Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

xnatalie81x

Morning all

KEZLOU - i just renewed my AA I cancelled it for a few weeks and then took out new policy today via topcashback (if you don't have an account then someone can send you a referral and earns from you signing up so worth asking for a link on referrals board so you can both benefit) - cost £72.00 (i'm single) - cashback £42.00 - you would get about 50 cashback as it looks like you have joint membership???? or extra items xxxx

CW - i love crisp sandwiches and my mum used to eat sugar sandwiches and veg soup. My nan was a single parent to 5 children in the 50/60/70s and i was born in 81 so they were very very poor. The neighbours used to give them the mushroom stalks and me and mum used to eat mushroom stalk sandwiches - cannot believe some people throw the stalks away!!!!!! Best bit

Re: stockpiling. I lost all my stockpile when i left the ex 7mths ago, as i have told you - he won't give anything back - not dwelling new yr tomorrow - sooooooooooooo I have started my new collection. Starting with lots of branston beans from tesco £1 for 4. I ordered 5 lots = 20 tins of beans. Should last a week lol. Also got my tinned tomatoes from makro but it is hard to stockpile as with 4 kids and me we get through a LOT! lol

Made more rolls yesterday and my dad liked them too!!! - he also liked my home made bread on xmas day which is funny as my mum uses mixes and he isn't keen - mine is just flour, yeast, water, sugar and a sprinkle of salt (much cheaper too) - mum still ill so i took her to doc yesterday (made appt) and they gave her amoxycillin - 500mg!!!! 3xday BONUS she has not smoked for 7 days (bit grumpy tho lol) - so now to keep her off the fags - i dont' care how much she spends, it is her money BUT she is my mummy and i worry about her health and that of my kiddies if she smokes near them (that nasty smoke travels EVERYWHER) plus she smells lol and so does her house!!!!!!!

Managed to finally get PS3 working (free with my mobile phone contract a year ago adn summit i managed to get out of the house when i left) - so the kids are watching incredibles via iplayer - they can also watch cbeebies replay programmes so saves me having to watch the same dvd's over and over. We have no tv licence no aerial and will not watch live tv

No heating on for 24hrs now. Not that cold here anymore. Would love to get out in the garden and start digging but no fork need to replace all that too - guess where it all is..........

Hope you all have a lovely frugal day planned xx

As photos cheer up a thread:



Mum bought cones ages ago, tesco value strawberry whip and left over whipping cream from xmas. Sprinkles arefrom when baking was buy 2 get 1 free at tesco - Total cost about 5p each???? Kids loved them

Fishcake_Random

Hello girls and guys,
Whoop whoop almost ready to start our next frugal challenge year! Can't wait!!!
I am currently under a vegtable mountain as our local Aldi has reduced carrots and parsnips and potatoes down to 19p a kilo. So I am peeling, chopping and bagging things up for the freezer! At that price I'm trying to stock up for the year
x x x x

steerpiker

Please add me to this thread. I'm trying to get my head round the spreadsheet and will have to get it done at work today as I don't have EXcel on my home computer. Feel partly scared and also excited.

Erme

NualaBuala wrote: »

Morning everyone :wave:

Wow, this thread is barreling along at a fair old speed, isn't it! So forgive me if I slip in and out of lurking!

(((((Erme))))) sounds like you've got things in perspective hon. I love how you've climbed straight back on that frugal horse! :T Glad you're having a PJ day and hope you catch up on your sleep too. You are kind to ask - I've sent a letter to say I am appealing the disability thing but am waiting for a letter from the rheumatologist - and not holding my breath for that as he STILL hasn't written to my GP with his diagnosis even though I saw him months ago. In the meantime I'm on an interim sort of emergency payment which is not quite as much as Jobseekers or Disability and doesn't entitle me to any extras like cold weather payments but will at least stop me from starving in the meantime! Take care hon x

Re the stockpiling. I have quite a big stockpile - enough food to last me several months and enough of some stuff to last a year. But part of me has the urge to run down the freezer and the storecupboards. It's part of my deluttering mindset I think! I have this urge to get rid of everything I don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful (there is some William Morris quote about that I think but I only half remember it). But as it is parts of the house are chaotic and overflowing with stuff so I've got my work cut out for me!

It's a relatively simple phenomena...I think even with the cashback I'm more than £200 OD and that'll be a whopping £2+ charge next month rather than the pennies I normally pay for being overdrawn.....so on that basis of LOATHING being so much OD I have MEGA motivation to be frugal

Now the downside is I've lost the spindle for the FP = expensive lunches or sos trip to pound shop for a grater...:eek:.

Anyhow boyfriend is cooking tea tonight so that's that sorted ..just taught him how to make soup ...all I have to buy is the bread... Just about to catch the bus out to his....:)

E

NualaBuala

Hope the spindle turns up Erme - I've had things like that happen where something gets lost, I forget it about it for a bit and then it turns up. But tell me - is this a new BF or one you've had all along? I seem to follow other folks' love lives like soap operas! Hope you have a wonderful Hogmanay!

