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

top_drawer_2

Well I feel throughly dreadful......... yesterday I checked my allowance for my mobile phone minutes and it stated that my current spend ON TOP of my monthly billing amount is £29.18 so in a complete panic I rang 3 and checked and its correct ... seems that talking to my sis on Monday wasn't within the price plan and as such have been charged fully........ I hadn't even realised I didnt have any minutes left!

Then this morning a letter came through from a company I used to work for to say that they had done some checking and realised that they overpaid me by £115 at some point and they want it back pronto. I am guessing its right as they are very good (usually) but I cant ring them to discuss it until Monday afternoon (after I finish work or Tuesday).

I have also committed to going to a Pilates class (as suggested by my Dr and I do need as my posture is terrible and my back problem is seriously interfering with my life at the moment) but thats another £50 for 10 classes. It starts Monday and on one hand I am grateful as apart from work, the gym (not social really), sewing classes and a couple of friends and occassionally going into town I don't see anyone. Gone are the days of uni and life was a social whirlwind!!

I have also just had to pay my credit card - £30 mainly internet purchases and as its soon to be my nephews 3rd birthday I bought him some lovely presents - a double sided garden game ie huge version of Snakes and Ladders/Twister and a set of blow-up foatball goals. I will have to go home at some point to take them as posting them will be more than taking a trip.

I have carefully examined my food cupboards and worked out that I can probably live for the next week at least without buying any food and then after that quite cheaply just buying additional bits and pieces to supplement what I already have.......

I am also really really hopeful that I will sell the ebay items I have listed as the money would come in really useful........ email me if you would be kind enough to have a look at my selling and may have any ideas - I really need to encourage things to sell.

I also in a panic (after the phonebill blow) listed some books/dvd's that I was hoping to use/watch again but probably won't get around too.... I have had them awhile and havent managed "to get round it" in all that time... I sold one this morning so that positive I guess. I have racked my brain and can't think of anything else I can do ... already applying for additional part-time work (god knows where I would fit it in) and getting no where fast.

My sis also got the postmortem results back on Nephew 2 yesterday and the cause of death was Turner syndrome and heart failure. They say that Turner syndrome affects 1 in 2500 cases so is unlikely to occur again which is brillant news so they can go ahead and continue to keep trying for another baby.

Anyway, I hope everyone else is having a much better time than me.

TD

landregistrylass

Good afternoon WOW, what a week for so many of us. Congrats and commiserations in equal store. Thoughts and prayers for all. NSD here - OH bought the weekly paper - and a FANTASTIC (even if I say so myself) lunch of bacon muffins and then chili for tea. Bacon was from a well picked Mr T "cooking bacon" pack (what else do you do with it????) you know the type, its all the odds and ends from mis cuts etc. I always pick over the selection and managed to get 4 meals out of the £1.15 price. Pudding will be a whoopsied cake and whoopsied cream...........how very decadent, but who cares when its cheaper than I could make at home (INCLUDING the cream, which I have added to a curry and soup so far too!!) Although I dont post as much as many of you, its because I am away for most of the week with work. My girlfriends think I am incredibly lucky to stay in hotels so much, but honestly, I would much rather be at home. How ungrateful!

pagangirl

Hi all - hugs to those who need 'em - Rictus think you are doing great for your age - don't give up on us now ! You did make me blink when you said how much you lost tho - most I bet is £1 each way on the Grand National :rotfl:

top_drawer - it will get better - promise - have 3 let you know exactly what your mobile price plan covers?

crystals2632 - big hugs for your pa (and you too).

thanks Frugaldom - found the blog and the chickadees - lots of cuteness !

Just updated sig' with new figures - was under for Jan, over for Feb but paid 3 month Elec/gas bill, also some serious stockpiling done, so evens itself out pretty well. Hoping for under budget in March.

Went to table sale this morning and spent................20p on cup of coffee and nowt else - really pleased with myself for that Only got coffee as needed sit down after 40 min walk to local village ! Can now list weightlifting as one of my exersizes (sp)? as I carried neighbour's shopping & my 4 library books on walk back ! (Neighbour is disabled - it was her shopping I went for).

Enjoy your night all - hope you have a great rest of the weekend !:D

babyboysmommy

It's been a hectic few days. The dog had to have 5 teeth removed, so glad we have insurance as the bill was £230. He's feeling very sorry for himself. Also found out he has cataracts & is very much loosing his sight, very sad.

Had a productive day. Baked Millies Cookies (very yummy) a fruit cake & some fairy cakes. I also made a shepherds pie (and some for the freezer) & a 5 minute chocolate mug cake for dessert this evening.

I've been out in the garden digging over the raised beds reading for planting some seeds. Also been working on the cross stitch as the birthday is fast approaching.

I'm going to have to be very disciplined next week as I have an ECA due in (I'm studying with the open university). On the plus side at least when I'm studying I'm not spending I'm under budget so far this year, I hope it continues that way.

lynzpower

rictus123 wrote: »

Big slip up today, bet and lost £150 on the football. So way over budget. Add on another £50 though as thats what il probs spend tonight. Away out to get drunk. Might aswel try and enjoy myself now and again seeing as for the past 2 and a half years iv got myself into £4k of debt, now about £1500. Got a rust bucket of a van which has more dents and scratches than any other vehicle iv ever seen and is also louder than all the scooped up cars i see going about town... Mot out next month which itl no way pass, i dont even think im going to bother, why spend so much money on something i really hate. Only bought it because of the cheap insurance - £700 for the year, yet its cost me at least that in repairs. What a wreck it is its embarrasing. Only think iv got to show for my money at 18 is that bucket + the fact i paid for every single thing to get me through my test. If this is all there is to life then whats the point,im only 18 !!!!!!. Working to keep a van on the road..whats the point. Away out into town soon to hopefully take my mind off of things. Not much of a life.

