October continuing into Novemeber frugaleers part trois

[Lovetoknit]

Hope it's okay to start the new thread since the other one is already full
£1 at Cornwall Ambulance shop for 3 books for dc after I dropped off my old slow cooker and some books and £1 at Prospect hospice for some wool and fabric
Just made cauliflower cheese with some bacon and cavolo nero for dh who had it for lunch and there is enough for his dinner too, the rest of us are having homemade burgers, buns and wedges

Fuzz I would be pissed too. Good idea re the subtle approach in writing about the bits you did. Hope it's enough, rant away.

I'm dithering between a kindle fire and a kids fire. Both reduced and I want 2. Any thoughts?

Glad things are going better ipsos. I need to sort my sewing machine, any tips on spool tension as it's my nemesis.

Blue - that's a lot of saving to do, are you able to do any locum shifts at OOH to boost your income on an as and when basis?

Fuzz - that would hurt and annoy me and I'd stew and not know how to deal with it. Sounds like you've got it just right.

Ipsos - what s lovely activity and so pleased the extra help is paying off!

Creme - expensive but a lovely sounding thing to do!

Em - the sweeping pennies thing is a great idea, i think Lloyd do it automatically? Called save the change or something? I'm sure I had something like that set up when I banked with them. I might do it from the 1st and see how much I save.

fuzz you can be sure your line managers will know what your colleage is like. They probably have seen it before.

Breadmakers we make our own but in a Kenwood with a hook.

The Liebherr fridges over to the right aren't doing too well in the reviews are they?

Today I have to make bread, gingerbread and lemon dribble cake for this weekend. I also have to fit in the packing..... the joy of 24 hour bike racing.

Fuzz I would be really annoyed too!! I would email the boss and say 'thanks so much for the great feedback I worked really hard on it. It was kind of X to to make a continuation'

Might take the dc to the park today....can I avoid Costa??

spotty yes you can .... just remember that they always make it too hot and burn the coffee. Not as badly as Starbucks but still not nice.

Not as a trainee what, I'd need to go back to full time to do any hospital locums too I think (need to check contract) but it would mean increasing indemnity cover too :/

Lol I suspect I wont meet many of those targets but its nice to have something to aim towards!

Will probably do a monthly update on it too keep focussed :)

I am awake and the kids are asleep!

Todays project is to make up a nice hamper of stuff for my folks for having the kids so much for me this past while. They are off to a holiday cottage in the south of ireland for a week so wine / nibbles etc I think. Love this kind of thing :)

fuzzpig I'd be totally miffed too. It's similar to when my maternity cover was paid more than me. Grrr.

spotty don't have a Costa. Take a flask of hot choc and 3 cups ;).

NSD today I hope! payday tomorrow. Can't come fast enough

Hi Babs,

If adjusting the tension isn't helping then I'd get the machine serviced. If that doesn't help then it's probably not a good machine. I've had several machines and they are incredibly variable. If you're on a tight budget then there's nothing to beat an old straight stitch singer. You can get them for £25 from charity shops. Do you know how to adjust the tension?

Gave only cash in house to DD on Monday for bus fares and two lots of lunch out - from what she's told me, hopefully there's still £15 cash to come back sometime!

Food, petrol, car service (totally £245!) etc all gone on credit card which is normal. Total is currently £498 though and statement runs until 18 Oct. Most things tend to go on cc up to a max of £700 (which we can afford to pay each month), so only have £200 for more food, petrol, Xmas presents and apparently we have two tyres under the legal limit to pay for. Any idea how much tyres are by the way?

Today's spends approx £45 on nails and eyebrows. But I have a voucher to cover it.

And sandwich at lunch. Beautician appointment is over lunchtime and although dh packed me up the leftovers from last nights dinner I'm going to be pushing it for time. Sandwich is easier to eat at my desk than Chinese sesame pork meatballs and rice. Quicker too as it won't need reheating.

Skirt I bought from eBay arrived but is a bit too short. Am tempted to let the hem down a bit (or ask mum to do it as I'm not quite there yet with sewing...!) but might just list it and sell it on. It's a shame because it's so lovely.

Thank you all very much for your replies. It's making me feel much better about it!

(and Collie OUCH at your maternity cover being paid more! That's awful I didn't think that would even be allowed TBH :()

Yesterday £16 in Tesco for some lunches, chicken for last night's dinner and a few bits. Need to buy pyjama birthday present today, so may go to Asda in Southampton where I'm working today.

morning all

not been on for a few days- will try and catch up with thread later.
pay day yesterday, have resisted urge to spend recklessly! so far have paid off some more of credit card, bought the rest of dd1s bday presents (bday in Nov) and got a couple more Christmas presents.
going to the bank today to draw out cash for kids clubs, bus fare and food - in exact denominations!
right. need to get to work. Be back later.