And that goes for everyone - hope you all have a wonderful New Year's. I am a bit sick, chest is very sore and wheezy so am not going anywhere this evening - just as well as I can't afford it! But I have a lovely quiet evening in planned. :j

Aril

Hello all:j
My efforts to waste no food this week have worked- we've had soup, stuffing burgers, pie made with the leftover gammon and today I baked the last few potatoes whilst cooking flapjacks and a drizzle cake. When the oven was switched off I then heated up two baking trays of water with the residual heat for the washing up:D

Invested 18p in a spends book so all set now. OH needed new trousers yesterday- 2 pairs for £32 in BHS or £4.99 for one pair in the charity shop- spent the latter. Will need to invest half an hour of my time to take them up but for the saving it's worth the effort. Also made my first foray into bookcrossing [our point is in our local Starbucks] - released a book and got a new one. No monies spent:D [https://www.bookcrossing.com]

Hugs to all- am loving the photos and all the great ideas/tips. Am relieved that I'm definitely not the only old face creeping back in!
Arilx

grandma247

CW syrup (has to be t&l) on toast or new bread is yummy but I have to resist or I would be a lot bigger than I am.
I like butter and jam on weetabix.

Natalie thanks for the tip about the beans. We no longer have a mr t as they closed our local 2 year old one back in August. I have to go to the next town so usually shop in several places when I go.

JayneC

Hi all,
Sorry I've not been around for ages, just seem to have been in total chaos all month!!! Have been really poorly and just about got better and now poorly again!!! Think it was flu, just took to my bed for about a week!

Also heating packed up at beginning of month, for ages we just had one electric heater in living room, house has been absolutely freezing and can't get any washing dry!! Have now accumulated some more electric heaters and have one in each bedroom (just in time for temperature to get above freezing, lol). Ive been sleeping in a sleeping bag under my quilt:D I fianlly got someone out to it this week and he reckons it's the pump but all the merchants are still closed till next week so couldn't repair it and also said it's going to be expensive, so may not be worth it if I'm planning on replacing the boiler (which I am but not until spring). Sooooo... think were just going to battle on with the electric heaters until I can get my woodburner fitted.

Then on Christmas eve the toilet blocked!! Have got it fixed now but had to improvise for a couple of days (I'll spare you the gory details).

Not sure if I said on here but my cat had to have her eye removed a few weeks ago, she's ok now but cost a fortune (£380.00!!), this and having quite a lot of expenses these past couple of months has meant I've struggled with budget this month. All my car annual expenses fell in November and then house insurance in December, plus Christmas!

Anyways I checked my budget and have, according to my spreadsheet, come in just about on budget but I underestimated my fixed costs quite significantly - mainly, well totally actually, my car costs! Anyway, undeterred I've set a lower budget next year!!

TV licence £150
Life insurance £117.60
House insurance £250
Power £800
phone/internet £300
groceries £3000
contact lenses £156
gifts £500 (lots of HM gifts this year;))
Leisure - personal £500
- family £350
Holiday £500
Household maintenance £400
clothes £70
garden £100 (hopefully this will mean lower grocery costs)
chickens £100 (food and maintenance)
health £50 (includes dental and prescriptions!!)
Misc £200
contingency £200
bike maintenance (30
DD £434 (audition fees and college/uni costs)
DS - pocket money £260 (£5 per week)
- school £350 (includes trips and school clothes)
- clothing £70

TOTAL £8887.60

which is £3000 less than last year.
This is for me, plus 2 x adult daughters, 12 yo DS, 2 yo DGS,1 cat and 2 chicks.

I'm hoping to go from full time to part time work next year so trying to reduce costs. One DD will be going to uni in Sept and other may move out with DGS at some point through the year so may have to rejig budget as we go...

Fixed costs include my mortgage, council tax, water, car, and debts. I should be able to pay off my debts by October (YAY!!)

Ok fingers crossed for 2011 - good luck everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR XXXX

NualaBuala

Great to hear from you Jayne but sorry to hear you've been so poorly and about heating, toilet problems etc. Hope you get better soon and things go smoothly. Were you in a panto or show before Christmas? If so, hope all went well. Your budget is looking good!

I'm putting the finishing touches to my 2011 budget and will declare my final 2010 figure later but there's still time for a bit of last minute spending so I'm holding off till the last minute!

mama67

cw18 wrote: »

Lovely things are sugar butties

Funnily enough they came up in conversation a couple of nights ago (when I was chatting to 'him' on the phone), and it's something he's never tried. But he assures me that Golden Syrup on toast is to die for (not something I've yet tried )

It really is scrummy Cheryl as are condensed milk sarnies as well