2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Frugaldom

Hi elantan,
I think the easiest way to explain the challenge is that it's kind of trying to establish the cost of living. The original £4000 was for all household / personal bills. The reason rent/mortgage/council tax/water bills were omitted was a simple case of too many variants - different people, different houses, different areas. Likewise, we cannot compare what it costs to have a job as some people spend hundreds of pounds a month on travel, cost of running one or more cars, child care, a cleaner, laundry services, gardeners etc, etc, etc. So, the basic challenge is to live on the £4000 and everything over that is for all other expenses you incur, including paying off any debt and contributing to savings. (I include all expenditure in my budget, but it's because I work from home most of the time.)
Hope this helps

elantan

it certainly does nyk and thanks very much for the info ..im starting at the begining of the thread again... i have been continually inspired by you all and really would like to attempt this but i dont think i could do it this year but this year would be a great time to get ready for next year so that i can achieve it properly ...thanks again

flowerofthewest

My monthlly spends for the next couple of months are going to be slightly over the original budget level of £333 - I have recently been diagnosed with an eating disorder and have been booking into a group counselling session for the next 12 weeks. Unfortunately this will mean a 6 hour round trip by bus and train in order to go to a 1.5 hour session, and will cost at least £21 per week (as long as the fares don't go up).

I'm happy that my problems have finally been noticed and dealt with, but not so happy about the cost - ah well; these things are sent to try us!

Also, was surfing the web, as you do, and came across this - though you might enjoy it.

How Star Wars encourages frugality.:T

taka

flowerofthewest wrote: »

My monthlly spends for the next couple of months are going to be slightly over the original budget level of £333 - I have recently been diagnosed with an eating disorder and have been booking into a group counselling session for the next 12 weeks. Unfortunately this will mean a 6 hour round trip by bus and train in order to go to a 1.5 hour session, and will cost at least £21 per week (as long as the fares don't go up).

I'm happy that my problems have finally been noticed and dealt with, but not so happy about the cost - ah well; these things are sent to try us!

((((Hugs)))) flowerofthewest. I'm in treatment too. I hope it helps you... your health comes first. Is there no way you can get help with the costs? I'm lucky... one of the few specialist places in Scotland is not too far from me but I know someone who has had to travel from other town has managed to get some of the costs subsidised by their local health authority. Maybe this may be an option for you?

Feel free to give me a PM if you want to chat. Good luck!

Taka xx

Penny2myName

Enjoyed reading that flowerofthewest, and it makes me wonder if good old :money:is a secret Jedi fan.

bails

elantan wrote: »

it certainly does nyk and thanks very much for the info ..im starting at the begining of the thread again... i have been continually inspired by you all and really would like to attempt this but i dont think i could do it this year but this year would be a great time to get ready for next year so that i can achieve it properly ...thanks again

If it helps Elantan, I had real problems seeing how I could manage this initially too (hence why I'm No. 100 - reluctant runner!:D). Once I got my head round what I didn't HAVE to include (I am lucky enough to have some extra money), it did begin to seem possible, although still a real challenge. People have chosen to include different things in their totals, and even to have a different total - some are using 5k for example. If you feel like it, why not post a rough outline of your essentials and we can help you work out a way you can join in this year, if that's what you'd like to do- even if it just turns out to be a trial run for next year. I'm not sure if I can be successful this year but I am going to try my hardest and even if I'm not, I figure I'll still be a lot better off.
Whitewing, my post was not intended to offend Charlie's Angel, or anyone else, either - I have simply been doing a lot of headscratching and since CA's first post trying to fathom out how to live so frugally, and am genuinely interested in how it's possible. I believe these forums are about supporting each other and learning from people's experiences.

elantan

you sure you wouldnt mind i know i'm late starting but i was thinking £80 a week to do both hubby and i for food,petrol,work (for both) drink,takeaways ,holidays birthdays,xmas,gas,electricity car insurance,car tax,mot...i dont really want to add in the extra that i plan on paying to the mortgage as i really want to get this down likewise i dont want to add in pension payments ...does that sound about right? have i missed off anything?

Janey51

I didn't mean to offend CharliesAngel either but, like the others, I would really like to cut my spending even further if there was a way....I hope there is, especially the heat and power which is a huge chunk out of our budget and why I felt I could not include our oil bills in the challenge as they are massive, even though we don't use the central heating unless its about -6C.

bails

Um okay, I'm no expert and I'm sure Nyk will be along in a minute to help but I would say that the following don't NEED to be included (although of course you can if you want to ) - holidays, takeaways, drink, anything work-related (e.g. car/travel costs); basically anything you can live without but perhaps don't want to! So gas, elec, phone, internet, insurances, TV licence, groceries, pet food, all presents for the year are included; think that's everything?? Sorry, got to dash now but I'll keep thinking and add anything if I remember... Be great to have you properly in the gang if you're game! x

Janey51

Today I spent £10.55 but got some bargain Free Range Eggs. Had to buy some fruit and milk. The biggest expense was coffee but I need caffeine