2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Mortgagefreeforme

whitewing, I grew potatoes in our old rubbish bin last year and plan to do it again this year. I planted 4 seed potatoes, but plan to put in 6 this year, and got quite a large box of lovely new potatoes from them. My nieghbour did the same but got a higher yield due to better watering. He sunk an old drain pipe drilled with lots of holes into the middle of his bin, he filled it with gravel and then on top of watering as normal he filled the pipe with water. It meant that the roots at the bottom got a lot better water supply than normal. Also if it dosen't rain water them every day.

andromache_2

Hi everyone!

I'm feeling SO jealous reading all the lovely soup recipies you guys are posting. All I have to cook with is a combi oven (combined microwave & fan oven) which does the basics but does mean you have to be a bit imaginative sometimes! (There is hall food as well just so you don't think we eat that badly!)

bails, I hope you're feeling OK now about not being able to move up north. One day, eh? Personally I couldn't stand the cold up there, but then, I'm a definite southern girl :rolleyes:

Laurabelle, you bought a Valentine's card?? Handmaking is cheaper I'm sure it'll be appreciated though. :A

Now, I'm in a dilemma... people are starting to buy tickets for summer balls after exams and I really want to go but they aren't cheap!!! :eek:

I want to go to two with different groups of friends but can't really afford it if I want to keep within target. Even going to one is pushing it! SO what do we think of this plan: at the moment, under my personal rules, any 'extra' money I make doesn't go towards 'playing catch-up', but towards travelling savings. So I really am only allowed £2750, full stop! BUT I think I might make an exception for the summer balls. I'll work as serving staff at a couple of balls, and use the wages from that to pay for about 1/2 the cost of the tickets of the ones I want to go to (I told you the tickets weren't cheap!), then the other 1/2 would have to come out of my challenge money. I don't feel I'll be cheating myself *too* much if I do that but felt like I needed your approval, since it would be breaking the rules

I guess if I do that I'll take the full cost of the tickets out of my total when I buy them then surreptitiously add my wages back in in June :think: Luckily I have a couple of suitable cocktail dresses already! :cool:

It seriously is a testament to this thread that I'm even worrying about this! :rolleyes: Otherwise I would just have gone, 'meh, onto the interest-free overdraft it goes,' but you guys are keeping me on the straight and narrow :T

Have fun frugalling!

(hey, if 'to outfrugal' is a verb, then 'to frugal' must be too, right?? )

liuhut

Hi guys.
Spent £1.50 yesterday at work on collections...when will I ever have a nsd day again. I've been really good with the lecky and the gas and its come down a little bit ever week so I was pleased with that.
Been and bought stuff to make a lasagne and sweet potatoe/carrot soup, planning on making it all this afternoon once I get back from the town.

Did a little bit of matched betting last night and made £45... well thats if quidco pays throu, I've got about £200 on there at the mo and I'm just praying that it all goes thro OK...never has any probs before but you never know.
The potatoes sound interesting...I've got a greenhouse at the bottom of the garden but have done nothing with it since DD2 was born...think I better get it cleared out and plan what I'm going to grow!! Def cucumbers...they were so easy to grow and I got loads one year!

Have fun
Laura

Frugalmum_2

Sorry if I've put this in the wrong place but I've just spent ages typing it out for JustKeepSwimming so I thought I would put it here too for anyone interested.


To make liquid soap using soapnuts you need to simmer about half a dozen Soapnuts for five minutes. using enough water to cover the shells well, if the nut shells are new you will get a stronger solution than if they have been used before.

You will need to add/reduce the amount of water until you are happy with the result so a bit of experimentation may be needed. Once they have cooled, strain the liquid and store in suitable container.

Instead of boiling them in a saucepan you can pour boiling water over them, wait for it all to cool down then strain and put into container but the hotte the water is the better the result.

You can repeat the above 5 - 6 times before the shells are ready for the compost bin, I normally reduce the amount of water a bit each time to maintain the strength.

You can use this liquid soap for virtually everything you would use bog standard liquid soap for from washing laundry to washing hands.

In addition you can
add a few drops of pure essential oil tea tree, lemon etc... to the soap put into a spray bottle with a bit of extra water and use as a general surface cleaner, put it in the screenwash on your car ratio 1 part soap to 4 parts water. Put some in a spray bottle and use against aphids in the garden, no your veg won't taste of soap! Add some to white vinegar to clean your windows.

Soapnuts don't produce as many bubbles as chemical detergents so don't think it doesn't work. For very soiled wash loads you will need to use a 'first batch' solution for best results.

I hope you enjoy your soapnuts.

