Live on Ј4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

A question about : Live on Ј4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

Live on Ј4,000 for a Year - 2009 Challenge
Part 1, January 2009

Part 2 of 2009 challenge is now here

Part 1 - January to March 2008
Part 2 - April to June 2008
Part 3 - July to September 2008
Part 4 - October to December 2008

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Please read the MSE forum rules and help us to keep this challenge on track, thank you.
If you have any questions about this challenge, feel free to PM me.
The following is taken from the official MSE forum rules section:

KEEPING THREADS ON-TOPIC

Please try not to take threads off-topic. This can be confusing for new users and makes it especially difficult for people ... Where requests from Board Guides for threads to be brought back on track have not been followed off-topic posts may be removed. We encourage community, but not thread derailment.

Please bear in mind the main purpose of the site is to save money. The forum team has therefore been instructed to prioritise its time on the MoneySaving forums.

KEEPING TOPICS RELEVANT TO THE BOARD

There are two boards provided for off-topic chat and discussion. The MoneySavers Arms has been set up for fun, more lighter-hearted chat (although do still remember this is a family forum - keep it clean please). Discussion Time is for discussion of current issues (read Martin's description).

If you post a topic that does not relate to the board it's posted on it will be moved to a more relevant MoneySaving board or to Discussion Time/The MoneySavers Arms.
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This challenge is about paying for needs so we can afford to pay debts and save for wants. It runs from 1st January to 31st December 2009. The links will give you an idea of how the 2008 challenge went.

To help work out your personal budget amount, you can try the following method:

1. Add up entire annual income, all sources
2. Deduct entire year's rent or mortgage payments
3. Deduct the entire year's Council Tax & water
4. Deduct essential annual property insurance and maintenance fees if relevant,
5. Deduct ALL costs associated with work (travel, childcare, lunches)
6. Deduct ALL regular debt repayments
7. Deduct annual essential health-related costs

The amount you have left should be your disposable income to cover the cost of living plus all other extras & savings. The following is my Ј4,000 budget for 2009. Please note that slight alterations are made according to inflation and price fluctuations, such as energy prices.

Groceries - Ј1,200 (includes toiletries, cleaning & laundry products for 3 adults)
Toiletries Ј65
Laundry & cleaning Ј25
Groceries (Ј1 per person per day) Ј1,095
Miscellaneous Ј15
Electricity - Ј1,200
Coal - Ј125
Logs - Ј125
Internet - Ј240
Mobiles - Ј30
Telephone - Ј160
TV - Ј145
Clothing & Footwear - Ј75
Essential travel - Ј120
Insurance - Ј47.50
Everything else - Ј532.50 (gifts, pets, hobbies, entertainment, days out etc)
Total = Ј4,000

The above are all my basics plus things I choose to include within my Ј4,000 budget. Some people may choose not to have TV, telephones or Internet at home, as they are not essential. Gifts, pets, entertainment, gardening & other hobbies are things I WANT, so I try to budget wisely and allow for these within my Ј4,000. How you prepare your 2009 budget is up to you. Whatever you include in this challenge, the choice is yours. 2009 will be my 3rd year on a budget of Ј4,000 and I have no intentions of heading back down the road to frivolity and mounting debts. Feel free to join us all here on our frugal adventures, where every little really does help.

There have been many different variations introduced by different people according to their individual lifestyles, so I will not be including individual challenge amounts in the 2009 list.

Anyone is welcome to join in at any time as this challenge is mainly about household budgets with regards to the cost of living. Frugality is our watchword.

HANDY LINKS
I am not endorsing or recommending any of the links provided here, I have simply found them to contain helpful information.

