2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

djjojojuice

I finally did it, I achieved a no spend day :j I did this by careful planning and determination. All other days I have only spent a few quid mostly by accident, i.e. forgetting my fruit in the kitchen table so having to purchase a croissant for brekkie before I pass out. Then forgetting to pick up a bottle of water so having to buy a carton drink. But like I said planning, took coffee in a flask as had a meeting in town this morning, remembered my bottled water and my lunch. So had a healthty, tasty food day and spent zilch, nada ZERO. Felt really good.

This being frugal is a addictive, and then just to make things easier and show me that I am on the path to financial righteousness I come home from work and there is a credit card statement :mad: however they have increased my limit so I will now be able to reduce my interest immensely and do the credit card shuffle as I know both my cards have balance transfer deals :T

All of you keep your words coming as very inspiring.

Frugaldom

Well done DJJo! :j :T
Was that your very first NSD within the challenge year? The entire challenge is rather addictive, hence all the health warnings I try to display

I'm now wondering if, after all this time I've spent as an addict, I'd need to go cold turkey if anyone took away my frugal rights! :eek:
What would I do if I won a million? :eek: It would be really weird going into an expensive shop and slapping a few thousand pounds worth of goods onto a gold card! I think I'd rather get the mortgage free country manorhouse with adjacent lands, perhaps a few nice log cabins and offer 'frugalling' as a holiday experience. I'd invite the holidaymakers to come and challenge them to live for a week on £76.50 for a family of 4 :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:I'll bet they would even pay extra if I offered a homemade certificate of achievement! :cool:

Just noticed that today's the 24th of January! That means there's only one full week left of this month! My running total on groceries etc is averaging £3.00 per day compared to my allowance of £4.28 and now find that absolutely, unbelievably incredible!! Why? Because when I quit smoking I had worked out that £1.28 per day was what it had been costing me on cigs! BAILS, if that doesn't make me 'THE stingy one' then I don't know what will... I've got it down to the last penny! And I'm still shrinking the budget because £30 a week was a messy number per month - it got shaved to £120. Now this revelation has been err, revealed... I should only need £87 for February's groceries! AMAZING!

Aril

Hello fellow frugalites!
All well here in frugal land [well it would have been if I had not been such a numpty and bought a cardy for 6.99 from Oxfam 2 weeks ago without trying it on and then to find it didn't fit. Doh!! Was briefly browned off about it but then looked at it the other way round and thought at least I've learnt from it:o
I am actually suffering from physical pain today.... with 4 NSD in a row I actually had to prise open my purse and buy a present and some binbags. Every "tight as a gnat's bottom" instinct came to the fore but it had to be done. Thank goodness for Wilkos:D However, cheered up no end when one of my students told me that Poundland is coming to the town...my fellow frugalite with whom I work merrily told me that we could go out on a splurge together with a pound each in our sweaty little palms. Now don't tell me I don't know how to have a good time!!
OH is continuing to beat me in the outfrugalling stakes as he's made some deleesh lamb pasties with the frozen Christmas leftovers and pepped them up with a bit of my leftover HM chutney he found lurking in the depths of the fridge. However, I am catching him up as I reminded him that it would be ultra organised to make a double batch of pastry, freeze one lot and then make a beef and onion pie [both of which we already have in] next week. I am not telling him it's an idea I've lifted straight off the grocery challenge thread [thanks Mrs Mcawber I believe]:rotfl: :rotfl: Other than that I've had a thoroughly merry time making cleaning cloths from my rag hoard this evening.....reminder to myself I still haven't got myself a life!!!!
I can't believe you're over 3 weeks in already....:beer: :j
I shall be back....!!
Aril
PS All this talk of soup both here and on the OS board drove me to do a frenziedsearch of the freezer and fridge drawers in the search of limp and unloved veg. We have been so good this year that we've had no leftovers so no soup but I emerged triumphant with half of a very sorry looking yellow pepper, one carrot and two tiny bits of broccoli. Added to this was half a tin of frozen toms and an elderly onion. OH was banned from chucking the veg water from supper and instead I have turned my treasure into bottom of the fridge soup pepped up with curry powder for tomorrows tea. Combined with the left over pastie from tonight that leaves me with a spare meal in hand for next week. Result!!

