FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE part 3, July - Dec 2010

xnatalie81x

Hello - i have been reading and send hugs to all xxx

Have been to the allotment today - hadd to get rid of mine when i moved as only Borough residents can hold allotments and i moved BUT to coincide my mum got her half a lottie - she lives 45 secs walkin distance from the allotment and i live 4 mins walking distance from my mums :T so things have been looking up lots this end (well apart from having to have some semblance of contact with their useless t*wat of a dad - but i will breathe and stay positive)

So, over we went and another allotmenter is giving up his second plot but said we could help ourselves to his strawberry [STRIKE]weeds[/STRIKE] plants, as the plot has been neglected for some time lol. I dug up around 8 plants and replanted them (that was fun - i am 36 weeks pregnant lol) while mum dug over and planted our cabbage seedlings and covered them with netting (with my dads help) - and dad dug another bed which we shall be our onion bed in the week - plus the other allotmenter said we could take raspberry bushes as the plot of weeds has around 50 of them all over the front - i have taken 1 to put in my garden at home - will take another 15 or so strawberries to put in the bed as only filled 1/4 of it and there must be around 200 on the plot lol. I will take a photo if ur interested as it is amazing! I am also putting my name on the waiting list as being able to walk round is so so convenenient!!

Budget going excellent - but have written my spangly 2011 budget ready as i am desperate to get started again after the upheavel of this yr!!! Me and mum are going to really get our allotment and gardens going this year too to reduce food budget by loads and loads lol

I hope everyone else can stay positive now it is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!

grandma247

Hi xnatalie I am glad everything is going well for you.

We are not doing too bad but have to have the boards replace at the gable end of the roof, £325 but because of this challenge and the overtime back on now we have managed to get the money together and after a false start it is being done on Friday.

Savvy_sewing

Why is it the more I want to save, the more I seem to be spending?
Where is the willpower gone?
I need to save up for carpets for the new house, when its ready at the end of November. I do have some savings, but after years of debt, I do not want to use it all up? So I wanted to make do and mend as the saying goes, for the next month. Looking over the last two weeks, I have spent nearly 2 months worth of budget? I still have both the twins birthdays in November and DGS1 will also be 3 at the end of November!.

Need an injection of better willpower thats for sure.

Frugaldom

Mooloo, revert to the Billy Can method to ensure you feel 100% confident in what you are spending is for the right needs rather than spilling into the 'wants' categories. I'm sure a 3 year old will be just as happy with a homemade card and an assortment of homemade edible goodies as anything else.

spending here going not too badly with about one third cut from the weekly electricity bill, thanks to having the stove fitted now. I just need to keep on making space to store any pallets we can salvage but now know that we can have 10 packed into a van and it costs £5 in fuel, so 50p per pallet and one keeps the stove going for 2 days. It means loads of sawing and chopping but it has to be better than letting the electricity costs run away with over 25% of the annual budget.

Going to have to tighten up even more for next year, as houseshare losing the bulk of his income and that's what pays the rent & council tax. My income isn't secure as far as cash is concerned, so I'm planning on budgeting on far less in an effort to amass as much savings as possible, 'just in case'. With no access to Government/State benefits, savings are all we have to fall back on but I don't mind this. (Mooloo, it's the keeping out of debt that matters more, having the savings to do what needs to be done is the main thing. )

Next year's budget has already been done here, too. Cashback sites are really pulling in their horns with less and less available. Free scratchcards have gone completely and any sites offering points have slashed the number of points available, so none of the income generated from any of these things can be relied on any more. eBid & eBay sales have dried up completely, although HS is still managing to sell quite a few collectors books. My giess is that 2011 is going to be much more difficult on the same £4,000 budget. Prices of most things are increasing but income is reducing. I suspect that my 2011 budget will need to be cut, taking it below the original £4k challenge amount. Thank goodness for sites like Approved Foods, Food Bargains and, the most recent one I've been introduced to, Bigbrandsforless.co.uk

Grain prices increasing with every order so it's time to stock up with this winter's porridge, lentils and soup mixes, not to mention poultry food.

Best wishes to all who are feeling the pinch or are under the weather. Hope things improve for you all.

mardatha

It's not getting any easier and that's a fact. Every time I get the food bill sorted, something happens and I have to change things. This time his diabetes went haywire again and we had to change to low-carb, which rules out things like pasta and potatoes and means more meat, fish, and eggs. Our coal went up this week as well, not sure if thats nationwide or just our coalman.
Am looking to get some siberian kale seeds and try it , also next year Russian tomatoes which have a much shorter growing time. Am sure with big south facing windows you could grow something in winter..

NualaBuala

grandma247 wrote: »

Frugaldom has a can called billy that that kind of money goes into.

see this post http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=8496837&postcount=3178
scroll down to get an explanation

Frugaldom wrote: »

Mooloo, revert to the Billy Can method to ensure you feel 100% confident in what you are spending is for the right needs rather than spilling into the 'wants' categories. I'm sure a 3 year old will be just as happy with a homemade card and an assortment of homemade edible goodies as anything else.
.

Sorry to be a bit thick, but what is Billy for and what do you fund him with? I did read the post on the old thread but wasn't sure if that is for essentials for a way to save anything leftover. I have several bank accounts plus a jar for the various things I need to save for but what the hell, I like the sound of Billy!