Approved Food - amazing bargains if you don't mind short dates or past sell by - save a fortune whilst saving it from landfill!
Bite Card - 20% off food at train stations
Complete (MSE) cooking collection - Loads and loads and loads of recipes
Electricity & Gas savings - monitor your electricity & gas with the MoneySaving Carbon Club
Free crafts ideas - how to make papier mache banks etc
Freecycle (UK) - don't bin it, rehome it.
Greenfingered money saving - Gardening & growing your own food
Grocery bargains - Supermarket price reduction times
Hunger Site - Charity site where every click counts
i-Measure - log your meter readings and try to reduce your carbon footprint
Martin's mad moneysaver ads - a surprising new addition to the site - advertising offers!
Martin's current offers & discount codes - updated daily
Menu Planning - hundreds of options and suggestions
Nutrition and diet info, an excellent thread - thanks to Weezl74
Old Style indexed collection - Indexed collection of links, hints and tips for anything old style, moneysaving and frugal.
Recipes part 1 - thanks to Rosieben on the Grocery Challenge
Recipes part 2 - thanks, again, to Rosieben
Remoska discussion - everything you need to know about Remoska ovens
Rural Moneysaving Hunt - official MSE discussion
Selling on eBid - decluttering and recycling for cash with no listing fees
Soapnuts - The frugal, eco-friendly alternative to soap powder or detergents
Soapnuts thread on MSE - discuss, ask questions here
Spending Diary - excellent free resource for recording your spends
Start a cottage industry - the official MSE discussion
Will Power & Billy Can - part 1, part 2, part 3

This post will be updated regularly

Best answers:

