Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

maccanut

Hi
i would also like to say HAPPY NEWYEAR, i hope this one will be better i to have been a lurker but after reading the last one can i please join too
blessings
abigail

cake21

Thanks for starting up the new thread Cheryl. I haven't worked out my budget for 2011 yet but will definitely be joining in. 2010 was over budget overall but I still spent a lot less than in 2009 :j

NSD over here so far too :beer:

Puddleglum

Happy New Year Everyone. Sorry about my rather depressed state last night! I just don't recognise when I am well off.


Here is the budget for 2011.

• water £400
• gas and electric £2940
• phone £350
• tv license £145
• sky package £486
• mobile £120
• pet food £185
• vets bills £150
• pet extras £20
• groceries £1800
• alcohol £280
• haircuts £25
• clothing £100
• presents £150
• anything else £400
• contingency £400
• kids' summer holiday £430

The gas and electric bill is horrendous and I feel that it needs a bit of explaining. The house is big, we bought it to run as a B&B and did so for 7 years. We have 2 electricity meters and at the moment are paying £25 per month direct debit for one end of the house and £202 for gas and electricity on the other end. (DH is self employed and runs computer based businesses from the expensive end). Changing suppliers should save us £400 approx which I will get onto asap. We are in credit at both ends of the house atm.

So the grand total is.........................£8381.

Lets go!:D

jess444_2

Happy New Year everyone.

Well my soapnuts have arrived and I have done my fist few washes with them. It seems to have come out OK, although a bit worried that I can't actually see any suds. Anyway this should be quite a big saving throughout the year as I do about 3 loads a day.

Next thing to tackle, I think, is the TV / telephone / internet. Currently on Virgin but was thinking of buying a digibox and changing to Talk Talk. Anyone any experience with Talk Talk - what package do you use, do you have any problems with internet speed / downloads?

I am off to set up a new spending diary for the year on spendingdiary.com.

Jess

diddly74

I am with talk talk (due to the fact our virgin couldn't get to our house) and have been since June - we haven't had any problems at all apart from Windows vista refusing to access the internet other than with a wired connection - simply wiped it off and installed a free package called Ubuntu and it works great - OH only uses the lappy for access to the net so he's happy. We pay approx £20-£25 pm for phone and broadband (speed about 6) and calls.

ceridwen

Good luck to everyone here and a Happy New Year.

I shall carry on lurking and learning from you all.

One teensy question - I've got recipes for cleaning pretty much everything Old Style. I'm still lacking one for cleaning ceramic cookertops - so if anyone can kindly oblige with something quick/cheap/homemade for this particular task then I'd be muchly obliged:) (tries not to think just how much the readymade ceramic hob cleaner I currently get from Lakeland is.....:o). (I tried looking on the cleaning link - but couldnt find owt suitable for this....)

Ellidee

Ceridwen I use Bar Keepers Friend on mine and it is quite good but then I've never tried a specific ceramic hob cleaner. HTH

Erme

Well the snooze is I've tested the Bosch (the one that gave the OD a heart attack) and it has suction so powerful it could pull ya brains out of their lug oles...

Beasties be gone ......

Hair be gone too (I have no pets but a lot of hair and it gets everywhere - in clumps) - at this rate I could join the flylady thread tee hee

and that was only on no 3 - on no. 5 it sucks up the carpet ...

Anyone need their carpet pulling up for new year? I have the perfect tool...wonder if it also takes wall paper off or even paint....then it'd be perfect ...complete bargain for £149...

Only one minor snag with it (which took me 15 mins min to fix) was putting the bin on (I had to push it in the end after I'd almost bashed it broke :eek) but that's okay now....even the hose is easy to dismantle.. yet secure (clip on things) and the nozzle thing at the end is flat so reaches right under the sofa ... It's a minor point about the bin

Here endeth my MSE review of the white one on the Bosch GS-60 Power Range....(vacuums)

Not bad for a cylinder......really?

In fact so glad I didn't waste £80 on lesser uprights (think electrolux...)

lingojingo

Not only the first NSD of the year, but also my first bit of unexpected income - one of my last spends of 2010 was a ticket for the New Year's Eve Euromillions draw and I won £7.50 :j

slowlyfading

oooh :hello: shiny new thread!

Here's to 2011 being a good year!

Lingo - congrats! :j what are you going to do with your winnings?