Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

Marru

HI all,

Shaz - well done it all looks great.
Bails - if you need an accountant I know someone who will work if while she works you will entertain her daughter and give her tea and Twinks.

I was lying yesterday when I said NSD. I had my hair cut. It was only quarter of the price that I would've had to pay in London and I am ever so pleased with the result. So money well spent. Will take DD there on Tuesday.

Mixed post today. Demand from equipment rental company for money for something that I have signed over to my ex, nasty letter from a solicitor of one of my creditors and then something quite surprising. I fostered this dog for some time recently and never got around to charge the rescue for his food and thought not to do it as that is my charity donation for this year. Today they sent me a thank you letter with £200.- cheque!!! So I guess Dogface will get her car bed now. The rest will go to stock up with food for all my furry friends. I am transfering them all to as natural diet as possible and am at the moment investigating vigorously.

I am heading off to spend my £20 M&S voucher and also to Mr T to do a stock up. Oh - and fill the car - oops that was the final hit for blowing my May budget...

Marru

[Deleted User]

can I ask if the amount for the second quarter is £1k, that works out at around £76.00 odd per week doesn't it .I ask as I am a pensioner and can live quite frugally on at least half that amount I can understand a family living on that amount but for me to spend £76.00 per week my cupboards would be bulging

bails

Hi JackieO, you're right with your figures. Just to check, do you live on half that for everything except mortgage/rent, water and council tax, as that's what the challenge is about? We would love to hear how you do it, always grateful for any tips!
Marru, thanks so much for the offer, it's not really a case of number crunching more a slog with various companies really. Good luck at the Village today, hope you get some lovely stuff.
I have filled in my IB50 form at last so I am happy; fingers crossed now for the result.
Shaz, your garden looks great - can I ask how deep the potato pots are as I'd like to do some please? Busy this weekend but am determined to spend some time in the garden next week.

Frugaldom

HS just arrived with a local paper (we NEVER usually buy newspapers) but guess what's on the front page? THE BABY DONKEY! Aaaaaaaaaaaah.... it looks absolutely, furry, cuddly gorgeous! Guess where we are going this weekend, 'avec le camera'? :j

JackieO wrote: »

can I ask if the amount for the second quarter is £1k, that works out at around £76.00 odd per week doesn't it .I ask as I am a pensioner and can live quite frugally on at least half that amount I can understand a family living on that amount but for me to spend £76.00 per week my cupboards would be bulging

Hi JackieO, welcome to the 4k challenge thread.
The £76.50 per week isn't just for groceries, it is for everything, but you are welcome to join in at any time and make suitable amendments to your budget. I have to say, though, if I did have £76.50 to spend every week just on groceries, I would need new cupboards as that's more than 3 times what I currently spend. :rotfl:

Welcome to the wacky world of 4k frugality. Some have opted for more than that as there are more people in their households. Mine is a household of 3 and I'm scraping through by the skin of my teeth but making loads and loads of savings everywhere else thanks to all the great support on here. :T

Bails - I'm completely with you on the free bingo, it's like giving up the will to live and I doubt very much if I'll try to grab as many tickets next week. Free or not, it's just a sad way, in my opinion, of spending time based entirely on the glimmer of hope of winning something. Why people pay for the experience I will NEVER know. BUT, it IS FREE, so no point completely avoiding it, if you see what I mean.

Shaz - well done with the veggies and I am SO jealous of your strawberries! Mine are still tiny! Now that someone has taken the plunge and been brave enough to show their produce, I'll make a point of uploading yeserdays piccies.

The weather has, at last, broken here. It rained last night and is overcast today, which is a good thing, as the ground was becoming parched. My mini-pond was covered in leaves from the cherry tree but I also retrieved a couple of tiny cherries! Must find out if there's anything I need to do to make these grow to become edible. Anyone know?

Marru, congratulations on the cheque! Perhaps it's the start of a lucky streak! Here's hoping!

DdraigGoch

ok, here's a link for a laugh - this is for those of us aiming at being prepared to have 6 months/a year's basics in stock at all times. I looked up the LDS [Latter Day Saints - Mormons] sites and very useful and interesting they are too, but fell over this one. I would be seriously overnourished and confused if I took their one year Emergency package!!!

http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=FS%20Y785

what do you think?

I looked at it to get an idea of what someone else thought was essential ....