Shame you usually seem like such a cheerful fella What happened to keeping your cash in your pocket to buy fancy wheels when you are debt free? Hope you have a good night tonight, but dont go chucking good money after bad love, its not worth it (((rictus))) :grouphug:

Well I have had a fantastic day up on the roof and updating my blog. Im really really excited about the progress! (its all there on the blog)

I have spent a bit more over the last few days, as I found a butcher at Smithfield meat market doing 5k of chicken breast fillet for 20.00. I thought it was a good buy, but blimey, I hadn't really thought about how much it was. Obviously it tore the carrier bag as I carried it back! I have to portion it all up later on and get it in the freezer. It should last for ages.:T:T Tonight we will probably have half a fillet each breadcrumbed with some of the HM cottage loaf I made earlier, the ends of a lettuce and maybe some potato wedges from the 30p Mr M mini roosters.

Thanks to poster who suggested Mr M for Oxtail. I boguht it but maybe its jsut me but I thoguht it was expensive! I got a whole tray of stewing beef that I did in the SC for 1.91 ( makes 6 generous portions) whereas 2 slices of Oxtail was 2.92 I wonder if this is the renaissance in"cheap cuts" forcing the prices up I hear so much about? In any case, Im going to try to make the Malaysian Oxtail soup I had last year. Hope its nice :eek: sounds like an expensive meal :rotfl:

I am back in the grocery challenge as I dont think I need to shop for a while now, so need to just stick to it.

BTW, the new freegled fridge freezer is a totally brilliant, to think someone was going to throw it out. It does have no handles but Im thinking we can fashion something just waiting to find the right bit of "junk" that will work for the task. Its in great order though and with a bit of luck it will do us for years. I hate to see Wiee waste, its the pits. Feeling very grateful . We did have to buy a wheeled trolley to get it up the stairs so that has blown the "household" budget which is 40.00 a month, as it was 30.00- and I also bought compost and other gardening bits and bats. A new fridge freezer would have blown us out of the water for the year so very blessed and grateful for it. It is very big though, and I am resisting the call to fill it with "stuff".

Calling in for february:

Food & drink home - 93.71 :j
Clothes 99p
Entertainment 3.50 ( grow your own mag)
Travel 24.00
Toiletries 3.48
Gifts 20.00 ( slow cooker for Mils birthday- seperate gift budget)
Home items 45.59

Total spent ( excluding vets bills and passport! as these were saved for from last year) 174.80

Bills tick over elsewhere out of other shuffled about accounts but Im exceptionally pleased with this spend for February. :A:A:A:A:A

In addition Feb has brought us a number of freebies, including New electric scales from *rgos using n*ctar, and an electric knife and 50p cash change also using ne-tar points. Im not sure why I waited so long to get one of these (well I guess I was trying to do without) but the slices I got from a ham were so sparing, the ham has gone much much further. :j Also got 10er amazon voucher and 12 Loveto shop from T*luna.

My voucher store stands at 20.00 amazon, 30.00 n*xt, 12 LovetoSh*p

March will not be pretty as I have to pay 2x pcns. I dont want to think about
that yet. _pale_

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to March!

lynzpower

Hugs to you top drawer ((TD))

Things will get better, honestly. You are so creative I know everything will come good for you in the end. xx

gilligansyle

hi all

Congratulations on frugal weddings, hatched chicks etc.

Little update on the figures, really hard to tell as I lost the spreadsheet at some point, but have always been a bit OCD about notebooks so have been listing everything I've spent.

At the moment I am a very scary £195 UNDER budgetand have tried to work out why.

Main reason is because I have cut back so much and maybe overestimated as its the first time I had been so organised, so may revise the figures for Q3.

Original grocery Budget £220 per month - actual £145.47
Original cleaning budget £40 per month - actual £6.21


I am also, strangely, under budget on gas and electric. I know this is accurate because I am on card meters, so it is actual expenditure not DD's that account for it and I used last years figures to work it out.

TBH most of it has been out of necessity, and because I had a lot of stuff from Approved Foods which saved me a fortune.

cw18

gilligansyle wrote: »

At the moment I am a very scary £195 UNDER budgetand have tried to work out why.

I'm under budget for end of Feb (by around £249 at the moment, but will need a small food shop tomorrow), and should be even more so at the end of March.

Main reasons for this are using up grocery stocks (to the value of £52 so far) and not having a Council Tax payment due in Feb or March.

I've also not put any fuel in the car since New Years Eve - so that's another £58 "credit" on my spreadsheet

And there are two direct debits (Water @ just under £17 and Mobile Phone @ £5) that haven't gone out of my bank this month..... they go out right at the end of the month, so with Feb being a short month (and ending with a weekend this year) they've not yet been called. Means they'll be called twice next month though (beginning and end), so should balance out by end March,

eco

Need some help I normally write down any good ideas I read, but forgot this one, which washing powder do I buy for the dishwasher?

I'm reading the thread nearly every day to keep reminding me not to spend any money just don't post as often as everyone else, but it's great to read tips no matter how small the saving.

pink_numbers

Hi, I hope you don't mind me posting, I have always read the thread regularly, but haven't had anything interesting to post!

Have been a busy week here, with the OH building me raised beds, blogging, making & baking, planning the square foot garden, etc. Has been a truly old style & frugal week, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. Really looking forward to the time where OH and I can do this full time.

Frugaldom, I've been reading through your website this afternoon and what a joy it has been! I have really enjoyed reading about each month, and learning a lot about what I should expect from my garden in the coming months. Thank you for all your hard work both on here and on your website, you are a great inspiration! I would love to have chickens but I think the cats would have a field day!