FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 1. (Living on £4,000 a year)

cw18 · 1 January 2010 at 9:13PM

** SPREADSHEET UPDATE **

I'm hoping that these are now available for people to download from here
(many thanks to Nyk for telling me about Google Docs - I've never met it before!)

There are two versions : one is for Excel 2007, the other is for Excel 97-2003.
I'm told the latter of these will also open and work in Open Office.

BUT......

When I saved in backwards compatible mode it bumped up the size of the file, and Google wouldn't allow me to upload 'as is'

So I've had to clear the forumlas out of a lot of the repeated pages, which you will need to copy back in. It's a relatively quick and easy (though boring) job to replace them, so I thought it still worth sharing this way anyhow.

What you need to do (only in the '97 and Open Office' version) is as follows

Go to 'Jan Reg' and copy column A
Paste this into the the other 11 'Reg' pages

Go to 'Jan Groc' and copy cells A1 thru U301
Paste this selection into the other 11 'Groc' pages

Once this is done you're up and running

You could copy from Jan to Feb before starting, then from Feb into March before the end of this month, then March into April before the end of March -- makes it quicker for now, but I personally prefer to get repetitive work like this over and done with in one go

*** IMPORTANT NOTE ***

Over the weekend of 9th/10th Jan, I had some issues uploading fresh copies (which had minor corrections), and Google wouldn't let me open the documents from here afterwards.

As of this morning (11th), I can open them OK. However neither copy appears to have the conditional formatting on the 'spent' column - which is what I was repairing

I don't want to risk 'breaking' the downloads again just now, so am leaving them 'as is'. Details on the missing bits (what it does and how to enter it yourself if you want it - for those on Excel 2007 anyway) are in the Q&A thread, for which there is a link just below the next heading in this post

*** GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE SPREADSHEET ? ***

DdraigGoch thought it might be a good idea to have a thread just for this, so we can hopefully keep all hints/tips/queries in one place (and reduce the "clutter" in this thread for Nyk)...... and it seems a fantastic idea to me.

The thread is here, and I'm subscribed to it - so should spot questions in there at least as easily as in here (probably more so, as I'm not as likely to skim read it

)

sophiesmum_2 · 1 January 2010 at 9:15PM

A few easy ideas for Glad

baked potatoes with tuna mayo
baked potatoes with baked beans and cheese
pasta with tinned tomatoes/olives/garlic puree topped with cheese and baked in oven
baked beans,sliced hot dogs, tinned toms, sliced potatoes oven baked or as filling for a pie
easy chilli with baked beans, butter beans, tomatoes, with rice
carrot and red lentil soup
tuna pasta salad (cold pasta, tuna, mayo,anything else you like added)
fritatta to use up eggs and any bits of cheese, veg etc in fridge
HM bruschetta, toasted bread,diced toms, diced onions. pesto (need onions)
curries - not my thing but you have lots of the basic ingredients

xmas pudding/custard
basic sponge cakes
iced fairy cakes
egg custard tart
make a rice pudding with the risotto rice

ifonlyitwaseasier · 1 January 2010 at 9:27PM

cheers CW have started using Eagerlearners but will look at yours to see which fits in with our life and usage

also was a NSD today as we didn't go out!
am going to brave m&s tomorrow but only cos i have a voucher! i'm insisting hubby either is ready so we are there when they open :O or i go alone!!

it's the safest option but i know he wants to come with

tc

ioiwe

Blairweech · 1 January 2010 at 9:28PM

Hello all!! :beer:

I am going to have a slightly funny year in 2010, as I am due to move back in with my parents at the end of February. I will then face 6 months of voluntary work experience before starting at university in October. So, my budget is all over the place.

I am currently looking at an all in budget for 2010 of £4000, as I won't have any 'bills' as such from March. However, this DOES NOT include any money going into savings, or my holiday as that is already saved for.

This is my budget for the first 2 months (3 months for my loan)

Rent @ £375/month = £750
Council Tax @ £75/month = £75
Loan @ £48.62/month = £145.86 (until March)
Internet @ £14.99/month = £29.98
Phone @ £19.00/month = £38.00
Food @ £100/month = £200 (remember I have to run the cupboards riiiiight down)
Petrol @ £80/month = £160
TV Licence @ £12.12/month = £24.24
Total = £1423.08
I am going to add £200 to this total, to allow for miscellaneous expenditure plus the cost of van hire for my move.
I may be eligible for a refund for my TV licence, council tax and phone bill but will have to find out.

