Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Preparing for a very frugal Autumn/Winter anyone?

171 replies

caughtupinthismoment · 11/08/2014 14:53

It maybe a little early but its no harm being prepared.
I'm going to learn from my mistakes last Autumn/Winter

My clothing for the cold weather wasn't up to scratch it just wasnt warm enough. this year I'm going to outlet winter stores to buy thermal fleeces hat scarf gloves ect I also need to wear proper footwear converse dont cut it feet like icicles and wet most of winter. My dd was kitted out properly all snug waterproof just forgot about myself.

Im going to stock up on the meters before the winter sets in. I plan to be snug and warm with a hot choc in hand instead of trapsing to the shop for the meters.

This year I shall be making more hearty comfort food such as stews soups, broths and casseroles. I do make them but not so often.

Im going to bulk buy dried goods cans ect to get us through the winter. I tend to go out to buy fresh every other day/ week but there more expensive in winter so i'm going to buy seasonal and keep loaves in the freezer and long life milk just in case.

Im defo not spending lots on xmas this year cutting back drastically most people seemed to forget I existed at xmas and they didnt seem to appreciate all the effort I went to making hampers for them.

Xmas and Bday presents for my Dd are going to be things she needs. She has enough toys and Im sick of plastic tat that seems to break when I accidently stand on it as she has so much.

I'm going to start saving now so that I can have a nest egg incase I need to use it. seemed to be skint most of the time and january bills were hard.

With our filled stomachs of homecooked food and Our thermal clothing we will be able to venture into the unknown (wink) i.e long walks to jump into the crisp snow and to crunch on the autumn leaves to collect pine cones and such to decorate and we will come home to a warm house freezer and cupboards full to snuggle by the fire with a hotchoc and a family film.

OP posts:
RosesandRugby · 10/09/2014 21:20

Did you spot the brushed cotton duvet cover in blue May?

www.linen4less.co.uk/tartan-navy-brushed-cotton-duvet-set/p1296

I have 1 of each colour, red and blue. They only come out during the winter months and my children really love them. You cant beat a bit of old fashioned brushed cotton. Im on the lookout for the candy striped sheets myself with matching pillow cases but haven't found any in stock anywhere yet. Grin

EmperorTomatoKetchup · 10/09/2014 22:48

I've just ordered this brushed cotton duvet cover from Asda. Can't wait for some cold weather!

RosesandRugby · 11/09/2014 10:04

Oooo that's very classy Emperor .....although I did wonder if you had forgotten the link Wink

May09Bump · 11/09/2014 10:31

Thanks Roses, just what I needed :) Looks nice Emperor!

EmperorTomatoKetchup · 11/09/2014 12:22

An evening of looking at every brushed cotton duvet in existence fried my brain!

fattymammy · 12/09/2014 22:09

Hi dunelmill have teddy bear material duvet cover in stock best place here in west Wales is ina indoor market normally little family run stalls .
This thread has put rocket up my butt and has made me start sorting myself out for .winter

May09Bump · 17/09/2014 14:16

I can't believe it's 23 degrees here in Sept, it has really confused people that cold snap a couple of weeks ago. I think people are dying to get their boots on - even some people with them on now in this heat.

Anyway, Odeon are doing a sale on ticket prices up to mid Oct, 40% off with a code that is emailed to you. Link below, might be useful on dark nights or rainy days. In the meantime, we are enjoying the sun and conker hunting.

www.odeon.co.uk/40percentoff/

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 20/09/2014 19:46

Oh, I love the brushed cotton sheets. I have none, and will be buying new bed for ds2 and for myself - so since I have to buy new sheets anyway, may as well get them. Grin And of course, some for ds1.

I'm trying to get some DIY things done over the next month or two so I can then cuddle up in a blanket and relax with a book in the evenings over the winter.

Mum4Fergus · 27/09/2014 11:07

Marking place..great thread Grin

Evilwater · 28/09/2014 08:05

Well, it was going great. But the freezer broke, yep. Every single thing had to go. :( so no soup or food.
So anyone got tips for buying a freezer?

AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore · 28/09/2014 10:56

Oh, no! Evilwater So sorry you're dealing with that. Just make sure you measure before you buy. Grin

I've got a Hotpoint and am very happy with it. I can't remember where I bought it though. (mainly because I've had to replace my washer and dryer as well and IIRC I've bought them all from different places)

everythingsgoingsouth · 04/10/2014 21:39

some fabulous tips here, I must get my butt into gear!

tip from me- get 100% sheepskin insoles for your wellies. Wonderful! I'm not bothering buying new winter boots this year, just new insoles.

Lillyludge · 05/10/2014 07:37

This is a great thread! I'm making notes Smile

I managed to halve my heating bill last year by only having the central heating on for an hour or so in the morning. I was at work all day so didn't need anything until DC came home from school. I bought in a whole load of coal and lit an open fire in the living room the , which kept us toasty all evening. Blankets and hot water bottles helped too!

This year however, I have a toddler in the house and I'm not working. I'm wondering whether I should depend on the central heating during the day or light the fire in the living room in the morning and keep it going all day like my parents used to do? What would I do when we go out though (not for long....only shops/park/school run)? Would it be safe to leave the fire (I know my folks did)?

Any advice?

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/10/2014 08:58

Is it a closed fire or open? I'd be too worried about the house burning down to leave it on while I went out.

Can you section the house off? Eg just heat the rooms you need during the day?.

I don't heat the whole house, much to Dh's disappointment.

Lillyludge · 05/10/2014 11:47

Fluffy I can turn off a couple of radiators but not all of them, so I would be heating rooms I'm not using if I had the CH on.

Burning the house down is my main concern! I do keep the fire very low and have a very good spark guard and fire guard though. I've not got a single burn hole/mark in my carpet. Maybe I've just been lucky?Wink

midnightmoomoo · 06/10/2014 22:12

Just wanted to say thanks to whoever posted about the Warm Home Front (or whatever it's called!) just checked and we should be eligible, DH has been unemployed for a year and I'm a TA so any extra will be really helpful. He's going to ring tomorrow so fingers crossed! Thanks x

midnightmoomoo · 07/10/2014 19:43

Quick update, we rang our supplier today and yes, we do qualify! Wouldn't have known if I hadn't read about it on here, so thank you very much! Also, thanks for the bedding link, we all have flannelette/brushed cotton sheets already but I'm going to buy the kids a tartan duvet cover set each as well.

May09Bump · 08/10/2014 11:12

That's great news JickJack! I bought the below bedding for our bed. I had also started stocking up for winter and we had a three day illness in our house which completely ground us to a stop. Thanks to the supplies, I didn't have to worry about shopping and had lovely comfort food whilst we all recovered.

www.next.co.uk/g40728s3#671554g40

Evilwater · 25/10/2014 19:12

Another update,
Door with hole in fixed, upstairs rotten windows replaced :)
I'm going to buy a freezer tomorrow:)
Lots of money on the meter :)
And because of all your advice, and buying in early, my time being Ill was much better than usual, because I had all the tablets in the cupboard. :)

My living room is now a nice 19c :)

flowerygirl · 26/10/2014 18:20

Loving this thread. My one tip would be to only boil the amount of water you need in a kettle. Boiling a full kettle can power a stereo for 65 hours! I read that somewhere. Amount of people in my family I see boiling a full kettle for one cup of tea!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread