2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

Prudent

Morning everyone Its good to come back from visiting the relatives and see how many people have joined. Welcome

I have updated my sig this morning and am getting in gear ready to start. Got out the calculator now and am just doing some calculations, so here goes on the budget:

Not included:

Council tax: £113
My communiting costs: £100
DD's communiting plus education essentials: £100
Union £12
Is there anything else???

Provisional exclusions: £325

I have set the challenge at £6000 which gives £500 a month beyond that.
So a total monthly spend of £825. Just realised this is only £25 under what I already live on :rotfl: . However I am going to set it there as both fuel and food prices are rising rapidly. In the past year my spending has roughly broken down as follows:

Internet £9.99
Gas/Elec £62
HFS £25
BT £11
union £12
TV £11
Council tax £113
Insurances £40
Daughter’s
allowance £70
plus extra costs £30
Food £90
Petrol £100
Mobile £10
Cats £25
Car tax £10
Haircuts £10
18866 £2
Clothes £30
Furniture/ £70
Decorating/
Garden
Holidays £80
Socialising/
Presents/
Misc like postage £50

Total: £850

Prudent

Just looking at soa above and wondering where to cut back? The HFS is a savings plan for my daughter which I am committed to until May 2009. On eof the things that seems obvious is the holidays/ socialising presents. Last year I didn't actually pay for a holiday as they were all wins, but sum included spending. Maybe this year I shall aim to win all presents. I have gone through my list and cut in from 39 people to 15. Most of this cut has come from a decision to stop buying for friends children, many of whom are at the leaving school stage.

jo1972

Ok, so to save me trawlling through 18 pages of posts, is this purely spends like food, luxuries, holidays etc.

Are bills included, I know rent isn't but how about Sky, water, electric etc?

I need a new challenge and this one makes me very nervous but quite excited at the same time!!

xx

Frugaldom

What's included:

Heat & light
Insurance
TV
Internet
Telephone
Groceries
Toiletries
Household cleaning products

Basically, the budget is for the very bottom line - the stuff you need to use every week. It does not include non-essentials like holidays, work associated travel, trust funds, savings policies etc. The object is to 'survive' on basics and either use everything else for paying off debt or to save for whatever non-essentials or luxuries you want.

The budget does not include rent/mortgage, council tax/water rates because these are dependent on where you stay and cannot be avoided.

Frugaldom

Here's how I would arrange your challenge:

Internet £9.99
Gas/Elec £62
BT £11
Union £12
TV £11
Insurances £40
Food £90
Clothes £30
Mobile £10
Cats £25
18866 £2 - not sure what this is, so left it in
Socialising/Presents/Misc like postage £50
Haircuts £10
Daughter's basic allowance (what's essential) - £?

Most of the other things are individual to your personal needs & lifestyle, so come out of the the balance left over from the essential

whitewing

I've just got back from town. Was a bit naughty It started well, I took my list of styles of hampers eg am doing my sister a 'Hair care' hamper for her bday next year. So was able to get some good 2 for 1 stuff there.

I even bought a throw, which I thought was £15 but which was actually £25. The old me would have kept it anyway - it was beautiful. The new me took it back and got a refund. I was pleased about that.

I also heard last night that a very good friend of mine is having a masectomy next week, which was a complete shock. They have had to be careful about when they tell family and friends as they didn't want to ruin anyone's Xmas. I have bought her the Kylie cd (inspired by another recent thread). The old me would have gone overboard with presents because of the shock.

But I spent too much in general (not on cc cards, thankfully). And am not sure what I did actually buy in the end. But I am confident that I got value for money on each item.

Am not buying any more present stuff until my baskets turn up from Argos (if they turn up). Then I can sort out what I've got so far for who and what else I need to buy.

Prudent

nykmedia wrote: »

What's included:

Heat & light
Insurance
TV
Internet
Telephone
Groceries
Toiletries
Household cleaning products

Basically, the budget is for the very bottom line - the stuff you need to use every week. It does not include non-essentials like holidays, work associated travel, trust funds, savings policies etc. The object is to 'survive' on basics and either use everything else for paying off debt or to save for whatever non-essentials or luxuries you want.

The budget does not include rent/mortgage, council tax/water rates because these are dependent on where you stay and cannot be avoided.

Thanks - just going out now. Will do a revision later.

Frugaldom

Have done a revision on my budget because of unforeseen increase in electricity owing to the housemove, so here's my basic guide to how I'm going to try to live off my £4000. Figures are annual to begin with...

Electricity - £1200
Insurance - £52
TV - £135.50
Internet - £149.95
Telephone - £300
Mobile - £60
Gifts & hobbies etc - £500
Everything else - £1602.55

I have £1602.55 left to 'live', so I calculated into weekly by dividing by 366 and multiplying by 7, as it's a leap year and I don't want caught out a day short on my budget LOL

My weekly budget for everything else, including groceries, cleaning products and toiletries is £30.65 My daughter & grand daughter dine here several times a week, grand daughter is here every lunchtime because I babysit (hence reason I now need to earn from home).

I've already switched insurance companies, so I know that's what it's about to cost me in a week or two. I used Greasypalm, so am hoping to get their cashback incentive, as promised on their website, and will be most upset if I don't!

I can't change the package on the telephone because it's a 12 month contract, but will update the amounts as I go along.

Gifts & hobbies - I started another thread called 'papier mache and other free hobbies', so will be spending my time using suggestions on there to make gifts and amuse grand daughter at the same time. I plan on making the majority of next year's gifts as this ties in nicely with my taking part in the 'start a cottage style industry' challenge.

No budget here for cigs, so I've also joined the 'quit smoking' brigade. I'm electricity meter watching as the cost to heat this old drafty house is ridiculous but there's not a lot I can do about that, as it's rented. I WILL suss out how to cut down on the electricity useage!

I now need to do an inventory of what I already have stashed away for future gifts! I grabbed so many unbelieveable bargains during 2007 that I have stacks left!

Penny2myName

bought some make your own Christmas cracker packs from asda which were reduced, I will stick what freebies i can get over the year into them. Still have a small freebie bubble bath I can stick in one. Fingers crossed I can get other such good freebies. Have used Christmas money i got from my dad to buy them. Also bought some balloons so me and kids can make some cash 'animals' later. Unfortunatley the diary with cash flow sheets at back are now all sold out, so will have to venture into town to get a new ledger for new year. or hopefully find a similar style diary.

rosieben

What a great thread :T

I wont join in - I live very simply and paring down to the minimum anyway - but will be cheering you all on and hope to pick up some tips

Good luck all!! :j