Marching into a miserly march with the mumsnet frugaleers

[Fluffycloudland77]

Newbies, helpful tips & lurkers always welcome.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

MissAnnersleyismyhero. I bet it felt great didn't it? You might still have a pro-rata interest payment next month. Mine all said I wouldn't & then the next month I'd get a bill for £15 .

orange maybe they'll each go halves

I might as well get mil Mother's Day present while I'm out later.

Aldi voucher in the mirror/record on Thursday.

Oh ellis now I need brownies and sainaburys is only 2 mins from my office.

My DDs would probably appreciate some of Those brownies. I'm still without weighing scales but I do have all the ingredients, might do a leeeetle bit of on line research To see How much of each I need in cups while I'm Sat here resting this knee.

Well done MissAnnersly

Fingers crossed Orange

Don't need anything Today so it's just the school run at £2.55. Dog food is going To have wait úntil I can carry the 20 kilo bags from car to cupboard. Normaly it's not a problem but I see no sense in risking agravating my knee.

I'm eating moré than usual because ibuprofen gives me hearburn, needs must.

allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6036/vegan-brownies.aspx These are good, I only use about 200ml of oil.

www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-leftoversoup.html?opt=rlunch I made this today, I chucked un identified shredded meat in too. Turns out it was Xmas turkey.

adora that toll road seems really expensive. How do locals afford it?

I am on a eating everything in sight frame of mind. I shall blame the hormones and the dreadful weather.

If you like chickpeas and lentils (I know people can be funny about pulses), this is delish for days like today.

Nsd and home now.

Possibly that would be amazing

Adora and Ellisisland and

Spendy day yesterday. £33.27 in M&S, £13 in poundland, £16 for lunch with my friend and £3.99 in a charity shop for a pair of M&S trousers - new with tags for me, 2 short sleeved white shirts for ds (still in their packet) and a DVD also for DS so a bargain all in all.

NSD today. I an feeling quite pleased with myself. I have been swimming at the gym (50 lengths) and have baked a loaf of wholemeal bread, the Frugal Queen's fat free tea loaf, banana muffins and chocolate crispie cakes with mini marshmallows. This is not me! I had to open a few mini packs of raisins to make up the weight of the dried fruit for the tea loaf and had to make the crispie cakes in a baking tray and then cut them as I have lost my paper cake cases and needed my silicone ones for the banana muffins.

Well the antibiotics are kicking so starting to feel better

Jinty - are silicone cases any good? I see them all the time in the shops but never bought any. The amount of baking I am doing at the moment!

Ended up a NSD as DS nursery rang and said that they didn't need me to bring any nappies as they has found a packet I bought in ages ago so didn't need to get any more. Am trying to make the freezer food stretch till Thursday as that's payday and I'm off then for the weekend. Can't face food shopping after work in the week!

Team lunch today, mixed cold meze starters, chicken shiz, rice, salad and orange juice, total £7! Wondering how some places make a profit. ...

Cadbury 95% of the students live t'other side of the tolls and most people this side use closer schools.

When we moved here it was in the sticks, then the movers and shakers moved here too and up went all the costs.

Ellis glad To see you are beginning To feel better.

I'm glad your feeling better Ellis, try some poundshop silicone cases, that way you've not spent a fortune if you don't get on with them.

£2 in tesco. Lacto free milk for dh, sp pantyliners & loo cleaner (not tested on animals) and a slotted spoon which was 12p!.

I'm trying lidl chicken gravy granules tonight, 75p!.

jinty you need comfort foods in weather like this, it's freezing here , I miss the sunshine.

NSD for me today.

Lacto free milk is much more expensive than regular milk. I pay £1.39 a litre for lactofree compared to £1 for 2 litres of ordinary milk. Wouldn't it be better to buy ordinary skimmed milk (at half the price )

If its nice milk he drinks it with meals. He has diabetes so the lower the sugar the better.

He doesn't like the taste so he won't be doing that again. He was having organic milk.

Cruel to be kind. I'm pissed off because it means I have to visit two shops every week.

Lidl chicken gravy is lovely, I was spending £2 on bisto gravy powder because of my allergy.

Fluffy I'm diabetic too. 'Tis shit. But I'm getting a pump (I know I are a whole bar of galaxy yesterday but I carb count so it's ok ).

I forgot, I spent £50.44 last night buying DS a new suit for our holiday. I ordered two pairs of trousers as I'm not sure which size he needs, it included a shirt and tie and I also ordered a pack of tights for each of the girls for the holiday.

DH asked me where the money was coming from so I showed him that I had the cash in the bank and explained the nursery were refunding my deposit.

I also told him I was happy with him asking me the question.

ellis thank you! They do sound really easy and it is good that you can use cocoa powder i stead of chocolate as it never lasts long in this house!

Will make those this week. Hope the infection is clearing up

Was supposed to be a nsd but gave 2 pounds to the grocery delivery man.

£1.80 in the post office, £2.40 in Tesco and £2.50 for breakfast club for DS, so £6.70 in total.
The brownie recipe looks good! :)

On the theme of chocolate never lasting long I stashed loads before Christmas To do Nigella's flourless brownies with chocolate Sauce for DH. When I Opened the bag To Get started DD2 said " How much chocolate have you got? "

NSD. Will catch up soon... Hope adora and Ellis feel better soon... I didn't have much dinner and all this talk of choc is not doing me any good ladies!!!

On the subject of chocolate we've been eating the bargain box of chocs I got from the chocolate tasting club a while ago. I'm having to be restrained and have just two a night as I'm with my family. If I was at home they'd be scoffed.

3 into softplay today.

Ellis I bought a set of the silicone cases, including a large cake size, one for doing a loaf and 12 cupcake/muffin size, from the book people years ago for ds2 who was having a baking phase. He has never used them but I think they are great. Nothing sticks.

Fluffy it's been sunny here today (Scottish Highlands) and 11 degrees so quite nice. I even had washing hanging out. Its been frosty the last few mornings though.

Tesco baking ingredients are on 3 for 2 if anyone wants to stock up on bread flour or yeast. The little tins of yeast work out really cheap.

Pay day woo hoo. Cc paid, joint account transfer paid. ..and a few pennies left all for me.

Dp isn't working atm as he is a builder and doing our extension. He doesn't understand/desire little payday treats (like my cheapo jewellery, handbags. ..new top etc) but I feel v conscious of any spending atm as he isn't earning so even more reason to be good or sneaky

£42.99 on ds' first proper pair of shoes

This thread is seriously moving - I predict 1000 before the end of March!

fluffy I restocked some baking essentials last week, how annoying!

spotty first shoes are so expensive but so worth it for their little feet.

I'm doing my monthly summary now as will be busy over the weekend with dd's birthday.

The good - getting paid overtime, starting to plan home-grown veg for the garden, my first no spend weekend!

The bad - have stopped tracking daily spends towards the end of the month again, lots of unnecessary spending, astronomical amount of petrol used, finding it hard to say no to nights out.

Thought as we're getting towards the end of 2014's first quarter I'd also do a quartlerly summary:
In general I'm pleased, have saved 450 since the beginning of January, have been very concious of spending and have checked my bank balance daily so am really feeling in control of our money.
Could do better at saving, so much of our spending is 'red' ie completely avoidable e.g. a meal out, a babysitter, petrol, drinks. Money that could go straight into savings.
Must do better at tracking, I want to try and be super frugal in the first couple of weeks of each month as it tends to be, as I get towards the end and know I've spent too much that I just think sod it!

Here's to a fresh start it Q2!