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

NSD.

£1.20 on parking - although will be able to claim that back as was for work.
£30 petrol.

Used extreme will power not to buy chocolate at the service station as was very hungry and had had a busy morning

Going to spend tonight/tomos morning sorting out some bits to sell on fb buying/selling page. Have done quite well via them before. Also going to work overtime on Wed so thats another £50 in the Christmas kitty.

Tea tonight is left over lasagne for me and fishfingers,chips and beans for dd.

Been to butchers £32 on 10, 500g mince, a chicken, cheese and 10kg pototoes...the tatties should last til payday and the mince beyond.

The birthday party people didn't want a deposit so it was a no spend day. I'll just have to pay them the full sum next month though so only delaying it.

NSD so far but going on amazon to order some things for DD's birthday presents later.

I had couscous with it dd didn't touch it (has school dinners and is going through a fussy phase) but ds ate all of his and dd's. Dp probably won't be too thrilled

Roast chicken here too! Played up extra dinners yesterday so tonight is just a quick zap in the microwave!

Spent £6 in Aldi - 2x boxes of cereal for dd at nursery and total emotional spend on a chicken wrap and big bag of maltesers (rainy Monday got to me! Well done girlie for such strong willpower!) and a pack of butter.

NSD! And put in claims for work £80. Getting things sorted before I'm away for about a week.... Argh. Tackled some work things. Happier.

Just checked bank account - £14.95 to Sitters as well furcoat. It always annoys me when the fee comes out but it's a service I totally appreciate when I need a last minute babysitter. We even used it in deepest Wales when on holiday last year which was fab! Just wish we could afford to go out together more to justify the subscription charge!

NSD, first for a while. On for a surplus of about £130 in joint account this month. We usually run it down to the last tenner. Smaller food budget this month too. Very happy.

Thats brilliant going confused
dh has just come clean that his credit card bill is quite high, still under limit but high. Hopefully this will enable me to get him set up on spreadsheet I've been doing since May to bring down my own debt & move the focus to both being debt free bar mortgage in 2016, depending on what his total is. He's been working 7 very long nights per week to earn what I do in 5 long days.

£60ish on an asda food delivery, of which I'm getting £2ish back as I wasn't happy with the bananas and advocado, claiming a refund is sooooo easy on their website, am impressed.

other than that have had a frugal (ie boring) day...

we have about £25k to pay off for our extension and dp keeps banging on about a "payment plan". I would prefer just to spend wisely and throw every spare penny at it rather than plan tbh, every time he says "plan" I get twitchy....

I know what you mean sixforgold I feel sitters is worth hanging on to as we don't have any local family. Were off to a party this saturday, luckily pil are visiting si free sitting.

passthecake what plan does dh have, I find if you have spare money something always comes up to fit it whereas if money is allocated with a purpose it's untouchable!

I've placed an order for £40 with H&M! I did check over my order twice to make sure it was all essential though. It is all needed except 1 item that cost £12 but it's for ds2 and he's my last baby and it's incredibly rare for any of my dc to get new clothes (apart from school uniform), most things are second hand so I really, really wanted to dress him in something i've chosen. Have I justified it enough? I absolutely must eBay stuff this weekend so I can off set that spend though.

Other than that £2 on playgroup. £21 on groceries. I'm not going back to the shops now until next week. I can do this.

Thank you very much NK, those look fab

Spent £90 today, included £12 on a sports bra from H&M, cheapest I've found here, and £16 on 36 loo rolls, on offer. Plus I treated myself to some naice tea, blackberry, cheaper than Twinnings at around £2, again on offer.

Don't know what happened to me not spending money this week

Thought I was on the last page

Pass I agree with Lillac, if the plan he has in mind is reasonable then I'd go with planning to put mony aside for it. I'm currently still trying to have £40 "spare" to pay as class fees at school. Every week since March I've been certain I'll be able to pay one of them next week.

I have been working my hrs over 5 days for past few weeks so can collect ds from school bonus is I can't pop to shops on way home from work as I am tight for time and not really anywhere to pop once have collected him.

Last week of work this week and half term here next week and then only 4weeks til baby two arrives.

Argh! Skint week!

When we had our previous extension, pre kids we were much better off (think take home pay £90k on a mortgage of £33k) and we paid off £20k in 2 years by upping what we transfered to joint account monthly and I'd pay off the borrowing on the mortgage reserve every time we reached £5k. This time..mortgage is higher, pay lower, travel higher
..his pay in particular is unreliable as he is a self employed builder so as the weather changes so can his pay....I think he is probably implying I have a permanent amount to pay off each month and he will when he can (hence my twitchiness lol). I would rather just be as frugal as I can and pay off as much as I can and not have him checking up on me....I am an accountant and he is rubbish withh his paperwork and never looks after the household finances. He's the sort to let a subscription run as he's forgotten and get fined from tax man for not submitting his monthly returns on the deadline. If u read that. ..well done lol. We never squabble over money, he probably feels like I have more though.

Was planning for NSD until realised there was no fruit in house for lunches or general healthiness and DS needed piano lessons paid for. Oh well. $65 on fruit and $50 on piano.

£30 on petrol.

Grrr work require me to stay late but aren't providing food so a colleague is getting sandwiches for us and I'll have to pay half.

Other than that an NSD.

got bill for private dr I wish I earned £140 for 30 min chats...

Wow missa that's expensive!
£40 on hair cut because I have an interview tomorrow and I haven't had it cut in over a year! May need to get a bit of petrol tomorrow but haven't filled up since August, and otherwise should be a NSD tomorrow.

Spent 20£ on gift for friend 30th birthday, 12.5 for lunch with friend.

Spent 20£ on gift for friend 30th birthday, 12.5 for lunch with friend.