Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

fizzel81

morning all

today and tomorrow will have to be nsd'd i have the grand total of £1.50 in my purse for some milk in a few days time (will pay a little more and get from garage so i dont buy anything else as i do have debit card with me ) dont want to dip into what ive saved from this challenge and boys dad wont be paying anything untill end this monthor double next month for the boys

im going back to reuseable nappies! we stopped when it was suggested it was making ds3's skin worse but sposies have done no better, this will then give me a little more to play around with money wise

going for a puddle walk after playschool today to knacker the boys and give them something to do puddlesuits and wellys will be on so they can get as wet as they please

will play catch up later

byebye xxx

whitewing

Thank you Fizzel. I've got a lovely picture in my head of giggling children splashing in the puddles.

When I was little (and - ahem - last year even) I took great pleasure in going for walks down muddy tracks after rainfall and making little trenches to drain the water out to the ditch at the side of the track.

sukielou75

Hi Mumzy, I too smoke and have tried on numerous occasions to quit but always something stressful comes along which gives me the perfect excuse to start smoking again, there is so much help out there though and you just need to find the way that suits you best. A friend recommended reading a book by Alan carr called easyway to stop smoking, TBH I wasn't convinced but I was suprised it really worked for me, I gave up for the longest I ever have by reading this book. You could also try your local hospital they should have a smoking clinic (or point you in the right direction), they will give you free patches etc and also these new pills called champix, I've heard they are really good my friends mum managed to give up using these, you have to go to the clinic every week though without fail and so you have to make the time and be committed. At the end of the day in addition to all these smoking aids the thing you need above all is willpower which is something I don't have, I have given up, trying to give up. Good luck to you if you really want it, you can do it.

Janey51

Oh dear whitewing :eek:
What is it about weddings that brings on much wailing and gnashing of teeth
There is a lot to be said for eloping and then telling everyone after the deed is done.
I think your Dad must be related to my DH who cannot make anything in small quantities :rolleyes:
But it is your and H2B's day so dig your heels in.

Looking back through the posts, I see a few names I haven't said :hello: to. So apologies for that.

I have posted my Quidco credit into my Terramundi so its safe as no way will I smash it....its too beautiful

I have also transferred my money saved from my small change into my Internet Saver which I am now using to drip feed a monthly amount into a Building Society Regular Saver. This is earmarked for our special holiday next year and the Terramundi stash will be our spending money :j
I cannot believe I am planning a year ahead :T

Today I made 2 batches of scones so that I will be able to offer visitors a bite to eat when DH is up to socialising again. I used the 50p packet of butter I bought and froze ages ago. Think I will make a cake with what is left. Hopefully I won't eat it all before visitors arrive

I made chicken soup and beef and tomato soup with stuff from freezer and store cupboard yesterday.

And...thinking even further ahead to:xmassign: I have re-assessed my present box and am pleased to report I have bought and wrapped 3/4 of my presents :T
My SIL is dificult to buy for. So I am going for fun things this year and doing a "Fairy Hamper". I have done hampers for a few people and they have gone down well.Got a lot of ideas from the Hamper threads on MSE but am struggling a bit for Frugal Fairy ideas.
So I am looking for suggestions. So far have got:
3 little pewter fairies from car boot.
Mug & Coaster with fairy on.
Little pottery fairy from charity shop.

Thought about a pencil with fairy on top but haven't found one yet.
Seeds from a plant called "Fairy "
Fairy cakes..but they would go stale.
Going to see if I have any fabric with fairies on and could do a quilted cushion.

Any brilliant suggestions from Frugal Friends are welcome...no matter how silly:D She also loves frogs and clowns.

sukielou75

Janey, what a lovely idea, can you sew? maybe you could buy cheap plain white napkins and maybe get a fairy pattern from the haberdashers and embroider them yourself or maybe make your own little fairy door from an odd bit of wood and glitter it, that would be cute. Maybe add a little fairy poem, I had one that came with the fairy door, I will see if I can find it.

whitewing

I love this place (thread) - always lots of different stuff going on.

Well, I am just about to go and pay in a cheque for a refund of H2B's dental treatment (£27.70). It's from a healthcare plan that I had for a number of years. (Simply because they visited work and gave a free pen/diary - how sad am I). Anyway, it's not value for money so I have seen sense and have rung up to cancel it today. So am quite pleased about that. £16 a month would be better in a savings account.

