2012 Frugal Living Challenge (Part 1)

Welsh_Poppy

I am so please I rang BT to try to wangle a cheaper deal on my broadband paying £27.00 for unlimited anyway after telling them I will go elsewhere managed to get for £17.99 woo hoo a top result.
Some nasty weather out there take care.We have just blustery winds so got off lightly.

stitching_witch

Today saw the first five DDs come out of my account for electricity, TV licence, contents insurance, phone/broadband and garage rental so I'm £199.16 into this month's budget already.

Tomorrow I'll need to buy 5 reels of sewing thread but I think I might put it as a business expense and also the cost of parking in town. If I'm crafty I can have an LSD (just cat food) but still buy lots of lovely stuff in the fabric shop.

stitchy x

Savvy_sewing

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Something else to consider is making your own fire logs.

You can get a "contraption" (from Ama*zon, E*bay etc) something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paper-Briquette-Maker-Perfect-Waste/dp/B003WF4JHU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324925251&sr=8-3 and make your own "logs" from newspaper etc.

(If you don't use newspapers yourself, try at work - many Metros / daily papers end up in the recycling bin).

You do need to soak the paper first and then let them dry (which is a bit messy & it can be a pain to dry them in the winter - although they will dry on the hearth) so my advice would be to build up a stock of paper from now until summer and then spend a day (or a couple of 1/2 days) making a load of them when they can dry outside in the sun.

Not for everyone, but if you can source your paper for free, then it's only your time that's needed (and I'm sure we'll all guilty of having the odd day of doing nothing!). The cost of the briquette maker will soon be saved by helping reduce the amount of coal/logs needed.

HTH:)

Lurking in my shed I have a log maker, bought from germany/ebay but in this house I no longer have any open fires. (Last cottage did). So if your in Brackley and want one, PM me!! or I will have to freecycle it I suppose. Its too heavy to put on Ebay and pay postage out.

dizzybee

very windy and rainy here today,well i think the frugal bug has got me went to sales with my son today has needed to get shoes for work,went in loads of shop but although i picket a few bits up in new look and Dorthy Perkins i put them all back and didn't buy any think just shoes £10 in the sale at Evans,my son asked if i had forgotten my purse ,when i told him i had decided to live frugal for a year he roared with laughter has before i would just buy stuff because it was cheap and not pay the debts but this year i want to pay all the debt off.
went to Tesco and bought coffee, milk and reduced veg so only spent a £5.
well pleased with my self back to work tomorrow so pack lunch and nsd.

natnat13

quintwins wrote: »

i think she meant get your mobile hairdresser to do it

Ha, ha sorry read that wrong!
Mobile hairdresser has been and did offer but I'm going to give it a go and she gave me some advice but said the worst thing i can do is not leave it on long enough and it will go orange, then I just do it again! All 4 of us had cuts for £25.

bramble1

Today has been a good day, NSD, pondered over the prospect of getting chickens some more, I think we will do it.

Wanted to bake something but only have 1 egg left....if we had chickens this wouldn't have been an issue!

Had a gander on free cycle. Nothing took my fancy, except two kittens....but OH would kill me, he hates cats.

ASG_2

DS is out to ruin my frugal plans! Last week I paid off his overdraft on condition that he closed the account, pays me back by standing order and pays his board by standing order (I'm sure I'll go on to add a few more conditions lol) So .... I pop in home between jobs to tell him he's got half an hour to be ready. Was he ready in time? Ha! Which meant we didn't have time to walk from free parking space to the bank. How can a bank that sponsors racing drivers take sooooo long to complete a simple administrative task? Rush round to his new bank to set up the standing order, leaving me with no time to sort my denture out and costing me £1.50 for parking. He is having sweetcorn and tuna sandwiches for work tomorrow because, trust me, there's far more sweetcorn than tuna in them :-)

[Deleted User]

Hi All, another NSD for me too. The weather meant I just didn't want to venture out so maybe that was a good thing. Have enough food in the freezer/cupboards to do main meals for the next 2 -4 days. Going to try and stretch it before I go shopping again.

silvasava

NSD Yesterday but had to pay some 'williams' today & buy DS1 his birthday presents. I'm going to a family wedding at the end of February & had a quick look in TKM - saw a lovely dress with a little bolero jacket - size 8 & I'm a size 12/14 - pooh. It was such awful weather I wasn't in the mood to look round so came on home & remembered I have lurking at the back of the wardrobe a lovely dress with a little jacket... dress is a little dated 'cos its shin length but I'll shorten it & give it a new lease of life & no money spent - yay!!!
Hope everyone has stayed safe in these awful high winds & rotten rain

Savvy_sewing

Went to multi quote as I was catching up over several pages. Read for ages and ages, and now I have lost it all!

Sorry to those who commented on my status etc, I really have now forgotten the questions!.

My Fostering allowance currently means I can claim I am working, and when DGD is my Ward, then I will not be working, so the WTC will be lost, as well as part of the fostering allowance, although I will be able to claim Child benefit. this will possibly allow me to have free school meals next year when she is in school.
But as someone mentioned, if I was to work part time, then I can claim WTC still.
Only trouble is I am on ESA, as I have been off official work for a few years, and if I was to actually work any other job then the fostering, then I will loose the ESA as well.
So thats why I am worried about the lower income coming in.
Its a case of which scenario is best. But I would love to be working, even if its only my sewing. This would maybe cover for the 16 hours, if I am well enough. But the income would probably be not very good, and any income would affect the amount of WTC that I have,its so very complicated.!!

I think I have tweaked the budget, with a wing and a prayer to nearer the income. But I will have to stop using the car as much, and running around after the children. I will also have to think about getting DGD to school, in bad weather I wonder if I will be able to car share with another mum, I know when its good she walks her kids and is coming from a different direction, but I cannot walk that far. ( due to spine problems). But when it the car its not a lot of difference.
Right time to go to bed. I am exhausted. was going to sew, but just too tired.