Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

mumzyof2

I wash at 40/60 but im going to try 30 now everyone mentioned it

Im off to register me and the kids at the libary today (i have only just decided) and i need to pick up a cross stitch book as i have a cross stitch and dont know how to do it properly.

I have 3 tomato plants growing so far, how big do they need to get before i put them in a bigger pot?

Frugaldom

whowants2brich wrote: »

And finally, here's a few ideas as to how we keep our electricity usage down to an average of 5 units a day:

1) no tv, no tv license, no electricity used by the tv (or several ) Double saving!

2) remote controls that control the laptop power, wireless broadband router etc, as well as mobile phone chargers. One press of the button when we leave the flat and everything but the fridge freezer is turned off!

3) We charge our mobile phones either at work, in the car or via my laptop's USB chargers. That way, we don't use any extra electricity - if it's charging while I'm working, the power will be used by my laptop anyway... Considering each charger's around 180w, that's 1 units per night saving!

4) Every single light in the flat is energy saving - including the bathroom which my fiancee said wouldn't be bright enough, so I just got a 20w energy saver instead of the 11w ones we have everywhere else. Even the bedside lamps are energy saving !

5) We dry all our laundry in the flat, with the balcony door open a bit. Saves a fortune in drying clothes.

The only thing I have to do now to get things even lower is to try to confince my fiancee that washing everything at 60C isn't necessary, but she always believes that 30C or 40C temperature for the washing machine won't clean her clothes properly...

Most of what you have mentioned is already done here - washing dried outside where poss or hung up inside, all plugs off at mains, all energy lightbulbs, main difference is that I am cooking for 3 every day and hot water uses 5 units per tank. Plus, 2 working from home fulltime and 1 working within walking distance and home at lunchtimes, so... I'm guessing you must have gas bills too, either that or a woodburning stove with backboiler.

Well done on the low spend at Mr T.

Mumzy, I transferred my tomatoes into growbags yesterday and they are ranging from 20cm to 30cm high. Make sure they have plenty space as they grow over a meter high, unless it's bush tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, I think.

Congrats to everyone who is wedding planning - I attended an eBay wedding and everything from the groom's shoes to the dress, rings, table decorations and invites were bought from online auctions and the celebrations took place in their not yet fully converted home. It was a great day!

My DD is going way OTT for her birthday (possible engagement) party and she has just stomped off in a huff again because I asked WHY the heck she needed a tiara! She's also invited ALL of the family from her dad's side plus all the step-family and I'm afraid I am not catering to that lot after what's happened in the past. I tried to think positively about partying in the same place as the ex and his wife despite everything - am I wrong to just take a step back and let them have their fun without my attending? Going into the garden to have a rethink on this whole party thing!

Marru

Hi All,

All this wedding talk got me to sign up for a free dating site. Luckily it takes two days for my profile to get checked and put on the site so I have now time to cool off and I have almost convinced myself to delete my profile as soon as it goes live.

I wash all my clothes in 30 short cycle but DD's get long 40.

I had looooovely HM bread for supper (with some leftover baked fish) and again this morning for breakfast with cheese. I don't have much left from the first loaf I baked yesterday . DD said that she doesn't like it so I will put some white flour in my next lot - makes the bread cheaper and might tempt also DD to eat it.

Need to carry on with work...

bails

LOL, I have almost trained OH to turn everything off whenever we're not using it but a remote would be good for him! I like the idea of charging mobiles elsewhere too, do try whenever I'm on a train or staying at a mate's but may make this a plan - watch out Marru :rotfl:
Thanks WW2BR, I'm tempted to watch the Apprentice but I'm not getting married so might not...think that might be excessive planning ahead
If the Morrisons voucher was still available I'd love it please WOMOT, but I imagine it's been snapped up already.
Marru, why take it off, what have you got to lose? There's an Irish vet searching for your profile right NOW Some of my friends have found partners through online dating and are incredibly happy together (and incredibly normal too ).
Nyk, I hope the garden time helps. Of course we don't know the details of the past, is there any way you can bear to be there for your DD and 'forget' all that happened just for one night? I hope you can work it out. Sounds like your princess needs her tiara
Mumzy, that's great about the library, free entertainment is always good :T
Ooh, I just had a cracking thought - I listen to the radio a lot, but I could get a windup radio! :j Anyone had/tried one of these, I've heard good things? Also I could then take it camping etc too. Off to have a look...

whowants2brich

nykmedia wrote: »

Well done on the low spend at Mr T.

