2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Frugaldom

CharliesAngel, thank you for coming back on the thread and leaving your grocery list, it's really appreciated. :T By far, my biggest expense is electricity, as we live in an all electric house and 2 of us work from home, so it's always in use. You must have a very good idea how many units of electricity you are using per day for freezer, cooker, washing machine etc so could you please let me know, as I often think my meter eats the stuff, rather than just records its useage.

Kittens - have you checked out the free neutering schemes? The Cats Protection agencies should vaccinate & worm cats before rehoming and can provide vouchers for free neutering, or there are some schemes that split the cost 3 ways - client/vet/charity - depending on your financial situation. I'm guessing you use litter trays with shredded papers, as you've not mentioned cat litter. sorry, I may be completely missing something, but I just can't get my head around being able to live on less than £50 a month when you have a house to keep. I am, however, trying to work out how much it would cost me to live if I was on my own and didn't have rent to pay. My original deduction was not taking a shot at you, it was my personal thoughts on how I could manage to do what you do on so little. Have you checked to see if you are entitled to tax credits?

bails

Thanks for posting that CA. Can I ask what you eat for brekkie? As for the discounted vets, now that's a real find! Is there a way of doing this or it is just good fortune? My kitten is due to be neutered next week and that's going to cost £45 :eek: If I only spent £15 I'd be over the moon so any help you can give would be fab!

Drum roll please... the office is finished! :T I can't take any of the credit for it though I'm afraid mostly done by my lovely dad, bless him. I have been feeding him sarnies and cups of tea, so my budget will reflect that this week but = 'much cheapness' for all the work he's done. I can't wait for the floor to dry so I can (get OH to) move the furniture in. Shame I'm away from tomorrow so won't be able to enjoy it straight away.

Next week I'm going to a health spa for the day :jThis won't be coming out of my 4K budget of course but will affect my overall spends for the year. My bro is paying half (he wants me to go with mum, it's his 60th pressie to her) and I have already stashed the cash from somewhere else to pay for my half. It'll be a lovely day out, but also followed by a meal out with my parents and bro/SiL so more expense :eek: I feel quite resentful...:rotfl:

Ooh, just spotted your top tip about the neutering schemes Nyk, can you point me in the relevant direction please? We got our kitten from the Car and Dogs Home, they paid for jabs and microchip but no mention of cheaper ways to neuter... Off to google it and see what come up...

funkyfunkymonkey

Bails congrats on the office, great to get some 'organised' space.

Try and enjoy the spa day and the meal, don't think about the cost, just enjoy the luxury - sounds lovely.

I know you didn't ask me, but I have porridge for breakfast costs about 11p with the oats and the milk (would only be 2.5p if I used water - yuk!!!), would be even cheaper if I had bought Tesco Value oats, but Somerfield were doing buy 2 for £2 on Quaker and Scotts oats - so I treated myself.

FFM

FunBrum

WOW CharliesAngel....what a bargain price you get for stuff!:T

I love it when Im on courses as I dont have to pay for any drinks, the occasional bici would be heaven!:rotfl:

When I worked at the hospital, we were allowed to help ourselves off the dinner trolley after the patients had eaten. I dont think that is allowed any more but it feed my collegues and I for many a year!:D Also, depending on how long you spent at work, we had free showers, food including drinks, TV;) and also saved on washing clothes 'cos we spent our entire lives in 'theatre blues' and returned them the next day for laundering!:rotfl: If you really wanted to be frugal...you would spend most of your life at work and never have to pay rent!:D

bails

Right, I can get 25% off the cost of the neutering through the home we got him from (why didn't they tell us this?) up to a value of £50. I've tried to contact the CPL to see if they can offer any more but noone there today so will try again tomorrow. Thanks so much for this, it's made my day! My Savings Pot will be a happy bunny!

Thanks FFM, I have porridge (with water ) too; I don't work out how much these things cost so it's great to know, thanks. Although I do buy organic whole oats, they were 99p and last ages amd taste lovely! I will force myself to enjoy the spa day, now you've given me permission

Frugaldom

Hi Bails,
There are quite a few pet neutering schems around, so you could start by contacting your local council, local vets and any local cat/dog rehoming agencies. The PDSA should also be able to help you.

The other thing to remember, if you find you are not eligible for any of the schemes, is that most vets accept credit cards - at worst, save the cash in your interest paying account and pay on a 0% card to soften the blow, that way you have interest free credit and, perhaps, even some cashback or points.

Also, there is no set register for veterinary fees - these are set by each individual vet, so always check before booking animals in - ask for a complete breakdown of consultation fee, drugs, anaesthetic administration costs etc. Vets, despite what many may think, are human beings with animal welfare at the heart of their work - many will bend over backwards to make veterinary treatment affordable to responsible pet owners.

CharliesAngel

oooh and free downloads on my ipod, 240 songs from lime wire lol.... legally!

CharliesAngel

funkyfunkymonkey wrote: »

Hi CA

Thanks for sticking around, good luck to the kittens for next week.

Is it a major supermarket where you buy from or a local store. We eat lots of pasta, pasta sauce and tuna and it would be really great to get them so cheap.

TIA

FFM

Asda smartprice or tesco value lol... nothing magical

funkyfunkymonkey

Funbrum I was on a course last week, for 3 days and although the food was free and very lovely, it wrecked my weight maintainance (I'm a member of the lose weight thread).

I'm also on a course this Tues and the following Tues - so more free food, and extra lbs!!!

I don't eat much for lunch at work, my favourite is 1/2 a packet of Ainsley Harriet's couscous - just mix with hot water (free where I work ), so it only costs me 27p for my lunch and only about 180 cals.

FFM

CharliesAngel

bails wrote: »

Thanks for posting that CA. Can I ask what you eat for brekkie? As for the discounted vets, now that's a real find! Is there a way of doing this or it is just good fortune? My kitten is due to be neutered next week and that's going to cost £45 :eek: If I only spent £15 I'd be over the moon so any help you can give would be fab!

Drum roll please... the office is finished! :T I can't take any of the credit for it though I'm afraid mostly done by my lovely dad, bless him. I have been feeding him sarnies and cups of tea, so my budget will reflect that this week but = 'much cheapness' for all the work he's done. I can't wait for the floor to dry so I can (get OH to) move the furniture in. Shame I'm away from tomorrow so won't be able to enjoy it straight away.

Next week I'm going to a health spa for the day :jThis won't be coming out of my 4K budget of course but will affect my overall spends for the year. My bro is paying half (he wants me to go with mum, it's his 60th pressie to her) and I have already stashed the cash from somewhere else to pay for my half. It'll be a lovely day out, but also followed by a meal out with my parents and bro/SiL so more expense :eek: I feel quite resentful...:rotfl:

Ooh, just spotted your top tip about the neutering schemes Nyk, can you point me in the relevant direction please? We got our kitten from the Car and Dogs Home, they paid for jabs and microchip but no mention of cheaper ways to neuter... Off to google it and see what come up...

great news about your office

apparently the vets i go to is discounted because it was bought outright by an australian bloke who loves animals and is so rich he can afford to offer really low prices! It was out of luck that i found him... a good job seeing as i have two kittens, so double the trouble. It's worth ringing around, and sometimes cats protection will help towards the payment as they see it as responsible pet ownership...same with microchips etc. Think my vet does microchipping for 15, my mum's vet charges 60!

oh and brekkie... the girls at work bring in special k or yogurt lol... or i have a... you guessed it... an omelette!!