Mooloo, I know it's easy for me to say since I don't have children. But I really don't think you need to spend much to keep them happy. I think it was Grandma247 who posted a link to a pdf on the It's tough thread with lots of frugal ideas. I have a 6 year old cousin and she has every expensive toy imaginable but most of them are cast aside. What she seems to love most is being played with regardless of what the game is, often just a ball or marbles. Last time I saw her we made a homemade obstacle course and she had zero interest in anything bought.

mardatha wrote: »

It's not getting any easier and that's a fact. Every time I get the food bill sorted, something happens and I have to change things. This time his diabetes went haywire again and we had to change to low-carb, which rules out things like pasta and potatoes and means more meat, fish, and eggs. Our coal went up this week as well, not sure if thats nationwide or just our coalman.
Am looking to get some siberian kale seeds and try it , also next year Russian tomatoes which have a much shorter growing time. Am sure with big south facing windows you could grow something in winter..

:eek::eek::eek:
Now I am really worried about you. Times must be tough indeed. Ah no, kale is lovely really. I'm guessing from the names they are well-adapted to cold northern places, will be interested to know how you get on with them. Is your beloved on board with the low carb thing? Cos you could drop a few subtle hints about getting hens to keep him in eggs.

ChinaTea, just spotted your post about having tests done - hope everything is ok. I sometimes just skim through and miss important stuff - sorry. Hugs to you and have my fingers crossed.

Hope everyone is ok and hugs to anyone who isn't. All is fine here - it's got a lot colder but I am fine thanks to all the tips from Preparing for Winter. I'm off to do my iMeasuring now and pat myself on the back that gas is still low. :A

Kerry_Woman

Am off work this week, am temping in a school office at the moment and have been asked to work at least 6 more weeks after half term. Got plans to sort things in the flat, especially to use what is in the freezer and store cupboards. Everything is going up in price. Seem to be doing alright with NSD's. Now have to look at other ways to cut down on or use what I have before I buy anything. Might look at my budget for next year this week.

Hugs for those who need them.

JayneC

Hi all, how's things? I checked my budget and miraculously appear to be well under at the moment - doesn't feel like it I have to say?! Most of my catergories seem to have been set about right but am overspent on clothing (but not by much) and leisure (by quite a lot!). Think I'm going to do a personal leisure and family leisure next time so I can keep better tabs on it. Holiday budget was underspent so that can go towards the leisure. Haven't spent much on DD3 and DS generally, it's been mainly to do do with schooll/college. DD3 has a parttime job so tends to buy her own stuff I pay for her travel to college and towards trips and anything she needs for her course, plus she's doing LAMDA (acting) exams so I'm paying for those lessons, but she tends to buy clothing and pay for any personal stuff - socialising, mobile phone, etc. DS has pocket money and that's it really, he gets guitar lessons at school but doesn't do any other activities at the moment - can't prise him off his xbox! DD2 has her own income and actually contributes board, so only feed her and DGS, though sometimes I pay for them to join in daytrips and stuff, she's got a job now so she should be able to pay her way a bit more easily...

I'm on track to pay off my loan and cc by April YAY!! and if I do I shall try to go parttime at work, so I can spend more time at my other garden, being more self sufficient, and try to set up a little online crafts business (if that takes off hopefully I can give up working for somebody else and be my own boss!).

DS has 3 mates sleeping over tonight (I'm such a soft touch) so have to think of something cheap and easy to feed them all!! I'm thinking maybe HM pizza and chips?

Anyways have waffled on enough, take care everyone back soon x

pink_numbers

NualaBuala wrote: »

That's tricky isn't it. I think it helps if you start off by thinking about what you REALLY want deep down. Security? Freedom? Or new shoes?

SHOES :D:D

(only kidding, I've worn the same boots for three years)

I know what you mean, I want a secure future for the two of us. I'd rather spend at 40% to know that I can go on for longer, than spend 100% of our income and have no security. The only problem is, building security can be a bit boring! lol

Mooloo - agh! I know what it's like having so many birthdays in November. I seem to be surrounded by Scorpios. For the most part, I am giving them my time, such as writing a long letter to distant friends, making something for them or doing something with them. In the ages where everyone has everything, time seems to be more memorable than stuff. I hope you get to sort all the birthdays out without going over budget I'm a Buddhist but never been to retreats, what are the main things you gain from retreats?

Frugaldom - wow, I've only just started thinking about next year's budget and yours is already done! How on earth do you find places to cut back from when you're on a tight budget already?

mardatha - I tried those tomatoes (I think ours were siberian?? I got it from the real seed catalogue) this year, and it's the first time we've managed to grow a good crop of mini tomatoes in our north facing garden in Lancashire. I highly recommend them

We just did a massive three months shop for food to freeze. Now we have 6 months of dry good and 3 months of freezer food, I won't have to step into a supermarket for at least 3 months (I hate supermarkets). We just have an awful lot of processing to do tomorrow, mincing meat, making sausages, etc. PHEW!

NualaBuala

Wow, well done Jayne! :T

Kerry Woman, great news that you have some regular work lined up. I'm also thinking about next year's budget. My goal for this year was to spend less than last year - I think I aimed for a 10% cut. Not sure how much I can crunch this years figures though.