2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

redglass_2

Looby, I don't know if this stuff still exists but there used to be a kind of secondary glazing you could put up yourself - it was sheets of light, flexible plastic and you could buy it from places like B&Q. When I was a student we improvised with clingfilm and blew it onto the window frames with a hairdryer - OK, it will never make the pages of 'House and Home' but in a Geordie winter with icy winds rattling the sash windows it did make the house more comfortable, it was very cheap and you could take it down the minute you didn't need it any more.

LollopyBear

Hello all,

I have been reading/following all your progress this week although I haven't been posting. You are all doing so well as usual!

Keren I hope you don't leave us for long! Janey I second/third/fourth all of those who say that you should publish your daily misadventures. You have a naturally funny way of expressing events that gives the reader a very clear and humourous picture of your tales.

2 NSDs for me this week Big spends came in the form of:
Easter gifts for my family - £7.35 total for 6 people. DH and I have decided that we are not going to give each other eggs or other Easter gifts as we both think that it is a bit of a con! My family, however, completely buy into it so I have to bring something. As I have mentioned before, my brother likes to do the big showy gift thing so I know he will come armed with enormous eggs. Just hope he is happy with his bag of mini eggs There is probably more chocolate in the mini eggs than there is in a big egg anyway!

Wine - £9 last night. One of my SILs is up for the weekend so we went out to drink wine and theorise over LOST!

They were my biggest spends.

I am still on target for this month. Easter hols starts on Friday and I'm having a day trip to London the following week so will try to keep spends to a minimum. The friend I am meeting up with is very very frugal too as she likes to save all of her money for tattoos so we should do well.

I have been given £30 for my birthday from MIL which I haven't spent yet. I think I am going to use it for a magazine subscription which would save me £3.50 a month on my budget (as I'm not counting this extra £30 in my £4000 budget). Hmmm.

Hope everyone's having a very frugal Sunday!

looby-loo_2

redglass wrote: »

Looby, I don't know if this stuff still exists but there used to be a kind of secondary glazing you could put up yourself - it was sheets of light, flexible plastic and you could buy it from places like B&Q. When I was a student we improvised with clingfilm and blew it onto the window frames with a hairdryer - OK, it will never make the pages of 'House and Home' but in a Geordie winter with icy winds rattling the sash windows it did make the house more comfortable, it was very cheap and you could take it down the minute you didn't need it any more.

Oh dear - You've made me feel guilty now. Years ago we bought this stuff, made by Polycell. We bought enough for the bigger bay window and the other bedrooms. Well it didn't get done straight away because it wasn't quite straight forward, then we lost the instructions. By the time we found the instructions the bag of fittings were lost. And now, probably about 20 years later I suspect it's in the loft - or somewhere.

ps - do little cracks at the corner of windows add character. It's old 2mm glass and 17 of the little paynes have them at the corners

Frugaldom

Marky - I've had the Egg 0% offer annually and took advantage of it each time. To date, they have been true to their word and will, hopefully, continue with their anniversary offers. Unfortunately, they offered short of the full 12 months this year, but it's still better than nothing!

Andromache - I have to catch up because I am refusing to touch any more savings, but it will be tight if we can't reduce the electricity bills. The more I look at it, the more ridiculous it seems. £1200 a year for electricity, £1265 for Council Tax (not included in the 4k challenge, thankfully, but still needs paying) and £1200 for groceries (which includes all food, toiletries & cleaning products). Hmm.... can anyone see some sort of pattern emerging in the figures? Sorry, I'm off in a mind-wander here...

If I assume that a fulltime minimum wage is £10,900 gross, I believe that the deductions for tax & NI amount to over £1200 with the new tax laws? So that's about £9,700 per year.

If we take council rent as the lowest available at approximately £2750, that leaves £6950, however, many people aren't entitled to council housing and pay rents in excess of double that. I'll assume an annual rent of £5,200 (£100 per week is fairly cheap rent or mortgage) leaving a balance of £4,500.

If we assume Council Tax at Band B of around £1000 per year (if you live somewhere like London, Council Tax will be much less but rent/mortgage will be much higher) that leaves...

£5950 for a council tenant or £3,500 for a private tenant (or homeowner paying only £100 per week rent/mortgage) who is working FULL TIME!

For someone living on their own, the ONLY discount on the above figures would be the single occupancy council tax rebate.

I know the above is very basic and that there are social security benefits and things like working tax credits available BUT...

I think I need some fresh air, my brain's scrambled by the numbers:rotfl:

sophiesmum_2

Lollopy Bear- Don't forget to look at quidco/pigsback for deals on the magazine subscriptions. OH got a prima subscription for me at xmas time and got a free gift (L'aimant stuff worth £25) and also a good deal on the cost.Plus you get your mags delivered to your door before they are in shops:D

Frugalising for today:

• Made another loaf in breadmaker
• Had lunch from storecupboard/fridge
• Still not done top up shop, but mainly need fresh veggies, and as we are eating with oldies at tea time may leave this till tomorrow as don't need anything for today.Would make this a no spend day:D
• Got a huge joint of pork roasting at moment for oldies tea so will be eating with them later and saving cost of roast dinner.This has had quite an impact on my shopping budget as I am not buying a weekly joint of meat but I still get to use up any leftovers:D
• This afternoon intend to go through all my clothes and have a good sort out,send some to charity shop and make list of things I NEED for work and for the warmer weather.I have far too many clothes already so should not need much. Whatever is on my list will then get bought when I see a bargain.;)
• Also need to go through pressie box and check what I have for upcoming birthdays/Easter etc. So far this year have managed to stay money neutral on all my gifts:D

