2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

CharliesAngel

FunBrum wrote: »

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

funkyfunkymonkey

CharliesAngel wrote: »

Asda smartprice or tesco value lol... nothing magical

Thanks for the info CA. I'm in the South East, so maybe the prices aren't standard across the UK, that's not fair!!!

Value tuna is 29p
Value pasta sauce 27p
Value pasta 19p for 500g

I might take a look in Asda, it's a bit out of my way, but maybe they have other bargains.

So, Mr T watch it - I'm going to visit Mr A.

FFM

carrottopsuk

CharliesAngel wrote: »

Afternoon All..

Shopping list for today:

1kg bag of pasta - 15p
4 jars of sauce - 68p
3 tins of tuna - 63p

Train fare - 0p

Electric left on the key 2.11

Eggs in the fridge - 24!
Brusells - 3 bags
1 old packet of cheese - not yet celebrated its first birthday so should be fine.
4 pouches of cat food in the cupboard - 8 meals for cats plus tins of tuna out the cupboard

Meal one - cheese omelette, we're talking a massive one!
Meal two - pasta, sauce and cheese on top
Meal three - beans 17p, already in the cupboard on toast (bread in the freezer)
Meal four - pasta, sauce tuna and cheese on top
Meal five tuna and vegetable omelette - veg is in the freezer (Carrots, peas, brusells)
Meal six - tuna and cheese toasties
Meal seven - beans on toast with cheese

Lunches - half a bag of pasta with sauce and grated cheese divided into 5 lunch boxes and chucked in the freezer, ready to microwave. Tea and coffee is free at work... and the odd choccie biscuit, pork pie... you name it. Mind you if you've read my previous posts you'll know i do alot of training at uni where there are free kitkats lol and cookies... and herbal tea... ho hum.

Will get some apples mid week 99p for 12 on the market, i know this takes me over my usual 1.50 for food but i'm sure it's allowed this once!
Had a belated birthday present of 12 bottles of spitfire ale from over the road

Kittens are due to be spayed next month so this month's pay i'll save 30 for that, I have found a discounted vets which is good - they had all their jabs before i collected them from cats protection. If they keep growing (outwards and upwards) like they do I'll need a hoist to lift them! God help next door's dog....


CA x

Thanks Charlie's angel for this. :T Well done for keeping costs down so low.

Sorry for being nosey, I was just wondering where you got 1kg of pasta for 15p and 4 jars sauce for 68p & 3 tins tuna for 63p? They are very cheap :money: Is it a nationwide supermarket or is it a local shop? Are they on special offer? Is the sauce vegetarian? (keeping fingers crossed)

Also, I've been trying to get my head around how 4 pouches of cat food equates to 8 meals for 2 cats? Are they fully grown cats? Do you mix the food with cat biscuits to bulk it out?

It's just that if you give the cats 2 meals a day each, that would mean that 4 of your meals (2 pouches) would have gone in a day (1/2 pouch each in the morning (1 pouch) & 1/2 pouch each in the evening (1 pouch))

Sorry for being so nosey. I don't mean to sound challenging although it may come across that way. I am genuinely interested as we have 5 cats and spend a fortune each week on them on cat food. Don't even mention the vet bills, they are due to go to the vets for injections at some point this week.:eek:

I've been lugging as much cat food as I can carry on the bus from the shop near work each day but the offer runs out today

Edit oops just spotted you have kittens. Sorry it seems you've answered some questions before I finished typing.

Janey51

In a bid to claw back some of my spend yesterday, I came home with quite a few packets of sugar, butter portions,ketchup portions and a few serviettes....good kitchen paper.
And people wonder why I need a big bag

However, I did point out to the young girl serving in the cafe at lunch time that she had given me a £1 too much. :A

funkyfunkymonkey

bails wrote: »

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

I really don't know how you can eat porridge with water.

We now play a guessing game over tea as to how much the meal has cost. Trouble is now, where once OH and kids used to go 'wow', they now expect me to feed us all for £2 no probs :rotfl:

I also keep a food diary of all my calories so that I can maintain my weight (having lost over 3 st), so I also work out the calories of everything I cook. Good job I liked maths at school. Keeps the old grey matter working.

FFM

Janey51

Charliesangel interesting post. It wouldn't work for me as I can't eat pasta yet following weight loss surgery but I'm hoping I can a few months down the line as I miss it.
On the other hand, I eat so little now that I'm cheap to keep :rotfl:

Janey51

Funbrum I remember the dinner trolley. Saved me from starvation many a time as a student nurse. That, and the cheese for the diabetics hich every ward kept. And the chocolates left by grateful patients.
Doesn't happen much nowadays.

CharliesAngel

nykmedia wrote: »

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, i'm sure this will go up, but at the mo it's the freezer and telly that's on and a heater in the lounge.. 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 no idea!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 cat's protection won't entertain the idea as my main wage is £21,000 at the council, plus my pub and club jobs.. 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 shredded free papers!, as you've not mentioned cat litter hopefully get rid of the litter tray once they are able to go out. 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 three bedroom, terraced - two of which i never go in, and could potentially let out but i like it on my own! 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? a big fat zero, and owe the tax man £1200!

Thanks nyk, i know it's hard for some people to believe but i bought property at 23, now i've paid off my mortgage thank god for the good timing and boom in property! my sister buys me nice things for birthdays and christmasses so i'm not sat in the dark being miserable!! as long as i've got my music and a good book i'm fairly content.. I could choose, if i wanted to, to coal fire the house, but having a degree in the environment it would look a little odd as i practice most of what i preach..

The main job is a very recent thing.. in the past i've lived on less than 12k a year, hence the reason i got myself into 10k debt, living the life i was expected to live by society.. i've realised that i can do without the latest telly, the latest gadgets, and still be happy! hoping to plough savings into paying off debts/tax and to buy another property to let out.. keep me in my old age!

Toiletries seem a big issue but i've got a bath and good old value bath stuff at 29p a litre seems to be okay! It washes my hair too.. i'm not proud!

washing powder from aldi's and using less than recommended makes it last longer... same with washing up liquid.. clean the house with hot water and soap, none of the fancy rubbish lol i sound like my dad...

CA

CharliesAngel

Janey51 wrote: »

In a bid to claw back some of my spend yesterday, I came home with quite a few packets of sugar, butter portions,ketchup portions and a few serviettes....good kitchen paper.
And people wonder why I need a big bag

However, I did point out to the young girl serving in the cafe at lunch time that she had given me a £1 too much. :A

Lmao i can just see your cupboards over spilling with butter portions!! serviettes?! cheap bog roll if nothing else....

lol @ the £1 too much... as long as you relieved them of more than that in butter, sugar and ketchup....

CA x

Janey51

CA personally, I find cheap serviettes float :rotfl:
Maybe the place we are going tonight might have a better quality suitable for flushing