2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

KiKi

Hi Patootie - I echo what others have said - it would be great to have you on board and your input!

These forums are for people on all sorts of incomes - low and high. Some people here struggle every day with a small income, and others aren't used to living on very little money. That's not to insult anyone else...it's just inclusive of everyone. Some people are taking up this challenge to make sure they stick within their own budget, regardless of their income. Others are doing it to drastically cut down what they are spending. Others are wanting to do it because they are already on a low income and need some inspiration of how to keep to their budget so they don't go into debt.

I'm sorry if you feel it's insulting, however, that's not the spirit with which it was done.

Why don't you join in so we can all share some tips and encouragement with each other?

KiKi

rosieben

patootie wrote: »

It's not often Martin makes me cross .. but this challenge is an 'insult' to all those people on basic pensions and the disabled .. flamin' cheek I call it .. my income is jusy £5000 .. that's it .. from that I have to pay for everything INCLUDING rent, mortgage payments, council tax or water rates essential work related expenses or 'luxury' items such as holidays ..

I am long term disabled .. I've been on a low income for the last 15 years .. I haven't had a holiday for 15 years, I don't go out, don't drink, don't smoke, don't socialise .. so I'd love to have the LUXURY of £4000 to live on for a year .. (without rent etc) .. woohooo .. with £4000 I'd be RICH ... compared with my present bread line existence ..

So for once Martin .. you've made me very, very angry ...

I'm disabled and on benefits too. I pay only a token amount towards my rent, council tax. I get free prescriptions, glasses and dentist, and free bus pass. Adding these additional costs to my income takes me way over £5000 as I'm sure it does for you.

I'm not doing this challenge either, but I'm cheering on those who have taken it up. Not everyone needs to live by my standards. :T

And well done nyk, for getting a Martin-mention!!

artnoble

scorpio04 wrote: »

nyk - could you add me to the list please? I've been on my own for ten years and have gotten into awful debt and need to get myself out. Have decided that 2008 is the year I stop feeling sorry for myself and take positive action towards getting out of debt!

i'm in the same boat as you.

not sure I manage this challange though.

Frugaldom

DdraigGoch wrote: »

Ok, chaps - major problem ahead .... I've done the budget and there is no way on God's little green earth that I can fit into the rules. My insurance is a tad under £100 a month, the electricity bill exactly that, the combined mobiles and landline/internet just over that .... we can't afford to eat! Much less take the children to school etc

I have to insure 2 cars, 2 houses, 2 lots of contents [don't ask, it's not a pretty scenario :eek: ], our boiler died last Christmas Eve so we've only one fire in the whole house and rely on a non-timer/"switch on, switch off when you remember it" immersion heater for all the hot water, and we are on 18 month contracts for the mobiles [they run out in May '08 and April '09 :eek: ] So, unless I can wave a magic wand, I have to leave this challenge before it begins ....

any bright ideas?

I see no problem in you participating by simply upping the amount to reflect the fact that you have 2 households to keep going. I'm sure there are many out there who can relate to that - remarried divorcees paying for 2 households and/or families, armed services personnel, 'work aways' with 'workaway' residences, etc, etc... or you could simply set the target budget of whichever is your main residence.

Good luck and hopefully we'll see you through to remainibng a part of this challenge. Let's call it a bespoke money challenge - made to measure and anyone can join

Frugaldom

Mics_chick wrote: »

...You said you managed this before for a family of 3 but is that 2 adults & 1 child or 1 adult & 2 children - and what ages are the child/children? My family is 2 adults & 2 kids under 5.

I would love to know what you spend on food for a week and what sort of meals you live off and any other useful info you can give me...?

:beer: Gail

Hi there and welcome to our wacky cyber saving land where dosh comes first and foremost in all the budget plans

Our household comprises 3 adults plus daughter and grand daughter come here several times per week. I'm a definite 'old styler', but didn't realise that until I found the MSE forums

I was budgeting on £100 month groceries but have had to increase this because of the huge jump in wheat prices - meaning bread budget has almost doubled - and milk has gone up in price. We eat a lot of pasta, rice, veggies and chicken. Pasta is pasta, I always have rice and pasta in the house. I bake, I freeze, a large chicken can last 3 days' worth of meals and still produce a couple of litres of stock for the freezer. I have never lived in the city, so have never lived near a large supermarket. Can't miss what you've never had

Frugaldom

sweetpea03 wrote: »

nyk I have just remembered your number ocd so I will round it down to £4900 as my target

I hadn't seen this message yet and was sitting here chewing on my pencil, gnashing my teeth and trying to pluck up the courage to PM you and ask if you could shave off even just the £1.20 :rotfl:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so considerate :T :T :T

Your challenger number is 46, welcome on board

Protogenia

Patootie, why don't you come on board with the challenge and set your own amount to live within. There are plenty of things you can do to help bolster your income, Cash back site clicks, filling in online surveys, writing/selling Ebooks, writing a blog and getting paid for advertising sites on it etc all from the comfort of your own home.

This challenge isn't an insult, it's a positive, fun and frugal way of living. If you see it other wise...I feel sorry for you, you must not be bitter about things other people have, or things you think they have.

Frugaldom

patootie wrote: »

It's not often Martin makes me cross .. but this challenge is an 'insult' to all those people on basic pensions and the disabled .. flamin' cheek I call it .. my income is jusy £5000 .. that's it .. from that I have to pay for everything INCLUDING rent, mortgage payments, council tax or water rates essential work related expenses or 'luxury' items such as holidays ..

I am long term disabled .. I've been on a low income for the last 15 years .. I haven't had a holiday for 15 years, I don't go out, don't drink, don't smoke, don't socialise .. so I'd love to have the LUXURY of £4000 to live on for a year .. (without rent etc) .. woohooo .. with £4000 I'd be RICH ... compared with my present bread line existence ..

So for once Martin .. you've made me very, very angry ...

I am sorry you have found this challenge so insulting, it is beyond me to understand why. The challenge started for people who had ONLY £4000 to live on, based on several factors. If someone works fulltime in a job paying the minimum wage then it is easy to compare incomes, but impossible to compare their cost of living expenses. Some people have to pay hundreds of pounds in rent and council tax, those on low incomes, for whatever reason, receive benefits to help with this.

Initially, this £4,000 challenge included EVERYTHING except rent/mortgage, council tax/water rates. I mean everything. The challenge has developed in the space of a week or so purely to allow a wider range of financial circumstances and we would love for you to join us here. There are plenty of people out there that don't even have the 'luxury' of a guaranteed £5000 per year, and I reckon there are a good few of them will be looking for all the help and support they can get from whatever source they can. I happen to think that MSE is a fairly good source of information and am absolutely delighted that this thread spurred you into joining the forums. Thank you for your valuable input and please do leave your comments. This IS a genuine challenge and means a great deal to many of us for whatever reason

barole

This is my first ever post, so please bear with me if I make mistakes!
Count me in on the 4,000 challenge. As a (mature) student nurse and having been in a similar position to Imp (although a bit further down the line), I don't have a lot more to live on anyway.

I am not exactly new to moneysaving, the site had been my screen saver for about 2 years, but this is my first commitment!

KiKi

Welcome, Barole! Hope you enjoy your challenge!

(You live in the same city as me!)