Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi all, not a lot happening here today - been to view a house (thinking of moving as if I could 1/2 my mortgage it would be a huge help). It was OK but teeeeeeeny compared to mine. Got a while to have a hunt around/look at different areas as tied into my mortgage until December and don't fancy paying a £3.5k penalty:eek:

Just downloaded my latest gas/elec bill - some surprises.

I've managed to lower my gas consumption from the same period last year (Feb - now):D but my elec usage has gone up:( and not sure why so a bit puzzled about that one (don't use t/d, dishwasher etc).


Also managed to get current insurer to match the price comparison quote (not the cheapest one, but the cheapest one that I would actually use) and have paid in full so a saving of £60 there:D - however, will have to be a VERY frugal rest of the month as I'll have to pay for it when the cc bill comes in. (Downside was that it was a "pay now" offer & the cut off date for my bill is the 11th so it'll come through on this month's bill).

I'm so hoping things will be easier next year as I'll have money saved in my "budgeting pots" to pay for these type of things rather than having to take a huge hit out of one month.

About to plan my meals for the month - I've loads of meals in the freezer already made (great for work nights) and a couple of blocks of mince & a chicken so that'll keep me going if I'm careful.

Have a good Sat night everyone.

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j
Needed new shoes today as mine have split across the sole and will not be water proof. As I walk most of the time I need something that's fairly substantial and have tried the cheap shoes route in the past but have decided it's a false economy for me. I trawled the charity shops but no bargains there but did find a pair of hush puppies for £32 instead of £55 in TK Maxx so am pleased with that. Also treated myself to a £2.50 snazzy cardi from the half price rail in Age Concern and OH got himself a couple more puzzles.

Thrifty tea tonight- baked potatoes with shredded crabsticks in mayo. A new discovery for me and most tasty.

With regards to winemaking- we initially got all our basic kit from freecycle and bootsales until we found how we got on. It's worth borrowing a book from the library aswell [the Berry one is a classic] We started out with kits [Wilkinsons do them] until we were surer of what we were doing but have now branched out far more- currently in our cellar [call that a 2nd hand cupboard in the garage:D] we have mead, parsnip, rowanberry, blackberry, elderflower, lemon balm, red grape from my parents grapes aswell as the ones from kits. The plan was to make raspberry but only one of our new canes has survived the winter so maybe next year but we'll definitely have a crack at elderberry. We stock up on sugar when we see a good offer and have had other bits of kits bought for Christmas/birthday presents. It's a fun hobby and fits in with our frugal lifestyle.

Aril

SandraScarlett

Here's an ode to Slowly Fading, just to let you know we care
In your time of strife and trouble, disappointment and despair

You're always such a cheerful soul, so things must be quite tough
We can only send you virtual hugs, and if that's not enough

You know that we support you, though we may not know what's wrong
Cos this thread is such a comfort, it's a place where we belong

We are just a group of women (and perhaps a lurking man!)
We don't need to know the details, we'll just comfort all we can

We have triumphs and disasters, we have good days - and some bad
Laughing with hysteria, or really low and sad

Some days we're frugalistic, and it feels our hearts with cheer
But other days we suffer from financial diarrhoea!!!

So remember Slowly Fading, that our love is here to share
And it's offered in abundance - and remember that we care

May your troubles soon be over, may your sadness be much less
Cos you know that we are here for you, good luck, good health, God Bless.

xx

slowlyfading

aww, shucks.. that's so lovely, thank you xx

seriouslyfrugal

Hi Everyone


Not much happing with me right now so i'm more of a lurker at the moment but i'm still here and frugalling away ! :j


Welcome to everyone that is new to the challenge


S.F. thinking of you and sending virtual hugs :grouphug:

redglass_2

minnie2 wrote: »

do you think Quidco is worth it? i always forget to check if they do the retailer first, just not sure.perhaps im not in the swing of things!

Yes, Minnie, in my opinion Quidco and Topcashback are definitely worth it, as long as you follow the advice on this site, ie don't make cashback your main reason for buying from someone, always make sure you're happy with the deal anyway and then go for cashback as the icing on the cake. I've now notched up about £150 from cashback and could have done a lot better (I sometimes forget to go via the sites).

I've tried some other cashback sites but didn't like them as much as Topcashback and Quidco. Can anyone suggest other sites that they've found to be worthwhile...?

redglass_2

:grouphug:Hope you're feeling a bit better, SF.

