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

top_drawer_2

hello everyone,

Lynzpower - lol Im excited for you! I love sewing and cant believe the number of things I can make out of something and nothing, recently I have made a bread bag, I am making a 2 tops at classes from fabric bought for 50p from the clearance basket. I also have some cushions planned and eventually hope to make a blind for my room. There are loads of blogs around and threads on here to set you off learning...

Blairweech and Frugldom - Thanks for the luck, I don't think I will get it to be honest (and it might not be a bad thing) because I am going to struggle to travel between the places of work. I hoped they would be local but it looks unlikely from what the interviewer was saying today....

Grannynise - I can try .... I was thinking about the cost as but maybe wholemeal will be cheaper (then add my own seeds) than With seeds already in .... I didnt check when I was in Morrisons.

Cheryl - good luck on the operation. My Mum has had something similar - not nice ;( Maybe treat yourself to a taxi if you can't get a lift ... I know my Mum wouldnt/couldnt have walked from the bus stop to the house after hers.

Gillian - WELL DONE :T:T on getting a job, remember its a start.

NualaBuala - I could try .... My lettuces and cabbages are coming along nicely it seems theyre about an inch long in the propagator in my bedroom window. Apparently I shouldnt have put all the seeds in at once .... god only knows how Im going to find space to house/eat all these lettuces and cabbages im going to be getting ........ even Leo and Augustus arent going to be able to cope with these quantities lol.

lol I am beginning to get worried too that I could get pregnant too, as Im writing this Augustus is GRRRRRR behing me ........

Natalie - you will cope, the move from 3 to 4 isnt as big as from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3. You will already have a lot of the stuff anyway and babies can be cheaply kept as long as you avoid the hype and Motherpair.

Chika - spinach beet, I will trying buying some of it and see if the lads will eat it :rotfl::rotfl: lol I'm such a pushover but I cant stand to see them week-ing at me (I reckon theyre saying We're bored of .... More of the good stuff, cucumber/peppers are the current favs). I don't have either of those stores near me .... we have lidl, aldi, Morrisons but the costs certainly build up over a week ... I cant even go to Morrisons when theyre doing the reductions as its on a industrial estate out of the way and I cant drive.

I had my first taste of my herbs today, oregano .... I'm not sure I did it right. I just cut some of them off with scissors and cut them up really small - I didnt really taste anything though. Not sure whether ive done wrong.

Jen

grandma247

I just quickly popped back to say that national trust is doing a free weekend at some places. you need to print off a voucher from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events/w-events-free-day/w-events-bonus-day-registration.htm
Sorry had to put the whole bloomin thing in as it will not let me shorten it to a word for some reason and it would not put the first link in properly. It changed the middle of the link to exclamation marks. Goodness knows why as I could not see anything remotely rude about it but then folks keep changing innocent words to mean something rude.

knithappens

Natalie congrats, once you have got your head round the shock, you will find that you will manage, being self employed might be a blessing in disguise as you can work around baby etc. And like as been said before the adjustment wont be all that hard , i found going from 1to 2 harder than 2 to 3.
My 3rd was surprise pregnancy, then a divorce, and everything else that came with it, we just adapt, and get on with it, looking back i dont know why i stressed so mich, we always find a way.

cha97michelle

natalie bug hugs to you. I thought i was a couple of weeks ago and would have meant 3 under 4 for me and the thought was as scary as can be. :eek: I hope once you have got used to the idea it is a bit less scary for you and you get your practical head back on as you have already shown you are great at coping so this sholuldn't be any different.

nuala i cut my own hair. I went from quite long to not even long enough to tie back after some advice on it here and then watching a couple of u tube clips. It turned out really well (although i have to add my hair is curly so never looks awful after cutting) and saved me at least 25 pounds. I haven't attempted it again yet but it has only just grown to a decent length again now almost 6 months later. I don't think i'd go as short if i did it again, but i would do it again.

BigMummaF

vintage_beanpole wrote: »

....would like to know roughly how people are doing? How much money are people aiming to spend no more than each month?
....Which is totally doable, isn't it? (she asks optimistically!)....x

Hi Vintage :hello: I've been following this & earlier related Challenges for about a year so I'm still very much in the Learners class myself but seriously started to implement some of the tips as opposed to just reading about them from Jan. My own take on this, has been to keep as detailed a record of where every penny is going as is possible. I list everything I buy into various categories & look them over at the end of the month to see where I could make changes in the future. Anything that I have no control over--such as council tax or water rates--I try not to worry about as it won't change the outcome :mad: It has taken some time to find a method that keeps me focused & works for me altho I fully appreciate that it is a living thing & will need to morph many more times to allow me to progress.
My advice is you have a good long think about what you are hoping to get from this Challenge & then begin listing ideas of how you can make it happen. Good Luck!

