We are the Marvelous Frugaleers - Mindfully Managing our Money in May.. Come join us!

[Laska42]

So here is a new thread for all the Magical May Frugaleers!

All are welcome to come and join our friendly supportive group if you'd like to take control of your finances in May and beyond..

We are working together to support each other, live within our means, pay off those debts and save for the life we want!

Good luck everyone for another month

Right, her wing mirror will cost less to replace than her insurance excess. Silly mare.

See what she does, she might not claim. If she does her ins will contact your ins.

What a fucking nightmare. If she doesn't have business use on her ins she might be screwed anyway. Normal insurance is only commuting to a single place of work.

Oh good, Italy is my spiritual home. I lived there for a year when I was 21. It will be the first time back, as we have done 'child centred' holidays (Disney, beach type hols etc) since. Looking forward to culture, at least splitting the time. We have a cliff top hotel overlooking Sorrento and Vesuvius, with stunning views. No doubt 15 yo DS (Year 10!!) will be a pita, but tough.

We actually don't have many big jobs to do for the house etc this year, so the vast majority of the dividend will now be saved. Bit of decorating, tiny touch of tiling and kitting out the walk in wardrobe. I am doing a far better job at living within my monthly spends. For example, I will be able to pay off £250 for a school GCSE History trip for DS to Berlin (most of the cost of the trip) this month out of my own income. I had got into a terrible habit of frittering, then using the dividend for the balance.

Bad news Laska, I agree with pointless, 50/50 at worse. I had to accept that last year, which I hated. Much as it sucks. Might be worth talking to your own insurers, as you are supposed to report all incidents to keep insurance valid?

Cross-post. Agree, let the insurers do the work, but maybe speak to yours in the morning.

yup will have to look it out then..(so bloody stupid).. ah well . ill remember to point out that she said she was in a hurry ..

Ooh thanks for veggie gravy recipe, that sounds good I love Marmite!

Me to pointless I add it to just about everything I cook!!

So annoying Laska I think you will have to ring your insurance company and make sure you point out how it was her fault

pointless my gravy is very similar to girlie's I chop an onion and put it it about half a pint of water. I usually blitz in the microwave for 1 minute or simmer other hob. I drain the onion water into a pan and add a large spoonful of flour and a stock cube and a little garlic powder. Heat while continuously mixing when it thickens add a teaspoon of marmite, a generous dash of soy sauce and the onions. It freezes well so make a double batch but you do usually need to add a little extra water as it thickens further a it cools.

As always I've been reading but not posting. My cupboards and freezer are nearly empty but I'm still trying to produce meals out of the few remaining bits. It amazing what you can make if you try.

I'm considering looking at a Nutribullet on Amazon now thanks to you lot! But I know the reviews will be great and I'll have to buy it

Her wing mirror may be more than the excess, when someone damaged mine whilst parked on my drive, it was £275 to fix,

Talking about sunglasses, ignoring 2 pairs of prescription sunglasses, I have had 6 pairs of sunglasses in about 25 years! I have lost 2 pairs (one fell out of the car door pocket and the other I lost in the sea) I have one pair that have lost the little rubber nose pads, I keep meaning to try and get them fixed, one pair I hated as the nose bits kept getting caught in my hair when I put them on the top of my head.

Working again after long public holiday weekend
Need to go to Asian supermarket after work

nugget You know you want one..... I had carrot, banana, orange and cabbage in mine this morning but I am going to get some almond milk this afternoon as I do think I will like this.

collie at lego man hair! Bet your gran loved the flowers. Well done on the Ebay bargains.

LSD hopefully today. Fiver or less.

Loving Lego man hair ?? it's not always about the money with things like that collie.

Just saved £3.80 by doing a run and some 30 day challenges instead of going to class. Also saved the fuel to drive there and the temptation of the supermarket where I would park.

£24.00 on photos for passports etc for me and 2 dcs. Eek. Heaven knows how much 4 passports wil cost me

Yesterday was a nsd, went to village shop for lasagne sheets & they didn't have them so today won't be a nsd as I'll buy them somewhere today!

I'm glad your nan liked the flowers. It's quite unsettling having a change in lifestyle like that.

£15 on an electric egg boiler from eBay. I used my refund money from Checkoutsmart to pay for it.

£21 cheque arrived from E2Save for my SIM card plan. No more spends for me today.

Hi everyone. I'd like to join this thread please, as we really need to cut back.

