Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

HowlinWolf

Phew finally caught up. I shall declare myself a lurker for now. I have set a budget and written it all in a note book, so I can't ignore it like I can the spreadsheet on the computer. Had a bit of an oops already as I forgot to add the alarm service into the budget but think I may be able to claw back in other areas. Our gas and electric meters were read this week, we got the bill today and we are still in credit which is good for us for winter. I've managed to get a broadband deal with 3 months free (thanks Martin) and once British Gas service the boiler I'm switching the cover which should save a further £7 per month over the set budget. Slightly worried that we might not manage to keep to the food budget though as its significantly lower than in previous years. Very worried about the price of diesel at the moment, Tesc* have used the vat increase as an excuse to raise the price overnight from 126 to 132. Mind you that doens't come out of my frugal living challenge budget as it comes out of my own account and I am only FLCing things that come out of the joint account this year. Thanks for a great thread everyone.

23rdspiral

grandma247 wrote: »

Umm How high was this wheelie toilet?:rotfl:I have visions of having to climb up to it.
When we were in Aus we had to use a bush toilet which was a box thing with a toilet seat fitted on it and I made the mistake of looking down. It was the deepest hole I have ever seen:eek:

you're kinda right. the bins were on the ground in a row. then scaff poles and planks made steps up and then a floor over the top, and also a 'shelf' thing that had the seats on. very very clever i thought. but a little rickety when drunk! :rotfl:

flying_fresian wrote: »

Mine cost £55 (I think) and came with free embossing folders.

Craft superstore has a good offer on at the moment too. It's worth asking on the Making Cards thread if you're planning on getting one - those ladies can sniff out a crafting bargain like a pig sniffs truffles :rotfl::rotfl:

ooh, i'd love one. but totally not budegtable! the girls in that forum are a lovely bunch too.

Lily_The_Legend wrote: »

Also, I got a new packet of pine nuts out of the cupboard and he pointed out a packet we hadn't finished last time.

are they those things in pesto? if so, you're VERY LUCKY - they've rocketed in price soo much this last year - so much so my local independet health food store has put up an apology notice saying 'yes, that is the real price, no we havent put 100g down as 1kg!'

Lily_The_Legend

23rdspiral wrote: »

are they those things in pesto? if so, you're VERY LUCKY - they've rocketed in price soo much this last year - so much so my local independet health food store has put up an apology notice saying 'yes, that is the real price, no we havent put 100g down as 1kg!'

Yep those are the ones! I did think the last packet was expensive! :eek:

rising_from_the_ashes

Hello everyone - have been redirected here by NualaBuala (found the original thread on the list of challenges post).

CW - thanks soooo much for the spreadsheet. It's fantastic. I've been trying to come up with something but was struggling (mainly as I've recently moved to Office 2007 and I can't find ANYTHING anymore lol).

I think it may get addictive (which will certainly be a 1st for me when it comes to keeping track of money)!

Working on budget/spends at the minute!!!!!

cw18

Hold onto your hats folks- it's time to parrr-teeeee

The list of names just reached the magic 100 :T

xnatalie81x

Hi guys

Been busy as a bee last few days as back to work after xmas break tomorrow and had to do a billion registers (ok only about 50 but felt like more!) and get the badges ready to hand out. Also had kids off today as they are all a bit hot and ill AGAIN! I am going to be getting a letter soon as they have been off so much!!! My poor 3 yr old has all the skin on his privates peeling - the babies temp hit 38.5 and couldn't give him anything! So, all in all a very busy week!

Approved foods order came - mucho help to the budget - AND, i decided what car i am buying with my savings this year (desperately need new car!) soooooooo i have decided that i want it soon and therefore am going to be mega mega frugal (my budget is 14k a year and i have 450 mth left that i save. The car will be about 3-4k and therefore that would take me to about aug/sept BUT i am impatient and i want it NOW!) - as if i am really really really frugal i could have my new car in April I already have some money saved from last year plus the 45o mth and i am cutting my grocery/clothes/petrol/nappies/garden/haircuts etc TO THE BONE! AND putting aside loads of my 'extra' budget (read more about that earlier in thread) so i could have my 3/4k by April - i can be VERY determined when i want to be!

