2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Doom_and_Gloom

Penny2myname: I would use the avocardo to make guacomole :drool:. Always yummy and has healthy fats in it so is good for you too :j .

whitewing

Mmmmm...red pepper bread sounds so yummy.

I'm starving now. OH is making a massive cauliflower cheese for tea tonight & tomorrow. And it's jacket potato and tuna for a late lunch today.

And cabbage pasta on Saturday. Which sounds awful to me but is hungarian recipe and supposed to be very nice. If he gets round to it. He always buys cabbages but doesn't get round to using them. But he has new frugalistic ways for 2008. He knows he'll be letting you all down otherwise..

Frugaldom

Well, I'm reading through the recent posts and I am seeing a pattern developing that many of you won't be aware of because this is your first time on a full blown year long challenge. So, I have brough you good tidings of great joy in the shape of a copy of one of last year's diaries from this exact same challenge. Read it and then look at your own spending and compare :eek: :eek: :eek: I won't name the person, as they are within striking distance of me right now :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: but here goes for January 2007! I should explain that this person also does share-shopping and had paid for someone else's Christmas shopping on their credit card, so any reimbursement is the combined totals of card payments made on the behalf of others. The nameless one, however, keeps the cashback or points. I should also add that the person in question actually had £4000 in a bank account at the start of the year and that was all they were allowed to spend.

1 Jan 07Credit Card payment deducted-£50.00
1 Jan 07Somerfield-£38.45
5 Jan 07Credit Card payment deducted-£607.55
9 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£28.27
17 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£12.34
19 Jan 07Cash withdrawn-£20.00
19 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£7.97
22 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£15.02
23 Jan 07Cash withdrawn-£30.00
24 Jan 07Credit Card payment deducted-£13.47
26 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£24.87
29 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£17.88
29 Jan 07Cash withdrawn-£20.00
30 Jan 07Somerfield shopping-£30.52
30 Jan 07Co-op shopping-£16.82
30 Jan 07Reimbursement£523.50
20 Jan 07Transferred to share-dealing accounts-£150.00
23 Jan 07Transferred to share-dealing accounts-£200.00
24 Jan 07Transferred to share-dealing accounts-£350.00
27 Jan 07Transferred to share-dealing accounts-£633.00

Total for month of January 2007 - £1,742.66 :eek: :eek: :eek:

5 Feb 07Credit Card payment-£189.79
5 Feb 07Online auctions-£1.01
8 Feb 07Cash withdrawn-£20.00
15 Feb 07Transferred to share dealing accounts-£300.00
16 Feb 07Transferred from share dealing accounts+£300.47
20 Feb 07Cash withdrawn-£10.00
22 Feb 07Cash withdrawn-£20.00
22 Feb 07Lottery-£5.00
23 Feb 07Online auctions-£5.00
23 Feb 07Transferred to share dealing accounts-£500.00
26 Feb 07Credit Card payment-£113.73
26 Feb 07Credit Card payment-£53.06
27 Feb 07Transferred to share dealing accounts-£500.00
28 Feb 07Reimbursement+£120.00
28 Feb 07Transferred to share dealing accounts-£130.00

Running total of all monies spent by 28/02/07 - £3,169.78 :eek: :eek:

The above is from an actual 'live on £4000 for a full year' budget and I can assure you that no matter how or why you decide to participate in this particular challenge, February looks like the most traumatic month of the year for frugalites. There was absolutely no way that I believed the above-mentioned could complete the challenge within budget, but they did! :T I should also mention that, as you'll have noticed, most things were paid for on credit cards and the participant did still spend some cash on what I would personally deem as unnecessary. Buy hey, who am I to point out the difference between needs and wants ... I just spent £8.58 on BOGOFs that included lemon meringue pies!!

elantan

i have to admit i'm following this thread with interest and starting to make plans for next year to do something similar you will all be here next year wont you????? ..i think i learned alot last week with the candle debacle my visa hasnt been out of the envelope since

FrankieM

I plan on living on £40k next year..!!

Nah, only joking.
Thanks for that Nyk, I was on of those getting miserable people....feel ok today. Just getting organised makes me feel more positive...

Took another £20 out of the bank for next weeks pocket money, so will go and add that to my signature...

Frugaldom

Time to come clean on the total cost of living - I think it's something that everyone NEEDS to know!

What did I do last night? Wednesday is the only day of the week that I watch TV at night and it's probably just as well. Last night, I watched my weekly dose of Martin followed by numerous property programmes - Relocation, Relocation - Grand Designs - Repossession, Repossession! :eek: The entire evening was dedicated to watching money orientated programmes and I am afraid that I have become a hard-nosed diehard frugalite because I found myself getting so angry at some of the people on the repossession programme. Am I alone in this or did anyone else get pangs of 'give them a smack in the mouth' when hearing about folks spending £700 per month OVER BUDGET on clothes, shoes, makeup and cosmetic 'treatments' and then playing dumb when finding out they were £40,000+ in debt and currently living off credit cards? Or did anyone else get annoyed at the couple who allegedly saved to buy their ex-council house (got it for £27k, I think) and then ran up a further £140,000+ debt without keeping up the payments on their mortgage? Evicted, appeared more worried about his precious fish pond and then moved straight into a council flat? Umm.... ok, best stop ranting as I may have got the wrong end of the stick by not believing the particular spin used by the media moguls in charge of broadcasting that particular programme, but PLEASE! Don't try to make a frugalite feel sorry for a supposedly mature adult who can't work out that not paying for their house = losing their house. :eek: should I delete this post?

