Frugal Feb gives way to Money-Saving March. Now featuring austerity health and beauty tips!

[Lexilicious]

Third thread after first and second

Let's get saving and enjoying our frugal wins!

summary of links so far
www.organizedhome.com
www.supersavvyme.co.uk/
womenfreebies.co.uk/
www.lovemoney.com/
www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/discount-voucher-codes/
www.poundland.co.uk/top-tips/gardening-2012/
www.purlbee.com/
www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/halfterm
www.makeupstop.co.uk/
www.approvedfood.co.uk/
www.goodtoknow.co.uk/money/cheap-food-deals
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

tardis good work. I'm sure Croatia will be worth it.

Definitely not NSD days here
Friday night I bought a freezer online. Cheapest one suitable for shed use. Hopefully it's an investment as it will give us more capacity for freezing apples and apple produce (we have a very bountiful tree) and bulky items on offer like whole chicken and, boringly, bread.

Saturday personal spend was about 7 on three large bars of Choc and a card for DH's birthday. I'm all done at £87. I've also promised him a curry when MIL comes to visit and can babysit.
Household spend £20 on erm, rubbish! I went to get milk and aforementioned card etc and also bought cookies, maltesers, sweets and crisps. Some pears and grapes snuck in there to feed the youngest. Very .

On the upside, I sorted through our pile of "get rid" and have a bag ready for a friend due in May, a pile ready for the NCT nearly new sale, a pile for eBay and a mountain of bulky stuff for a car boot.

Today's objectives: fill out form for claiming on dental insurance, eBay 2 items, send off nearly new sale seller application. Oh, and go out for lunch but keep my share under £25.

OK, so husband and I went out for a Chinese last night. Sister babysat, so she was paid in pizza and cake . It was around £40 but we haven't been out on our own since baby (almost 10 months old) was born. It was good, as we chatted about stuff (when to start trying for the next one - we can start in a month!!) and how I feel a bit like I'm not realising my potential. Got a degree but never really had a job that uses it and now I'm a SAHM (my choice, but still). What I'd really like to do is see if I can get good at decorating cakes (kids' birthday ones etc) and see if I can flog them off to others in the area. But practising involves money. Sigh. I just feel like I want to be known as being good for something. At the moment I try and do some freelance copywriting and translation, but that's never really taken off. All my siblings are doing well for themselves (solicitor, window cleaner with own business, working for a charity) and I feel like I'm a bit of a loser in comparison. I just want to prove to myself that I can do something well. Anyway, I digress.

On a more positive note, the baby has just learnt to crawl. Well, it's more a selective crawl, but he has definitely gone forward a few times.

Also, for those that have children on formula: we buy ours (Hipp) in bulk from Amazon. They sell it in lots of 4 boxes and it saves a few quid. I'm sure they do other brands as well, so it's worth a look.

Oh, and does anyone want 2 months' free LoveFilm membership? We were sent a few vouchers (worth up to £30) and have one left. If you are interested, send me a message and I'll give you the promo code and url to enter.

BOFFIN et al who commented...
Interesting you say that about how much practice you did. The 1.5 during the week is dancing the whole time. The 3 additional rehearsal hours at the weekend include waiting around time watching others dance - so I'm not sure how much of that she is actually dancing.

I don't want her disappointed and upset if we cut it. Strictly speaking, right now it's technically something we can manage if we want to and think it's important. BUT I really don't know if she is learning anything. The exhibition classes we have seen for the RAD exams don't suggest that the girls are making unusual progress given time spent. One she did really well on, the other two so so even after the whole class was called in for additional practicing!

Our last year's AP went along to one of the shows and heard a grandfather grumbling in the background. "Who does this woman think she is...look at this dancing!"

The issue will come to a head if DD1 wants to continue this malarky and DD2 then needs to be offered the opportunity to do it. Financially we would need to start making some decisions then.

Most of DDs closest friends are Asian and don't do ballet/tap they go along to classical Indian dance. In fact - I'd be very happy for her to do this instead but she's not interested. This reminds me - there is a Bollywood component of this show, and ANOTHER costume to buy. I will need to try to borrow one.

Sorry to go on about this but DH really would be happy if we dumped it now, our friends think we're nuts, DD would be sad...so I am indulging myself by trying to get my head round it all...

Feel free to bypass this massive post.

Harriet, I'd find another dancing class if I were you. I found the woman who ran my daughter's classes totally without any empathy when I said we would be cancelling because I was being made redundant. Her attitude was 'why would you need to save money?' - it wasn't as if I was asking for a discount or anything.

I saw a really good tip online about buying a huge bag of potatos (obviously cheaper in bulk) and preparing them all by peeling, part boiling for 5 minutes and freezing ready tomake roasties. I want to do it but what do you do then? Let them thaw? Cook them frozen? How long for?

