2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

dizzy_lizzie

Slowly hope everything was just the most magical time ever!

Ruby well done on the qualification :T
Have been busy recently but I've been reading posts.
Hope everyone enjoys the Easter break. I'm using it to recharge my batteries.
x

minnie2

hope the wedding was beautiful an worth the stress slowfading!!

Winchelsea

First must add my good wishes to slowlyfading and her new DH!

Back to "normal life" now after enjoying the Bristol meet yesterday - it was lovely to meet everyone - had a really nice time.

Have just been doing my March accounts - I don't do the SOW, but have my own weird and wonderful methods. A bit haphazard at the moment, as I expect my first DWP pension pay-day (at the new rate as I'm now a widow) at the end of next week, and until I get it I can't properly estimate how much I'm going to get as tax will be changing too.

Anyway, I've estimated it all as best I can for now, and seem to be doing OK. Will update my sig in a minute.

Have a good April everyone!

Savvy_sewing

Are we due to have a new part? Have i missed it? Wouldnt surprise me as there is always so much to keep up with and i skim read at times!.
The budget has gone out of the window. I am useless!. So now I will just have to do an SOA and see where I am, and then start to claw my way back again. I know it would be easier to have kept it all up todate! I am just not organised.
At least I am starting the month with food in the cupboards and freezer, and still have some money in my purse after the weekend, and also there are funds in the various bank accounts. Off to add them up and see what/where I am supposed to be. While I am sore and cannot move around much I may as well start to do something.

Kerfuffle

Mooloo wrote: »

Are we due to have a new part? Have i missed it? Wouldnt surprise me as there is always so much to keep up with and i skim read at times!.
The budget has gone out of the window. I am useless!. So now I will just have to do an SOA and see where I am, and then start to claw my way back again. I know it would be easier to have kept it all up todate! I am just not organised.
At least I am starting the month with food in the cupboards and freezer, and still have some money in my purse after the weekend, and also there are funds in the various bank accounts. Off to add them up and see what/where I am supposed to be. While I am sore and cannot move around much I may as well start to do something.

Hi Mooloo, we're not due a new part for some time yet, usually when the posts get to about 5000.

Don't call yourself useless! You're juggling a lot of things and doing brilliantly. So what if you can't say to the penny how much you've paid for stuff so far, the very fact that you're trying to follow a budget will be having a positive effect. As you've said you've got food in the cupboards, money in your purse and some cash in various accounts, I'd say that's pretty good going.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start again.:)

Kerry_Woman

rubytuesday wrote: »

Good news from me - my graduation ceremony was on Monday and I am now a qualified Mental Health Trainer!

Congratulations on getting your qualification.

Erme

Carolyn12 wrote: »

Hi all!
I haven't been on here for ages! I'm still following the frugal way of life, and liking it!
I've just made a batch of blueberry cupcakes for puddings and snacks (for walking home from work- i'm always ravenous! haha, and this will hopefully save me from heading to the shop). I've already started to take a different route home and stopped taking my purse to work!
I think I will freeze most of them, and take out one/two/three a day.

Aldi blueberries btw- not the cheapest I've seen them, but still far better than the 2 for £4 or whatever it is now in MrT. I haven't set foot in there for weeks! :j and what a difference in my shopping bill!!


I think I will start to bake more often, have most of the ingredients in the cupboard anyway, bar eggs and butter, and try and use a different fruit or addition each time.
Orange cupcakes anyone? I don't know if that would work? I'm not the best baker in the world, and often adjust recipes to my own liking! but I do really enjoy it!

On the work front, I was offered my old Christmas temp job back, and have a 2nd job mucking out some horses, every little helps. This has really helped ebb away at the darned OD. It's now sitting just below £300 (It had crept up to £400 in Jan) and with payday on Friday, I'm hoping to pay another £50 towards it. Ok, I know this isn't a lot, but I need it gone for my peace of mind.

