Super Savvy Savers Skid towards September Saving Spree

[lilacclery]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/1324074-For-those-who-cant-afford-to-use-central-heating-this-year-How-are-you-going-to-cope

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1628874-Gas-Elec-Bills-monthly-and-SKY-so-angry

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1911061-NO-MORE-COLD-MUMSNETTERS

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2209167-Slow-Cookers-are-shit

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2224969-saving-money

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2258202-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-6-start-the-new-year-with-a-clear-purpose-and-keep-moving-forwards-even-by-tiny-steps?

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Plus this.

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Kudos to PeoniesforMissAnnersly for the links

unescorted I'm so sorry to hear about everything you are going through.

Ds 2 started preschool today (my baby! ) and went out to my final cafe trip of the summer with dh, he was off so was nice, just the two of us! So that was €8.
Had a meeting with ds 1 resource teacher and class teacher to discuss his needs etc which went well. It was ds 1 first day with homework this term, that did not go so well. He's feeling really stressed about it. Took me an hour to even convince him to try it, another half an hour to get through it all. It won't take him long to settle back into the routine but it's hard to see him so stressed and upset.

Poor Lad Pink, kids shouldnt be stressed should they?.

Welcome newbies. Re the lidl shop, you could input a shopping receipt from tescos into mysupermarket.com and then click on aldi, it would give you an approximation of how much a lidl shop would cost.

Pink that's so sad I really don't agree with homework

The dc need while winter wardrobes including wellies and winter shoes. Dh just keeps saying he can't help and the same about Christmas. He's expecting me to pay for all of it when I only have £50 a month spare for everything. The over time I did last week should get me £250 but I was going to use that for Christmas. He's paying £250/month off the cc which I know is important but so is clothing the dc!

Ugh! Collie that is gross! I once visited a sewage treatment plant for work and I was quite alarmed at what got dumped into rivers.
I still have two jars of Xmas mince meat left from last year to use, they are in date well into 2016. There's a posh jar and a cheapo one, I thought I'd mix them to make the posh stuff stretch further. Need to make freezer space so I can start making and freezing mince pies.

£11 on fleece lined leggings. Let's hope they work! Also £7 on a torch as our road has no street lights and it is pitch black at night, I get home late from work 3 or 4 nights a week and have difficulty even seeing our gate unless DH is home and has lights on inside.

Do thermal tights work any better than normal opaques? Was thinking of getting a few pairs for work.

Freezer sold for £68, that's money to put towards winter-proofing us and the house

Ooh forgot to say I also phone British Gas today to ask about that free cavity wall insulation. Got a engineer bloke someone around in early October. Frugal win!!! I'm very happy with myself this bank holiday.

Thanks for the reminder to do the mincemeat folks it is soooooooo easy and makes a great present in an old jam jar.

450g of grated apple ( I leave the skin on) 225g each of suet, sultanas, currents, mixed peel,. 350g brown sugar and rasins, zest & juice of 2 oranges and 2 lemons, 4tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg. all thrown into a large baking tray. leave it overnight and then cook it in a really cool oven (120deg C) covered with foil for 3 hours stiring a couple of times. Allow to cool and douse with a really good slug of brandy ( I use 3-400ml). Pop it into sterilised jars and it appears to keep for years.

You can adjust the spicing - I add pepper, chilli, corriander and bay to give it a bit more of a kick. Sounds odd but it cuts through the sweetness. Also nuts work really well too....

Unescorted that has made me very excited. Is it worth making now or soon for it to nature?

That's a bit unfair spotty. I'd cut right back on adult presents if that was me. The children come first. How much longer will it take to pay the CC off?.

Frugalish day. Reallt struggled for something to do 8n the rain that woukd please 3 dcs of differing ages. I think next summer hols will be even harder with 4yr old 7 and 9yr old. Thats a fair age gap. Better get myself a list started collie!! Anyway decided not to go to pizzahut but got morrisons salads instead. Dcs love them. Cheaper and healthier than pizza hut. Rest of the day been a bit dull though. How easy is it to change the day you pay dd ...mortgage for example. Dh' s salary is now beingnpaid on a different date and its too late for aome but dd like power and mortgage. Anyone know?

My over time won't cover adult presents anyway so I probably won't be getting any. It'll just cover my dc, my niece and nephew and my best friends two dc (£10 each) plus dh's nephew.

At the current rate it'll be two years but dh is going to throw all his over time at it and hope to clear it in a year. He's paying £250 and I'm paying £50 each month.

Binglet you've done really well

Very easy to change dd dates ime just phone and ask and they do it!

spotty how old are your dc? Are they old enough to notice second hand etc yet I mean?

Just bought a bday or xmas pressie for dd from xmas thread...the lego frozen castle. Feeling v proud that I've made a start!

Hey pass I put that on the thread :p no they don't notice second hand but I can't find any nice bundles on eBay and they're so skinny I can only get them things from certain places. H&M is great as cheap and it fits them it's the shoes which are going to set us back.

ohhelp It was a fair old task but we managed to change all of our DDs to DHs payday and it makes ALL the difference! Took about a month to complete.

Thanks spotty. I did ring today but they were closed for the bank holiday.
Ine very frugal thing I have been doing is baking. Probably once every 4 days or so. I have point blank refused to buy goodies and have baked instead. The cost is mimimal compared with buying. Yesterday I made scones which are devine. In a couple of days I am making the 3 ingredient brownies I saw on cbeebies (though mine will have more than 3 ingredients after a bit of internet reaearch). So nutella,eggs,flour plus baking powder or cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Will update once made.

Evening all

No spend day for me today

(I did put £10 petrol in the hire car which was delivered this morning but it was on my debit card so won't debit until tomorrow or Wednesday).

