August Frugaleers Part II

[PeoniesforMissAnnersley]

Thought I would start a new one since the old one is full!

£71 tesco delivery, included about £20 of toiletries (razor blades, interdental sticks, toothpaste etc) so not too bad

Boiling hot and hit 27c here today. Hoping for the same tomorrow as I only have a rotary washing line so only managed to dry 3 loads of washing and probably have about 5 more. ..

scribblings Yes, the Uni expense is concerning me somewhat! I have a very old endowment policy that I took out on my first house when I was 21. After I met DH and we bought our own home, I kept it on, as it was my only form of saving then. It's not going to get anywhere near the expected value, so it would never have paid off the mortgage as planned, but it should utilise about £18k. We have allocated this in our plans to university/study funds.

There is one academic year between my 2 DC, so it's a plan for 2 kids. I am also sticking money away in an ISA too, not so specifically for this purpose, but with it in mind.

I feel I am spending like an idiot at the moment!!!.We haven't been abroad for 3 years, so the DC have morphed. DS is essentially an adult at 15. DD the same at 14. I feel like I have had to buy whole new wardrobes for them. Both DH and I have needed extras too.

As the business is doing really well, I've got relaxed again. This is the mindset I came here to change. For me, it's not about NOT having the money, it's about resetting back. A frivolous lifestyle is the same, whatever the income.

Morning! Was in London yesterday. Spendy on food. £70 for lunch and dinner!! Omg. Train was £57 with tube for 4.

Today hopefully lsd. Will catch up soon.

And, how much is sun lotion? Blimey, even on the BOGOF offer I used, it's not cheap! I use Aldi in the UK, but for some reason felt nervous to use in Italy, which is probably strange!

I bought a shower caddy thing from The Range last weekend and it is already rusty. The previous one was from Next and it rusted within a month. Are there any shower storage things that don't get rusty? Getting pretty fed up with em now

Need we use one a day suncream. Ultrasun is great usually on Amazon for £15 and lasts all summer.

Needa I got some factor 30 with the highest uva rating from Morrisons this year for £2.50! Its been brilliant, smells nice and soaks in well. Dd doesn't really burn just goes brown ( ) so I relaxed a bit on getting the super high factors, I do burn though but have been fine with this suncream.

Apart from dds horse riding lesson should be a NSD today.....

store.eastendfoods.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

East End spices online store. They are really cheap and have things I have never heard of. Good for those of us that live in areas with no asian supermarkets. Shipping is £2.25. In that takeaway cookbook I bought he says to use east end spices to get authentic tasting curry at home.

I saw Tilda long grain rice in B&M for £1 for a kilo, if anyone uses it.

need M&S have 50% off suncream today! Although I have no idea how much full price is. Bit I saw it advertised in store just now.

Amazing link! Thanks Fluffy I have added it to my favourites

ipos your posts really hit home with me, I feel the same as you a lot. My ds 1 has some special needs and it makes life a bit difficult. Things are better for the moment, but there were many mornings staring at the ceiling dreading how things would go that day. I also completely agree with the point you made about the hobby. Glad to hear counselling helped a bit for you

fish you got some fantastic bargains, well worth the spend!

creme hope you have a quiet weekend to get you through to pay day. I know that feeling so well. Last month was my first month on the thread, and the first month that I actually had money the week before payday.

So payday yesterday, went to tesco for a top up shop, spent €86, but my total before special offers and vouchers was €99. Got some great stuff tbh, a box of 76 weetabix for €1, shredded wheat for €1 per box, giant tub of my non negotiable milicano coffee for €4 and some woopsie meat. Bought a dress I had my eye on too, but I'm not mad about it on, so will bring it back, so will get €20 refund.

Heading out for the day with dh, have budgeted for it tho!

Collie I bought a shower caddy from a Lidl a week or two back and it hasn't rusted.

Amazed at my food shop this week. £61 which included £9 jumbo pack toilet rolls, dishwasher tablets and two joints of meat.

Thanks for that link Fluffy I'll take a look when I have a spare minute.

Regarding Kondo, I'm walking round my house with blinkers on, and they ain't coming off. DH put photos, 5 or 6, on a sideboard and I felt my chest tighten as he did it. This house has achieved our main goals but isn't right for us, we couldn't bring the other 2 dogs from Chile. So, we're starting All. Over. Again. The aforementioned sideboard is in the garage, with the dining table and everything else that doesn't fit

And yes, parenting is tough. I once had to point out to DH that I haven't had a day off since the DDs were born.

ipsos that is a great idea... there was a thread a while back about champagne lifestyle on Newkie brown budget that had some ideas. I can't remember it's real name unfortunately.

Hello to all the new / returning people (esp God Save who got missed by the welcomes further up). I suspect I will think most people are new with all the name changes.

I'm another Kondo fan, been doing it since before Xmas. It's pretty much done now and I def waste less money on things because I don't want the clutter coming back.
Last week I bought socks and a dress in Tesco and I've removed a few unworn items from my wardrobe to make more space. Just need to take them to the charity shop - nothing worth selling!
I like the idea of listing our little treats. Mine are:
Stock up on good beer/wine when it's on offer so we can have a drink on Friday night.
Sunday night bath with a good (library) book.
Always have an ice cream on a hot day - I love ice cream! Going out to get one this afternoon when DD wakes from her nap.
Spent £49 in Asda today on weekly shop plus 3 packs of nappies and a few toiletries. I was pleased with that.

frugal treats....

iced black coffee with soya milk
glass of cold, dry white wine
cheap romance novels from charity shop
reading blogs
Saturday Guardian, I usually only read Review, Family, Money and the weekend mag though.

My treats are:

Google play magazines/books or music bought with my Google rewards. (So free!)
Homemade hot chocs with cream (I have these when sat outside enjoying the stars)
Rimmel Nail Polish every so often
Sainsburys basics midget gems
Extra special weekend breakfasts which is budgeted for in the food shop.
Twinings Lady Grey
my new Tassimo
Every so often I'll buy new socks. I love colourful socks
When I buy clothes I get them from eBay usually.

Our main family treat is our NT Membership!

Some lovely free or very reasonable ideas here. I'm a fan of good wine deals, and written romance too!

My treat is watching YouTube videos. I started about a year ago due to a research project, and since then I've found it a wonderful timesuck free source of entertainment and insight.

I watch a select few ASMR YouTubers for relaxation -- I love the Nomad Barber videos, for example, and I love IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) nutrition videos because I've been following some inspiring healthy people over at MyFitnessPal. There are loads of Kondo videos too. It's always fun when you can glimpse other people's lives!

Videos are free, and are usually short, and make the evenings pass in a flash, which suits me perfectly. :)