I had to go for a fasting blood test yesterday & the thing I struggled with most of all was postponing my first cuppa Nuala. There are many things I am willing to sacrifice--indeed the tea itself has dropped by several 'brands'--but not that Currently we go 50:50 with a 'name' & value bags which is working incredibly well, but then I do use a teapot. I can get at least two decent mugs from each bag & because it isn't too strong, we are using a good deal less milk so it is still saving a bit.

I'm with cw on the OMG; I thought I'd have to leave the Thread if the pregnancy thing was catching, but then realised I use the ultimate frugal birth control--no fella People were extremely concerned about me being alone after my marriage ended, but I've been very happy not having to pander to a male ego & saved thousands by not having to worry about Feb 14th or washing whiffy Y-fronts & stinky socks :rotfl:

phoebe03cat

Frugaldom; Thanks for the tips for the soft cheese from the yohurt and use of the whey. Will give it a try in my bread. You mention updating your blog which I would love to join; how can I find it please?
Chika; will be trying the chard this year, its so expensive to buy and we love it.
Grandma 247;Thanks for Nat. Trust link.
Kids made me laugh yesterday when they said I'd gone 'all homey'; this frugldom seems to be catching as even dh is thinking twice now. Lots of moaning still involved, but working on it. Going to have a go at doing some batch cooking of scones to add to lunchboxes next week. I'm sure they can be made for even cheaper than the super reduced Mr.T prices. Any good ideas for lunch box fillers most welcome. Seem to be struggling to be a bit creative AND frugal with these.

rozeepozee

phoebe03cat wrote: »

Kids made me laugh yesterday when they said I'd gone 'all homey'; this frugldom seems to be catching as even dh is thinking twice now. Lots of moaning still involved, but working on it. Going to have a go at doing some batch cooking of scones to add to lunchboxes next week. I'm sure they can be made for even cheaper than the super reduced Mr.T prices. Any good ideas for lunch box fillers most welcome. Seem to be struggling to be a bit creative AND frugal with these.

I've been really surprised at how keenly Dp has come around. He's never been remotely interested in money before, although he's not a consumer and doesn't have any debt, when he needs to spend, he does it with no research or thought into best value. He's recently said how he likes "not being stupid" about money and we've already seen the benefits of these changes by spending loads less in Costco (we used to just go and fill the trolley willy nilly whereas now, I shop around and the trolley that used to cost £100+ isn't half as full and usually less than £50) and we're already releplenishing our savings from the campervan spend. It's great!

My 3 yo has caught on pretty quickly - whenever he says he wants something he says we'll "buy it from the car boot sale"!

ChinaTea

What a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine even if it's a bit breezy. The farmers are planting potatoes under plastic sheeting a sure sign spring is here and the daffodils are just coming out in the fields. Always warms my heart when coming home to see the fields full of daffs as far as the eye can see although there as many of them now as there used to be.

Had the council tax bill yesterday not too much of an increase which I was surprised about but the rent is going up by almost £4 a week from April. Doesn't sound much but over the year it's well over what I had allowed for. I'm going to have a look at the budget this afternoon to see where I can juggle some extra from, think I'm going to have to increase the fuel budget as well. Locally the cheapest petrol is 118.9 a litre. Went out on Wednesday and going through the villages it had already hit the 1.20p mark :eek:. I can't get anywhere without the car so think I'm going to have to really plan my journeys and limit them to a couple of days a week. My longest journey is around 110 miles to see my parents. i don't want to cut back on the monthly visits as they're elderly and becoming increasingly frail.

Off to exercise the brain cells now and see what I can come up with. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

patentgirl

Hello everyone

Congratulations Natalie as already said 3 to 4 is nothing like 1 to 2 so am sure you will cope fiine
Gillian well done on getting your job
Cheryl - good luck on the operation.
Frugaldom got the web cam on now how unbelieveable modern technology is!
Vintage I think we are all different all managing different budgets mine is £1000 per month for everything from petrol, bills, savings mort food etc can you grow any fruit or veg or even herbs this has helped me greatly last year and hoping for even more results this year

Nearly end of month and so far all seems to be coming into budget famous last words I am sure!

xnatalie81x

thanks guys - OH has taken it much better than expected lol. - i am quite getting used to the idea and shock am even starting to feel a little excited about having another nutty child around the house - we move on Monday OMG!! But then we have until the 31st to actually be out of here

Off on school run - and to start planning even more frugalness

Someone talk to me about cloth nappies........ I have always done disposables at good value but am open to saving more!