I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH IS COSTS TO LIVE!
And there is only one way to find out so that it's not left to a politician or some civil servant spouting numbers off a piece of paper and claiming inflation is at some ridiculously low figure. Inflation SHOULD mean the basic difference between what last year costs to live compared to this year... surely? OK, I'll call it DOMESTIC INFLATION and want to see if it's possible to produce a method of bringing about domestic DEflation.

I just heard about the Bank of England cutting the interest rates to 5.25% - For a longterm, diehard frugalite this is VERY, VERY BAD news! My advice to all... live like a really really frugal frugalite until debt is gone, do NOT be tempted to borrow more just because the rates are falling. Longterm, we are aiming to avoid paying interest on anything ever again! We want to be in a situation where they pay US the interest. My personal belief is that interest rates decreasing are to encourage more people into debt rather than help people out of it, but I'm just 'on a roll' today and can't get off my high horse (it's recycled from soap boxes). Even if it means saver beans on home made toast for 6 months, no new clothes, no socialising and no day trips, frugalise! Clear the debts! Make those savings.

Burlesque_Babe

ooooooooooooh dear.........the scraping, grinding noise from the front wheel came back so I went straight to Kwik Fit. Both wheel brake cylinders were leaking and they think the lack of fluid was making the grinding noise on the brake at the front. It cost £113 all in, which in one was didn't feel too nasty, but at the same time was £113......the brakes themselves are fine (phew) so I think I had a lucky escape not doing more damage than was already done.

So, after a bit of advice Nyk - add it to my running total when it comes out of my account in the next day or so, or are essential car repairs not counted??

taka

nykmedia wrote: »

Time to come clean on the total cost of living - I think it's something that everyone NEEDS to know!

What did I do last night? Wednesday is the only day of the week that I watch TV at night and it's probably just as well. Last night, I watched my weekly dose of Martin followed by numerous property programmes - Relocation, Relocation - Grand Designs - Repossession, Repossession! :eek: The entire evening was dedicated to watching money orientated programmes and I am afraid that I have become a hard-nosed diehard frugalite because I found myself getting so angry at some of the people on the repossession programme. Am I alone in this or did anyone else get pangs of 'give them a smack in the mouth' when hearing about folks spending £700 per month OVER BUDGET on clothes, shoes, makeup and cosmetic 'treatments' and then playing dumb when finding out they were £40,000+ in debt and currently living off credit cards? Or did anyone else get annoyed at the couple who allegedly saved to buy their ex-council house (got it for £27k, I think) and then ran up a further £140,000+ debt without keeping up the payments on thier mortgage? Evicted, appeared more worried about his precious fish pond and then moved straight into a council flat? Umm.... ok, best stop ranting as I may have got the wrong end of the stick by not believing the particular spin used by the media moguls in charge of broadcasting that particular programme, but PLEASE! Don't try to make a frugalite feel sorry for a supposedly mature adult who can't work out that not paying for their house = losing their house. :eek: should I delete this post?

I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH IS COSTS TO LIVE!
And there is only one way to find out so that it's not left to a politician or some civil servant spouting numbers off a piece of paper and claiming inflation is at some ridiculously low figure. Inflation SHOULDA mean the basic difference between what last year costs to live compared to this year... surely?

I only saw the 2nd half of Repossesion repossesion reposession and it was the guy with 1million pounds debt (inc mortgage which was about 475k I think) that surprised me. He seemed to not care that he could only service half his debt :eek: :eek:

Penny2myName

Have to admit I hate paying full price for clothes and food nowadays. Clothes bit started years ago, and always wait till end of season on the whole for clothes. Food I now go and get as much reduced stuff as I can, and plan a meal around that, rather than meal plan first. Getting alot of named brands and 'extra special' brands cheaper than my smart price this way. Admittedly you open my fridge at the moment and get dazzled by the sheer amount of yellow stickers in there:rotfl:.

Frugaldom

Hi Keren,
Isn't it just typical that the only month of the year that fits nicely with the word 'frugal' turns out to be more aptly mentioned in the same breath as 'financially frustrating'? Sorry to hear about your car. Personally, I would not count having a car as a basic essential, therefore would not expect anyone living on £4000 a year to pay for one. Most car owners have them for one of 2 reasons - they need one for work, so it's a work related expense, or else it's a luxury item used for convenience.

I think I'll go burn off some calories whilst dinner's cooking and have a long think about next year's challenge. Yes, this really is longterm