August Frugaleers Part II

[PeoniesforMissAnnersley]

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

Hello! We're also just back from a wet weekend of camping! Think we spent about £130 all in including groceries, day at a local attraction, pitch and dinner at the pub last night.

I'm just trying to catch up with thread now...I'm another one with unfrugal DH. During the winter he ups the thermostat up to 21c every time he passes and I drop it down to 17c so if we just kept it at 19c we'd probably both be happy!

Meal plan for next few days...
Sun: stuffed peppers and salad
Mon: brinner
Tue: fish, rice and salad
Wed: something from the freezer

I'm away Thursday and Friday for a wedding so DH can fend for himself!

I think it's habit fluffy. I have a watch and a clock too I'm going to try switching it off and see how it goes.

Hi. Just back from a weekend camping too and it was fab. Totally forgot about it so not budgeted for but most of it was paid by my friends as my birthday present.

Need a few bits for next week camping trip.
School shoe shopping tomorrow probably about £150 but also trainers and last few bits in there.
Regarding the heating try 16. Our house is well insulated but not quite today's building regs and permanent 16 does us fine with a boost to 18 if it's cold. Overnight goes to 12 as I hate the heating on at night. The thermostat is in the hall and the sunlight heats it so when we are out in the day it's off but equally a timer would work.

Oh and we are in a 60s semi in the north east.

I would be proper mad at wasted food and general ungrateful behaviour like that too

There've been times when I've left my dinner or leftovers out to cool and dh has thrown them in the bin twice he's done this! He learnt his lesson though after the second time

Wonderful thank you for his email address Fluffy.

My DH gets really excited when he pulls into the drive after work and sees the slow cooker on! we love food.

ipsos I can understand the struggles with finding things to eat. We are only gluten free and while its not as limiting as it was initially, until I found my feet, but a lot of the cheap meal "ideas" are rubbish. Even a simple stir fry is ridiculous, no soy sauce, so have to buy tamari for €3.75 a bottle. What exactly do you avoid, maybe some of my regulars might suit you, ds and dh? Lots of gluten free meals are dairy free too. Send a pm if you like!

My husband used to be really fussy too. He changed himself tho, it got to weaning time with ds 1, and he felt that it would be hard to tell a child to eat his vegetables when he was sitting down to his processed rubbish. So it was gradual, but gluten aside due to coeliac, he eats everything I put in front of him!

Could swing for him this evening tho, we went to a festival, and all the kids were walking around with toys a stall were selling. Dh told our boys that they could get one too. €18 it cost. Only have €10 left from my weekly spends now. I'm so annoyed with him!
Spent loads before we got there, €20 for 2 jumpers for ds 1, €2 for 2 Halloween craft kits, 90c for Christmas cards (couldn't leave them there!) €20 for new wipers for dh car, and €2.90 for a kringle candle.

Ah ipsos I wasn't referring to specific people sorry if I caused any offence. It's the effort behind cooking a meal and having it thrown out. If the. Decision for something different happens precooking that's different

And if it's due to dietary requirements then different again. I take my hat off to people trying to feed a variety of diets

Oh I forgot to tell you all we went to a birthday party yesterday and afterwards I went back to my friends where her dd opened all of her presents. She was five. Some of the things get school friends got her; a £15 joules necklace and bracelet set; a £22 my little pony; four little Disney princesses which are about £7 each (from one person) and lots of other things costing about he same. My friend was as, like us, she tends to try and stick to £5 for presents for school friends. I'm not sure whether I feel sad that parents feel the need to spend so much or jealous that they can

Have you looked at the allergy section on here?. Such a lot of good advice.

I didn't realise I could have cheese until I read it on there. Hospital never mentioned it to me.

I'm going to print out lots of organised home PDFs checklists. The freezer is getting away from me.

£21 asda, included £6 hoody for dd for chillier days

Frugal win, dp had AA recovery renewal due for both of us, lowest they would go down to was £225. I'm impressed he didn't accept for an easy life (as usual) and I got the same cover from RAC for £155 with £81 cash back

Then I put energy readings in and got a refund for £75...

Now, if only he would cancel his life insurance dd that he no longer needs as we took out a new policy. ..

I have been surprised in the past by what some of dds friends have bought her for her bday, one of her friends who I know comes from a family where money is very tight bought her a character duvet set!

I am pretty tight for other peoples kids bdays and def put a £5 limit on them that said I think i am pretty good at getting a lot for that £5 for example my friends dd has just turned 11 and I got her 2 books that were 2nd hand but look new for 50p and a bangle making kit in Sainsburys sale for £3.50.

