Juggling July - Frugaleering into Summer

[roguepixie]

New thread for everyone here.

It's been a frugalling fail for me this month DH is off work for two weeks so we've been spending like we're on holiday, lots of frivolous ice creams and boozes etc. Worth doing to spend some lovely time together as a family :) but next month we really must knuckle down. The upstairs sink pipe is leaking, the downstairs bathroom skirting board is rotting, we're halfway through painting downstairs, it's DD's birthday, then camping holiday, then DS's birthday, then DS starts school so need to buy new uniform...and on and on and ever on.

Yesterday turned into a LSD. 87p for ice lolly for dd and £2.50 for DS at gym. Didn't get round to doing the shop. Must do today though. Inlaws arriving! Although not staying with us but need to get supplies in. We are running out of the basics like milk and bread!! Happy weekend everyone.

Trip to aldi - second big shop of the month (usually we do big shops weekly but due to work etc this is a fortnightly one and it looks good) and it was £106. Included lots of stuff for BBQ tonight and feeding the inlaws etc. fingers crossed all I need in a week is bread and veg/fruit.

NSD today. I have a spot on my chin visible on google earth so I am not going out.

I've discovered two things today;

Aldi own brand cleaning stuff is not tested on animals so I don't have to pay extra at the co-op for things anymore. (If their website can be trusted)

Hot deals.co.uk is brilliant.

Low today - £16.26 in Tesco on some oil, bits to take to friends for BBQ tomorrow & meat for dinner. But actually only paid £6.26, as I got on the Rapeseed Oil challenge here & they sent me a £10 Tesco card

DS1 also got a new recovery vehicle for having a good report, which was £6, but he got £5 of that from his Granny & Papa (my grandparents, they gave all their great-grandchildren the same for their reports!), so we only contributed £1.

Friends we are seeing tomorrow wanted to go to Legoland or Zoo today, but we said we didn't fancy it as the queues for either would be huge on the first weekend of school holidays. We are steering clear of places like that until school goes back again! I do feel that they are the kind of parents that feel you have to pay to go somewhere to keep the DC happy, as they are always at places like that (theirs are 11 months & 3.10), but we quite do enjoy a good mooch around the house & walk to the village, we certainly needed it today

Fluffy I also love hotdeals & Martin Lewis' website!

Confused - I think the opposite to your friends. My two are slightly older at 2.7 and 4.3 but I think when they are young is the time you can get away with running around outdoors pretty much anywhere without spending anything more than buying an ice cream. I imagine it's when they're older they're much more aware of that sort of thing.

NSD here, went to a party. Tomorrow should also be a NSD apart from that I have to pick up an eBay parcel for DSis as the seller lives nearby.

I agree Spangle. I never paid for expensive days out when mine were that little. I'd have done the same confused!

I've always been amazed by these surveys that say that parents spend hundreds of pounds entertaining children in the holidays. Not mine!!

Last summer we spent £58 excluding picnics and petrol for six weeks entertainment. I trawled local websites for free and cheap stuff to do.

NSD for me yesterday. Should be an NSD today too.

I know a couple who took their Pfb to Disneyland Florida, the kid was so young they have no recollection of it all.

Days out I remember from my yoof;

Gullivers with school
Endless stately homes, still like these
Petting zoo at the local zoo.

Got to do big shop.

I'm glad it's not just me that feels like that! In the past year (from December) they have been on 5 holidays with their DC, and that's not including weekend breaks - a cruise, 2 weeks in Kos (or somwhere like that), week at Disneyland Paris, long weekend at Center Parcs, week at Havens & one other thing I can't remember We do sometimes have paid for days out, eg we went to see Santa on a steam train at Christmas time, when it is also DS1's birthday (our DC are 4.7 & 2.3) & we took them to the Polo for a couple of hours last weekend as they went free with us, but we love a good walk round the village to feed the ducks or a morning watching CBeebies & playing shops.

Should be an NSD today

The best thing we did last year cost £4. It was a beach treasure hunt with a ranger from the wildlife trust. DS found crab claws and mermaids purses, DD found a really rare shell which they photographed.

We found a fab place for tree climbing yesterday. That's one 7yo boy happy for the summer!

It's perfectly possible to have fun and not break the bank.

