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

Optimisticpair

kittiej wrote: »

Tbh I have no inclination to get CH fixed, instead I want to save up for a new, more efficient, boiler cos I think this one's about 30 years old lol.

There's new boiler help scheme in today's news bbc - £400 towards a new boiler if yours is G rated - if over 15 yrs old boiler may well be, so could be worth a look.

slowlyfading

landregistrylass wrote: »

YIPPEE.................... whoopsies on cherries, strawberries, blackberries, pears, potatoes, carrots, pineapple, houmous, yummy trifle, tarte aux fruits, runner beans AND 2 terracotta pots of hyacinths (3 bulbs in each!) All 10p each. Then 2 chicken breasts for 37p, pack sausages for 16p (x2). I only bought 1 thing at full price........ olive oil. Anyone know a good source of this more cheaply than Mr T?

Woop, fantastic! :j

purple_angel_3

Sent home from work earlier due to the snow, all is clam at the moment wait and see what tonight brings.

4th NSD of the year, very pleased.

purple-angel

XSpender

rictus123 wrote: »

Is £10500 for everything you spend? Or is that not including rent,mortage,digs, bills etc?

Im going for £6,000 for everything, digs,diesel,nights out,tools for work etc
not including debt repayments though or it would be £2k more

Hi Rictus123

The £10,500 does not include mortgage and some fixed bills and does not include debt repayments as we are on an IVA and the repayments will change when I go on maternity leave in April. Hoping for a payment break:rolleyes: If it included everything now it would be nearer £32k:eek: It does not include purchases for baby either as this is funded from savings though I will be keeping a tight rein on what we spend:D

ETA: Rozeepozee I have a recipe for black eyed beans and sausage casserole that is nice with jacket pots. Let me know if of any use and I will post it.

rozeepozee

Okay guys, I need some frugal moral guidance here. Seriously thinking about buying a slow cooker. We eat curries here at least 2 or 3 times a week and I am partial to soup. Plus, I've been known to batch cook in the past. I really like the idea of shoving a load of food in a pot and having a meal waiting for me 8 hours later. I could probably incorporate getting a meal ready first thing most mornings and leaving it to cook while I'm out and about in the day.

However, I know kitchen appliances are one of my gazingus pins (things I like to buy and don't necessarily need and just end up taking up cupboard space - see my post about the need to inventory things above!) so is this a MS buy or a green eyed consumer buy?

If the answer is yes to the former, do I buy the 6.5L Morphy Richards that's on offer at Argos atm (reduced to £20) but has no timer and might be too big? Or the Crockpot Saute 5.7L SC with timer that you can also "use on the hob, in the microwave, in the oven, in the freezer and refrigerator" and is dishwasher safe? It's £63.59 in Argos but only £41 in Costco. We're a family of 3 about to become a family of 5 in April.

Decisions, decisions!

lyndasharp

rictus123 wrote: »

Is £10500 for everything you spend? Or is that not including rent,mortage,digs, bills etc?

Im going for £6,000 for everything, digs,diesel,nights out,tools for work etc
not including debt repayments though or it would be £2k more

My £12k all in is for everything except internet (OH pays for that) and his half of the grocery bill. It covers all the bills, mortgage, holidays, but doesn't include debt repayments (mine is just student loan anyway) or any mortgage overpayments. It isn't including £4k for the wedding either, otherwise I'd have no chance of staying within that budget :rolleyes:

Light snow here, but a lot more forecast for later. Just deciding whether to leave work now before it gets worse....

grandma247

As there is not much difference in size why not buy the cheaper one and see if you like it. I have 2 large ones now thanks to one i saw in a charity shop last year.
You could also make larger portions and freeze some for later use.

Also my biggest tip would be do not put it in the cupboard. Like most of these things if it is out on the surface you are more likely to use it. When mine is out I use it nearly every day. I even heat pies and sausage rolls in mine with foil as lining and no pot in.

knithappens

rozeepozee wrote: »

Okay guys, I need some frugal moral guidance here. Seriously thinking about buying a slow cooker. We eat curries here at least 2 or 3 times a week and I am partial to soup. Plus, I've been known to batch cook in the past. I really like the idea of shoving a load of food in a pot and having a meal waiting for me 8 hours later. I could probably incorporate getting a meal ready first thing most mornings and leaving it to cook while I'm out and about in the day.

However, I know kitchen appliances are one of my gazingus pins (things I like to buy and don't necessarily need and just end up taking up cupboard space - see my post about the need to inventory things above!) so is this a MS buy or a green eyed consumer buy?

If the answer is yes to the former, do I buy the 6.5L Morphy Richards that's on offer at Argos atm (reduced to £20) but has no timer and might be too big? Or the Crockpot Saute 5.7L SC with timer that you can also "use on the hob, in the microwave, in the oven, in the freezer and refrigerator" and is dishwasher safe? It's £63.59 in Argos but only £41 in Costco. We're a family of 3 about to become a family of 5 in April.

Decisions, decisions!

i say go for the cheaper one, if i remember correctly the one from argos the dish is removable which can go in the oven ( i do with mine) the fridge and micro, I have never had to use a timer with mine and i bought it cheap for £10, was thinking instead of forking out for one with a timer how about getting a plug in timer and plugging it into that they cost a ew quid and would save you some money, also i would day go with the bigger one so you can batch cook, I hate gadets, but my slowcooker gets used constantly, actually it is falling apart, and i am thinking of getting the one from asda myself. ANd curry is so good in the slowcooker

rozeepozee

I've thought of another reason to buy - we can use it in our campervan which arrives in March :j:j:j

Why do i want the more expensive one despite there being no logic in this....?

the_cat

I've got the morphy richards one - it's great. Being bigger and an oval shape I find it more useful than the round ones as stuff like leg lamb, large chicken etc are easy to fit in.