• NYK'S CHALLENGER LIST FOR 2009
  Please note that there are NO challenger numbers for 2009, any numbers that may appear here are for the purposes of counting how many people we have participating. The list will be kept in alphabetical order to make it quicker for finding names.
• *Mari*
• 1274
• 1st Time Mum
• 2ndTimeRounder
• 87p
• Affordmylife
• All_hours
• Alli_Baba2
• Always_amazed
• Andan
• Andromache
• AngelatGraceland
• Angelofthenorth
• Angelwings
• Angie_baby
• Ani*fan
• Annie021063
• Artnoble
• Azjh77
• Bails
• Barefootlinzi
• Barole
• Bigbullyweedave
• BigEars
• BigSpender2
• Blackfairykitten
• Blairweech
• Bleufleur
• Blissfullydebtfreewannabe
• BlondeMuppet
• Bluesteel705
• Bonaventure Babes
• Boomdocker
• Boring Beige
• Brighton Belle
• Broke mum of three
• Buffythedebtslayer
• Candygirl
• CannyClaire
• Carlsberg
• CarolBee
• Carolinabirichina
• Catzine
• Cha97Michelle
• Chaddee
• CharlieDavis
• Charlies Angel
• Che75
• Chewits
• Chika (from 23/02/09)
• Chriz1000
• Cornishinfens
• Cranky40
• Cumbrianmum
• CW18
• DdraigGoch
• Debrag
• DFW844
• Djenks
• DJJoJoJuice
• DND
• Don't want to be in debt
• Doom_and_Gloom
• EagerLearner
• Eilo1007
• Elantan
• Enjoyfinancialchallenges
• Ephemera
• Esthomizzy
• Fairywings
• Fallen Angel Shelley
• Findingmyfeet
• Fireangel
• Fizzel81
• Flowerofthewest
• FrankieM
• Freyaluck
• Frugal Fox
• Frugalmum
• Funbrum
• Funkyfunkymonkey
• Gem2509
• GemGems
• Georgiasmum
• Gillst
• GlendaM
• Grandma247
• Grunnie
• Guesty6
• Hansolo81
• Hardup Hester
• Headofsteam
• HH62
• Hopeless_Spendthrift
• Hypno06
• IGiveUp
• IhateDebt
• Ilovetea
• Impomdasp
• In Search of Me
• InTheRed
• Jamiedodger
• Jammiejen
• Janey51
• January20
• Jay1
• JennyBee
• JennyShrew
• JTB2412
• Juliejay
• Jumble-Bee
• Junglegirl
• JustKeepSwimming
• Kayharcombe
• Kayleighj
• Kbarty
• Keren29
• Kerron7
• Kiki
• KittieJ
• Kittikins
• KiwiGirl
• Kizzie01
• Ladymoon
• LadyRoughneck
• Lalaladybird
• Laurabelle
• Lexxi
• Lilac_Lady
• Liloandstitch
• LilyBee
• LingoJingo
• Little_Miss_Moneysaver
• LittleMissClimsy
• Liuhut
• Lmac
• LoadedIWish
• Loadedlaura
• LollopyBear
• Looby-Loo
• Loopylou21
• Loveday69
• LyndaSharp
• Lysasparkles
• Macwah97
• Mah_Jong
• Mama67
• Marru
• Masomnia
• Maverickangel
• Mbaz
• McSaver
• Micron
• Milliemonster
• Mini_huny_money
• Miss Empty Piggy
• Miss_Pink
• Miss R
• MK Wotsit
• Mollymop5
• MrDT
• MSHAWX
• Mumzyof2
• Naomim
• Nate123
• NEGirl
• Nickynoo08
• Nicola1982
• Nimbo
• Nodebtdiva
• Nonstepfordwife
• Notanothergreyhair
• Nykmedia
• OldMcDonald
• Oliveoyl
• OptimisticPair
• Paul Varjak
• Paulgonnabedebtfree
• Penny2myname
• Penny54
• PetitePeche
• Pip's Mum
• Pollydaydream
• Princess Leia
• Protogenia
• Prudent
• Purple_Sparkles
• Purplevamp
• Puss14
• Queen_B
• Rachyp
• Rafiki
• Ram_murdock
• Raychee
• RebekahR
• Redglass
• RedMel1621
• Sallyrsm
• Sam79
• Sammey90
• Sarah147
• SarahB123
• Sashacat
• Sassamac
• Save-a-holic
• Saverram
• Savingfortravel
• Scorpio04
• Scrooge2008
• Sewbocushions
• Shaz_mum_of_2
• Shazrobo
• Shell37
• Shelovestobuystuff
• Shorelines
• SiannieLaz
• Silkbeast
• Sillylittlejill
• SixteenthofJune
• Skint Lynne
• Skint_Chick
• Skintwellie
• Slackster
• Slowlyfading
• Smart21
• SmlSave
• Snow White
• SophiesMum
• Sorting Out
• Sos999
• Stefejb
• Sue09
• Sukielou75
• Summertea
• Sweetpea03
• Taka
• The_Cat
• ThriftyLass
• ThriftyScotsLass
• Tigerseye
• Tigwell
• Tracey04
• Trex170104
• Truthseeker
• Tryingtodobetter
• Twinkle_Star
• Wendyw1947
• Wendywitch
• Wherediditallgo
• Whiskylizzie
• Whitetigeress333
• Whitevanwoman
• Whitewing
• Whowants2brich
• Wornoutmumoftwo
• XNatalie81X
• Yoshimi2306
• Zelie
• Thanks Nyk, gosh a new year already!! I'm an active lurker and love this thread and the friendly banter and advise. Good luck to all in 2009.
• Happy new year
  Sorry - couldn't resist...
  right off to finish listing all my stored supplies and work out what extras I need to top up on ready for the on slaught of 2009
  Can't wait to make a start..good luck everyone
• Here's my "all-in" budget for 2009 As and when I realise some of the figures are way off track, I will be back to adjust it - whilst aiming to keep the bottom line at the same Ј8k......
