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

Erme

I've been unwell for a few weeks (like really unwell) and beat myself to a pulp for taking my cash card out to the allotment the other week and blowing £40 on a mobile - so that was frugal monies gone for that week. I also tried to have a NSD one day and wouldn't pay 34p for choc (cos it was a NSD) and instead chose to self harm (with hindsight the 34p would have been better!) so trying to get my head round NSD's v. sanity. Sometimes I need frugal treats just to survive (by frugal I mean no more than £2 if not less). But not OTT with the charity shops like I was before I figured I was being a hypocrite with all this. I don't NEED to go the the charity shops EVERY day. Does that make sense.

Like for example @ the w/e I blew monies on diet books - bad budgeting but the illness and only a few quid. Yesterday I was trying to get better and so ended up finding an new espresso machine (saves money in the long term = less coffee out) for £2 which does fab espresso and is practically unused. I thought 'maybe I have hardly any money left but I need this' so got it. I have to more flexible than some on here because of the illness. What after all is better? 34p on choc (or even a pound) or another scar on already my terribly scarred body and a load of drama. Aren't I the advocate of 'ask required chocolate' as a form of psychiatric therapy? Exactly.

So am catching up on post but if you don't see me for a wee while you can always send me a pm. I don't mind this. I'm still very much a baby frugalista but am learning despite the ups and downs.

And last week I got permission to do K as a work from home biz off the council - go me ...


E
PS. Free diet sites (very addictive but good - like WW but free) - http://www.sparkpeople.com and https://www.thedailyplate.com. Those are the only two I'd recommend. I mean SP was the initiative behind me beginning to debt bust about 18 months ago (though am no longer on there)

PPS. How many folk on this board are in Aberdeenshire? Could we have an aberdeenshire meet in the summer? I'm in the GC and I think Rictus in in the shire and I don't know who else... E

phoebe03cat

oooh this thread is working. Two non-spend days on the trot and LIKING it. Now that's a first! Going to join the allotment gardening club as well. Our garden is not too great for growing, but going to do lettuces and peppers and other pots??this year. My goodness, where will it all end...we live about 5 mins away from a big Mr T's and have been going at reduction time. Everyone now taking sarnis with the reduced bread etc and I'm just starting to realise how it all adds up. Will be cooking my x2 reduced cauliflowers with bogoff cheese sauce tonight. This is sooo addictive..getting worried :-)

Frugaldom

Good morning

Erme, hope you're back in control of the situation, don't fret about non-spend days, I have never attempted that because it was always a recipe for disaster. Instead, I just aim to compare needs with wants. Perhaps if you feel the need to spend, you could spend on stockpiling stuff you'll use over the coming year, but make sure you don't switch any addictive behaviour to bulk buying in case you find yourself boxed in by food. I guess you really do need to make provision for bad days, so perhaps good days could always include being prepared for the bad. Sorry if this is all rubbish, just thought it might help. I used to live in Aberdeenshire but I'm at the opposite end of the country now.

Ceridwen, could you somehow attach hooks to the plastic around your SFG to mark out the squares or just tape on string? You could even make a 1' square from thick cardboard and plant within it before moving it.

I haven't planted anything in the SFG yet but the first lot of canes have been tied up for the peas that will be growing along the edge of it. Peas have gone into pots in the greenhouse for now, along with several other bits and pieces. Like you say, it's still far too cold to have anything growing out there yet but there are loads of buds appearing on the fruit trees & bushes and the green shoots from daffodil bulbs are showing through in several places. I got my purple potatoes into a tub, so that was one good job done.

No quail eggs have hatched yet, so I'm not holding out much hope of these eggs being fertile. By tomorrow, I'll have the incubator emptied and refilled with hen eggs, including the first of the blue ones.

Haven't had to spend much on groceries after parents being here on holiday last week - they brought a few things with them. I have a F00d Bargains order arriving today and SM is bringing me more beans from an offer, so that should see me topped up for months. Just need to buy fresh produce - hence the reason I'm so keen to get stuff growing in the garden.

mama67

My F00d [EMAIL="B@argains"]B@argains[/EMAIL] order has just arrived; thank you Frugaldom for that code.

