Frugal February continued....

[SpottyTeacakes]

New thread

Aw fuzz will miss you and look forward to you rejoining in March . Maybe I need a name change too

girlie I hope your cat is getting better. Did you find out about your insurance? Our vet used to bend the truth somewhat so dentistry was paid for, if you're lucky yours may do the same.

£6 something on book of stamps. £9.98 on 2 badly needed hand towels.

Drain chickpeas and put in a bowl with a teeny bit of oil, add salt or spices and roast in a hot oven. They make a good low fat snack.

Something with he in it maybe fuzz?
booty I already have credit union loan & dh has recently applied there to increase his loan to cover his much bigger credit card so I'm not keen on doing the same. Good point about reducing balance. I've two credit cards one connected to my bank account where I can view online & other which isn't, I think the other is more expensive so is the one money should go towards first.

laska well done on cancelling food delivery

I just remembered falafels can be done with chickpeas too.

Spotty I'm not sure if you gave mentioned what the blood tests are looking for, but when I was having immunology test done there was only one member of staff who could read the results. The problem was it took 2 weeks to grow the results, then the lab person (who I always assume to be a lady) was on holiday for another 2 weeks. I hope your delay is something as innocuous as mine was.

£4.20 for lunch again (£3 meal deal plus more sweets). I am having a tough week at work. They gave squeezed 2 very difficult staff appraisals into my last week, today's took 4 hours and still isn't finished just explains my need for a chocolate fix!

Ordered DD2 a pair of baby gloves gif he forthcoming show £2.75, plus a wig for DS's clown outfit £4.20 also managed to get the second hand dungarees (£10) and another outfit, still unsure of cost.

I wish there was a "Previously on Frugaleers..." so I could catch up. Fuzz I completely missed your big news. I'm really happy for you.

Was going to blather on about some weird reactions I've been encountering lately to our current arrangement (DP is mostly SAHD and I'm mostly working) but I'm too tired. Let's just say, I've been reminded again this week that there's nothing like child-rearing or how you manage your finances to bring out the differences between people who you think you know really well!

Top tip - join Freecycle, but choose a small group (one that's not too far away). When we lived in a city it was survival of the fittest on Freecycle and things came and went before I even checked my email. But since we've moved out into the sticks a bit and joined a more rural group we've got some great stuff and could have taken loads more if we had the space (furniture, kids toys, musical instruments, gardening stuff). But we could have joined it and driven that bit further where we lived before.

Audit it's the ANA bloods I'm still waiting for. I don't think our local lab do it from what the nurse at work said.

Should be Nsd not planning on going anywhere.

Ah see you soon the new , reinvented , fuzz.
Few bits in Morrison's yesterday about £9 just to tide me over until Aldi on Friday. My family seem to be eating a spectacular amount and my planning has been rubbish.
V stressed at work and home and that's not helping.

Missm a friend of mines husband had a few comments about his share of the childcare and how much he does. Boiled my piss for him. Dark age comments imo

Fuzz I think I need to do the same! We will miss you until you reappear

I slept 8-6 last night

Thanks all :o must catch up on thread as I don't want to miss anything!

Thank you mystic we are all very excited about home ed! :)

DCs start at the CMs at 9 - it's a monthly home ed meetup today, picnic at an adventure playground! Brilliant luck that it's always on a Wednesday, as it's a bit too out of the way for us to get to easily so at least this way they get to go with CM and socialise :)

Anyway back to lurking I go

Oh Mystic we had some bizarre reactions when DH was a SAHD too. It was actually because he had to be (he lost his job through injury so I had to start work) but he'd actually always wanted to! We never got any horrible comments but there were so many people who clearly thought it was weird and couldn't understand how he enjoyed it and how I trusted him to do a fantastic job. WTF.

Hope to see you soon fuzz!

Big spend yesterday on hair cut and colour £84. And a quick dinner from eat £4.35 as it was after work and I'd already brought a packed lunch for lunch.

Had terrible sleep last night. Dd decided that her ear was hurting like mad. So cal pol at 11 and ibuprofen at 2.45. Typically dh didn't wake up, and of course he will be all martyred up as to why he gets the kids up in the morning and dressed (whilst I put the wash on, cook dinner, hang up clothes, pack lunch and bags, get breakfast ready and then get myself dressed...).

Will miss you fuzz!

NSD Monday but spendy yesterday £45 on Alex Tech lesson and £20 on cleaner plus £4.5p on muffin and coffee in m and s cafe even though I'm supposed to be cutting back as all my clothes are too tight!

I'm juts so happy to be able to eat again after all my health issues that I've gone a bit crazy with food, but it can't go on forever or I'll be the size of a house.

Bye Bye fuzz. I think we might just be able to figure out your new name from your posts, we know you well

audit - ouch to the appraisals. Bane of my life, my previous life and my current life. Have HR issues that I am trying to sort for my nephew too, he's being shafted by a very big company that should know better than to stray so far away from basic employment procedure. Chocolate - definitely a requirement to get through.

nk - I hope your DD is ok, earache is horrible.

girlie fingers crossed for your little cat.

LOL at 'boil my piss' from babsmam

mystic I hadn't thought of freecycle, which would work where we live too as pretty rural.

spotty hope you get some answers soon, poor you.

te totally understand the re-explaining thing again and again. Was the same when I had back issues, I felt like screaming 'just read the file'!!