  Council Tax : Ј1000 Ј977.14
  I've included the actual payment for January, and 9 out of 10 payments from April (the ones that fall in 2009) after allowing for an increase of just over 5% on last years full figure. This is after my 25% single person discount
  Bill received 24/3, so now reflects actuals due
  Water (metered) : Ј300
  this is based on the assumption my Direct Debit doesn't go up in 2009.
  having received the first bill of the year, it's actually looking hopeful I can stick to this
  Gas and Electricity : Ј720
  budget set at payment level negotiated in Nov due to no longer needed the heating on for as long/at such a high temperature (and being substantially in credit)
  Central Heating cover : Ј210
  this allows for a small increase against 2008. due for renewal in May
  Buildings & Contents insurance : Ј350
  based on Ј342 renewal in Dec 2008, when I didn't have time or energy to shop around
  Phone line rental, calls & Broadband : Ј155.99 Ј255 Ј261
  final charges on old package, special deal for first 12 months on new package, plus Ј29.99 set up fee
  Phone calls : Ј60
  based on 12 months to end of October.
  TV Licence : Ј145 Ј140.44
  part of the year is paying for the 2009-10 licence and part for 2010-2011
  Mobile phone : Ј352.64
  on contract until 11/08/2009, thereafter PAYG at Ј10 every three months. I think/hope I've calculated this right, but have a funny feeling one of my contract discounts expires after January - so I may have a shortfall on this one !!!!
  Unit Trust savings plan : Ј240
  I've decided to run this for a further 10 years! I'm now keeping my fingers crossed the economy (and the unit price) recovers in that timeframe!!!
  Endowment policy : Ј345.60
  this is the one I took out on my first property, and matures in March 2012
  Window Cleaner : Ј104 Ј200
  have costed at Ј4 a time. I'm currently paying Ј3.80, but they've not raised the cost on me since early 2007 so I need to anticipate an increase.
  have lifted this from Ј104 to Ј200, so I can ask them to do the gutters and eaves this year - was quoted Ј80ish in 2007, but couldn't afford to go ahead. Now in desperate need of doing.
  Dog Food : Ј440 Ј400
  have based this on having to put the larger dog back onto the dearer foods as we had some "issues" with him which just may have been down to having taken him of a hypo-allergenic diet in an attempt to save money
  note: he appears to have settled down on the new food, so have started to decrease this part of my budget as others are having to increase!
  Boosters / Drontal / Frontline : Ј140
  this is a couple of quid up on what I've paid in 2008, but I still anticipate it coming in slightly above this!!!
  Presents : Ј400 Ј405
  GDs : Birthday*2 + Xmas*2 @ Ј20 each = Ј80.
  My "kids" : Birthday*3 + Christmas*3 @ Ј30 each = Ј180.
  BIL & SIL : Birthday*2 + Christmas*2 @ Ј5 each = Ј20.
  Parents : Birthday*2 + Xmas*2 @ Ј20 each = Ј80.
  Brother & SIL : Birthday*2 + Xmas*2 @ Ј5 each = Ј20.
  Nephews : Birthday*2 + Xmas*2 @ Ј5 each = Ј20.
  This breaks down as : Mar Ј35/Apr Ј20/May Ј25/Jun Ј10/Jul Ј35/Aug Ј20/Sep Ј5/Dec Ј50+Ј200 for Christmas presents
  plus Easter Eggs for my 3 plus 2 grand-daughters : 5 @ Ј1 each = Ј5
  Total for this section : Ј5059.23 Ј4823.24 Ј4818.68 Ј4795.82 Ј4801.82
  Groceries (food only for myself and younger DS) : Ј1314
  have decided to budget this at 70p/head for the cooked meal, 60p/head for the snack meal (we eat a lot of cold meat or cheese sandwiches), and 50p each a day for breakfast, drinks and snacks - making for Ј1.80/day each for myself and younger DS. should be able to make a saving here as younger DS uses his EMA to cover a couple of snack meals a week during term time
  Groceries (food only for meals provided for GDs) : Ј84.10 Ј65.70
  term time only until the start of the Summer holidays. 21 cooked lunches for younger GD (Mon only), 68 snack teas for younger GD (Mon-Wed), and 116 snack teas for elder GD (Mon-Fri). Calculated at 50p/main meal and 40p 30p/snack meal
  Groceries (food only for visits home by elder DS) : Ј50.40 Ј75.60 Ј151.20