Plus I had a NSD yesterday :T and I'm having a NSD today too :T I'm lucky as my good friend has offered to pay for my lip piercing and will buy the wood etc... I need for the cupboard doors in my conservatory/studio to stop the B****y cat cr*****g on my shelving with my art supplies on! I discovered that yesterday, not impressed, she's only done it since I moved everything round but I can't have that so doors on the shelves it has to be. I've promised to cook dinner for my friend and already have everything I need in for that so total NSD :j:j:j

Have fun today all

whitewing

Morning, morning,

I'm all enthused now. We have an old bin knocking around, and I'm sure my dad has some gravel and a drainpipe. Potatoes, here we come! (Can I plant them now, or when? I'm in the sunny south, an hour further down the M5 to bails).

You'll all encouraging me to have a NSD. A no spend of my own money that is! Need to get a few bits in town later but we're not paying (not stealing either, lol!)

Go to go, 2 filing cabinets which must be sorted before I post again...

Have a great day

the_cat

andromache wrote: »

Hi everyone!

I'm feeling SO jealous reading all the lovely soup recipies you guys are posting. All I have to cook with is a combi oven (combined microwave & fan oven) which does the basics but does mean you have to be a bit imaginative sometimes! (There is hall food as well just so you don't think we eat that badly!)



/quote]


Hi andormache
If you could manage to beg/borrow/steal or even, dare I say it :eek:
buy, a slow cooker (boot sales are a good place to pick one up) you could join in the soup-fest. It would also be good for casseroles/curries etc and save a lot on cooking fuel. Soups could be left chunky or Tesco do a cheap stick blender if you want to make it smooth. Even if you had to buy them from a shop, I'm sure overall it would be much cheaper than resorting to the food hall!

Janey51

DH is making soup from the rest of the bones I bought last week plus a sweet potato that has seen better days and some carrots that we were given so its almost free soup. He says it will be Carrot and Coriander and as he is a whizz with soup I have no doubt it will be wonderful.
Got some seed potatoes yesterday which we are going to grow in plastic sacks. There were some large cracked pots in a skip outside the garden centre which I was going to grab on the way out but somebody got there before me :mad:
I think DH was secretly relieved as he knows I have no shame when it comes to money saving now

Frugaldom

andromache wrote: »

Now, I'm in a dilemma... people are starting to buy tickets for summer balls after exams and I really want to go but they aren't cheap!!! :eek:
I want to go to two with different groups of friends but can't really afford it if I want to keep within target. Even going to one is pushing it! SO what do we think of this plan: at the moment, under my personal rules, any 'extra' money I make doesn't go towards 'playing catch-up', but towards travelling savings. So I really am only allowed £2750, full stop! BUT I think I might make an exception for the summer balls. I'll work as serving staff at a couple of balls, and use the wages from that to pay for about 1/2 the cost of the tickets of the ones I want to go to (I told you the tickets weren't cheap!), then the other 1/2 would have to come out of my challenge money.

Have fun frugalling!

(hey, if 'to outfrugal' is a verb, then 'to frugal' must be too, right?? )

Hi Andro - I think your idea is excellent - to frugal (of course it's a verb! :rolleyes: )the extra money required by playing catch-up is always allowed, otherwise anyone with ONLY their challenge money to live on would may get out of the 'bit', if you see what I mean.

On the language front:

To frugal (verb) -to do anything concerning finances that makes living within one's means possible.

To out-frugal (verb) - to do even better than you initially thought possible at doing things concerning finances that make living within one's means possible.

Frugalite (noun) - one who faithfully follows the rules of frugaling.

Frugal (adjective) - the word used to describe your lifestyle

Frugally (adverb) - used to describe the calculated useage of the minimum amount of anything required, especially money

Umm... apologies if any of the above are wrong, mine is an old dictionary :rotfl:

Unfrugal (adjective - opposite of frugal) - one who could find themselves in the unfortunate situation of having to resort to taking up offers similar to the one I have just spotted:

"Example: Loan amount: £300, 56 weekly repayments of £9,
Total amount payable £504, Typical APR 183.2%
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Mortgagefreeforme

whitewing you could plant them now as long as they aere well chitted. I do, but I put some old carpet over the top of the soil and around the outside of the bin to protect from frost. I also only water in the morning. Don't forget to put lots of drainage holes in your tub, bin or bag, and plant them low down to give lots of room to add more soil as they grow up. Good luck

catshark88

Last night I took ages (not being much of a cook) making a potato and brocolli soup. Knowing DH is not a huge soup fan, finding some soups bland, I flavoured it with ginger, garlic and a little ground pepper.

DH comes home having had a bad day and refuses to touch it.

Am trying really hard to do the MSE thing and get the mortgage paid down, particularly with the capital markets being so up in the air and DH working in that line but sometimes DON'T KNOW WHY I EVEN BOTHER!

Sorry. Rant over. Just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks everyone.