2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Frugaldom

nykmedia wrote: »

OK, how's this for a deal if it works out ok? I almost bought someone the Deal or No Deal interactive DVD for Christmas but decided to wait in case they already had it. If not, it's their birthday in April. (The DVD is £12.98 on Amazon.)

I just got my Greasypalm newsletter tonight and it has a great offer! Sign up to Jackpotjoy, deposit £10 into your account and they match it (free £10 to play with) and you get a FREE copy of Deal or No Deal interactive DVD. Not content with that, you also get £20 cashback into your Greasypalm account after 'staking' so much money in the games. Well, I deposited my £10, got my email confirming £10 free and my DVD would be posted, I just kept playing games and winning! I've already staked the minimum to qualify for the cash bonus and my account is sitting at £59! I can't understand it, but if the £20 cashback comes through and the DVD arrives then I'll be a very happy bunny!

I'll keep you posted on this one - anyone any experience with getting cash out of Greasypalm?

Following last night's foray onto Jackpotjoy, as detailed above, where I parted with £10... this morning, low and behold, I have a total of £21 credited to my Greasypalm account plus I tried a few more games on the site and a further £65 lying in there!! I'm scared to withdraw it in case they don't send my free DVD, so might leave it there until the Deal Or No Deal interactive game arrives then withdraw it... I'll need to try REALLY, REALLY HARD not to be tempted to play this money away to nothing but I can certainly see how online gaming could become a very nasty habit! :eek:

Still, £10 out for £86 plus the game for dad's birthday... can't be bad for 15 mins dabbling. :T

sweetpea03

well done nyk on your profits Yes take your money & move on to the next offer is your best bet! If you want to make some serious money you could try matched betting http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=325861 there are just not enough hours in the day for me to do everything I would like to on mse so I haven't tried it yet but am very tempted!

Frugaldom

bails wrote: »

Hi all, I'm hoping someone out there can help me? I have been trying to set my target for the year and I keep coming up against a brick wall - I simply can't see how people can manage on 4k!! I feel I must be going horribly wrong somewhere, especially as there are only 2 of us (+ 2 cats and 2 guinea pigs) I've actually been lying awake most of the night trying to get it straight in my head and getting nowhere so I was hoping if I posted my budget, some lovely person might be able to shed some light for me? Currently I am feeling v hopeless and my head hurts

Gas £20 (these are estimates as just switched supplier/house)
Elec £30
Phone/internet £16.84 + £5? calls
TV licence £10.95
food (including household stuff, toiletries, pet food - not going out/takeaways or coffees etc) £160
Lovefilm £7.99
mobile £10 (don't know how much OH pays yet)
cinema £18
insurance £20?
This adds up to £298.78, before I include my car and related costs, which is approx. £90/mth! (we will need to buy one, and possibly TWO cars this year - mine has just blown up - so these costs could well go up too) Total £388.78. There are no presents on there yet (I read NYK's £500 budget for that and think 'but how?') and I'm sure there are other things I've forgotten to include. Household maintenance, for one, and...

Things with a question mark are estimates as I'm sorting them out at mo; hoping to reduce my food budget (am on GC). In an ideal world, I would get rid of/not buy a new car for myself but my circumstances make that impossible and OH will need a van when he sets up his business in June. I am choosing not to include anything health-related (meds, specialist treatment, gym etc), weekends away, holiday, vets bills (goodness knows what my total would be if I did!:eek:)

I feel that it must be staring me in the face but I just can't see it! Any help you can give me on this one would be gratefully appreciated, I desperately want to be part of this challenge (esp. as I now have an extra car to buy!) but I do need my sleep :rolleyes: Thank you x

First of all, a car is not something that everyone has, it is something people have for work related reasons, health reasons, convenience or even just as a luxury, so car costs do not get counted into your £4000. The challenge is for all essentials. If you think of it along the lines of - this is all I have coming in, this is my only budget and I have to earn it from home, then follow that path of thought to see what items you would NEED to pay out in order to live. It's easier to see the difference then and appreciate what, in your life, others see as luxuries. Business start up costs and running costs are not part of a basic household budget either, so don't panic about them.

NYK WACKY HINTS & TIPS: Take 2 sheets of paper, title one with 'NEEDS' and title the other with 'WANTS' then begin with what you NEED for survival in this world. And don't forget to do a freeclick at www.thehungersite.com to donate your 1.1 cup of rice.

Examples:
NEEDS - Food at mealtimes. WANTS - T-Bone steak in a restaurant
NEEDS - Get fit for health reasons (daily walk etc) WANTS - A year's membership to the gym

debrag

nykmedia wrote: »

The challenge is for all essentials. If you think of it along the lines of - this is all I have coming in, this is my only budget and I have to earn it from home, then follow that path of thought to see what items you would NEED to pay out in order to live.

So none essentials aren't included? or only none essentials, I', getting confussed now.

fallen_angel_shelley

hi, everyone. hope you are all well? i ordered 3 of them hampers from tesco this morning,(through quidco) wine and chocs will make good b/day presents and the empty hampers are going to be used for christmas, im going to make DD a pamper hamper full of beauty products etc (with stuff from boots 3 for 2). not to sure what to put that spend under? (the hampers) other than that i haven't spent much this week, withdrew £20 out the other day and still have £4.50p left, but this won't last lon once DS is home and is back at school next week. im of to tesco in a bit to meet up DD, i told her i don't have much to spend, so don't even start asking me for stuff. phoned the docs this mornig and im going on tuesday to see the 'stop smoking nurse' that will be one BIG saving once i stop, i can't wait. im still on the lookout for a frezzer as well.

Frugaldom

I'm in the huff now... you bought all the hampers and now they're out of stock, sob, sob, sniff.... HOWEVER.... I just checked the NSandI website and I'VE JUST WON £50 on my Premium Bonds!! I love cyberdoshing!!

catznine

Resisting those wonderful hampers! We had some health issues to worry about and had a minor panic buy of some bread £1.10 so will add that on. Sorted out some larder shelves and have moved tins into date order so newest at the back. this is definately an eat out of the larder month!

OH took my car to the garage and put enough fuel in to get me to and from work and checked the tyre pressure for me - just realised this won't come out of the allowance!

More of the Christmas leftovers tonight - Roast turkey from the freezer reheated thoroughly in gravy with steamed veg from org box and the cranberry sauce I made up 2 days ago. Instead of going out for a drink tonight we will open a bottle of the Christmas supply of red wine and watch some more of the scrubs dvd set ds and his gf gave us.

Off to work now! Bye

Catz x

sweetpea03

nyk, I am really confused now because if we are basing it on wants & needs then the things on my needs list would be rent, council tax, w.rates, basic food for us & our pet, electric, gas, & basic clothes everything else would really be a want. I can understand that some people would need a car & to include health costs in their needs but surely everything else is a want? I am trying to get my head around it but I don't think I'm quite with it today :rotfl:

I'm not sure if I did your soa correctly now Bails (sorry)

Congrats on your premium bond win! You are having lots of luck this week

DdraigGoch

I'm confused too now

If I include the needs only then I might be able to drop the sum nearer to the £4K, not a lot but every little makes me feel more in control. But then the wants list I make will be quite different to some other's, won't it?

Ah well, shall be back on later and see how it panned out

debrag

If I'm only including needs I'd be on £1,200 a year (mum, travel, food). Social & other spending wouldn't be included.

Which of these are included:
rent
debt
mobile
travel
Littlewoods
web host
mum
Ice Skating
Roller skating
Food

can someone list needs & wants that are & aren't included.