  no idea how much annual leave he's likely to spend at home, but am making assumptions on 4 6 12 weeks during 2009. Daily figures calculated as per those for myself and younger DS
  Cleaning & Personal Hygiene products : Ј73.00 Ј109.50
  initially set to Ј10/month. adjusted to 20p/day30p/day
  Total for this section : Ј1583.20 Ј1640.40
  Total so far : Ј6642.43 Ј6463.64 Ј6459.08 Ј6436.22 Ј6442.22
  Car Insurance (2009-10) : Ј275
  closest I care to "guesstimate" based on Ј260 for current policy, as not due until August 1st
  Breakdown Cover : Ј69.50
  confirmed as my renewal cost in January 2009
  Road Tax : Ј120
  as best I can tell this will be my renewal cost in January 2009
  MOT : Ј50
  last MOT cost Ј45, so I've allowed a bit extra on this
  Servicing : Ј125
  cost of last service in July was Ј117.50, so I've allowed a bit extra on this
  Petrol : Ј500
  based on Ј1 per litre, doing 4,000 miles a year at 8 miles/litre. (Hoping to make a saving of around Ј60-Ј70 on this over the year, based on current figures being 90p/litre for 3,500 miles at 8.5 miles/litre)
  Total for this section : Ј1139.50
  Total so far : Ј7781.93 Ј7603.14 Ј7498.58 Ј7475.72 Ј7481.72
  Anything else : Ј375.77 Ј458.07 Ј396.86 Ј401.42 Ј424.28 Ј418.28
  this has to cover final payments on existing landline rental and broadband packages, car parking fees, bus fares (often cheaper to use the bus than pay for petrol and parking), dental costs (minimum of Ј33 for two check-ups), prescriptions, optician, clothes and shoes for me and DS (though he'll probably buy most for college from his EMA -- as he's good and sees that as what it's intended for, along with his bus fares, stationery and "eats" when at college), and any postage costs related to anything in my budget (eg. posting presents), and any house or car repairs and extra vet bills
  So my overall total / budget is Ј8,000
  As my "anything else" category looks to be my 'Achilles Heel' (especially given the shoes I've just replaced lasted 8 months and the replacements cost me Ј85 ), I've decided that anything I earn from websites -- such as free scratch-cards, no-spend cash-back or survey payouts -- or receive in the form of loyalty card vouchers will be added to this budget. If I use vouchers for something from a different category (eg. C00p "share of the profit" vouchers will be used for groceries), then I'll move the equivalent amount over into the "anything else". I did consider using this "income" to make presents money neutral, but somehow I can't see me managing that while sticking to the "anything else" budget - so I decided to admit defeat before I started
  Any money I can save on presents (probably by making some) will be added to the fund available for my kids for Christmas, as I like to get them some novelty "bits" but the Ј30 budget is pretty restrictive compared to past years. (Though I seem to have just about managed to stick to it in 2008)
  The only thing I haven't included (which I feel should be included to make this a true "all in" budget) is mortgage payments, as I have no control over these (other than using capital to repay the balance and bring the payments down to zero).
  HOWEVER : These figures are all subject to change around August / September. I'm currently giving serious consideration to becoming a registered child-minder (need to knuckle down and get the house sorted), at which point a number of these are going to increase (groceries / gas / electric / water and quite possibly house and car insurances. At that point I'll need to figure out if/how I'm going to split the bills between personal essentials and work related overheads !!!!!
  In light of this "change of occupation", I'm also not accounting for some work needed round the house - a few carpets need replacing, some decorating is needed, and the back garden needs sorting out -- mostly as I could live without any of them being done if I decide against becoming a child-minder, but they'll be essential in order to pass inspections if I go ahead. Nor am I including the cost of a new lawn-mower as it's a toss-up between this or paying a gardener to do it on a fortnightly basis - and if I register as a child minder I have a feeling it will need doing more regularly than that, hence making it a business expense of sorts......
