2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Alassa

Well, had a good day yesterday spend wise - didn't spend a penny! or Euro in our case. However, that was because my freezer is loaded up with food - the real challenge will kick in at the weekend when that's all gone ! :rotfl:

FrankieM

Tesco delivery arrived last night..
I've updated my signature and I'm hoping that will be it for a couple of days...though I've realised I don't have any lemon juice for pancakes on the weekend, so I'll have to pick some up at some point.
I think I'm going to need to have a proper sit down and look at what I have in my cupboards and fridge and freezer and try to do a meal plan for the next few weeks and then stock properly. I feel a bit disorganised, which is making me feel like my spending is a bit crazy.....I think I'll try to do it today and then maybe do come cooking/baking so I have stuff a bit more sorted....

Will catch up laters...

the_cat

Hi all - am really enjoying this thread!

Time for a weekly update and it's looking OK. Have been sticking to the grocery and petrol budgets quite well and have updated the gas/elec online and it looks as though my monthly payments are keeping up with the winter fuel used, so maybe I can reduce the payment a bit in the summer:D Even better all the Feb direct debits are in my sig now so only food etc for the rest of the month to add (I hope!)

Have to get the car insurance sorted out at the end of the week and get a couple of bits at the supermarket but other than that I am finished for the week.

Burlesque_Babe

morning all..........it's a yucky, yucky Direct Debit day today, gas, electric and Virgin. At least I know they are the cheapest they can be, although the meter man came the other day so it will be interesting to see how 'bad' the bill is now I work from home fulltime.

Total: £86.26..............yuck.........

FrankieM

My virgin DD has come out today too. I'm in a bit of a quandry though. My DH works from home so things like the broadband etc are claimed back on expenses. I usually get a great lump sum of expenses, so I never know the exact amount I've received back for his phone and broadband....
Should I add the virgin DD to my total spend and then just leave the expenses amount to accrue after paying off his CC etc or should I use his expenses ( when they finally come in) to pay off the virgin DD and just leave a token amount that I would pay...my phone bill doesn't usually come to much more than about £15....?

I bought my lemon juice today, but took it it out of my 'pocket money' which I've already added....

Frugaldom

What a beautuiful day we have here, sun shining, bit of warmth in the air, sun specs, sun cream... oh, ok, the last couple are a slight exaggeration:rotfl:

Ddraig - I saw one of those TV shows where they used the plastic containers filled with water to absorb heat - must google it now to see what I can find! The bottles on the walls seem to be wired together somehow and supported by the main frame but I'll have a closer inspection next time I'm collecting DGD from nursery (even if they do think 'granny's a bit cuckoo' for poking about in their half build bike shelter ).

Frankie - Regarding the working from home and extra household expense... I'm going to have to think about that, as I'm in a similar situation working from home and the person I houseshare with also works from home... good question, must work this one out somehow as I may have overlooked something here. Well done for pointing it out to us :T


Back again, been having a quick think about the above - I tend to pay all the household bills as they arrive, but can't claim expenses from anywhere as we are both self-employed. You still need to pay the bills as they come in, so I would reflect that in my spending budget and then when the expenses arrive, treat them as savings to pay off any outstanding debt that's accrued. Does that make sense?

FrankieM

Hi nyk,
Yes that makes sense...though I may have to 'tweek' it if the bill is quite expensive. Sometimes it can be over £100 and I just don't have that in my budget..
I've been freaking out a bit today, trying to figure out how I am going to afford all my outgoings from my tiny monthly budget.
I've worked out that I have approx. £550 a month. There is no extra money for anything, thats my total amount.
We overspent by going to Aus for 3 months and by getting work done on the house in the same time period. Its proving to have been a bit of a mistake, but there is nothing I can do about it now...I also still have to find an extra £8k by September.....I just have to suck it up....

halia

not been on for a while due to horrid bout of flu for 2 weeks, but more or less staying on track.
However now I have a dilemna, I graduated as a mature student last year and my graduation ceremony is in june. I want to go as this was a really big deal for me. but.....
cost of robe hire is £40, ticket for DH is £25. Now my parents want to come too and I'd kind of like them to be there but they would need tickets too so another £50. PLus DH and I would like to go for a meal afterwards to celebrate, but parents want to come too and I know we'd end up paying for all four of us! (we always do) plus if it was just us we'd get fish and chips on the pier with a bottle of cheap cava, parents expect a 'nice' resturant etc etc.

Another headache is that DS is only 3 and wont' sit through a 3 hr ceremony, so I really need someone to look after him!


Now inlaws have offered to take care of DS so we can go to ceremony and then cook us a meal back at theirs. (cost massivly reduced) but my parents will be devastated if I dont' invite them and have inlaws look after DS.

whitewing

halia wrote: »

not been on for a while due to horrid bout of flu for 2 weeks, but more or less staying on track.
However now I have a dilemna, I graduated as a mature student last year and my graduation ceremony is in june. I want to go as this was a really big deal for me. but.....
cost of robe hire is £40, ticket for DH is £25. Now my parents want to come too and I'd kind of like them to be there but they would need tickets too so another £50. PLus DH and I would like to go for a meal afterwards to celebrate, but parents want to come too and I know we'd end up paying for all four of us! (we always do) plus if it was just us we'd get fish and chips on the pier with a bottle of cheap cava, parents expect a 'nice' resturant etc etc.

Another headache is that DS is only 3 and wont' sit through a 3 hr ceremony, so I really need someone to look after him!


Now inlaws have offered to take care of DS so we can go to ceremony and then cook us a meal back at theirs. (cost massivly reduced) but my parents will be devastated if I dont' invite them and have inlaws look after DS.

Now this is one of those 'once in a lifetime' occasions where you decide what you WANT to do, and then do it! And don't feel bad. (Start an ebay my graduation celebrations challenge)

Frugaldom

Halia, I agree with whitewing - this is about celebrating YOUR big day and it should be done the way YOU want it. You could always play the 'recently graduated student' card and ask parents to pay their own tickets. At worst, just be blunt and say you can't afford it on your budget. Just make sure you enjoy yourself