2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

mumzyof2

can you give me a ideal list of what YOU would include in the 4k? so like

debts (??)
food
etc etc coz iam confused

Frugaldom

LOL Debts are non-essentials that nobody really wants, so we try to live within the £76.50 a week so all other money is paying towards getting rid of the pesky little debt bugs. You'll have £76.50 for food, heat, light, insurance, tv licence, essential gifts and that's about it.

You said, "5pound gas 5pound elec, food say £25, 3.25 water..."
Don't count rent, but do count your Park money (£10/week), so that makes £48.25 You also have to fit in things like insurance, telephone, mobiles, internet access (I now count this as an essential) and anything else that isn't part of work expenses, such as make-up, toiletries, health & beauty related. It's amazing when you break it all down and see where it goes, especially if you are keeping a note of it. If you have a young family, you will have family allowance over and above your 4k for helping with those kinds of essentials so they don't affect your 4k budget too much.

chardonnay_2

well done all those who sign up. i love these challenges as quite often you learn of tips you have never tried etc. we live on less than 4k each benefits due to disabilities so it is possible but is hard work.

mumzyof2

how do you live nykm????
guess il find out soon enough
right night all will post tomo xxx

FunBrum

Can I join please?

I certainly know I can do this as I'm on a very small wage, and with the back-up of you guys then I'm sure I'll succeed and get rid of my debts if I'm brave enough to actually write them down and 'face the fear!':o

I'm new to all this, and the PC. So can anyone tell me how to change and update my signature. Sorry but I'm old and a bit on the slow side, so make it simple please!:rotfl:

Penny2myName

I think this is the main point

You got it! :beer: 4k is for ALL essentials.

Holidays don't come under essentials in my book, they are part of the luxury catergory that comes from standing income left after the 4k, which also covers extra debt payments and savings. Also he has allowed main travel to be classed as a separate sub catorgary.

I am interested in this one, but need to work out on paper if I can manage it first with my BASIC debt payments.

duchy

Who said there were no goals Ringo ?
For some it'll be purely to prove they can do it-so the goal is the challenge (Bit like climbing Mount Everest-no-one HAS to but lots of people have ) for others it will be because they have a specific future goal that requires cash in the bank-and for others it will be a way to stay out of debt due to low income.
The point that I think you might be missing is that any challenge set on the forums needs encouragement and a semse of unity to be achievable as everyone has "weak" moments-it's the group interaction that makes it fun (and do-able).
It's not the challenge for me either-but I'll certainly be dropping by to see how folks are doing.

hypno06

OK, I have read through this, and being a sucker for a challenge, and needing to keep things focussed through what will be another very tight year, you can count me in, with a few modifications!

There are 5 of us, 2 ads and 2 teenagers in our family, plus our student lodger who is almost 18 who we also provide 3 meals a day for and include as a member of family should we do things like bowling, cinema etc. So I will talk about having a family of 5.

This lodger pays us a total of £3850 for the year, so the challenge is almost to live off her board payments! Fits in nicely don't you think? I will round it up though to £4k to make it easier!

Out of that £4k, I will not include my basic household utilities, heat, light, tv licence, as they are really deemed as necessities. Neither will I count the petrol that we use to get to work - as we each put the same amount in the cars for work each week, it is easy to know what we spend on "extra" petrol which WOULD then come out of the challenge.

With me so far!!

All food will obviously come out of the challenge money, as will all activities that we do (should we ever do any) but I will not include the costs involved in the childrens skiing because obviously (for those that know me) that is just not going to work!

My child benefit is the only benefit I get, and this goes towards paying for the skiing and karate that the kids do. In my eyes, these two sports are pretty much essential for my two, given the level they train at, so the child benefit goes towards that and therefore is not included in the challenge.

Bare bones then........£4k for a family of 5 - to cover food, birthdays, "extra" petrol, non karate/skiing activities, school holiday activities and keeping the kids happy, clothes except school shoes, treats.

Tight? Well of course it is, but that is what is needed to get us out of this situation we find ourselves in.

Add me to the list - I will need your support big time to get through this one!!

Good luck to all those taking part.

Penny2myName

ok it looks like I should be able to do this, after minus-ing the water rates and basic debt payments and basic travel and accomidation costs for holiday next Oct, I have £5242 left, so that leaves me the potential of £1242 to use as extra to throw at my debts. £44.49 weekly towards all ESSENTIAL bills, leaves £32.43 for shopping. Sounds close enough to the £40 a week I have tried to stay adhered to for last few months, though sometimes failed miserably.

Yeap count me in.

ceridwen

Well - I will certainly be watching this with interest. I was there thinking "£4,000 pa - no way" just thinking in terms of me on my own! - then I saw further down about having a family living off this as well. Whew!!!! My basic bills (exc Council tax) are £118.32 per month and I have to allow £65 pa for dentist/hygienist and £48pa for yearly gas service - so total approx £130 per month. £333 - £130 meaning £230 left for everything else except my Council tax/any holidays. Dont think I even dare commit myself to living on £230 per month as a single person - I doubt I could do it.

Good luck to you!