Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

Dawning

Three consecutive NSD's.:j
I need to go and get some groceries tomorrow, I have found £33 in Mr T vouchers that normally I'd just bin :eek:.

Credit card debt..paying this off is my main priority. I used the calculator tool and reckon I can be debt free by July 2012. This is if I get the tax refund I'm expecting this month. If that goes pear shaped then I'll need to reassess. The debt is approx £6000. I will gather together my statements to get exact figures, find out the APRs on each - two are on 0% introductory rates which run out soon.

I did a sort out of my larder cupboard yesterday and got some help from the OS'ers board about how to use up some stuff in there. I went mad spending on food in December and I want to keep my January spend to less than £100. Scary prospect for me!

Biggest spend areas for me are all the credit card repayments, and food budget. I know I can reduce these.

My net income is approx £800 a month. I think I may be entitled to a small amount of working tax credit...definitely dont get any help with council tax except single person's discount. It's still £109 a month, paid over 10 months. :eek:

23rdspiral

cw18 wrote: »

Value is the normal shelf price for the item (if you put an 'n' in the column headed W? it will carry over what you paid)
Real value is the shelf price multiplied by quantity - and is auto-filled for you as soon as you put an 'n' or 'y' into the column headed W?
W Sp is whoospie spend - ie. what you paid for reduced to clear items
W val is the shelf price value of the whoopsie items

The column headed W? is where you indicate whether is was a 'reduced to clear' item ('y') or not ('n')

You can ignore all columns from W? onwards if you don't want to keep track of savings due to buying reduced to clear (Whoopsie) items

thanks so much!
i'll take a look at my chart later and try again to make sense of it! cheers!

freedom2011

itsallinthemind wrote: »

I thought everyone used old margarine tubs, lined with a freezer bag, then removed and tied when frozen?
I think I mat be odd, I actually caught myself admiring the bright coloured bocks of soup in the freezer last year!

No, I've always used leftover tubs, then struggled when run out, it is such a simple idea to line with bags, I am so behind! Now I wont be tempted to buy ice cream in large tubs just for the tub:j!

Thanks too, to the person who suggested crystal rocks.

slowlyfading

Morning everyone

I need to go to Mr T's today for some food - we're running slow in the SF household! So, I've written a list of things I need to get, and we're sticking to it. I find that meal planning really helps to keep the cost of groceries down and stops impulse buying, so now me and OH do that together

I'm also taking some things to back that don't fit me and were bought in the sales, so that's a small refund. I may have a little browse in the shops as well, just in case something takes my fancy...

xnatalie81x

NualaBuala wrote: »

Erme, ta very much for sharing the instructions for HM yoghurt, am hoping to get a slow cooker from freecycle so will give it a go. And thanks for sharing your explanation of Sabbatarianism - I had looked it up after you mentioned it but wasn't sure if the Wiki article was about the same religion as you meant. I don't know if we have it in Ireland, it was new to me anyway. But I think it's a nice idea to keep one day of the week sacred ... and I know what you mean about the distinction between breaking it in your heart/thoughts vs outwardly. Buddhism teaches that intention matters more than just outward action or blindly following rules.

Hehe, sorry for going off on a tangent - I'm not sure how spirituality relates to being frugal but I'm pretty sure there is a link if we thought about it.



Oh maybe I should join up properly then - although I am trying to spend less time online as it is ... I will come over and lurk for a while if you don't mind! You must be so proud of what you have achieved and it's making me want to do the same. I like the idea of doing something small every day to keep motivated - but am not sure how much money I have to do it, every cent is accounted for I think. But I will see where I can cut back. One possible area is food I guess although prices are going up all the time.

Natalie mmmmmm, you have given me a major hankering for mushroom omelette and HM chips! The omelette is no problem but I don't own a chip pan, maybe I can try HM oven chips. I am probably going to dream about them, I'll be drooling all night!

