Frugal January, everyone welcome.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Useful links.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/1324074-For-those-who-cant-afford-to-use-central-heating-this-year-How-are-you-going-to-cope

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1628874-Gas-Elec-Bills-monthly-and-SKY-so-angry

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1911061-NO-MORE-COLD-MUMSNETTERS

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2209167-Slow-Cookers-are-shit

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2224969-saving-money

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2258202-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-6-start-the-new-year-with-a-clear-purpose-and-keep-moving-forwards-even-by-tiny-steps?

orchard.tesco.com/ Sign up to this.

www.topcashback.co.uk/home And this.

www.quidco.com/home/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub ditto.

www.checkoutsmart.com/ Plus this.

www.hotukdeals.com/all/deals/new?page=3 Check this daily.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Spent £64 at shop. But have spent the afternoon cooking. Made a sausage casserole, chicken & pesto soup and have prepped salmon fillets (from dm) for tonight's dinner

Veggie box arrived. So. Much. Veg!!!

Have started sorting clothes for ebaying.

What recipe do you use for the casserole? :) I've got a bag of sausages need using up...

Nsd, well spent £1.20 on parking but can claim that back as was for work!

Going to have brinner tonight, we are getting very low on supplies but tomos should be o.kay then will have to do a shop on Thursday.

NSD today and yesterday.

I really need bread but couldn't be bothered to go to the bakery so didn't spend any money, not sure laziness is the best way to save though! I have some rye bread frozen that I'll have with my soup tonight instead of fresh.

Should only spend bread money tomorrow also- it's so much easier when kids are at school and I'm studying.

£9 in pound shop on poster paints, sellotape, batteries. £8 in Holland and Barratts on nuts and prunes - they have their penny sale on some things.

Took lunch in to work and that's all I ate

Hey all

Money in purse: £8.30 (was £8.20) – found 10p in my handbag - KERCHING
Money in bank: £116.12 (was £134.81)
Money in coin jar: £36.50 (was £43.50)
Available money decreased by: £25.59
Total remaining: £160.92
Days to payday 10

Spends since yesterday
£10.00 – DH cash withdrawal
£10.69 – groceries from yesterday

£1.00 – DS1 athletics (is normally £1.75 but he keeps the change then every fourth week he just takes a quid)
£2.00 – DS2 athletics
£1.90 – bus fares (is £1.15 per kid, but they keep the change in their bag and just take what they need).

I should get my EDF refund tomorrow which I'm pretty glad of, because if my footy team can win the 3rd round FA Cup replay next week, we've got a major glamour tie away from home that we will definitely be going to :-D

Also had an e-mail from Tesco today luring me back to online shopping with a £15 off a £60 spend, so I might have to take advantage of that.

£7.99 on big box of Cuprophen in Boots

• if you need stronger pain killers these is a real steal.. double strength Ibruprophen so you only need to take half the dose. cuprophen have 98 tabs in a box so double that of Boots own brand double strengh Ibruprofen which is is £7.49 for 48 tabs ( I get then for back pain)

£2 coin in piggy .

Thats it! took my own lunch in (HM carrot onion and lentil soup)

We are having a cheap dinner.eggs in spicy tomato sauce salad and bread 9 and Dh is making it !

Will be spendy day tomorrow ,.. hair cut .. though its not been done since october so badly needs it .. I just have a wet cut though as its short and spiky but even then wil be over £25..

laska my SIL also avoids the CS, I would but mum and sister and auntie have all had abnormal smears and needed to have precancerous cells scraped off, so Id worry if I didn't get it done.
It was really sore but it's over now. Phew. Hope it comes back clear, 2-3 weeks to wait apparently.

Brinner always makes me :) thanks to this thread!

bantam would it be easier for your DH to have a weekly spend rather than a daily?

Everyone's dinners and lunches sound lovely and very healthy! I'm still working my way through christmas treats. I've decided that January diet and frugaling just do not sit well together as I am programmed to eat what is there before buying anything else i.e. Cheese and chocolate! I am feeling rather chuffed though as I've been out for a 3 mile run this evening (now not feeling so bad that my weight watchers membership is languishing at the bottom of the post pile!)

NSD - 2 in a row!

We had lasagne (pre made and froze) with cauliflower and carrots. Ds ate all his lasagne and left his veg, dd vice versa. I should have just given them one between them

Bloody love Brinner

Brinner was delish six even my dd said this is a great dinner!!

Have sold some more items on fb that will get collected tonight, an extra £7.50 in the pot also saw some trousers and a school skirt that will do for dd - £1.50! Bargain

Back to work today - that was a shock to the system, am knackered now!!

heyhey sausage casserole includes: sausages, garlic, onions, butter beans, mushrooms, tin of tomatoes, butternut squash and some frozen spinach bit of chicken stock and/or glass of wine.

It's cooked in slow cooker today, but works equally well on hob then baked in oven. And have frozen half. Will eat other half tomorrow for dinner with either jacket potato or mash (both sweet potato). Y. U. M.

Seriously need to dig my slow cooker out now! We've just been through the freezer as DH was deicing it. Some of the bready things like wraps are a bit frostbitten - how do you know if it's ok to eat?

Thank you Em! Sounds delicious, def going to try

£24 on Asian food shop. £5.50 on sushi. £38 train fare (claim from work). Off to read thread now!

NSD today!

Oh and good luck pass for tomorrow. Hope you get what you want...

I hope it goes well tomorrow Pass, it's a shitty thing to go through.

We need to start labelling our freezer stuff properly. The pork chops I took out of the freezer for dinner today turned out to be a pile of rashers !

My lasagne was meant to be shepherds pie

Checking in for the final time today. Today should have been a NSD but unfortunately I got a call from school that DD was poorly. Trip to the walk in centre for us and more time lost at work. Still she has some medicine which should make a difference. Bought some fresh veg and bread, with travel fares and lunch for the young 'un it came to £12. I suppose that is equivalent to what I saved on the swimming. However early this evening DH felt in my pocket and found some folded up notes. £15. They must have been through the wash as I haven't worn these for ages. This will pay for this week's electric. Result! So an alright end to a pretty stressful day.

MissA - I had my CS Christmas week and the results came through the post about 4 days later. Hopefully they will be as quick for you and it will be clear.

Goodnight x

Calpol and olbas oil £7
10 cards for £1 at Card Factory
£2.67 on cards for January birthdays
About £2 on groceries

I hadn't planned the £7 but unfortunately they have become essential purchases as dc have colds.

Must get some bits on fb.

Bantam, that Tesco email is the reason I have a large but odd selection of tinned foods that I'm using up this month. Having come out of a period where I'd cut my hours down at work and was having to literally scrape every penny together just to buy something to eat I used it to stock up on store cupboard stuff.

You'd be surprised how many value tins of veg/pulses/beans/soup you can get for £60. I suspect the delivery drivers have blacklisted my address though.

Good luck for tomorrow, pass.

No christmas thread but I was in Sainsbury's yesterday and they had family packs of crackers for 40p (12 pack instead of £4), wrapping paper (good quality) for 20p a roll and matching packets of gift tags for 10p. I know we are not meant to be spending but I saved a fortune. Will just have to remember that I have bought them now! have meal planned for the first time ever from my cupboard this week - really appreciate all the help and advice from MN, thanks. I am making sure that I use every scrap of food, I have been so wasteful in the past.

NSD here.