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

phoebe03cat

FRUGALDOM: Thanks for the dumpling tips. Think I will give it a whirl tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes.
Sadly soup was a bit of a let down yesterday - too much water in the stock I think and not enough meat on the carcass. Family slurped gamely on though lol. Thank goodness I had made a 'hearty' pudding.
Quiet day today trying to catch up on paperwork. My maine coone has decided to catch frogs and delivered me two for breakfast; trying to help with the frugalising :-)

cw18

Frugaldom wrote: »

Has anyone seen the details about the new Government SAVINGS GATEWAY accounts that wll soon be available?

I shall have to keep an eye on this one, as it looks like I should scrape in on the Tax Credits clause :T

What isn't clear is if you can carry on with the account if you're no longer in receipt of whatever your original qualifier was though, and as I don't qualify for Tax Credits from either June or September (trying to find out if DS's official last day of college is before or after 31st May, as this is the decider) I'd lose 'entitlement' to open the account as well

pagangirl

Hi folks - still frugalling like mad. Good news is - bandage is finally off right hand, and have been given spare dressings to change them myself, so no more trips (and hour long waits) at the drop-in. Can't fault them tho' - they have been brilliant :beer:

Can anyone help, as have been diagnosed as anaemic - not sure what to eat, know leafy green veg is good, but no good for me as kicks IBS off !!! Any good ideas gratefully received.

Nyk - thanks for link to new bank account - may be eligible as on JSA atm. off to investigate.

Congratulations Fishcake family and hugs to baby fishcake:hello: couldn't access the photo, but am sure she is lovely.

Nuala - could you try freecycle for a sewing machine?

Good Luck in you new home Natalie - are you having a virtual moving in party??? _party_

Will update sig at month end. Can't believe it's been 3 months already !

Big Hugs to all

Blairweech

Frugaldom - I had seen the accounts before, but it was very vague with no details. It actually looks alright and as you say, well worth getting the money together for. I am in receipt of JSA at the moment, so should be eligible for one (although not sure if this will stop when I go to uni)

Went into town with Mum today and had a poke around the charity shops. Bought a book for £1. I need some new clothes (especially underwares), so will be going back tomorrow to see if there is anything decent. Made dinner tonight, sausage pasta bake...it wasn't that good . Oh well, cant please everyone all the time. Think thats about it on the frugal news front. Hope everyone is well

grandma247

pagangirl wrote: »

Can anyone help, as have been diagnosed as anaemic - not sure what to eat, know leafy green veg is good, but no good for me as kicks IBS off !!! Any good ideas gratefully received.

There are lots of things I have done to get my iron levels up but if you have IBS then you have a problem. It will all depend on what sets it off. Maybe you can get your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist at the hospital?

I ate 3tbsp raw wheatgerm in milk (twice a day),2 eggs, meat, Beetroots, figs and apricots dried, and I took mega doses of a natural iron medicine (floradix) from the health shop daily.Also resting helps. There were probably lots more foods but I cant remember now. It was over 10 years ago and I was pregnant. I got my levels up from 8.5 to 10.5 in six weeks but it was very hard work. If you are not pregnant then you can do it more slowly.

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j:j
Not popping in as often as I might like to at the moment due to a horrible situation ongoing in my real life at the most which is both draining and needing a lot of my attention at present. Ah well onwards and upwards.
There seem to be a few spends creeping in this month as we've had the MOT, a school trip and a Scouts trip to pay for aswell as the small person losing his locker key with his PE kit locked inside:eek: However, am still keeping the frugal brakes on and not throwing my pennies around willy nilly.
Had a lush frugal meal on Tuesday- bought some puff pastry and then mixed up some tuna with curry powder, onion, yogurt and some peas [fried onion first] We then made curry puffs with most of the pastry and a jam puff with the other bit. Yum yum!!
Have been a very lucky Aril today- one of my students has given me the most gorgeous cardys that she no longer wants. We swapped clothes a couple of months back!
On Mrs L's recommendation [unbought delicacies blog] have borrowed Jane Struther's Red Sky at Night- the book of lost countryside wisdom from the library. It's absolutely charming and packed full of information. Think getting with a pair of binoculars and the small person for a free bit of stargazing entertainment is definitely in order. Also went to a very interesting runes talk this week - if you're into that sort of thing you can make your own set for free using either pebbles or wooden discs sawn up from a small branch with the symbols painted on.

I leave you with a couple of snippets from the above book as I love useless little bits of information:
a chattering of choughs, a charm of finches, a hedge of herons, a quarrel of sparrows and an unkindness of ravens. There's a whole list in the book!
Arilx

NualaBuala

Hi Pagangirl :wave:

Great news on your dressings, I hate queuing for things like that.

Poor you being anaemic, hope you can take it easy for a bit. Are you vegetarian/vegan? There are two types of iron, haem (in meat) and non-haem (in plant sources) and the haem is more easily absorbed. Red meat, and especially liver are the best sources but there are plenty of veggie sources too - leafy greens like you said, and raisins if I remember rightly. And many others I'm sure. Vitamin C helps iron absorption. The iron supplements tend to be very constipating (heard the Spatone sachets are not as bad) so take care with your IBS. Also worth knowing that tea and coffee (not sure if it's the caffeine or tannins etc) inhibit absorption of iron so try not to have them at meal times. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Thanks for the freecycle suggestion, I posted and got no replies. I see someone else is now looking for one there too. I've decided not to get it - it's not a need and the offers tend to come around every year anyway. Will post another freecycle ad after a decent interval!

Aril

Hi Pagangirl
Doesn't black treacle have iron in? It's fairly inexpensive and I believe that you can use it in some savoury dishes. I use it in ginger cakes and also more frequently in flapjacks to replace half of the syrup. It's lovely in them.
Arilx

XSpender

Pagangirl - I am preggers and have been diagnosed with anaemia and am veggie too just to make things complicated! Bran flakes, museli, dried fruit, chickpeas, spinach and baked beans are some good veggie sources. Drinking citrus juices while eating these will help with absorbtion.

Fishcake -Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter.

On the frugal front I have had some big spends this quarter but they are budgeted for it just skews my budget a bit but it will all work out later in the year.

We are off to renew our costco card this weekend and stock up on loo roll, non bio powder, razors for DH and kitchen towel. I am using some of my bonus to buy a new shower screen and loo seat but will add these into my anything else category so that next year I can see exactly what I have spent as this is my first year doing the challenge and will help with next years budget if I include everything.

loopychriss

Fishcake_Random wrote: »

I know you guys like crafty stuff and free things so look at what me made on the 19th.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=110977&id=100000649358672

Will catch up soon
x x x

Hi Fishcake

Many congratulations to you and OH on the birth of Anyanka.... can't actually see the photo because facebook wants me to log in and I don't belong.... but I'm sure she's beautiful. Hope you are both well