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

lilac sorry to hear about the Au Pair. Do you have a much older son then? Or have I missed something?

Audit hope your mum enjoyed the paper and is feeling a bit better

£60 on hair, otherwise NSD. Meal plan all catawumpus as DH didn't tell me he'd be late at work several days this week.

Hi peonies well spotted that brother is the youngest of my children's stepsiblings who are 32,31 & 20.

Lsd today need a few bits from aldi

I'm sick so should be nsd.... Can't stand up without being dizzy

Feel better Italian

Should be nsd again.

I got offered the local job! But. ..have asked for more money. I've already dropped £5k in the role I've worked in for 2 days so far. ...and this is a further £9k drop as they've offered it at the bottom I'd save £5k ish on travel and some on childcare so hopefully they'll up it a bit, the post was advertised with a £8k salary band so fingers x. There are a million reasons why I want to drive for 15mins instead of comute for 1h15 on a train that only comes every half hour. ...

Oh well bloody done pass. Fingers crossed that they will negotiate. Imagine the difference to your life with a 15 minute commute!

italian

LSD - just £5 for training tonight.

peonies Thanks, for the good wishes re my MIL.

How exciting Pass , really hope they accept your request!

Well the water was off for all of 30 minutes this morning, so I called the cleaner to see if she wanted to come in after all (she did).

DD and I are off to the ophtalmologist's in a minute, that's going to be €€€, and only a small part is reimbursed by our health insurance, because they charge extra seeing as they're the only ones in town and no one has a choice in who they go to for their eyes, it's bloody outrageous . I'm just hoping that DD won't need glasses (she's 5), although the odds are against her as DH and and I are both sort-sighted.

Well done pass!
lilac, that is great about the newspapers.

So, in trying to think through what DC really need clothes wise there is a new spreadsheet going! Just got to finish off cataloguing DD2s box and I can get on with online orders :D

Although, minus side just checked my bank account and it looks like instead of only taking a set amount towards from tax credits towards overpayment each week they have taken it all... I don't want to ring them!

tewi a spreadsheet for clothes? Tell me more. ....how old is she? What does she need?

Do I need a spreadsheet for clothes too

God I have no idea what either of my DCs have clothes wise nor what DH and I have for that matter . I rarely buy anything new for any of us, we get an awful lot of hand me downs for both of the DCs which is brilliant and DH & I keep clothes for years, until they are completely past it or too tight . DH has a draw full of t-shirts which he never gets to the bottom of, as they get washed and put away before he's got further than about three deep.

Ophtalmo was €90 for the two of us, should get about half back. Went out for lunch with DD, €21.

On the plus side DD doesn't need glasses for now (she could still become short-sighted as she grows up though).

Oh no Italian, do you know what's wrong?. Poor you. It must be hard looking after the baby when you're poorly.

Pass brilliant news, let's hope they come to the party with wages though!.

Actually if you write down what you've got it's easier to plug the gaps. my fcuk dress arrived off eBay, perfect condition. Fcuk stuff goes for pennies on eBay.

It says dry clean only but it's polyester, surely I can hand wash it . I'll ask on s&b.

I had to go to the tip (love a trip to the tip) so I stopped by tescos.

£4 on two frozen ready meals (free on Checkoutsmart plus 40p each cb on my supermarket so 80p profit)

£1.85 radox and spread (75p cb on shopitize)

So really only 30p for two meals and stuff I'd need to buy anyway.

Fluffy how does Fcuk come up size wise is it comparable to anywhere else? Thanks.

oops, need sorry I go the name wrong

well done pass

Might not be NSD today as planned as need to get toothpaste. Debating cutting tube open to try and make it one more day

Work is insane at the moment, we are facing a mandatory full inspection and the paperwork is out of control, it's not like we ever have spare time anyway!

I think it comes up big, I buy a 6 in there but I'm an 8 everywhere else.

I think they vanity size. I wouldn't get a 6 in Karen millen past my thighs.

Hope you feel better soon Italian.

Spreadsheet is looking like this:
List for each child, seperated into age (eg column with DD1 age 6-7, long list of every possible type of clothes she will need including school uniform, shoes, coats, socks etc, then another for DD1 age 7-8 underneath) next column is how many we already have of each item, next column how many more we need to equal the basic number needed overall, next column how much we've spent.

I've not bothered with the clothes size they're already wearing (they've got plenty) just the sizes up, so I can check easily when online shopping of an evening if DS actually needs a jumper in that size I've spotted for a bargain price iyswim... hopefully it will help me be more conscious of the quantity of clothes.

We do get hand me downs for DS, which is great, but tends to mostly be tee shirts and jumpers for some reason! So he often needs gaps filling, we don't get given that much for the girls and I have no idea why but DD1 must have completely destroyed her 3-4yo clothes because there is hardly anything lest for DD2 in that size.

Fluffy - since I started filling these shopping baskets last night, should I go back through the quidco website and put them all in again to be sure of cashback?

Spag Bol for dinner. Hoping this 500g pack of mince will do at least three meals. I added the rest of a pack of frozen med veg I had in the freezer plus onions, celery, 2 tins tomato and red lentils (plus herbs etc). Saucepan is full. Actually might do some kind of pasta bake with it tomorrow

I would, just to be on the safe side.

Hope you feel better soon Italian, well done on the job pass hope you manage to negotiate the salary you want.

Spendy day today, £75 in Aldi but shouldn't need to go again for 2 or 3 weeks. £35 having my hair done which is my main extravagance I think.

Argh went in for toothpaste, ended up buying face cream as mine is almost run out, also tofu to add to dinner, £13.45 in total.

nsd

Just found out I can take 3 weeks annual leave over the summer hols will save me £££ in childcare!!

I need to find something (cheap) to wear to the races next month. Would be easy except I cannot wear heels at all so have no idea what I can wear.

£5.99 on a magic eraser. Please tell me I'm not the only one with an almost five year old who draws on the fucking walls all the time