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 found a good quote through price comparison with m&s and saw they do £38 cash back. Went through topcashback to get a quote only to get to the end and have to phone them to discuss my medical condition! So I can't get the cash back plus it's taking me forever and I need to leave for work soon and I haven't had lunch!

Oh dear Spotty- that sounds stressful.

We have just had to sort out car insurance- we go into a local brokers and I find that they really do find the best deals for us and handle all the paperwork and hassle. Although this time the car is a bit of an awkward point in the house- I um well I wrote off OH's car just after we decided to try being a one car family and sold mine- whoops

I went with them in the end it was more than £100 cheaper than my renewal and getting it sorted us better for my well being than saving an extra £30

Glad its all sorted- have a good day at work.

I'm trying to think what paperwork and hassles involved in changing insurers....they won't be doing it for free. I can't think of any, at worst you have to send a copy of your no claims bonus off and I request that when I ring to say I won't be re-newing with them.

Have a go this year using tcb, my car insurance is £130 fully comp on a new car incl commuting.

£10 petrol
£10 sains on cat litter, contact lenses & 600 tea bags but I split it into two transactions to get a £1 back on checkout smart and click-snap.

£7 cashback withdrawn but I'm saving that to buy led light bulbs.

NSD so far but want to take a leaf out of your good book & do my 1st Internet grocery shop 2nite. Seen a few money off vouchers for first time orders.

But - again taking a lesson from you guys - I need to menu plan first .

Hello ladies, I need some advice/help.

We are thinking of doing Disneyland Paris this summer (long story...) and grandparents are coming along to Paris with us but prob won't want to do Mickey Mouse. So, I'm thinking of staying in Paris and then getting the train up. It says on the RER website that it's 7.50euro one way and runs every 15min so it seems doable.

Any experience in Disney Paris anyone? Can we do it in a day or should I buy a 2 day ticket? Obviously I'd rather do 1!

By staying in Paris I'm thinking we can then do other things like Eiffel Tower etc. I'm thinking Paris will be fun for the kids (well, as fun as say London might be in the city sort of way?) ?

Any thoughts??

Oh and does anyone recommend any discount websites?!!!

I hate all the time putting in quotes then having to ring the place anyway because of x,z and z etc etc I just don't have the time with the dc about

LSD today, just some groceries from the household envelope + £2.50 for a coffee as my doctor's appointment was moved and I was stuck in town for an extra 45 mins.

I spent most of today painting a free-standing larder/pantry type thing in our kitchen - it holds the vast majority of our crockery, serving dishes etc so the entire kitchen is a mess while it dries but it looks SO nice also now I realise how dirty it was before which is humiliating

The best part is that the paint I used was over a year old and had been bought before the frugal drive, so it felt like it was free!

ohhelp love your self-grading system! Has made me smile!

nk il be interested in any Disneyland tips! we have high hopes of taking dd at some point in the future and it's never to early to plan when doing things frugally.

Should have been a NSD but coughed up £5 for work collection.

£30 in sainsbury's on stuff that I can only get there or is cheaper than Tesco and some reduced bits that I didn't actually need but have gone in the freezer and will come in handy for lunches over summer holidays.

Ordered some school uniform from M&S while 20% off promotion was on and got a further 10% cashback. I finally bought some new nursing bras too. I keep putting it off but my current ones stopped giving me any support months ago. I'm going to collect the order tomorrow, saving delivery charge.

We're also thinking about visiting Disney so would appreciate any tips.

I bet mse forum know how to do disney cheaply. I hear the food is hideously pricey but it is here on days out.

£26 on underwear for DD1. Thought I'd covered that with the Christmas stocking filler but since then she has, depite my instruction to the contrary, had the audacity to grow. Again.

Another £64 on groceries, included 4 packs of cereal, 2 of those porridge on offer, and my fecking expensive toothpaste plus offal for the dogs. Will need veg/fruit later in the week.

I've never been to Disney Paris, sorry can't help NK but I hope you all have a lovely time.

DH has blagged himself a free day playing with someone else's flash sports cars. Dealership think there's a slim chance he'll buy one but the mistake that was made last week - not by DH but in his office- has lost a shed load money. FFS. That's going to squeeze our already tight budget.

