2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

bails

nykmedia wrote: »

But I digress. Correct me if I am wrong, but the above figures would put your AVERAGE Brit well into the 40% income tax bracket, wouldn't it? (£31,284 NET annual income) I don't want to get too personal about finances here, but who is all an upper rate income tax payer on here, as tax avoidance (not to be confused with evasion!) is one of my favourite 'pet subjects'.

Hmm, I used to earn more than this but I didn't pay 40% tax so I guess the threshold is higher? Off to see what other peeps said...

Buffythedebtslayer

:rotfl: refruglling -:rotfl:

I haven't been here in ages, I do feel like a cheat since there is only me and my Mum won't save money well she won't cut down,

I have sort of stuck to my 50 quid a week. had to order books for school which they have now told me I won't be paid back for. so that has screwed me up a bit, and then i bought some cook books, which was sort of a money saving thing since when Mum goes away I will cook instead of living on take aways which will be cheaper. Basically I will be on forty quid a week instead for a while( 5 weeks)

when Mum goes away I shall sort out the cupboards, fridge and freezer etc in an attempt to make sure we have at least some hope of saving money. she spends 80 pounds a WEEK on food. so much of it is wasted. not to mention there is only the two of us. when I read some of the budgets on here and on the OS board I really can't believe it. We have Morrisions but Mum shops in Sainburys.

anyhow I am off to make some more plans

still think you are all AMAZING!

Buffy
xx

Ellidee

Good luck Buffy. Maybe when your Mum gets back you will be able to keep hold of at least some of the household budget 'reins' IYSWIM.

jammiejen

Afternoon Everyone,

I'm doing overtime at work today so adding up my totals for this.... I worked it out that my "fixed" bills each month come to £118.16 I'm not including debt repayments because the cash I save goes towards them so I can't really include them..... if that makes sense.

Anyway for the first month i'm on £240.54 from my allowance, as its nearly the end of the month I thought I was doing quite well! (I have been a hermit for the month.......) I'm thinking the £4000 is too much for just myself as I can see that some people have a whole family on that hummm may change the figure, what do people think?
Jen
xx

Frugaldom

broke_mum_of_three wrote: »

Does anyone know if I can join the grocery challenge for February?

I highly recommend joining the February grocery challenge, I think you just leave a note on the January one at the end of the month saying you'd like to join and you propose x amount as your target. Shortest month, great time for a month long lose weight/get fit campaign and also to push the frugalising to the limit

Paul_Varjak

I have not worked for many years (disabled) but started self-employment as a mystery shopper two months ago. Most of my work involves making phone surveys (from home). It means I qualify for Working Tax Credit and the tax credits alone pay more than I got on Incapacity Benefit.

I live alone (apart from two cats) and own my own house (no mortgage). I have to pay Council Tax (not exempt from this) but, being on Tax Credits I do not have to pay health care costs (dentist, optician etc). If I could live on £4,000 per year I would be able put away the maximum £3,600 into a pension (or cash ISA) each year for my retirement in 8 years time.

Being a mystery shopper there is always the possibility I can get a free flight to the USA for the summer where I can stay with some friends (virtually for free). My biggest expense may well be boarding my cats at the cattery whilst on holiday but my neighbours love cats and would probably look after them for me! With access to the internet, I could even do mystery shopping jobs in USA - free meals, free visits to attractions etc!

My work as a mystery shopper involves a lot of phone calls so I have an unllimited calls package, but I will soon change to the Talk Talk package which really is the cheapest of all, as it includes line rental, broadband and free calls to UK landlines and 36 other countries for just £20.49p/month.

When I took out house insurance I got money back (via GreasyPalm I think) and also got free travel insurance with it. I now get a rebate on my water bills because my surface water drainage is via a soakaway (not via the public sewer). I also use the cheapest water tariff for me and chose British Gas for electric and gas (cheapest at the time). Subsequently, I even changed tariffs with British Gas (via a moneyback website) to save more money and get cash back as well!

