food down me no matter what it costs else I go dizzy cos I've not eaten like all day), have white tattoos as I call them from years of self abuse though that is currently in remission (taxi fares back from A+E @ 3 in the morning soon add up!!!) and has been so for a little while and hear voices. (they are sooo annoying these days. Little brats (brats being the polite word for them - understand?) hence I NEED a landline for times I'm not well.

The debt I have is from being high years ago and not being treated for it. I wasn't treated for years even though I was in the system. In Mania you spend a wee fortune (and it seems SOOO rational though it's far from it). I'm fortunate in that the fixations are more a nuisance than a real dangerous mania. I'm doing this board to get away from restrictive eating onto restrictive budgets as a substitute cos it's a tad more healthy and my nurse would rather I did it. It was my idea to come on here. Not hers. Will do for now (maybe a year or so at least depending. You never know what's round the corner).

I get quite a lot in welfare (though I'd rather not say how much) but my aim this year is to get the point whereby I can live comfortably on the equivilant of basic JSA which for me is £64 a week plus rent and CT cos like that to me is the worse case scenario. It's going to take me about 3 months to get anywhere close but I already have the grocery budget down to £15 or £20 a week tops. I'm aiming to get that down to 10 if poss. Quit smoking at some point as well (which would save £20 a week which is not much for a smoker but still. Can be better spent on debts). And my other bills aren't too bad though some I could get lower once contracts finish. I'm also aiming to use the free bus pass only in SOS cos like at some point I won't have it due to getting well. So I bike/walk as much as possible (sure my bike in my hall half in the kitchen is breaching health and safety but the council won't let me have it on the landing ).

And another aim for me with FL is to use this year to learn how to live on less so that when I get a job (note not if but when) I have more options because I'll need less to live on (and be content etc). I want to learn how to live on less whilst I don't have to so I'm prepared for when I have to.

Does that answer ppl's q's?

E