FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 2, April - June.

Ches

Hello to everyone and apologies for not posting for weeks. However, I have been keeping to the plan, which was to live on £4160 for the year ie £80 per week for everything except household bills. To the end of April I have spent £1440 so spot on so far. Incidently the household bills have totalled £1210.92 for the same period and I have saved a staggering £2800.

I can't say its been hard but there have been times when I would have liked to have had more cash in my purse but the objective has been met and next week I am paying for my holiday (Med cruise in the Azura).:j

Here's to the next 4months :beer:as I am already planning (in my head) to take my OH on a coach trip to Russia next year. How cool is that.:j

grandma247

Nualabuala I hope you feel better soon.
2TR I am glad your mum is home. Take care of yourself and ask for some respite help sometimes.

queen_of_string

Nuala, just quickly delurking to say thay it might be worth you taking a look at Eager learner's daily clicks thread and trying daily clicks if youre not already doing them, boring and time consuming, but worth upto 2.50 GBP a day at the mo, which all helps. Clicks and daily scratchies help fill my day while I am fairly incapacitated atm.

Get well soon.

Erme

Hugs Nuala. Am hormonal and grumpy most ams and most of the time I end up taking this out on Ma via text because I'm still not over last week. Yesterday her retort was 'have you washed the kitchen floor yet' and I'm like 'no, I'm tired and been doing laundry and ironing all afternoon/eve'. But I did it and pulled the back again in the process. I remind her I'm the black sheep (she can't repair the damage she has done now) and she says 'change the record' and I'm like 'you haven't even heard me on that one. Half the things you say to me you'd never dare say to no.1 daughter...then it goes on. Finishing with me saying she acts like a big kid and should see a psych and her accusing me of attention seeking for the most benign comment (NO ONE ACCUSES ME OF ATTENTION SEEKING...SHE HAS JUST STARTED THIS...SHE KEEPS THIS UP SHE CAN FORGET THE MORNING TEXTS AND POSSIBLY THE PHONE CALLS ALL TOGETHER).

I'm tired today and won't get a veg day till Friday....can't wait :T.

The washing machine is only partially labour/time saving. It's actually not time saving cos it only takes 1/2 a basket so takes 2 hours to do a load (same as before) and like you have to put the water in for the rinse yourself from the tap. But will do me for now and it only takes a day to dry stuff on the airer .

So sorry to hear you're sick Nuala...



(by the way guys I just open a new tab, google the image I want then cut and paste the url with at the end....for more info on code for this board go here. I learnt my basics a few years ago and am glad they work on here ....

Anyhow....rant over...things to do...am very tired....could do with a nap but no time :mad:

E

Frugaldom

Ches, Well done with the holidays.

LS, glad court wasn't such an ordeal as you thought.

NB, hope Shingles clear up soon and that you feel better

SF, going for a quick look at your blog, hope things aren't too bad. (Edited in - can't find it.)

Not much to report from frugaldom - still frugaling, still saving every penny I can and still keeping a close eye on the grocery budget that's greatly helped by LETS and other trading/bartering.

lyndasharp

looby-loo wrote: »

lyndasharp - I hope my friend has as much success as you, I'll tell her about you tomorrow as a little glimmer of hope for her next week. She is in the same situation.


Another £25 win on the premium bonds, better than nothing but just for once I should like to wi more than the minimum.

Congrats on your win, it all helps!

Sorry to hear that your friend is having tenant problems too. We filled in the court forms ourselves online, and the lettings agency did the section 8 eviction notice, so it was a relief that we'd done it all correctly, and for only £100 which is way less than solicitors charge for it It actually wasn't worth us paying a solicitor for the amount of rent he's paying (well, not paying).

Spent lots of money buying a welder yesterday, and lots of panels to buy soon too. I sold my car to my Dad, so he's paying for the restoration of our car and I'm not including it in my budget expenses. Hope that's not cheating too much In case anyone is interested, restoration progress is posted here http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=32267

phoebe03cat

Just popping in to say hi, still here. DH came up trumps last night and knocked out a dog ramp for me, very impressed. He recycled bits and pieces from everywhere;cost £0. Don't know why I didn't realise goggie won't be able to go up and down steps for some time cos of his little joints. DH thought I was joking! Hope you are feeling Ok Nuala.