We're aiming to spend £140 on groceries each month, alternating between £50 one week and £20 the next. So far this week, we've spent £26.82 (it's a £20 week, so over budget). I need to buy some butter today, and nappies, but other than that the shop should see us through.

So far today I've sliced up some over-ripe bananas and put them in the freezer to open-freeze for smoothies etc, and have set up the breadmaker to make an extra-large white loaf to go with dinner tonight - chicken and vegetable soup, using some cooked chicken I bunged in the freezer a while back.

I'm also roasting a butternut squash from the last Aldi super 6 offer (wish I'd bought more, tbh; bnut squash keeps so well), along with a bulb of garlic, both of which will be used to make a soup for lunches in the week, bulked out with a handful of lentils and some of the leftover stale bread I've been randomly sticking in the freezer.

As for smoothies, I have a Nutri Ninja, which I love. It was a little cheaper than the Nutribullet, but has a slightly more powerful motor. I find adding a small amount of oats (about 25g) really helps keep me feeling full. My go to breakfast smoothie uses a kiwi fruit, a banana, a pear, 100ml of milk, a tbsp of chia seeds and 25g of oats. Keeps me full for ages.

I've been reading but not posting for a few days as it's been manic here but am hoping the next 2 or 3 weeks won't be as busy......
I've been dabbling with my own sourdough starter for 10 days or so and am just in the middle of making the first loaf so will see how it turns out. Have been doing it with dd as a bit of fun. I've done it once before but didn't manage to keep it going so will try to do better this time.

I'm busy with work prep today as I'm taking a session in a study day on Wednesday and as usual have left it late to prepare. It's not too bad as I am just facilitating the session but do need to at least appear as if I know what I'm talking about

Shouldn't be spending too much this week so hoping for a good end to the month. I'm typing this while on hold with Virgin media, upgrading my deal while paying less

Welcome bugrit how many if there are you? No way could I feed us (2 adults, 2 primary dcs) for £140 p/mth...it just keeps on creeping back to about £380

3 in the charity shop. 7.07 in the coop. More expensive for the items but factoring fuel to get to lidl works out the same.
Loads of batch cooking yesterday and today so pleased with that.
Ordered more eggs for tomorrow as cheapest from milk man as nerd to bake tomorrow for work

Two adults and two little ones, cake. The 4 yo survives on air, bread, chocolate, satsumas, bananas, meat and scrambled egg. The baby otoh will eat us out of house and home when he's a bit older, but for the moment isn't too bad.

It's a fairly adaptable budget and we've got an awful lot of food stashed away in the freezer which should keep us going for a bit. It might well not be realistic, so may need to up it, but at the moment thats what we're aiming for. Thank god for Aldi is all that I can say.

I've spent £11 at the bakers (mostly preordering rolls as my contribution for a bbq party) and £5.86 on reduced party napkins and sweets for kids (who did not have a good day!)

My free friends and family railcard from a previous thread has arrived - says valid all through June and July.

HI bugrit, your budget puts me to shame! Although, my DC are teens, so I am feeding 4 adults, more as the teen DS never ever stops eating

Thanks also for the Nutribullet (or similar) recipe. Slightly obsessed. DD and myself are just going out for the evening, so we've both had banana, strawberry, grape and soya milk smoothies and I am stuffed. I was surprised how cheap seeds are, and have ordered some from Morrisons until I get to a health food shop. Also ordered frozen berries.

£5 in Aldi. Strawberries. Soya milk, chocolate (dark, for me, fun size for the kids)

Nsd

Tried to shave my legs in about an inch of cold water this morning and have got horrendous razor rash now, it is really sore got a man coming out tomos to hopefully sort the hot water!! I can not cope without my daily bath!!

Welcome bugrit I think you will be doing really well to stick to that budget, I aim for between £30-£40 a week for just me and dd.

need I have one for brekkie every day and am full til lunch!

Good "boosts" are - raw unsalted cashews, makes it really creamy. Bee pollen - amazing flavour. Spirulina powder - makes it dark green but is basically vitamins on a stick.

I find spinach and spring greens blend really well and kale is a bit more resistant.

I always add a banana for creaminess too. Avocado just makes everything taste of salad to me.

NSD but I might go out and buy a pregnancy test as I'm freaking out! While we both want number 2 I'm not ready yet and it would be a financial disaster for us.
Stopped breastfeeding in March, one period since then about 5 weeks ago. How likely is it do you think?
Stressing!