A miserly May on Mumsnet for the fantastic frugaleers!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Saw April was getting very full so thought I'd start this off early!
Welcome to all who want to save cash, live frugally and pay debts, or just trying to live within our means!
Full of hints and tips on how to save money in the supermarket, meal planning and daily life.

Here is a thread about cleaning ovens.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/616122-anyone-got-a-professional-oven-cleaner-in-and-not-been/AllOnOnePage

Congrats east

I've nit checked in for a few days! Weds was just 1.20 in b&m and Thursday was NSD as I was a poll clerk. Ill get about 130 for that. Friday I got my hair done which is a small fortune. 3.50 on parking and 10 for eyebrow threading. 8 on two vests from next but im going ti take them back as they look cheap.

Yesterday was 4 odd in Tesco and 2 in charity shop for wee cars for DS. Last night was my date!! I probably spent about 15. He was very nice and we had a lot to talk about but I don't think I fancy him. He wants to see me again so I guess it's a good outcome as that's me done that first date and it's been a bit of a confidence boost. I'll probably see him next weekend and see how it goes.

I'll have a read through the thread properly tonight.

picnmix I think all the best ones are 'growers'! Hope it works out well.

I'm becoming obsessed with Christmas shopping! Honestly, it's May ffs! I've only virtual shopped so far but my amazon shopping basket is bursting! I seriously could be all done by June

Going to prezzo's for lunch and using our club card vouchers (exchanged £10 of vouchers for £40 to spend in prezzo's). Should only have to spend £10 on drinks.

Lovely MIL got us a two night stay at the Blackpool FC hotel for our birthdays so going there on 31st July which was a nice surprise this morning.

Sainsburys order came yesterday, after using the £15 off voucher. The guy was so nice and helpful - very impressed! Got 3 lots of meat for £10 and looks great quality. Just put the gammon joint in the slow cooker with some cola. I'm worried we are going to end up with a horrible, sticky mess as never done it before...

Spring - won't be long till I start thinking about Xmas shopping! I bought all my cards in the Boxing Day sales and usually have the majority of the shopping done by October. Definitely better to spread the cost out!

spring, and others that Xmas shop early, do you not feel tempted to get more for each person as Xmas nears? whenever I have tried to buy stuff early I have ended up spending twice as much as I get swept up in the Xmas chaos in December! you clearly have far more willpower!

Which of you used the emergancy dentist?, how do you contact them? Dh has bad toothache (for months) and I think it might be getting bad enough for him to go . He isn't registered with a dentist.

£12 on a pillow for dh (taking it back if it doesn't help)
£6 vitamin tablets
£1.50 on two dinner plates from wilkos.

Our emergency dentist is at our local hospital. Googled the hosp name and emergency dentist and the number came up.

Fluffy call 111 they made the appt for me

silk nah I'm too stingy for that!

Have tried to keep up with the thread but haven't posted for a while.
I also post on the debt thread so can't remember what I've posted where so apologies if I'm repeating myself!
We've had a good May after our indifferent April and end May with almost £4k paid off our debts (OD &CC) since January and owing £1270 less on the car loan. I've now drawn up a budget up to the end of August at which point we should have no overdraft left, £5600 left of the car loan (ends July 2016) and about £8k left on the 0% CC (0% until early 2016). The frugality is paying off and it feels great . I've also been putting money aside for Christmas, as, however frugal we are, is a more expensive time of year with more socialising, travelling, presents etc. The feeling of control is brilliant and i'm now hoping that by this time next year we'll be close to debt free.
The next few days should be fairly low spend. Going to do a couple of days out if weather holds. It'll be walks and picnics probably. pil are staying with us for a few days so I'm hopeful they may pay for a meal out while they are here . Eating out is the thing I miss most about being frugal. We didn't used to eat out all the time but maybe a couple of times a month which could easily add up to £60 for the 4 of us so it's a big saving.

Thanks spotty & miss.

North you are doing so well. I miss eating out too, sometimes we have a couple of cheap meals in a week so we can have steak & chips with all the trimmings on a Saturday.

Fluffy - call 111 and they will make you an appointment with your nearest emergency dentist. In my experience, phoning earlier on a morning means you're more likely to be seen. DP has been seen on a Sunday and I was seen on Boxing Day but they were only open till midday.

Hope he feels better soon!