Oh Adora he is having a run of bad luck isn't he? I really hope it picks up for him. You deserve a change in fortune.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=527819&page=570 Mse disney land thread, ballet shoes really knows her stuff.

Thanks Fluffy. He's beginning to feel defeated so I'm not complaining when he wants to spend a couple of hours looking at expensive cars and pretending he's going to buy one.

Dh had to pay out $50 for travel last week, we're really hoping he can claim it back and get it in next months pay, but his boss is next to useless, so I bet it'll take ages to get it back. Maybe I should view it as savings, then put it directly into savings when we get it back.

We managed no snacks last night, that saved us at least $9.

But the car is in for a service today, and the parking sensors need sorting out, I'm hoping it doesn't end up being too pricey. We have got some money ear marked for the car this month. We try and use the ideas from YNAB, to make sure we have some money ear marked for bills etc

Thanks fluffy - just had a look. Maybe I'll save it for another time. Ds' birthday is in feb half term so I may be able to run away from work at the end of the week and do a weekend thing.

So I guess it's easy peasy then. All I need do now is sort out Paris accoms and train tickets!

hey all, I posted at the beginning of the month and nothing since. Went on a short holiday last week and threw caution to the wind a bit. It was frugal as in everything was on deals etc or free but still spent money!

Have had a frugal win I guess, Garth Brooks concert in Dublin not going ahead so money saved from concert tickets, hotel, train tickets etc think we'll bring kids to the zoo instead for the same money as other than hotel it was all paid for.

Won a voucher for a fruit and veg shop locally so that'll save me €'s on my shopping bill this week. Haven't got it yet but it's either €30/€35

Looking for some advice, Tesco have just introduced monthly delivery saver options now in Ireland. if any of you use this service would you recommend? I generally order about twice a month and go to Aldi the rest of the time, but it can be more or less frequent. Midweek option is €7.50 or Anytime is €10. I usually use the cheapest delivery time when possible which is €4.50. Thinking that the anytime option would probably be best as I wouldn't be under pressure during the week to accept deliveries in the evening as I work fulltime and have two under 4 to get into bed in the evenings by myself. Not a single mom just dh works nights!

Will have to majorly pull back money this week as had savings held for childminder and spent them last week and she is going away next week!

Hey, can I join in please? We're pretty frugal anyway (by circumstance) but there is always room for improvement.

Just wanted to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the poster who described the lack of summer clothes and how it affects your mood. I know EXACTLY what you mean. We have just returned from a weekend at Butlins (Sun vouchers) and I have never felt so scruffy. My swimming costume was embarrassing, hanging off me (stretched out when pregnant) and even DH agreed it was bad which must mean it's 10 times worse as he is a happy scruff! When we hung our towels out to dry I was embarrassed as they all have threads hanging off and are about as thick as a piece of paper. Everyone was in these fresh clothes and we were all drab and creased and stained.

Food shopping today but I have checked what we have already so hopefully it won't cost much. Plus I am walking there so can only carry so much home

Just checking in quickly, no interweb @ home until next week & mental at work so no time to catch up today.
Fairly spendy weekend with random shops due to moving house, am not doing a big shop until the end of the month as now we're unpacked I've got to pack to go to Cornwall for the week on Saturday!
Frugal win with the new house again - after all the topcashback wins for new utilities, our home insurance, gas & electric will be about 60 less per month which will pay for the increase in the mortgage - hooray!

JimmyCorkHill same thing happened me with my swimsuit away this week, material looks fine but no elastics left in it. I know I've another one somewhere so I just left it after me in hotel.

The sale rail in Penneys (Primark to you guys) is what has given me a summer wardrobe & their €2 vest tops!

Nsd

£15.50 on moisturiser, should get £1.70 cashback though.

theonlymrsw that's a brilliant saving on utilities, if its a new build or better insulated you should save loads on running costs.

Primark for towels, one of our relatives buys them & they are really soft and fluffy. Fluffier than my Christy ones I bought as water damaged stock 9 years ago. Bastard things refuse to wear out too so I'm stuck with them.