2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

purpleorchid

afternoon all

thanks jo.mo, we met again today and this time he went totally over board lol.

i had a chicken
stew pack
richmond sausages
loaf of warburtons toastie bread
and a large pack of mixed bicuits lol

have told him not to buy me things but it seems he likes to, so im not going to complain, my freezer is slowly filling up due to his food gifts.
i also went to tesco and got 4 x mccain oven chips that are offer for £1 at the moment so had 4 x 50p off vouchers so they only cost me £2, and i got the andrex washlets for 10p with the 90p off voucher, not a bad spend.

Luv P
xx

slowlyfading

Afternoon everyone

Sorry I've not really been around lately - I haven't had much to say! Still plodding along, as you do, trying to watch the pennies and having a life at the same time. I've been doing a mini store cupboard challenge - me and OH are moving in February so I'm trying to use up some of the stuff I have in the cupboards. I have to confess, I chucked out two big boxes of herbal tea this morning - the BBE date was 2009 and they had no taste! Oops. Obviously it doesn't matter if we have to take things with us, but the less food stuffs we have to pack on the day, the better!

So, tonight we're having a veg stir fry using lots of ends of veg in the fridge, along with some noodles that we bought when they were BOGOF, and a stir fry sauce that was reduced to 29p. So, a lovely frugal meal for me and OH tonight which is also nice and healthy I do need to pop to Mr Ts tomorrow for some more fruit and veg and other bits and pieces, but, as usual, will do a meal plan and then only get what we need.

purpleorchid

sorry to hear your not feeling so good SF, big ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) hun, i get days where i feel im not getting anywhere. gets me down as well, dont help with my bipolar and borderline personality disorder either.
hope you are feeling better soon chic.

Luv P
xx

mumwithamission

Went hunting for curtain material at the weekend and typically the 'perfect choice' was megabucks, so came home empty handed and disheartened about finding anything that would come close. Then it occurred to me to check it online - where I found exactly the same material for £10/m LESS :j:j:j

Can't believe I haven't thought of doing that before. Happy bunny gets what she wants after all!

seriouslyfrugal

stitching_witch wrote: »

Remember this from 1st December? Well, joy of joys, DH's JSA runs out next month too. In theory, that means I have to start paying his bills too. I've spent the weekend trying to shave more off the budget, but there's nowhere else to cut down. There are many times that I scrawl 'IHML' (I Hate My Life) over every available surface and now seems like one of those

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Employedorlookingforwork/index.htm


I thought this may help also do you know that you get 2 types of jsa - contibution based & income based if he is on the first he may be able to claim for income based definatly worth a call to find out


welcome to everyone new :wave: & hugs to those who need it

sandra : lovely poems as ever nothing really to report here from frugal towers - just normal every day things

oh and happy chinese new year ( 2012 year of the dragon)

take care everyone

bramble1

Well small successes for me today! Had a telephone interview with another company (if i got the job i'd get between 4k - 8k pay rise!) and I got confirmation our council tax band has been lowered and we are due a rebate for our overpayments! This is around £350ish, which we will use towards c tax payments. So pleased.

mishmogs

evening all

had another NSD today but am off out tomorrow for a few bits. Had a mate call round today and she wants to buy my old dining table so thats £30 which I will stick into my SPC for my new fridge/freezer.

Booked a weeks camping holiday in the new forest for June over the weekend. Never been before so that will be good. Got a fab deal on a mega tent from amaz*n less than half price last year so can christen it this summer .

Stretched the mince into meat, tata, onion and carrot pie which will do for two meals, maybe three cos theres LOTS of veg to serve with it!

Will make a chicken curry tomorrow and can then alternate meals. Currys always better the next day after the flavours have mingled....:D:D:D.

Gave said mate a bottle of Stardrops, she had never heard of it before :(

rising_from_the_ashes

Can I just say ...... I HATE JANUARY!

Honestly, car tax / breakdown cover / service / MOT ..... all in one month!

Really annoys me that the budget shows as overspent all year too:o - why couldn't they all be in December so I can show underspent all year :rotfl:

Revised budget now standing at £13.5k however I do now *think* I've got everything in it - including 2 planned big spends (for me anyway) of a garden shed and a butterfly table.

Have included these in the overall budget but will be using savings (coin jars:)) - if I ever get enough. Thinking I may ask for some money towards the table for my birthday (don't tell anyone but it's a "big" one)

Dentists / optitions / clothes now also incl - only thing I can think is missing is a holiday ... would like to get away (even for a couple of days) as haven't been away anywhere for around 4 years (and that was only 1 night:rotfl:) - however, have decided it can only happen if savings are generated elsewhere.

Essential household costs come in at just under £7,000:eek: which was a bit of a shock when I actually added it all up - and a lot for one person to find!

Habibiboo

Thanks Jo Mo, I think you're probably right - ultimately I think I'll be using the nose test for the final say on whether to use something or not as I bust my stash :T

Rising from the Ashes, you are amazingly organised with your frugal planning, I'm in awe of you! I aspire to, but can never reach, your level of frugal functioning because of my OH who doesn't quite get the idea of my best laid plans (particularly once he's received a Lidl newsletter email). Speaking of which he's up there now!

I shall continue to take inspiration from you all for the bits I do have a bit of control over though! Have a lovely evening, all!

determined_new_ms

ah so self deprecating Habibiboo! Such a sweet quality :A we don't believe it for one minute though, you are just laying the foundations for come December when you tell us all you came in under budget by thousands! :rotfl:

aw RFTA try not to hate January, its not its fault & try to think about how frugal you can be the rest of the year

bramle good luck for the job

Hello to everyone else!

Today was a really good day - in both frugal and non-frugal ways

1st day in my new job was good, feel like I'm going to do well there and have a lot to offer

within an hour of being there I was paid for Jan - more than I was expecting :T

Got oh to go to Tescos in his lunch break and get 2kg red lentils (on offer for £1.99) - I didn't realise how much 2kgs would be! :rotfl: and a pack of philidephia - had a £1 off MOC courtesy of the coupon on the coupon page & they are currently on offer for £1 at Tesco :T

Then went to Zizzis with their voucher for Happy Hour -free Tapas and a glass of wine - courtesy of the weekly newsletter. We just had this, it was enough so haven't had to cook, and left a £2.50 tip - I felt so embarrassed not to be spending more but afforded me and oh to have a giggle on the way home

Lets hope the week continues in this vein

Frugal thoughts to you all x