Got back from Prezzo's - great meal and cost us £11 after using our vouchers - expecting the delicious smell of gammon to hit us as we came in... It smells awful and is actually turning my stomach. Think sweet onion hotdogs and you're somewhere near.

£39.03 on Tesco shop, after using my £4 off £30 voucher. Whatever I do lately, I can't seem to get the food shop much below £60. Which sucks when you're trying to live on £75 a week, after all rent and bills. :(

CremeEgg my budget is £75 for food. I did this week for £60 including nappies. That was £52 in lidl and £8 in sainsburys. Some weeks I don't do so well...are you doing all the obvious things? We have one night a week where it's beans on toast or pasta pesto

Charlie that's annoying I'm sure it'll taste nice though. I've just roasted a chicken for dinner mmm

CremeEgg and Spotty we also have one night a week where we have beans on toast, or jacket potatoes and beans, and on this night I will make a pudding so everyone is filled up. I will make a fruit crumble usually. I chop up a tin of fruit and pour some of the juice over then sprinkle over a Tesco crumble mix - 42p, (I don't know why it is called a mix as there is nothing to mix or add!) and then cook it for about 30 mins and we have it with ice-cream or custard, whatever I have.

I'm just feeling a bit fed-up of watching every penny and always trying to make do today, for some reason. I keep trying to take comfort in living within my means and not being in debt, but I still feel a bit meh about everything at present.

Our meal plan this week is jackets with cheese, coleslaw and salad; mushroom omelette, sweet potato wedges and salad; gnocchi with pesto, avocado and grated cheese; and veggie burgers and wedges. I have bagels, soup, baked beans on toast and veggie hotdogs in mind for lunches. I don't think I'd know what to cook with luxurious ingredients now! :)

Fanta, thanks for the crumble recipe. It sounds lovely.

Food is just so expensive

We were going to go out for lunch today, just because, but we decided not to. Frugal win?! Sort of....

Exactly, Spotty. You try to take comfort from being sensible, but you still wish you'd treated yourself to a lunch out for once!

Creme that conversation happens periodically in our house. We're fine for money in the fact that the bills are paid etc but my mainly childless friends don't think twice about going out for 2/3 course dinner, ordering wine for the table then on to somewhere else for more drinks then cab home. We have main only, order our own drinks so we can pay our own bill and then leave before the night is over to get a bus back.

When we occasionally have them round for dinner I never know what to cook as we also cook with basic cheap ingredients. We eat well but I would NEVER serve them baked bean curry with value rice and pitta. Most of the time it's fine as really I can't compare with them. We own our home, most of them rent and we have 3dc but it can get depressing at times. It's not forever . Clubcard vouchers provide most of our treats.

I spent £42 in Sainsbury's today, but £31 was on headphones for DS and DD2, and I had kept back £30 from their birthday money to buy those when I banked the rest. I also bought some nappy sacks (for the cat litter tray) and a pair of sandals, should have come to £41, but there was 25% off the sandals so I grabbed something else (I had a voucher for 1600 nectar points if I spent £40).

I dropped DH, DS and DD1 at the pub for meal, then spent £8.07 in McDonalds for DD2 and I for lunch as was expecting to be out when did the shopping.

CremeEgg I don't own any expensive ingredients, let alone would know what to do with them!

DD was telling me the other day that her bf had complained to her that there were not a 'good selection of varied spices' in our house to use when they are cooking together! I have salt and pepper, chilli powder, curry powder and some italian herbs for a bolognaise and that is about it! Oh to be 18yo and to have no idea about the real cost of anything

Approved foods is good for puddings. Not for food allergy & diabetic families like us but for the rest of you it's a frigging plethora of catering size sponge mixes

I worked out the halogen ovens saved me £1.20 this week plus vat. Hopefully next year it means I can go on a no standing charge plan. It will pay for itself in the first year, if I'd bought a cheaper one I would be in profit.

Sse customers can get one on their websites shop for about £30.

Creme do you always shop in tescos? I thought you had a lidl too. Your meal plan looks good though. Is it household products that are pushing the cost up?.

Dh has wrecked one of my E-Cloths, he now has 5 emails in his inbox for various places to buy E-Cloths. If I didn't think they worked I'd just buy cheap ones from the poundshop. I am not taking it well.

Fanta I'd tell the boyfriend you'd be able to buy sooo many more spices if people weren't in your kitchen cooking & using all the leccy. Perhaps he'd like to supply you with lots of herbs & spices so you can see what you've been missing out on all these years.