[/QUOTE]On a lighter note, a manager at work gave me a bit of a pep talk whilst waiting for the photocopier. He says we should imagine we're TV transmitters and whatever we transmit will affect how others see us, to which my colleague replied "well in my case then they'll receive interference" which I thought was amusing. Someone else had to lower the tone and said that they would be like the adult channels on Sky. Oh dear what a bunch. [/QUOTE]

I think the manager asked for it, TBH. I'll do a job properly and professionally but I draw the line at being told that I have to think officially approved thoughts all day long for fear of giving the wrong impression.

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Hi, anyone use this?

Just tried for the 1st time as home insurance about to expire and renewal quote is up over £70.

Did a quote through GoCom*pare & there were a couple of very cheap ones but M*ore Th*an quoted £159 (+ £20 for legal protection) making it £179.

Forgot about Quid*Co - thought I'd give it a try & £40 cashback with M*ore Th*an but the quote's coming out at £204 with the legal protection.

Any ideas why? (is it 'cos the comparison one isn't a full/proper quote)?


Ta

I've recently been trying comparison sites for car insurance and have also noticed that the quote you get on the comparison site often doesn't match up with what is available. The various screenscrapers also ask for slightly different information so you're not comparing like with like. It took me most of a morning to check it all out and I've ended by sticking with my old insurers, but I wouldn't advise people not to bother. In the past I've made some big savings: one company was charging me nearly twice what I pay now.

And since I'm in the act of posting, I might as well say...

Santander :mad: Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:Santander :mad:

They must be the world's worst bank.... Their latest trick is to lock me out of my online account, then promise on the phone to sort it all out for me...then not bother. And every time I do log on, I can't just get on with it but am pestered to download security software, which I won't download because IT'S ALREADY BEEN DOWNLOADED ONTO MY COMPUTER - TWICE! I have raised this with them and the answer is, 'Sorry, nothing we can do about it.' And they wonder why they are bottom of the polls for customer service.:rotfl: So, why am I still with them? Simple: I'm afraid of the terrible chaos they could wreak, the DDs they could bounce or lose if I tried to switch to another bank. I kid you not. But it's getting to the point where even this fear won't hold me back much longer.

ceridwen

I can sympathise re Santander...I had their predecessor bank (ie Abbey National) for a while.

I've swopped bank several times now and I cant recall whether the bank actually "does the necessary" re swopping direct debits themselves - but I think its best anyway to stop all direct debits oneself as from the previous bank (that way - they cant end up being paid twice).

One does have to keep a close eye on banks (both old and new) during the swopover period - but Santander/former Abbey National ARE awful.

I dont use online banking myself - as I'm far too worried about possible security breaches if I were to do so myself - so I dont know how different you would find the swopover process (as you do use this).

There seems to be a rough "rule of thumb" as to how one can tell that a bank has particularly bad service - ie if they offer cash to join them - that means they are struggling to get new customers (as the old ones keep leaving - because of the particulary poor service). I think its wise to regard any "bribe" to join a bank as meaning "We are paying you a one-off £100 because we recognise that you will have to spend many hours of your time monitoring whether we are doing our job properly.....".

I have a theory that the level of service in Britain will only go up if:
a. We are all prepared to vote with our feet re poor service
b. Accept that we may have to pay a bit more to get some "old-fashioned service".

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi all, apologies if this has been asked/answered before:

I've just (for the 1st time in my life) paid my home insurance in one go and not sure how to show this in the SoW (obviously affects 2011 & 2012).

I've had a couple of things that I've paid for the full year already (breakdown cover, car tax & service) but these were in Jan (ie for the whole of 2011 only) so just showed these as a big one off payment in Jan (the figures obviously show in red but will balance out by the end of the year).

Up until now, I've had a monthly direct debit amount for my house ins in my regular payments so, do I....

• Put a big one off payment against May? (but that would mean that some of 2012's amount is incl) or
• Split the figure into monthly amounts and add them in each month? (and now worry that it won't show that I've paid the full amount in May)

Help!:eek:

Thanks:D

tumptyteapot

I have to be careful now because I am starting to buy things and not think about it - I am riding on the success of the last 2 months. Yesterday I bought a newspaper, a bottle of beer, some sweets for my son and some chocolate for me. the day before i went to the market and I can't actually remember what I spent :-(.
I've been making dolls out of scraps of fabric. They are to sell but I really don't know what to charge.



The first ones are really quick to make but the second ones take quite a while. Friends on facebook suggested I put initials on too which will take longer still 'cos my machine doesn't do things like that :-)

I have to buy some jogging trousers today in Mr P, they are £8 but I can't do Couch to 5k in my pyjama bottoms!