2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

FunBrum

Okay..I need to fess up.:o I didn't cook tonight and went to KFC instead. I haven't been there for about 25 years...truely.... and was amazed at the assortments you can get!:eek: Still, I spent £14.99 for an all in, chicken, fries, beans, coke and ice-cream. Probably not worth it, but it kept my DS and nephew quiet for all of the 10mins it took for them to devour it. I did have a wee bit myself too:rotfl: Well...you have to have a treat now and again don't you?!:o I'll probably be up all night kicking myself at the amount I've spent, if I'm not up all night with a chicken-dippy-tummy!:rotfl: :rotfl:

FunBrum

I agree with everyone Mumzy...you are fab. I think that my eldest DD should hang around you to pick up a few tips. She is dreadful with both money and cooking.

mumzyof2

andromache wrote: »

I agree with this: I love the way you tell us about all the different things you're learning to make from scratch - very impressive! Your kids are really lucky to have you :T

Just found out I got a £10 library fine because I thought I had renewed some books when actually I hadn't :mad: :mad: :mad: Luckily they cap it at £10 or it would have been even more! I'm not going to count it in my total until they actually bill me for it though... Ooohh well, worse things happen. Otherwise I've spent £5.99 on a new Thermos flask (on sale!) because I broke the last one so I'm up to £15.08 of my £17.80 limit, with 5 days to go before the end of term. It'll be fine :cool:

Thanks ))))))))

mumzyof2

Thankyou very much x

elantan

isnt this just the most positive supportive thread on mse ? i love it here

wendyw1947

well little mumz,you've really got me going just checked my cupboards and guess what?I was going shopping but i am going to have a NSD tomorrow ,i've enough veg and a couple of chicken portions to make a big pot of soup plenty of rice and a tin of dried milk to make up for a pudding and i'm even pinching your idea and making a quiche my OH will think its his birthday !

sophiesmum_2

evening everyone:D

Quiet day on the frugalling front here today. Made some bread in breadmaker,ate from stores, found a birthday card and pressie from pressie box for friend.
Spent £2 at easter fayre on a lovely knitted lamb for a friends new baby, and £12.50 on a book I had to order for my OU course which i had forgotten:o .Whilst i was having a spend day have also put £10 in my sealed pot in lieu of electric payments:D Within budget so far:j .

Still no sign of my dehydrator arriving yet hope it comes soon.

Frugaldom

Good evening all, sorry not to have been around much but I had a pile of work to catch up with and have been going through my entire challenge. As many of you will know, this is only half of the overall challenge that we call Cyberdosh (online cash), so I have 2 lots of figures running parallel with a longterm goal of living a frugal, finance neutral lifestyle.

Today represented one fifth of the way through the challenge. This is year 2 for me on the 'living on 4k', and year one of the 'earn extra cash' and my longterm goal is to maintain a balance between earnings and expenditure, but not in any 'normal' or 'standard' way. Many disagree with my reasoning, so I am not, for one minute, suggesting anyone else tries this. It is a form of self-sufficiency, it's quite eco-friendly and it's hard work... basically, we cannot live without cash. Much as we may love to try, it is physically IMPOSSIBLE to function/live within the UK without cash. However, if you can live on £4000, then you only need to 'earn' £4000 to be financially self-sufficient, but there aren't many people want that and it certainly is not encouraged on any grand scale. However, for many, for whatever reason, it really is a case of 'if I only have £4000 then I NEED to live on £4000.

What I have learned from the exercise so far is that
(a) I enjoy the 'frugal' lifestyle, as it has a rustic charm to it
(b) Many people from 'mainstream society' treat you like you are insane
(c) It is a fulltime job with very little materialistic gain

In reality, the cost of living has to include paying to keep a roof over your head and paying the compulsory taxes and insurances. For some, that may be less than £75 per week, for others it may be £100s per week. I guess that is why so many people have the ambition of owning their own home outright. But I digress!

One fifth of the way through this and my other challenge (to 'earn' £3000 online in £2008), so I should, theoretically, have spent £800 here and earned £600 towards it. I KNOW this looks odd, but I wasn't confident enough to attempt to earn the full £4000, nor even attempt '£10 per day', so it does mean that my financially frugal self-sufficient lifestyle will be subsidised to the tune of £1000 of 'normal' earnings over the coming year, but the end result could just balance out - the chance is there. If I can sustain a frugal, financially self-sufficient lifestyle long enough to pay for a permanent roof over my head then the ideal will be within reach. Now you know why I play catch-up and need a Billy Can

Mustn't forget about the figures -
Day 73, cyberdosh raised to date - £690.59, but I have spent umm.... it's hiding in my signature
I am a fairly long way off leading a money neutral, eco-friendly, green, grow yer own veggies, chop yer own logs, feed the chickens, collect the eggs lifestyle! :eek: But I don't care! This time last year I would never have believed that I'd be on target to earn the extra needed to lead me to the next step of my journey and I'd never have 'met' any of you wonderfully inspirational and supportive virtual friends. To be honest, I'd probably have jacked in the whole breadmaking, powdered milk, batch cooking, baking part of life and I'd certainly not have started with Pigsback or click throughs or finding out the best ways to cut the grocery budget further. Being here has made a huge difference to my challenge because it shows me that I cannot possibly be such a lunatic as some people make me out to be. :T Well, not unless we are all mad on here! :rotfl: :rotfl:

In conclusion, this challenge will still be here next year (as long as MSE allows it) and I'll reconsider changing my signature as I'd really like to keep a closer eye on my cyber earnings. I may even attempt the money neutral lifestyle if I can find a way of doing so.

Keren.... please don't leave us.

mumzyof2

Sophiesmum did you get my pm???

MarkyMarkD

FunBrum I cannot believe how expensive KFC is, and even more to the point I can't believe that people pay it!

I can go to Wetherspoons and get 2 meals for £6.49. And it will be more nutritionally balanced than KFC!

I think that takeaways/eating out are one of the worst threats to frugal living.

Andromache How about checking your renewal status online? Our library does it; yours might.

Then set a reminder in Outlook or something every week and go check each time whether you are renewed up-to-date.