Also am £5 up, as I had a free bet on my Paddy Power account and let DH put it on, and he gave me the stake money :-)

when I mentioned fleas yesterday someone asked if I lived in the countryside, but I don't. Next door's cat sneaks in whenever our door is open for any period of time, so I think he has brought us a delivery of fleas! Poor DH and DS2 get bitten terribly and I have to buy flea stuff and de-flea the house.

Did a load of Xmas shopping today. I have 22 people to buy for and my two son's. I try to keep it as cheap as possible, and so far I've averaged at £9.51 and have bought for 17 people (161.67 spent so far) so only five more to buy for but one of them is my dad who is so hard to buy for.

Also bought DS2 a laptop for £199 which is on buy-now-pay-later for 12 months but he knows that is the only thing he is getting and DS1 is 19 and working now, so he knows we won't be able to spend that much on him, but I'm still looking at having spent nearly £500 by Christmas.

July and August have been terrible months financially, I'm glad to see the back of them and get back to a normal routine.

Hope everyone is well.

Ooh Unescorted thanks for mincemeat recipe! Just wondering if it could also be cooked in a slow cooker on low?

Thanks so much for the kind words for ds. You're all so lovely!

spotty that's a horrible situation to be in. I can see why he wants the debt gone asap, but that's not much good if the kids haven't got what they need. Kids shoes are so expensive if they have any way odd sizing.

ohhelp I had a similar problem this summer. Ds 1 is 8, ds 2 is 3. The things the eldest was interested in weren't suitable for ds 2 and vice versa. Even playgrounds and things were a struggle to suit both of them. Definitely going to be getting myself a list for next year too!

Just bought myself a dress and a jumper from Dorothy Perkins. Wanted the dress for ages. They have 25% off everything at the moment, so was going to buy it yesterday, It was reduced to €17. But the €6 delivery put me off. But someone posted a voucher code on the Christmas thread for an extra 25% off, and a free delivery. So got the dress and a jumper for €28. Bit of a fail because I hadn't planned for them, but think I got a brilliant bargain!

Welcome to all the newbies!

I am so tired and just want to sleep but in the spirit of raising money I'm listing some things on ebay since I haven't used any of my free August allowance yet.

spotty I can't find the ages, I have skinny kids too so wondered if similar ages to mine (almost 6 and 7)

I found some waterproof-ish trainers that suit dd's skinny d/e feet just perfect yesterday (though had to go up a size)

www.sportsdirect.com/lonsdale-camden-trainers-childrens-033627?colcode=03362791

pretty reasonable I thought.

Need to pay for flowers for a cremation...I know we have to, but I really do prefer paying a donation for charity, flowers aren't cheap and I don't see what's the benefit. I'm harsh I know and I will keep schtum (dp's uncle).

Sorry pass I meant I put the Lego frozen castle on the bargains thread!

Dc are 2 and 5. They have skinny feet too dd's insoles take her up to an e just about.

Dh has said he can't come to my works Christmas do with me as we would have to pay for him and we can't afford it (£35) humph. Feeling grumpy this evening might go to bed and I'm sure it'll all seem better in the morning. I'll have some money coming from switching my account in about six weeks and we get two weeks rent free over Christmas also October is our last payment of our loan which will free up lots of money!

unescorted hope your situation gets better soon
LSD today
£19 at Halford for new bike pump and tube for dd bike and £7 on drink and ice cream for dc at Lanhydrock which was necessary after we did the Lodge trail (1.5 miles). Older dd and dh on bikes, ds run nearly the whole way and I had to run/walk with the younger dd who wanted to take her bike but she is still bit unsteady so doesn't like going by herself.
All my tomato plants have blight so instead of using chemicals I picked all the green ones and now have big pot of River Cottage Glutney simmering on the stove - great present for my bil. He eats with almost everything because my sil is not a very good cook
welcome newbies

Around £30 spent at Aldi from a £50 budget. Il use the rest for top-ups and stocking up.

I need good lunch box ideas for DD. She's starting pre-school and will have packed lunch in the dinner hall so everything has to be accessible for her and has to be cold (ie can't be heated up for her). Until now she's been at a nursery where I would send her with a small meal which the staff would heat up for her. Ive started a packed lunch store - malt loaf and mini packs of raisins so far.

Lunches are made for tmrw and a large portion of tagine is in the freezer for another day!

housework a couple of years ago our cat sadly died. It was mid-summer and he left behind a flea infestation. We couldn't get rid of them for ages and tried every product going. After extensive googling I discovered that a flea problem will be worse when there is no animal in the house to treat. If your pet has fleas, you treat the pet, the fleas are then killed through their contact with the pet. If there is no pet there is no 'target' for treatment. They did go eventually but maybe you could borrow your neighbours cat for a few days?!

ah makes sense now! Well hopefully dd is happy with her lego castle...I think as Lego goes it looks a bit basic compared to ds's fire and police station but hey, there's Elsa and Anna....

have a bath and an early night spotty...if it's a ds that is 5 let me know if you need a winter coat....

I usually end up paying for all of Xmas too as dp's work dries up at Xmas. I sort out everyone elses, and get dp nothing as I run out of money/the will to live by Xmas day. He then embarrasses me in front of his parents by giving me something (Lush set or something) and I look like the tightwad....

ohhelp I make nuttela brownies with 1 cup of nuttela, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons of plain flour. Mix it all up and put in silicon cupcake tin. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180 C. I usually put a small walnut or pecan in each one or you could use dried sour cherries too. It makes 12 muffin shaped brownies. My ds loves chocolate spread so he loves to help when we make them. I guess I shall be making some tomorrow