13 - Unlucky For Some

aspella

Not a DFW diary but a budget spending challenge diary for 2023/24. For the next 366 days I'm going to try and thrive on £13 per day which gives me an annual budget of £4,758. I hope to achieve this by going back to basics, growing my own vegetables, purchasing items secondhand, spending cash within the local community, swapping, borrowing and sharing items with others and last but not least by entering 23 competitions a day in the hope I'll win a few small items (books/DVDs) that I can use and share with others so the postman brings fun things and not just bills. 

aspella

Annual budget - £4,758 (£13.00 x 366 days)
B - £861.77
C - £86.57
F - £1165.08
G - £140.24
H - £176.66
J - £33.00
R - £4.10
V - £540.09
W - £58.50
Total spent - £3,066.01 (£16.31 x 188 days)
Balance remaining - £1,619.99 (£9.50 x 178 days)

Monthly figures
Apr - £392.67 (£15.71 x 25 days) NSD = 9
May - £819.25 (£26.43 x 31 days) NSD = 8
Jun - £315.32 (£10.51 x 30 days) NSD = 13
Jul - £350.05 (£11.29 x 31 days) NSD = 14
Aug - £365.63 (£11.80 x 31 days) NSD = 11
Sept - £726.46 (£24.21 x 30 days) NSD = 12
Oct - £96.63 (£9.66 x 10 days) NSD = 4
Total - £3,066.01 (£16.31 x 188 days) NSD = 71

£13 per day works out as £91 per week. 
WK1 - £69.84 (U)
WK2 - £153.92 (O)
WK3 - £143.14 (O)
WK4 - £377.93 (O)
WK5 - £249.41 (O)
WK6 - £81.05 (U)
WK7 - £73.41 (U)
WK8 - £63.22 (U)
WK9 - £8.20 (U)
WK10 - £74.02 (U)
WK 11 - £61.61 (U)
WK 12 - £150.84 (O)
WK 13 - £42.09 (U)
WK 14 - £82.20 (U)
WK 15 - £193.98 (O)
WK 16 - £28.24 (U)
WK 17 - £45.09 (U)
WK 18 - £62.55 (U)
WK 19 - £94.65 (O)
WK 20 - £28.00 (U)
WK 21 - £147.26 (O)
WK 22 - £111.45 (O)
WK 23 - £30.97 (U)
WK 24 - £123.83 (O)
WK 25 - £428.91 (O)
WK 26 - £68.88 (U)
WK 27 - £71.32 (U)
Total - £3,066.01 (O by £609.01)

aspella

I'm a dissectologist and last year I did over 170 jigsaw puzzles. This year as a result of this challenge I'm going to continue to puzzle but try to keep costs down by sharing & swapping. 

KEY: (74) SW - means obtained by swapping, (39) P - means purchased.

Jigsaw Puzzles Done (117/100) 

