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

ifonlyitwaseasier

morning folks, tis soooo cold but i am not putting the heating on yet, have things to do to keep me warm
have to make indian style beef kebabs for dinner (no recipe just made up to how i fancy), beetroot soup, a couple of loaves of bread, some banana muffins and then if i have any energy i'll be back here to catch up

Chika - i do WW so if you want any recipes let me know, have LOADS saved and the low point soups are great in this weather

take care all and wrap up

ioiwe

XSpender

No DDs out today and have had 2 NSDs in a row.

CW - Glad to hear you brought your dog home, hope the meds do the trick.

We have had another 4 inches of snow overnight and I really must go out and post a parcel and a birthday card. The parcel may have to wait but the card has to go today. Why is it the only time I have no stamps in my purse I need one and will struggle to get to the shop?

DH is still on his diet but the fruit bowl is running a bit low. I was hoping to avoid shopping until Friday a) to avoid going to the shop and buying more than I need and b) because I hate driving in the snow and there is no where close enough to walk in the snow and ice with a bump. I will try and see if he will eat the tinned in juice fruit I have in and the fruit juice instead and maybe some carrot sticks.

I have been using my day to page diary to record spending, the meal plan and to list tasks/housework and it is working really well, but I have only been doing it for 5 days:rolleyes:

Meal plan today is porridge/cereal for breakfast, soup and HM bread for lunch and veggie chilli out of freezer, HM wedges and a little cheese for dinner. Will do my meal plan for the next 2 weeks so that I just buy what I need on Friday.

Another cupboard has been listed in the 'storecupboard' notebook, just the big cuboard and garage freezer to tackle now and I am not going to stand in the garage in this weather!

Keep warm and safe everyone

XS

lingojingo

I'm the other side of the Pennines from Manchester, and it started snowing heavily just before 8 o'clock. Have just spent an hour and a half walking to work and back, they only decided to shut the school after everyone had set off! :mad: Even an ambulance with blue flashing light could only creep along about 5mph down the hill in the village :eek:(ambulance station ridiculously situated just round the corner from me, with a steep hill down to the main road).

Now back home in the warm and going to spend the day decluttering.

Keep safe everyone, don't venture out unless you really have to.

flippin36

Morning all, hope you are all managing in the snow.

Ok, I thought to keep myself motivated I will post my list of new ideas as and when I think of them. I was having loads of ideas in the bath last night. I have also managed to secure myself a Saturday job to help bridge the gap. Not really looking forward to it as its a bit boring and I will miss my Saturdays with the kids - but its not forever.

To check my gas/electic tarif
Stop using tumble dryer
turn heating off for one hour extra throughout the day
wash clothes at 40
iron less :T
stop hair straightening
Look for discounted/yellow sticker foods
Do only 1 supermarket shop a week
Stop drinking booze
Have a no car/walking day
No clothes buying for myself for a year
No cosmetics until debt paid off
Get rid of landline/text and email more

New ideas
Use my slow cooker
No spending mon-frid
Grow my hair and trim it myself
Holiday nearer to home this year (petrol)
Bulk buy food?
Use a mooncup (sorry if too much information)
Bulk buy dog food
Use my sewing machine to make gifts

If anyone has any other ideas it will be welcomed. Never felt so determined to be frugal and am open to most ideas

candygirl

We're snowed in here:rolleyes:DD dropped DGD off to go to college, then came back after an hour cos the roads are trecherous:eek::eek:I did warn her but you know how they are:rolleyes:
Got lots to do anyway, inc chucking lots of bigger clothes away with my weight loss :j:j:j
Dinner will be Beans on toast, and tea's a weird veggie concoction I bunged in the SC yest, with wedges:p:p
Stay safe in the snow everyone xx:A

flippin36

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

morning folks, tis soooo cold but i am not putting the heating on yet, have things to do to keep me warm
have to make indian style beef kebabs for dinner (no recipe just made up to how i fancy), beetroot soup, a couple of loaves of bread, some banana muffins and then if i have any energy i'll be back here to catch up

Chika - i do WW so if you want any recipes let me know, have LOADS saved and the low point soups are great in this weather

take care all and wrap up

ioiwe

I'm not putting my heating on either (not just for me). Don't feel cold yet as I haven't been in long, but am going to keep busy today. I am going to clear some shelving in the garage so I can use the space to bulk buy food next week.

Kiwisaver_2

flippin36 wrote: »

Use my slow cooker

If anyone has any other ideas it will be welcomed. Never felt so determined to be frugal and am open to most ideas

I use mine at least once a week, but vowed to try to use it more this year and bookmarked this site, which I am hoping to explore through the coming year.

A year of slow cooking, started as a challenge to use the slow cooker every day for a whole year - seems she did amazingly well and a lot of recipes I like the look of.


http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

knithappens

Kiwisaver wrote: »

A year of slow cooking, started as a challenge to use the slow cooker every day for a whole year - seems she did amazingly well and a lot of recipes I like the look of.


http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

i was just about to post this too, i really like following the blog

elaine373

Morning all, snowing steadily here in brummy land.I managed to get the kids to school via a short walk and hoping we arent called back to pick up the children as i need a few hours to myself after the school holidays.;) Love my kids to bits but my son has been bouncing off the walls with boredom. I resorted to a trip yesterday to a soft play venture and that ended up costing me £18 for admission and lunch.(Not allowed to take food in) Hopefully that will be the last expensive outing for us for at least a month. I am taking the children to the cinema within the next feww weeks but have free tickets via my son who works at one I am also saving my tesco points for the summer when i hope to take them to drayton manor.I have to get the groceries that i was meant to get yesterday as we need milk and bread urgently. i know my aim of £65 per week will be a struggle so i may have to add or seperate the budget for toiletries when they are needed.some people are aiming to live on £4000 a year, if i can spend that on food/toiletries i would be pleased.On the earning front, I have been asked to start my dinner lady job today so thats extra income will which come in useful. Have a good day everyone and do keep warm.x

Paulgonnabedebtfree

Not quite sure what I'm playing at here. I bought a newspaper earlier and just after leaving the shop thought "What the hell have I just done?" I had already decided that papers were banned ths year unless they gave access to a special offer that I wanted anyway and would be worth more than the cost of the paper - but I just forgot.
Not to worry. 40p down the drain isnb't a disaster. Maybe I should recycle it and use it as loo roll to punish myself .
I'm also thinking that maybe a £4k target is a bit high for me as a single person living in a modest, well insulated property. Perhaps it won't be enough of a challenge. I'll just be dead tight and see how it goes this year I think.