I used to send my daughter to one of the allegedly top teachers in London through her school, and after a bit of pressure, also started trekking across London to drop her off at a second weekly class. This woman had a reputation practically second only to Fonteyn in the upper class ballet teaching world. Everybody who was everybody had been to her lessons, dahhling. Then one day I actually stayed to watch the lesson. Really, her technique was terrible. Her engagement with the children left quite a bit to be desired too. The way she was teaching posture and so on had them all standing funny, looking like pigeons with their chests stuck right out, apart from anything else. Footwork was sloppy, children were not seen as individuals and properly attended to/corrected.

I wondered what on earth I had been doing, shelling out for this. I did some research. She was married to an extremely rich man, and had spent 25 years marketing herself so solidly to all the mummies and private schools in London that everyone actually believed the whole spiel. What an idiot I had been. I then had a chat with a few ballet friends, who knew all about this woman's nonsense, and through them found a much better teacher who was great with young kids, a really talented dancer in her own right, and who managed to teach DD more in a couple of lessons than DD had done in a whole term with the other teacher.

Moral? Just because a teacher (or school) tells you something is good, does not mean it actually is!! Listen to the muttering grandfather and your heart, and find her a decent teacher who does not run a ballet school for her own convenience rather than the benefit of the kids.

spew - sounds like a nice dinner out and money well spent. I'm trying to think how many times DP and I have been out by ourselves since having DD and think it is just once for a wedding...

I sympathise about the job thing - I would really love to do something different to what I do and find something that I can be good at and proud of. For me the hardest thing is deciding what it is I want to do though. If you know you'd really like to do the cake deco though then go for it - perhaps if you estimate how much it would cost to do a course and/or enough practice then you can save that up, do it and then see if you can make a go of it? Worth the investment to give it a good go?

Right, i am supposed to be clearing the boxes of junk in the spare room so we can get it carpeted. Best get back to it...

Littleredant I recognise that attitude in connection with kids activities. I don't think this woman would do that in such extreme circumstances - your case really takes the biscuit - but she does let you know you've 'made the wrong decision' when we turn down the exam classes which more than double the cost the ballet that term and tie up all of our weekends for long periods of time. She seems to think it's just fine that for total of maybe 14 weeks a year, we don't have a serious dancing commitment. For Infant School children.

BOFFIN this is woman is cut from the same cloth as your lady. Marketing herself round the schools, etc. That's just the ticket. What I am going to do is let the girls do the show (which is very sweet, it has to be said) but start investigating other options for after the spring break. I would not mind the rehearsals for the show every couple of years it's the endless cycle of stuff she seems to dream up.

DD: "But I'll miss all my friends...." NOne of whom she sees anywhere else but that dancing class. I think we'd manage....

I was about 2 or 3 when I started ballet. Initially just a bit of jumping around to music, being a tree for about half an hour a week. At age 7 I think I was doing about an hour a week and I used to practise on my own most days, just for fun. By age 9 I was doing ballet group lesson, ballet private lesson, character, modern and some tap. So about 4 hours of lessons a week. No exams. One concert a year with an extra couple of hours of rehearsals. I was pretty good and wanted to go to ballet school, except I wasn't physically suited. My friend did end up going to White Lodge and then the Royal Ballet Senior school, and became a professional dancer. They only did about 2 hours a week actual ballet at White Lodge, which is the same as kids do in terms of PE at a normal school. In other words, they have ballet instead of PE, but otherwise the curriculum is the same as anywhere else. So if that's good enough for people having professional training, I don't see why infants need so much unless the teacher wants to spin out the lessons.

This is supposed to be a great system for very young dancers.

Cecchetti

On a Beauty theme.....Boots 3 for 2 No7 cosmetics offer is on at the moment but only found out yesterday that you can also use the £5 off No7 voucher WITH this offer.

Soooo I bought 3 items that would normally have been £23.50 down to £13.50 with the 3 for 2 and then down AGAIN to £8.50 with the £5 off. Phew!

A bit long-winded but worth it methinks A 70% saving (or summat like that!!)

Oooh just noticed someone talking about Ballet Classes (sorry to hijack but it is about money)

My 3 year old goes to a ballet class every saturday which costs £6 for an hour.

When I took her yesterday the dance teacher said "That's £18 pounds please".

Eh? I thought.

Apparently if you miss any weeks due to illness, holidays, ANYTHING! you still have to pay!!

My daughter is only 3 and to me the ballet is just a bit of fun, not a serious commitment to the world of dance!

Is this the norm?

Enough of the ballet talk and tell me what to do with these flaming frozen potatoes!

Although, i do have an opinion on the matter... it's all a load of bollocks. If your child has a genuine talent and passion for dance then by all means go for it but other than that I think they are better of in a fun, mixed dance class such as street dance or a drama club, choir etc. These snooty dance schools are always ran by wannabe/ failed/ dancers and they are a money spinner plain and simple.

