Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

xnatalie81x

Hey - the tray i bought is stainless steel. I can imagine them lasting forever

We just had a lovely brekkie of 5 scrambled eggs, beans (not me just the kids) and 4 slices home made bread. I had brown sauce instead of beans - too much indulgence over xmas so saving cals where possible but i cannot resist the bread

I booked my first class for next week!!! Littlest prince is 6 weeks on the monday so he and my 3 yr old are now booked into creche while i do TONE ZONE wahooooooooooooo - 6 weeks i have waited to get back tot he gym and i am mega excited lol. SADDO much

Got dough in breadmaker for my first ever batch of bread rolls and i will be making pizza dough later - using the jar of tinned tomatoes left from pasta bakes and rice bakes yesterday with some basil and puree, boiled down - then it will be pineapple and value ready grated cheese on top hope the kids like it, my first try - there is also a recipe for chocolate bread, hot cross buns and madeira cake in my bread maker recipe book (new breadmaker is MUCH better than old one - thanks mum) so kids are going to be happy

I have decided to do mini challenges throughout 2011 focusing on specific areas, it will be to ensure i am staying focused and reduce spends in all areas - am going to sit down and work some out but generally each mini challenge will last for one week and be things like 'reduce gas usage' so that week i will track my usage and reduce over the 7 days standing me in good stead for the rest of that year and also to increase awareness. Or 'grocery mini challenge:buy no food for 7 days' and 'repair or re-use 15 things' (could go through bags of clothes i have to go charity and make them into something useful etc etc) - and only use left overs etc. I am quite looking forward to this ha ha i am really sad

Hope you don't find me too boring or sad - i will also upload more pics or put them into a shared place so you can all see my creations and not just read about them........... maybe i will create a blog this year??????? We shall seeeeeeeeee

NualaBuala

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Hey - the tray i bought is stainless steel. I can imagine them lasting forever

We just had a lovely brekkie of 5 scrambled eggs, beans (not me just the kids) and 4 slices home made bread. I had brown sauce instead of beans - too much indulgence over xmas so saving cals where possible but i cannot resist the bread

I booked my first class for next week!!! Littlest prince is 6 weeks on the monday so he and my 3 yr old are now booked into creche while i do TONE ZONE wahooooooooooooo - 6 weeks i have waited to get back tot he gym and i am mega excited lol. SADDO much

Got dough in breadmaker for my first ever batch of bread rolls and i will be making pizza dough later - using the jar of tinned tomatoes left from pasta bakes and rice bakes yesterday with some basil and puree, boiled down - then it will be pineapple and value ready grated cheese on top hope the kids like it, my first try - there is also a recipe for chocolate bread, hot cross buns and madeira cake in my bread maker recipe book (new breadmaker is MUCH better than old one - thanks mum) so kids are going to be happy

I have decided to do mini challenges throughout 2011 focusing on specific areas, it will be to ensure i am staying focused and reduce spends in all areas - am going to sit down and work some out but generally each mini challenge will last for one week and be things like 'reduce gas usage' so that week i will track my usage and reduce over the 7 days standing me in good stead for the rest of that year and also to increase awareness. Or 'grocery mini challenge:buy no food for 7 days' and 'repair or re-use 15 things' (could go through bags of clothes i have to go charity and make them into something useful etc etc) - and only use left overs etc. I am quite looking forward to this ha ha i am really sad

Hope you don't find me too boring or sad - i will also upload more pics or put them into a shared place so you can all see my creations and not just read about them........... maybe i will create a blog this year??????? We shall seeeeeeeeee

Not at all boring or sad Natalie!!! Can't wait to hear more and pics would be fab. I love the sound of all your challenges and I think I will follow suit. I did a few very small ones based on what I had in stock last year like "no more dishwasher tablets till July" "No soap for the year" (and I won't need any handwash or shower gel for 2011 either by the looks of what's in my bathroom cupboard! I failed at "no more books till I've read all I've got" but might try that again.

elly68

well i would like to join please ,i've started the 11,000 in 2011 challenge and feel that as a family we spend way to much on food and waste food and electricity,petrol and money in general .The income we have is sizeable but i reckon not well spent , so this year i am just settng myself that challenge .Our direct debits are set in place ,need to try and rejig the few credit cards we have left, loans are cleared .Most of my challenge with food is that I have one wheat free and one dairy free in the household so a lot of the budget goes on that .I'm away to decide what my weekly shop will be and turn off all the lights hubby and kids have left on .Think i may also join the spend free days board as we are bad for the shop at the end of the street and takeaways .see you all in the new year .Cheryl i have advertised this challenge on the challenge i have started so hopefully even more will join think the link list is similar but are you ok if i post your link on the challenge elly

xnatalie81x

NualaBuala wrote: »

Not at all boring or sad Natalie!!! Can't wait to hear more and pics would be fab. I love the sound of all your challenges and I think I will follow suit. I did a few very small ones based on what I had in stock last year like "no more dishwasher tablets till July" "No soap for the year" (and I won't need any handwash or shower gel for 2011 either by the looks of what's in my bathroom cupboard! I failed at "no more books till I've read all I've got" but might try that again.

lol - mine would be no more books ever in that case lol xxx

xnatalie81x

ps that is not flash in the bottle, it is watered down star drops - first ever bread rolls (using tin my mum gave me
because she is the best lol)

enjoyfinancialchallenges

Hi, Christmas is over and the new year looms, Yipeeee, I cant wait. As for being sad xnatalie81x forget it if you are sad so are all the rest of us here. I get so much delight when I reduce my expenses or buy a needed article when its very cheap you have no idea, akin to winning the lottery for me. Coming in below budget gives me a lift for the rest of the months or should that be months. Yes I'm a simple soul and easily pleased but at least I dont feel a freak when I share it with all of you on this site.