Dds bday is not until Feb but I am already thinking about it! I think I might try and organise a disco for her this time, she will be 10yo which seems a bigger deal going into double figures. If she has a big party she will only have a few presents though.

With an aim to being frugal I'm buying bits from the Christmas bargains thread for birthday parties. I got tonnes in the kiddo care sale a year ago that was on 3 for 2 and have been doling those out for ages. The gifts look like I have been much more generous than I have been.

Today has turned out to be much cheaper than planned, I've had a bad day with back / pelvis / being nine months pregnant. We went to go out for lunch and had to come home before we got there as i felt so poorly. DS didn't go to gymnastics this morning as we all slept late and his little friend wasn't going. Instead he just went swimming with little friend this PM and to the park. £8 spent, so not too bad. Pay day tomorrow for me, I'm hoping to have a very low spend week as we are going out for an expensive meal on Saturday. Luckily I can drive us there and MIL is baby sitting so that saves us on two counts.

We may be joining the allergy eaters, I can't decide whether to take DS back off dairy now or wait for dietician. He needs the calories but where it touches his skin he has a rash and his digestion isn't right.

Spendy day on nephew's birthday treat. Feel a bit bad because I spent less than I did on his brother, but needs must. I got a tiny insight in to how frugality must feel when you're a parent. I take my hat off to you.

To make up for the day I am now sat in near darkness, tea was from the freezer and instead of hoovering I swept up (thank you thread to whoever suggested that!). There was something else to report, but having caught up with the thread I've forgotten it!

spotty at all that for a 5 year old!

I'm sitting here, still a bit cross with dh, and trying really hard not to go online shopping. It's definitely a habit I need to stop, I buy myself things to make me feel better. Nothing big, usually things like books or yarn, but it's unnecessary and all adds up. So posting here instead, so it's out there that I'm not going to.spend!

theonlypink I am struggling with not buying online too. I had a shit day and I feel like it justifies online purchases.. I am stopping myself though. And feeling angry at myself for thinking that way in the first place.

I took DS and DD1 to the shod shop. DD1 didn't need new shoes and I refused £40 for trainers, instead £28 in sports direct. DS school shoes £40 plus £2 for insoles for DD1's bridesmaid shoes.

£6.20 on sandwiches and drinks while shoe shopping. £52 on Diesel (but reclaim that from work)

£2 larking, new cheap Sunday fees. Annoyingly the toy shop U.S. shut on Sunday so need to go again to collect ordered stuff.

£45 in Tesco, mainly Chinese take away stuff got lunch, but also yogurts and lots of low fat cheese. Annoyingly I couldn't find my £6.20 off voucher for Tesco, it was at home. Nice back in my bag.

Can you browse books on Amazon and then search for them at the library? That's something I've started to do recently.

Yes, definitely get the books from the library :o (only slightly biased...)

Aaaaargh does anyone know about childcare vouchers, particularly paper ones? We are tying ourselves up in knots we really thought we had £400 left to 'spend' but it's only half that. On the statement it appears our previous CM had claimed 2 lots of £200... I guess that's right as it'd cover 8 sessions May-June. But I only remember printing one, and thought I had 2 left to print (basically she gave us notice in late June not bitter honest and we muddled through the summer without using vouchers for anyone). But if we didn't actively pay her online she only could've claimed the money if we gave her the voucher right? The other weird thing is, the claim date for the first one is before DH forwarded me the email to print... maybe they backdated it. I remember there was an issue with it at first.

Sorry for the waffle. Can you tell I'm stressed?! I hate stuff like this at the best of times.

On a more positive note, it's payday tomorrow. And despite having bought DS' birthday presents this month, I'm not as much in the red as I usually am. So something must be going right, especially as I haven't paid in the 2nd cheque from the author yet. Mind you that might also been because I was off sick for a month and therefore not buying bus tickets, food-on-the-go etc. Trying to still resist buying snacks in town for the sake of my weight, too.

Oh and the jambalaya was GORGEOUS if I say so myself! Sadly DS was not convinced by the pink rice, but to my surprise DD absolutely loved it. So it's going on the meals-I-can-make list (but will adapt for DS' sake, or have it when it's just DD eating). I adapted a recipe on the slimming world site - I say adapted, but basically mean 'I left out stuff like bay leaves and Tabasco as I don't have any' :o

Sorry, not a clue with vouchers, but I remembered my other frugal thought.

As you know, I've been daily recording my electric and gas readings. I couldn't figure out how I was using tiny amounts of gas on some days despite not using hot water, the hob or the heating. I realised it was the mixer taps being set in the middle (in order to be symmetrical ). By keeping them in the cold position it stops the boiler kicking in. This must save me about 2p a year.