Marvelous Frugaleers - Just Jiving through June

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Ooppps filled up the old thread..... carry on

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Ipsos your comment about cost per day of food being more important than what you actually spend has got me thinking. If I'm organised and meal plan the supermarket shop can be quite expensive but over the week it probably works out at very little per meal. On the other hand if we don't know what's for tea, and we're tired that's when we're tempted by take aways etc which then makes it very expensive. I'd never really thought of it like that before.
Sorry to read about all those of you feeling isolated. I made some lovely friends at baby groups last year but it's harder to meet up now we're all back at work and my uni mates are spread across the country so I sympathise although I'm lucky that I have lovely colleagues at work. We saw some friends today for the first time in almost a year, they live about an hour away so it's sad we don't see them more often but life is so busy!

I'm very suspicious of our local takeaway, I would have more if the price didnt vary wildly.

So it's a good thing really.

I intend to buy fil's xmas present tomorrow. I have voucher for sainsbos till spit for £3 and the whisky is on offer.

My mobile xpressions app should give me a £10 amazon voucher tomorrow too, I am saving for a bottle of malt for dh.

I find that friendships change as you get older, all of my friends have kids now and the logistics of trying to get together can be tricky.

I have made a few friends at the school gate, another single mum like me which is nice as can feel a bit like the only one sometimes!! I do like my colleagues as well, they def help me stay sane sometimes Do you think you will go back to work ipsos ?

Just finished running through the month's spending diary and cross-checking it with the online banking. At first it looked utterly horrendous. I eventually remembered that the massive credit card payment did actually zero the credit card debt, so shouldn't need to happen again. Mind you, the credit card needs to stay firmly at home, under lock and key, from now on.

The "eating out" amount looked massive too, until I remembered June included our one annual holiday, so although I can't totally relax about that as I need to budget for it over the year, that too is not quite as scary as I first thought.

I have two more months when the numbers are going to be very much the wrong way round (more out than in) but in September my hours at work pretty much double which will help a LOT.

So, accountability time: main grocery bill needs to go down about £10 per week, "in between" grocery shops need to stop, and there can be NO eating out (including coffees!). I have budgeted very small amounts for some treats (books or magazines for me and LO) so that I don't get resentful and go mad!

Just worked out spent £330 on groceries during June. More Than I thought actually given I've only be spending about £45 pw at Aldi. The rest has been top ups.

Will try to bring that down in July.

Interesting thoughts on doing one big shop for the month. I wonder how successful id be with that. Imagine there would be lots of top ups for milk, bread, fruit etc so not sure it would help me budget.

I'm setting myself a long term goal of moving house. I'm looking to save as much as possible in the next few years. We had planned to move when DS has a senior school place in 5 years, (2 outstanding schools means hiked up house prices) before anyone flames me we moved here 13 years ago so no intention of fiddling school criteria and we will stay in the same area. no sun in the garden after 1900 has pissed me off tonight. I want a better garden for the times the kids are behaving and I can enjoy it. The alternative is take down a large chunk of the extension that is 10 years old but dh not keen on that

Collie why was the village hall one cancelled? Could you restart it?

That should say 13 years ago with no intention of having kids or fiddling

Collie, forgive me I am newish to frugaleering so you've probably answered this idea a million times already, but is there any chance you could try something where people come to you rather than you having to tackle the transport issue? Apparently, "If you build it, they will come" So, maybe start your own outdoorsy toddler group?!

Collie I was about to suggest looking for a rambling group or something as that would be outdoorsy. There is one near us that meet fortnightly and it's free. Jam's idea about starting your own outdoorsy toddler group is much better though. Who knows, it could even take off as a business venture - stranger things have happened! You could do things like listening walks,picnics, bug hunts, leaf rubbing etc even pond dipping if you could do that safely with little ones. I'd go to a group like that, DD adores being outside in any weather and a group like that would be great fun.