Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

tutti_2

Hi

Toothpaste was definately left as a powder I think that was one of its successes (bit like vim:D). It should have had orange zest in as well but I've never been that good, I'll look to see if I still have the book with the recipe in and post it if I have.

To be honest one part of trepidation on this challenge is some of the day to day challenges the rest of you have. I feel really lucky that me and my DH both have jobs and my main reason for being drawn to this (from the make 11K board the PR is working well) is that he is really unhappy in his job and potentially facing redundancy for the second year running. It would be great to get to a point where we managed to pay off the mortgage and could live on one wage. That said it looks like I have a lot of blessings to count and although you probably don't realise it some of your stories are truly inspirational and humbling :grouphug:

tutti x

cw18

CRANKY40 wrote: »

Sorry, yes, I just meant I wasn't eligible for council tax benefit.

Thought that was probably the case, as I wasn't either......

cw18

tutti - we all seem to have totally different home situations, so don't feel guilty for being here when you both have jobs. It definitely takes time to work out where/how to make the cutbacks to be as frugal as possible (2011 will be my 3rd full year, and I'm still not there), so it makes sense to start it while you can afford to have the wiggle-room (as Nuala called it ) in your budget

cw18

I've had a few requests to make the 2011 version of my spreadsheet available, but have been a little pre-occupied and not managed to do so yet

I'll do my utmost to get it up and running in the next day or three, but am back at work tomorrow (6-4 tomorrow, 7-4 on Tuesday, then 1-5 on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday - so it could well be Wednesday morning before I get it finished/uploaded, not that it needs much doing to it)

Just wanted to assure those who've been asking that I haven't forgotten you

I have a "wannabe suitor" (not sure what else to call him yet), and we spoke on the phone for the first time yesterday. Needless to say I've been busy sending/receiving messages via a controlled site (ie. no personal contact details) for the last couple of weeks - but we've now swapped mobile numbers and personal email addresses, and (silly as it sounds) I now feel as if a lot of the pressure's been lifted to be on-line for contact

richacol

I've lurked and dabbled, but now I'm in fully for 2011, budget as a single state pension

Here we go and I'm looking forward to it


Richard

cw18

Welcome aboard

nannyboo1

londonirish wrote: »

I collect loads of bits from around the house, however those childminding catalogues are seriously like heaven to a childminder lol. I have decided that when they arrive they are going STRAIGHT to recycling, without being opened... ohh its going to be hard lol

Hello I am a minder as well and those catalogues are lethal ( I am a crafter as a hobby as well making them even more so) do you have access to a scrap store local to where you are as they can be useful places to visit.

Aril

Hello all:j
Hope you all had a good Christmas.

I've made a good start by refrigerating all the leftover veg and gravy from yesterday and plan to make it into a soup for tomorrow's lunch. The meat has gone into the freezer so that we use it up for a proper meal rather than just snacking on it as we're passing:D

Apart from a spending diary my other intention moneywise is to try and find alternative ways of replacing things as and when I need them rather than just buying them eg freecycle, charity shops, bootsales etc. I'm already quite good on this front but there is still plenty of room for improvement!
Aril

nannyboo1

londonirish wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek: you said toilet roll innards :eek::eek::eek:

you know i love to make christmas crackers using these, and other bits, my ofsted inspector really came down on me about this, saying it was a hygeine issue. ridiculous isnt it :rotfl:

London irish

check this out and tell Ofsted next time

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/august.htm

Kerfuffle

cw18 wrote: »

I have a "wannabe suitor" (not sure what else to call him yet), and we spoke on the phone for the first time yesterday. Needless to say I've been busy sending/receiving messages via a controlled site (ie. no personal contact details) for the last couple of weeks - but we've now swapped mobile numbers and personal email addresses, and (silly as it sounds) I now feel as if a lot of the pressure's been lifted to be on-line for contact

/QUOTE]

:T

sshh, your secret's safe here.