I've been doing an all inclusive budget but now plan to separate those I can reduce from those I can't as suggested on here , am still trying to work out how as Ive worked the old way for years but will manage somehow.

I'm really having a struggle with my laptop today the curser suddenly jumps back a few words/ lines/sentences and I just cant work out why. Friends have said I must be touching something accidently but I cant work out what, any suggestions. I did wonder if it might be because I use it on my dining room table which might be to high????? :mad:

Anyway will go now as I need a break from the dreaded curser.

itsallinthemind

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Hey - the tray i bought is stainless steel. I can imagine them lasting forever

......... maybe i will create a blog this year??????? We shall seeeeeeeeee

Definately worth investing in long lasting ones, I am still kicking myself ordering dunelm specials!

You should, I'm doing one, keeps that sanity! If you set it up, share the link to it, if safe as no childrens info etc

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Could be waiting for the changes to be instigated??? I waited weeks for my child tax credit to get sorted when left their dad. It was between 6 and 8 weeks i think but it felt like forever with no money

CTC quoted 8 weeks, end of Jan, however the IS coming in, plus backdated has meant we are okay, just watching the pennies more, so must not grumble. They put it through on fast track though, I did the claim in person, lovely people at the JCPlus

enjoyfinancialchallenges wrote: »

I'm really having a struggle with my laptop today the curser suddenly jumps back a few words/ lines/sentences and I just cant work out why.

Please tell if you suss it! Keep happening to me, plus the screen goes on zoom ggrrr. Probably just stupidity in my case!


OP-I seem to have got the first to work with Open Office? Thank you so much for this! Although I can only work on my grocery budget for the next month till things are confirmed, I will still be making great use of it-thank you!

redglass_2

itsallinthemind wrote: »

I have £55 to spend at thompson and morgan...want veggies/salads only, we eat TONS. Can't decide whether to get plugs or seeds/what's easy/what I have time for etc. I am so naive with that side of things! Such a lot of money, so I keep looking and not deciding as I do not want to waste a penny!

Hiya, Itsallinthemind. If the plants aren't temperamental ones then seeds are usually said to be cheaper but I'm not sure how it really works out since you also need to buy compost and all the rest of it (anybody done this calculation?). Seeds are also more hassle as you need to plant, thin out, etc and also need somewhere to put the seedlings until they are ready to plant out. I'd say it depends on your circumstances - do you have space for trays of seedlings? And something to plant them in? (Could be something you'e recycled, like plastic cups or toilet roll tubes.) My advice would be to plant them in something with separate modules, otherwise their roots get tangled and you break them trying to tease the seedlings apart, which is maddening :doh:
The Royal Horticultural Society has an 'Award of Garden Merit' reserved for particularly tasty and/or reliable cultivars - see their website.

Marru, welcome back! :hello: I see we have the same siggi, sort of. It's Goethe, is it? I'd better put his name in...

itsallinthemind

redglass wrote: »

Hiya, Itsallinthemind. If the plants aren't temperamental ones then seeds are usually said to be cheaper but I'm not sure how it really works out since you also need to buy compost and all the rest of it (anybody done this calculation?).

I've decided to go for plugs this year. After a serious amount of procrastination! It may not be as economical, but I need a decision!

I have a lot of space, so great for later when I am confident I have an idea of what I am up to! I've already started saving bits, maybe next year they will get used! I was given seeds of tomato, cress, courgette, beans, basil and something else by a freecycler, so I will attempt them from seed, but not hold out much hope

Compost involves a favour from a friend, as I live in village, I have a bag and a half in the out building left by the previous tenants, so that will do me for any pots and a bit of extra for the soil, so I think I'll just do plugs this year.

Plus of course they deliver when you need to plant, so it is one less thing to remember!:rotfl:

Dawning

Crikey this thread moves fast! I may have to mostly lurk because I don't think I will be able to keep up.

Anyway, first things first, THANK YOU FOR THE SPREADSHEET! My laptop has opened it successfully, after a bit of huffing and puffing, so I'll make a start on it.
Second, I did my tax return and I'm due a small rebate which is very welcome.

I haven't done my outgoings yet, I'm in the process of getting all the relevant info together. I think I may find it easier to work monthly rather than do a budget for the year, mostly because I'm self employed and it's proving very hard to predict my income more than a couple of months ahead.