An Avalanche of Austerity for April - Mumsnet frugaleers continue!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Thought I'd start a new thread for April

Today spent £8 at wait rose for lunch with ds. Had my tea free so I guess I saved £1.55. Reason why we are eating out is coz the kitchen is being made over. Good progress though - we don't have a wall anymore and the room suddenly looks very big. Can't wait. The kitchen hasn't been done in 40 odd years. I lived with it for 2. In the meantime the electrics are being done too. And flooring...

£3 for swimming. Then to Sainsburys for 25% off clothes. Didn't get me anything. Got shoes for dd, clothes for ds and socks for dh.

Thankfully because I made lots of food on the weekend, we managed to eat at home for dinner.

Tomorrow's dinner is at a friends. Might bring my lentil sweet potato curry as a contribution. Tomorrow lunch I'm at work so won't have to deal with the son that's transformed into the whingiest child ever. Is this what 6 year olds are like?????

Hi all,
Was hoping for a nsd but a local National Trust place we visit all the time has just introduced parking charges so had to pay £25 for a year parking pass. Nevermind.
Started a diet yesterday. Hoping to lose 50lb in the next year so maybe the food bill will drop a bit too!

Fluffy you just made me feel sick talking about avocados being liquid inside. I hope I don't remember that next time I eat an avocado. I am very suggestible.

NK5BM38 It's a pain not having a working kitchen and all the dust etc but it all sounds so exciting. I bet it will look fantastic.

gogo how annoying about the car park fees. We visit NT properties a lot and I know DP would be totally put off by that. We had planned to go to a different NT property tomorrow. I am so glad I looked at the website today as we have to pay extra to get in - another £7.50 for an adult. Sod that for game of soldiers.

And congratulations on starting a diet. Which diet are you doing?

I will re-phrase. The avocados were a bit softer than is ideal.

Fluffy if you have a very heavy thing, maybe a heavy based pan, you can use it the press the wraps. Lay it on cling film, fold cling film over and squash it.

Spent £4 on 2 peppers, grapes, 2 avocados and crap snacks for DDs. Didn't leave in time to shop before school.

DD1 is being stroppy because I refused to buy her her proffered shampoo and told her to use what's already here. Apparently I'm putting people I don't even know above my own DD because I spent money on food to donate.

Stuffed courgette was delicious, if we don't sell this bloody house soon I'm turning the whole garden over to veg.

Posted too soon.

NK how long is your kitchen likey to take? I hope you are happy with the result once it's done.

Gogo good luck, are you doing a set diet or just eating healthier in general?

last day of terrible boring work conference today then off to visit DHs aunt and uncle in lovely Kent.

Money hasn't gone very well this month but should still have a surplus to pay a little bit off the debt. There were just too many "exceptions" to our spending ban - am going to stop this happening next month and from now on by paying down the debt on payday it will be scary but I have my £250 emergency fund and there's no other way to make sure I just don't spend

The kitchen apparently will take 2 weeks. So far, they appear to be on schedule. Of course, this week, and the next, we have the Easter weekend to contend with... But well, let's hope it really does take two working weeks and no more.

The kitchen is already here, and so far the plumber, electrician, builder have been working well. My dh is project managing it, since he's an architect. But still, he's also working as well, so that's abit of a nightmare. That's the problem with being self employed I guess.. No work, no money!

I was on leave this week but going in today as meetings had to be scheduled. I do hope to get some things off my work to do list though... As the week after easter I'm in Paris for 3 days again, for work.

Did you all see this in debenhams? www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/debenhams?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=oneliner-five&utm_term=15-Apr-14-lt&utm_campaign=deals&utm_content=2

Asda have champagne reduced to £10, think I might get some for my birthday.

cool i felt a bit sick too!! Not keen on avocados anyway, they taste like soap to me! The parking fees would usually put me off too, especially as we already pay the annual membership fee but it is such a great place and nearby so will have to suck it up.
Thanks adora just a calorie controlled diet. 1200-1300 per day plus will do a couple of classes a week which is another cost but want to increase fitness before I try running. When I met DH i swam 5 times a week and now I am a human marshmallow.
Enjoy the weather everyone, it is going to turn a bit colder over the next few days.
missanners is this your 'fuck it' month?!
adora how long has your house been on the market?