Think that's about all for today, hope everyone else is having a good day.

mumzyof2

Ok i really need to sit down and work out my money. I have very little to live off till thursday I have spent too much these past 3 days..i will update and post later for last 3 days

mumzyof2

sophiesmum wrote: »

Lollopy Bear- Don't forget to look at quidco/pigsback for deals on the magazine subscriptions. OH got a prima subscription for me at xmas time and got a free gift (L'aimant stuff worth £25) and also a good deal on the cost.Plus you get your mags delivered to your door before they are in shops:D

Frugalising for today:

• Made another loaf in breadmaker
• Had lunch from storecupboard/fridge
• Still not done top up shop, but mainly need fresh veggies, and as we are eating with oldies at tea time may leave this till tomorrow as don't need anything for today.Would make this a no spend day:D
• Got a huge joint of pork roasting at moment for oldies tea so will be eating with them later and saving cost of roast dinner.This has had quite an impact on my shopping budget as I am not buying a weekly joint of meat but I still get to use up any leftovers:D
• This afternoon intend to go through all my clothes and have a good sort out,send some to charity shop and make list of things I NEED for work and for the warmer weather.I have far too many clothes already so should not need much. Whatever is on my list will then get bought when I see a bargain.;)
• Also need to go through pressie box and check what I have for upcoming birthdays/Easter etc. So far this year have managed to stay money neutral on all my gifts:D

Think that's about all for today, hope everyone else is having a good day.

Do you have dinner with your parents everyay?

sophiesmum_2

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Do you have dinner with your parents everyay?

:rotfl:
Hi Mumzy
When I say my oldies(which i use as an affectionate term btw) I don't mean my parents i mean the old people who live in my sheltered housing scheme:D . I cook for them every Friday teatime and every Sunday teatime, usually there are around 25- 30 of us all together. They give me an amount of money to buy the ingredients to cook, joints, veggies etc , then I shop for them and cook the meals in my free time. In exchange we eat with them for free and I get to make use of any leftover veggies etc.
For some of my oldies these are the only meals that they eat fresh foods, many live on ready meals and sandwiches :eek: so they really enjoy getting together, socialising and eating home cooked fresh food, a couple of times a week.

My parents are 65 and would clobber me if I called them oldies:rotfl:

mumzyof2

sophiesmum wrote: »

:rotfl:
Hi Mumzy
When I say my oldies(which i use as an affectionate term btw) I don't mean my parents i mean the old people who live in my sheltered housing scheme:D . I cook for them every Friday teatime and every Sunday teatime, usually there are around 25- 30 of us all together. They give me an amount of money to buy the ingredients to cook, joints, veggies etc , then I shop for them and cook the meals in my free time. In exchange we eat with them for free and I get to make use of any leftover veggies etc.
For some of my oldies these are the only meals that they eat fresh foods, many live on ready meals and sandwiches :eek: so they really enjoy getting together, socialising and eating home cooked fresh food, a couple of times a week.

My parents are 65 and would clobber me if I called them oldies:rotfl:

Ohhh i get you now, i think thats ever so kind of you to do that for them :T

NYK - do you think if this thread gets any bigger it might slow down mse

Cornishpixie_2

redglass wrote: »

Hi
I'm a bit late on this topic. I've been wondering whether to join this 'city versus country' debate as in my experience it's one that arouses intense feelings, even when people are just talking about the cost of living, but here goes. I was never a city slicker, but I was a city-dweller on a low wage, in London, and then I moved to the West Country. I agree with everything that's been said about the country being expensive. Everything is miles away, and when I first came here, I was paying the same for a 5 minute bus journey as I did for 45 minutes in London, and half the villages never had a bus service at all. :eek: Soon I had a car, something I'd never needed before. Small village shops tend to be expensive, and so on. Agree with all of it.
BUT....!
The pressures in large cities are psychological. You may not be a high earner but you are constantly surrounded by those who are, with their fabulous wardrobes and sky-high personal grooming standards (not that I ever managed to emulate them). City shops are like Aladdin's caves, with the dinkiest, most irresistible things in them and as for the take-aways (oh, those Greek cheese pastries I used to buy! Excuse me while i just take time off to drool). I still love to visit London but I always think, 'If I lived here I wouldn't be able to keep a penny in my pocket.' Whereas when I'm here....well, it's more a fleeces and wellies sort of place and to be honest, the shops are not exactly tempting. So I think both city and country have their pitfalls for the dedicated frugaller, and it partly depends what sort of person you are. As a lover of foreign food and craft jewellery, I'm much safer down here.

Hi, I used to live in Scotland, then Lancashire, now Cornwall where I love. All my children were born here. Anyway last month I took my eldest to London to audition for Oliver and made bit of a holiday of it. But as we went on train when we got to underground he freaked out a bit. On the expense could not have afforded to take others. Managed to do all sightseeing in a day. I guess you know what you know wherever you live and try budget accordingly. Hope u all have fun;)