£57 on food, didn't do list and bought washing powder for the whites, laundry gloop doesn't cut it on whites.

£45 on pans and e cloth dusters in tk maxx, dh paid the balance, they are REALLY good pans though, I shouldn't have to buy new pans ever.

£2 on crisps.

£1.49 on onions in lidl for 5kg, I'm going to chop them in the food processor for the freezer.

DH and I had a bit of a freak out about our plumbing problems and general lack of buffer yesterday, but was for the best in the end as we now have a proper plan for managing our finances so there is greater transparency and ability to save :) including monthly shop, pocket money for us etc Feels really good to be starting from a common point.

On the weekend we spent £36 on entrance fees for 5 people to a local festival. Kids went free. Brought picnic so didn't pay for lunch. Bought stuff for sil for her birthday and a handbag for me £10 and £13.99. Bought kids ice cream £4 (2 each!!). Wasn't too bad.

Today NSD so that's no 10 I think.

£1.28 drain unblocker and potatoes
£20 petrol.

I'm back

Spent zilch on holiday, left all that to OH we all had a great time.

Will catch up later after we've been shopping, need groceries and tyres. DD2 wants dress making paraphernalia.

NSD again today. OH spent money on bits & pieces in the DIY store, roads, parking, food and cinema tickets for tomorrow.

Spent just over £10 today on 24 cans of 7up (was about £6, much cheaper than buying a can out when we go on our many picnics over the summer) plus crisps & bananas from Farm Foods. Then £3.10 on ice creams in the park.

Today just have to buy DH some cheapy moisturiser & maybe have a look in the bargain charity shop here again for shirts for him & maternity clothes for me

Went to docs last night & seems I am further along than I thought in my pg, 7 weeks already, so I have to have my booking in appointment next week. So, by my calculations, baby should be due in early March - which sounds really soon!

Yesterday was extremely expensive at £234 for the vet....... (hopefully no more visits for a while, just meds) plus DH filled his car so that was around the £90 mark - he needs it for work so no choice.

Today though I need to do a food shop but only a small list. Tomorrow, I'm signing the kids up for a swim pass so that will be £50 gone and I also need some fuel so £20.

Thankfully, mostly free days planned for the hols plus swimming and the occasional kids am - I'm planning not to spend more than £70 incl swim passes over the summer. We have food = picnics; we have popcorn kernels = kids am treat food; we have ice-cream in the freezer. Roll on cheap days!!

I also like cheap days with DCs, we never had exotic treats as kids and despite spending gazillions getting to far flung places we don't spend a lot on activities for DDs, what they enjoy best is having friends over or cycling/swimming when the sun is less fierce here.

Fluffy hope that spot has calmed down, my jaw line has come out in sympathy.

Daisy bit late but huge congrats for your DC on the Sats.
Also I hope your pet is okay now.

We didn't get out in time to sort the tyres yesterday, OH might do it today. They are still legal but only just.

Dogs will come home today, 7 nights hotel charge plus de-worming and bathing the grubby individuals. No idea how much that'll be.

Rogue yes, sunblock is bleeding expensive isn't it? We need it daily here so I always try to stock up when it's on offer.

Yes we have free/cheap days out. I refuse to go places which cost as much for a day out that you could get a weekend away somewhere.

I use days out with the kids website it gives free/cheap to places to visit in your local area.

We shall apply sudocreme and try to ignore them Adora.

NSD today but Dh's eBay fees have sent my account overdrawn so I have to transfer money in for that. I'm going to get him to set his own damn paypal account when we've moved.

I just use sainsburys SPF 50 for sunblock and a cheaper one from superdrug for my face. I can never see why Nivea is £12+ a bottle but the UVA protection is only 3 star? Most odd.

Was an NSD till we ended up at KFC as dd had a sports day. Argh. Tomorrow should be one.

Spent just £2 today on a dress from charity shop that should see me through pregnancy (nice & stretchy ) & another £3.50 on moisturiser for DH. Oh, and 30p on some yummy Sainsbury's Basics chocolate Is it too early on to blame it on baby?

Day out with the kids today, although was half price entry voucher on Littlebird so already paid for. Still spent £7.60 on emergency lollies, crisps and sanity-restoring cup of tea for me though.