My DD started when she was 3, they signed me up to a whole term - (admittedly after a free session which my DD loved) on the third class (after being subjected to a teacher who knew her ballet but was about as capable as addressing and engaging with a room of 3-5 year olds as I imagine Alan Sugar would be - no offense Alan) she decided she didn't want to go anymore. The uniform was £90 all in, her entry in to the termly show was £20 and I can't remember how much the term was but I think it was around £12 a lesson (2 hours)

They wouldn't refund any of the money and even tied me in to the term's notice in the contract!! Which I refused to pay
I might have had a bad experience but it has definitely put me off.

My DSD went to the same dance schoo land was bullied by 4 of the girls - there was a bulimia issue amoungst the older ones (13/14) as well

Almost an NSD here. Got £20 cash out for the first part of the week. I need change for tomorrow morning, so treated myself to a packet of crisps for 44p and a Twirl bar that was well within date, but only cost 33p :). Ate the crisps and saving the Twirl for a treat tomorrow.

I agree - sorry for the hijack.

In my defence did start off as a cost thing, as the costs are mounting...

And I think managing your children's expectations vs cutting back on household spending is something v relevant to a money saving thread...

I don't actually think the activities thing is UNIQUE to dance lessons though...there seem to be plenty of people prepared to lobby parents to part with their money and run a guilt trip when they decline...

But enough.

NOW POTATOES I would let them thaw and then cook but not sure for how long. Anyway, with my substandard semi-nonworking oven that needs replacing I'd probably have to quote four days.

readingchildminder I can't help wanting to know what threats they made when you refused to agree to the terms notice...

Thanks readingchildminder think you've hit the nail on the head with it being a real money spinner for the ballet school.

This particular ballet school has a reputation locally as being la creme de la creme i.e. snooty and very formal. When I said to the teacher that maybe it wasn't right for my DD she said that it makes such a difference to their education and encourages them to be more disciplined etc etc bullshit bullshit!!

A mum friend's DD goes to the sort of club you described with a bit of everything in it, think I'll give that a try and its only £2.50!!

And if DD does turn out to have a natural ability at ballet I'm sure that will become clear in years to come.

Sniff!! I loved seeing her in that pink leotard tutu every week - and getting back to all things Credit Crunch it cost a bloody fortune!! But not as much as £24 a month (and paying for when she's not even there, Grrrrrr!)

Sort of a NSD Saturday which would be the fourth I think! We were away from home so I ate from M&S but DH bought it so I don't know how much. He went to soft play again too, and then we went to see friends last night and today.

I am this moment trying to convince myself to go upstairs to the other computer and complete the sainsburys order I have done which won't take me to the payment page on the iPad. Am using a quidco code for £10 off £50 first time shop. Have used all possible two for ones etc. Supermarket scrimping is really starting to bore me.

We (3) went swimming this morning for £9.40 - leisure pool because we were with friends, proper pool is less than half that harrumph harrumph...! Then later we had ice cream, coffee and doughnuts on Whitstable sea front for £12.50. I won't bore you with the details but had I not used the best pricing combinations it could have been 50% more than that. Then emergency milk and butter from tesco for about £5.

Not such a great day for spending today - seem to have spent rather a lot on food shopping in the last 10 days. Did get some reduced bargains today in Waitrose - steaks, pork chops, corned beef, crumpets, fruits buns etc. However, need to re-address how much food I actually need to buy in a week. Apparently, Sunday afternoon is a very good time to go to Waitrose for reductions - around the 3pm mark. However, the lady I spoke to today said it really depended on each store and how much stock they had in. She was chuckling away as she was telling em that she had a few regulars that come in on Sunday afternoon and follow her around ... yeah, I thought, that will be me next week .

DS does martial arts on a Sunday - he's done it since he was 5 so has a long relationship with the club. The Sensei knows me well and has very kindly bumped him into another class - so he gets 2 classes per week for the same price as 1. She did it without even knowing I was watching the money so it makes it even nicer.

Anyway, I'm sorry the weekend is nearly over but I hope everyone has had a good one and enjoyed the nice weather.

You can always say it's an unfair contract.

Almost a NSD yesterday, just needed bread.
Today a whopping £80 at Morrisons, Sky+ remote was broken so needed a new one at £24 and got some Brita water filters at half price, have enough for the year now. Also got some mousse and hairspray so I can have something of a hairstyle tomorrow night at the theatre. Apart fron that I got some bits for the week and tea for today,

DD! is the activity child in our house. She does horse riding once a fortnight and ballroom dancing once a week, although giving that up after her GCSE's. She also plays the cello. These only cost atm £45 a month as her cello is paid for by the school. Once dd2 and dd3 are old enough that is a potential £150 a month. DS gets most of his activities through disabled ervices and we take him swimming and pay for dissport triathlete club but that is only about £4 a week

I think I am ready for tomorrow. I have worked out some travel routes, bus and tube and directions for how to get to hotel, is only half a mile but we could easily gets lost, dsis just follows and mum strides off thinking she is following you but she is in front. I have GPS and internet on my phone so will be using that I think.

February has been a big spend with DD1's prom dress and the London trip. I will try harder in March