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

ceridwen

DUH! I've obviously not woken up yet....I coulda sworn I'd put my worked-out budget here early on in this thread and cannae find it...if anyone is more awake than me and happens on it...please let me know...more New Year planning going on here...:D

rozeepozee

Kiwisaver wrote: »

The girl in the bank was a mouthy, stroppy little mare, young enough to be my daughter and she tells me 'It's soooo not the right thing to be doing, right now. Don't I know that interest rates are going to skyrocket in the coming months and everyone else is trying to to get out of these arrangements and onto fixed rates.' Perhaps they are, but perhaps madam they're not desperately trying to pay they're mortgage off within the next two years.

Anyway she reluctantly agreed to draw up the papers and will call me to go in and sign them, after I have 'consulted' with OH. Annoying woman surely thinks I'm not up to making such a big girly's decision on my own - he'll simply do as he is told.

Just reading that is making me fume! I don't know how you didn't resort to violence :rotfl:(I have a bit of a fiery temper!) The banks are in it for them to make money, not to save your's!

cw18 wrote: »

One of my jobs this morning is to update my s/sheet with grocery spends from the last couple of days - not a lot spent, but need to add it in before I lose the receipts/forget what "staff sale" receipts from the canteen covered... actually 10p for a 'deli' steak pie that had oozed a bit when baked, and 2x5p for k/mill 50/50 loaves that were a day beyond 'sell by' - a senior member of staff (manager of my manager, who isn't based in our store but came in to help out/see how we work) was horrified I was buying the bread as "it's out of date" :rolleyes2

My DP sounds a bit like your's Cheryl. He takes absolutely no interest in money and has yet to close a Aussie account that has about $30K in it that's been sitting there for 6 years, not interest earning, plus the money he accumulated in his pension pot. I once thought, if I don't do it, he will have to - well that theory proved wrong! It's now on my To Do list for this month....

I'm intending to eat pitta bread this week from a vacuum sealed packet that went out of date in September '09. What does "out of date" mean? (not a lot to me!!!)

cw18

rozeepozee wrote: »

I'm intending to eat pitta bread this week from a vacuum sealed packet that went out of date in September '09. What does "out of date" mean? (not a lot to me!!!)

We're still eating part-baked crusty rolls in the same sort of packaging - cost me 8p for a pack with 6 rolls, dated sometime in August 2009. The lass on the till (came from our local C00p before they closed) was shocked when I took the lot - and horrified when I confirmed they wouldn't all be eaten that day (or even that week).......

grandma247

The banks are in it for them to make money,

Which is why they don't like you paying anything off early. They want the interest payments.

xnatalie81x

Morning all

catzine - never to late to join us - so hugemungus welcome
glendam - don't hold back! - the more the merrier! Are you by yourself with that budget...... i am nosey
FrankieM - i am so so jealous that your schools are open!!! Ours are closed PANTS!
Ceridwen - your right about getting lemons.....i hate snow (even the noise when you walk on it erghhhhhhhhh but i can make ice cream lol

Today i will be tidying, lazing and not much lol! I cooked up a ton of potatoes that had sprouted yesterday and mashed then froze them - all thanks to this thread - usually would have binned but that is going to be at least 3 meals!! Plus the tatties ihave in the trug in the garden!

2 year old has already got nappy off - only had morning nappy, one for nap time and one for bed saving mucho nappies as was having 5-6 day previously! Just getting 5 year old to put thomas dvd on ps3 cos i have no clue how to use it - he has put me to shame lol!!!!!!!!!!!!! - mega embarassing! It is the same with xbox in his room lol - the boy even knows how to use the amp - he is like his dad............

Off to check chickadees and give them warm water and porridge and collect eggs! for brekkie

In terms of heating - we are currently at 16 degrees in the house - kids in slippers and dressing gowns and me in vert top and trousers - but rushing round after kids and up/down stairs with potties full of wee so any hotter and i may start to sweat! I don't like over 18 so am happy at this level!

flippin36

Morning Frugallers! OH said there was a reading of -0.9 degrees in the car this morning, its either on the blink or its very very cold! Kids upset this morning because they wanted a day off but the school is still open. In a way I'm glad because I'm not too well today but I can't help worrying that someone is going to be injured trying to get to school in such bad weather. Yesterday, on the road to school I saw a 4x4 sliding down the road sideways! A miracle no one has been hurt yet.

Anyway I think I'll be conducting affairs from my warm bed today, it will be a good oportunity to do my budget for the year as I'm not sure what my total aim is.

Hope you are all well and keeping safe and warm.

grandma247

flippin36 I hope you feel better soon.

this is a link to a menu planning system that was in my email this morning. You need to scroll a long way down the page to see it.

Miss_Bubbles

Morning all,daughters school is closed again so its more playing in the snow for me later...im just a big kid really!
Realised last night that we are in need of a mini shop. I tend to do one large shop a month and one mini shop-just to stock up on everyday items like bread,milk,fruits and vegetables. But i really dont fancy heading out and risking our necks on this ice so im gonna dig deep in the kitchen and use my imagination for some tasty meals!
Todays spending again (hopefully) £0.00 and even less food waste than normal-bonus!

shaz_mum_of__2

NualaBuala wrote: »

Made the leftover bolognaise into a lasagne, hope it tastes nice as I did a bit of an experiment by using yoghurt and soft cheese instead of bechamel. It looks a bit funny so fingers crossed! There are another 3 large portions left after the one I'm about to scoff so will have to squish them in the freezer somehow.

I use a yoghurt sauce topping for moussaka 1 large tub of smartprice natural yoghurt with 2 eggs beaten into it cover the mince mixture with and top with grated cheese the cook as normal iit has a solid texture rather than a saucy one but lush and good for Slim world too!!(using l/f cheese)

Miss_Bubbles wrote: »

Morning all,daughters school is closed again so its more playing in the snow for me later...im just a big kid really!
Realised last night that we are in need of a mini shop. I tend to do one large shop a month and one mini shop-just to stock up on everyday items like bread,milk,fruits and vegetables. But i really dont fancy heading out and risking our necks on this ice so im gonna dig deep in the kitchen and use my imagination for some tasty meals!
Todays spending again (hopefully) £0.00 and even less food waste than normal-bonus!

we have been doing this too since christmas it amazing what you can do with a little imagination

The snow may be bad for travelling but its great for NSD's

flippin36

Grandma247 - Have bookmarked the website (great find). I love the idea of the meal planner that goes on the fridge. Both me and OH cook and it gets very frustrating when he cooks a meal and uses up all the ingredients that was meant for something else. He sometimes sees it as a challange to empty the fridge in one go! He could look at the card and use the ingredients that is on the list. Excellent. I will enjoy making it too as I'm rather crafty!

Miss Bubbles - I have been finding it quite theraputic to be using up our stock over the past few days. Its amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination. There is an Old style board on here that is full of ideas on how to use things up and make things stretch. They are very friendly too if you have any questions.