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!

vinegar is the £20 just for you? From what you say it doesn't sound like you have enough calcium and fruit and veg.....what are you having today for example? Just wonder how low you can go and still get all your nutrients, I know I spend unnecessarily on empty calories/treats but I also spend alot on the good stuff- osteoporosis runs through my family and my sister has rickets so I'm a bit obsessed!

Vinegar - I agree with pass. It doesn't sound like you are getting enough nutrients. I agree it's not necessary to have meat with every meal, or every day, but that should then be substituted with good substitutes that have nutrients.

My biggest slow cooker is filled to the brim with red cabbage (the ones in lidl are massive!) and I've got some indian style soup on the hob. Bad news is I'm not out of garlic, red lentils and chickpeas!

Spotty - sorry missed that bit about your interview. Good luck!! Am I right to say your interviewers your people who treat you for your illness?? Do they know that?!

Good luck regardless.

Might be spendy today as need some new make up and was going to postpone for a week but just saw the store is having sale and wondering if that applies to make up as well!

Morning All :)

We are out for dinner tonight, as its my oldest sons 15th birthday. They grow up so fast! Wasn't that long ago he was just a baby.

Talking about food budgets- I have reduced mine by almost half, by changing my younger son from packed lunches to school dinners. Everyone I know says its cheaper to have PL, but SDs have definitely worked out cheaper for us. I used to buy the PL bits & bobs on a Sunday and the kids would eat them by Tuesday, which meant I had to buy them again.
SDs only cost £1.80 a day here though, it may be more expensive elsewhere.
I generally spend £60 a week now, which is much more manageable. I do have to bake a loaf of bread everyday though. It sounds like hard work, but really isn't, I have a breadmaker to do it for me.

Am doing my meal plan today. Does anyone else here meal plan?

I always meal plan

Yes NK. Well one of them is the receptionist at the department two others are nurses. They definitely would recognise my name. Interview is on 20th but I actually have an appointment there next week to see consultant though.

I don't meal plan because I wouldn't like to feel dictated to by my own plan

However I have a general plan in my head and am quite careful not to over buy.

For example this week will prob look like

Sun - spag bol
Mon - spag bol
Tues - salmon with rice and veg
Wed - jacket pots with tuna and cheese
Thus - brinner
Fri - something with chips
Sat - umm whatever is left prob pasta based.

hmm. True I need to think about this.

I have oily fish.. and bones .. every other day. There's quite a lot of protein in porridge, lentils, baked beans and pearl barley.

My fruit and veg is low I guess. Theres a lot of tomatoes and veg in the stews and I try to get small amounts of green stuff in each. My 'luxury' meals can be a pea and sweetcorn omlette for example.

I have multivitamins. . pehaps should add minerals?

The chicken meals are pretty veg and meat-heavy. I must admit my dairy is low. That's partly because I realised my lazy shopping self bought loads of dairy.. over the year I have yoghurt heavy weeks and sometimes cheese as a treat.

Do you think I should add yoghurt in more often?

My trip to London wasn't too expensive in the end.

£13.80 for the train
£0 on presents with a bit of regifting
£5.23 on stuff -cigarettes-

Then my aunt gave me £30 to put towards a taxi as the tube wasn't running. A bit embarrassing but she insisted since I'd travelled for two hours. Bless her, she still acts like we're all 12

NSD yesterday - but I didn't leave the house.

So far today £8 in the shop on milk, eggs, bread (reduced), butter and what i thought were crumpets (turns out they were english muffins).

DF is coming for dinner later so have pulled some sausages from the freezer and will be using these to make a sausagey meatball pasta thing (maybe with some butternut squash).

So far have made £12 selling things on ebay.

Have also been to the gym for the 4th time this week. so am well on my way to getting my money's worth from my extortionate (but cheap for where I am) £43 per month membership...

I don't think I meal plan the conventional way! I go shopping and then come home and think about what I could make with it. But having done that, it means that I have a list of food I can make/cook. Obviously all has to be suited to my kids as we all eat the same. So I don't do a separate meal unless it's something v spicy or something like curry.

Hi vinegar - I think from what you say if you do have a lot of veg in your chicken dishes then that's fine. I think just from what you saying (cup a soup and the cheap noodles) that's not great. Having said that, I eat those noodles too but that's when I'm rushing for time!!

Spotty - are you going to be working with them?!!!

I think you could survive on that, vinegar, but I'm not sure it is very healthy in the long term. I think you'd be hard pushed to get enough fruit and veg and possibly calcium. It's what I'd call my crisis diet, for when I really have no choice. I know the MSE forum tried to do a meal plan for £7 a week and as much as they managed it they did reckon it wasn't sustainable long term as it wasn't great nutritionally.