Only snag I have now is a huge box of polystyrene packaging peanuts.

I will see if they want them at school for art projects when I go soon, if not freegle.

I have a personnal challenge running in that I only send things to landfill if absolutely necessary, so not best pleased to get these; and recycling/reusing as much as possible.

Needhelpsaving

mama67 wrote: »

Only snag I have now is a huge box of polystyrene packaging peanuts.

QUOTE]


Polysytrene is good for bulking out plant pots acting as drainage (instead of broken crocks) - don't know if this would get rid of some????

rozeepozee

I've been admiring my seedlings all morning! I've got eight trays on the go (just re-read anniec's basil advice and done another tray of it) plus now some more cut and come again coriander, the earlier stuff that I planted is growing nicely on one of my baths in the conservatory! It's so satisfying and the sun's out - what more could a girl want?

off for a nap now but pleased I managed to do something useful this morning. With these babies likely to appear anytime in the next 4 weeks, my time is limited!

top_drawer_2

hi Everyone,

I am finally back!!!!!!!!!! I have mised you lot soooo much. I lost the internet last monday when the box stopped working ... they came and fixed it last night and I am sooo relieved, I have so much to catch up on though! I have been feeling quite down in the dumps recently as I feel like I am so stuck in a rut at the moment ... I am apply for other jobs but not getting much response, I desperately want to learn to drive (I could visit my family much easier and I have a nephew who is growing up so fast, I would like to have some sort of relationship with him ....) but just cant afford the £20 an hour plus even if I did pass I then cant afford a car + insurance + repairs etc etc. I would also like to move somewhere less shared house like - at the moment things can change at a moment notice with the other tenants as they have only a months notice, I would like somewhere stable but have very few opportunities money-wise or even to meet people who I could may be look at co-renting a whole house with.

CW - depending on where you are I would be more than happy to come and give you a hand sorting and dejunking. I actually enjoy this type of thing and do it regularly in my own house, I also work as a Housekeeper, (read glorified head bottlewasher) so nothing would faze me that much.

Thanks Nuala, I certainly hope things improve soon as it seems to be never ending at the moment.

Blairweech - its true I could cope on almost nothing now if needed but I wish people would stop demanding money from me! The tax people haven't replied to my appeal form and they have sent me a form to apply for exceptions and a statment of my owings... not sure if thats supposed to be their reply but I know I simply cant afford £100!!

Thrift Kitten - Thank you for the recipe!! They sound delicious (and something I can do with stuff I have hanging around in the freezer.

Congratulations lyndasharp and Whitewing too - it must be something in the air with all these babies and weddings!

Lynzpower - those are the days when you sit in front of the computer and research all the things you fancy doing in the future or take a walk or have a bath and a ME day ........... its better to scrap the day than spend it fighting against the grain - sometimes I think its your brains way of say Sloooow down

Butterfly - have you thought about taking a share in a horse? My sister loved riding and so years ago she took on a share with a women who was strugling to do all the exercising and upkeep etc. She used to pay around £20 a week + 1/2 costs in shoeing etc. She got all the experience of riding and looking after him she could want that way.

Because I havent had the internet I have had more time so I finally got round to working out how much I spend a month in the different categories - Guinea pigs cost me £28.68 last month!! that has spurred me on to get planting so this week I have planted one set of lettuce and one set of cabbages. Apparently rocket is very easy to grow so I am going to buy some from the supermarket next time and see if they will eat it - any other ideas on what I could grow which they might like?

I also calculated that I spent £43.80 on food for myself ....... I must be eating like a king for that!! So I have vowed that I will use up what I have in the cupboard/freezer as thats just ridiculous!!

