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

danielley

Good morning to you all!

NSD yesterday woo hoo! I had to use the only tin of tuna to make tuna pasta for me and OH as I didn't think he would be satisfied with a meat free meal!

Couple of questions for you frugalicious people….

As you may know I am getting new carpet in my living room today. I think that there will be some remnants of the new stuff left over and also I have all my old carpet also. Does anyone have any thrifty ideas for what I can use this for? As I am planning on doing some ‘yard gardening’ I was wondering if carpet would be a good lining for any planters I build/buy, as it will create warmth and moisture. Also, maybe I could make some little rugs? But I am not sure how to edge the carpet so it doesn’t look like, well carpet J

Also I often hear people saying ‘I have some chilli in the freezer so that is dinner sorted’ etc. How do you guys defrost things? Do you always use Microwaves, or does anyone just put stuff in the pan / oven…. I’d be interested to know.

PS Also forgot to tell you about a bargain I got on my mobile phone yesterday! I came out of contract in September (I'm with O2) and was on a sim only deal for about £15 per month (150mins 300texts), so I didn’t get a new phone. I was quite happy with that until on Tuesday, my other half tried to cancel his contract with TMobile (as he got a new one elsewhere) and they offered him a super new mega cheap deal in order to get him to stay! He couldn’t stay as he had already signed up elsewhere and was over the cancellation period (and he had really bad service from TMob so it was principal) Anyway, in desperation TMob said he could transfer the deal to someone else e.g. me! The deal they were offering was 300 anytime minutes, unlimited texts and a new phone (Nokia 6303 or Nokia 6600i slide) for £8 a month!!!!!

The only catch is it's a 24month deal and you would need to pay £36 to keep your old (other network)

I ummed and ahhed as my phone has been on the blink so we asked them if we could think it over and I though I’d give O2 a ring and see if they could match it, mainly because I have always had good service from them and I didn’t want to change my number.

The cheapest O2 could do was £10 a month, for that I get 75 anytime mins , unlimited O2 to O2 minutes (OH, Mum & Sis are O2) and unlimited texts. Plus a new Nokia 6303 (I'm not into fancy phones, just a basic Nokia does me)

Also they offered me a free Bluetooth car kit and a laptop broadband dongle, which the advisor hinted I could give away or sell on ebay.

So, I have reduced my monthly bill (£15 a month to £10 a month) and also got a new phone. I am in contract, but I never use my landline so I do need a phone for calls….

Hope you all have a fab day...

pps SkintJenny - good luck at the CAB x

LilacPixie

Snow here too. not alot but enough. My work is 20 miles away and its bad there so office closed. Currently being bad mummy and have kids watching playhouse disney and i want to assasinate the imagination movers. I have arranged a play date with a friend so it will be a spendiful day for us all today. I need diesel ( STILL not filled up) plus will pick up something to take to play date.

knithappens

quick question about the spreadsheet the totals page do you entrr monthly budget or yearly??

cake21

knithappens wrote: »

quick question about the spreadsheet the totals page do you entrr monthly budget or yearly??

yearly (message too short )

thriftylass

Gosh this thread is really busy, there are about another 5 pages overnight Will skim through in a minute.

Hinted to BF yesterday that we have to have the money talk :eek:. In a conversation to his dad I overheard how he's looking fwd to it, not. But for years we've been saying that we move to a bigger house that will be our family home but we've never done it. But we need to make a plan. Also to get him moving in terms of saving as I can't do this on my own and we shouldn't/can't rely on the profit he makes on his house (the one we live in) especially after I found out what moving house costs :eek: (20% deposit plus fees, plus.....plus.....). As much as I know he loves me and we'll be together for good it sometime really bugs me that he doesn't think of our future also in financial terms especially as we're planning to extend our family at some point soon. We don't have any debt or money worries atm and he's not irresponsible with money in a way that would risk the future but...I don't know. I let you know how it went (not sure yet when, maybe this weekend)

shaz_mum_of__2

grandma247 wrote: »

I made some easy socks last night and I am so glad I did. My toes are toasty warm. They are easy for anyone with even the most basic knowledge of knitting. I cast on 40 stitches and did knit2 purl2 rib on size 5 needles for 16 inches. The length can be adjusted, just remember that when they are stretched over the leg the length will shrink a bit. When finished cut the thread leaving a long piece for threading through the stitches and sewing the seam. I did both socks at once using seperate balls of double knit wool. It is what I call nobrainer knitting because I can do that and read my emails etc. or watch tv while doing it. I don't need to look at my knitting much as I can tell by feel if its wrong.

