Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

mummyroysof3

MONTHLY YEARLY
Mortgage £415 £4980
N&S £113 £1130
EDF £75 £900
BT £56 £672
Voda £50 £600
Sky £40 £480
Lotto £30 £360
Water £22 £264
BGS £22 £264
DVD £18 £216
Achg £13 £156
TOTAL £854 £10,022
YEARLY estimates
Home insurance £200 due feb/mar
Car Tax £180 due mar
Car Insurance £600 due oct
MOT due july £40
Hoping for £4000 for food etc

still deciding on the rest

NualaBuala

chika wrote: »

Just looking at the moisturiser discussion with interest. Oils such as petroleum jelly, aqueous cream etc aren't moisturisers and will not moisturise your skin. They do a great job at sealing moisture in by creating a barrier. However they won't let your skin absorb mositure either meaning your skin can often get drier, they also clog pores creating spots on some people. You might find it more effective to use a cheap moisturiser, Aldi do a good one for around £1.50 or if you live near an afro carribean hair shop try razac lotion (the smell is rather strong but its a fantastic moisturiser at £1.99 for a big tub). Use the cheap moisturiser and then seal it using a mineral oil product such as baby lotion, petroleum jelly etc. Olive and coconut oils are slightly better but they are still not moisturisers and all you are doing is creating a barrier between your skin and the air. It may feel nice and soft for a while but all that is just the film the oil leaves.

HTH someone

I agree with you about the petroleum based products, think they can do more harm than good for some people.
I think sometimes when people want mosture what they really mean is lubrication so the skin feels soft and not tight and I think oils do a great job at that. For me at least they have worked a lot better than the water/mineral oil combos sold as moisturisers but everyone's skin behaves differently I guess. Cococut oil (and some other oils I forget right now) have been shown to penetrate keratin (in skin, nails and hair) rather than just sit on the surface - it has done wonders for my hair which had been damaged by highlights.:)

chika

NualaBuala wrote: »

I agree with you about the petroleum based products, think they can do more harm than good for some people.
I think sometimes when people want mosture what they really mean is lubrication so the skin feels soft and not tight and I think oils do a great job at that. For me at least they have worked a lot better than the water/mineral oil combos sold as moisturisers but everyone's skin behaves differently I guess. Cococut oil (and some other oils I forget right now) have been shown to penetrate keratin (in skin, nails and hair) rather than just sit on the surface - it has done wonders for my hair which had been damaged by highlights.:)

I agree, everyone is different. I do think mineral oil stuff needs to be used with caution as not everyone can tolerate it. My old housemate at uni suffered with really bad excema/psoriasis for years and used to slather on aqueous cream etc and it never improved. She tried my home brewed mix of vitamin e, shea, cocoa butter and coconut oil and her skin cleared up within two months!

I also think it works wonders for hair, My afro loves the stuff - have you tried amla oil? You can get it in indian shops. Its coconut oil infused with other ayurvedic things. It does smell rather stong but you put it on your hair, leave for a while, or overnight and wash out and you end up with hair like a shampoo advert!

LollopyBear

Afternoon all,

Just got back from Mr T's so not a NSD for me today, however, we sat down and planned all of our meals for the week. We started doing that last Jan and Feb, but then it stopped (you may have noticed that this starting and stopping is a pattern with me). I was so surprised at how little our weekly shop came to! I stocked up on 2 liquid detergents on offer and a couple of bubble baths that I love, before the offers ran out and VAT is hiked, which came to £8. The rest of the food for the week (for 2) came in at under £20 and included much healthier food than we normally grab. Normally a bigger shop would set us back £40 a pop and we would return for several smaller shops at £8-£15 a go during the week.

My husband and I keep our finances completely separate so my totals are from my personal spending allowance. I take on most of the bigger bills and he picks up the tab on the smaller ones, the car bills (I don't drive) and the groceries. So in total I paid £2 towards the food and he paid £17.

The last remaining £3.50 is for tobacco and rizla. I am going to quit in February so hopefully this will take a dive too.

Total spend for today: £13.50

NualaBuala

chika wrote: »

I agree, everyone is different. I do think mineral oil stuff needs to be used with caution as not everyone can tolerate it. My old housemate at uni suffered with really bad excema/psoriasis for years and used to slather on aqueous cream etc and it never improved. She tried my home brewed mix of vitamin e, shea, cocoa butter and coconut oil and her skin cleared up within two months!

I also think it works wonders for hair, My afro loves the stuff - have you tried amla oil? You can get it in indian shops. Its coconut oil infused with other ayurvedic things. It does smell rather stong but you put it on your hair, leave for a while, or overnight and wash out and you end up with hair like a shampoo advert!

