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

jtb2412

Hi everyone

Well .......... I did it :j :j :j!!! From 28th January I'll be an offical SAHM :j :j :j. Thanks to everyone who wished me well for today xxx

I think it came as a complete shock to my boss and I did feel quite guilty but everyone's been great, so my initial guilt eased a bit during the course of the morning.

I've got lots of things I want to do/try so I'm going to make myself a list over the next few weeks. A couple of people at work asked me if I'd be bored once I gave up ........ I did start to giggle and they must have thought I was mad until I explained I'd have more than enough to keep me occupied (allotment, new exercise routine, Girlguides, batch cooking, jam/chutney making, garden here at home, bit of decluttering/decorating, saving money, making money (ebay, survey sites) plus all the things I want to try, crochet/knitting/sewing/art to name a few :rotfl:.) I think they thought I was even madder then ! :eek: :rotfl:

Re taking some of my work notice period as holiday (sorry I can't remember who asked now ), I've taken all holiday I'm allowed so none to take. Plus I don't want to leave them in the lurch too much, I'm the only one that knows how to do my job so I need to make sure I've left plenty of instructions for the next person who comes along. Recruitment process is a nightmare as we're all CRB checked so not much chance of my replacement being in post before I leave :rolleyes:.

CW I'm so glad you've bought doggie home and you have meds to try and help. My MIL and FIL lost their beloved Timmy a couple of years ago and the vet said to them they were doing the right thing - he had stopped eating and drinking and had lost use of his back legs If your doggie is still eating and drinking then maybe it's not time yet - I think you will know when the time has come xxx

I've only skim read so apologies if I've missed anything important , I'll try and catch up later tonight.

TTFN xx

the_cat

Yumm - I now want quiche! Will have to add it to the meal plan later in the week;)

Spent on a few bits today. Fruit/veg from lidl, 4 new school shirts in bigger sizes for DS2 in the sale, plus some stuff for DS1(he pays for his own though so that doesn't count!)and a very cheap dress for a function in Jan but that will prob be going back! Shhhh :rotfl:

OH's car wouldn't start this morning - guessing battery so will prob have money to fork out for that. Good job I allowed for car repairs this year! Once he has charged it we might be lucky, fingers crossed.

Hope you are all having a good day
Cat

debtmess

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

I made a giant quiche with the remains of the veg from christmas and the remnants of a ham joint , also got a vat of minestrone cooking in the pressure cooker with the rest of it

Made and frozen a dozen ham sandwiches for ds packed lunch too.

Can anyone reccomend a decent flask a wide necked food one and a regular one for drinks my stainless one leaks and never really kept the coffee hot need one before uni starts back again

Thanks

Shaz

that is making me feel hungry now looks bloody yummy

debtmess

weezl74 wrote: »

hiya was it you whose kitchen scales weren't working? one idea I had was to look for american recipes so the measurements are all in cups, that way it's about proportions and not exact weights. as long as you use the same cup for the whole recipe, should be fine

hth x

yes it was me will look up a cup recipie for tonight or tomorrow, have found some batterys cheap on ebay so may use the last of my pp funds to buy them

spookycat_2

Right we have to do something about how much we spend, Dh has been trying for ages but is generally thwarted by me :rolleyes:.
I'm inspired by your posts so we'll give this a whirl.

There's no way we'll manage anywhere near £4000 though, that's not gonna happen

Need to a list of spends then don't I? Eek!!!

spookycat_2

do we have a percentage budget per head?
Is the £4000 for say 2 adults? How much does that translate for 2 adults and 4 children, or is it irrelevant and amounts are just according to personal needs?

jtb2412

NYK - I shall be making the clootie tomorrow (day off), really looking forward to it. I love spotted di*k (didn't think it would let me write the rude word lol) so I imagine it will be similar? Do you eat it on it's own or with custard?

knithappens

Aril wrote: »

Hello fellow frugallers:j:j
Just a short one today as am back at work and on my lunchbreak. Gradually getting back into the swing of it all but was a bit of a shock to the system first thing:D

Never much scope for devious frugalling ways on a workday but I am decluttering some of OH's unwanted paperbacks to a friend:D We're having a freezer dip tonight for tea- not entirely sure what I'll find when I defrost it all so that will be a bit of an adventure:rotfl::rotfl: It should be another NSD though provided the small person doesn't come back from school with a request for money for anything.

Have a good frugalling day!
Arilx

how about charing your phone laptop at work, I have to use my laptop for work so i charge it there when in work, same with my mobile.

FrankieM

rp in regards to a lawn mower. What about looking on freecycle or buying second hand off ebay? I don't know how large your garden is, but we bought a second hand petrol lawn mower off ebay 2 years ago for £40 and its still going strong. There isn't much that I would insist was brand new these days...

knithappens

spookycat wrote: »

Right we have to do something about how much we spend, Dh has been trying for ages but is generally thwarted by me :rolleyes:.
I'm inspired by your posts so we'll give this a whirl.

There's no way we'll manage anywhere near £4000 though, that's not gonna happen

Need to a list of spends then don't I? Eek!!!

The way i see it anything less than we spend right now is a bonus, good luck