2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Burlesque_Babe

debrag wrote: »

What do people think of this food list?

Tesco Pasta Sauce Spicy Withpeppers 500g £0.54 - £1.08

hiya debrag - the only suggestion I would offer (if only to try) is to swap this for 5 cans of Value tinned tomatoes (so 5 lots of tomato sauce). If you wanted it spicy, buy a tub of the Tesco chilli powder (69p I think) and some Value mixed herbs (23p I think). It would add 90p+ to the bill, but you'd have the spices there for the future.

I sometimes buy the Smartprice Passata (not sure if there is a Value equivalent) which is 33p in Asda and a jar lasts 3 or 4 meals, it can be watered down a little as you go through the jar. As it's thick, you don't lose the flavour.

debrag

natalie1974 wrote: »

Bloody hell that is a bargain , I pay £12 for a 15 minute lesson for my daughter .

Private I take it, mines not

mumzyof2

well i just checked my old bank account and im 7pound overdrawn! (they give you a 7 pound ley way so say if your o/d limit was 600 and u went over my 6pound u would not get charged!
My new account only has £20 in and i need £11 to come out for insurance, so i have 9pound and £10 whats in my purse to last me till wednesday!! then wednesday i get £75..and £35 littlewoods comes out and £18 nursery fee (first and last one) so wont have much money grrr

Frugaldom

liuhut wrote: »

I subscribed to Somerfields weekly email so that I get all the special offers...they also enter you in a comp if you subscribe...always worth a go!!

Are there regional variations on supermarket offers or does every store offer the same items at the same time? (I subscribe to the Aldi newsletter as well, only because there are plans to build one here soon) and often wondered about that. I'm off to see what Asda is like as the new one has opened near my mum's. They've also opened a new Tesco mega store, whatever they are called, so I guess my next trip to visit the parents will be spent cramming bargains into bags :rotfl:

mumzyof2

nyk ya know u have spent £729.50 so far..well whats if all your months are near enough the same amount as what you spend this month???

Frugaldom

mumzyof2 wrote: »

well i just checked my old bank account and im 7pound overdrawn! (they give you a 7 pound ley way so say if your o/d limit was 600 and u went over my 6pound u would not get charged!
My new account only has £20 in and i need £11 to come out for insurance, so i have 9pound and £10 whats in my purse to last me till wednesday!! then wednesday i get £75..and £35 littlewoods comes out and £18 nursery fee (first and last one) so wont have much money grrr

Let's look at it calmly - you have £9 left in bank with nothing else to come out of that, plus £10 left in your purse, plus £75 being paid into your account tomorrow (Wednesday), if I've got that all right, which is a total of £94.

Off of the above you need to pay £35 to Littlewoods, £18 to nursery and £7 to overdraft, which amounts to £60, so that should be £34 left to last until when? And have you anything else to get paid off that before you get more money in?

mumzyof2

nothing else to pay..so what i get on wednesday..lasts me untill the follwoing wednesday.

Frugaldom

mumzyof2 wrote: »

nyk ya know u have spent £729.50 so far..well whats if all your months are near enough the same amount as what you spend this month???

Over £550 of my spend was on an enormous electricity bill caused by a ridiculously underestimated bill, if you see what I mean. Then I had a credit card bill to pay of almost £60. Everything balances out over the year so long as I remember not to overspend too much on anything. I've budgeted £1000 for electricity payments during 2008, which averages just under £20 per week. Not sure if I'm going to keep to this, hence the reason I read the meter twice a day.

Somerfields offers - Out of everything listed, I'd probably end up with just the puff pastry, potatoes, turnip and cheese. I grudge paying the cost of transport to get there and tend to walk to Co-op instead :rotfl:

Update for Mumzy: "nothing else to pay..so what i get on wednesday..lasts me untill the follwoing wednesday" - that is GOOD! It is what we worked out originally, you should have £30 each week to spend on food, cigs, bus fares and household stuff - exact same as me. We rounded it down to £120 a month in the grocery challenge Tansfer £7 to get rid of the extra overdraft amount and only lift £20 (added to the £10 still in your purse makes it £30) for your groceries etc.

I made a freezer list of everything I have so I can do a meal plan using up what's here rather than buying anything else. If you make a list of everything you have in the house then there's always someone on here has a suggestion for what you can make for dinners using the ingredients. Good luck and don't be scared to compare notes on cupboard contents

mumzyof2

i just realised wednesday is tomorrow lol i thought it was monday today lmao

LollopyBear

Mumzy - I hope things improve for you and your iron levels get back to where they ought to be. *hugs*

Sorry I've not been on for a couple of days, I had a big essay due in today so I've been very distracted. I have missed this thread though! It's so upbeat and such great, supportive group to be a part of.

My spending hasn't been great - I've crept up to about £11 a day so I need to slash this! I've got my lift sorted for tomorrow so will be saving my train fare there (or at least half of it as I may need to get the train home, but I'll be able to use my young persons railcard then). My sig has been updated to show recent spending. I think I may just about finish the month within budget, but it's still a little early to tell.

Well done to everyone still going! xx