Janey, hope husband is coming along nicely. Try kids section of supermarket for fairy stuff. Bound to be bubble bath, tissues and things (altho I guess you're talking old-fashioned fairy rather than modern style?)

whowants2brich

Janey, you could always have a laugh and buy some fairy liquid?

Frugaldom

Sorry I didn't get things posted up to date before my frugal few days began. Friend arrived just after lunchtime on Saturday and then came with me to collect a pile of pots that I was lucky enough to get via freecycle. The lovely lady who was disposing of them turned out to have a garden about 300' long and choc-a-block with all kinds of fabulous things, so I came home the proud owner of piles of plant pots, a huge cutting of lemon balm, a large flowering cactus plant (I've named it Phyllis) and an open invite to go collect cuttings of anything I like. The lady concerned now has visitation rights to see 'Phyllis' is happy but I'm not sure she took that part seriously or not.

Janey, hope your OH is recovering quickly.

Mumzy, what can I say? :rotfl: On a more serious note, are you sure you want to pay off all your debts and quit smoking at the same time? Perhaps we need to set you daily challenges and use a day-to-day chart with progress stars? Sorting out all problems in one go is almost impossible for anyone, I found it much easier to break them down into more manageable chunks. This is seriously what I mean, no offence meant, just a serious suggestion in the hope that it helps. IF you can quit smoking for 3 days at a time and that saves you £17.50 then I'm assuming you smoke 20 per day, so, take that £17.50 and pay £5 to a debt, spend £10 on 2 packs of cigs and £2.50 is for your purse. The cigs, split them into 4 lots of 10 and only smoke 10 per day for the next 4 days. The following week, do the same and keep doing this until you can see some changes taking effect - like a debt coming down. Don't even try to stop, don't think about stopping, just concentrate on smoking less and paying the bills. It is so much easier phasing out the bills and the cigs that attempting to get rid of both in a sudden rush. They've been with you for a while, you can't expect them to disappear without trying to get back into your life 'just like that'.

Whitewing - have you considered the possibility of just taking a step bak and letting your dad spend some money on your wedding? It's a 'father' thing, some believe that if they can do nothing else, they WILL make sure they can give their best for a daughter's wedding. He probably thinks it's his 'right' and I have been reliably informed that it's some sort of major hit to their ego and masculinity if they are deprived of this most ancient ritual of spending on a wedding, even if it's only a couple of hundred pounds. Perhaps there is a compromise to be found somewhere in there that keeps everyone happy. Personally, I think of a wedding as a merging of 2 families and, short of the eloping option, it never ends out being just about the 'bride's' day. Mine certainly was nothing like I had planned it! :rolleyes: :rotfl:

This post is getting too long, I'll post here, check more updates and be right back Isle of Man trip was great!

shaz_mum_of__2

Speaking of christmas is there a good thread for gifts on the site anywhere?...............love the fairy theme gift basket

Shaz

Frugaldom

Before I forget, I am posting my budget to date, as I had the phone bill to pay this week:

TOTAL FOR GROCERIES £666.95
TOTAL FOR GIFTS £70.
TOTAL FOR EVERYTHING ELSE £356.00
FOR UTILITIES £1063.99
TOTAL FOR HOUSEHOLD £52.40
TOTAL FOR INTERNET ACCESS £76.88TOTAL
£2286.91

Total amount left: £1713.09 :eek:
Number of weeks left: 30 :eek:
Average weekly spend to date: £102.64 :eek:
Average weekly budget left: £57.10 :eek:

OK, that's the current state of affairs. Isle of Man trip was paid from savings and I packed sandwiches, fruit and crisps for lunch. The entire trip cost me less than £40 and that included return [STRIKE]sail[/STRIKE] mini-cruise on the Balmoral pleasure steamer, a pair of beach shoes (£3 from Primark in Douglas), a leather bookmark from the Balmoral's souvenir shop and we bought chips and sweets on board. I can now say I've been to the Isle of Man and realise the full impact the TT must have on the island! There were [STRIKE]hundreds[/STRIKE] thousands of bikes and leather-clad bikers EVERYWHERE!! :cool: If you like motorbikes, I guess this event MUST be in your diary or on your 'to do' list. Naturally, all that sea air and sunshine guaranteed I got burnt AGAIN and, once more, I look like a cooked lobster! I did take sun lotion but was too busy taking piccies to stop long enough to put any on! Next stop - my frugal cruise to Ireland and my trip to see the Giant's Causeway (paid by Tesco Deals ).

Got a major umm... not quite sure what to call it, need to go now and sort out what looks like a very sudden, very serious work related problem. _pale_