2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

mah_jong

Back to basics ...

Grocery spend for Feb to date 47.63.

Not bad, did have a pretty expensive week. Forgot to make bread one night and had to buy two rolls at 48p for my lunch, I enjoyed them so much I for got again the next night! Have made my bread once again, so not tempted by the bakers rolls. I wont buy the supermarket bread or rolls ever again, its home made or bakers now. I entertained for 2 nights as well, but other than that I am feeding one.

Come Friday I shall update my footers and post the totals for month and year.

sophiesmum_2

Hi Nyk and everyone else:D
I have been following the thread daily from the start and have decided to try and join you all in the remaining time left on the challenge.I already try and live in a frugal wayand am naturally OS, and love getting the very most out of what money I spend so that isn't a problem.
However what has been holding me back is that my accommodation is provided as part of my job, it also includes electricity and water rates and my wage is reduced accordingly.I pay all the other bills but was wondering how this would impact on my starting amount. I reckon this is easily £600 a year as water rates are around the £200 mark. Should i lower my total by £600 to get a true reflection of costs

This would give me £3388 - £600 = £2788 + child benefit for DD
Definately doable I would think:rolleyes:

Frugaldom

mah_jong wrote: »

Back to basics ...

Grocery spend for Feb to date 47.63.

Not bad, did have a pretty expensive week. Forgot to make bread one night and had to buy two rolls at 48p for my lunch, I enjoyed them so much I for got again the next night! Have made my bread once again, so not tempted by the bakers rolls. I wont buy the supermarket bread or rolls ever again, its home made or bakers now. I entertained for 2 nights as well, but other than that I am feeding one.

Come Friday I shall update my footers and post the totals for month and year.

48p for 2 rolls? Now I'm working out how much of a saving it is making my own using yesterday's recipe and the best value flour deal I can find

Flour - 40p
Lard - 5p
Yeast - 5p
Salt & sugar - 5p
Electricity - 45p (allowing warm up time and 20 mins cooking)
Total - £1.00 for 50 small rolls

Does anyone know the estimated wattage of an ordinary oven? I can find energy star ratings etc, but can't find the actual wattage figures! 45p is a guesstimate based on how much more electricity I use depending how much cooking I do. I hand bake, so there's no power useage for kneading dough etc. But 2p per roll sounds ok to me, even allowing for DS scoffing 3 at a time for lunch and a couple after work! I'm going to organise a day trip to somewhere with cheap flour and stockpile next month! Will double it up with something else so it's all on the one travel expense and check my diary for work trips that may be close to a big supermarket and on the same day as the direct debits to avoid any extra spending days :rotfl: :j

Frugaldom

sophiesmum wrote: »

Hi Nyk and everyone else:D
I have been following the thread daily from the start and have decided to try and join you all in the remaining time left on the challenge.I already try and live in a frugal wayand am naturally OS, and love getting the very most out of what money I spend so that isn't a problem.
However what has been holding me back is that my accommodation is provided as part of my job, it also includes electricity and water rates and my wage is reduced accordingly.I pay all the other bills but was wondering how this would impact on my starting amount. I reckon this is easily £600 a year as water rates are around the £200 mark. Should i lower my total by £600 to get a true reflection of costs

This would give me £3388 - £600 = £2788 + child benefit for DD
Definately doable I would think:rolleyes:

We do not include the cost of housing, council tax or water as these vary too much according to individual situations. So it's just electricity that's missing. Personally, I would set aside an amount that would normally cover the electricity as if I was paying it, deduct it every week and pay outstanding debts quicker. If you have none, bank it in a high interest account so you aren't spending it elsewhere in your budget. I'll leave you at £3388 and you can determine a fair figure each week/month/quarter for banking as part of your challenge. You could end up with £500+ spare at end of year :T

Thanks for joining, I'll go add your name as challenger 137 :j

Penny2myName

Have returned to original statement, as London was part of my College costs, which I am not including in this challenge (apart from if i have coffee and lunch at college).

sophiesmum_2

Thanks Nyk will do that and look forward to an extra nest egg at the end of the year.:D
Am now off to batch cook some quorn chilli for OH to take to work with him, along with the fruit scones he "liberated" from the leftovers after an oldies celebration yesterday. I think living with me is rubbing off on him finally:rotfl: :rotfl:

bails

Hi all, it's great to see some new challengers arriving, and Mumzy returning! Sophiesmum, water rates and accommodation aren't included in the challenge anyway, so it's just your electricity you could deduct to give you an accurate figure. Welcome everyone, look forward to learning from you!

