Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

Erme

It's windows and I'm sure it's causing the voices to come back.(PS. SJ can't get linux on this netbook for the life of me - have tried...just won't boot - it's an acer) After I sent Dr. P an email explaining the prob with windows the voices went away....and now they're coming back just because I'm using the pc...

So Erme is going pc less for a while cos I can't deal with these voices

Jo
PS. The boys (the ratties) just got beefburger out of me = very happy boys

rubytuesday

midwinter wrote: »

I've never understood how something that can be prettily flowering, so early in the spring, can make you smile, but then, you can't wait to get away from it, with it's smell!

I sympathise, and hope you can get it moved!

I'm giving it to my neighbour but have warned her to put it at the back of the garden. I've spent the last few years thinking a cat was spraying at the front!:rotfl:

I do feel sad as it is so pretty and very well established.

rubytuesday

Get plenty of rest Jo and remember to eat well! x

tumptyteapot

I've just found the spreadsheet!

My budget is:
Council Tax 1044
Water 300
Gas/Electricity 396
Bldgs/Cont Ins 156
Phone & B/band 288
Endowment 624
Car Insurance 192
Breakdown Cover 24
Road Tax 120
MOT 120
Petrol 480
Groceries 1440
Toiletries/Cleaning 240
Anything Else 480
Total - 6124

Most of this is fixed so I just have a bit of leeway with everything from petrol downwards

In the totals worksheet what is column C? Bud 2 dt?

And what is a NSD please?

miss_empty_piggy

Good evening everyone
Have a fairly frugal day. Managed to finally get the plug onto my free freezer which is now in the garage, stood next to my tumble drier which is in there so I won't be tempted to use it (but is there in case of emergencies). Am looking forward to getting lots of very cheap bread and milk to freeze so that I won't have to "pop" to SM to get them and come back with stacks more. DDS had a sleepover last night and the guests didn't leave until 3pm so had no entertaining to do as they did this for themselves. Didn't get dressed until then, pottered around the house doing washing, cleaning out the rabbits etc so spent nothing (I love not going into town on a saturday - it feels like i've resisted temptation.) Nothing much else to report though, am planning on cleaning out the car tomorrow and then putting carpet down in stead of my mangled car mats. The carpet is bright red so it's going to look very funky!!! I need to go and collect a load of wood from my sisters again though before it all goes. DDS have requested a trip to the beach to collect shells so I think that's on the cards also.

Have a restful night everyone. x

rubytuesday

Nsd = no spend day tumpty.

rubytuesday

Forgot to say found a couple of pine shelves on the way back from the shops. Just perfect for the study/spare room/dumping ground what ever it is!

Winchelsea

Many thanks to those who sent me a welcome. It's nice to be back.

As usual have had a frugal day's meals - breakfast was porridge with the one remaining spotty banana, then for a midmorning snack the last slice of a loaf of HM bread with butter and Vegemite (yum!) Lunch was beans on toast - had half a tin of baked beans in the fridge, and started the new bread that I made last night (sourdough - came out really well). Also ate an orange.

Then for supper I made a veggie hotpot with leeks, carrots, swede, celery, chopped cabbage, cooked black-eye beans and a stock cube, with a bit of pasta added near the end, then seasoned and cheese grated on top. Was very nice, and have enough for tomorrow too. Finished up with HM yoghurt with raisins stirred in.

This is pretty typical, except that I don't have baked beans on toast very often. Beans were 4 tins for £1 at Iceland recently though. Being by myself now, I do try to have healthy meals - it would be easy to slip into eating convenience stuff I guess. What I'm doing seems to be working - my weight is stable (10st exactly and 5ft 5ins tall) and I keep well on the whole. Virtually everything I eat is HM.

Went shopping this afternoon and all I bought in the food line was fruit and milk. And because I had a voucher the milk cost me nothing - S**nsb*rys 2-pint milk bag. I haven't got one of their special plastic jugs, but have a 2-pint glass jug with a lid that I found in a CS (fits in the fridge door nicely). And, the till gave me another voucher, to get the same thing half price next time.

I was getting my milk delivered 3 times a week, but our delivery man left, and the new one let me down several times (once too often with no milk for breakfast) so buy it as I need it now. Usually 4 pts for £1 from Ic*l*nd, so much cheaper than M*lk and Mor*. Was sorry to cancel, as I'd always tried to support the local delivery man. But, it's a large business now, so don't feel so bad.

My other spend was on a stainless steel mixing bowl - often don't have enough bowls when baking bread, cakes and puddings. The other reason is that one of the sourdough recipes I have recommends using the bowl to cover the shaped loaf at the start of the baking, so have been curious about what difference it makes. Paid less for the bowl than I'd estimated, so was able to justify it to myself!

By the way, what exactly is the SoW that people have mentioned?

cw18

tumptyteapot wrote: »

I've just found the spreadsheet!

use of which is optional, but the rows hopefully give you some idea of what most people are including in their budgets

In the totals worksheet what is column C? Bud 2 dt?

annual budget divided by 12 and multiplied by the number of months we're into the year so far

as we're now in March, this is month 3. so column C will be equal to one quarter (3/12ths) of the annual budget.

if you're setting your budgets from March onwards (and ignoring the spends in Jan & Feb), then you'll need to make a minor modification to the formula in cell A1 in order to get column C to give you the correct figures - if you drop me a Private Message I'll give you the details

cw18

Winchelsea wrote: »

By the way, what exactly is the SoW that people have mentioned?

That would be my spreadsheet - it's been christened (by others) as the 'Spreadsheet of Wonder'