FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE part 3, July - Dec 2010

NualaBuala

Hooray! I'm delighted for you Erme! :j

Sounds like everyone is doing very well. :T

I will have to do some more budget rejigging after my socialising category took a hammering over the weekend. I should be able to claw the money back from somewhere although that is getting more tricky with only 2 months left to go. Well worth it though - met some lovely MSEers at the Dublin meet up and then some friends for coffee on Sunday. I am quite exhausted and feeling sick cos I overdid it but it made me happy to be out and about doing normal things so worth it on balance I think.

Erme

This is more details about the job (sorry it's cut and pasted) and about all I can give on here...anyone want any more pm me...

it's domestic cleaning and I'll mostly be doing it when folk are out at work but it'll be rewarding and I enjoy cleaning. I should also get it initially at least under the permitted work rules so I'll be £20 better off ...but first things first - need to pay for the DM's I bought on the OD at the weekend because like I figured I would need decent shoes for work and I'd applied for so many things on the classifieds on Friday I knew I'd get something... It was a well known classifieds ad site. Seems folk are putting less of these low paid jobs in the paper and more online...worth knowing for job hunters...

Eventually I want to be cleaning at the hospital which is 1/2 hour walk from here and bus journey home. But that's wee while off. I could go for the psych hospital which is only about 10 mins walk but being a service user it's just too close to home (and also knowing a lot of the staff etc)...

Anyhow rome wasn't built in a day and I gotta start somewhere and I've not worked in over 10 years though done lots of vol jobs

E

knithappens

yayyy managed a NSD yesterday, and just paid off £5 off my cc using the £5 reward i get from my halifax account. Very tired today - feel another cold soming on, ahh well off to work, have a great day everyone

Frugaldom

Hi fruguys and frugals

Have discovered the joys of Top Brands for Less so the house is full of naking mixes that should she me avoiding the cakes aisle for at least another year. :rotfl: I'm also awaiting arrival of my Food Bargains orders as they're selling pasta and pulses for 49p per kilo. Neighbour across the field and I went to town on that bargain! The Frugaldom kitchen is absolutely bursting at the seams.

Erme - my 'EEK' budget isn't part of my actual income, it's what I 'earn' from everything else I do - points, trading on eBid & eBay, trading through LETS, winnings, sales of surplus eggs, cash gifts, cashback, interest on savings etc. I'll try to find the links to the previous challenges. If I didn't earn the extra 'income' then the things bought with the EEK fund wouldn't be bought in the first place unless I used savings, which defeats the purpose of trying to be financially self-suffucient.

Edited in from the £1000 in 100 days challenge, which became my 'EEK' (Everything Else Kitty).

All income that is not part of your normal, regular income can be counted and gets used to either pay off a debt, buy something special, neutralise your current spending or to increase your savings.

Feel free to join us and compare notes on how we each earn our extras. Last challenge saw some spectacular results! There's matched betting, free bingo, free scratchcards, cashback, vouchers, competitions, decluttering via online auctions & classifieds, car boot sales or you may even decide to work extra overtime, take on a second job, set up a home-based business or even start a cottage-style industry. Whatever you do, have fun finding those extra pennies that make the pounds that make the debts disappear and the rewards much richer! Above all, have a great year debt-busting and saving.

Small print - if in doubt about how this extra income may affect your current employment contract, tax, national insurance or any benefits you may receive etc, please check with the relevant agencies or authorities.

mama67

Frugaldom wrote: »

End of another month, time to reflect on the spend to date, seeing as we're now 5/6 of the way through 2010.
To date, I have spent a grand total of £2,956.56 plus rent & council tax, made up of the following. (This isn't what I have used, only what I have spent. I'm pretty well ahead with most things as far as being stocked up is concerned.)

Groceries - £939.25
Toiletries - £41.42
Cleaning & laundry products - £6.64
Electricity - £1,020
Coal - £98.50
Logs - £120
Internet - £134.41 (includes phone calls)
Mobile - £15
Telephone - £120.01
TV - Still to pay
Clothing & Footwear - £27.02
Gifts - £176.92
Travel - £82.50
Insurance - £44.63 (excludes National Insurance)
Other/Misc - £130.16

HAVE to comment to Thrifty, though - WOW! At nursery fees! Is it really worth it? :eek:

Frugaldom just highlighted the 2 above as you seem to be covering phone twice, forgive me if i'm wrong

Fishcake_Random

Afternoon Frugalers,
I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for this week, as I haven't been out due to the weather I haven't spent anything as OH has picked up the milk ect on his way home from the shop. To celebrate I've popped a few extra pounds in the savings and treated myself to 2 balls of wool to crochet towards OH's secret present project. My biggest issue is that I now have commited myself to crocheting 109 granny squares of green wool. And thats just the green!!! I have other colors that need doing after that.
Ooooh errrr
Congrats to Erme to, really pleased for you hun.

x x x x

Erme

Fishcake if you are going to make a patchwork crocheted afghan (out of granny squares) you need at least 2 colours and a tonne of poly bags and sew as you go....

The poly bags are to keep the seperate coloured squares as you make them and you really don't want to leave the sewing till the end cos it does your head in...

But go you...how are you getting on with the crochet stitches?

E
PS. I have a cold :P

cw18

mama67 wrote: »

Frugaldom just highlighted the 2 above as you seem to be covering phone twice, forgive me if i'm wrong

I assumed Frugalom does what I used to - pay line rental to one company, but buy broadband and phone useage from another (though in my case I used 3 companies - one for the line, one for the b/band and one for my calls)

mama67

cw18 wrote: »

I assumed Frugalom does what I used to - pay line rental to one company, but buy broadband and phone useage from another (though in my case I used 3 companies - one for the line, one for the b/band and one for my calls)

didn't think like that Cheryl which was a doh moment as that's what i do.

top_drawer_2

Erme wrote: »

This is more details about the job (sorry it's cut and pasted) and about all I can give on here...anyone want any more pm me...

it's domestic cleaning and I'll mostly be doing it when folk are out at work but it'll be rewarding and I enjoy cleaning. I should also get it initially at least under the permitted work rules so I'll be £20 better off ...but first things first - need to pay for the DM's I bought on the OD at the weekend because like I figured I would need decent shoes for work and I'd applied for so many things on the classifieds on Friday I knew I'd get something... It was a well known classifieds ad site. Seems folk are putting less of these low paid jobs in the paper and more online...worth knowing for job hunters...

Eventually I want to be cleaning at the hospital which is 1/2 hour walk from here and bus journey home. But that's wee while off. I could go for the psych hospital which is only about 10 mins walk but being a service user it's just too close to home (and also knowing a lot of the staff etc)...

Anyhow rome wasn't built in a day and I gotta start somewhere and I've not worked in over 10 years though done lots of vol jobs

E

My part-time job is as a Domestic Housekeeper in a private house and I honestly think it helped me retain my sanity. Cleaning is so therapeutic; instant gratification and at the end of a day you are physically tired. I managed to lose a stone in the first 2-3 months of beginning my job too so really good for my health.

Good shoes are a must as are comfortable, cool clothes - you dont have sweat when your moving constantly. Lots of spare rubber gloves because I soon found that the cleaning liquids affected my skin adversely and caused issues with my hands.

Jen