Frugaldom

Hi Ddraig, I just had a look at the entire list and thought... that's just for one person??? :eek: :eek: :eek: :rotfl:

bails

Oh God, this brings back memories of Ten Tors training etc - we use these on some expeditions too but I've been lucky enough to avoid them so far (had our own Indian cook last time!) YUK!
I completely forgot about Marru's cheque, well done!:T

I agree Nyk - I keep thinking, I'd much rather save my energy up, work for an hour and earn some guaranteed money. I guess the attraction will remain one of those eternal mysteries :rotfl: I wanna see the donkey!

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your comments,my outgoing bills for a month are £87.50 for DD and standing orders. I have a motobility car that I only have to put petrol in as it's leased,my Higher rate mobility allowance pays for it .
Outgoings per month are
gas £17.00
electric £11.00
T.V.License £11.61
Water Rates £24.72
savings for holidays ect £25.00

Total = £89.47 + Virgin broadband /cable/telephone usuallyaround £35.00
altogether comes to about £125.00 per month for bills. I am quite frugal in my overheads and keep my bills down by in the summer paying a little more monthly.
I can live fairly comfortably for food on around £35-40 per week so monthly that would be £125.00 + £160.00 = £285.00 per month.I spend about £40.00 per month on petrol as I use my car to get around in as I can't walk too far so that pushes my figures up to around £325.00 per month or £975 per quarter so I can live on just under £1k per quarter
I have my Sunday lunch and one night a week's dinner at my youngest DDs. I think to live as I do it has taken me many years of always living within my means. I have no mortgage to worry about which is good. My late mum always said 'Pay your bills, first then split your money into three lots One lot for food, one lot for savings,and one lot for 'happycash'.' The last is to treat yourself to what ever you fancy.That way your know you always have a little bit behind you in case of emergencys and the 'happy cash' means you can have a treat now and again.I like to spend my 'happy cash' on my grandchildren or a nice day out or to the cinema or theatre. I don'r smoke ,and for the last year because of illness I have had to put my beloved G&T on hold .I have had a long year of first, a mastectomy ,followed by chemotherapy, and now I am having r/therapy.But by mid June I am hoping to sit in my garden and sip a large G&T and count my blessings that I have got through it all.I know I am lucky in that I have no debts, but I am interested in how other folk are coping.
I think everyone of us will have to tighten our belts a little in the coming months .I have noticed how much food has rocketed in the past few weeks ,yet alone petrol.
I have a roof over my head and food on the table and I do count myself lucky in that. A lot of my friends are finding it very hard to cope with things .I get pension credit of 10p per week which means I pay no council tax, so that is one bill less.I think how today's youngsters are coping is amazing and I take my hat of to them.My Mums generation had a war and rationing to cope with but todays younger Mums have so many more things that their children need that wern't available when I was young.
My youngest DD has five children and her shoe bill is horrendous.
Well done to those of you trying to live on £4k per year I can do it but I live on my own so only have myself to take care of :A

Marru

DdraigGoch wrote: »

ok, here's a link for a laugh - this is for those of us aiming at being prepared to have 6 months/a year's basics in stock at all times. I looked up the LDS [Latter Day Saints - Mormons] sites and very useful and interesting they are too, but fell over this one. I would be seriously overnourished and confused if I took their one year Emergency package!!!

http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=FS%20Y785

what do you think?

I looked at it to get an idea of what someone else thought was essential ....

Goodness me - does take the joy out of eating doesn't it? I have driven 40 miles for nothing. I won't explain more detailed as feel so silly. I am off to bigger town closer to home now.

JackeO - welcome - will read your post properly when have more time.

Rushing off...

Frugaldom

JackieO, thank you for posting again and for joining us on here. I am sure everyone will appreciate your comments regarding 'pay the bills' before doing anything else and I think I speak on behalf of all when I wish you a speedy recovery and all haste to that summer day when you can relax in your garden with a G&T!

Back here, on my corner of planet Fruga, I have just been flabbergasted by costs! I had to go and buy milk - powdered is so YUK with cereal :rotfl: - and I decided I'd get a handful of new potatoes to have with the (rest of the) chicken stew tonight. I got a large carton of milk and 5 potatoes, that is all, and it came to £3.07! :eek: :eek: :eek: I then went to local shop for half a dozen farm eggs, which cost 85p for the half dozen, 15p increase on a fortnight ago prices, but I don't mind that for fresh farm eggs as opposed to the battery produced ones. But when I think about it, these things are amongst the most basic of our dietary needs - milk, eggs and potatoes. A couple of hens and a pet nanny goat are looking mighty appealing right now! I'm really, really annoyed that I paid £1.08 for 5 potatoes! They aren't even big ones!