July Frugal thread, Just chatting and saving.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Everyone welcome.

Ps - collie, agree, that's a small budget for food etc. Tough making it all work isn't it?

Frugal fail for me yesterday. £4 at a train station on a Lion bar and diet coke and a frugal win £20 on two-for- twenty on hair products.

The weather is annoying me greatly.
Pic nic packed for the free outdoor cinema in town. It's part of the kids summer season put on by the council. Sometimes I love our town. Big hero 6

First day of summer holidays and it's raining cats and dogs here /emo/te/3.gif.pagespeed.ce.ohOMRL_vp7.gif

Went to Aldi yesterday and got some school clothes, I just wish they had bigger sizes too
The fruit and veg is hit and miss, got some carrots last week and 2 days later they were all mouldy - don't keep them in the fridge but in the veg basket on the side

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

Ipsos, some people on instagram say that the aldi in the UK don't do the gluten free stuff, but I'm not sure how true that is. Their gf bread isn't nice, it has a funny smell. But the biscuits, pasta, sausages and especially the cereals are great. My husband and Ds2 are coeliac, so it's not cheap! Lidl have a gf range too, but not tried it yet.

Had a very spendy day, but it's all budgeted for. Had to buy ds 1 school uniform, school shoes, a much overdue haircut and his birthday present. But the uniform was much cheaper than last year, his shoes were on sale (€20 off!) and got his Xbox games for €9 cheaper than I had seen in any of the other second hand shops!
So pretty happy with that, and convinced my sil for an at home play date instead of soft play. She only has 1 dc who is under 2 so free in our local soft play, but I have 2 dc, both are €6 each!

First month using YNAB properly since I got it at the start of the year. So far so good!

Have a good day everyone!

lovetoknit what did you think of the quality of the aldi uniform? Was looking at it but was wondering how good it could be for that price!

My thoughts on the Aldi uniform;

Tights; fine. Lasted us the winter.
Long socks; ditto
Ankle socks; very long so probably wouldn't buy again.
Polo shirts; They shrink and go tatty at the hem and collar so won't buy again.
Tracksuit; perfect for after school activities. Lasted us a year and she wore them for football in the mud etc and they washed up fine.
Skirts; first year of buying them. Not sure if they will last the year tbh. But for £1.50 each I'll take the chance.
White T shirts - Lasted us for PE and didn't shrink. Same as the shorts.

Coats looked ok but didn't buy because I wasn't sure how waterproof they are.

I buy school cardigans with logo so can't comment on them.

I bought trousers for my ds because for the last few weeks of school he managed to get holes in 3 pairs we got from the school shop, probably playing football at break time. I used some iron on patches on them but they fall off after wash so I might turn them into shorts - need to check if he can wear shorts in the new school.
The material looked nearly the same as the ones from the school shop, I guess I shall find out in September if they are any good.
I also got some shirts for my dd who is a mucky pup - I wish they didn't have a white shirt as a part of school uniform.
I have no idea how can they sell them so cheap, makes you wonder if they subsidise the prices to get you into the store so you buy other things too.

The coat looked okay but the sleeves were so narrow that my dd looked like she was wearing a straightjacket. She is 9 (10 in December) and we tried 10-11 size while she was wearing her school jumper which they have to wear.

NK I get 1/3 off when travelling alone and then up to three additional people. I can't use it during rush hours.

Just found out we can't buy our house as we are HA not council tenants. Looks like we will never own our own house

There aren't any round here there's a few which are 1 bedroom flats but we would need a 3 bed house and I've never seen one.

That sucks Spotty sorry to hear that :( I'm pretty much giving up hope for us ever owning property too.

I'm trying to plan the next shopping order so that I can do a big cooking session and stock up the freezer, but my head is all foggy. Trying to think what I can manage making, and what we have room for, and what the DCs will actually eat, and blah blah blah.

Am in relapse mode ATM, not feeling good. Boss didn't sound too impressed on the phone either - I'd been doing so well until I had a bad run these last few months, but at least last time I was able to reduce my hours... there's no options left now. If I end up proving that I can't even cope with this, then I guess medical retirement is the only option. I don't tend to think about that often, but then when I get in a bad way it makes me panic that I can't handle my job anymore.

End rant, sorry back to my meal planning I go!

Fuzz sorry to read you're not feeling brilliant ????

Sorry you're feeling rubbish fuzz

Going out tonight but really don't feel like it. I'm exhausted and it's chucking it down with rain. Humph. In a really bad mood

Thanks folks it has helped to vent on here!

Damn, now I also want a lion bar.

Crikey NK5 just opened your Amazon link and saw some gruesome photos on how much skin comes off your feet ????. Am gonna order some!

I have my own chiropodist so don't need any skin removers products

Fuzz It's really not your fault, you cannot be cross with people for being ill. It could happen to any of us.

spotty could you do "help to buy"? that scheme where they give you some of the deposit?.

£35 on food. Lidl sent me some vouchers for complaining but I think I'm going back to aldi.

£8 on slippers.