an Ostentatiously Austere October...join here for a frugal month ahead!

[PeoniesforMissAnnersley]

All welcome to join the MN frugaleers for another month of recording our spends, frugal wins and frugal fails!

NSD = No Spend Day (let's have as many as possible!)

LSD = Low Spend Day

Thanks sixforgold I'm feeling ok and glad to be busy at work and not moping and googling possible illnesses 100 times an hour

NSD so thats good, realised last night that dd is going to camp tomos oops - I thought it was a week or two off, luckily think I have everything, had been planning on getting her a new sleeping bag but she can make do with my old one for now.

I had my flu jab ystd and my arm has been really sore all day

I caved in and turned the heating on this morning just long enough to take the chill off, then turned it back off again.

I was going for a NSD, however, found some nice jumpers (jumpers were on my list of "need to buy for dcs for this winter) at reasonable prices at Asda, so picked up one for each dc. And a hoody for ds2 as the dcs tend to put them on when they're chilly around the house - so if a £6 hoody will keep me from cranking up the heater, I'm happy to pay £6 for a hoody.

While DS is wearing shorts round the house there is no way I am turning the heating on. .

We have one if these heated clothes airers which we are going to have to use, as yesterday's carnage flattened the washing line, but I am hesitating to put it into the sitting room.

Hello, first NSD for a while today. Although bastard NPower have taken money they shouldn't again, so my budgeting is all up the spout. They are gone as of as soon as I can switch supplier.
On a better note, I am getting £40 which is an automatic annual subscription paid back. Didn't receive a reminder email so I kicked off and they repaid it. This is progress for me: previously I would have let it go.

I just bought a pair if boots that I don't need right this second (mainly want for New York) but I really wanted. Feel bad now they're really nice though....and they are £70 in next but £55 on amazon. Bad, bad frugaler....

A bit late but v glad little Italian better

I am really struggling with depression, hence lack of updating.

Ive bern v bad and been out to lunch today, £8 m&s cafe and takeaway £35 tut... Going to top it off with wine my pal bought me

Another NSD. I think we may have just enough bread and milk for tomorrow but will have to go to a shop on Thursday.

furcoatbigknickers sorry to hear you've not been well. Depression is such a vile thing to suffer from. I hope you enjoyed your treats today. We all need something nice from time to time :)

furcoat sorry you are unwell, depression is a truly awful illness

I have put the heating on for an hour here and there as our house is freezing. I was hoping to make it through another week or two as well.

Thanks lists and fanta

Adora I don't think it is the dye that DH is allergic to. He has a problem with elastic and it seems some synthetics too. The back of the cover is poly cotton, the front however is a mix that seems to be more synthetic. It is a really nice red and gold mix, almost like an ethnic/Indian type design. I think that is the problem, making his skin itchy.

The other red duvet set is also poly cotton, decorated by some ribbons. This one he is fine with, but being a man he hadn't realised we had 2 completely different duvet sets that were both red!

furcoat it's been said before and will be said again - frugaling is important to all of us but there are times when spending a bit of money on ourselves is money well spent. You go and enjoy that take-away and wine!!

Thanks six

Today £24.50 cheque for dancing costumes. I should have paid about 2 weeks ago, but I kept forgetting, then couldn't find my chequebook. I was getting embarrassed. Lunch £7, this evening £7.50 in M&S but all on reduced bargains, reduced mash, 2 single lasagnes, meatballs/mash/veg meal, plus 2 packs of cheese and bacon crisp bakes.

The mse newsletter is suggesting reclaiming credit expert charges. I'm going to give it a go.

£7 tesco - milk, eggs, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and batteries.

didn't get my regular "top up shop" this week which is normally £25ish

should have enough food in freezer to get us through until the end of next week.

Top up shop yesterday €4.20 milk & bread soda ds is drinking us out of house & home since he went on pasteurized milk from formula this week. Bread soda as had a severe attack of thrush - had a bath with bread soda & Epsom salts & it's cleared right up without medication!

This weekend will be spendy ds 11 months needs to move into 2-3 clothes!! Usually get hand me downs from his nephew but this is his size also & there's a year between them! Needs an entire wardrobe nothing on fb groups at the moment. And child benefit spent on wood pellets

Need £4 for car park today and only have £5 note so need to buy something that should be all though.

I just wanted to say thank you to the person on here (Fluffy?) who mentioned the Direct Debit guarantee. It's one of those things you see when setting up a DD, but I've never read it and never knew what the provisions were.

Anyway - thanks to that person, I am getting the 83 which NPower took refunded today.

Also thanks Fluffy for the Credit Expert charges heads-up. I will look into that too.

Lilac have you tried asking on free cycle? I frequently see people offering children's clothes on there. People are often glad to get rid of it for the space.

lists I'm in Ireland we don't have freecycle I tried adverts.ie didn't find anything yet. Have bought him very little to date and he's almost a year. Just vests, socks and some babygros so not doing too badly that way. Dd just needs tights really to go with the vast amount of skirts she has gotten as handmedowns.

It wasn't me confused, I've read that on here recently too though. You can leave a tariff penalty free 49 days before it ends if you have exit fees.

It was npowers ceo who told a journalist last year that the cheapest unit of electric is the one you don't use. He's on £600000 a year & no doubt gets a staff discount too. He probably doesn't wear thermals in the house.

Complain to the ceo office anyway, you might get some compo. Frankly they need all the customers they can get.

lilac Would charity shops be a step too far for kids clothes? It sounds like they won't fit him for very long anyway. Or eBay.

Sse power sent me a refund cheque for £1.68 so I'll put it in my savings account. This is the first time I've had a savings account as an adult!.

Yep good idea. I'll get DP to send me all the emails he sent and the inadequate replies, and collate them with a covering letter to the CEO. If you don't ask you don't get...

Just sent off my claim letter for bank account fees. 7 years in total to July 2013, when I finally saw the light and downgraded to a normal current account. If they accept it I could get 1000 back.

lilac I would have a look in the charity shops too, it is amazing what some people give away. I got a little anorak for my niece last year for £1, I thought it had the wrong price on it as it was practically new I just gave it a wash in the machine and it was fine. I also saw a snowsuit for a £1 but had no-one to fit that.

Had to get DD some new underwear today and a card for a friend.

fluffy not a step too far at all, I'm time poor as well as €poor though and generally the ones in my local town aren't great and involve paying for parking but I will visit one on my way into town that has free parking and often has a few good bits. There's a great fb group in our county for kids things but just very little for ds size at the moment.

Great to get started on savings, you won't go mad on the interest on that!

The led spotlight bulbs dh spent €11 on a 5w one for our kitchen during the week - there's 6 in kitchen and 6 in sitting room as well as various more throughout the house, gotta get better value that this