To think I am 'careful' and not 'cheap'

[goawaywillya]

Okay a bit of back ground story. My dd1 attends a sn school and recently became good friends with a new girl in the school. This little girl is from a quite well off family and wants for nothing.
Today at a social event I got chatting to this child's mother who told me about how they had recently spent £120 on a new princess bed for dd and how they have a planned holiday to NZ next year to visit family. She also described going to the cinema or local play centres each weekend and how the eldest dd has violin lessons etc
Then she asked about my own circumstances and I described what I do on a frequent basis to save money she looked shocked and said ' oh. We should be cheap too'. I was a bit 🙄 and when she said ' if you can ever afford to eat out as a family you should try Nando's, they're cheap 'I was like

I'm not jealous of this family. They have good jobs and deserve to spend their own money as they see fit, but AIBU to see myself as 'careful ' rather than 'cheap'. Some of what I do is-

. Dress dd2 in ds old trousers as boys clothes are tougher anyway and her dresses are worn again as tops with leggings.
.once a week I raid the fridge/ freezer and dinner is a mix of this ( I hate waste)
. I sew and darn clothes and can replace a zip
. I have made sardine heads into a pizza topping before
.i have invited family to dinner and kept their left over bones to make stock
. Do not eat out because it's not affordable and I would be shocked by the prices anyway.
I make my own laundry liquid/powder
.i make cake out of banana skins and also out of whole oranges and lemons including pips
.instead of paying huge fees for holiday activities I take the kids to chase the pigeons and feed them sausage roll crumbs outside our local Greggs 😳 or just to play at the park
Our local children's centre does nice low cost/ free activities also.
.i have bought cheap products from Asda and placed it into an empty box of 'posh' product.
. I regift unwanted presents for birthdays or Xmas
.i make vinegar from 🍏 cores
.i once made a homemade suncream when I could not afford a bottle of the real stuff
. I love charity shops and bought dds birthday gift there for under £10. Plus we have taken the kids there to spend their pocket money on toys and books.
.if something is over £5 I will struggle to buy it on principle
.. I grate used bars of soap to make new full bars
. I love summer, i don't have to use the heating 😁
. I buy clothes for ages older than the dcs are so they grow into them and I feel I'm getting my money's worth.
. I got rid of my tv licence and now just use Netflix and YouTube.

See, it's nothing extreme, just trying to save money as we go along. I'm sorry this post is so long , it's just hard to stop once started.

.

My mum used to buy cheap alternatives and put it in the branded packet. She wasn't fooling anyone. Likes to think she was.
there's a reason why all her 3 adult children have turned out to be brand buyers. It's because a fair bit of the times it's a vast improvement on the cheap ones that taste bloody crap.

My word you'd all be horrified if I told you what i have put in my chocolate brownies ( don't worry they are vegan brownies)

does it come from the bucket under the bed?

You could use the crumbs to lure the pigeons to eat them, pigeon would be more filling for the children than sausage roll crumbs.

Or just use one of her needles to snick off their heads just like Arya Stark used her needle in GoT.

Wonder what the OP's going to do when her kids become teens and are like, 'Fuck the sausage rolls, my ma's batshit, I'm off to the park to drink Buckfast and smoke weed.'

My word you'd all be horrified if I told you what i have put in my chocolate brownies ( don't worry they are vegan brownies)

Who are you anyway - Baldrick?

I must say I like the attention . It's been a tiring day.

Those poor sardine heads. You could have just stuck to vegan pizza!

@MyBlueMoonbeam I don't know why you mean?? Nothing illegal if that's what you mean.

Are they real brownies? Is a relative Brown Owl?

Great work by Thallo there, love that!

make the Four Yorkshiremen seem like they were living a Jay Z and Beyonce lifestyle.

Don't you think your DC might be teased for wearing clothes too big and her brothers old trousers?

This is a bit much tbh

have invited family to dinner and kept their left over bones to make stock

WTF?!

@ChicCroissant I know nothing about jay z and Beyoncé

Your poor dd will no doubt be living a bling lifestyle the minute she escapes!

It’s less thrifty and more abit deranged tbh. Also can’t imagine how the conversation panned out. Did you just launch into this odd litany when the poor woman mentioned she’d bought a bed?

BlackcurrantJamontoast

Do you use mayonnaise instead of sun cream?

Hello fellow bottom can!

There won't be any magic ingredient in the brownies.
That costs more than a fiver!

I have invited family to dinner and kept their left over bones to make stock

That is carrying economising too far. And the poor children eating sausage roll crumbs!

Sorry - it was too tempting. I am most impressed with being able to replace a zip. I would also like to be able to darn. I would give the sardine head pizza a miss. Your carbon footprint must be amazing - well done.

BlackcurrantJamonToast is my new favourite person on mumsnet :D

Oh I give up. Common sense people , common sense

oh fuck me this has cheered me right up am on a looooong night shift thanks!

@MyBlueMoonbeamI don't know why you mean?? Nothing illegal if that's what you mean.

Baldrick on Blackadder - obv before your time 🙃

You can buy a big bottle vinegar for less than 50p. Cheaper than your average apple 🤔

Oh I give up. Common sense people , common sense

Pot, kettle mate

Nah you're cheap

@aIways but what's the fun in that?

Cheaper than your average apple

Op said apple cores! Maybe her DD wears oversized boys trousers so that she can collect all the cores from the free school fruit and bring them home.