Jacket Potato July: our frugal year is flying by!

[CremeEggThief]

Hi All,
I couldn't see a new thread yet, so thought I'd start one for July. The jacket potato is a marker for starting summer off on a frugal note. :).

NSD so far.

I would have had a nsd but I'm all out of tinned tomatoes so need to get some. Very annoying having to go out just for that.

NK belated happy birthday for yesterday

Ceelo well done on your uniform spend, that is brilliant

Supermum it is expensive when they go up to senior school - I saved a bit each month for the preceding year to soften the blow a bit. Also, if possible talk to some of the other mums of boys to discover what you really need for the pe kit. My DD's school had a ton of kit to buy - dance leggings, netball skirt, track suit (£50 and that was 7 years ago!) hockey socks, astro boots, trainers, I could go on. All she wore was the tracksuit and pe polo shirt with trainers for the whole time there. The other bits literally didn't go on ever. It is difficult though, as when your child is new, you are nervous of not buying the whole kit. What I wish I had done now, was to buy the non-worn items from the second-hand sale so at least I had them but hadn't wasted so much money.

Hoping for a NSD day today.

oh help I'm guessing your dc are a little older than mine as my eldest is 6 but round about now we get a big bit of paper and draw up a holiday chart/calendar. We then pick one or two activities that are 'essential' for each person to enjoy the holidays and fill them in on the chart so we know when we're doing them and then we fill in all the other days. I try and keep things that need a lot of travel together as then we can buy a bus pass for the week.

'Essential' activities tend to be the costly ones but knowing when we're doing them helps me plan. Keep an eye on Groupon etc as I've got 2 soft play vouchers which cost £4.50. Tesco vouchers are useful. We usually do one day a week to the library as they have a summer reading challenge on. On day at attraction that we have pass for. Our local pool does a daily fun swim with disco music. We have friends round 1 day a week for play, basic pizza and chips and hope they return the favour. Have a dvd swap with friends so you have something new to watch on those wet afternoons. Making a card or writing a letter to grandparents at the start of holidays kills one afternoon.

I work out how much I have to spend at the start of the holidays, take away bus pass costs and divide the remainder into weekly amounts. I take this out as cash. When it's gone it's gone.

I've got this in the slow cooker. Really cheap to make (with cheap sausages!) and it smells amazing.

We've hired the local hall before too oh help. I really think, like everything, planning is key. If the children know they are doing something great on Friday then they are more willing to put up with yet another trip to the park. A child swap sounds like a good idea, I might try that this year.

The other things I have found useful are offering a bribe and hard core meal planning. Last year I promised my dd that if I didn't have to scream like a banshee more than once a week on average she could have a £5 dvd she really wanted which definitely improved her behaviour. I also cooked quiches and jacket potatoes and froze them. Took quiche out in the morning and microwaved potatoes in the evening. Did LOTS of slow cooker meals. Basically anything that meant I had to be in the kitchen for the minimum amount of time in the late afternoon/early evening when I find my dc need greater supervision to keep the peace.

Great idea preparing snacks. Don't forget to buy multi pack of ice lollies for £1 from Iceland while you're out instead of £1.50 per ice cream from the van.

Spotty enjoy n well done on cheap sausages :)

I have spent nearly£100 this week on sale stuff for baby clothes n muslins etc but saved 3 times that

I had 20weeks scan this week n am having another BOY :)

Anyone have a stokke xplory looking at second hand- will it fit in Ford focus boot its old boxy style boot not the new curved style so easier access n bit more space.

It seems to be a year for boys my way, I know of three so far! I know that's not loads but it's all the pregnant people I know

NSD

The only pg girl I know is having a boy too.

Been out today to buy the things the kids need for their show. £10.69 for jeans for DD1 in Gap sale, saved extra 20% by giving them my email address. Went everywhere looking for plain white lace up pumps. Managed to get 2 pairs in Primark for £3 each, unfortunately they have pink laces so I'll need to go and buy white. Also £1.50 for some cheap warnings for DD1. Sandwiches to share as kids hungry, £5. Lunch at the end of the trip £32.

Frugal win: one of our iPads has Ben playing up and wouldn't charge. Went into the Apple store. Out of warranty, but bought online at the apple store, they gave me a brand new replacement! I was expecting to pay £80 for a battery service, so walking out with a new one was fantastic.

£7 off parking.

I spent small today.

Found out my c section date yesterday (29th of august) so went and bought the crib mattress ready for him (£12.99 from mothercare) but didn't spend anything else!

Thank you for your birthday greetings everyone!

Spent £25 at Aldi today buying a new frying pan and a pair of lolli Kelly fake shoes for dd. Slept in, rushed like mad. Went for an indoor picnic and then friend came over with her kids. Made bolognese sauce, baked some raisin cookies and made pizza dough.

Yesterday, Aldi weekly shop was £35 which was good going. Then went and did my nails - paid £14 but dh bought me some vouchers £30. Also he bought tickets to the cinema for ds and me (how to train your dragon 2). Great movie! Dh also paid for lunch at favorite restaurant and at dinner too. Yay! Oh and an extra ticket for dd's ballet show next weekend, £5.

Have a good week ahead. It will be spendy. I need to get things booked!!

Spendy day...oven, integrated microwave fridge freezer, hob and extractor for eextension £2.6k eeeeeeeek

Frankie and bennys where I told dp that he couldn't have another coke and a pudding....probably our last meal out for a looooooong time!