  If I don't register as a child-minder, then I'll either be looking for a job outside the home, enrolling on a college course of some sort, or staying at home looking after my GDs "for free" for a bit longer. Each of these will impact the budget in a different way, so it's all change in the summer for me :rolleyes2
• Now the thread is up I really must get the budget cracked
• I'm in but posted my budget on the old thread last nighttrust me:rolleyes:
  Gas n leccy= Ј780
  House ins=Ј270 (building and contents, I got Ј50 cashback via Quidco)
  Phones n net, includes landline, mobiles n net Ј 648
  Life ins= Ј132
  Food, groceries and dog food=Ј1560
  tv licence Ј150 (can't recall exactly how much they are )
  Birthday pressies n xmas Ј350
  Nights out=Ј120 (prob grossly underestimated, but I wont be able to go out much whilst on benefits)
  clothes n shoes Ј300
  hair dye n cuts Ј120
  total =Ј4230
  I also have a car, and all the expense this entails, but as it's not a necessity am not including it
• Woohoo! Brand new thread
  Have already posted breakdown of budget in old thread so won't bore you all again. Is it wrong to be this excited about NOT spending money
• Hi everyone !
  Been a complete and utter lurker on this (last year's thread) but thought I ought to say hello !
  I don't think we will be joining you next year as we have a whole house to decorate and although we've been cutting down on spending across the board, we're not quite ready for the Ј4K challenge ..... yet ! We're very fortunate in that we don't have any debt but that doesn't mean that we don't watch every penny !
  We'll be trying very hard to save money next year (even after the decorating !) so we'll be watching very closely and taking lots of notes ! If we can finish the house next year then we'll be more than ready to join you in 2010
  We wish you all the very best and look forward to reading how you're all doing !
• HI
  Loved the thread for 08, can i please join this year? Need to work out figures, etc, but could really help me to clear some debt next year.
  Angie
• Hi everyone...
  I wasn't expecting this to start till tomorrow!
  I have added the challenge to my signature in anticipation. I haven't got a budget breakdown, I'm just going to try not to spend more than my total
• Here we are again
  As I end the year on a minus note I cannot really do any worse can I
  I think I will re-do my budget in it's entirety having got some good pointers from other people's....especially CW ..respect
  I have realised where I can make savings and where I cannot possibly stick to certain figures without having roasted moggie to eke out the rations
  Nyk weather permitting my little car will be wending it's way to your door early in the year.
• Can I please join in? Will try and sort some figures out over the next couple of days. ilovetea
• Hi fruguys and frugals!
  Anything relevant to the 2008 challenge should still go on the old thread as it isn't really 'the old thread' until 2009 kicks in , this one is up and running with 2 weeks of a countdown just to make sure everyone is ready and understands the concept of this challenge: to become frugal budget control freaks who want to live a debt free lifestyle (possibly on planet Fruga, speaking frugalian, socialising with other frugalites and frunchkins) and enjoying the resulting perks! You need to be a little bit mad eccentric to make the most of frugalling.
  Welcome Angie_baby and Ilovetea, I'll add your names to the list before you have the chance to reconsider.
  Janey, looking forward to seeing you. I may will even have a cooker by then, electrician's coming out tomorrow morning to wire it in and see about fixing a timer to the water heater.
  We made it to 200 for 2009!
• Can't wait to get going, thanks everyone!
  My budget is Ј3000 for everything except rent. So that's all bills, holidays, food, clothes, nights out etc. etc. Hoping to come in under that as it should be mroe than enough for a student.
  I can't give accurate figures for income until later in the year, but I've worked out my rent for the year to be Ј2445.96, plus Ј3,600 for my ISA leaves me with around Ј3k after an approximate income of around Ј9,500 maybe Ј10k if I do well.