This could mean seeing less of me as i ebay everything that does not move, work every spare second i can and batch cook/bake till my kids think i am attached to the kitchen - challenge 1. buy no food apart from bread flour/eggs/milk/butter for the next 3 weeks

Am also putting kids on waiting list for school in this area as petrol has gone up again and it is already costing me £200 minimum in petrol a month need to look to change gym as well........... More change

Hope all well, off to bed now as up at 7.30 for work in the morn

rising_from_the_ashes

cw18 wrote: »

Hold onto your hats folks- it's time to parrr-teeeee

The list of names just reached the magic 100 :T

Fantastic! Better add this challenge to my sig.....

ceridwen

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Hi everyone.
ceridwen sorry you couldn't see the angel card. If you click on this link again
http://www.findhorn.org/ and look to the left maybe a little further down you should see an Angel Card with a word for inspiration/meditation on. Today mine says 'Efficiency' which is apt because today I've already done my shopping from the list DD did yesterday. So I've been very efficient
x

Ah...thanks...got it....mine for today was "Faith". Probably rather appropriate to me - as, for a non-"religious" type person I do seem to have to do a lot of "stepping out in faith" sometimes...:cool:.

Life must be a LOT easier I sometimes (often:cool:) think if one has "majority" opinions - rather than the "minority" ones I have in some respects:(.

redglass_2

apple_mint wrote: »

I wish we'd taken a look before we bought We don't have an Aldi, but I'm sure Lidl's ice cream will be much better.

Lidl's walnut ice-cream used to be delicious - I can't keep it in the house, because something like this always happens....:EasterBun

LolaLemon

apple_mint wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I can't let my behind grow. New trousers are not in my budget

:cool: I wish we'd taken a look before we bought :rotfl:We don't have an Aldi, but I'm sure Lidl's ice cream will be much better. Things can only improve I think it would be more frugal if he gave up ice cream, but I don't think I'll convince him that's a good idea.

I love tesco cheap value icecream - went through about 2 or 3 tubs a week when pregnant! granted its not the best on its own, but fantastic as a 'float' - put a scoop or 2 in a tall glass and add fizzy juice (irn bru or lemonade is my fav) but add slowly or it quickly spills over.

23rdspiral wrote: »

hi everyone, i saw an interesting article on VAT today and thought i'd share the highlights... now i dont buy mini raisin packs anyway as they are way more expensive per 100g than the big bags, but i still thought this was interesting -

a packet of chocolate-coated biscuits is taxed at the full rate of 20%
chocolate chip cookies, jaffa cakes, flapjacks and shortbread (not choc coated) are zero-rated.

potato crisps carry the standard rate
tortilla or corn chips are exempt.

nuts without shells are rated at 20%.
roasted or salted nuts that come in their shells are VAT-free

Strangely, large packs of dried fruit – such as raisins – that are packaged for home baking are exempt
smaller packets of the same items marketed as snacks or confectionery are standard-rated.

paraphrased from http://www.orange.co.uk/money/tax/23362.htm?linkfrom=hp4&link=secondary_pos_1_link_title&article=110107x0830x4sec1moneyyoucanstillbeatthevathike

its all very strange how the vat works.
It was definately a man who decided tho, as no female would charge vat on sanitary products - although it is justified by the fact that our great great great great great grankids will be able to dig up an old 'dump' and know how our diet was, how much iron we had etc... no a good thought lol

cw18 wrote: »

So when I went over to see him last night I took a PAYG sim on the same network as my phone (which I got when I got my new handset, so that didn't cost me anything), and have set up an extra on my contract which means we have unlimited free calls and texts between us now So that's an extra £5/month, but I reckon it's going to work out a lot cheaper than paying for going over my limit (12.3p/text or 30.6p/minute) - plus means we're not having to clock-watch calls and I don't have to keep checking my account on-line to see where I am with my texts, so that's a saving on time as well

just so u are aware, what you see online is not always upto date, even though u might see the last txt/call u made, it can take up to 7 days for all your activities to come through, although in the UK, we are a lot quicker, but i have seen it happen (ex-mobile fone technical support worker).. the reason it happens is that your message may 'travel' through more than one mobile companies cell site, and your mobile fone company has to wait until the other one confirms they recieved the message! (bit like when you go abroad, and the can take 3 months to come through, sometimes 4!)


i spent a fortune in tesco today! cant believe it, buti did get a lot of bras and pants at reduced prices from £1 to £4.... i recently lost a lot of weight and im in desperate need of new underwear. i had a £45 gift voucher for tehir so that went towards it.
Picked up sausage meat reduced (2 packs at 60p now in the freezer) and a bag of spinich, what can i make with this? can i freeze some too?