Spent about £25k so far on the extension. .some on zero per cent credit that we are hoping to clear before the time is up. Childcare should be getting cheaper soon as dd starts ft school, plus both are in infants so get fsm...Every penny counts as I want to pay £500 off a month ideally...so we'll be storing and eating smartprice food in our shiny new kitchen lol

NSD for me today - Dh bought olives and spinach. Olives for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow and spinach for breakfast tomorrow (I am trying out a green smoothie )

Frugal win - he was going to buy hummus and then we realised that we had all the ingredients in to make it, we made a huge tub from a can of chickpeas, 2tbps olive oil, 4 tbps of tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic. So easy and absolutely delicious. It made about 3 x the amount you get in a £1.50 tub, not sure how much the ingredients will have cost but it's got to be competitive.

I have had a mad month spending wise, DH's PhD graduation cost me £200 with travel, wine/gift, gown hire, new dress and lunch out on the day. Back on the wagon again now and trying to focus on damage limitation until payday.

After putting it off for a few days, paid my amended water bill for the quarter £101.90. I also paid off the balance of my credit card for last month which was horribly high after clearing the last few old bills. After allowing for the remaining DD's, I gave about £1,000 left. Hopefully to put some towards paying off the last remaining credit card.

NSD Sunday. Monday will be spendy.

Today will be expensive, have to order DD1 a leotard she needs for a costume, and pay £55 on top for the costume and having it made. I think I will have to buy a sewing machine and learn to use it!

Will make a packed lunch today as I need to make DS one (well 2 actually, one for lunch and one for tea in case they don't have time to go out between the rehearsal and the show.) had to give DS money in case they do get out. Recommended is £5, have given a £5 note plus £5 in change.

Can I just ask how much you all spend on entertainment per week? Taking kids out at weekends, after school activities etc. I am thinking of setting a limit! I have a 10 yr old boy who does football training twice a week, £3.50 a go. DD6 not in any clubs yet but I am thinking of letting her join Rainbows in September.
I spend most at weekends!

I hope no one minds if I jump in on this thread! Hello everyone!

I am trying to have a cheap week, we have had to pay a big tax bill that has wiped out our savings so we must be frugal for a while so we can save up again! Today I avoided just grabbing some sushi for lunch even though I was very tempted! I held back and now I am feeling glad. I find that grabbing lunch when I am out and hungry can really add up every week. We're having bolognese all week for dinner, it's my easiest and cheapest meal.

Tonight I am going to try and avoid stuffing my face with chocolate, it has become a habit and that also adds up after a week!!

Welcome! I'm awful for evening snacking too. I'm going to stop again as of today

Hi shnicky I have stopped buying snack foods - I only have rice cakes and fruit in the house now whereas before I'd have had crackers, biccies etc coming out my ears. I'm having reasonable success with having a green tea/caffeine free chai tea with splash of soya milk in the evenings, it gives me something to do with my hands and is hydrating and (almost) free.

I also keep 3-4 different flavours of nakd bar (fruit, nut and seed bars, no added sugr) for when I'm heading out in the car to try and ward off buying stuff at petrol stations.

I did MFP for a few weeks and realised my meals were spot on calorie wise, then I was eating almost the same calories again in snacks and wine

I'm cutting out alcohol for as long as possible this summer. Thinking about doing this cleanse for 30 days, it's not a diet as you can eat as much as you want of fruit, veg, whole grains, nuts etc it's just a cut-out-the-crap-and-give-your-body-a-break thing. I was thinking it might just re-train me not to mindlessly eat shit all the time.

We live opposite a large supermarket, it is extremely handy, but in the evenings when the kids are finely asleep we usually end up buying something snacky as a treat.

Hello schniky and welcome!

Supermum - I spend the most on weekends too. I work all week so I can control things eg, packing my own lunches, and I know whine I pay for ds' school lunches etc. but on the weekend, because we end up doing things and therefore possibly going to tone or passing by somewhere, we get things. To be fair, these are things that need purchasing (eg, presents for birthday parties etc) but still it's annoying as although we can possibly just buy that one thing, because the kids are around, you get bugged by them to get more!!!

I also resent holidays in that we spend so much money. even going to the park means having to walk past the shop. And because we now know that buying that £1 pack of lollies is cheaper (and already sitting at home in the freezer), we really resent forking out the £1.50 per stick at the shop/ice cream van!

Grandparents are flying over for a 3 week stay in a few weeks time. It will be nice, but it will be spendy!!! Argh.

Asda delivery coming today, £52 but that includes a box of 100 finish dw tablets for £10 (if they're not subbed! )....dw isn't being installed until sept but what abargain eh

Other than that planning a nsd . Ds usually has beavers but it's stopped for summer.

For Kids leisure activities. ..I think 2-3 a week is enough, some kids seem to have something on every day but I don't think necessary for mine as they are close in age and just like playing! Mine go swimming but this isn't optional for them at present (my rules) so I wouldn't say they couldnt do something else due to that ifykwim

Weekend wasn't too bad- managed LSD on both days, went out for a girly meal on Saturday, friend's husband had all the children so didn't have to pay for a sitter and the meal was buy one get one free- I think with a pudding the meal was £9.50 so not bad.

Yesterday I spent £5.60 nipping out to get bread,milk, something for packed lunches- more expensive than lidl but left it too late and had to go to the spar.

Today should just be £2 for an ice cream on the school trip- already paid for the trip a while ago.

Weekends/kids activity wise it is tricky- I find it creeps up without me realising. OH works abroad and when he is away I find myself treating the children without realising sometimes. Weekly activities aren't too bad- DS1 is a member of the local leisure centre which is £22 a month- that includes, swimming lesson, trampoline lesson and gymnastics every week plus unlimited access to the pool.