NualaBuala

Evening all :wave:

Thanks so much for all the good wishes! You're all so lovely!!! I don't think I have a bad case of it cos I'm itching to get out and about!

Glad it went well in court Lynda, and thanks for the clicking suggestion. Ironically there seems to be a slowdown in the number of surveys I'm getting at the mo and I'm almost at the threshold for another voucher so I'm a little bit impatient!

queen_of_string wrote: »

Nuala, just quickly delurking to say thay it might be worth you taking a look at Eager learner's daily clicks thread and trying daily clicks if youre not already doing them, boring and time consuming, but worth upto 2.50 GBP a day at the mo, which all helps. Clicks and daily scratchies help fill my day while I am fairly incapacitated atm.

Get well soon.

Thank you :T - I haven't done all those daily clicks, so will check that out. Got a bit distracted today. In fact I just remembered I had signed up to the ones that cover Ireland ages ago but haven't been near them for ages. So must get back into that again. Sorry to hear you're incapacitated right now ... hope you're ok, even if you're not properly ok if you know what I mean!

Thanks for the image instructions Erme and for the good wishes!:T I confess that your post gave me a wee smile ... your situation with your Mum may be a pain in the you-know-what for you. But the way you tell it is hilarious to me! (Ever considered a career as a scriptwriter?) I do sympathise though, I was the black sheep in my family for years. Well they say I wasn't but it sure felt like it. I bet your Mum regards you a lot more highly than she lets on. Sounds like you're being a domestic goddess with all that cleaning - hope you make time for coffee and a treat! Big hugs to you - one of these days I will do a nice piccie!

I think I'll venture to the shops tomorrow if I'm up to it as I have cabin fever so have been busily making lists. I quite fancy baking something so will stock up on ingredients so there will be no excuse when the notion takes me. The only problem (if you can call it that) is that because I live alone, I will have to eat everything myself! Also, either I confine myself to stuff that goes on a baking sheet, or in a square or loaf tin or else I'll have to shell out for a muffin tray or sandwich tins.

Have just watched a gardening programme I hadn't seen before; The Beechgrove Garden on BBC! Scotland. I quite liked it. I did enjoy The Edible Garden (which I found a bit frothy) but I prefer the more traditional type of programme that are more substance than style. I'm so new to this gardening malarky that I need proper info!

Hope you've all had a good day and hugs to anyone who'd like one!

candygirl

Am really really trying to be frugal, amid the hectic social whirl :rotfl::rotfl:Have got Boo(dgd) for 10 days now while her Mum goes to Egypt, and did I get a word of thanks?:mad::mad:No just a long list of instructions that's like telling you're grandma to suck eggs:mad::mad:
Am going to the Lakes for 2 weeks with Mum on Sat, and taking Boo so we should have a fab time.Mr Meerkat is coming up the middle weekend for Cartmel races, and staying over:eek::eek:
Will try and be frugal by taking a lot of food and wine with us, as the local shop is a right rip off!!
ERME you make me laugh hun, your sense of humour will see you through with your Mum:rotfl::rotfl:
NUALA hope you are feeling a bit better now hun xx:A

BigMummaF

My first AppF00d order arrived safely this morning but something has been left off but still charged, which has taken the shine off a bit Still, I've sent an email & will see what I need to do next.
I also made a boo-boo with the dried pineapple *enter screwed-up face smilie here* I was expecting it to be more like sultanas or glace cherries, but it was very much a dry food. Tried adding it to a tub of the peach & pear thinking the juice would help....I'm not sure I could use it in anything to be honest It has the texture of pap & disintegrates if you look at it the wrong way but there you go, I tried it & this time, it didn't work. Thank goodness I didn't pay more for it than I did :j