Hello fellow frugalers, I have just struck a deal to earn myself a little bit extra! I enjoy making silly things and cute things and I like people to be able to afford a little smile now and again. I make inanimate pet objects like pebbles and shells and I even had a pet pepper seed at one point. Now, I have been shown a great place to trade and have found someone who will show me how!

Has anyone every heard of eBid? It's a bit like eBay except more of a community. It's where many of my Cyberdosh friends go. Can't promise miracles but it is free to list your handiwork and you don't pay a penny unless the item sells. How cool is that?!

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I don't know about across the Atlantic but here, in the UK, house prices are getting to be truly ridiculous. As an example, a first time buyer - single or couple - in the early eighties could purchase a decent little house or flat for less than £10,000. Now, the exact same house or flat will probably cost you from £90,000 upwards. Add to that the need for extra space to allow for having a family and the price is well and truly over the £100k mark minimum. What regular worker earns the £35,000 per year to afford such a luxury as a home?

Despite this, every other night on the TV where we used to have DIY and home improvement programmes, we now have 'how to pay off your mortgage in 2 years!' What mortgage?

DIY, to me, means repairing what the landlord won't, and doing it as cheaply as humanly possible. Pillowslips from the charity shops rolled up and stuffed with anything make excellent draft excluders for drafty doors! Old duvet covers make excellent curtains, again for hanging over drafty doors. Duck tape across your locks keeps the whistling wind at bay. 10p hardback books lodged under that wobbly wardrobe soon balance it up and the old-fashioned wire coathangers unfold nicely to create an adequate aerial for that old TV - or for clearing that blocked sink. A pot of baking soda helps absorb the moisture from those damp patches and a nice pot plant actually can survive on a windowsill on not much more than the condensation.

I think they should have a reality show that demonstrates how a NORMAL frugal living citizen can earn enough to pay rent at the same time as saving for a house or even apply for a mortgage, let alone raise the deposit. And that's only if they can find a house within budget in the first place. UK landlords have it all sewn up - minimise the term of the lease so tenants have NO guarantees that they can stay longer than 6 months at any given time, and then the mortgage lenders provide the facilities for 'buy to let', ensuring that tenants continue to pay other peoples' mortgages but haven't the wherewithall to apply for their own. My quest is to beat this system... I want a house to call my own home, bought and paid for before my retirement. I don't care how much DIY it requires, I'll take crash courses in roofing, plastering and bricklayiing if I must, just show me how to get from 'A' (skint) to 'B' (mortgage-free homeowner). Answers on a postcard to.... and 'find someone rich' is not an acceptable answer.

If anyone knows of any websites, TV programmes, DVDs, Videos or books that explain in simple terms how to achieve the status of homeowner as a single, minimum wage earner, PLEASE forward the details and I'll share them with all my like-minded friends.

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Just before Christmas, there were plenty of buy one get one free offers to be had, as well as the buy two, get one free 'gift' suggestions. I did most of my 'cyberdosh' shopping this way - online, using money off vouchers, discount codes and special offers. I encouraged others to do the same and, among us, we got several really useful free gifts that have saved us a fortune in the kitchen. My steamer and my huge stockpot are two such items.

Now, I only have to use one ring of the cooker and I steam cook my veggies over the top of my potatoes. This has resulted in really great savings, as it has cut back on the tinned produce in favour of fresh vegetables, which are almost always cheaper. Carrots are a firm favourite, julienne style, and steamed on the top layer above sprouts or cabbage etc, which is steaming above the potatoes.

What's more, all the peelings get recycled as fuel for the fire. It makes an interesting discussion point when you mention that your veg peelings are literally helping to heat your water tank! It's becoming an obsession though, because it now irritates me when, in other people's houses, I see uncovered pots simmering away wasting all that precious steam! Is anyone else obsessive about frugal living? Mine's developing into some sort of OCD according to one relative but I think that's as a result of asking her to save her peelings for me! :)

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For the entire duration of 2006, I kept a close note of my utility bills - I read the electricity meter every single day, changed my telephone package to the minimum available and my Internet access to fixed charge unlimited use (we all need our little luxuries). Over 12 months, electricity prices in UK rose at least twice by around 10% to 12% each time. There are people everywhere HAVING to think twice before switching on a light, never mind a heater. Coal prices have escalated, Gas prices have been hiked up repeatedly and in many regions open fires are no longer allowed. Global warming... it isn't warm here! And many cannot afford to do a thing about it. Our national newspapers refer to this as fuel poverty.

By 1st January 2007, I had changed all the bulbs in the house to low energy, unplugged all the electric heaters, opened up the coal fire and forbade the switching on of the electric water heater - the fire heats the water. One month down the line and have I noticed any difference? YES! Logs are a fantastic source of cheap heat and when they are in short supply,  shredded paper, used teabags, vegetable peels etc get compressed into blocks, dried and burnt to heat the water.

Having lived on a shoestring budget for years just to afford to live whilst tackling debt, it became second nature. A reduced price chicken lasts 3 days - roast the first night, curried/stir fried the second and by day three there's a huge pot of soup been made and the remainder of the stock has been frozen for future use. Bread prices are creeping up and up and it soon WILL be cheaper to bake your own, but I have long since discovered that the secret to successful, frugal living is time management.

This time around, I'm managing the budget to the final penny and to the final hour. There are NOT 52 weeks in the year when you have to budget tightly, there are 52.14 and 52.29 in a leap year! And I am charting my daily progress in my online diary. Now that I've found this site, I look foreward to sharing in some of your hints and tips to help me successfully complete my Cyberdosh Challenge.

UK citizens claiming certain benefits can claim 4 free energy saving lightbulbs via the Powergen website. Just search for Powergen and free light bulbs.

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