I use internet-only tariffs for gas and electric and pay by DD cos that is the cheapest way to do it. My gas bill is £15/month and electric is £18/month. I even got a refund on my gas because I did not use £15/month in gas! I keep the house at 19C and have energy-saving lightbulbs everywhere! I even get the bulbs for free!

I also do do most of my grocery shopping at LIDL (or Netto if I am mystery shopping near there) but I do eat too many sweets! If I could cut down on those I would not waste pounds but simply shed pounds from my waist! So, I will look upon my membership of this 'club' not only as a way to save money but also a way to lose weight.

I am pretty frugal on the 'essential' spending I just need to tighten the purse strings for those non-essentials and doing work as a mystery shopper will certainly help in that - free days out, free meals, even free holidays!

One problem I do have is going to the local shop/Post Office (500 yards away on a busy road). If I walk there, my cats will follow me - that means I always take the car!

Burlesque_Babe

When I was tackling my debts the Grocery Challenge was one I stuck to religiously. I'm ashamed now to admit that I used to spend £350 a month......on 2 adults...the supermarket is my bete noir weakness I'm afraid....I got it down to £120 a month when things were very lean and I was paying every penny possible off my debts. It was hard, but I did it. I meal planned to the nth degree!!!

It takes time though to reduce the spending. Iused to chop £30 or so off each month when I first started out on the challenge until the changes became 'habit'.

bails

Hi all, thanks for all the tips about tax/NI etc, especially useful with OH starting his own business in June! I also had a cunning brainwave and have informed him that all the things we buy to decorate the house will need to go through his business so we can claim the tax back (he is doing odd jobs as bread-and-butter money while he sets up the shiatsu/sculpture business so all legit ). I was wondering though if we can claim on things bought this tax year, if technically he doesn't set up the busniess til end May?? We're buying things in advance so not a huge spend in one go, or will he not be able to claim back on anything before April?
Ths week was going well til I made the fatal mistake of taking OH to the supermarket yesterday (I know, I should know better, what was I thinking?) :eek: £43.10 later... :eek: He thought he was doing well because he got things that were 'on offer', without checking if it was cheaper another way, bless him! I re-educated him and to be fair, we didn't buy things we didn't need and got loads more cat food as it's half price at the mo. My week ends tomorrow but I might have a sneaky add-up while he's out mountain biking (which is where I wish I was :rolleyes:) to help inspire me not to spend through my frustration
Wasn't on yesterday as we were busy de-woodchipping the bedroom, and I missed you guys! Great to see so many on form, just want to echo what others have said that even when it feels like life is conspiring against us, don't lose heart; someone on here will always have a plan to get us back on track.
Oh, and ignore what I said earlier, I too need to read things more carefully - £31, 000+ net - I wish!!

Frugaldom

Hi Paul, thanks for joining us on here and sharing your words of wisdom with us all. It sounds as if you are doing really well at the moment but just need to knuckle down on excess car useage and 'treats' whilst shopping. I'd suggest a cat cage or lock-in somewhere safe.

When cutting down on the sweets (February is my lose weight month) I tend to make up little tubs of carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, raisins, sultanas, mixed nuts, sunflower seeds etc. As a treat, I can have jelly or marshmallows (no fat) or a cup of instant hot chocolate

If you know what your own budget is and you are sure that it can be improved on then start squirrelling away the excess funds into an ISA straight away (or a high interest account until you can start your next ISA). You might also like to consider the pension pot - loads about that on MSE as well

Good luck, visit often and have fun. Welcome to the "Frugal Isles" :T (It's island life because we are surrounded the seas of temptation.)

Frugaldom

BAILS: If your OH is starting a business then anything that you buy for the start-up is included, just keep all your receipts so you know for sure what expenses you have incurred. Also, depending on his income durng the 2006-7 year, he should check to find out if he is due any tax credits once self-employed. It's amazing how many people forget about these and, even if it's only a few pounds per week, every penny helps. (Here's the link to find out more) That should tell you if you are entitled .

Also, try to open the business bank account with free banking. Some of them offer a free banking service with online facilities for the first 12 months of a new start business and bank charges can add up. We are HBOS - I like their FREE online service and they pay interest on in credit business accounts. They also offer free banking in first year of business - daughter just got that deal