Dear reader,
You may notice my progress bar for my overdraft, which was £1700 has now been completed.
I have just ploughed all my money into my bank account and left it there. When we get paid we transfer a set amount into our bills account. This pays the mortgage, food, fuel and all the bills which we have on direct debit. We also have a loan which we got to do up the house.
After everything has been paid, there is not an awful lot left. I do manage to put a little bit away into my car fund and my Christmas fund.
My bank charges me a pound a day to be overdrawn upto £2000 and £2 a day over that. I was sick of paying their fees every month and have now paid off the overdraft. Yipppeeee.
On the downside, this means I have absolutely NO MONEY, nil, zilch, nothing in my bank account.
There's hardly enough left in the joint account either. We may have to decide between fuel or food this month. We have to have the fuel to drive to work. There is no hope of public transport where we live. I have some supplies in the freezer and some cupboard staples but it will be tight.
I have about 2 days of diesel in my car and estimate I will need £80 for fuel until payday again in 24 days. Big man probably the same. That's £160. That will leave us with about £50 for food. I do have a gift card for something I returned at Asda for £14. That will do for milk and eggs.
I am stalking past my sealed pot like a hungry lioness.
I read a very good menu plan from Scarlet over at
The other stuff http://stillgoingstrong1981.blogspot.co.uk/
I am going to try to make more vegetarian meals for us both. Some pasta for lunches
and veggie curries and chilli for dinner.
Will keep you updated, any frugal recipes, please send my way.
FIB. X
I got by on boiled rice and popcorn for over a month once. You'll be fine with what you have in plus £64 quid. If you have any friends or family nearby you could always invite yourself round for tea!
ReplyDeleteGood luck and well done for getting rid of the O/D, you won't regret it.
Hi,
DeleteI have lots of rice and pasta in the cupboard. Am going to try my best!
Thanks for your support.
X
Yaay! well done you:-) I agree with Thrift Deluxe...you'll be fine..pad meals out with SmartPrice rice and pasta and try to keep out of the shops (other than Aldi or Lidl if there is one near you for cheap veg). And use up what's in your cupboards (if you are like me, some of it has been there a while) Found this linked to the £12 a week article on the BBC site today...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2012/01/cheap-eats-without-austerity.shtml
Good Luck...you can do it:-)
Thanks for the support. Have made a cheap chickpea curry and have a load of instant noodles which were lovely with it.
DeleteI'm one of your fairly new readers, and on the other side of the big pond. Thank you for kind words about the tradgey in Boston. We will continue to pull together, I hope.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wanted to congratulate you on the awesome task of getting rid of that overdraft..a huge amount, but done with! We don't have anything like that here, at least not that I'm aware of. They do charge you a flat $35- for any overdraft that they cover..that adds up fast! It's not a problem I have, thank goodness. I am blessed to be debt free and well able to live within my means and I am now in my 70's.
About your frugal meal situation, it's kind of silly, but I am going to suggest pancakes. I'm not sure if that's what you call them, butfrom a mix or from scratch, they are super cheap to make. I use a only water needed mix, from Aldi's, and am happy with the buttermilk taste. You can put almost anything on them from something sweet, jam, sugar or syrup to adding an egg on top. I make extras, even for just me. I like them cold, as a snack, and they warm well in the microwave.
Another idea is totillas. Again quite cheap or can be made with flour, water and oil. Strangely diced cucumbers are tasty in them, beans of any sort, or even scrambled eggs with a bit of cheese or fried potatoes. Almost a breakfast buritto.
This is a great opportunity for you to be creative and thumb your nose at the bank and their overdraft fees! Have a lovely weekend. Hugs, Finn in WI, USA
Hi,
DeleteHow lovely to have readers from the US, I still check where all my readers are from. I have to say, pancakes are a good idea. I could have them with savoury filling and a cheese sauce. A brilliant idea! I love that saying too, "thumb your nose" it made me smile.
Thank you for reading, please drop me a comment anytime, I do reply to them all.
FIB. X
Fantastic news on repaying your overdraft. Just think of the things that you have achieved in the last few months - remember that and get us to remind you how brillliant your achievements have been when things get tough later in the month. There are lots of tips online about really frugal eating, we all have our different ways of stretching the budget. Good luck and keep us informed. X
ReplyDeleteHi Alison,
DeleteHave not got much time for cooking this week. Feel like I'm always at work.
Am trying my best with what we have in store. I check all the other frugal blogs and see want others are cooking.
FIB. X
You might just be eating some very odd combinations from your freezer and cupboards this month but in the end it will be so worth it. I'm sure you can do it, it's ONLY 4 weeks! just think how good you will feel next month, never mind how rich you will be :-) Have a look at the "Living below the line" threads, you will feel positively rich with your £64 to spend. Anything is doeable short term.
ReplyDeleteHave a rice weekend :-)
Karen x
Hi Karen,
DeleteJust been reading your batch cooking blog post. Lasagne, I love!
Am scraping stuff out of the freezer, it's surprising what hides beneath. Have found two joints of gammon albeit small ones.
FIB. X
Gammon is great. I think you can make loads of cheap meals - we tend to have it warm one day with potatoes and vegetables, then with home made chips another day then the chunky ends that get left when you try to slice I use in a pie or with pasta. A very useful find ...
DeleteYou've done so well... it's not much for food for a month, but if you're careful it should be doable. From recent experience, I'd keep an eye on perishables and blanch/freeze veggies if they're not going to last in the fridge. I just had to compost a few green beans and it galled me!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna,
DeleteNot its not much to last us. We are being inventive with what we have. Thank goodness for the stuff in the freezer. Have just planted a few salad leaves and will keep doing that for the next few weeks to last us the summer.
FUB. X
One of my blogpals/followers halved her expenditure on food at a stroke. And kept it up for eight months! Mind you - it cost her a fortune in new clothes! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://a-grumpy-old-woman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/eight-months-of-alternate-day-fasting.html
Cheers.....B xx
Hi B,
DeleteI read it, very interesting. Lots of people are doing the 5:2 diet and fasting seems to be very in now. I have no willpower and am easily swayed by a snickers bar or similar!
£50 is doable. We've been in that situation before. You can do it! AND JUST HOLD ONTO THE FACT THAT YOU'VE CLEARED THAT OVERDRAFT! It makes the struggle all the more worth it.
ReplyDeleteChange it into a challenge!
Sft x
I have followed your advice, it is now a challenge and I'm quite enjoying it!
DeleteHave gone through the freezer, nearly empty but a few things left over.
Will keep you updated.....
X
How good must you feel !!!!!!! Back to basics on the food front and you'll sail through. You're already a thrifty frugal cook. If you get stuck take your main ingredient and google for ideas. Get that bread maker on and make some nice soups to fill you up. Stick to seasonal good priced veg, you know the ropes. I'm pleased for you both ! !!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma. Have tasked himself with the breadmaking!
DeleteXx
Thankyou for the mention! If you can make a rough meal plan for the month that will help you enormously, as then your money can be targeted at things you actually need to buy to formulate your meals. Just keep thinking that this is only short term and also how well off you are going to feel next month when your wages aren't swallowed up by the overdraft!
ReplyDeleteYes you are right...short term. It's ok as it's only for a while. I have the urge for a steak though!
DeleteFIB. X
Make that steak and end of the month treat, you will be able to afford it because you wont be paying overdraft charges! It will taste so much better and give you something to look forward to.
DeleteKaren x