Marvellous Frugaleers - Chatting and saving through November, and into December.

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Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

By popular request - copied from an old thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/1324074-For-those-who-cant-afford-to-use-central-heating-this-year-How-are-you-going-to-cope

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1628874-Gas-Elec-Bills-monthly-and-SKY-so-angry

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1911061-NO-MORE-COLD-MUMSNETTERS

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2209167-Slow-Cookers-are-shit

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2224969-saving-money

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2258202-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-6-start-the-new-year-with-a-clear-purpose-and-keep-moving-forwards-even-by-tiny-steps?

orchard.tesco.com/ Sign up to this.

www.topcashback.co.uk/home And this.

www.quidco.com/home/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub ditto.

www.checkoutsmart.com/ Plus this.

www.hotukdeals.com/all/deals/new?page=3 Check this daily.

Thanks Cathode

Gas ovens are brilliant & so cheap to run. I don't think I've ever seen a built in one though, it's all freestanding.

How bad is the rib?.

cathode, fab, thank you!
A busy week to come in my household, getting everything ready for December hybernation!!
I aim to pay for my wreath making session and everything else while we're still in November, ideally, I'd like to spend £100 in December till Christmas, so we can hit the sales afterwards without breaking the bank.

Ooh great! I like the old tips threads.

Thanks cath

Just checked my bank account. £29 to last until Monday (payday).

Joint ac is £48. Dh food shopped yesterday £33. So it's really £15.

We don't actually need anything so it'll be ok.

The rib isn't bad Fluffy. It just clicked quietly and now hurts when I lie on it. Except this morning because I lay on it too much (oops). The NHS website says it will get better in a couple of weeks. Silly though.

Glad you like gas ovens. Do you find them easy to control the temperature?

Thanks cathode and ouch
Also probably need to add www.kidstart.co.uk to the links as they do Amazon cash back.
Hope a nights sleep has helped crème.
The washer is defo the belt or bearing it's been making a funny noise for ages. I will look tomorrow. Quite often use ao but forget about John Lewis. Which reminds me I want to go to Fenwick's window

Has anyone pm collie and Italian? Can't do it off my phone

I like my electric oven. It's ok to keep on top of with an oven liner and an regular wipe when warm. Think I paid £400 for mine last year, which is a hotpoint incidentally and got loads of best buy's, had hob

Nice cloakroom

Hello! Jumping back in (yet again!) will try to keep up this time! Dodged a bullet yesterday as thought we'd gone into our overdraft but actually our back-pay of CB had come through! Hoping for a lsd today.

I like my electric oven too. It's a German make (bau something). The clock ticks over too fast, the temperature is always about 20degrees out (so I have to adjust it). But it's super easy to clean. And makes great dinners!!

Struggling to get out of bed this morning. The weather out there is awful and the duvet appears to have claimed me as one it its own.

we're driving today. Yippee!

Thanks for the new thread, Cath. I have a whole gas cooker, which I deliberately chose to buy when I had to buy a cooker for the first time last year (when I got my H.A. house). It's an Indesit and it cost about £170, from ao.com and another £40 for a gas engineer to connect it, which is essential. IME, very little goes wrong with gas cookers, as they're quite simple. Temperature control is fine, although as there's no built in timer, you have to be more aware of timings yourself. I wouldn't say they're entirely self-cleaning, but I have only properly cleaned mine once in 18 months!

Thanks all. I went to bed before 10 and was asleep before 11.30, which is early for me.

Lovely loo, Trying.

Happy Friday everyone.

Life I didn't know about oven liners. I'll look into that. We wouldn't need to run the self-clean nearly so often if there was removable liner on the bottom of the oven. Good to know!

Ooh you can get built in gas ovens. www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/st/built-in-gas-ovens

They do the best Yorkshire puds.

I wonder why electric ones became so popular?

Expensive to run
Pain to clean
Rubbish at yorkie puds.

cath Amazon sell oven liners. I think I bought 3 for about £4.

Sorry, the book is Jamie Oliver's Family Food Family Classics. I have never cooked from one book so often, but it might not suit all. Tonight is garlic and thyme chicken, mushroom, cherry toms and asparagus. Easy to substitute items for what you have available.

Adora My DC are better at being neat and tidy than DH. It can be a battle sometimes. I forget how old your DD is, but my own was harder work just around and prior to her periods starting. For about 6 months to a year. She's a delight now, they do get there I promise.

Hope the rib is ok Cath, don't do any belly laughing for a while!

Taking DM out today to buy a chair! I am going to buy a reindeer for the Christmas table, but that's it. It won't be real..

And today, because DH has taken the dogs out, I have had a long shower and frugally used all the stuff I stole from the hotel the other week. I do smell lush if I do say so myself!

Thanks, I have just ordered an oven liner on amazon prime. That should keep us right for a while. I'll keep the gas option in mind just in case though. :-)

Thanks Need, yes I am breathing carefully. :-)

no energy today and no preschool so I have two small boys to entertain. They are watching CBeebies. I'll take them for a walk round the shops after lunch, they need to post their Santa letters and I've got parcels to collect.

Hi all just marking my place on new thread
Yesterday wasn't too spendy really except for IKEA where the total was €102.00 - €11 was things for my friend which she will pay me back, €17 was out of ds's birthday money, remainder were unplanned but not frivilous, a big tray with a raised grill for roasting turkey, bowls as we have broken some over the years & not replaced (since Christmas 08!), glasses (cheapies!), some christmas gifts and decorations and storage for playroom.

Finally got my Sinful nail oil need found a salon supplies that did it and made them off yesterday picked up a few more bits and then discovered they only sold to trade, lady took pity on me and enquired from her superior could she sell to me as a one off as I'd travelled quite a distance, they ok'd it so I bought 2 60ml bottles then as it is cheaper than postage on said items.

Returned laptop & scales to hq so my deposit is in the post today
Now to buy kindle fire or not

Our mechanic came back with his bill, it's larger than dh expected. Mechanic has let it run up since Feb/Mar despite repeated phone calls requesting bill. €1000, we'll pay him €500/€600 now and balance in new year.

The upside of this is my old car that au pair has very rarely visits garage, my car is only 4 years old so shouldn't visit much either so dh's van is only one that should require any work next year.

€6 on treats of a fruit platter and some choc visiting my friend and her dc, she made us dinner so it was a cheap dinner

€4.80 on sausages to fill our baked at home rolls and some choc for our breakfast

Ds got all clear from hospital too, no more trips to Dublin for 5 mins with doc.

€10.10 on tolls and parking

Diesel spend this morning was €57, going to split that between mine and joint account as most of it was used driving to Dublin with ds.

Washing powder, washing up liquid was another €18 this morning but this will do us until end January I think, oh and 8pk of kitchen roll included in that spend.

Dd had some spending money for school fair and trip to town with au pair yesterday as she wasn't going to dublin, will check change when I get home.

I signed up for eatstro.com using a discount code to get €20 off first delivery so 3 restaurant standard meals for 2 for €35, I will unsubscribe immediately.

On the menu - Salmon Fishcakes with Side Salad, Sirloin Steak with a Lemon and Pepper Sauce, Sauteed Radishes & Fluffy Mashed Potato, Tomato & Balsamic Chicken with Paprika Potatoes. 3 Date nights with dh basically!

Oven liners are amazing, I buy mine in Aldi and only have to clean the glass on door of oven(which reminds me )

Use a wet dishwasher tablet to do the glass door and then just wipe it over with a damp cloth.

This thread is such a mine of fantastic information. :-) Thanks for all the oven tips.

I just phoned to make an appointment with my new GP and found that I've been put with a French lady. I'm sure she's delightful, but I really feel that a cultural or language barrier is not what we need in our situation right now. I asked how to switch and they said to write a letter asking to join the waiting list of a specific GP, so I've done that. Gosh it's complicated.

The oven liner that I've ordered claims to be able to go in the dishwasher. I mean, where have I been all these years, not knowing this?

cathode whispers I've never cleaned my oven - we moved in Dec 24th 2008!!! I've wiped the liners and replaced them once!

mummy I'll try that, it's spatters burnt on to the glass, previously I've had to use a paint scraper to get it off. Project for the weekend

Unfrugal Friday. I blame stress emotional spender right here

So. £35 in next on a gold sequin mini skirt.

£27 in boots on: hand cream (soap n glory on a threefa), radox bath bubbles, lip balm in the shape of pusheen the cat, pusheen cat pencil set (both will be gifted for Christmas) and snowman bath bubbles.

Left over mac n cheese for lunch. Have caused utter jealousy in the office. Have had to protect my lunch.

Also saw these trousers on my travels. They are um....less that favourable. In my opinion.