2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

kizzykizzywizzy

Penny2myName wrote: »

For all those feeling down and urggg, just remember today is officially Blue Monday, so things can only get better from now on for the rest of the year:D


I just thought I'd nose on this thread to see how you are getting on & noticed this! No wonder I've ben such a miserable old bag today - really down in the dumps!!
So tomorrow I'll feel great right

You are all doing so well keep it up, I'm going to go to bed now & hopefully wake up a happy bunny tomorrow:D

Penny2myName

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


Im now getting odd looks from hubby as i started singing :rotfl: that used to be one of my fave films :T

Have to admit it was mine too, that and the Anne of Green Gables series made my christmas EVERY year as a teen.

bails

Laughing with all the stressed ex/trainee teachers - I'm one too (not working at mo from disability:rolleyes:)
Lollopybear, I'd like to tell you it gets easier but, well...I'd be lying! If you love it though (as I do), it's still the best job in the world! (Sorry, I'm biased )
Janey, congratulations on the new job, that's fantastic! :T
Seems like there are lots of us simplifying life and heading for the countryside
Didn't know it was Blue Monday today, glad that's nearly over! Back to work for me tomorrow (voluntary in the local school) so I'm looking forward to that:j
NSD for me too

Frugaldom

Hello to all, I am aware that today was officially reported as the most depressing day of the year. I don't know why, but it was on the news. So, I had a NSD - does that mean the rest are going to be even better?

Hopeless - you are really beginning to shne at this - under £30 in the Swedish place, wow! Impressive! Also, plenty of allotments allow chickens, just ask before signing the lease

Funbrum - 5.26am? :eek: Something's certainly playing on your mind. Perhaps it's excitement at the prospect of being debt free sooner that you thought possible? With the debts gone then you could focus all your attention on self-employment and then your time would be your own

Justkeepswimming - well done on the free stamps! I love when that happens! :T

Mrsmcawber, when you say, "So this next few years we are going to treat as a test run...to see how little we can realisticly live on, and how much we can save..." This is EXACTLY what I am doing so I can save to buy a house without a mortgage. :beer:

Bails, enjoy your 'mooch' up north and let's hope you don't literally see a 'sign', like a for sale sign!! :rotfl:

Liuhut - Well done with the cashback, 0% interest and amassed savings!

Janey51 that is BRILLIANT news about your new job, I hope you are really happy making the move and don't forget to check for any working tax credits you may be entitled to, no point letting them go to waste

Skintwellie - thanks for the Delia link - I already have that book!! :rotfl:

Sashacat - I think it's great you've paid off your mortgage and are practically self sufficient in the veggies department and I love honey, but am terrified from bees. However, I'll now know who to ask for advice about blanching my carrots; in fact... what's the best way to chop my carrots for freezing them? And do you make homemade frozen oven chips by any chance? :cool:

More coming up... I sense some confusion on the thread

Frugaldom

I think there is still a bit of confusion over the basics of this challenge. I keep reading about spending on luxury items such as beauty therapy and dining out. Nobody on a very low income and/or with substantial debts can afford these things, so they cannot be included in your frugal budget.

If you have only £4000 to live on, then you'll already be counting in EVERYTHING except your rent or mortgage and council tax/water. For you, the main aim is to live within your budget and try to pay off/stay out of debt with a view to making some longterm savings. If you have children, then you will be in receipt of child benefit and tax credits, which are not included in the £4000. That is extra income.

If you have more than £4000 to live on then the object of this challenge is to try and budget your essential living expenses to keep them within £4000. By essentials, I mean anything that you would NEED to pay for whether or not you had extra income. Eg: you would NEED to buy food, pay utilities bills, buy a TV license if you watch TV, pay insurance, pay for telephones & Internet useage and any other necessary household bills. You would also need to budget for gifts, clothing, footwear, cigarettes if you smoke and alcohol if you drink. Again, if you have children, you will have child benefit and possibly tax credits - but this is extra income and not included here.

It is impossible to set out rules that will suit everyone taking part, which is why the whole challenge is based on good old-fashioned frugal living. It's more an exercise in good housekeeping that anything else, which allows us all to plan on living within our means.

Primarily, the aim is to help people budget and get out of debt. That will always be first and foremost in this challenge. Secondly, for anyone who is already debt free, this challenge is about maintaining a well budgetted lifestyle whilst saving up for something in particular such as paying off the mortgage, buying a house, a car, a special holiday - it could be anything, so long as it is something you will, as a result of your budgetting, be able to afford without getting into any debt.

If you are finding it difficult to budget this way then split your expenses into needs and wants.

