No-spend January/Frugal February - the no-spend challenge continues

[roguepixie]

OK - am attempting to start the second thread ... hope this works.

Cheapo dinner tonight...........

courtesy of Waitrose

4 x lemon and black pepper breaded Quorn steaks - 58p
Frozen roast potatoes - 29p
Broccoli - 73p (ALDI)

Apple Crumble made by DS2 (age 7) from 19p Bramley apples reduced from £1.49

so dinner for the 4 of us was approximately less than £2!!!!

Took DH to Waitrose tonight and told him to go with the flow with my bargain hunting. We were a little early but got

pre cut melon - 49p
Smoked mackeral x 2 -49p each
Balti wrap that DH wanted to try - 29p
Vitality drinks/Actimel x 12 mini bottles - 39p
Triple choc muffin - 29p

Some recipes on here that work out at approximately £1 per head, dependant on where you shop.
www.goodtoknow.co.uk/money/cheap-food-deals

Also they look at where is cheapest to shop each week
www.goodtoknow.co.uk/money/530310/your-weekly-shop?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=linkwithimage&utm_campaign=180212-Sat-1300

Always cook too much ? Except for using the leftover food for another meal this helps you to determine the correct portion size to avoid wastage
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

I really need to try and get to a Waitrose near closing time...

Bit of a bad spending week, but, actually, none of it was frivolous spending. And that's what I'm trying to cut down. And I got a refund for a pair of boots from DP that wore out far too quickly (had to chase it up, but now an extra £35 in the bank).

Meal planning is going well, and the only stuff we chuck out food-wise, is what the baby won't finish.

Good links there, thanks moomoo

Am just on my out to Waitrose bargainhunting

What do you all need?

Don't worry Vivian.

Tis Monday tomorrow so you can start again.

£8 spent in Waitrose

£4 smoked trout down to 89p
99p Gem lettuces down to 35p x2 packs
85p Granary baguette down to 18p
£5 Sushi tray down to 89p
£1 squash down to 25p

Also bought fresh peas and pea shoots for a deconstructed help yourself dinner tonight! Plus a few other bits.

Spent £34.00 in Waitrose today but did get whole leg of lamb reduced from £23.00 to £13.00 and pork shoulder (with stuffing) for £2.01!!! Have mid month shop coming tomorrow from Waitrose that is currently standing at £84.00 but that will be all store cupboard essentials for the rest of the month and into (Meagre) March.

Dinner today was said pork shoulder plus veggies plus I made a steamed treacle pudding from store cupboard supplies.

Have dusted off my knitting needles and am just about to start knitting some pressies for the coming year...first off: socks!!!

NSD! Woohoo!

It's my birthday tomorrow and I booked tickets for the four of us to see The Muppets film with money we saved from being under budget on food (£18.20). I might bake a cake too. We all have a horrid cold and DD has been in bed with a fever today, so that might throw a spanner in the works :/

Don't worry Vivian, that is the past, tomorrow is a new week. We all have days like that!

No-spend weekend here - Saturday just went round my parents' house in the morning then lazed about at home. Today went to the big park nearby (same onee I often go to with my friend on Fridays) & took a flask & biccies from home. We chose a sunny spot to sit & avoided massive queues in the cafe as it was really busy, as well as saving money!

DH has dropped a financial bombshell - he is going to do an MA in his hometown (120 miles from where we live) from September. So the choice is to stay here & he'll commute once a week @£40 per time or to uproot & move there. He had mentioned it before but then he got the brilliant job he currently has & I thought that would be the end of it. I hover between wanting to support him following his dream (which, ultimately, should see us a lot better off, both financially & in terms of having time as a family) and wanting to throttle him for putting us in aposition again where we'll have to scrimp, save & sacrifice for 2 years (been through this before as he did his degree as a mature student after we met). It also means we will probably have to put off any thoughts of a DC3 for a couple of years, until I'm 37, and women in my family tend to go through the menopause at around 40

Anyway, enough from me, hope you all had good, frugal weekends

I am late to this thread but spent nothing since Monday except for on Friday.
Dont get paid until 25th so wont have any money until Friday. Have a tenner left and 2.61 in change. Need the change for the bus tomo to take DD to docs as she has a chest infection (i think)

On friday bought newborn nappies, chicken quorn, quorn mince, various fruit including tins, bread, milk, pasta, beans, pack of donuts, dhs bottle of cider, cereal, baby shampoo and lotion, 2 cuddle robe towel things for baby, toilet roll, eggs, wipes, raisins and cheese. Spent 29.58. Then 15 quid for diesel. DHs friend is chipping in towards diesel this week as he is giving him a lift.

Will have spent 58.19 in 12 days if I spend all what I have got left. Will have a bit more money on friday really hope I dont have to go off work with DD as wont get paid for those days. Fingers crossed at the moment

Stbx reports 30p pasta and 30p potatoes in Morrisons (in NE England, if it makes a difference) Sainsbury's basics tea-bags as discovered by me via a heads up from MN now down to 30p.

Haven't read any of this month's thread yet, but am going to need to

• for 80, I should say

Can I share a small victory?

Looks like DD2 is out of night time nappies. It's a small thing, but still.

Managed to get a flat screen TV (32 in) from relative selling it for...GBP 50. It is ACE I must say. 3 yrs old. A major improvement on our 10 yr old one which has now gone upstairs.

REgarding Boffin's suggestion to do a style and beauty/health and beauty style thread I think she mentioned a while back...I am up for it. Didn't summon the courage to do the MN haircut in the end nor self-colouring. Would love to exchange stories of beauty/style on the budgetary edge so to speak.

LadyH, I saw that thread re the MN haircut ... and watched the video of it and I haven't got the guts to do it . Tbh, with my hair, I'd probably end up looking like Kevin Keegan in his 1970's, permed hey-day...or Rod Stewart . I think some of us are just destined to need a hairdresser.

Read a lot of this thtead last night and cant do a lot of it. No aldi, no morrisons, there is no way on earth our waitrose will do discounts like ones mentioned but they dont realy need to as the rich people here all go there.

Rogue for me it's the going into work part. I work in a very traditional environment and clients/colleagues would notice if I'd done a botched DIY. My main issue is colour - I only cut my hair about four times a year so a big screw up wouldn't be worth it for me. But I "have" to cover the greys every four weeks. That's wehre I really need a solution.

Molly, try extreme couponing and Approved Foods (who have a lot of great new stuff in this week).

I caved in to the Approved Food pressure and just spent £55 on tons of stuff. I hold you lot entirely responsible for my lack of self-control!

NSD Saturday and Sunday, apart from a few plumbing ideas that DH bought. Needed doing though.

Wow thanks for directing me here duchesse

Hi everyone - I am saving hard for the summer in order to leave my well-paid job for a substanitally less-well paid one! I need to stop spending urgently.

I have done an analysis of my spending for so far and Feb and I have spent:

£314 on going out
£99 on nights in
£323 on food shopping (2 adults & one child)
£91 on occassional lunches during work (WT-actual-F??!!)
£52 on hair and beauty
£94 on things for my house...

The list goes on to be honest. Please come and beat me with a stick and shame me in to ending my bad habits.. It's only the 20th of the month - and this month I have been trying to save I thought I was doing well! I wouldn't dare detail my spends in January or December

Anyone tried facial oil cleansing? [stands back and waits to be called a novice]

Mrs wobbly, tut tut tut. Firstly that going out bit needs to stop- that's a huge and utterly non-essential expense.