I have had to change to wholemeal/with seeds flour for my breadmaking too as apparently its really good for me with my dizzy do's - more sustaining but its quite expensive too. I have bought some seeds alone but since flours are processed differently I cant just add them to white flour ;((

My Mum suddenly decided last week to even up things between my sis and me as because she lives so close and spends quite a bit of time shopping in town, popping round for a brew etc she often buys things for her which she sees on her travels ...... I live much farther away so dont get these so my Mum has given me £50 as that around what she has spend on my sis recently. I am sooo chuffed as its really needed at the moment .... I just don't know where to spend it yet because there are so many things I have been thinking ... When I have a bit of money spare I will .... new underwear would be good, I have been replacing the knackered shelf unit in my room since January too although I am leaning towards gardening stuff to cut my food bill for myself and the GP's that way the money would be likely to have the most impact .......any more ideas I havent thought of?

On the upside I've just been offered an interview with a conpany as a cleaner meaning I may be able to add to my income a little at least. I also have a" chat" planned with someone who recruits for bank work as a support worker but its not for another 2 weeks ....

Speak soon (I am so happy to be back!!)

cw18

Filled the fuel tank in my car today - first time since New Years Eve. Came to a whopping £47, but considering that's for 75 days it only works out at £4.39/week and my budget allows for £6.67/week.......

So I guess I've got some room for the anticipated price rises I heard about on the radio just after leaving the garage (and saw the article about on here when I got home).



Also spent another £48 on bits for the garden - needed LOTS of long screws (most of which a local firm has had to put a special order in for, but will have them tomorrow afternoon) plus some new drill bits (a couple for the raised beds, as mine aren't long enough to go through my 'chunks' of wood - and I wasn't going to hand screw the full length which the chap in the shop seemed to think most people would do! - and one for the water butts so I could insert the inlet hoses).

This lot would have cost me a heap more had I got them F0cus though, and in the past I wouldn't have thought about trying the local 'trade' places first. The bits for the water butts cost me around £8, but at F0cus they were over £19! And one of the sets of screws I picked up for £4.01 but would have cost me £12.18 - except our branch doesn't carry the 'bulk' packs, so it would have meant a drive out elsewhere or a bill of closer to £40 for the same qty in smaller packs :eek:



So I've just finished installing the water butts :T (And it's looking/feeling like it could rain tonight, so the installations could be tested very soon )

The Indian lady from next door was fascinated by these as she's never seen (or heard of) them before, and was then saying that they're going to have to stop spending on some things they have been doing and start watching the pennies -- so she's also intrigued with me growing my own f&v, but I'm not sure this is as viable an options for them as they don't have as much garden space (due to theirs being slightly smaller in the first place and their house then having a conservatory as well), plus they use it a lot for their twins to play out (they'll be 2 next month) and they spend a lot of time in the garden with visitors during the warmer months too

rictus123

Typed a big post then lost it
Main points were its another nsd. After i had tea at 5 up until my shower at 7 iv been fitting back wiper/wiper arm, washing car, removed number plates(ready for private plates-this weekend hopefully just waiting on v5 and insurance docs) Gave the seats a quick spray with fabreeze. Need to get some decent polish and take half an hour or so to get my dash board and doors etc glowing. Im still winning the bidding on a steering wheel which will go along way. Im going to try and keep ahold of this car until at least the next mot(out in Nov so Nov 2011) A long time really but with a bit of loving care i think itl be a great buy. Reason i say that is i know il have money then after my payrise this summer and money wont be such an issuse after next summer when im time served and earning more than double what i am now, aka a real wage


Anyway payday friday, going to save it all except £135 digs and phone+£50 fuel, still saving hundreds as getting a good bit extra for overtime :jWorking Saturdays will be a regular thing again seeing as weathers good, need every penny i can get!

lynzpower

Hi gang

Still rather below par, but just wanted to let you guys know, I did a clearout at work today, guess what I got- a sewing machine :j

AND a curtain rail ( brand new)

I got quite a few other bits too most of which will be taken to work or given on freecycle.

have no idea if it works, I hope so!