Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

rising_from_the_ashes

frugaliciousness wrote: »

I have not bought anything today. I've ran out of milk but going to use some UHT tomorrow instead of Coop visit. Instead of worrying about only having £14 till Monday I'm challenging myself to not spend that £14 - that puts the control back in my court.

Welcome aboard!

That's a very positive way to look at the £14:T might try that as very limited funds until the end of the month!

cw18 wrote: »

I'm in exactly the same boat, which is one reason I'm decorating and dealing with all the over-due maintainance jobs while I'm doing my latest declutter.....

If I decide to stay put and struggle on, then the place will be nice for me. But if I decide to move/downsize, then it should be in a better shape for attracting potential buyers.

frugaliciousness wrote: »

Our homes pull at our heartstrings huh? A lot of us are in the same sort of situation. Our rent is reasonable for the house and area we're in but running costs and living costs are the real bind/worry.

Thanks - helps to know I'm not the only one!

Well, bit the bullet and managed to switch energy supplier last night (installed a massive update, did a long post and then everything crashed:( - luckily a good nights sleep seems to have put my pc back in working order!

Managed to get £40 cashback so at least that nearly covers the cancellation fee with SP - still think they've got a cheek asking for one (will not be going to another one with a charge - didn't do enough investigation when I took it out and TBH had no intention of moving until they announced such high rises).

New deal is fixed for a year, "moveable" if I move and has no cancellation charge so fingers crossed.

July's going to have to be a very quiet month (why is there something every month at the minute - it was the full house insurance payment this month) as will have to find the £150 to close my SP account:( - nevermind!

It'll give me time to do my maintenance jobs around the house that I've also been putting off!:)

Have a good day everyone!

frugaliciousness

Blairweech wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Not posted for ages and have not had chance to update my spreadsheet yet but thought I would share a linky with you

From 'Real Simple' magazine: New Uses for Old Things - they have loads of categories, I particularly like Double Duty Decorating and The Great Outdoors

thank you for the link, it's been bookmarked for later when I sit down with a cuppa

Making a loaf later as we spoken last night about 'frittering' money away on bread. Can you believe that.... bread! :eek: I remember being ashamed of having bread and butter snack when I was a kid. A loaf of bread costs more than a pack of biscuits now So I'm baking.

I need to do some research into a good bread making recipe as my bread making attempts have been dire to date.

Last nights spag bol for lunch and fish finger sarnie for the little one with sweetcorn and tomato on the side.

going to look at the thread on here about weezl's menu's

oh, and do you all add your mortgage payment, rent to your challenge tally. I've included everything but noticed that the one's I've looked at haven't included that one. I suppose it's each to their own huh?

Have a good day everyone

licious x

paidinchickens

Im glad your not very good at making bread frugal that makes two of us:T DH bought six loaves to freeze reduce to 26p so that should let me off the hook for a while:rotfl:

MOGS STILL HAS NOT HAD HER BABIES I think she must be close as she keeps lollaping around but then she gets all energetic grrrrrrr. She is making me laugh though as when she climbs the neighbours fence she hits it with such a wallop the neighbours must think a tank has driven through their gardens:rotfl:

I think the moving question is a tough one. We are in a small semi with three growing boys who are only going to get bigger. Before I stopped working we were looking at buying a bigger house as we are all on top of each other, but I would have had to go full time and the council tax bill was enough to make me run for the hills:eek: Then there is the money it costs to buy and sell, removals, takeaways for a few days while you get sorted...... the list is endless. In our situation it would have been a case of throwing thousands down the drain and paying through the nose for an extra bedroom. Plus the boys will leave home one day :beer: then we would lose thousands downsizing!

The lady opposite us sold her house and down sized to a small bungalow (cheapest she could find) when her youngest went off to uni. She wanted to cut her bills and have a life but when she moved she found that she spent what she made doing the bungalow up so she was not that much better off, plus she has now lost the option of renting out a room when times are really tough.

We chose to stay put and fit solar panels, which will be tough for the next two years while we pay them off but after that I am hoping we make enough to pay both the gas and electric bill. Still looking into woodburners but I think the flu alone would cost over £1000.

Had a bill from the water board and we have managed to get our water down to £32 a month:T thank heavens boys don't like washing:rotfl:

I have not done very well this year on buying gifts in the sales ready for christmas and birthdays etc. Usually the loft has a huge box we fill over the year when we come across a good bargain. It was always easy to go into the CS after xmas to get all your gift soap sets etc but I have precisely none:( as with everything else in the CS it is cheaper to buy them new in the shops. We even went into the cheap sports shop to get some stocking fillers but the stuff in there is the same stuff they did not sell in jan and they still have not put their prices down:mad: I must make more of an effort or this xmas is really going to cost!!