Your skin concotction sounds fab - shea and cocoa butter are on my list of "wants" as they seem to be so useful!
I have been meaning to try amla oil - I think they have it in the Asian market in town. I'm not fussy about smells if it does the job! I have amla powder that I sometimes use as a hair wash - I mix it with water and it seems to wash and condition all in one. You should see my bathroom, it's full of odd things and I'm sure if I didn't explain visitors would think I was into drugs or something! There is spilt white powder on the counter (bicarb) and funny smelling herbs etc! Plus a small container of apple cider vinegar that looks a bit like wee! :rotfl:

Dawning

I've found you all ! Sorry I was a bit dense still posting on the original thread



Two consecutive NSD's - that must be a record! I havent been out of the house though, so didn't put myself in temptaion's way!

I have made a start on my paperwork, and am starting to total up my debts. It looks as if I have about £6000 of debt but I can get £2000 of that paid off hopefully very soon, as I'm expecting a tax refund. I will get an exact total for the debts and add them to my signature, it will be a pleasure to watch them reducing.
My main priority then for the year ahead is to live within my means, keep to a budget, and try to reduce the debt.

twiglet98

I've still to address the budget plans for 2011. Yesterday I spent a terrifying £130 in Mr Ts, largely whoopsied meat so the freezer is well stocked, included a huge gammon on the bone which is in the slow cooker for tonight's supper.

The food bill is crippling, for 6 adults, and this is something I really have to get down. We're nearly 9 miles from Te3co, the closest supermarket, and I have to go 20-odd miles for Lidl, Wilkinsons, Home Bargains etc. There aren't always enough hours in a weekend to make that trip, unless I make a day of it and bulk buy everything when I'm there.

Oil heating is rocketing in price, as is diesel for the car. The thermostat is at 17 during the day and during the freezing weather I kept it on low overnight so pipes didn't burst.

And I'm only paying the minimum each month on three large, old credit card balances. I know it takes longer to clear the balance that way, but I don't expect to clear the balances in my lifetime and it's hard to take money I need for food and heating to put towards clearing those debts. All of them have been for major car or appliance failures, or for vet bills, not for any luxuries or day to day expenses. Two of the cards are now frozen and I haven't used the third for over a year, when my old oil tank had to be replaced at a cost of £1500 just before Christmas 2009. I just hope the boiler keeps going, it's 25 years old and a bit delicate now, though the boiler man says it's surprisingly efficient and he'll be able to keep it running until the heat exchanger fails!

Will probably be next weekend before I jot down the budget, am going into work tomorrow as there'll be plenty to catch up with and I need the extra hours.

Happy New Year to everyone.

steerpiker

I hope I've done this right! I've planned for a "worst case scenario" - ie in Gifts, what would I pay if I didn't get any discounts or did not got them in the sales. In Travel, what would I pay if I did not get the cheapest rail or air fare & in Groceries, what if I had to go shopping in Waitrose instead of Sainsburys. All of all of these have happend in the past year & mucked up my budget. This way, I think it would be a more realistic number. I'd rather be under than over my budget at the end of each month!

Rent (live at home) - £3000
Credit card repayment - £6,600
Loan - £540
Diet (Tony Ferguson) - £1,668
Groceries & toiletries - £1,200
Broadband- £228
Mobile Phone - £120
Sky TV - £696
Sky Insurance - £108
Holidays & Travel - £1,200
Gifts (Birthdays & Xmas for approx 25 people) - £500

Total - £15,860 for the year. Monthly Budget of £1,322.

The bane of my life are the credit cards. Only one is active, the other 3, according to my Snowball will be paid off on July 2014 (2 are low 6% apr until debt is paid off, the other one is 0% interest that I move around whenever the offer runs out). I got my first one at University when I was 18 and I've been spending on them since. This forum has been a godsend. It's hard to give -up but I'm working on it. At least I know I have a problem and I know I shop or have a Beauty treatment when I'm unhappy or stressed, so I try and find something else to do or use Martin's Demotivator.

sparkle76

Hi all, and happy 2011!

Please can I be added to this list? Will report back with total budget for the year soon.

I would like to make th e'laundry gloop' I have heard people talking about - any recipes please? I currently use washing powder mixed 50/50 with soda crystals which saves alot, but this year would like to use the soap nuts we have (bought ages ago and only used a bit), plus the laundry gloop if I can.

Also any recommendations on how to keep the soap nuts together whilst they are in the wash?

cake21

What increase have people estimated for inflation? I've factored in 5% increase for gas/electric/water/council tax/home insurance etc but is that enough?

My main target is reduce my grocery/food spend by 20% this year. 10% of last year's food spend was on snacks so this should help my secondary aim of losing weight.

Other than that I haven't finalised my budget because I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself and I always feel I 'deserve a treat' in this sort of mood. :eek: