2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Janey51

Jumble-Bee wrote: »

ps i hope you are not implying that my knickers are so large as to be able to feed myself for 2 entire months....

just because i never joined the FFC

:rotfl: :rotfl:

Mine used to be

Janey51

Really, really cold here this morning but exceptionally beautiful. The frost has turned everything magical and the spiders' webs are like lacy works of art.
When I walked down with the wheelie bin it was like Christmas. The pheasants are strutting their stuff. The snowdrops are in full flower and the daffodils are poking through after yesterday's sunshine.

And all this for free :j
Who needs money

whitewing

Morning Janey, Morning Everyone,

That's a very cheerful post Janey. I'm feeling better today with my cold nearly gone.

I have caught up on the posts. I think I may have to give up wearing knickers as they are so expensive! I'm sure a few clothes pegs around the hem will keep my skirt down and preserve my modesty.

Anyway, I have a question....

What do you guys think about having shoes re-heeled? I have a pair of shoes with a one and a half inch heel that I use for work. They are in very good condition except that the heels are worn. Is it cost effective to get them fixed rather than replace them? How much would it cost?

Burlesque_Babe

£25 for me today.

Looked through justme111's budget and mine is a great deal less than hers but I haven't the energy to go through it bit by bit (no children for a start, I work from home, wear virtually no make up, use free samples for moisturiser all year - plenty to choose from, have enough shoes to keep me going all year - at least and bought my bras for £2 each in the sale from M+S in January and they will keep me going all year).

Woken up with a bit of a cold this morning so feeling a bit pooped.

Watched Wife Swap last night. Did anyone else think oooooooooo, Maltesers :j ..........noooooooooooooooooooooo, don't put them back!! :rotfl:

squeaky

Ye gods!

In May I'll have completed my thirteenth year living on £4k (excluding rent and CT) and I'm STILL learning from you guys

Sometimes the things you point at just aren't applicable to me - but the basic ethos always transfers across to something that is at some time or other.

Good innit?

squeaky

whitewing wrote: »

What do you guys think about having shoes re-heeled? I have a pair of shoes with a one and a half inch heel that I use for work. They are in very good condition except that the heels are worn. Is it cost effective to get them fixed rather than replace them? How much would it cost?

A small quote from this handy site..

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/discussion/saving-tips/1009668/

If you are wearing a pair of shoes afew times each week then make sure they get cleaned at least once a week (or in between if needed!), see below for cleaning tips. Also if you shoes need reheeled or the sole repaired dont throw them away take them to a cobbler or local shoe repair place, try and avoid the large chains like Mr Minute as they charge a fortune. I wear high heels quite a lot and to give you an example Mr Minute charged me £12.99 to reheel my shoes the local cobbler charged £3.50 for the same job. Guess which one now does all the work needed on my shoes? Check yellow pages or the Thomson directory to find your local independent shoe repair/cobbler and don't be afraid to ask prices!

HTH

stefejb

no knicker budget here either but as I'm the only one who sees them I guess it doesn't matter much. I have never had a car - we cycle everywhere local or get the train. I was sacked by my driving instructor after 10 lessons when I was 17 which put us both out of our weekly misery. the only time I ever regret not having one is when I see something big on freecycle that I could use.

Anyway to get back on track - yesterday was pretty expensive - £30 spent at chinese new year celebrations in london plus £4.80 for fares - that leaves me with nothing for the rest of the week except £20 that was carried over from last week - however all the shopping is done so should be able to manage some NSDs. I'm having real trouble keeping track of the figures so am putting £70 into another acount on saturday - CTC day - and transferring it back as I put something on the card. I do have a bit of shrapnel in my purse so hopefully that will see me through the week

redglass_2

I'm about to stop lurking for 2 weeks as I have to take some students on a trip (how will I live without this thread? I've definitely got proxy addiction). Before I go I just want to say that without trying I have shrunk from 12st 5lbs, which was my weight just before Christmas, to a sylphlike :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:11st 11lbs this morning. It was done by eating frugal food, with lots of veggies, always taking my own lunch to work and cutting down on snacks, chocolate and booze. I haven't been going hungry and I feel fine. I've tried to diet many times before and usually failed because I hate throwing stuff away (I live alone and there's nobody else to feed it to!). This way of living suits my purse and my figure because the two aren't in conflict.

LollopyBear

justme111 wrote: »

You see, some people could live with £400 a year - take as example a pensioner who has paid his mortgage and who has grown up son living with her and paying all the bills and doing shopping and buying all the goods. Or a nun in a convent in India - she'd be OK at £4. I'm not quite sure what your point is?
1. I agree, considerable economy on not having children. , and it applies to sections under number 3 and 4 as well.
2. using train or bus would add to journey times very inconveniently for an average working person so your example is not typical. You clearly haven't read through the whole of this thread. It takes me 15mins on the train in the morning to get to school whereas the car journey at that time is 45mins-1 hour. So it saves me both considerable time and money. Lots of commuters on my route would disagree with you. I am only giving my personal budget, I am not comparing myself to anyone else.
3. or yes, no gym/no swim is good for your health I've already said that I play polo which is very vigorous exercise. I much prefer team sports to a treadmill.
relying on presents for something does not count, it would meen either that you pay the same for buying presents to pother peoples or that you are not independent and is sponsored by someone. What a load of tosh. I barely wear any makeup and I have a drawer full of it. For this year's challenge I will not buy any. I only wear a bit of mascara and eyeliner.
a good diet? have you ever heard that because of overworked soils we do get a fractyion of needed vits? of course at your twenties you do not need glutamine
YOU have good teeth, I have taken an average person into account. One is ok with 1 exam per 2 years and anotherone spends thousands of pounds on crowns. Again, I am only talking about my personal budget for the year, especially as your original post was specifically pointing out posters in their twenties.
Have many years does the pair of shoes last on you? The shoes I wear the most last me for 3 years. However, I have a lot of shoes that I barely wear that I've picked up when I was about 18-19.
about your bras , electrics and furniture - they HAD TO BE PAID FOR at some point by someone, hence my calculations how much does it cost per year on average to buy them. My point is that they are not factoring into this year's challenge. I am not talking about averaging them out completely.
sure you do not use water filters, you think it will make no difference to your health No. I drink lots of water from the water filter at work. I only drink boiled water at home.
how long do you use your towels for? Again, overrun with towels. Everytime someone has a clearout we get given a pile of towels! For this year's challenge I will not buy any more.
How often do you clean your toilet? Every other day. There is only the two of us in the house and most of our toilet use is done at work.
! 1 (!) item of closing per year! £40 closithing per year! even if assuming you have used your robe what do you mean by robe? a dressing gown? I'm wearing my dressing gown that I was bought for Uni in 2002. It is still in very good condition., your swimsuit I haven't needed to buy a new bikini for a few years, I have a few that fit, your jeens one pair of jeans lasts me 2 years and I bought my current pair last autumn, your winter jacket coats are my weakness and over the years I have built up a big collection and do not need to buy any more for a few years, your sweeter Tons of sweaters, you formal trowses Already got, your smart dress already got, your jumper already got, your skirt already got, your midseason jacket mentioned in the coat section, your t-shirt Have a few but may buy a new one in the summer if I see an extremely cute on that I can't resist - only one item of each:D for 10 years you'd need to buy more than 1 a year again, I am referring specifically to this year's challenge, though the same will prob apply to next year too

Ok, I am getting really tired of this and I not going to respond to you any more justme.

My budget works for me and I am enjoying this challenge. <--- I think this applies to everyone here and it is not for you to judge whether you think our lifestyles are a "hardship" or not, or put your values onto what we spend our money on.

LollopyBear

andromache wrote: »

:beer: I noticed you mentioning going to an event at Queen's College a while ago and thought of asking but then I remembered that there's one at Oxford as well and probably plenty of others too so I refrained It's a great place to study! So glad I came Hope you're enjoying it too.

:beer: I really am enjoying it. I've been a townie in Cam since 1989 so it is really odd being on the other side, and I've found places that I never knew existed! I'm glad your enjoying it too Maybe in the summer we should meet up for champers and homemade cakes by the river? Try and do the nicest picnic on the smallest budget? Could be lots of fun!