Flat Eric's 130 day challenge

nattyt

searching me thanks for the advice about make-up....will give it a go...if i don't like it the 14 year old can have it lol!! I have a wine bottle for 5p's and its a quarter full.My daughter counted it and there is 17.25 in there so when full should be a good bit. I haven't spent any money today!! Woop woop!! Was going to do chutney but realised didn't have jars and thought i'd have to buy vinegar. Going to pinch some off my mum tomorrow!! Very money saving! Grandparents etc having some of that for x-mas!! Also have been thinking about x-mas and should be quite a stress free one this year as have been saving with Park. Also due to my cancelled wedding the photographer has said instead of losing the deposit i can have some pictures of the kids done- theres x-mas pressies for the majority of the family!!

415SanFran

Just a thought, but when I banned myself from ebay at the beginning of the year I asked my son to change the password for me, AND NOT TO TELL ME WHAT WAS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
At first this was the only way that I could stay off it, I have still used it on occasion, like to buy a book for someone's birthday that I just could not find anywhere in my town. But now that I have to justify it to my son (how embarrassing is that) I think I have used it maybe 6 times since January the 1st, and on each occasion it has been because I could not buy the item in the UK.
You seem to have covered everything else that I may have suggested, one thing though if you are all taking pack up for lunches have you looked at approved foods? There is a whole thread about them on here, I can honestly say I have never bought a drink out of the house since using the company and never payed full price them either. Worth a look

searching_me

natty thats great a :money: for you ... i really want to make jam as my OH has a big thing for jam so going to make some for him as a joke present ...

san ive heard of approvedfoods but dont get paid til week on saturday so have to wait til then ..

i did go food shopping but need milk and bread sorry to say i did spend £3 on other stuff but usually its £10 so im happy and i went for the basics line as well .. 30p for a bar of chocolate as my friday night treat seemed worth it some how .. im getting there though x

searching_me

ooo ebay i just put stuff on watch then think do i really need it ... then look for if its in my area to save on P&P as well .. if not then i dont bother i do have something on save but thats for a xmas stocking filler for my babyboy x

miss_empty_piggy

Had to buy wellies for 11yr old DD who was going to Leedsfest but felt that these were "necessary" as a) she doesn't have any and b) winter is coming up so she will need some. We had a big row in the shop when I refused to pay £20 for kids wellies. After a sulk and me telling her she'd just have to have wet feet, we went down the road and got some for £10 which I thought was fair enough. I have 2 pairs but my feet are bigger so she can have them when she grows into them!!!

Other than that have been really good. Feel quite saintly at the moment, mainly because there is nothing really that I have wanted to buy that wasn't a necessity. Keep up the good work everyone. x

nattyt

I have only bought neccessities too although not happy as the ex got a contract phone out for eldest daughter which annoyingly i've ended up paying for the past god knows how long. I never agreed to this but he just went ahead and did it anyway. Its 35 quid a month!! Crazy money for a 14 year olds phone. Anyway to stop her having calls barred i've had to pay it yet again. !!!!!!ed me right up. Had budgeted every penny and this feels like another set back. The contract ends in November.Very tempted not to pay it anymore and let him deal with the consequences. Will get her the contract i have - £10 a month 200mins and unlimited texts. What do you reckon?

nattyt

Oh and i've just walked through my house turning off all lights- god that annoys me!!

searching_me

nice one MEP ... stick to your guns ..

natty .. £35 for a contract on a 14year old?? sorry but that dude have any sense .. sod that id say you took it out you pay for it and get your £35 back off him .. £10 is more like it its all i was allowed and that was 10ish years ago ..

ive been behaving myself i went work and used my boots points for the things i needed (and boots own brand 1/3 cheaper .. or is that sainsburys who say that ) ... then gym (its only £13 a month and i can quit whenever i like so thought i'll only pay if i use itwhich i have been) then to dinner .. no extra snacks that i usually buy .. so chuffed with myself .. payday next saturday will be the challegne x

Flat_Eric

Evening all :wave:

I hope this finds you all well. Yesterday marked one week into my challenge ! Im pleased to report that I managed to avoid spending any money over the weekend either on amazon or on ebay or elsewhere. :j

In a typical weekend I would have spent quite a bit of time on ebay searching for all my favourite crafty things and placing bids on stuff I don't need so I do feel pleased that I managed to avoid the site.

I have even considered adding ebay to my banned websites list ! so the page won't even load but think I am motivated enough to avoid the site at present!

HIPPIECHIQ I included books from charity shops on my banned list because at £2.50 at least a pop, it is an unnecessary expense when I think of all the books I have waiting to be read at home and with two libraries at my disposal ! It shows you how expensive charity shops are when I managed to pick up (pre ban) The Ice Cream Girls for just £2.80 brand new on Amazon.

Good luck mrsgibbs1503 and welcome :j

Welcome asc / searching me its great you all sharing your ideas and money saving tips

Thank you boultdj for your good wishes :T

welcome svb53 / miss empty piggy miss empty piggy (love the name have you searched on here for green cleaning ? im sure I saw a thread somewhere or hire http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Mend-Bake-Save-Shine/dp/1846013674
from the library. it has some great tips in it

thank you natty t and welcome 415sanfran. its great having you all on board and sharing tips and ideas

hippiechiq why not round up your shopping save the odd amount into a jar ? so you spend 45p on a pint of milk - round it up to 50 p and put the odd 5p in a jar. not much but over time, all those pennies will add up :j

nattyt

searching_me wrote: »

nice one MEP ... stick to your guns ..

natty .. £35 for a contract on a 14year old?? sorry but that dude have any sense .. sod that id say you took it out you pay for it and get your £35 back off him .. £10 is more like it its all i was allowed and that was 10ish years ago ..

ive been behaving myself i went work and used my boots points for the things i needed (and boots own brand 1/3 cheaper .. or is that sainsburys who say that ) ... then gym (its only £13 a month and i can quit whenever i like so thought i'll only pay if i use itwhich i have been) then to dinner .. no extra snacks that i usually buy .. so chuffed with myself .. payday next saturday will be the challegne x

Yes i agree so i'm going to be telling him that when i next speak to him!