2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

whitewing

I agree wholeheartedly that everybody has a place on this challenge. Just the fact that you are all there makes me try harder.

Today i have to phone ACAS about my job (basically the company have given me a pay 'rise' that equates to working one month a year free, as far as I can see).

Tomorrow, I'll probably be off to the CAB about it.

Am feeling a bit 'down' because it makes me cross that I even have to deal with stuff like this, and run a family, and run a business. I hate being a working mum at the moment (but it's unavoidable).

However, I am taking pride in the fact that we have cut down tremendously on what we used to spend. I can honestly say that we have not spent any money on stuff that I regret this year so far. (We have had some rubbish but that was within a 'social events' planned spend). Not quite got the balance right still and will have overspent by year end, but am confident that it's all going in the right direction.

mumzyof2

Im back guys i will update spends today even tho im so over budget for this month, Oh and my ex has stopped smoking for 7 days now so im sure if he can i can LOL

andromache_2

slowlyfading wrote: »

I don't know if I'm going to continue on this thread to be honest. I mean, I'm keeping a record of my spendings, updating the spreadsheet whenever I spend anything etc, but I just feel a little strange being here. I mean, I'm a student, so I don't have huge outgoings anyway, have no family I am trying to bring up or whatever, and so feel I can't really contribute or anything on here...

:wave: I've said already on this thread that I feel a bit fraudulent being here... I have no utilities bills, no dependants, can live off my parents during the holidays... What's more, the kind of costs that I have to worry about are often different - I need cheap alcohol, cheap textbooks and cheap train travel rather than cheap electricity bills, for example.

Still, I'm finding it really useful to check in and keep tabs on how I'm doing. I'm convinced that one of the reasons (among others) that I spent so much more in my first term was thatI didn't have these guys to report back to! It'd be so easy to think 'meh, screw it' without that support, and come out with a few extra £1000s of debt... I read every post, and keep quiet when there's a lot of breadmaker chat (for example!) but chip in if there's anything relevant. I think it's really great that there are so many people on this thread with different situations and different goals, and it's nice to read about all those people. I'm saving for post-graduate qualifications (& a holiday!), you're saving for a car then a house (I think?), Nyk's saving for a house, others are saving to pay off debt, others just need to break even... everyone's different and that's nice

In short, don't go! I think your contribution is very valuable. There are a couple of other students here too and we need your support Also, I love your Dr Seuss quote too and have had it as my MSN tag for ages... which clearly means something

Hope that you'll come and say hi now and then at least :A

tigwell

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Hi everyone, i have gone over budget this month and i still need to add on the huge phone,net,tv bill of £191!!!!! I have told my mum im not ringing her again i was so shocked and thought i had done really well with the phone. Im thinking of putting it to incomeing only as i have my mobile.


Hi everyone, i did join a while back, and have been very bad with my spending so i'm back with my tail between my legs!!!!

Can you still use the internet if you have incoming calls only? Its a great idea! Does anyone know how much it costs with BT??

redglass_2

tigwell wrote: »

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Hi everyone, i have gone over budget this month and i still need to add on the huge phone,net,tv bill of £191!!!!! I

Hi, Tigwell, I haven't used BT for ages - I'm on T**cali for broadband now and my landline-to-landline calls are free, even to some countries in Europe. I believe there's a company with a name like TockTock that's even cheaper but I've done enough tarting round recently. Isn't there a Sky deal on this month for tv, via one of the cashback sites? Worth checking, anyway.

Slowlyfading, I'm not in the challenge and nobody is seeing my accounts (just as well) but it's still a huge inspiration and the true diehard $4k challengers are so welcoming, I reckon you can only gain by staying aboard.. also, there might be lots of people out there lurking who have very similar backgrounds to you, who knows?

MarkyMarkD

sharronloves2spend Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately my "getting upset" tends to end up with me shouting at DD and me getting told off by the OH for picking on the poor little (read, manipulative) child. But as my friend correctly points out, she's just being a child.

Roast beef sandwiches for lunch today - I think I'm going to be eating beef forever. We had to cook an enormous joint of beef which we'd bought for entertaining, because it was in the freezer that went wrong at the end of last week.

Tigwell Have you considered getting the TalkTalk deal for phone and broadband, with unlimited UK calls, for under £20 a month? It includes everything except calls to mobile which nobody should be making from a landline in any case.

System

oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear

i am being sent to the north of scotland for an 'outdoors adventure' type trip with my work tomorrow

and i am not outdoorsy in the slightest

and it will be coooooooooooooooooooooold!

I do get free food though! but i did have to buy some jogging bottoms yesterday

im cooooooooooold thinking about it

whitewing

Lots and lots of layers then Jumble Bee. I'm not outdoorsy either in cold weather, and I hate the idea of work trips like that. HOWEVER, they are usually pretty good fun and the people who run them like to make you feel good and comfortable and enthusiastic. How about taking a flask of hot water and some cup a soup?

Frugaldom

Before I update, please let me apologise to Marky for the typo in his name. I can't touch type and the letters on my keyboard are all worn off, so I keep making errors and having to edit them. Sorry I missed that one, I really did not mean to call you Mary... major OOPS! Please forgive me. :A
(But it still says quite a bit about your friend, IMHO.)

Students Ahoy! Slowly_Fading, you cannot be serious about leaving us, we need to hear from the younger generations so we can rest easy, assured that our future leaders understand just how much the cost of living means to us all out here. If you HAVE got £4000 a year then mark the remainder up as savings. If you haven't, think of the cost of your own living as a percentage of the 4k and look forward to being able to have a great time when you're earning many times that in the future, all smug and fluffy and warm knowing that you have always been 'good with money'.

Jumble_Bee, North of Scotland at this time of year for fun? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........ several extra layers and a hot water bottle up yer jumper, methinks, and just keep jumping up and down and running round in circles outdoors so you don't turn into a snowman. You'll either be a bit chilly and lose half a stone through shivering or else think homemade bread, butter and thick beef broth, then hot chocolate with marshmallows for supper in front of a log fire... and gain half a stone for extra insulation :rotfl:

BT incoming calls only - if you use a free phone number for dial-up then you can still access the internet, but if the bills are caused by calling overseas, why not dial via a cheap connection? See this MSE link for details. I call France and USA for 1p per minute and Cyprus for 2p per minute. :T

I'm having to buy milk this week as we've no powdered stuff left! I have less than a tenner grocery challenge money left to last until next Tuesday but I have received the confirmation email from oily hand saying I'm in their next payment schedule. Does it irk anyone else that they always try to get you to spend your cashback gambling it on raffle tickets?! I did consider converting to Amazon vouchers as you get slightly more, but then didn't know if vouchers were accepted for sale or clearance items. Guess I'll stick with the cash for now.

Janey, I think your posts are great! You really could make a great writer; have you considered approaching any magazines and offering to write a regular column?

BlueFleur

slowlyfading: I am in a similar position to you and andromache. I figure that it is worth sticking around here because we will learn future tactics for utilities and council tax etc. I also spend a fair amount on incidental stuff- lunch out with friends, bus fair etc. By accounting for my outgoings, I'm learning to reduce the stuff that isn't necessary. Hope you stick around

I haven't had any eggs this year, which is probably a good thing with the tooth! However, I did find my old wallet which had £7 in it, and that made my day :j I probably shouldn't get quite so excited about it really :rotfl: Managed to not spend anything else over the bank holiday, as I didn't feel like going out. Now off to make up a store cupboard lunch again.