Welcome to all newbies and returners .
Re bread makers, don't forget, if you have a food processor or a mixer there will probably be a dough hook or attachment for it which you can use to mix & knead the dough. I had a bread maker for a while but wasn't keen on the texture of the finished bread and so sold it and now when I fancy HM bread, I use my ancient Kenwood & prove, shape & bake it myself.
Well frugaleers, after emailing the Tesco chief exec ( thanks fluffy), they came up trumps yesterday so in addition to £50 compensation they delivered 4 v posh jute bags of goodies to our holiday let. We reckon there must have been £100 of stuff, Prosecco, wine, beer, cider, posh cordials, cakes, chocolate biscuits, crackers, crisps, chutneys, jams and even a pumpkin and a couple of board games! It was a monumental cock up on their part, but lots of thought had gone into the contents of the delivery so I feel much better about it all now. Even though it wasn't my fault in any way, I placed the order so felt it was my battle to fight & I did it with calmness (most of the time!) and determination & just feel relieved now. I'm sure my time on these threads helped. Took a picture of all the goodies but can't post it as I'm on my iPad.
Today half our group are off to a stately home & the other half, including us, are going to a park a few miles away where there is all sorts to do. We'll take stuff for ball games but are planning to pay for pitch & putt except for dd & I who are going to paint pots at a craft centre in the park. It will be nice to have some time on my own with dd.
I think overall our spending hasn't been too bad on the holiday. We divide the food spend between all20 of us so it works out pretty well.

Should be NSD today as we have friends coming round tonight so need to spend the day cleaning but if I get time later I might nip out for some eggs and make a cake.
fuzz that's rubbish about your work, at least you know how much effort you put in.
An added bonus of the new bin is the large box it came in which is keeping DD very happy - simple things!

I'm pleased Tesco sorted all that out north, the goodie bags sound amazing!

Thank you pointless :)
My DCs love a cardboard box too!

Today will be the only spendy day of the 'half term' - since we haven't had any home ed activities this week we've mostly stayed in, but DH is escaping work for a couple of hours (not as good as it sounds - it's supposed to be his day off ) so we will meet for lunch and I'll fit in the other errands I have to do (like pay my cheque in, hurrah!) to make the most of the bus pass.

North I think you must be just up the road from the Unescorted ranch.

Apple pie done ... gingerbread next. I have just been nominated to help other riders on Saturday night they never bring enough food - usually they just focus on the race time food and forget there is Friday night, Saturday morning, Sunday after it finishes and if they pull out jelly babies and energy gels don't cut it.

So wish I could afford to do lots of nice home made soups. However, looking at recipes, it would seem that if I'm being realistic it would be cheaper to buy shop bought fresh made soups as I don't have any of the ingredients!!

Single parent here so money is tight. Off out in a bit to do some shopping, hope I can get some good bits for meals.

Wowzers north glad they sorted it!

scrambled home made soup doesn't need to be expensive. We do a tomato & lentil one that is really cheap...

Fry onion in oil (any type or butter) add crushed clove of garlic (optional), throw in carton of Passatta (35p at Aldi), crumble in a stock cube (or salt if you don't have a stockcube), add herbs (any type except sage works & they can be dried or fresh) water (about a pint ish .... ) a pinch of sugar (optional) and a scant dash of vinegar (optional but not without the sugar). Bring to theboil & add red lentils (about a handful). Grind in pepper to taste.

Or rude soup.... make stock from the carcase of a roast chicken (this one doesn't work from stock cubes). Fry up cubed vege from the compost heap that is the vege crisper add stock and simmer until vege are soft. If you are feeling posh add some pearl barley too. Finish with a handful of fresh herbs ( parsley or thyme works best). Or make it into Minestrone by adding a diced peeled tomato, rasher of bacon (both with vege) and beans / pasta toewards the end.

Onion soup... Slice up lots and lots of onions, fry really slowly until they turn golden brown (if you are using the oven for something spread them in a tray with butter and cover with foil - to start them off & save energy). When they are brown put in a good splash of vinegar and a spoon of brown sugar (or white if you don't have brown). fry for a couple of minutes to get a caramel happening. Add water and 2 beef stock cubes and a splash of white wine if you haven't drunk it while doing the onions ( this is my usual method). Simmer until the onions re falling apart. You can serve it with emmental cheese & garlic crutons.

Pea & ham .... fry onion & garlic, add a diced rasher of bacon or 2 or some ham or some such. Add lots of garden peas, stock cube ( half if the bacon is salty) and water.... simmer for a bit, blitz with a stick mixer.You can add creme fresh, sour cream or yoghurt to serve if you are expecting guests

Don't bother with recipes for soup, see what you have, boil it up and whizz leek and potato is a nice filling cheap one.

Itsonly we go for mid range tyres and they're about £60 each. Depends on your car. We use etyres as you can use topcashback and they come to your house and do it.

North that's great news

Well we did go to costa (sorry!) but only spent £3.50 between the three of us. Also spent £4.25 in tesco on milk, a pumpkin (dd has to do her own and take it into school Monday) and coffee as it was half price and it's our favourite.

Great result North.

Mm soup, those recipes look lovely!

Went to tescos, used the orchard vouchers and got 3 bags of frozen mushrooms / peppers which we use a lot for cooking, and 2 of the 'beautifully balanced' items - one lentil mix and one rice mix by the looks of it. Worth a go!

Got my folks €100 changed and a bag with wine / beer / lots of nibbles - came to about £115 in all but I had about £10 in groceries too in that and then the £6.50 of free veg. Worth it as they have been taking the kids daily for me this past month or so pre-exam