Sounds like everyone is off to a good start - and even if you have had spends, hey at least you know what you've spent and you can work them into the budget! :A

I make my own chips in the oven - cut potatoes into chips (slie large potato in half longways an then cut that in half on its side so you have a large fat crisp and then slice into chips) - then i boil then for about 5-10mins till soft, drain and place a few spoons oil on a baking tray (i have to make loads remember lol) and then brush some oil on top - bake in oven They are delish - if you want them fluffy then when drained put them back into pan and put lid on and shake gently a few times so they 'rough up' - then bake

xnatalie81x

2wildthing2 wrote: »

Wow how fast is this thread moving. Had a NSD yesterday and was heading for the second NSD of the year, when I discovered that my 10 year old daughter had head lice, so a trip to the chemist was in order. That will be another line that I need to add to the budget - medication...........hope everyone is happy and well............more snow on the way here on Friday...............

As my kids like to hug i bought some plastic combs on ebay ad they all have a coloured one each (and me ) - a pack of 4. Then whenever we have our baths we brush through with the comb. Prevention rather than cure and much cheaper than lotion which was about 310 last time i bought it My mum swore by this as it 'breaks their legs' don't know how true but always keeps my kids clear - ooo whenever i talk about it though my head itches lol scratch scratch x

xnatalie81x

thifty wrote: »

Progress so far today: 2 nsds on the trot

• Made a loaf in my breadmaker (wiped the dust off) the house smelt lush and my DS ate 2 slices with no butter, "this is lovely mum!" I used my new electric carving knife to cut it too so managed to get loads of normal slices instead of the huge doorstops if I use a normal knife

Someone mentioned baby wipes- I use a face flannel for faces after meals or take one in a plastic bag for when out and when DD was in her washable nappies I used to use fleece squares with flannel on the other side which I bought off the net somewhere. Saved me a fortune and they got the poo off better too. I used to use a squeezy drinks bottle , filled it with warm water, squirt of baby bath and few drops of lavender oil to dampen them and kept them in the free Pampers wipes box you get given in your bounty pack hth someone.

- try making rolls with breadmaker, my kids adore those too and they really are yummy - prefer them to bread myself, and pizza dough!! Have you got your book............ you ccan do soooooo much more than bread in your breadmaker I am having a great time lol

I am sticking to disposable wipes. I am a bit squeamish

Puddleglum

DD cheerfully informed me that she had found a dead nit this morning.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: We got rid of them a few months ago and some how I always manage to delude myself into thinking that they won't come back. It's regular torture with the nit comb here plus tight plaits. When I reach the end of my tether we use chemicals but they don't really work IMHO.
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Edit to add. Cheap hairspray helps alot as well.

skint_chick

Hi everyone

I was doing the challenge last year and became a bit of a lurker because my job was taking up so much time. I'd like to re-join this year because I got made redundant in August:( but happily got a new job in Sept:D that has more flexible hours and long-term stability. We still have £10,959 of deb to shift - it's part of my mortgage - and I'm aiming to have this reduced to £7,500 by the end of the year. So I hope it's ok that I'm back -and congratulations Cheryl on leading everyone so well in 2011:T
I'll post my budget later - have to go and get some groceries now

Dawning

xnatalie81x wrote: »

I make my own chips in the oven - cut potatoes into chips (slie large potato in half longways an then cut that in half on its side so you have a large fat crisp and then slice into chips) - then i boil then for about 5-10mins till soft, drain and place a few spoons oil on a baking tray (i have to make loads remember lol) and then brush some oil on top - bake in oven They are delish - if you want them fluffy then when drained put them back into pan and put lid on and shake gently a few times so they 'rough up' - then bake

I will definitely try this. I buy oven chips and get annoyed when half the bag is little fiddly bits of potatoes that go rock hard during cooking!

Just wondering for anyone else who struggles being organised, how do you keep track of good tips etc that you read on MSE?
I subscribe to threads, but I know in a month's time when I've used up all my oven chips and want to try to make my own, I'll have forgotten this recipe and have to ask again.