Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

redglass_2

Mumzy, Topc*shb*ck were recently offering one of those phone redemption deals where you get the mobile free, pay the calls and then claim the cost back afterwards. The deal lasts a year, you are not locked into it, and Topc*shb*ck give you money as well! One of my friends is on this deal and says it's genuine - a year's free calls - but also that they make their money from people who fail to reclaim the costs in the agreed period, so you have to be organised about that. The only reason I'm not doing it myself is that I hardly use my mobile and am too busy, right now, to be fussing round getting used to a new one. If the cashback scheme has ended, try Googling to see what else you can turn up - there are a couple of firms that do this kind of contract.

wendywitch

nykmedia wrote: »

Wendywitch -
You've said both - is it £272 per month left over (6 months x £272 = £1632) or is it £272 for the rest of the year? If so, is your £10 what's left after deducting everything from the £2000 or from your overall annual income, and did you remember to half the totals afterwards to represent only half a year?

It's £272 per month after my DDs. I'd divided it by the 27 weeks , maths not my strong point (nor common sense) - no wonder i'm in debt :rotfl:
I feel better now it's been pointed out but I still think it'll be very hard :rolleyes:
Thank you Nyk

Frugaldom

wendywitch wrote: »

It's £272 per month after my DDs. I'd divided it by the 27 weeks , maths not my strong point (nor common sense) - no wonder i'm in debt :rotfl:
I feel better now it's been pointed out but I still think it'll be very hard :rolleyes:
Thank you Nyk

Hi Wendywitch, thank goodness that's sorted out, you'd have been in a right pickle, otherwise. :rotfl: I'm glad you have more than £10 per week. Phew!
I will now go and add your name to the list of challengees with a target figure of £1632. If this is for a household of 1 or 2 (or even 3) then I see it as entirely possible, as that's about the same amount that I'll have to last 3 of us for the next 6 months. (See my signature for spends to date from my £4,000)

I am horrified to say that when I popped into Co-op en route home from post office, it cost me £2.25 for a 4-pint carton of semi-skimmed and a Co-op wholemeal loaf! :eek: The bread has gone up to 69p for their saver loaf and milk has gone up AGAIN, this time to £1.56 a carton! (Except I'm not so sure they haven't changed the pack sizes from 2 litres to 4 pints , in which case it's more milk than before.) On the plus side, I did pick up enough red/green/yellow/orange peppers to do all the salad dishes for the frugarty (frugal party) on Saturday night and enough strawberries to do all of the fruit kebabs. Co-op doing mixed peppers at 4 for £1.59 and strawberries half price! (Still exorbitant price but half what it could have cost me) I will have to keep them under lock and key from DS (and myself ) from now until then! I also had my £1 off voucher from Co-op membership and every penny counts!

Work all up to date, post all done and now I can do my frugarty budget for half an hour until friend arrives for cuppa on her way home from work

mumzyof2

NYK - Bread at my local shop has gone up to £1.10! So i won't be buying it from there anymore

I was bored and wanted 1000 points on piggyback so i went on bingo... put £5 on to get my 1000 points and then when i had spent that gala gave me £10 free to play with and i won £5 so i have withdrawn it and im not equal.. im not bothered i havent won anything extra..i gained a few hours of entertaining myself for free (haha)

sophiesmum_2

Evening frunchkins:D

Anyone know where I can buy xmas puddings now???
I'm not really going mad but am organising Christmas in June for the oldies and on Sunday we are having Xmas dinner with all the trimmings.I have sorted out the main course,mince pies, got cards, crackers, xmas music, table decs, xmas tree,wine. a father christmas and even pressies and a dvd of the sound of music, but up to now no xmas pud.:eek: might have to make a couple or settle for making xmas pud ice cream:rolleyes:

This all started when we found that asda now sell mince pies all year round. Then few of oldies were saying that they never enjoy xmas dinner properly as the run up to xmas is all parties, buffets, meals chocs, and too much of everything, so we decided to have one in June when we can appreciate it:rotfl:
Frugal mum even appeared today with a big bag of cadburys choc xmas tree decorations she found on the market today(dated2009) she picked them up for £1- think the stallholder thought she was barking:D

FunBrum

Hi Barbara...er...Shaz! :rotfl: I also feel like Barbara, and my sister is Margo, we are chalk and cheese. She cant understand why I grow my own veggies and make-do-and-mend. She asks why don't I just go to the shops and buy the stuff?!

NYK...I know exactly who uses all of the elecric...my DS. He is forever leaving the computer on and then toddles off upstairs to play on is Ebox and Wii. He then comes back down to the TV and leaves upstairs lit like Blackpool illuminations!:eek: I've taken the readings this morning, and as they are pre-payment meter's, I have clocked the balance also. I'm trying hard to cook everything together so that the cooker is being used full.
I have a copy of Amy Dacyczyns' Tightwad Gazette', triple volumn, and she shows you how to make a solar oven. Might try it if the weather picks up.