1. All Jigsaw Puzzles - Puppy at Tulip Cottage
2. Bits and Pieces - Victorian Spring (SW)
3. Bits and Pieces - Winter's Dawn
4. Corner Piece - At the Races (SW)
5. Corner Piece - By Farm Yard Gate (P)
6. Corner Piece - Christmas High Street Past & Present (SW)
7. Corner Piece - Christmas Village Past & Present (SW)
8. Corner Piece - Country Bridge (SW)
9. Corner Piece - Country Bus (SW)
10. Corner Piece - Cottage Kitchen (SW)
11. Corner Piece - Dayton's Garage (SW)
12. Corner Piece - Evening in Avola (SW)
13. Corner Piece - Fisherman's Village (SW)
14. Corner Piece - Garden View (SW)
15. Corner Piece - Grocery Shop (SW)
16. Corner Piece - Harbour Edge (SW)
17. Corner Piece - Harbour View
18. Corner Piece - Hill Top View (SW)
19. Corner Piece - Lake Como (SW)
20. Corner Piece - London Scenes (SW)
21. Corner Piece - Nautical Tabletop (SW)
22. Corner Piece - Summer Flowers (SW)
23. Corner Piece - The Corner Shop (SW)
24. Corner Piece - The Post Office (SW)
25. Corner Piece - The Toy Shop (SW)
26. Corner Piece - Waterway, Venice (SW)
27. Crowes Wholesalers - Isle of Man (SW)
28. Falcon Contemporary - The Marina (P)
29. Falcon de luxe - An Afternoon Hack (SW)
30. Falcon de luxe - Animals at Home (P)
31. Falcon de luxe - Bella's Bakery Shoppe (SW)
32. Falcon de luxe - Boating on the River (P)
33. Falcon de luxe - Christmas Conservatory (SW)
34. Falcon de luxe - Flight Over Dover (P)
35. Falcon de luxe - Flower Show: The Water Garden (P)
36. Falcon de luxe - Glenridding (SW)
37. Falcon de luxe - Summer Garden Birds (SW)
38. Falcon de luxe - The Car Show (P)
39. Falcon de luxe - The Dressmaker (SW)
40. Falcon de luxe - The Eve of Christmas (P)
41. Falcon de luxe - The Potter's Cottage (SW)
42. FX Schmid - Autumn Flight (P)
43. Galison - Winter Lights (SW)
44. Galison - Wonder & Bloom (SW)
45. Gibsons - 1950s Toy Box Memories (SW)
46. Gibsons - Abbey's Antique Shop (P)
47. Gibsons - Albert Dock, Liverpool (P)
48. Gibsons - Bark off Bakery (SW)
49. Gibsons - Boarding the Bus (P)
50. Gibsons - Butterflies and Blooms (SW)
51. Gibsons - Cobh Harbour (SW)
52. Gibsons - Cromer (SW)
53. Gibsons - Daffodils and Ducklings (SW)
54. Gibsons - Grandma's Treat (SW)
55. Gibsons - I Love The Farmyard (P)
56. Gibsons - Jane Austen (SW)
57. Gibsons - Last Collection (SW)
58. Gibsons - Matlock, Bath (SW)
59. Gibsons - Railroad Crossing (SW)
60. Gibsons - Riverside Festival (P)
61. Gibsons - Seaside Souvenirs (SW)
62. Gibsons - Summer Rally (P)
63. Gibsons - The Boating Lake (P)
64. Gibsons - The Joust at Warwick (P)
65. Gibsons - The Potting Shed (P)
66. Gibsons - Village News (P)
67. Gibsons - Visit Santa (SW)
68. Gibsons - Winter Cottages (SW)
69. Heye - Birthday (SW)
70. House of Puzzles - Evening Out (SW)
71. House of Puzzles - Farmhouse Kitchen (SW)
72. House of Puzzles - Festive Fancies (SW)
73. Impossipuzzle - Angry Birds (SW)
74. Innovakids - Cupcake Heaven (SW)
75. JVH - Football Crazy (P)
76. JVH - The Balloon Festival (SW)
77. JVH - The Park (P)
78. M&S - London Skyline (SW)
79. Otter House - On The Farm
80. Otter House - Peeping Through The Window (SW)
81. Ravensburger - A Fisherman's Life (P)
82. Ravensburger - Art Gallery (P)
83. Ravensburger - Country Cottage Collection No.3 Fishermans Cottage (SW)
84. Ravensburger - Days Out (SW)
85. Ravensburger - Disney & Pixar Toy Store (P)
86. Ravensburger - Family Vacation (SW)
87. Ravensburger - Fantasy Toy Shop (SW)
88. Ravensburger - From Garden....To Plate (SW)
89. Ravensburger - Happy Days, York (P)
90. Ravensburger - Lighthouse at Sunset (P)
91. Ravensburger - Mum's Kitchen Dresser (SW)
92. Ravensburger - Our Native Lands No.1 The South, Midlands & Wales (P)
93. Ravensburger - Rose Cottage (SW)
94. Ravensburger - Royal Residences - 4 x 500 (SW)
95. Ravensburger - Sunday Ballet (SW)
96. Ravensburger - The Cricket Match (SW)
97. Ravensburger - The Gardener's Shed (P)
98. Ravensburger - Treasure Trove (SW)
99. Ravensburger - Tuscan Oasis (SW)
100. Ravensburger - Vintage Fairground Fun (SW)
101. Ravensburger - Vintage Vinyl (SW)
102. Ravensburger - What If? Puzzles No.3 (P)
103. Vermont Christmas Company - Ghostly Gathering (SW)
104. Wasgij - A Typical British BBQ (P)
105. Wasgij - Bingo Blunder (P)
106. Wasgij - Catching a Break (P)
107. Wasgij - Childcare (P)
108. Wasgij - Football Madness (SW)
109. Wasgij - Holiday Fiasco (P)
110. Wasgij - If the Wheel Had Not Been Invented (P)
111. Wasgij - Market Meltdown (P)
112. Wasgij - Sunday Lunch (P)
113. Wasgij - Slumber Party (P)
114. Wasgij - The Mystery Shopper (P)
115. WHSmith - Catch of the Day (SW)
116. WHSmith - Colourful Cottage (SW)
117. WHSmith - Parent's Race (SW)

Reading challenge to improve quality of sleep and reduce electricity consumed. If I'm busy reading a physical book I'm not watching TV or online, thus I don't need to keep charging and switching on appliances.