Whoever suggested roasting chickpeas has given me an idea, love chickpeas and trying to cut down on the junk in the house. We are all skinny, and I have teens, so some junk is inevitable, but healthy alternative snack ideas I do need.

I made the most delicious banana and chocolate cake EVER yesterday My baking isn't as great as my cooking iyswim? Meals always turn out fine, baking less so, but this was such a hit I had to brag!!!

Payday today, I'll post my pots later. Didn't go overdrawn, but had to 'borrow' and jig my money around, so I feel a bit let down with myself. But it was a very long month, with 5 shops. March is going to be a breeze compared.

see you soon fuzz, you'll have to do more than change your name if you want to trick any of us!

Had an actual NSD yesterday!

Got an interview today so will be paying parking/travel at the very least, maybe a drink or something as I'll get there early and have to camp out in a coffee shop??

Wish me luck.....over and out. I MUST prepare and not lurk.

I'll miss your name fuzz!

aiming for NSD today and tomorrow.

Good luck pass!! Is this the job you really want?!

Not really NK, I'd prefer the one I'm being interviewed for on Friday, but anything to pay the bills eh??

Well good luck anyway. Always good to have practice. Mine is tomorrow... Getting on the 7am train!!

Today will be a spending day as off to Aldi to do our monthly bulk shop. Discovered a wonderful butchers at our farm shop and have started to buy their fantastic meat so much cheaper and so much nicer than supermarkets. Two large farm chickens @£10.(1 chicken fed us for 3 meals and 1.5L stock too!)! Steak mince 2kilos @£11. Super tasty too. Veg and potatoes better value too.

I postd on 18th Feb my British Gas electricity drama and a bill of over £700. I've hounded them and finally I got a resolution. They'd inputted my electricity readings incorrectly and our bill is now @£310!!!! What a difference. At one stage I was going to accept it and pay it but so glad i kept at them. Phew.
We're going to treat ourselves to coffee and cake this afternoon to celebrate!!!

Hope everyone is having a good day. :)

Oh fuzz don't vanish on us!!

I have had the same username for about 8 years can't be bothered to change it though!!

So my pussy cat has been to the vets who had a brief look in her mouth, said infection gone but still really inflamed got to starve her tonight and take her in for investigations under a GA tomos. On the plus side he said it is def NOT denta s can claim on insurance and also very unlikely to be cancer

Good news Lottie!

I've made blueberry muffins, why so my muffins never rise properly?! Also have bolognese in the slow cooker enough for three nights

Good luck everyone on prepping interviews.

Good news lottie, what a relief for you.

Thats great news Lottie I had something similar happen once, I was almost sick when they told me how much I owed, it then transpired that I had been putting the day and night electricity rates in back to front on the online meter readings once I sorted it - they owed me money

So spends today, vet didn't charge me anything today but guess will find out the damage when I pick her up after op tomos.

£3 on 3 packets of dreamies in pets at home (my cats love dreamies!)

£5 in Dun Elm, I got 3 really nice new bowls for that (30% off) all my current bowls are chipped and looked really tatty plus also got a scented candle!

£3 on posting a parcel for a friends bday.

£24 in Lidl - got loads for that should easily be enough to last the week, as freezer still well stocked.

Roll on payday.

Think will put a chicken casserole together in a min.

We're getting new windows and doors next week! Means staying in for two whole days though

Good luck to pass and NK for the interviews.

That's good news lottie about the gas, you must be relieved!

Glad to hear your cat looks like she will be ok and the claim can go through the insurance girlie

Right, so it's pay day so I'll post my 'pots'

DD skiing 2016 - saved £150 (paid to parent2pay so gone)
Pony - budget £200, spent £160 but the box will need filling so I'll use the surplus.
Birthdays - Budget £100, spent £80 as a couple of big birthdays.
Car costs - Budget £200, spent £71 tax, roll this 'pot' forward each month anyway.
Holiday 15 - Budget £200, had to borrow from this pot as DH went mad on clothes, which are now strewn over a Turkish motorway somewhere in the accident.
Misc spends - Budget £250 - spent £160 (hair cuts, amazon purchases, school trips etc
Cash withdrawals - Budget £500, spent £500, I suspect DH rifles my purse a lot but lord knows where this goes, my target for next month is to check.
Shopping - Budget £650 as a 5 week month, spent £475 and that includes my false economy shop at Sainsburys.
Dog food £150 Budget £50 but buying a massive bulk order on special saved me £10 a bag so I've borrowed from 'shopping', which will save me about £50 over 3/4 months.

Also managed to put £250 towards the decorating in March. This in non negotiable. I book the decorator into 2 or 3 slots, over a year in advance, set up a high interest but not touchable savings account and force myself to pay the money in. This will cover some tiling and carpentry that needs doing, I have £1500 so far.

However, nothing towards Xmas 2015 though.

March will be easier food wise as I've tons in and there's only 3 big shops to do. But, we have a wedding to go to. I think myself and DH will be fine for outfits but the DC will need some clothes.

Lasagne for tea, with salad and garlic bread. Been feeling quite wiped out this week so I've upped the red meat a bit.

spotty can be an expensive thing though, windows and doors!