Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - Part 3.

tumptyteapot

redglass wrote: »

It sounds as if word has got back that you said she intimidated you. It's an awkward situation...can't remember if I asked this before, is there a union at your workplace? Good luck...

I was just about to ask the same thing - good luck 23rdspiral, what job do you have that requires you to be shiney?

ceridwen

23rd Spiral

Good luck from me as well. Fingers crossed for you.

sprozza

Hi can I join? We are currently trying to pay off our debts so have been trying to save every penny. We are no longer wasting any food, we have cut our shopping bill in half :j. Last weekend I started our own veg patch which should save us money in the long run too. I would love to keep chikens but not sure as our garden is tiny plus we have a yappy little dog, how much room to chickens require?

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j
OH has been a busy little bee and has managed to find a suitable road recovery package for £19- we've been paying £58 for Rac with Tesco vouchers but have simply had to cut it back. Needs must:D
Yesterday was a good day at Gnat Bottomed Towers- my friend who I work with had one of our crafty evenings to cheer ourselves up as we're both finishing shortly. I'm making an folk art style owl cushion using bits from my fabric stash and she's making a cat doorstop from felt. I'm using this site http://weefolkart.com/ [am in no way linked to the site] and have to say I absolutely love the different projects they have on there. Can see some hm pressies perhaps using the free downloads:D Other news is that OH suggested that we turn the lawn over to veggies [our garden is teeny] as we're having such mixed results in the pots. Some successes but some frustrating failures aswell. I've often thought about it but never suggested it as I thought it maybe a step too far for him. However, he's got used to my madcap ways and sees the benefits now.
Aril

Florenceem

tumptyteapot wrote: »

yes to skips, and pallets are great fire wood, bash one corner of a pallet onto the ground to break it up.
I start collecting firewood around August so it has time to dry out for the winter.

I was visiting my Son last month - he got an allotment last year after three years on a waiting list. There are lots of skips where he lives - obviously an area where folks do lots of work on their houses. He needed wood for frames/supports on the allotment- I taught him - skip diving.

SandraScarlett

Good luck 23rd Spiral and welcome sprozza. :beer:

xx

paidinchickens

I have found the quality of things in skips has gone right down hill of late, people are putting some right old rubbish in them :rotfl::rotfl:

paidinchickens

Hi Spozza:wave::hello:

Blairweech

Hi everyone

I had a No Spend Week last week :money: :j :beer:

Basically, I have a dilemma and need some advice. I am considering getting a new car - 2004 with 65000 miles vs my current one 2001 with 91000 miles, which if bought I would be looking at keeping for 5 years +

Pros:
Newer car
Better reliability - mine will need new exhaust, tyres, brakes etc within the next couple of years
Getting rid of mine before it clocks 100'000 miles and the value plummets

Cons:
Would have to cash in £1000 of my savings to purchase, plus an extra £200 a year in insurance
At the moment, I am working on the farm which is not ideal for keeping a car clean!

Basically I am at a point where I either decide to keep my current car and 'run it into the ground' as it were whilst I'm at uni - another 3 years, then it would only be worth about £500 BUT I could save up for another car in that time so I would still have capital with which to purchase a vehicle. Also, when I finish uni I do not want to be without a car and having to worry about purchasing one - I want to be focusing on finding a job. However, if I am again working on a farm when I finish, I am probably going to want something that is just a little run about and does not matter excessively if it gets dirty.

Help!

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi Sprozza:wave: - link to a thread about chickens https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4876 I've not been through it but you may find some useful info about keeping them in small places!

Blairweech - if your current car is going to need a fair bit spent on it (which it sounds like with exhaust, tyres etc) then it may well be worth swapping to the newer one - although you'll have dug into your savings, you'll hopefully be able to recoup that money by not having to spend so much on it.

I did that a couple of years ago when my old one was going to need similar things replaced - I worked out it was going to cost around £1000 over the next year (which would effectively be money down the drain as it wouldn't have added anything to the value of it at the end of the year) so decided the money would be better invested in a newer car which would cost less to maintain/run.

I'm trying to put the money I'm now saving on maintenance away so that when something similar happens to this one, I'll have a wee bit to put towards a newer one then.