What stitch did you do the main part in? i have been looking for an alternative for socks with heels in , so this may be the answer to my prayers!!

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

pm me your email address xnatalie81x and i'll send you a zipped file with them don't think i can post here as copyright etc etc

Have you seen this blog - http://ukladyluck1.piczo.com/?g=55615166&cr=5&linkvar=000044

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 have a family of 4 and have found the tesco oval one adequate for our needs with leftovers it cost £12 but sometimes they are on special offer the larger one you mentioned may be good for batch cooking and you don't have to fill it , only think i would advise is get an oval one as then cooking joints of meat is easier and taste so much better thn oven cooked can't think of any occasion i would want to put the S?C in the oven and i regularly put the pain the fridge already as i tend to prepare at night whilst hubby washes dishes then just have to flick the switch in the morning

mama67

We've had more snow during the night and the school buses are cancelled although the school is open (as if we're going to drive the kids into school - 15 mile round trip) approx 4 inches on the ground.

So both boys are home, DS2 came in got changed and was back out in 10 and I probably won't see him until he's hungry.

The primary school I work at is still open but is only 1 mile up the lane, so doable with care.

I ordered some more heating oil last night as this is paid on a monthly budget account rather than the coal and logs which we have to have cash for; anyhow it was 55p/litre with an expected price increase any day apparently.

slowlyfading

Morning everyone

Got up at 7am this morning to find out that the school I'm placed in is closed today :j didn't really manage to get back to sleep though, but never mind. I'm so glad its not open today - it means, in theory, that I should be able to get an essay done and more lesson planning. I had yesterday afternoon off as well though and it didn't go to plan...

I'm aiming for another NSD today - I don't think I'll be going anywhere very much, as everywhere is really icy.

Had a bit of a annoyed moment this morning - if you live on campus, you are not allowed to park your car on it between the hours of 8am and 6pm. Normally, when I'm at school, I've left by 8am so it doesn't matter. But, the last two days I've not been able to move the car - but then this morning the ticket man was lurking, so I ran down quickly to explain. All he says is "You've had since monday night to move it - not my problem." So, I clear off all the snow and move my car - down a very steep hill to get off campus which I slid down a bit. :mad: grrr. that man is such an idiot! Two of my housemates got parking tickets for £30. I know normally it would be alright as it is your own fault for parking there, but trying to move cars when it's just thick ice in the car park and down the hill to get off campus is mad. Really annoyed me this morning!

Have a good day everyone, I'll be back on later no doubt

Frugaldom

flippin36 wrote: »

Thats what I'm going to do! Saturday is traditional for us all to go to town and have a mouch around the shops, albeit Poundshops and Wilkinsons . But we often come home £20 lighter - and to be honest its mainly me. So I have decided to get a Saturday job which means I will be earning rather than spending.

:beer::T WELL DONE YOU! That's really fantastic, the extra income will be well deserved and I hope you can find a great use for it

Pippilongstocking

Morning all - my budget almost finalised - woo hoo - will post it later

My chickens also just started laying again! Woo hoo - why now - but who knows - just glad for fresh eggs again.

Cooked them up all the scraps they don't normally like raw and old bits cauliflower and a manky cucumber from before the holidays with some brought home stale bread from trip away - I used the slow cooker over night and it seemed to work (too expensive? not sure) but I am sure these cold mornings they appreciate my slow cooker.

Got alot of cooking to do for the freezer later - went shopping late last night (9pm here they reduce most things by 90% or down to 10p) and scooped many 10p bargains which need either cooked or frozen.