2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

dND

Hi all

There was a thread on the OS board about 6-8 months ago. Sorry I've not found it but I'm sure someone will.

I bought some (1kg in fact) but gave up on them pretty quickly. They didn't work for me BUT I was using them on my work clothes. Over the summer here it was really hot and I was in the glass cab of a tractor. I found they really didn't cope with ground in dirt and sweat.

Someone on the soapnut thread mentioned making up a soap solution from the nuts so you don't have to remember how many times you've used them. i did that but pushed the solution to the back of the cupboard where it has grown mould:eek: so a word of warning there.

So for clothes I've gone back to small amount of washing powder plus either bicarb(whites) or soda(darks) plus Vanish for the really mucky whites.

Once I've got the kitchen built I'm planning on experimenting with the soapnut solution again but for household cleaning, hair shampoo and shower soap.

Frugaldom

Just a quickie... really must go soon!

Fizzel, what d'ye mean by, "sorry if im rambleing on, im in my own little world lol"?

LOOK!!
This is the real world, we are all here with you and waving

fizzel81

lol sometimes i do have a habbit of rambleing on and on lol

redglass_2

georgiasmum wrote: »

Buffy I have the same problem with school books too! I'm an English teacher, what do you teach?

Another teacher coming out of the woodwork here :hello:
You can claim back money for buying books, etc, for work against your tax bill, if you pay tax, so hold on to those receipts. You won't get the full amount back but it adds up over the year. I never did this or knew about it until I was also doing self-employed stuff and had to hire an accountant to sort it all out, then I realised that over the decades I'd given away a fortune to the taxman. :mad:

The man on the radio talking about work and aspirations sounds like Oliver James, one of my heroes. If you saw the TV series 'Britain on the Couch' (about how the long hours, only-wimps-eat-lunch, greed-is-good culture is wrecking our lives and driving us all bonkers) that was him. There's a book to go with that series (same title, 'Britain on the Couch') and more recently he wrote 'Affluenza' which covers similar ground. The public library should have copies, and for anyone in fear of library fines, lots of libraries now allow you to renew your books over the internet, which often saves me a few quid.

Thanks to your information, fellow frugalites, but most of all thanks to your inspiration, my spending has plummeted, and I'm not even part of the challenge! Thank you so much, everybody, I love reading the posts and do it faithfully every day. :A

xgingerx

Oops , sorry didnt know excl petrol and that, well the 4k i spend on petrol mainly is due to travelling a 400 mile round trip each week to see my daughter and shes only 6 so for now im stuck with that overhead. But I see what you mean now, Ill have to look into that as if i only did spend 4k on living expenses a year then I should in theory be able to clear my debts much faster.

broke_mum_of_three

The girls in work were all going out today for another girls birthday, for 1, I am dieting, 2, I am living on a budget and 3, I am going out tonight for my tea with a few friends so I had to decline but I felt really wick, usually I would have just went to save face but I didn't, although it took a lot out of me to say "No thanks". Tonight should cost me £12 for my meal but I have worked it into the monthly budget so hooray:j

Miss_Pink_3

So far a NSD day. Was tempted to buying lunch but went home and had a cheese and jam toastie!!! It was yummy. Not normally a combination I would go for but its amazing what you eat when your budgeting.

andromache_2

OK... confession... I just bought a pair of boots and a pair of shoes The boots I really did need (I've been living in jeans as I don't have any warm shoes to go with skirts!) and I got a gorgeous brown leather pair reduced to £44 from £110... so although it's a big spend I don't feel SO bad about it... but the shoes were a total impulse buy (£19 from £65) cos my other black heels are starting to look a bit shabby even though they're perfectly wearable...

Right. Just gotta keep focussed! I've bought lots of stuff in the sales but it's all been presents for other people so hopefully now that I've splurged on myself I'll be able to return to frugality for while!

It's amazing how having a 'limit' that you're working to makes you think so much more carefully about what you're buying. Even if something's only £1.50 I'll go 'well... I don't really need it, do I... and I'd kick myself if my spending total were £2751 at the end of the year!' It definitely helps that I have to report back here, too!

Onwards and upwards! Hope everyone is enjoying themselves; I'm loving reading about all your moneysaving schemes. Annoyingly I can't try out lots of them as the cooking facilities here are very limited but I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for tips! :cool:

broke_mum_of_three

Does anyone know how I can watch Martins programme again or is it repeated anywhere, I am going out tonight and I think there is something about owning chickens on tonight which I am seriously considering, I dont have video recorder or sky plus to tape it:money:

wornoutmumoftwo

I can record it for you if you want broke mum of three.