I think it's interesting to think about 'spends' in terms of money, time and energy (something I have learned from my illness). We are all about quality of life as well as saving money, after all. That's why I got my dishwasher - it cost me money of course (cashback though ), but the time and energy it saves me enables me to enjoy my life much more. I worried about the environmental impact but was told it was better than washing up by hand - I find this hard to believe, does anyone know anything about this?

Had my free pilates class at the gym today, can feel it as I sit here (I'll know how it affects me on Monday). Janey, you'll be pleased to know I used the loo twice Have a great time shopping, sending you some good bargain vibes.

On the DIY/knowledge front, I too would like to learn more. I did a car maintenance course when I was at school but can barely do more than jumpstart the car now:o Both my parents are very talented and I am trying to learn from them - managed to get a few tips from Dad when he was here helping with the decorating (he used to just get on with it so that's progress) but now I'm 'protected' cos I'm ill - it's lovely of them but I do want to have a go!

Need to go shopping but can't be ar..bothered right now; just chilling on the sofa with the rugby in the background. Will update my spends tomorrow.

Frugaldom

Hi Bails!
Hope you're having a nice relaxing day - who needs shopping when there's pasta, flour and water in the house? Just stay where you are and relax, let the post-pilates pain settle in first :rotfl: I'm sat here stuffing my face with yesterdays hm rolls with cheese spread (yes, still got 2 tubs left from the January BOGOF offers I capitalised on at the time ). I can hear the racing on TV in this house but I'm supposed to be doing my eBid charity listings and then there's been another call for more rolls as that's 14 gone from yesterday!! :eek: I should have batch baked them, but didn't know if they'd work with just plain flour. Now I know!

I looked out the rolled-up-under-my-desk chart and have reversed the theory of counting NSDs, in wake of your previous suggestion. I'm going to count spending days from now on, and set myself targets on them. My downfall is spotting reduced items, so I'll need to make the most of them by stockpiling the freezer on spending days only. Hmm... so far I have 4 in March and that's only if I include Mothers Day and Easter! Must think more about this strategy, as it could have longterm consequences when I eventually have a house, hens, veggies, fruit etc to juggle. I'm obsessed! The hens could end up living on bread & scraps until a spend day lets me buy grain! :eek: :rotfl: :rotfl: I have a very nasty addiction that may result in the formation of Frugaholics anonymous sooner than first expected!:rotfl::rotfl:

bails

Ha ha, I have been contemplating the very same thing! I am at my brother's for a weekend and also hoping to visit best friend with new baby, so they'l have to be accounted for! We were going to give ourselves 5 SDs, not sure if that's possible though now! Will need to think some more...
As for the pasta, flour and water - I'm wheat intolerant at the mo :rotfl:I love bread, pasta etc too, but WF pasta is yuk! Thinking of making my own one day, but got to get round to breadmaking first!
Enjoying lying on the sofa (surprisingly, done enough of it in the past 3 years ) but I would love the paper and some choc!

mini_huny_money

hya......was just browsing thru the DIY threads and there's a sticky on the first page that gives instructions how to get instruction manuals......:rotfl: ......if you know what I mean!!!!

edited)....found another one ultimatehandyman.org And this one has videos of a very hlpful chappie giving real clear instructions while he does it

Think Im goin to be spending a fair bit of time on that board too

Nyk..... I so know what you mean with the air in the tires. I stick that wee nozzle thingy in and shut my eyes waiting for the blinkin thing to explode!!!!! I only put air in the tires when the machine has a guide that stops at the corect pressure

Retrain as a plumber.....don't know if this old dog can be taught very many new tricks but am def goin to learn the basics

......Does anyone have an instruction manual with instructions to get tiles to leap off the walls themselves???? am so not wanting to finish this and I cant motivate myself, its too windy and rainy and miserable here today, and if I stand at the kitchen window I can see my garden fence rippling as the wind batters it back and forth ......so far its standing up to the howling gales!!!!!

So far a NSD and just had a bite of lunch, cheesey topped rolls that I got at Morrisons yesterday reduced from 67p for a pack of 8 to 15p. Not very cheesey though, Idve been kinda annoyed if Id paid full price for them!!!!