Woo hoo got my £7.50 cash back from British airways that I had had to file a missing claim for it's gone straight to payable too. £18 payable and £85 pending now

Fingers crossed for the kitchen coming in on time and not taking up too much of DH's earning potential NK I take it you won't be hosting a large dinner over Easter?

Gogo house has been on for about 2 years, with a couple of breaks. We're abroad and the economy has boomed which means anyone who is anyone wants to build their own house rather than buy a second hand one.. We are ever hopeful.

I'd say your classes are an investment rather than cost, you won't get fit and healthy again if you don't excerise. Will you be able to get back to swimming, is that your favorite sport?

Spotty that's good.

Money avocados are actually a very healthy thing to eat, as long as not accompanied by fried tortillas or chips which is my favorite thing to dip in my guacamole

gogo it looks like it even though I don't remember thinking "fuck it let's go mad" will will will do better next month

£2.50 parking
-£29.99 taking jeans back that were too big
£24.97 on two tops and a scarf instead

£1 in lidl on crisps and water.

I had an ocado voucher of mse for 25% off, it's come to £32 with free delivery. I'm not sure the delivery ought to be free, maybe they will text me 5 minutes before delivery to say its £10 delivery or something. It's for a week on Friday in the evening so all the neighbours see

Ocado delivery is super cheap

Hello fellow marshmallow moneyone! I have this second signed up to MFP but not even activated email yet as I need to go and do my first class. Aqua aerobics. Need to calm down a bit it has been a terribly busy day. I couldn't even remember whether I had spent any money but then realised I had spent 9 in sains and now 5 for aerobics.
adora blimey that is a vvvv long time. I had a shared ownership flat and when I sold that it took a year as they kept allocating people before doing any kind of financial interview. I think we got through 12 people before we sold. Was a nightmare so I sympathise.
missannersley i won't tell anyone if you don't!

Good luck to all you dieters!

7.95 in b&m. This included sunscreen for DS for nursery and creme eggs to send over for his half bros and cousins. Not v generous of me but I know they'll get loads from other people.

50.04 on petrol.

I've had a grubby Big Mac, resisted the fries and fuzzy drink though, and now having a respectable coffee. Will be £4 all in once I'm done. Off to test drive a cheap car now. Will catch up properly later.

Thanks adora! Well, we've not gone away for this Easter so I guess eating out is a treat then...?!!

There's less dust today. I'm ever hopeful that the majority of the dust will be over by this weekend. The builders have been on schedule so far.... I'm optimistic.

Spent £6 on pizza. Brought over to friends house. Also brought left over lentil curry which went down a storm, and some strawberries which were not great but at least all got eaten - the edible ones!!!!

I'm hoping to declutter with my son's help tomorrow...I need to get the hoarder gene out of him!!

Hello, just skimmed through the thread after our week away in Lanzarote. Spent €460 instead of the planned €300, but we had breakfast and lunch out every day, and had a couple of excursions, so it was worth it.

Today's spends were £10.19 in Lidl, £7.83 in the post office, although that's covered by PayPal (eBay postage) and 60p on a pack of Kinder mini-eggs for my neighbour's toddler.

oh dear, this was my 'fuck it' week anyway. And then tonight, just as I was about to serve up a frugal pasta dish, I noticed that my thermometer had earlier fallen out of the cupboard and smashed, sending mercury all over the work counter.
needless to say, dinner had to be binned and we all ate out while I braced myself for the cleaning up operation.

Creme hope the holiday was good as well as spendy

I bought Easter eggs 2 weeks ago. I put said Easter eggs in a safe place. I now have no idea where that safe place is.

In addition to my splurge this arvo I spent £3 on roads.

School run tomorrow so that'll be £2.55