  Good luck everyone!
• Provisional starting budget figures for 2009 challenge
  Ј4000.00 budget
  TV licence - (paid until end Oct 2009 from this budget so 2 months at new rates next year) Ј24.17
  Food /cleaning/toiletries Ј800 ( starting with stockpile of everything built up from this years budget )
  Car Tax (my car only ) Ј120 due 1st Jan
  Car Insurance ( just paid one year up front starting Dec 30th from this years budget)
  MOT and service Ј150
  Life insurance Ј168
  Mobile payg approx Ј20 - hardly use
  Gym membership - Ј384.00 (my hobby)
  House insurance contents only (Paid up to Oct 09 - Ј57 with Ј50 cashback )
  All inclusive broadband,ALL cable channels, V+ and second box, and telephone including all calls(except to mobiles)- Ј984 (OH's hobby!)
  Electricity/Gas Ј0
  Gifts Ј0 (aiming for 100% money neutral again )
  Total Ј2650.17
  Everything else including entertainment,clothes,shoes,household purchases, days out,charities, and any shortfalls from the above Ј1349.83 - any extra income earned from cashback etc not used for gifts to be added to this total.
  Starting 2009 in a very strong position, stockpiles built up this year, several items pre paid well into challenge, lots of veggie growing planned, and aiming for money neutral on all gifts/cards and any surplus generated income adding into pot for the "everything else" budget - aiming to be showing a credit at the end of 2009. I will need to buy birthday and xmas gifts for 14 close friends and family and a few token gifts for other friends, as well as the usual easter, mothers day, etc.Have decided to concentrate my efforts on this and wind up my 100 day and interest beater challenges to simplify things.Tht money now earmarked for holiday spends
  I'm also not bothering with clicks and free bingo etc as they are too time consuming and I can get better returns cash wise by stockpiling /gardening/batch cooking/baking/gift making etc. I suppose it's a case of prioritising what works best in your own situation.
  Budget is for three adults and one part time adult DS, no pets.
  Not adding child benefit to challenge totals - instead will be giving DD the child benefit and she will once again be using that for anything she needs - clothes/college stuff/etc. So in effect removing it from budget.
  Also not including petrol costs as mostly use car for work purposes and receive expenses for mileage which generally cover my small amount of other use so no actual cost to me.
  Good luck everyone
  Strategies I will be using;
  stockpiling
  menu planning
  making more vegetarian based meals
  reducing portion sizes
  making use of leftovers
  batch cooking
  bulk buying
  breadmaking
  baking
  preserving
  growing own fruit and veg
  foraging for fruit etc - eg blackberries
  using "free" money to make gifts throughout the year money neutral
  handmade gifts
  reducing, reusing and recycling
  keeping spending diary and spreadsheets
  sealed pot savings
  Ј2 coin savings - holiday spends
  Interest beater challenge - holiday spends
  Ј1000 in 100 days challenge - holiday spends
  Phew that lot should keep me busy
• I have decided to use my A&L account for the purpose of this challenge. I already have all my utilities coming out of it.
  Ј135.15 Balance 1st January
  Ј100.00 Maintenance 1st
  Ј185.60 Child Benefit 6th
  Ј421.75
  Normal monthly income is
  Ј100.00 Maintenance
  Ј185.60 Child Benefit
  Ј285.60 Total
  Ј22.09 from initial balance for first 6 months
  Each month I have
  Utility DD's Ј1962.08/Ј176.25
  Household Insurance - Ј142.08/Ј11.84
  Internet access - Ј221.00/Ј17.00
  TV License - Ј141.00/Ј11.61
  Telephone - Ј154.00/Ј25.00 (6months left in contract to BT)
  Gas - Ј534.00/Ј45.00
  Electricity - Ј365/Ј32.00
  Water - Ј405/Ј33.80
  Leaving Ј2037.92 for
  Animals - Ј222.00
  Groceries - Ј1000.00
  Delivery/P+P - Ј80.00
  Everything else - Ј26.32
  Travel - Ј431.60 (to visit mum once a week/deliver Avon)
  Wildlife Membership - Ј48.00
  Mobile phone - Ј50.00
  Cleaning - Ј60.00
  Avon- Ј0 Money neutral
