Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

Janey51

Oh dear redglass a truly frightening prospect. Think I'll give my frugalist son Power of Attorney now

System

janey - my brain instantly thought '100 guests? think of all the toilet roll you will have to supply!' - maybe you should put 'BYO toilet roll' on the invitations :rolleyes:

i have a cunning plan to cheer myself up...im gonna go count how much i have in my 'found on the street' money box :j

System

ooh £1.19

i think i will leave it in there for now through

sophiesmum_2

Janey - :eek: :eek: :eek:
Think you and Nyk had better get together and discuss frugal party catering ideas:rolleyes:

Jumble Bee- Hope you feel better soon:grouphug:

Hi everyone else, hope you have had a good day. Started today in a really lazy can't be bothered sort of mood but fortunately by lunchtime it had worn off, so during lunch hour did a little sorting of fruit patch. Garden is actually starting to look something like after lots of work at the weekend. Had already stuck tea in slowcooker this morning so just had a lovely, lentil, chickpea and sausage casserole and lots left to freeze will just have to watch OH doesn't pinch all the sausages out of it.:rolleyes:
Tonight have an assignment to complete for my OU course so need to get off this site soon and knuckle down to some work:o
My kefir is going well and we have been having it made into a smoothie with strawberries or frozen blackberries. I'm finding the kefir really fascinating (how sad is that:rotfl: ) and have added it to my list of regular things to make.I also tried adding some to my HM bread instead of water and it made the bread really light and lovely. Going to try some cheese next:D

Enjoy the rest of the evening everyone:D

Frugaldom

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, Janey, I sympathise completely with your predicament as that means we are both looking at mega parties within the next couple of months. I have relatives who'll be staying here plus we've to do the catering, so perhaps we can lean on each other for support with the fruga-party-planning. I haven't a clue how many will be attending ours but I do know that it is buffet and not sit-down meal, so that's a brilliant start

Redglass, I also sympathise with you! Open a window?? Ouch!

bails

Sorry Redglass, your story did have me laughing, especially at all the shocks of horror it would envoke amongst us frugalites. My parents (for parents read 'mum') is still a die-hard frugalist when it comes to the heating, although she always manages to open her purse for M&S

JumbleBee, I was about to ask why you needed cheering up then 'remembered' (thanks SophiesMum) that you are poorly - did read it earlier and instantly forgot, medical hazard I'm afraid. Hope you feel better soon x

System

hee hee im actually having a fun time being ill - im getting stuck into a milly-molly-mandy book i got at a jumble sale on sat

Prudent

I am back at work today after two weeks holidays. It is actually more money saving to be at work. I can't shop all day and am too tired to shop much in the evenings. I managed to get some pepper and basils seeds at Lidl's today. Had a late meeting, so too tired to pot them up just now, but hope to do it tomorrow. Off to comp for a bit

Frugaldom

Bails, have you got frugal memory syndrome? I think that's what I have - can't remember a thing in the short term but can recall the details of something that occured about 20 years ago. Mine seems to be selective, though, as I never forget to mark down anything I spend! :rotfl:

Just had frugal curry with lovely garlic & coriander naan breads (reduced in Mr T). I was in town today, so have actually done my May 'main shop' plus a £10 shop for the rest of April, if that makes sense. I couldn't miss the opportunity of a trip to Mr T as it's quite far from here and saves me a fortune when I can get there. Mind you... THE PRICE INCREASES ARE TERRIFYING! :eek: :eek: I headed straight for the discounted bread only to discover that I was cheaper buying the 37p own brand loaves. Eggs, the very cheapest available, worked out at 10p EACH and the cheap coffee was more than double what I paid last time! On the plus side, tinned curry sauce at 5p! Shower Gel at 10p! Parsnips reduced to 49p and on BOGOF... anyone any ideas if I can freeze parsnips? Or could I boil/mash and save as per potatoes?
I also love corned beef, use it in stovies or for sandwiches, but it has also doubled in price recently. What is happening to this country?!

I am beginning to think that someone on here works in my nearest Mr T store! Own up, come on, which one of you is it? :cool: That's the past twice I have been there and someone on checkout has commented on how much stuff I manage to get for the amount I spend! Then asked how long it would last and how many I was feeding... is anyone going to own up to being that check-out person? :rotfl: I also remembered to take my reuseable bags (I filled 10 bags) and got my extra green points in time for the May vouchers, so I should have enough points for another £10 of deals towards my ferry trip to Ireland this summer. :j However, when I think back to the start of my frugal grocery shopping, a few years ago, we used to average £5 per bag. It's now averaging £7.75, so that is an increase of well over 50%

What else have I done today? I responded to an advert on Freecycle and have now successfully rehomed a microwave. (I had 3! It's a long story.)

I'm off to investigate the ICICI 7% fixed bond that I've just seen an advert for, so my interest beater challenge amount may need to be raised! Has anyone thought about how differently you would spend if you started 2009 off with £4000 hard cash actually in the bank, at your disposal from day 1? :cool:

System

nykmedia wrote: »

I am beginning to think that someone on here works in my nearest Mr T store! Own up, come on, which one of you is it? :cool: That's the past twice I have been there and someone on checkout has commented on how much stuff I manage to get for the amount I spend! Then asked how long it would last and how many I was feeding... is anyone going to own up to being that check-out person? :rotfl:

wasn't any of us - we all know how long it would last/how many your feeding

does anyone else enjoy spying at other peoples shopping on the check-out and feeling smugal? (smug n frugal) i am also always horrified at how big the biscuit aisle is in comparrsion to the veg aisle etc etc