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!

Nsd I find the way you keep tabs on your money down to the last penny quite inspiring bantam and makes me want to do better.

I have about £200 left in my account to last until pay day which is the 28th so just over 2 weeks away. £50 of that will come out at some point for dds swim lessons, am hoping to keep food to a minimum. Will do lidl shop this week - aim for £25 ish, petrol £30ish. No other big spends that I can think off. However it is dds bday beginning of feb so will need to get her a few more bits and pieces.

Just had the plumber out to get a quote for putting a shower in and redoing the tiles (which currently look awful) reckon will be looking at about £800

Ouch girlie. Dh will do it for half that

£12 on postage of ebay items - factored in to sale so no issue here.

£18 on compost, clips, new pots for orchids. Only bought new plastic pots as will raid DM's shed later in the week to see if she has any old pots i can paint up.

£7 on a pack of dye for my jeans. I was going to ebay a pair of white skinnies (what was i thinking...!) but have been lusting after a plum/aubergine pair for a while. Figured i'd give home dying a go. if it works, new jeans for next to nothing.

ememem dont dye them unless you are absolutely sure that the thread they are sewn with is cotton.. if its polyester ( and it is most likely to be) you will end up with plum jeans with white stitching.. (this learnt from experience)

Aww thanks Girliefriend - It has really helped me coming on here and being accountable. Everyone is so lovely and friendly on here.

Ememem - and if it does go horribly wrong, Primark have some Aubergine coloured jeans for £10

laksa I didn't know that...!!! too late to check now. they're in the wash.

I think from memory though that the thread was sort of dark red/orange anyway....

bantam thanks for the tip - unfortunately my nearest primark is about 150 miles away (in exeter/southampton) am channel islands and they aren't allowed here.

nugget I think you are right. I can easily spend £40 with things on offer that we use such as dishwasher tablets etc.

bantam I am SO sorry about the roof and car, you are having a bad time and must feel really down with it all. I too love your updates.

audit I don't know anything about the money club, sorry. Can you do most of it yourself, with us helping and save the £100?

Our car gets done quite often, by myself or DH, as it traipses down to the farm and has dogs and pony stuff in it and gets filthy.

Bit spendy today, £40 for cut and colour of my hair and £20 for a new duvet cover and pillows, much needed.

Fruit and veg delivery and I've menu planned. Tonight worked well, cheesy pasta bake. Par boiled the pasta and popped in small pieces of broccoli and cauliflower florets for the last two minutes. Fried off a couple of rashers of bacon, chopped small (to appease DH). Chopped up a tomato that needed using and mixed all these ingredients in cheese sauce and a teaspoon of mustard. Seasoned and sprinkled cheese on top, served with salad.

I've been pouring over the Jack Monroe new recipe book too. I love her recipes, I always seem to have most of the ingredients in and there's some much veg use.

So I will do spring veg risotto and sausage pasta bake (made up), smoked mackerel kedgeree, chilli on Friday in the slow cooker, definitely laska's dragon pie, devilled eggs, salmon cooked with roasted veg (made up), white fish tagine.

I'd love some plum or Aubergine jeans (or turquoise) but they all seem to be skinnies! I like bootleg style

So that's hardly touching the meat I have in the freezer. I'll do pork in the slow cooker on Sunday as a treat for DH

Audit, it's just a cashback site combined with groupon style offers.

For you to break even you'd have to earn a £100. Which you do anyway with quidco so why give them money?.

NSD! Finally getting back on track. And I cycled to work yesterday morning and home tonight (regretted it tonight though - cold and wet and gridlocked), so the money on the Oyster card will last longer. Must go and make a packed lunch for the morning as I've eaten all of my bulghur wheat concoction.

We never clean our car . If you cut the roof off it could be mistaken for a skip...

NSD.

NSD here :)
Very chuffed for day 2!

My car rarely gets cleaned-we live rurally and it's usually filled with mud from the dog and pony stuff, muddy wellies etc. I figure I'll get it done in spring when there's less mud/flyaway straw around!

if you cut the roof off it could be mistaken for a skip yep I have one like that as well

Spotty you are not South West are you?

£2 spend.

Could someone tell me which page the dragon pie recipe is on ? Thanks.

€28 spend at the supermarket. Not bad as I projected €30.

We seem to be snowed in (up on a hill out in the sticks) so tomorrow is sharping up to be a NSD. Yay!

We did get hit with a whopper of a bill for school fees today, but we have a fund to cover that thankfully. Dd18 goes to a special ed unit in a State school, Ds14 goes to a fee paying school. When we enrolled him we had no idea I would be quitting work less than two years later. Luckily we have a fund in place but it still feels indulgent for me to quit at this point with such a big commitment, so I am determined to make this work financially for the family.

13 more work days left to go!

Last two days:

12/1
£2 bus
£7.60 taxi home - got sent home sick and couldn't face the bus :( hence too ill to post this last night!
£5.37 DH taking DS to cafe while DD at sports club - must take cash next time as £5 card spend minimum

13/1
£3.85 bus fares
£3.87 Boots - throat sweets etc
£25 first term of brownies :)
£21.04 DH at coop - some today some yesterday, not really sure what on, random stuff including a magazine for DS

Soooo DH is a muppet, due to a hob mishap we now have a burnt/broken butter dish and the kitchen smells of burning ceramics and butter! Not complaining though as I've done idiotic stuff like that plenty of times too. And I've had my eye on a really nice insulated stainless steel one...

Of course we also need butter now, and a couple of other bits I think so I'll go to the coop after dropping the DCs. Have a feeling I'll get loads of junk food too and probably something easy for lunch... Sooo hungry I seem to get the odd day where I am mega hungry especially on an ill day. Resisted today but not sure I can tomorrow :o

At least now there's a bus that goes from the junior school/shops up to my house - it's a new route and it's cheaper than the other one. I won't be getting it every day, but it's useful to know it's there on bad health days especially if I have to get some shopping too.

Sorry girlie South East

fuzz the cold makes us hungry too
not snowed in here lashing rain outside & I must feed cats & hens before work, think I'll do them first then shower after to warm me up. Storm supposed to be bad later & I've my class won't be able to run it if weather's stormy as venue probably won't have electricity & too dangerous if no class then no income from it either but I won't put people's lives at risk for a few €.

Yesterday should have been nsd but it was so cold I topped up my packed lunch with a cup of soup for €2.50

Will post a funny link about a car being for sale like a skip when on pc later!

Lsd. Will have to pay parking at my hospital appt and if it's running late will need lunch out as won't have time to come home then take ds to nursery settling in.

Spotty! I'm south east too! Good luck at hospital...

Possible NSD today. At work, will bring lunch.

Will not be nsd today. Dh has asked if I can get fruit. So will have to go to the shop/ the market.

Determined though to only buy fruit. And spend less that £10. May only take a tenner with me.

NSD yesterday apart from Alex Tech lesson which was planned.

Have booked my driving theory test for Feb half term and also booked a driving instructor for next Thurs, am determined to finish learning to drive and pass my test by my 30th birthday which is at the end of June! So that will be spendy, but a good investment I think.

Won't be NSD today as going for work meeting in a cafe. What to do when managers suggest this?? There's a small chance he will pay, but if not then I'm basically paying to attend a meeting. I suppose I could not have a drink but then everyone will comment etc. argh.

All my clothes are getting tight, I've put on about a stone since my surgery but need to rein it in now. Planning to ditch the last of the xmas sweets etc into work and start exercising gently this weekend.