Total spent so far: £7 on food (had lunch in works canteen and had to buy milk and something for dinner tonight)

Glad · 1 January 2010 at 9:30PM

sophiesmum wrote: »

A few easy ideas for Glad

baked potatoes with tuna mayo
baked potatoes with baked beans and cheese
pasta with tinned tomatoes/olives/garlic puree topped with cheese and baked in oven
baked beans,sliced hot dogs, tinned toms, sliced potatoes oven baked or as filling for a pie
easy chilli with baked beans, butter beans, tomatoes, with rice
carrot and red lentil soup
tuna pasta salad (cold pasta, tuna, mayo,anything else you like added)
fritatta to use up eggs and any bits of cheese, veg etc in fridge
HM bruschetta, toasted bread,diced toms, diced onions. pesto (need onions)
curries - not my thing but you have lots of the basic ingredients

xmas pudding/custard
basic sponge cakes
iced fairy cakes
egg custard tart
make a rice pudding with the risotto rice

thank you so much for this

NualaBuala · 1 January 2010 at 9:31PM

ceridwen wrote: »

EDIT: I know that if its not possible to afford for everything to be organic - then there are certain foods that its more important than others to have as organic if at all possible. From memory - I think its milk (therefore obviously milk products as well), salad vegetables, tomatoes and apples. I think theres others - but I believe these are the most important. With milk - its down to the antibiotics "standard" cows have. Apples - I believe they get sprayed with chemicals a mind-bogglingly high number of times as they grow and I think lettuce/etc is the same I believe.

Great to know I'm not alone! I buy similar organic stuff to you - milk and cheese when I can, porridge, pasta lentils, organic or free range eggs, organic fair trade tea, organic fair trade bananas and a few other bits and bobs. I find the organic butter very dear though - not sure I'll be able to afford to keep doing that. I haven't bought that much organic fruit/ veg but I've been trying to slowly increase it when I can afford it. It's just so much dearer than the usual stuff especially compared with Aldi's weekly veg specials which I usually get. But you're right - if it's good for my health, then it's worth it. That's an added bonus for me - I mainly started for animal welfare and environmental reasons. Thanks for the info on what the important ones are - I'll be able to prioritise a bit based on that.

I would love to grow some of my own food but I'll be moving out of this house at some stage soon (house being sold and no idea how long it will take) and that's put me off tackling the garden. And I've never done it before and don't think I have green fingers!

sophiesmum_2 · 1 January 2010 at 9:38PM

Just grow stuff in pots then you can take it all with you if you move

NualaBuala · 1 January 2010 at 9:39PM

I've had a very frugal dinner. A pie from leftovers (most of which were given for free, and some reduced price veggies). A good start to 2010!

Nyk, I think it was you who did baked potatoes in the open fire? Could anyone tell me how to do this? It's not lit today but might as well make the most of it next time I light it - will save a few quid not putting the oven on and I've lots of cheese and bits and pieces I could use for toppings.

I just remembered my Dad used to make toast for us on the open fire and it was so delicious. Very moneysaving (and green) since I think toasters use a lot of energy. I still have the toasting fork,maybe I should give it a go. I remember him improvising with a wire coathanger before we got the fork - pretty good idea really.

NualaBuala · 1 January 2010 at 9:42PM

sophiesmum wrote: »

Just grow stuff in pots then you can take it all with you if you move

You know, I've been wondering about that. I'm a bit nervous - I don't have a clue. My late Mum and Dad were great gardeners, especially Mum who grew loads of fruit and veg. I wonder if I have a latent green finger gene somewhere?:D I think I'll look for a gardening book in the library next time I go.

sophiesmum_2 · 1 January 2010 at 9:55PM

NualaBuala wrote: »

You know, I've been wondering about that. I'm a bit nervous - I don't have a clue. My late Mum and Dad were great gardeners, especially Mum who grew loads of fruit and veg. I wonder if I have a latent green finger gene somewhere?:D I think I'll look for a gardening book in the library next time I go.

Have a peek on here for ideas

http://www.allotment.org.uk/garden-diary/29/growing-vegetables-in-pots-containers/

You don't need special pots and stuff just any type of pot or container big enough to hold enough compost /soil for what you want to grow.

FRUGAL LIVING CHALLENGE 2010, part 1. (Living on £4,000 a year)

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