OH has just made tea, so I'm off for a nosh, but will be back as I have loads to tell.:j

Frugaldom

Hi FunBrum, my meter readings get done morning and night, so I can compare how much the hot water etc uses up, as it comes on during cheap rate. During winter, with storage heaters on, we were hitting 88 units per day attempting, in vain, to get a decent heat in the house. I decided to switch off all heaters from 1st May regardless of the weather and that instantly halved the bill. This month, I have decided to switch off the water heater every second night, which is working fine so long as everyone has showers rather than baths. I am also using the dishwasher once a night once the cheap rate kicks in, as it's cheaper than heating the tank just for dish water. I would never have done this before and, despite being in this house for almost a year now, I had only used the dishwasher once prior to this month - Christmas Day! :rotfl: Hopefully I'll have enough of the tablets (Co-op own brand) from the one full box that has been here since we moved in! My DS is bad for leaving his (massive plasma screen) TV on standby and is on the computer or PS3 whenever he's stuck at home. He also leaves his room light on all the time, so I have switched all the bulbs to energy savers. I have had 8 free lightbulbs in total, 4 from Scottish Power and 4 from E.On, so I haven't had to buy any this year.

In the garden - My tomato plants are now reaching a height that they have 3 lots of flower clusters. If each cluster has between 5 and 8 flowers, does this mean I could get as many as 24 tomatoes from a single plant? :eek:

For this evening's dinner, I was planning on having the roast chicken but changed my mind after seeing mention of the hm tortilla wraps on the grocery challenge thread. So, it was chopped peppers fried with onions and then I chopped and fried the meat off the legs & wings of the chicken in some butter with mixed spices & pepper. I made soft tortillas using wholemeal flour, rather than plain flour, and dished it all up with diced tomatoes, diced cucumber, grated cheese and a huge bowl of homegrown salad leaves freshly picked from the garden. The wholemeal flour tortillas are really filling and very quick to make. This means I still have all the white meat left, so it's sliced and ready for the freezer. Chicken dinner for 5 when parents arrive this weekend, methinks! We love 'rubber' chicken!

I've now been back out and picked another bowlful of salad leaves so it helps promote faster growth for the Saturday crop. Must get piccie for my frugal website I'd love to start digging about in the potato tub on the patio to see if there are baby potatoes, but it's started to rain now and I can't decide if it's worth the risk of looking like a loony if the neighbours happen to spot me. Did anyone manage to find out how quick we can start 'howkin' the tatties'? Mine are still flowering, except the ones I cut the flowers off in the hope it concentrates the energy into faster potatoes. :rotfl:

Frugaldom

Look! This is how much I managed to pick of the lettuce/salad leaves today! It's probably as much as you get in one of those supermarket salad bags for around 99p, so the 2 packs of seeds I bought have already paid for themselves about four times over and I still have a packet and a half of them left! I love frugal food and this stuff is compact enough to grow on a windowsill or balcony. I've planted the new window box with my next lot and the seedlings are just through the surface this week.

Freshly picked, organic, homegrown and tasty

Marru

Hello All,

Lesson learned today: Do not fill your morning with so many things to do that you miss breakfast!

I have lived last couple of days with sandwiches and then this morning I missed my breakfast. I had to go to the other side of town to get some freecycle stuff and on the way back I was only thinking of FOOD. I took DD to nursery and they were eating fish and chips there. I went to the post office and the lady asked how I was and I said HUNGRY - she laughed and said that they are normally once a week give in to the hunger and go and get some fish and chips. Guess what I had for lunch? So not very frugal but I don't need a dinner now. Will just go and drink a jug of water and have a joghurt.

Not very productive day either. After my lovely filling lunch I only managed to put in one hour of chargable work and then I slept for three hours until it was time to go and get DD. I still feel a bit sleepy so I shall log off now, get a book and go have read and early to bed. Hopefully all this charging up today will mean that I am full of energy tomorrow to catch up with everything that didn't get done today.

My hotmail email is full of surveys but stuff it - I just can't be bothered. I will check tomorrow evening if any of them are valid anymore.

On the course this weekend we had a cat we worked with and our teacher asked us to ask the cat what it is that us people should learn about them cats. What I got is to find the right balance between rest and work and to stretch more. I think it is jolly good thing to remember. So off to sleep now and then digging my yoga mat out tomorrow.

Nighty night

Marru

whitewing

I'm starving.

Did our monthly shop at Widls. Actually, OH did while I spoke to the solicitor and sent off an email guaranteed to ruin someone's day (and serve 'em right too). I had a horrible morning really. Feeling quite upset at times.

But have perked up this afternoon. Saw some good friends. And picked up OH's wages. He did an extra shift last week so that comes in handy. I doubt any 'wife' appreciates him handing over his wages as much as I do. I always give him a kiss; it's part of the ritual now.

Then parents' eve this evening. DS has done very well. Bless him. Slightly eccentric at times and always gives the impression he does nothing at school! Although he manages to give full descriptions of school dinners. He loves them. Always has done. (Must get it off you lot always talking about food).

Lastly to Tesco for fruit n veg. Had a £4 off voucher, which was good but spent too much, which was not.

Right then:

Good: looking forward to going to the wedding suit tailor tomorrow
Better: got half price cornetto-type icecream as a treat to celebrate DS' exam success
Best: After discussion with H2B following the job issue, we have decided to continue trying for a baby.
Best: