Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

minnie2

[QUOTE=lynzpower;39947002
MInnie do you want to give more detail so we can maybe recommend something?[/QUOTE]


Well ive done my budget plan2 which comes out at an underspend but does involve paying a couple of things off (one of which is ending automatically in June which is £134 so will help). So its just case of saving in all the other ares highlighted I think and putting that money towards the debts.fingers crossed anyway.
Our mortgage is very high - cant look into changing it till our credit score goes up a bit and our mortgage fees come down a little. Have found tracker which comes out at about £150 less each month, but leaving fees are 5k at min.

ok
So far mortgage, estate charges, car payment, water, tv have been paid - £836 this month (not sure if were looking at these things in this thread?)

Weve spent £35 on petrol

no other spends as literally have no money!

but do owe good old mum £200 for covering a direct debit which is about to come out! - however trying to justify it I am actually owed £502 after tax wages for work some of which i done in Nov - however they are being very slow in paying up - i keep checking every Fri!

I do have to put some petrol in car today

but lunch is frozen leftovers and wrinkly potato (have to have something substantial for lunch mons and thurs due to tumour medication)

so todays spend will be £15 but so far all areas where i plan to save money is going well

mince is defrosted so i shall be making chilli con carne, spag bol and savoury mince tonight to freeze for our lunches. got lots of wrinkly potatos in fridge to eat with them!!

cw18

lynzpower wrote: »

Morning all, morning Cheryl:

Cherly just wondering also about thr spreadsheet, its seem to be read-only - so when I put a new spend in - it goes you cannot save this you need to do a "save as" so I save it as a new version. Im ok to kep doing this but I sense this will lead to problems as time ticks on.

Any ideas?

Once you've done a 'save as' (which is best done on the empty version as soon as you download it), you'll have a version on your own computer (just be sure to save it to somewhere you'll find it again).

This version should then be fully edit-able and save-able, so just open and work on that one on a daily basis as you would any other document.

If this is what you've done and are still having problems, can you let me know what s/sheet software you're using and I'll try having a play from my end to see if I have the same problem or can find the fix you need

freedom2011

Frugal tip of the day;

If you have any leftover mincemeat hanging around then make up some sponge mixture (I did Delia's all in 1) put a blob in a muffin/cake case then a blob of mincemeat then another blob of cake mix over top. Bake for 10mins. They are divine................and what is more they fed 5 of us for pudding last night, 5 lunchboxes today & there is enough for tomorrow too. I cut down on the sugar content in the recipe too as I was adding mincemeat & omitted vanilla essence. Lovely, big temptation not to go and have them for breakkie!


Oh yes and still haven't done the final total spends as too busy trying to keep up with all these posts. I am on GC challenge too but have gone over this month already as I have done 3 big shops for yearly staples, 2 approved foods and the other a local supermarket where I bought pasta for a year as it was BOGOF, but that will help me achieve this challenge. Fingers crossed. And everything else.......

23rdspiral

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

The old man's string vest reference conjured up Rab C Nesbitt :eek: I did think that was a funny programme
Kerfuffle I reuse my teabag again. I pop it on my teabag holder dish as I find one tea bag too strong for me and reuse when I have another cup. Daren't do this for anyone else's brew though, they'd go daft.
Luvz Dizzy x

:rotfl:my fiance loves Rab C Nesbit, but i can't understand a word he says! :rotfl:so when it's on it's some nice stitching time for me
~ my parents always said i made tea too strong, then used up soo much milk weakening the tea. one day i got mad at the waste, so used 1 bag between them, and got praised for finally making good tea! but next time they were wierded out to see i'd shared a bag :eek: , however, now mum shares theirs all the time :T

lynzpower wrote: »

Hi kitty, by any chance in your Farmfoods, was there any sign of the "the one" one percent fat milk? I seldom see it in mine, and use icelands skimmed 2 for £2 which does us well. As its skimmed it seems to have a much longer shelf life than semi skimmed.

i dont know if this helps but over on the 'old style' boards i've seen people mention literally watering down their full or half fat milk to make the weaker versions - far cheaper that way as you need to buy less, and aren't paying for the shop to do it for you. sounds odd to me but it might help if you cant get the type you like?

minnie2 wrote: »

I have also check that i have put when its yearly etc! I have been struggling for months but hubby has no idea about money so is no help and has no idea about how much things cost - he is having a steep learning curve now as enough is enough! is yours £420 a YEAR overspend or month? Oh dear we are really bad arent we!!! oh well!

hey, less of that. you've realised your situation isnt sustainable, and are making plans to make things better for yourself. :T this is PAT ON THE BACK time, not BEAT YOURSELF UP time. ok?

minnie2

thanx 23rdspiral!!!! thanx for the encouragement! well there are many things i save money on,and i have a constant battle with hubby in the house about his wastefulness,but there are other areas which i clearly dont nd waste too much money, ive been doing more and more work to try and cover everything but its not working and payday for that work is not regular either! so here we are! its going to be a tough year - more for hubby than me! its buying our first house a year ago thats caused it! dont regret it at all its wonderful!!! but its taken a year for the strain to catch up with us - been living like we were before the house! i got a loan to knock out the 2 loans i had - but ended up knocking out only one and then the rest went on extra house fees!! so still got two loans etc!

cw18

minnie2 wrote: »

its buying our first house a year ago thats caused it!

I sympathise with anyone trying to get onto the housing ladder at the moment (and in the last few years). You've done well to manage that, 'cos even if I'd still been in my IT job I know I'd have struggled to step onto the first rung now!! But since losing that job it would have been an impossibility - even with my new job in a supermarket

I can't honestly see any way my children will ever make it - certainly not the elder two. The youngest is much better with money in general, and if he can get the kind of job he'd like after finishing Uni (currently in his first year, but wants a year work experience during it which makes it a 4 year course) there's a vague glimmer of hope for him.

seriouslyfrugal

Hi

I'm doing a open uni course called " enviroment through a changing world " ( course code u116)


when i have done an assignment it feels so good to get it finished :j although now while it has been marked ( it takes a couple of weeks from the cut off date - tomorrow ) i will be wondering about my result !!!


hope everyone has a frugal day :wave:

midwinter

NSD yesterday, but dilemma today, been advised Iceland have a half price sale on many items, and Christmas stock reduced...... should I go and wander round the store, and get bargains..... or stay clear and have a further NSD?! lol

HelenPie

kittie i love your idea of being cash-poor but family-rich. Sounds like a good way to live, imho

OH's car has gone into the garage this morning with suspected water pump failure Thankfully, we have an account with money set aside for the cars but it was supposed to do my MOT next month :mad:

I've got two 10+ mile trips to the same place today for appointments, 5 hours appart, which is a wate of fuel (unfortunately, couldn't get them at better times)

I'm really keen on the idea of starting a business selling cupcakes. I absolutely love to bake but haven't the foggiest idea about setting up a company, and would have to fit it around my current job (am away from home at least 12 hours Mon-Fri). We have a tradition in our office that you take cakes in on your birthday (strange, I know), but I've had some lovely feedback in the past and so am hoping I can get a few referrals from colleagues, just to test the water, so to speak. My birthday is next week and I think that it will cost about £14 to make enough. Big spend, but hopefully a worthwhile investment...

On the same subject, I could do with a few tools for the decorations so might splash out there today (as I'm doing so well with the grocery budget!)

Sorry to ramble, but one last point! I found out on Tuesday that I'd past an exam for work (had pretty much forgotten I'd taken it, tbh!) :j However, it is a two part qualification, and the second part is going to cost approx £400, including books :eek: I completely forgot to include this in my budget so will have to re-jig a few bits

I hope you're all expecting more frugal days than me today! Take care all.

H x

Lily_The_Legend

Morning everybody! :hello:

Today should be a NSD, which will be the third of January. Yesterday would've been one but I gave DH a pound to buy a newspaper! :cool:

I've brought lunch in from home every day I've been back at work so that's good.

I don't even want to go into how last night went with the in-laws. I woke up in a right mood this morning. I might go for a walk at lunchtime, hopefully that'll get rid of some of the frustration!

I hope you all have a fab, frugal day! I'm off to read back!