Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

youngmummy

hi all, my sons birthday is next week so that will end up abit of a spend but will only be getting him something small as hes not really old enough to understand and having a little tea party and cake with the grandparents ect. so shouldnt be too expensive will probly go to iceland or something and do a little buffet x
i will let you know how it goes
hows everyone doing im not doing very well. hopefully it will get better thoughout the year. i am making my own bread though as it i slightly cheaper ... every penny counts. i got a cheak today from british gas as id overpaid by £350 in 2010 so tht has gone into our joint savings account. i have mobile bill to pay tommorrow and nappies to buy. im also trying to get DP to cancel the movie package on sky as its just a waste of money and just have the basic. we cant pick up normal tele or freeview where we live !!! x

youngmummy

Fishcake_Random wrote: »

She's 9 1/2 months so she should be okay to introduce a little cow mile right?
x x x

my son is two. i was told not to let him have cows milk untill he was 1. he didnt have it till he was 18 months though as he didnt like the taste of it till then. i really dont know hun. everyone i know has waaited untill their child is at least 1 x

itsallinthemind

youngmummy wrote: »

everyone i know has waited untill their child is at least 1 x

My youngest would have done, but he opened the fridge at 10 months and helped himself. Was not much point worrying about after that!

Just thought, no healthy start vouchers?

itsallinthemind

youngmummy wrote: »

nappies to buy

In case you missed, Boots own carry packs 2 for £7
http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10052&st=specificPromo&promoName=2+for+%26%23163%3B7+on+selected+Boots+Super+Dry+carry+packs&langId=-1&catalogId=11051
Buy 6 = £21
There is a parenting code for £5 off
Delivery to store free
Cheaped I've seen in ages

If you did not miss, oops!

HelenPie

I've finally caught up!! :rotfl:

I'm feeling jealous of all these NSDs! I've managed 1/4! Petrol for both cars on 2nd, Groceries on 3rd, and cat flea/wormers for the year. Spent £233.90 in total :eek: but have a full freezer, 3 months of dried cat food and 12 months of pet meds, plus two full tanks of petrol. It will hopefully balanced out soon enough.

I've heard very bad things about DPD as a courier. I'm still debating whether to order my bulk cleaning basics from SummerNaturals as see that they use this company....anyone any suggestions on the best place to get bicarb, soda crystals, borax, vinegar, etc.?

Helen x

silvasava

Hi All - I've decided as this thread is growing so quickly I'm lurking no longer & jumping in at the deep end. I've posted below my current budget monthly & for the year & would welcome any comments/recommendations. The budget is for 2 adults. We currently have two cars but only because mine is paid for, 10 years old & still going through its MOT (fingers crossed & dont tempt providence!) The other one is a big 4 x 4 beastie that we use primarily for towing the 'van. Please dont bash me up 'cos we had it converted to LPG last April as it seemed a better bet than leaving the money in a p*** poor savings account. I have managed to get a better deal on our Virgin package so that will make us a good £20 per month better off than last year. We have mobiles but both are PAYG & as our social life is in the senior age group we dont text/phone all the time so we spend about 40 p.a. each at the most! I also managed to get our house insurance down by about £20.00 but the bonus was it was through a cash back site so hopefully another £50.00 off & I checked our RAC renewal against their website & negotiated another £60.00 off (thanx to all MSE'rs) Basically I'm hoping that by keeping a close eye on our budget & putting into practice all the tips here we can save enough to have some major work done on the house without delving into our savings - on paper we should be able to do it fairly easily!!

Payee Monthly Payment Cost per Annum
Gas & Electricity 101 1212
TV Licence 12.12 145.44
Council Tax 128 1280
H.S.A 27.3 327.6
Virgin TV & Phone & Broadband 55 660
Sewerage Rates 34.52 414.24
Water Rates 13.52 162.24
RAC 9 108
Milk Bill 20 240
Caravan Storage 58.5 702
Caravan Insurance32.34 388.08
Car Tax x 2 34 408
Car Insurance DH 21 252
Car Insurance Me14.5 174
House Ins 17 204
Housekeeping 400 4800
Petrol 100 1200

Total: 12677pa

lynzpower

Sorry Silvasava I dont think I have any particular suggestions about your budget, aside from to say are you on the lowest rate suppliers for electric and gas?

Just thought Id update with some frugal things I have done today to keep myself motivated. I am remembering the "old" thrifty ways.

I put some stewing beef in the slow cooker with a view to making a pie and using up some veg from the fridge on the side. Instead we had some "last legs" bacon and cheese sandwiches with mushrooms on. Well have the pie tomorrow.

I am miffed as OH bought coke form the local shop and spent 1.85on 2l when I went past iceland today and could have got their 3 litres for 1.50odd

However, I did go out and only bought what I went out for so that was an achievement. I havent done that in ages! I did see that dorothy perkins had some trousers for 12, but I might see M&S first as I have a voucher and i think the qualitys probably better.

I have spoken to the bank about moving some of my savings money over, i have a few bits to send to them then I can move some cash over. I now have a student account so the overdraft is interest free. I wont get the money for 2 months and will have to make the cupboards stretch till then.

I had a packet of discos which were awful so im sending them back with a complaint, they were so salty, the labelling must have been BADLY out. Not ok. its freepost and im using a recycled envelope

Have drank 3 glasses of water today as its free and obviously cheaper than tea or anything else!

Paid OH's cheque into the post today and also done a few hours revision.

am still browsing for the mobile but I do want to get this done asap! 780 a year! SCANDAL cant believe myself :mad:

oldestgnome

I finally caught up too!! This is great reading, loving the banter, tips and suggestions, it helps me to focus to get on track and stay on track with the spending. :T

2/4 NSDs only essentials bought so all good!

The £10 Mr T SIM only deal, is fantastic value :money:
Petrol here is also upto 128.0p a litre today have decided to drive in more economical fashion no more 80mph on the motorway for me - I'm going to see how much further I get on my tank of petrol. . . only way to try to make it easier as I use my car for work I have no option but to drive

silvasava

Thanks Lynzpower - yes, I've checked out our rates & can't get them any cheaper & the offfers for 'no increases for XXX years' looks fine until you check out the price per unit. I'm going to be a rate tart and change rather than be tied in. Your 'last legs' cheese mushroom & bacon sandwich sounds yummy!! (I'm a cheeseaholic!) I did make some turkey burgers last week with a recipe I downloaded, we had some tonight - a bit too bland for my liking but there's only 6 more in the freezer!!

silvasava

Hi Oldestgnome - if anyone is a Virgin Media customer they can get a free PAYG sim card with all calls texts etc @8p (same as Asda PAYG) Havn't checked out Mr T's so cant compare.