Books Read (50/100)

1. Always and Forever at Glendale Hall
2. A Village Scandal 
3. A Wedding in the Country
4. Battles Lost and Won
5. Before You Knew My Name
6. Christmas for Beginners
7. Christmas with the Railway Girls
8. Dangerous Games
9. Did You Miss Me?
10. Good Vibes, Good Life
11. It Ends With Us
12. Killing Floor
13. Liverpool Songbird
14. Magpie
15. Mid-Flight (prize)
16. Midnight
17. Never Say Die
18. Not Quite Nice
19. One True Loves
20. Pulse
21. Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
22. Secrets of Death
23. Tell it to the Skies
24. The Beat Goes On
25. The Children of Lovely Lane
26. The Clockmaker's Daughter
27. The Dry
28. The Empty Cradle
29. The End of Her
30. The Flatshare
31. The Flood
32. The Humans
33. The Kite Runner
34. The Little Village Library
35. The Lost Storyteller 
36. The Midnight Library
37. The Mill Girl
38. The Murky World of Timothy Wall (prize)
39. The Orphan of Ironbridge
40. The Sapphire Widow
41. The Secret Hours
42. The Secrets of Hawthorn Place
43. The Stranger in Our Bed
44. The Stranger Times
45. The Vanishing Half
46. Think of the Children
47. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye (prize)
48. Undercover
49. Village Teacher
50. Wave Riders
51. You Deserve Each Other

aspella

Annual Budget: £4,758.00
Total Spent: £15.63
Budget Remaining: £4,742.37

Day 1 - Spent £9.63. Had a low tech day and sat in the garden making the most of the sunny weather to boost vitamin D.

• Plant from B&Q who currently have 20% off outdoor plants
• Wasgij Mystery jigsaw puzzle from a charity shop
• YS item from Shoprite - 6 packs of crisps for 40p

Day 2 - NSD
Day 3 - Paint purchased from B&Q - 3 for 2. Was overcharged for plant from B&Q - was given my money back instead of a refund of 20p, so plant ended up being free. Courgette and sweetcorn seeds have germinated. Completed 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle which was a swap. 
Day 4 - Wandered round the local car boot but came away empty handed so a NSD. Finished reading Magpie and put it on the pile to take to the charity shop.

mumtoomany

Hi, @aspella. What does the £13 per day include, just because I'm interested, (nosey). Is it after bills, utilities, rent? How many are you feeding? I'll be following along with interest, good luck! Hugs, mumtoomany.xx

linz

This sounds really interesting, bookmarking and following good luck aspella!

enthusiasticsaver

I am interested in what the £4758 is to cover?  Does it cover bills, rent, mortgage etc?  Also why such a random number?  Our basic bills alone comes to over £7k a year even without a mortgage.  

Good challenge though.  

aspella

mumtoomany said:

Hi, @aspella. What does the £13 per day include, just because I'm interested, (nosey). Is it after bills, utilities, rent? How many are you feeding? I'll be following along with interest, good luck! Hugs, mumtoomany.xx

£13 per day includes everything (bills, food, entertainment, clothing, transport, health) apart from rent. I'm feeding two adults - mainly a plant based diet with a bit of meat/fish every now and again. 

aspella

Day 5 - Milk purchased from corner shop - £1.45 for 1 litre. Going to continue to support local businesses and purchase local products. 
Day 6 - NSD. Peppers have started to germinate - seeds taken out of a shop bought pepper. Wet, windy day but was able to get outside for a bit. 
Day 7 - £52.76 spent on food.

Balance b/f: £4,742.37
Total Spent: £54.21
Budget Remaining: £4,688.16

aspella

Week 1 - complete and under budget by £21.16
Budget: £91.00
Essentials: £58.84
Wants: £11.00
Total Spent: £69.84

aspella

Day 8 - NSD. Swapped three jigsaw puzzles at the jigsaw swapping area at the library. Changed line rental to reduce the impact of price increases coming into force in May.
Day 9 - Spent £148.89. £100 spent on boat tickets for 2 passengers on a return trip and £45.19 spent on train fares. Top-up shop - milk, bread & carrots 500g for 40p from the Co-op. Popped into local charity shop and noticed the price of books has increased so I'm just going to read the books on my TBR pile for the time being.
Day 10 - NSD. Had a lovely day out with the family.
Day 11 - NSD. Seeds sown, will wait and see what germinates as quite a few of the seeds are out of date. 

Balance b/f: £4,688.16
Total Spent: £148.89
Budget Remaining: £4,539.27

Week 2 - over budget but only because I booked a trip away; I might try to declutter and sell a few items later in the year to cover the cost of this holiday and thus exclude it from my annual budget at the end of the challenge. 
Budget: £91.00
Essentials: £8.73
Trip: £145.19
Total Spent: £153.92