November Numbercrunchers *blows the budgeteering bugle*

[claretandamberforever]

In here please.

Feel free to post a daily spending diary, to ask for advice or just for a general money moan.

£12.95 Aldi/Sainsbury's yesterday which was supposed to last until Friday. Dd is desperate for some fireworks so I've relented and spent £4.99 in Aldi and 50p in Sainsbury's. On the plus side I remembered I had a voucher so picked up 12 crackers from Aldi for £1.90, which I'm really pleased about. In many ways they are a total waste of money but the dc love them so a few cheap ones are fine.

I'm going to have a little stock take today of the things I've bought for Christmas. I think I'm almost done but I need to check as I'd like to be finished before December.

Badvoc I have some unclaimed Tesco vouchers too but I am not sure if our Tesco is doing the doubling at the moment - on the last one they offered doubling on toys, opticians, clothes and frozen food. Do you know if there is a minimum you have to exchange as I might get some frozen bits - so much for defrosting my freezer!

I have toyed with the idea of a spin drier but have nowhere to put one. I don't have a tumble drier as I think they are heavy on electricity so in the winter I have all my washing on airers and hanging in doorways. One on my neighbours puts washing out every day of the year and it hangs for days on end - I wonder if it actually dries or if she ends up putting it on airers indoors to finish it off.

Possibly could you include pulses like lentils to bulk out your stews or is that a no-no on the diet?

Frozen is not included this year!
Not much is tbh...

With any luck you'll be offered a speed awareness course.

These things happen.

Managed to get all my stuff for a tenner, hooray. And that included a Peppa Pig magnet book for DD's stocking, reduced to £2.40. We have done SFA towards Christmas so far, this bargain makes me feel a bit better

subterfuge I don't tell my husband that the marrow fat peas aren't bachelors or the stuffing is smart price or the tea bags are sainsburys basics or that I cook chicken in the slow cooker.

The propaganda leaflets for women in ww2 said don't tell the husbands about the economies you make with food so I don't think it's a new problem.

Organic meat does have the highest welfare of all meat though. There's a butcher near us who has his own slaughterhouse at the rear of his premises & all the meat is locally reared so it doesn't get transported across Europe. On the downside a chickens over £10. If I was rich I would buy all my meat off him.

NSD & £5 cashbacks come through.

I need plain flour for vegan brownies but cba to go to the shops. I feel pmt coming on.

£6.30 on posting off eBay parcels and 51 p on an emergency pint of milk.

Just lost it with 11 year old DS for daring to leave a skidmark in the loo I'd only just cleaned . I need a cuppa and some chocolate to help me calm down!

Monikar pulses not completely ok, but better than potatoes etc (and might do some for us anyway). luckily greens like cabbage and kale are quite cheap at the moment and he's happy to eat those to bulk it all out. Ooh, that's just reminded me of a mega budget carrot and lentil soup recipe I used to make, will have to dig it out.

Had a major win today, thought a client had paid me for something and they hadn't, they came round with a cheque earlier, so am £115 up today! Today would have been a family NSD but DH has just texted to say he's picked up some sparklers for the DCs. Am happy about that, but will have to have another awkward stingy sounding conversation if he's also bought a tenner's worth of 'top up' as well. Am actually getting cross in anticipation!

grocer was closed coz he had no stock left. I bought veg and fruit for the week plus a kilo of shelled walnuts for £20.

Shall catch up later, currently juggling putting shopping away with late lunch and impending school run. Did I mention the dogs? T'is 'f'ing hot here Today, over 30C.

It is cold here. And raining.

Stop showing off adora

Got a wee tank top for DS in a charity shop for 50p. He doesn't really need it but might be nice for a Christmas party as he doesn't have a lot of smart clothes. 9p, yes 9p, for a tub of chocolate philadelphia. I've never had it before and it is nice! Then I spent £3.50 in Tesco on bagels, a loaf and new toothbrush and toothpaste for DS.

Not bad for a day when we had no plans.

Oh FFS, DH has come back with (of course) a load of fireworks, so has spent a tenner instead of £2-3. And is now sulking because I wasn't suitable excited. How am I supposed to make him see that we have no money?

Keep the receipt & take them back.

I'd probably huff a lot and say fine in a really pa way when he asked me whats wrong.

It's usually the men on here, it's a recurring theme.

We have seperate accounts.

possibly I recently discovered that we had no savings as DH had quietly spent it all on supplementing his salary - I had thought there was about £4000. There was nothing. He didn't spend it frivolously but had gone part time and was finding it really tough to make ends meet and spent the money rather than telling me we needed to re-budget. We now have a joint account which I check every month.

He's gone full time again and agreed to look for a better-paid job so he can pay it all back, but I am a bit that he didn't tell me at the time

Artemis I'm sorry you've had a shit time with your DH/money, but slightly relieved I am not alone in being frustrated. I did get a bit PA at him, and he is going to take back the extra fuses he bought because he didn't think there were any in the fireworks boxes, so we'll get a few quid back. I think he gathered by my reaction that random spends like that will not be well received, so hopefully it won't happen again.

Am trying to list one item a day on eBay at the moment, have managed it for a whopping three days so far, long may it continue! We have absolutely loads of stuff to eBay, nothing terribly expensive but hopefully it will add up.

Welcome orange. Other halves with heads in the sand is def a recurring theme on this thread. Luckily my dh is fully on board with the frugality which really helps. You're only just starting out on the frugal road, he'll soon get used to it .
NSD here today and hoping for another tomorrow.

Where did my post go? Can't do it again right now, need To check the rice for doneness.

So, as I was saying, I'd be glad To swap Fluffy and picnmix as I find getting things done much easier when it's colder. Just cooked dinner, before that 2 kilos of sausage, in 1 peice, from the freezer because DH can't eat it. Frozen it again in portions for packed/my lunches. Now boiling water for pasta To put in lunch for DDs Tomorrow .

and for creme

and my DH is genérale not too bad with money, other than wanting To control everything, but he recently suggested having Christmas in UK this year. I actualt said "How the Fuck can we afford that ". His maín problem is throwing money at emotional problems in the hope that it will make everything Go away. He is learning, slowly

Well done Blackberry

Adora my DH's main problem is emotional/generosity too. He loves taking the DCs out, will stop for lunch, takes them to visit his mother (a couple of hundred miles away, so over a tank of fuel), buys big Christmas presents etc etc. which is so much harder to be strict with than selfish spending!

We had another good chat last night and we're reminiscing about how good we used to be about budgeting - grow herbs, make stock, no convenience foods, lots of batch cooking, careful with water/electricity - and how all we need to do is get back to it.

Have lots to do today, am hoping for NSD (am out for a business lunch, but it's already paid for, pre-economy drive, and drinks etc provided), and will try to do one or two more eBay listings.

Possibly sounds very similar.

Spent two pounds thirty on shower gell and a multipack of cheap biscuits for an upcoming school trip. Might get another pack as they are very cheap atm and I don't usually let DDs have these.