One frugal year = freedom and choices

lobbyludd

Dear old george, If any government wanted to stop people smoking they'd double the price of cigarettes in one hit and make NRT free, people will accomodate increases of less than a pound a packet because we are addicted. Over 80% of the cost of cigarettes is tax, £10bn a year, enough to refund the top atx rate of a footballer or two. and he doesn't want to lose that.

still......nicotine replacement patch on. Could get them free through the GP but not the chemist and appointments at the GP are like hen's teeth, but chemist had one brand selling at half price (7.49 for a week's worth) so I've bought two packets, which will hopefully give me enough time to get an appointment (or not need them). Feel fine, so they obviously work, and even if I just used these for the rest of my life (not recommended!) I'd be saving money, although as I never actually budget for smoking as I'm always going to give up the next day..... I won't see any extra money, i'll just be able to pay off what my budget predicts.

beautiful, beautiful spring day and sweet peas have started to sprout, the tulips I planted last year are coming through and some winter pansies have decided not to be annuals and have sprung into flower again .

have cut up my current account card.

spent 20mins yesterday trying to get 7 swag bucks (less than 4p) - I'm sure I could have spent my time more productively!

No idea what council tax is going to be in 2012-13, as I've still not had a bill. I think the tax changes and pension contribution changes will leave me £60 a month worse off on incoming wages, and the amount of tax credits I get is a mystery until they put up the new calculator (I get a proportion of the childcare element, as childcare costs me 10-11K a year), so April's budget is more "fluid" than I'd like.

mum2one

that is brilliant re the patches, even thou you had to pay (booh), bet your son is pround as punch that your trying again.

Yes the belove halifax, - very nice of them!, don't know if it would be any help to you, if I could get my OD to below £300 gd idea, - its the mini version of their reward account, think its £7 per month you pay (the £12 paying account you get bells and whisltes, but you have to make the most of everything) the £7 version doesn't have the free offers etc, but gives you the overdraft of upto £300 free, and as with any of the accounts if you pay £1000 pm , (for me thats a switch into savings account over night, then back into current account) then get free £5 reward, so technically you'd be paying £2 but that gives you the £300 - even if you don't plan to use it its worth looking into, keep your account details the same...

Ebay -free listng weekend this weekend. xx

DundeeDoll

Wow great thread. Thanks for sharing the highs and lows. 2quick questions: how do i subscribe to a thread? Where do i sign up for trialling things?
Fab about gettingrid of interest payments -that should speed things up
In your budget do you have 'me money?' i keep mine in a separate purse. Pays for treats for meeeeeeee :-) then i dont feel guilty when i buy a bottle of red wine or a book. Has made me use the library a lot more and drink less lol

DundeeDoll

Lobyludd i have been thinking about your situation quite a bit today, particularly about 'me money'. I don't know how much you spent /spend in a week on ciggies. Why not make that your 'me' money. Any you dont spend on cigs split between you and paying off the debt. Then when you see nice material or plants or want a relax in a tea shop etc you can dip into your 'me money'. If it's going on ciggies that's your treat, if it's going in your special purse you have your treat and the debt goes down a bit more. Win win:D

brizzledfw

Hi Dundeegirl

You subscribe to a thread by using the drop down menu under Thread tools..and then subscribe. You can either just subscribe it sign up to email alerts too.

The 'me' money is a good idea. Might think about adopting that one. Certainly for me generally cash is better than cards..feels more real when your hand it over!

LL....you go girl! You're doing very well!

Brizzle

DundeeDoll

brizzledfw wrote: »

Hi Dundeegirl

You subscribe to a thread by using the drop down menu under Thread tools..and then subscribe. You can either just subscribe it sign up to email alerts too.


Brizzle

Easy once you know how :TThanx brizzle. I'd been trying to do it from cp and getting nowhere:rotfl:

lobbyludd

MIA for ages,
poor childminder was taken into hospital critically ill with meningitis at the beginning of the week, she thankfully seems to have turned a corner now but it's going to be a long and uncertain path to recovery.

impact on my finances (not my main concern obviously but in practical terms it has to be dealt with) means that I will have spent more than double on childcare this month - I had already paid childminder for April, and have had to arrange emergency (more expensive) childcare for at least the next 2 months. That makes a massive hit of more than £1600 on childcare this month alone. Thankfully because I had cleared my overdraft I have access to money I can use to pay this, and I've also had to put things on credit cards that I didn't want to etc. It puts me back to square one essentially, I've not got all the bills in yet but I'll be back up at january levels. That's life I guess, and the most important thing is that all the kids she cares for seem fit and well and she seems to be responding to the IV antibiotics finally, as it was touch and go at the beginning of the week.

I have to ring the tax credits people and let them know all the changes (4 extra childcare providers), and increase in childcare costs - doubt I'll get a penny of help for the double paying but I can hardly badger a woman who is fighting for her life for a refund, taking away her livelihood at the worst possible moment for her.

and back on the money making schemes: I have £20 of amazon vouchers that will cover my dad's birthday, but other than that I guess it's back on the ebay treadmill.

hope everyone enjoyed the good weather, and has a lovely easter planned

millionaire_in_training

What a nightmare for you. When I had a childminder her husband was killed in a car crash and like you I was left with no childminder and in a complete tizz. I was devastated for teh woman and her family but at the same time I didn't know where to turn. I ended up using nurseries from then on. They were slightly more expensive but at least I knew there was always someone there for the kids and they both loved it.

brizzledfw

LL..what a nightmare. But it seems like its turning a corner. Keep on posting and we will all support you!

Hugs and have a great weekend

Brizzle

mum2one

Sorry its been such a nightmare, glad you managed to get the childcare sorted.

glad you got the vouchers for dads present sorted, good luck with tax credits, hope they can do something. xx