Im dreaming of a TIGHT xmas........just like the ones we used to know:rotfl:

tumptyteapot

Frugalicious - this is the bread recipe I use - http://www.whataworld.co.uk/?p=159

alec_eiffel

Hi everyone,

It's really interesting to hear everyone talking about their homes. It really is a huge heart v head thing. We moved house last year, mainly because DH was doing an 80 mile round trip each day. We moved to a house that cost twice as much as the old one was worth so it was a big leap out of our comfort zone. We'd been overpaying on the old place so we only had a couple of years left and now here we are with another 25 year mortgage... Having said that, it has been worth it as we live somewhere we really want to be. But things are more expensive - we've gone from a mid terrace to a detached so no heat from the neighbours in the winter, council tax, water etc are more expensive, DH has more work based expenses now. So there isn't as much money to go round.

We have finally got round to decorating (the house has hardly been modernised since the 60's) so it's costing a lot - mainly in white paint! But it's not too bad, we're making do and mending, I've dyed curtains and painted some old furniture and we've reused everything we have as much as possible and are dragging any old people we know to the DIY shop on pensioners discount day! It is costing money but as someone else said we can enjoy it or if we needed to sell the work is done. Sorry rattling on there.

Two money saving things I've done recently, ditched my mobile phone (even though it was only £5 every 6 weeks) and have stopped eating bread. Small things but we can see the difference in the budget.

HalfaSixpence_2

I'm just trying to get a handle on all thisagain after being so busy this year that everything went to pot. Have you noticed that as soon as you try to make things better, the forces of chaos swoop in and make a concerted effort to stop you? Having managed to be quite good this week, today I found I had £8.50 library fines for some books I was convinced I had renewed online. Plus it's my day off and I've had to arrange a meeting for tonight AND I had a dentist appt at 8 am - got there to find it had been switched to 9.10. Looking back at the confirmatory text they sent me, it had 9.10 on it but as I had the original appt card and it was in my diary I just saw the text and didn't read it. Didnt cost anything, but has eaten into my day and last week my day off was spent collecting dd from uni so house is a tip and I really needed the time. Ho hum.

SandraScarlett

My heart goes out to you, YoungMummy, and others that are in your position. When I was bringing up my family, who are now in their 40s, times were tough - but prices were constant, and I could budget in January for the coming year, and knew that the costs would be very similar in September.

Now, food costs, petrol, and energy prices are zooming upwards on a weekly basis and belts must be pulled in to strangulation point. I salute you, YoungMummy, and all those young mums who are in the same position.

Although our pension doesn't match that of Sir Fred Goodwin (!), our mortgage is paid, and I can, and do, travel on public transport in London for nothing. DH and I have PAYG mobiles (DH makes about one call a month, usually when it's time for me to collect him from a hospital appointment!) but I'm so aware how expensive it is for today's young families.

Hang in there, all of you, because you are doing the right thing, by listing your Ins and Outs, cutting out what you can, scrimping and saving, picking up tips from this fabulous and supportive site, and things will get better. You are all wonderful examples of what makes a Wonderful Woman of Today!!:T:T:T
xx

HalfaSixpence_2

Oh, yes, and the gammon joint I cooked to slice for ham shrunk so much that in cooked weight it has cost me more than buying it in packets!

HalfaSixpence_2

And three out of my four chickens have stopped laying and my overwintered leeks suddenly went mad and bolted themselves into leek flavoured sticks.

tumptyteapot

I am watching ebay things being sold, I have 'made' £80 so far, I probably have made back what I spent though.
Feeling rather flat today, still waiting to know if I can still get disability allowance for my son, payments have stopped so we are £60 a week down, it is my fault for not putting in the claim earlier.
Things I should do include sorting out a lecki/gas supplier and doing some actual work. I feel too jittery to focus though.
One bit of potential good news is that I spoke to a PR person about earning some money from my website and she went and spoke to a friend - they think I could earn a reasonable amount selling advertising on it so I've been sorting out rates etc. If that works it would be a lifesaver!
Everything seems a bit hypothetical at the moment - DLA; maybe, money from advertising; maybe, moving house; maybe (I'm looking daily but there is nothing on the market). I feel in limbo and it's making me seize up with panic.