Also, got some items on ebay this week, hoping some of these will pay my Apr phone bill, and hopefully a bit extra.

Anyway, enough of the waffle, hope everyone is enjoying the fantastic weather.

Haven't been on the allotment this week as too tired....

Didn't get the job ...went out for the day and blew the budget :eek:...also wanted new sandals and they had nothing in t*** so ended up walking down the road and got a pair of german sandals half price...

So today's success (not worried about the budget....just trying. Just trying to get well right now) is making my own tea including mashed potato in the kenwood chef. Made life sooo much easier....

Anyone who wants to be serious about doing 'things from scratch' either needs a good food processor or a kenwood chef. Kenwood chef's (really old ones but they can be serviced) can be picked up for about £100 or less off ebay. Anything from a 901 upwards will take the modern attachments. I think I paid like £24 for mine from the charity shop then like spent about £100 on attachments (blender, dough hook, slicer and juicer)...maybe less. So pleased. :T...does 2 loaves of bread in no time...Does everything in fact though is noisier than a food processor but better than 101 gadgets if you're short of space.

Food processor wise there's only one for me - magimix ...Had mine for about 18 months. Work horse. Again can often be picked up cheap on ebay (and unless you want the juicer will do everything the kenwood chef will apart from make sausages and pasta) and go from small (diddy in the case of the wee one at about £50 new) to huge. Again it's one or the other...

Sure other's will agree....

E

Savvy_sewing

?Well I did try to update the spreadsheet to some degree, then lost the lot! argh. me and excel do not get along.
anyway, I was able to pay the rent, and sort out a few other bits and pieces. Net worth is looking better then it really is as the credit card full payment is not due to go out until the 16th, but there is cash to cover it. Thats the only debt I have. So I am pleased that I am OK.

rising_from_the_ashes

Quite excited ..... managed to sign up for a left-handed crochet course:j.

Something I've always wanted to do & have been shown multiple times but have never mastered transferring it to "left handed-ness" (and, like most "leftys" I'm usually not too bad .....).

Colleague came into work a few weeks ago (also a lefty!) and said she'd been & it was fab. It was a one-off but as it'd been over-subscribed (obviously lots of leftys unable to crochet around!) they were going to run another .... anyway - popped to the PO at lunchtime to get stamps before they go up (it was closed ) and passed the shop on the way back, popped in and ... another leftys course being run at the end of the month:j:j.

So.... have decided to treat myself

LolaLemon

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Quite excited ..... managed to sign up for a left-handed crochet course:j.

Something I've always wanted to do & have been shown multiple times but have never mastered transferring it to "left handed-ness" (and, like most "leftys" I'm usually not too bad .....).

Colleague came into work a few weeks ago (also a lefty!) and said she'd been & it was fab. It was a one-off but as it'd been over-subscribed (obviously lots of leftys unable to crochet around!) they were going to run another .... anyway - popped to the PO at lunchtime to get stamps before they go up (it was closed ) and passed the shop on the way back, popped in and ... another leftys course being run at the end of the month:j:j.

So.... have decided to treat myself

Tjw1965 has left hand videos of all her tutorials on u tube, from basic stitches up to projects.
Have fun on the course, I'm sure it will be great and you will meet lots of new friends

Sorry I basically posted and then disapeared, I was reading a bit and trying to catch up with everyone, then last Saturday my aunt died due to cancer, the funeral was Thursday past, she had a very busy send off, the chapel was full, and its a big chapel. That same morning, my uncle, her brother in law, who also has cancer, was rushed into hospital, and needed a blood transfusion.. he got out yesterday, and was rushed back in today. I was told earlier that they think he would pass on today, as of yet, I haven't recieved that dreaded fone call.

Other than that, i have caught up with a lot of family, lots who travelled miles n miles to come back.


Also went to my friends 30th birthday party. I dressed as Katy Perry. Was fun.



Hope all went great for the wedding, can't wait to see pics enjoy the honeymoon