2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

tru

DdraigGoch wrote: »

Sorry to be such a misery - I shall regret this post later. Can I edit it if something miraculous happens and it turns out it's not this bad?

Yes you can, the 'edit' button is on the bottom right of your post, next to the 'quote' button

Lexxi

Nyk -
Could I have a number for the challenge please?

And good luck with giving up smoking, I managed it about 18 months ago and told myself I would put the saved money away, I didn't! I used to tell myself that I was making a very rich person much richer by buying the cigs and causing damage to myself, environment, etc, also gave up drinking for a month as I smoked lots while I was drunk saving even more

nate123

can i have the details - we need to buy a bigger house and the moeny saved would make a great difference

whitewing

Ddraig,

Been there and done that too with the money from my first house sale! Like me, you have found out in time. Things can only get better. (I didn't even spend it on stuff you could then sell on. Where did it go? **shrugs shoulders, shakes head**)

New Year, New Attitude. Best of luck!

PS LAST CHANCE TO JOIN THIS CHALLENGE TODAY, FOLKS........

sweetpea03

nate123 wrote: »

can i have the details - we need to buy a bigger house and the moeny saved would make a great difference

Items that should be counted

Groceries/toiletries/cleaning products
Heating
Lighting
Telephone
Internet
TV Licence
Home insurance
Gifts for others
House Pets (if you have any)
Basic travel
Essential home maintenance
Essential household goods/furnishings
Essential clothing/footwear
Cigarettes (if you smoke)
Alcohol (if you drink)

Items that should not be counted:

Rent or mortgage
Council Tax
Water Rates
Work related travel expenses/cars
Holidays
Outstanding debts
Luxury items
Entertainment/Socialising
Home Decorating/Interior Design
Hobbies/Sports/Club Memberships

Hi nate, welcome to the challenge & good luck! Have a read of the first post in which nyk has written all the details of the challenge & this is nyk's list of what should/shouldn't be included.

I bought 10 bags of breadmaking flour in Lidl yesterday thanks to a tip from MRSMCAWBER on the grocery challenge thread they were reduced to 48p each (expiry date Nov 08 if anyone is interested) they will make 2 big loaves a bag so this will be my first spend of the challenge as I will include it in my total spends tomorrow to be fair I may pick up some more as I had a breadmaker for xmas & this works out cheaper than buying the cheapest sliced loaf in Lidl & is much nicer too

hypno06

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

Off to write up headings in my accounts book.........:D

djenks_2

Hi, all your lists look so good! I don't seem to be able to get mine below 5700 though and that is for two of us, I have added the annual costs below:

Shopping(Food, Cleaning, Pet food, Toiletries) 1,680.00
Electric 300.00
Gas 540.00
TV License 140.00
Internet, Cable & Phone 420.00
Life Cover 72.00
Buildings & Contents Insurance 299.00
Pet Insurance 80.00
Vet Bills 120.00
Mobile 120.00
Clothes (3 £100 Trips * 2) 600.00
Haircuts, shampoo etc (125 * 2) 250.00
Make-up 80.00
Contact Lenses 120.00
Sons Pocket Money 300.00
Birthdays 260.00
Xmas 350.00

Any ideas on how I can make it better? I think I may have to go for £5500 with an aim to spend no more than £5000 as I am hoping to make as much money via Quidco etc as possible.

Thanks for all your help.

kayharcombe

Hi DJenks, I think if you have a look at your numbers, it wouldnt be too difficult, the 4000, would have child benefit on top, which if its £15 a week would be 780 annually, so your total would be 4780, but some of the bills you have listed, wouldnt be counted in the figures. Have a look back at Nyks posts, particularly #1, ie insurances wouldnt come out, thats a few hundred of your totals, so youre probably either there or almost there anyway, dont be so hard on yourself.

I dont think you should cut food down anymore, seems to me you have that pretty tight anyway you and your son, and you need the odd treat through the year, if you cut it down too much youll give up in the first few weeks

Kay

miss_empty_piggy

Hi All

Haven't been on MSE for a while now. Daren't look at SOA to be honest, although have been 'fairly' good over christmas. Will have a good sort out when the kids are not around and I can actually concentrate on things other than playdoh 'jam' tarts and 'mums and dads'!

I have made an attempt to read all the posts so far! Got half way through but eyes have about given up now. I can't believe how motivating all the threads are, and it's really inspiring to read about those who have successfully completed last years challenges!!! Fantastic.

Please can I join? I will amend any exact figures later, but for now can you put me down for the 4K? Can't wait to get started with this!!!! I love a challenge!

Good Luck everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Looking at signature, you can see how long it has been since I last posted. Oh the shame!!!!! Must get that sorted!!! I'll go and do it now. x

Mollymop5

Well not long to go now.Decembers Direct debits have all gone out now.I changed my dates to the 28th of the month so I will look flush in January until the end of month LOL.
2008 will be MY year.good luck to everyone