slowlyfading

had a NSD today :j I think I'm going out for tea tomorrow with some friends so I'll update then. Sorry I'm a boring update-r.

sashacat

well I am now overspent for this month. After my DD's I have £193.32 left each month, but as I had to find £89.85 for my buildings insurance I really only had £103.47 left for January. As I spent £36.97 in the clothes sales at the beginning of the month on stuff I really needed( I do wear my clothes until they wear out) I only left myself £66.50 to live on and I needed petrol....so not too bad overall. I am now £11.68 overspent for the month but don't have to pay council tax in February so will have £123 extra so by the end of Feb I will be back on track!

broke_mum_of_three

I am now overspent by £10 this month with another week to go, I have my fruit and veg man coming tomorrow which is £15.50 but it is money well spent as it keeps me out of any supermarket about! I spent £2.50 last night in Asda on 5 girls tops and have listed them on Ebay in an attempt to catch up some of the overspend, as well as another 25 items that were lying around the house as it was half price listing day today. So if I sell them next Thursday this will hopefully offset it a bit.
Normally by this stage in any challenge in my life the notion is starting to wear off me, but this challenge constantly re-ignites me every day, week and end of month, I read somewhere that it takes your body 6 weeks to adjust to change before it becomes the norm, so hopefully by around the middle of February this will be 2nd nature for me:j .
If I hadnt of been doing this the SOA would have been defo much worse this month, I'm so glad and thankful to you all for this challenge:A

Janey51

Dear Dr Nyk, I too am suffering the symptoms of galloping frugalitis :eek:
Not only did I manage to only have to use my own loo paper twice today by diligently visiting friends and relatives (including an en route stop to a local store with very nice facilities) but...the crowning glory of my day :j I accompanied my husband to his place of work which meant I did not have to use my own electric light or my own heating on this freezing cold night. Everyone thinks I went purely to spend more time in his company but you and I know there was a sinister ulterior motive

Frugaldom

Dear sufferers of Frugalitis,

It may come as a bit of a surprise to you all that the early symptoms of this chronic ailment can be seen within not 6 weeks, but THREE weeks. Early onset is quickly followed by the 'incredible twitch' that occurs simultaneously with severe mental calculations each and every time you have to part with cash. At this stage, it is not too late to treat the early symptoms. However, quick fix treatment by way of aversion therapy is fairly expensive - a quick win of a few hundred or few thousand pounds sometimes works. However, after the initial 3 week incubation period, the symptoms become more apparent... if this is week four for you, then I'm afraid it will take more than a bingo win to rid you of your affliction! By now, you are probably showing early signs of addiction, meaning that you are mentally shuddering at the thought of having to spend unneccesary cash. This is the onset of stage one. Be aware that to continue with this challenge MAY have an adverse effect on your ability to spend willy nilly, followed by an interminable urge to round off all your figures. If it's debt, you'll want it rounded down, if it's savings, you'll want to round them up. Next, you'll need to avoid paying tax on interest, followed by the urge to round up your tax free interest accrued on savings. All of this along with an inane need to lose the need to pay rent or a mortgage... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

PS: Another potential side effect: your offspring may begin showing early signs of an innate need to save!! This, however, is a good thing - I think

LollopyBear

£9.95 for me today, but that includes a book for £4 that's a birthday pressie for a friend and my normal £5 train ticket. The other bit was some garlic bread and some malted milk biscuits (I had a strange craving for those biccies today).

I have a day off tomorrow - woohoo! but instead of the NSD I was hoping for I am going out for a Guiders' meal for £10 a head. It's only once a year and decent homemade grub and good company so well worth a tenner. Still gutted at the lack of a NSD though!

I can't believe that it's only a week to go. I can't quite tell if I'm going to make it or not, so it's a little touch and go.

You are all so inspirational! Thanks

Janey51

So Dr Nyk ,what I am starting to experience are only the early warning signs as I am only just entering week 3?
If I stayed in bed all day, I would not have to use lights or heating. My energy demands would reduce so my requirement for nourishment would decline. I would not need to buy new shoes which is a considerable saving. I would not need to use my car so saving petrol.
People would come and visit me and bring me soup and casseroles, magazines and chocolates because they would think I was suffering from a physical illness.
Mmmmm...sounds appealing.
Shame my income would drop as well after my 6 months sick pay was exhausted.