ahem, who said anything about Mr T? It was actually at Mr S, but hey... Sainsburys SOMEHOW manage to be quite cheap when we go at 6pm, buying a few reduced things and loads of cooking ingredients. I had already bought a huge crate of eggs (not from Mr S), so got some flour, cheese (BOGOF), onion and butter, and made a lovely quiche... that was my dinner last night (and leftovers are lunch today)!

bails wrote: »

I like the idea of charging mobiles elsewhere too, do try whenever I'm on a train or staying at a mate's but may make this a plan - watch out Marru :rotfl:

I'd recommend NOT doing this round at friends' because they may twig, and not invite you round, not very MSE if you fallout with friends and can't benefit from their friendship... But trains, car cigarette lighters (cheap USB car chargers are available everywhere), USB charging in the PC/laptop either at home or work, they're all easy... and each night each phone saves 1 unit, on average, but check your wattage of the charger. If each electricity unit is 10p, charging your phone every night would save you £36.50 per year! Even charging every other night would save you over £18 per year!

Bails, getting married for the sake of getting married is not very MSE, is it - the wedding costs a fortune, as does the divorce...

I think that we may need to create a separate thread on here about washing powders and which have been tried and tested at which temperature so that people can decide. Personally, I've learnt that over-filling the machine with clothes, and then putting in too much powder, causes the white streaks and undisolved powder. Whilst the box we use says 2 tablets per load, I put just 1 tablet in, and on the quick 45-minute flash day clean at 40C, everything comes up fine and no leftover powder... Oh, and I never use biological, can't stand the stuff.

We cook every other day, proper cooking, otherwise it's just a saucepan or two of veg or pasta to go with leftovers or canned fish etc... We try not to cook proper gourmet meals every day because we rarely have the time... Unless I work from home in which case I can stick the bread maker on, defrost stuff and make sure it's all good.

Finally, I don't know about wind-up radios, but I do have a wind-up torch/phone charger, and whilst it works very well, it certainly keeps my arms in trim as needs a lot of charging...

Final good news - we have some thyme shoots coming through on our plant, looking good... all we need now is the parsley to come through as well (so far no sign of life) and then we'll be going properly. Mint, basil, thyme and parsley. Chives next.

bails

LOL, I was only joking about the mates, although some of them are more than happy for me to, as they have no idea about the cost of electricity or saving it and don't realise it's actually costing them money :eek: And I certainly wouldn't do it round Marru's, else she might set Dogface on me :rotfl:
As for the wedding, I'm not getting married for the sake of it, just waiting for OH to ask me! TBH, we may never do it, not sure, we have mixed feelings about it, but I would love to have a party with everyone I love to celebrate how we feel about each other.

Marru

bails wrote: »

(and incredibly normal too ).

Who said that I am?

Nyk - so naughty to edit posts afterwards like that. I would have missed it without Bails pointing it out. Could you drag your DD to be part of the budgeting and planning. Then she can't just throw demands on you when she would understand the whole picture and it would be more of her party and not yours and you can be more of a quest than host - including to all the exs and steps - if this makes any sense?

Still not finished that darn report...

PS I am eating chocolate again - a lot of chocolate - I think I need hypnotherapy. HELP!

Edited: Bails - how cunning of you - not much of a thread is it? :rotfl:Plus you are very welcome - I really don't mind. I don't have problem with my electricity bill - it is my gas bill that is the bigger headache but I am a bit of a wuss and like to sit in a wam house (got spoiled when living up north were houses are like - you quessed it - saunas).

Frugaldom

Marru, I meant to say well done on making your first loaf.
As for the editing part, I only added in the bit about the eBay wedding. That friend, coincidentally, met her husband through one of those online dating agencies! Another friend has done the same, she and her new husband are just back from having a ceremony in the States, where most of her relatives live.

On the party front, I can't explain the situation on here, sorry.

Been in the garden, been to garden centre and have now spent the remains of my £2 coin savings (another challenge) on compost and flowers for the tubs at the front door. Need to get that done before the neighbours start talking about us. :rotfl:

wornoutmumoftwo

OMG:eek: 2 baking potatoes in Mr T's just cost me 75p (0.540kg)

Can't wait until mine are grown:T

whowants2brich

nykmedia wrote: »

As for the editing part, I only added in the bit about the eBay wedding. That friend, coincidentally, met her husband through one of those online dating agencies! .

I suppose that for a true ebay wedding, one partner will have to buy their other half via ebay... wouldn't that be scary? :rotfl: