2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

whitewing

affordmylife wrote: »

How do you keep track of it. I haven't decided yet..any ideas anyone?

Hubby pays mortgage and all bills except sky £21, sofa repayments £38 and pet insurance £7 which i pay for. So out of my £4000 do i pay sky, sofa and pet insurance anything else that we need up to £4000. So thats food, dog expenses (minimal i hope), clothes, trips treats etc. Sounds good

Does hubby then do what he likes with his money ( he has plenty!!!) or is his money supposed to be in this too? Up to you. You could actually work out a target including luxuries. My target is higher than £4K (but doesn't include many treats, lol). I handle all our money so my OH has no choice to be involved! Be more fun if OH takes an interest.

He could just carry on as normal and im doing this or should i just not bother. We have no debt and are quite comfortable (we both work) but i would like to overpay the mortgage. Do it! quote]

whitewing

Protogenia, welcome! We're trying to cust back on overpriced presents, making them cheaper, better planned and just as enjoyable to the recipient. I have been making my family's birthday cards, mother's day and father's day cards etc for 2008 this morning. I have really enjoyed doing it, (saved loads even on sale prices) and they look much, much better than I thought. Not good enough for a photo on here though! lol!

Protogenia

Many thanks and hello to you too Whitewing :hello:.

I would like to make hand made gives and cards as they are so personal but I am very cack handed and crafty things just look a mess when I have made them. So I am doing the voucher sites and Quidco clicks towards next years pressies and cards.
I think a few of my xmas prezzies from this year maybe getting recycled for birthday prezzies and xmas next year also lol...it all helps.

Genia X x

maverickangel

Right, have had a little look at how this would pan out in terms of a budget:
rent / c.tax / water / 80% car costs (I use the car 80% for work and 20% for home) / dentist / vet bills excluded.

So per week:
Preschool fees / mums n tots groups £7
Gas and lecy £25 (based on previous bills, I have an old high ceilinged house that's a horror to heat, and with little ones I can't have it too cold, as it's not fair on them)
Petrol £5 - for non-work trips, although suspect I will cut back once I get going.
TV licence £2.60
Landline £4
Mobile (payg) £2.50
20% on going car costs £5
Internet (plus evening and weekend landline calls) £2.50
That totals £53.60 / week.

So that leaves £22.40 for food, toiletries, nappies (not for long, potty training going well ), clothes, shoes, cleaning materials, presents, pet food, seeds for the garden and anything else I might need.
Which is a mad amount of money until I add in vouchers, cashback sites, freebies, tmf offers, compie wins, match betting, ebaying my personal possessions (anyone for a bay city rollers cassette? lol) and the joy of freecycle.
Am not going to include child benefit as I don't budget using it ATM.

This is gonna be fun

chriz1000

I love to cut back and save money, it actually gives me more of a buzz than going out and spending it on rubbish!
I certainly think it can be done, however I won’t be doing anything that is very time consuming just to save a few pennies. I may as well just put in more hours at work,

kayharcombe

I am getting all geared up for this, made a list of what i would need to top up pantry in first week of new year, before kids go back, and tescos are finishing a few offers i wanted on 31st dec, so im going to bite bullet, take 3 kids to tescos before new year, and buy 4 x 3ltr bottles squash, 2 x 2.5kg king edward potatoes, and 2 x 12 oxo cubes for £1, all for £8.50, im going to take this out of the first months budget though, as im using it for next year.

squash will last 3 months, potatoes 2 weeks, and oxo cubes a month or so, will be using up meat i have in freezer for first few weeks, as cant get anything else in there until i use some up.

Martin would be proud!!:money:

Kay

Frugaldom

Hello all, I am absolutely amazed that we now have 42 willing participants in this challenge! :T

I know we are all budgeting in a different way and, just to make sure it is clear, your target figure is for your basic, essential living expenses only. I have listed what the basics include and don't forget that if you have children then your basics are based on £4000 plus Family Allowance/Child Benefit

Items that should be counted

Groceries/toiletries/cleaning products
Heating
Lighting
Telephone
Internet
TV Licence
Home insurance
Gifts for others
House Pets (if you have any)
Basic travel
Essential home maintenance
Essential household goods/furnishings
Essential clothing/footwear
Cigarettes (if you smoke)
Alcohol (if you drink)

Items that should not be counted:

Rent or mortgage
Council Tax
Water Rates
Work related travel expenses/cars
Holidays
Outstanding debts
Luxury items
Entertainment/Socialising
Home Decorating/Interior Design
Hobbies/Sports/Club Memberships


I'll edit this between now and 31st to try to achieve a basic set of 'rules', for want of a better word. Meantime, I'm looking back on what mine included over the past year plus doing an inventory of what's in stock in the cupboards and freezer Back soon.

Frugaldom

Protogenia wrote: »

So things will be tight, but a whole load of fun...I am looking forward to being more financially savvy next year.
I have started already by knocking Warbutons bread on the head, it's £1.25 for a loaf up here (East Yorkshire) and gorgeous though it is I cannot justify £8.75 of my weekly budget on it. I have been checking out the cheaper breads and have found Asda's Smart Price bread to be only 37pence a loaf and doesn't taste half bad.
As I am dieting also I will be eating alot less bread anyway so I am aiming to buy 6 loaves a week for the boys instead of usual 7.

37pence x 6 = £2.22 so that's a saving of £6.53 a week OR £339.56 a year

This is great advice. The cheapest I can get a loaf of bread now is 59p, as we only have one shop within walking distance, so I'll be baking even more in 2008! Until a few weeks ago, bread was 39p, equivalent to £81.34 over the year for 4 loaves per week. Thanks to the wheat price saga, my 2008 bread bill will be up by over 50% BUT... with plans passed for an Aldi store, it might work out better than I expect IF they build the store and get it opened soon :j

Good luck with your diet, Genia, that looks a lot to lose!

Frugaldom

shell37 wrote: »

Are we going to update each other how we are doing with this challenge? (I'll need all the help I can get! )

Hi Shell, I'll be updating my signature and popping in here regularly because I have to be even stricter this year, what with price increases and being in a different house from last year.

I have to admit, I couldn't have done this challenge during 2007 without the Internet for checking & comparing prices and for online shopping. Hoping I really can manage 2008 and, like you, think it will be great having some extra moral support when it's needed

shell37_2

Thanks Nyk.

Having been looking back over the last page of posts and there seems to be 1 or 2 of us Scots signed up, it's not that Scots are mean people, we're just keen to save what we can!:p

2 days to go....then all the xmas stress is over and I can think about saving money rather than spending it:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

My OH is keen to save next year as we have some education courses planned to enable us to start a business so has offered to give me his bank card in exchange for "an allowance" so that we can be as frugal as poss:cool:
We'll see how that experiment goes for a couple of months.:D