Frugal February continued....

[SpottyTeacakes]

New thread

Just made some banana muffins, they are in the oven and smell amazing

Laska whiskers pouches are on offer in Morrisons at the moment, I bought some for my cats and they decided they didn't like them apparently Morrisons own cheap version is the only stuff they will eat (as well as only the expensive biscuits of course )

Dd1 is March, one year we went for party in the park (our garden is really sloppy annoyingly so not suitable really) and it was so hot a child got sunburnt (not under my supervision!)
the next year we happened to be at a wedding that same day, and it snowed really heavily!!

Mind you, snow party in the park would be pretty fun too.

I quite like party bags, but I don't put expensive things in them really, just sweets and something really cheap like stickers.

I found a pinata in the cupboard! So I might get them to decorate cups/paper bags and then fill them from the pinata as party bags iyswim?

I'm just wondering how the hell to hang a pinata in a church hall...

£18 at the market today for fruit and veggies.

tonights dinner was a roasted butternut squash and caramelised burnt onion risotto. yum.

have just enough left over to have half portions for lunches tomorrow. will add some salad and some roasted butternut cubes. maybe some chickpeas but not sure yet.

have been looking at setting yup personal pension (grown up!). new work doesn't have a pension scheme. old work did. contacted old works pension people and super surprised to learn that my share of the pension pot equates to almost £6k. which can be transferred out and to my new one. yay!

will be spending lunchtime tomorrow filling out forms!

Bank: £688.10 (was £914.10)
Purse: £10.98 (was £16.72)
Jar: £12.50 (was £13.65)
Grand Total: £711.58
Reduced by £232.89
Days to payday: 18

Spends:

£2.24 – pop and sweets (for me)
£15.00 – to get my favourite boots heeled and soled
£55.00 – Tickets to the Quarter Final (Yippeee I got them)
£66.21 – last week's online shop

£1.15 – bus fare
£14.00 – Iceland
£5.79 – Kalms
£9.00 – new trousers for DH
£14.50 – my bus fare
£50.00 – Cheque for DH and DS1 to go to his athletics presentation.

I nearly passed out at the price of £15 to get my boots mended – I never thought it would cost so much! I could probably get a pair of boots for £15 but I love these, they are leather and had cost me £80 back in the day.

However I'm wishing I'd have saved the money now. Started to cook tea and the electric oven has packed in. Luckily the grill still works and I have a microwave but I'm seriously fed up and thinking all of my electric items have got it in for me big time - everything is giving up the ghost. So I'll have to get someone out for that and hope it can be fixed and that it isn't a new oven.

We managed to get tickets for the Quarter Final – like Northender pointed out, the club backtracked furiously and have somehow guaranteed all ST holders one ticket so I went down after work (no queue) and managed to secure our tickets although they misheard me and I asked for 1 student, 2 kids, and they gave me 2 students and 1 kid costing me an extra £5, but as I was paying in cash there was no card fee (which would have been £2 had I bought them online) so really it was only £3 more than I was expecting to pay. So I'm really pleased and relieved.

Budget looks like this
Petrol: £141 budget / £109 spent / £32 remaining (filled up today – last lot lasted 12 days)
Groceries: £300 budget / £149.15 spent / £150.85 remaining
Credit card: £12.84
Interest: £12.40 (woo, this was £4 down on last month)
Kids activities & bus fare: £79.20
Bills shortfall: £138.50
My bus fares: £29
Tesco CC: £15
Leaves for everything else....£188.79

I've got an online shop ready for this Friday but apart from packed lunches and pop I shouldn't need much in the way of groceries in the last week of the month.

Great news bantam. When our oven broke it was the heating element. Cost £90 total. Luckily we have a double oven so could still use the top one but it was still really annoying.

Spends day at the leisure centre. £30 for Roker skating and bowling. £8 on maccyd's. . Back to it tomorrow as work and school.

Hang a piñata on the end of a broom handle with string. Just means someone has to hold the end of the broom but easiest way we found it.

Spotty - I am thinking it will be something like an element.

ARGH just remembered I have the solicitors appointment tomorrow too, so that will be £90. Have to do some serious scrimping if I don't want to end up overspent.

tewi will it just be girls going?

I think if it was a lot I'd try and find something time consuming for them to do - make up a song/do a little show or something for the louder ones, have a craft competition (decorate a paper plate?) for the quiet ones?

Have a couple of mums painting finger nails?

At my dd's party they played pin the tail on the donkey, had face paints, did colouring in, ate, musical bumps, musical statues, pass the parcel, dancing competitions, etc etc and I still ran out of ideas.....some are happy to entertain themselves but some not!

Lucky dip gifts do sound cheaper.

20 on petrol. I find myself avoiding the shops big time this week as I'm heading away for a night at the weekend....hotel, drinks, shopping etc. I also have the dentist on Friday and I've to meet a friend from abroad for afew drinks.

NSD!!

Pleased to hear you got tickets, bantam.
I would have had a NSD today but decided to do the shopping online while I had a free evening which was £75 including a load of nappies on offer and then I remembered we need to pay the minimum on the cc by tomorrow. Realised we had enough in the bank to pay it off completely so at least that's one less thing to think about. I only really use it for online purchases and I can usually pay it off each month as they are things I would have used the debit card for if I'd gone shopping but I was worried we'd be short this month.
DD had her first full day at nursery today and the poor love was exhausted when I collected her. She ate hardly any dinner and didn't have the energy for splashing in the bath. I feel horrible to be putting her through it although she did seem to enjoy nursery. Wish I could afford to take a career break or think of something I could do from home.

Just put £169 on the credit card.....