  Gifts - Ј33.40 Money neutral
  Toiletries-Ј120.00/Ј108.96
  Ј4000.00
  Any savings made from travel/groceries will go into the everything else pot.
  Already been deducted from Ј4k and covers 5x Ј22.09 for last 5 months is the toiletries spends. Just need to make a profit of Ј23 from Avon to bring my total income for A&L to Ј4k for overall year balance (including the Ј108.96 already spent)
  No clothes/footwear are being added as I am doing a challenge not to buy any new for 365days in 2009
  Have included an extra category to my list Delivery/P+P, as I do have a lot of things delivered and thought it may be a good idea to see what this is actually coming to.
• Afternoon All,
  Really looking forward to starting this in a few weeks! Never thought I'd actually be getting excited about not spending money!
  Anyhoo, budget starting with the following:
  Groceries Ј1040 pa
  Cat food Ј343 pa
  Lecky Ј420 pa
  Broadband Ј240 pa
  TV Licence Ј140 pa
  Mobile Ј360 pa (going to switch to payg when contract up)
  Open Uni Ј750 pa
  total of Ј3293 which gives me a good buffer for emergencies. I have decided to put whatever is left over each month (confident eh!!) into a saving account where I am shoving as much money as poss to enable me to offer a lump sum to get rid of my debt/DMP.
  Good luck all
• Hi everyone here's my 2009 Budget
  Groceries (inc cleaning toiletries and alcohol ) Ј2500
  Gifts Ј300
  Household maintainence and garden Ј100
  House and contents inurance Ј180
  Broadband Ј180
  TV licence Ј140
  Telephone Ј300
  Gas Ј500
  Electric Ј400
  Clothing Ј100
  Leisure (lotto,RSPB,eat out,hobbies) Ј300
  Total Ј5000
  Thats for Me , hubby and 7yr old DS (and 17 yr old DS 2 weekends a month)
  I home cook most meals ,bake bread, grow veg, make jams and chutneys and I stockpile too
  I made a few prezzies too this year and will be doing more this year.
  I have just started doing the free scratchcards and still have 9 months befor re jigging the 8k i have stoozed in 2008 i use a cashback site for online purchases and always ask for student discount in stores.
  I plan to start a cottage industry but as yet undecided on what
  can't wait to get started
  Shaz
• Woohoo! New Thread!!
  Here are my plans for the 2009:
  Exclude:
  - Rent
  - Ctax (shouldn't need to pay as full time student)
  - Cleaner
  - Water
  - Car
  - Nursery
  - Business costs (NI+broadband+landline)
  - Debt payments
  - Extra courses and college stuff that not reimbursed
  Include:
  - Everything else
  Budget: Ј3,650.- i.e. Ј10.- day
  Money neutral: I have put Ј60.- into my savings account to cover utilities for January (gas, electricity + mobile) and then in January I need to earn Ј60 toward February utilities plus Ј15 towards tv license and put this money aside before I can spend any money for anything else that comes under this challenge.
  Budget for not included: My deficit for not included is Ј1,996.73, this will reduce by the money I have left in the bank+cash on 1st of January, also I know I have over estimated my child care and petrol costs and also I am hoping to get tax rebate to help with this deficit.
  Budget for additional courses: I need to sell my possessions to get the money to do this, I've got DVD's, CD's, knitting stuff, soft furnishing stuff, DD's buggies etc to sell. Also if I can sort out the deficit from "the others" budget and have something left over, it will come here.
  Vouchers are not counted as income and when they are used they are not counted as expenditure. I have Ј80 worth of MnS vouchers so this should be more than enough for my clothes for the year.
  This budget is for one adult, 1 four year old (that eats 15 meals per week in the nursery 48 weeks per year up to September when I start to provide breakfast and packed lunch, she still will have tea at nursery), 1 dog, 2 rats and 5 guinea pigs. My main methods are going to be: cooking in SC on Sundays for the week, making sandwiches into freezer to take for lunches to college and "if I ain't got the money, I can't have it" -mentality.
  I think this is it and yes I have my spreadsheets all set up and I can't wait to be able to start using them.
  Bring it on!!!