Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

slowlyfading

I've just gone over the £1500.00 mark and it looks a bit scary at the moment :eek:

Marru

Hi Slowlyfading,

You have done amazingly well. You are only £25.- over budget. :beer: If you can have two NSD's now you will be bang on budget.

Marru

slowlyfading

Marru wrote: »

Hi Slowlyfading,

You have done amazingly well. You are only £25.- over budget. :beer: If you can have two NSD's now you will be bang on budget.

Marru

Oh really? I didn't know! problem is - I'm going to London on Friday for a long weekend, and its gonna be expensive but here's hoping!! :beer: how are you this evening?

maverickangel

slowlyfading wrote: »

I've just gone over the £1500.00 mark and it looks a bit scary at the moment :eek:

Courage, comrade! I have just done the bank statement thingy, and I am over the £2,500 mark, if that helps...
I am complete terrified. I know how it's come about - new freezer, new washing machine, car repairs..but it's still scarey doodles.

I have NO IDEA how I'm gonna manage on £1,500 to year end....just absolutely NO IDEA :eek:
There has to be a way to move forward frugally, but I'm not sure I can see it at the moment. Am actually major league miserable about it, as torn between feeling I've sold out by buying new white goods, and pragmatic reality that I can't work round the children and be a half way decent mummy if I'm up to my elbows in suds and pleading for a mangle on freecycle every week.
Same with the car. I am a demon mystery shopper and without the car I can't work.

The food irritates me as well. Normally we are on a £20 a week budget for food etc, but prices are rocketing and children have had a bug, which necessitates ice cream, yoghurts and other processed gentle foods when you have a throat like sand paper.

Cats are on meltdown for anything except dried food, but at least I've got them onto Go-Cat from Purina, so step in the right direction.

Ho hum, gotta be a way forward somewhere....keep frugalling guys. Every penny we don't spend is another penny the government can't take from us in tax...powerful incentive, eh?

Marru

I am sure you can catch up. I am fine thank you. I am being naughty and playing games on pretence of waiting for free Bingo tickets, also heading for a midnight snack in a minute. As the supper I ate some time ago seem to have vanished.

bails

Been kept awake by a police helicopter that sounded like it was landing on our roof - I seriously thought it was a big army one it was so loud, no idea why it's so noisy tonight and refusing to go away...Anyway, pootled along to the stables but noone there; how rude of you all to be sleeping I shall just scoop all the jackpots in your absence (yeah, right!)

EDIT: got a survey through from Gala which gave me £2 credit once I'd completed it. No wins, of course - off to bed.

tryingtodobetter

I was in the stables until 1:45am but had enough research writing by that time so I finally went to sleep (didn't win anything of course)

Got an email this morning from my bank they have refunded me the £25 cheque return fee as a 'gesture of good will' :j So shall I add the £25 back into my budget or shall I put it in my savings as I was going to have to do without it if they hadn't refunded it?

Hope everyone has a good day.

shaz_mum_of__2

I am really sad but


My strawberry plants have strawberries on ,my runner beans and peas are about 4 inches high and i am going to be overrun with squash and courgette as the second lot of seeds have germinated(first lot died) i also have about 20 tomato plants.............oops(officially these belong to my 6 yr old as were a pressie for easter,he cant have sweets,it was a grow your own ketchup kit from tescos

I also have baby tomatoes on my tumbling tomatoes,and what looks like the beginning of an apple on my apple trees(new this year and in pots)

we are still eating the winter onions i planted they are salad onions i think quite sweet

i need to improve the soil in the last empty bed so i can plant my carrots radishes and salads

i can't wait to eat it all

Shaz


ps seeds for 15p at our lidl dated 2010 so ok for next year

bails

I'd save it TTDB as you thought you'd 'spent' it so it's now bonus money

Not sad Shaz, I'm with you although behind you IYSWIM

dfw844

Hi everyone,

maverickangel - hi, I'm feeling a bit like you at the mo! Just done my totals, and I'm already up to £2019 this year. I've realised this past week though that I've really got to get a grip if I'm going to meet this challenge - and my aim to pay off all cc debt by the end of the year. Now that I know I can live well below my income I really want to get rid of this debt and start saving! Alas, not for a little while yet.

So I've taken the drastic step of withdrawing a set amount of cash at the beginning of the week, and living on that, and only that. So far (OK it's only Thursday) it's worked, but I'm worried about the weekend. I think I might recalculate and as of next week draw out my allowance on a Friday evening, and then I can do what I want at the weekend (within reason), and then suffer during the working week (which I find much easier). I'll keep you posted....

Also, I know I should probably ask on a different thread, but Nyk/Bails/Shaz and others seem to know lots about growing your own veggies etc. I live in a (small) flat, but was wondering if there was anything I could grow on my windowsill? Peppers, or garlic or something? I don't get a lot of sun, only first thing, what do you reckon? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

xx