Frugal Living 2010 - the final stretch

xnatalie81x

JayneC wrote: »

Hi all,



Natalie - I'm sending baby vibes to you, how exciting. I love tiny babies.

x

You won't find one of those here i'm afraid (8lb week n half early, 10lb 2 wk late GIRL!!!, 8.8lb 2 weeks early) - so we are looking at 9lb at LEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - they come out like 2mth olds

Good luck on Tue :T

I am off to bed now and hoping to work tomorrow and then i would like baby to come by Tue morning so i can then go to work tue evening

aeb_2

Good evening, I was quite surprised to find a new thread - serves me right for not looking in more often!

I too would like to thank Frugaldom for all the hard work, I often read without having time or energy to post. Why did it finish early, oh well, thanks the Cheryl for continuing.

I tried to meet the £4000 challenge but estimate I'll spend £4500, so in fact, I'll have managed to live on just my child benefit. Don't claim any other benefits, some say I'm mad but that's just me! I'm happier that way. It means I can earn an odd bit here and there without having to tell anyone or fill forms or have anyone looking into my business.

Garden has been brilliant so I've grown lots and hens are laying well (including set up cost each egg 'costs' 3p now as I sell a few) Three bags of potatoes are stored, 2 x red and 1 x white) and still lots of carrots, cabbage and leeks to come. Onions stored away, beetroot pickled, chutney made and the kale and broc are looking good for after Christmas. Freezer is bursting with all sorts of fruit. By the way my chest freezer was bought in 1982 and still going strong though it looks rusty and battered having spent 2 years outside early in it's life.

A couple of weeks ago I managed a trip to a car boot with a friend. Not easy pushing a triple buggy round a field but I got loads of Christmas presents for those who wont know nor care they are not new presents.

Erme - I hang all my washing from the curtain rail in the bedroom or playroom where it dries with the heat from the radiator and rarely needs ironing, just goes straight in the wardrobe when thoroughly dry. That way I feel I'm using the heat twice!

Someone stole a pile of logs last Friday, how mean is that! Am thinking of getting another dog to make me feel safer as I'm a bit isolated. I don't usually think about it but this has made me think again

Good night

**forgot to say good luck to Natalie**

xnatalie81x

Fab to see you AEB - you have done amazingly on ur challenge! And the garden sounds mega productive! That is my big aim for 2011 - to grow loads more! Have been given a chest freezer which me n mum will share as she has the half plot allotment and I have the massive garden!

My garden now has a wooden veg box ( a moving in present as I lost my garden stuff when I left their dad) and 3 areas now covered with card and carpet to kill off grass etc and all I will have to do is dig it in spring and I will dig in some manure I will also be upping garden budget so would like to make the plot areas look nicer with some kind of decorative fencing - the small stuff and also may build some netting cages etc - so many plans for next year!

I noticed that FD started the intro thread for the frugaldom challenge quite early so wondered if around 1st dec we should do the same, so this thread can continue with the finals of our 2010 budgets but we can start introducing/discussing plans for 2011 - and then the "real" thread begins closer to start 2011?

Today i woke up at my mummies, all kids down with her so a lovely lay-in till 8am - she also bought me tea and biscuits in bed!!! - not much planned for today apart from work 11-1 and then housework and making sure we are prepared for school next week!! Also need to take the bolognese sauce out of freezer and we shall have that for dinner tomorrow evening! Not sure about dinner tonight but i will check the plan on the fridge Tomorrow officially starts stage 2 of the month as i split it on the 1st, and i need to pick up a few items tomorrow in top-up shop - grocery challenge spend will be amended. I also have Midwife tomorrow morning after all 3 kiddies have been safely deposited at school

Much love to all xx Enjoy your day! Will pop in this afternoon

ceridwen

grandma247 wrote: »

We had a reconditioned z@nussi washer and it lasted for more than ten years with only a little maintenance which dh did. It was actually still working when we got rid but very noisy due to the bearings going.
I read a newspaper article a long time ago that said british washers were made to last 5 years whereas european ones were expected to last 15 years minimum. It was in a frame in the shop where we get our spare parts for washers etc.

My last washing machine (ie a washer/dryer) was a Zanussi and I think it must have been about 20 years old when it "gave up the ghost" eventually recently.

Its now been replaced by a Bosch.

lingojingo

I recently retired my chest freezer that came free with my first house in 1984! It still worked, but was very inefficient, iced up really quickly, and my fridge needed replacing so I saved up and got a new A+ fridge freezer in the sale. I've noticed a huge drop in electricity usage, so for me it was the right decision. I had been getting C/D on imeasure since joining about 2 years ago, but now mostly B and 3 weeks at A! Old freezer snapped up on freecycle.

hollysmum22

popping in for some advice just seen some shoes for princess moo for £12 and they look quite study so should last a while do u think this exsessive for a 1yr old (nearly)

cw18

Kids shoes are one thing I've never skimped on - always went for 'names' that were properly fitted.

If you don't do this in the early years, then you can do untold damage to their feet while they're still developing - and the 'child' then has to spend the rest of their life suffering because of it.

Used to pay more for a single pair of school shoes for one child than I paid for 2 or 3 pairs of work shoes for me - and I had 3 kids to buy them for, so at least 6 pairs a year (plus pumps/trainers, football boots etc)...... it was always one of the most expensive out-goings (aside from food) even though I wasn't watching what I actually spent on anything at the time !!!!!!

xnatalie81x

When choosing shoes for my moo i usually think about the brand, the quality and the resale/reuse value. So if i buy shoes from tesco then £5-6 is my limit BUT i just paid £46 for some UGG boots as they are unisex and will be passed to my DS2 and DS3 and then any life left and they shall be sold on ebay - trainers are sports direct??? Have they changed their name again, and are £5-8 maximum - it really does depend on how often they will be worn, how long they will last etc etc.

If you buy really good clarks, they could cost 25-30 BUT you can then resell them on ebay for some of the cost back - better to have one GOOD pair, rather than about 7 not so good

hollysmum22

these are from an online store on face book not used them before

cw18

I wouldn't buy on-line for a child who's only just about to start walking unless I knew that the style in question was a good fit (having tried them in a store first, and then ordering on-line to save some money)