One years BT rental in advance..(12 months for 10 if done that way) I'd forgotten to renew it when it ran out a few months ago, and then couldnt afford it christmas, then car tax and house insurance due .. But next month there are no big bills due so budget will be fine for it to come out of especially as its another council tax holiday month..

Oh do look at the new me!!! .....I have spent time this evening working out my budget for next month on YNAB ..

You know, before I got it and was on this thread I often wouldnt even look at my bank account for weeks at a time , then wonder why I was always O/D....

Noticed a charge of 122.40 on my bank card, rang the bank and I must of not clicked a "click if you do not to subscribe" box when getting a free trial......I'm soooo angry right now!

Oh no ! Broken what was that for ? 'free trails' have a reputation for being often really dodgy , especially those skin care product ones it seems

Good tip about the broom babs, I'll try that.

Pass - It's going to be a mix of boys/girls I should think, probably a few toddlers milling around as well!

Last time we had a party all the parents left thinking DH was a scout leader because he managed to keep the party games going for a good hour and a half :0 but it was completely knackering so think you are right and trying to think of some nice time consuming craft activities and will probably do face painting etc ...

Still worn out just thinking about it!

NSD today.

Bantam - glad you got tickets, hope the oven is fixable, could it be the fan or heating element? They're a bit more fixable, generally.

Laska, it was for a trail of green tea tablets. An add was on Facebook and of course I wanted the 'free stuff'

Glad you got your tickets bantam

Today I Spent £43 in the supermarket
£6 in the greengrocer's
£8 on snacks for 3 of us, it was a loooong day.

We have Two whole, on the bone, Chicken breasts, left overs from tonight's Chicken that is enough for a meal for 3 while DH is away, a small packet of prawns and 2 portions of last night's bolognaise in the freezer. Also a pack of chorizo and a fair bit of cheese in the fridge. Will need To buy eggs and moré veg/salad but not much else. Almost forgot, another Chicken breast in the freezer that I will do Chicken nuggets with.

girlie Nothing wrong with chips and avocado, and the eggs were extra proteín so that's a good meal in my book.

So LSD yesterday as I got back from school run and an agency called with 4 hours work so had a lunch on th go, which was a very unhealthy pack of veg chips, boost bar and diet coke but was all I had time for as no lunch break. Today will be £3.50 for bus fare to business start up seminar then back in th afternoon for another contract. Will need tram fare for tomorrow as have an all day contract then. Have said to agencies not to give me anything for Friday as need to do freelance stuff then. So very busy! Off to make tea ahead of time now as will not finish till 6.

Frugal tips I have are: soups great cheap food, they cost pence to make, use mobile banking, good for quick checks. Do online surveys, you can make a bit of money for a bit of time online it's not much but better than nothing. Do a regular survey of cupboards and freezers. Free magazines such as Boots, Waitrose, Asda etc, good recipes and a bit of a magazine fix too! Any skills you might have to make extra money, look at people per hour you may have some skills that can make you a bit of extra, say copy writing or excel spreadsheets.

Off to start making tea etc.

Yesterday £4.20 on lunch (£3 meal deal) plus sweets for my drawer at work

Out for dinner last night, DH's cousin treated us. Her son and his friend came back to ours, then sat up all night talking (I went to bed)

I now have another costume for DS, just need to find out what I owe for it, but second hand do cheaper than new.

In regards parties the kids at the ones we have been to this weekend had just as much fun playing with balloon. I hate children and balloons mix but the kids loved it. Bit of music to.dance to and any. The older ones 6\7 we using their hair to stick them to the wall. A bit frantic but it as a bit of a release before.the controlled games

39p for DS to buy a car from a charity shop otherwise NSD yesterday!
Sending DP off to the shop with a list. Really hope he sticks to it...

Hurrah! I've finally caught up. For days now I've been reading thinking 'nearly there' and then someone else posts. Good to see everyone frugalling so well.

need glad dh is home safe and sound. Hope you're both feeling okay.

For children's party try to do the 1-3 afternoon slot, that way they've already had lunch so quarter/half cheese/jam sandwich, hm plain popcorn, couple of cherry tomatoes, and a little cake with cup of dilute squash is PLENTY as they not hungry anyway, food is just traditional. Even if you run out, they're having dinner shortly, they'll be okay!

Whoever asked about guinea pigs, they are cheap to run but do need fresh greens everyday which obviously cost more than dried stuff but grass from the garden is fine. They are lovely but noisy creatures.

fuzz I'm so pleased you've taken the plunge. You can tell how happy you are from your posts.

Half term was good, think we averaged about £10 a day and had a fun week. Need to keep spending down though as we had some over spend in January and I want to pull it back.

For the past 6 months I've been saving with save & borrow. The theory being you can borrow 4 times that amount and your savings are held as a lien until loan is cleared. My plan would be to use it to clear and get rid of a credit card & have a fixed loan to repay in its place. I will be able to make the call enquiring about it next week & go from there. If I'm not eligible I think I'll pay €200 each off each credit card instead.

Next week I'll have my littlewoods catalogue account cleared also. This will enable me to pay more off my credit card also.

Yesterday I spent €2.22 on 2 boxes of matches & €6.20 on parking for hospital & doctors. Usually I'd escape the €5 parking at hospital by parking out on the road but there were showers of hailstones so I didn't risk ds getting sick.

I also spent €30 in butchers on 3lbs steak mince a pork joint and 10 chicken fillets, this will do about 6/7 days dinners & money was from joint account.

The joint account system seems to be working well for us, it has a very healthy balance & means I can manage my own money better & know what I have to pay down debt with too.

Nsd. Knackered. Still no blood results been over two weeks