Have fallen off the no spend wagon. Will need to try and be better for the rest of the month. Almost all of it has come from the money in my purse that I took out on Christmas Eve so it isn't too bad. Have barely touched last weeks tax credits.

£54 in ainsburys but I refuse to go to a shop for the next week.
£1 ON car park for swimming lessons

NK only if I get the job and can get childcare so not likely

£7.49 on a calendar for me and birthday card for my mum.

Just read back a few pages and saw that some of you lost family members recently. Sorry for your losses

Bookaholic enjoy your meal out tonight

Should be a NSD today. Tomorrow I'm giving DD €10 so she can set up a Credit Union account. We're going to put a little bit in each fortnight and DD can also save the pocket money she gets from her grandparents. I'm hoping we can save up enough to do an expensive treat later in the year - tickets to a musical or panto. Some of my friends seem to be constantly taking their kids on days out and trips to pantos/concerts/musicals etc. and I feel a bit guilty that DD is missing out . Not to mention the foreign holidays! Anyone else feel like this? I should probably just stay off Facebook.

Anyway, this thread is great for keeping me grounded and it helps to know that other people are struggling too. Thanks for the support and encouragement and practical tips!

nsd day yesterday sold a few DVDs for £4 then ordered a perfect present (reduced) for a birthday party coming up for same price.

probably a nsd day today as feel really rubbish so don't think we will be going anywhere, possibly park if I get my arse in gear and get ready

tayto I feel like that sometimes, it feels like everyone is doing wonderful days out. however if I ask dd1 (6) what she wants to do its either library, park, beach or snuggly wuggly day (covers on sofa, pjs, no fixed meals and lots of DVDs and cuddles ) they don't need expensive days out, they really do like the simple things, they will remember those.

however we are looking at doing the science/natural history museum in Easter hols. we have a family railcard and will book train well in advance and will take snacks/drinks so shouldnt cost too much...

NSD yesterday and today (so far). Am making veggie curry this pm which will last me a few days and some flat bread to go with it . Am also making carrot soup for my lunches this week. I usually eat my protien for breakfast -a ham omlette usually

DH has gone back to mainland where he works all week so ill probably be on my own unless DS pops over for dinner one evening..

This week ill have to buy cat food and pay for bus fare when collecting car from garage (DH paying the windscreen excess) so otherwise hopefully will be not at all spendy ..

Fwiw my dc find a trip to feed the ducks just as much fun as a trip to somewhere expensive and definitely prefer an indoor picnic to lunch out at a restaurant.

It was grand when DD was small as she was oblivious to what other people were doing. But now she's older and is taking note of what her classmates are doing and comparing it to our situation. So she asked me last year why her BFF goes on a sun holiday every year and we never go abroad . Also, a few of her classmates went to see One Direction in concert but we didn't have the money to buy tickets (that one doesn't bother me so much ).

Anyway, I feel much better now that I have an action plan. We will save up our money and we will go to the ball (or musical or panto).

spotty I can totally see how that would be awkward. I don't know how I would feel about working with people who know about my medical history. However, if you can deal with that I think it could work to your advantage. Firstly they know you so they know they basically like you and people tend to prefer to employ people they like (obviously). Secondly you can sell your patient perspective as something that gives you a unique ability to provide customer focused service and make improvements with a real understanding of how it will help the patient. Basically you cover both sides of the business, which makes you twice as awesome as anyone else they are interviewing. :o

Luckily it's nothing embarrassing but I've known lots of them since I was 12 so 15 years now.

Nsd.

book I do a monthly meal plan. The theory is I do one huge shop for non perishables and then top up weekly with milk and fruit. Doesn't always work that way though!

I'm making a big effort to use the checkout smart and click snap apps as I can get paid between 20p and 50p for my receipts. Okay it's not a massive amount but I'm think I could earn at least £1 a week.

tayto things aren't always what they seem. One of dd friends goes abroad every year but it's through the sun £9.50 holidays. Some people have massive debt. Your dd will enjoy spending time with you. Although it's good you've put a saving plan in place for some extra treats.

Just remembered I bought toothbrush heads £23.50. It was online so I forgot. Not a nsd after all.

Thanks for letting me know about not being the only one meal planning.
It can feel really lonely when you're counting the pennies and it seems like nobody else is!
The thing that annoys me so much is that I shouldn't be counting the pennies, according to my budget. So I need to work out where that money is going.

Looking on the positive side though, I am debt free and although I have 2 credit cards I pay them off in full each month (trying to rebuild credit score).
I just sometimes wish we had the nice house, nice car, holidays every year etc.