NEEDS are ESSENTIAL to sustaining a basic lifestyle,
WANTS are everything that you could live without. However, for the purposes of this exercise, you NEED a telephone and Internet connection.

Your weekly and monthly amounts are not budgets that have to be kept within - the only budget you need to stay within is £4000 over an entire year.

£76.50 (or £333.33) is what that £4000 averages out at per week (or month).

Some people really do have only £76.50 per week to live on (or £333.33 per month). You have to remember the large bills that need to be paid throughout the year and these are paid by the weekly or monthly balances carrying forward. That is why I prefer to only have access to the grocery money because I know how far that budget will stretch. Everything else is left in the bank for paying the bills as and when they become due.

I hope this all makes sense to everyone. We each have our own figures to deal with because allowances have been made to let more people take part in this challenge.

Other than that, it's £4000 for everything and 345 days left to go :T

Mollymop5

Thanks Nyk for the update.I for one need to count my extras like kids clubs , treats, wine ect but that is why I also included my child benefit in my amount.
Janey congratulations on the job.I hope you're feeling a bit brighter today.
Penny2myname that was a fantastic sing along, cheered me up no ends.
Everyone else I love reading your posts.They just keep me tootling along

liloandstitch

Quick note for Janey 51- so long as you have had sky for a year, the equipment is yours. If you cancel sky, firstly they should offer u incentives to stay by reducing price for x months. When u cancel altogether, you will continue to receive through the equipment, which would give u quite a few channels. There are threads on here somewhere that tell you what to do - that would save you subs, and you do not need to pay sky £20 for a card - you will receive it automatically. - lilo

Frugaldom

Mollymop, 'tootling' is such a good little word, don't you think? :j

My day went more, or less, to plan. I spent nothing except time :T on making a card and present for one of my nieces. She's 7 this week and absolutely pony mad - so I made her a personalised card and a very special, very MSE, 'Save up for a pony' kit that I think she'll love. From items I had in the house, I managed to decorate a folder, print out some writing paper, make some notelets with pretty pony pictures on them, made a keyring and a fridge magnet with pictures of ponies and made some bookmarks. This was all packaged together with some free web-based print outs of 'how to...' guides about pony care. I also printed a sheet of stickers and stuck them in the folder too, as I know little people love stickers. To complete my very MSE pressie, I typed out a child friendly letter about pocket money budgeting and how to open a bank account and save it all up to afford to buy the pony - including writing to all her relatives (on the decorated paper provided) to inform them of future intention to own a pony. From the pressie cupboard, I have retrieved a musical piggy bank, which will complete the pressie.

I should state that my sister does know about her daughter's pony madness as it's an inherited trait - several of us suffer from it

Grocery update - the remainder of the chicken was turned into Chinese style chicken fried rice, which was quite yummy, even though I say so myself. And I still have a portion left to freeze. Here's the cheat's recipe for it:

Boil 2 cups rice (this serves 3 in our house)
Add cup of mixed veg to the rice
Fine chop an onion and fry it (I use my wok)
Beat one egg (I only had one left!)

Add all of the ingredients plus the chopped leftover chicken to the hot oil in the wok, along with a good few dashes of soy sauce and a shake of mixed spice and then stir until the strands of egg have cooked and everything is hot right through.

Mix up a little chicken gravy (I cheat and use supermarket saver granules)

Serve in bowls with chopsticks for authenticity.

PS: I changed my mind about fajitas again as I still hadn't made the flour tortillas

Mollymop5

What a fab pressie Nyk.I'm getting great ideas from MSE about hampers and other gift ideas.I keep writing them down in my book lol

catshark88

hopeless_spendthrift wrote: »

We are on the waiting list for an allotment patch - do any of u think i would be allowed to keep chickens on a patch of allotment land?
The eggs would be so very handy bc of the many cakes I make each month and I always buy free range, so i really neeeed these chickens to be properly frugal!

Hi there!

I know some allotments allow chooks, I should think it varies council to council. Definately worth asking about. You would be just in the right spot for getting bits of thrown out veg to feed them too!

It is only when I started following the principles in threads like this and the OS board that I have realised just how wasteful I have been. Normally a roast chicken would have fed DH and I for a meal and then probably done one day for a few sandwiches. We had a small chicken on Sunday and got it to make: roast lunch for 3 adults, 1 meal for 17 month old baby, 5 portions of chicken risotto and there is still a portion left for sandwiches. Oh and the bones made well over a litre of stock.

It would be great if someone would publish a MSE cookbook. Mr T would go broke in a week! :rotfl: