The friendly frugaleers natter on through November...

[blueteapot]

Hope you dont mind me starting a shiny new thread

Argh husband is abroad and spending money and our bank account is sooo slow to catch up with things. Nursery still owe us £172, Clarks now owe me £50 and I still have a pile of cheaues to pay in but it's looking scary. I have paid a term of pre school out and a car bill, but it's showing how much more careful I need to be now. Hopefully I'll get my usual Christmas bonus in my December pay and my mil will give us the usual Christmas cheque and that will help me whilst I learn to budget.

Toddler is pushing me beyind my limits. I have to work out what to do with him on these rainy dark early afternoons. He just wants to run around outside and with a newborn I can't do it.

Hello all, Ipsos am glad you are finding this group helpful, I def find it therapeutic at times [grins]

It remains weirdly mild here as well, has meant that I have kept the storage heaters on low and actually only have two on. Normally this time of year it would be at least three and all cranked up high. Do you think its global warming? Slightly worrying if so.

So busy day as predicted and slightly spendy,

£12 in the co-op on bread, milk, some bits for lunch, a half price pizza for tea and a book of 12 2nd class stamps (how much??)

£19 in Debenhams, got a half price Jasper Conran scarf for my dad for Christmas and Its a Wonderful Life dvd (I love that film )

£1.20 parking.

Not too bad.

Spendy day not so spendy in the end. Lunch ended up being free and spent £8 on gloves and £2.50 on a hat.

If this El Niño winter ever kicks in I'm probably sorted for clothes now.

Free lunch is always good, Rafa.

I've actually turned my heating off, apart from an hour in the mornings for when DS gets up for school. Even if it only lasts for a couple of days, it will save on the gas.

NSD.

£15 stamps, I can claim this back on my tax though.

I'm burning scented candles from tk maxx, they are supposed to be good quality but quite frankly the scent is almost non existent so when they are used up I'm going to make my own using soy wax. It doesn't look too expensive to do. There's an old thread in arts and crafts that I've been reading.

lila Ooh I love a new appliance. Hopefully it will be cheaper to run too. I'm lusting after a heat pump tumble dryer but they need to be a bit cheaper yet. I really wanted a gas tumble dryer but dh says no.

£9 book people at work

Just had a great parents evening for dd

Just home from study classes. Mess is still there.

On the plus side he's made chickpea burgers for dinner.

Today's spends £12 in paperchase on neon robot Christmas tree decorations.

Thanks need I do realise that it's his personality too that's part of the problem and I'm wondering is that why his first marriage broke down.

Can't ask as his ex wife died and we're close to the family so I don't want to stir things by asking questions.

Fluffy It's a+ rating supposed to use 290kwh/annum but I guess that depends on usage too. Bonus it comes with 3 months supply finish dishwasher tablets, I would never pay for Finish tablets so this will be interesting. Bought a ten pack in dealz on Sat as I think what we have in stock won't last until we redeem those tablets.

I spent €85 on 4 sets of embroidered overalls for kids presents for Christmas today on Biz-e-kidz website hope they're good.

Also we made a decision on our holiday, remember I booked turkey and cancelled due to civil unrest there? Well we're going to stay in Radisson Blu Stansted for 3 nights, very unfrugal but the money is saved and I loved this hotel when we stayed there about 8 years ago for 1/2 nights. It would be worth flying to stansted just to eat breakfast there, hope it is still as good. For bed, breakfast & flights it will be €600 this is half of the budget for the holiday so rest. Anyone near Stansted have any recommendations for us, I'm thinking a celebrity chef restaurant or something, but also thinking hotel has 3 restaurants just eat there and chillax.

£30 on amazon gift vouchers, the deal is I get £7 free off them for buying a voucher in a card

Hopefully I can get dh the whisky he really wants for £42 and not the £100 Tesco charges.

I've been saving my mobile expression app points since May for this.

That sound very tricky lila.

Has your electric bill gone down yet spotty?. Did the HT back down over judo?.

Ooooh I'm that you get Book People at work Spotty - my mum used to, and she often got bargains for us. I resent having to spend enough to get free delivery :o (still amazing value though)

I tried to insist on paying for both of us Creme but wasn't allowed. I figured a stand up row over who was paying a £15 bill in a cafe would have looked a bit odd.

about Turkey. I have family there and just can't see myself going back again at the moment. Which is a shame as I love it.

Don't know about Stansted, but when we went down to Cornwall over the summer we just booked B&B and then ate in the hotel restaurant Saved a lot of hassle finding restaurants in the end.

I used to love book people visits to my office too Spotty and fuzz. They used to bring absolutely stacks of books and set up a stall and it was wonderful.

I got the jolly postman and a reusable for to dot.

Fluffy no judo until Monday, I'll speak to the instructor then and see what he says.

It's hilarious to think how much my grocery shopping habits have changed since I joined the frugaleers. I used to buy a bag of carrots and a bag of parsnips because that was what it seemed I was meant to do, and then half of them went on the compost heap.

Now I buy two carrots and two parsnips and when either is gone I put it one the list to replace at the next shop. The great thing is that as well as more money, there is now so much more space in the fridge, and now I can actually find my two carrots. Double score!

I think I've gone the other way

Log in to your Orchard accounts quickly, theres a really good offer on for different things like rib of beef and sparkling wine.

I got a tub of stilton but you might get the christmas cake or something.

Plus free cranberry sauce.

ipsos marie kondo would advacate you store your carrots vertically to take up less space!!

ohhelp I must read my Marie kondo book!

Hi. Fallen off the thread a bit but still reading. I can't remember names but I'm sorry to hear about work colleagues, feeling the grind of being skint.

Girlie I forgot to reply re chest infection. I'm not really sure but sometimes she gets a bad cough with a bit of a fever but is ok and other times she gets it so bad. Maybe difference between viral and bacterial?

Dh late home so not installing dishwasher until tomo night

Whose ds got a chest brace? How is he doing?

ipsos 6 weeks off wheat lost 2.5lbs last week, hoping for another loss this week as enjoying it so want it to give results too

Lol off work tomorrow going to be a NSD....left my purse at work

lilac yes the leggings were hers, the same ones she wore after school, she likes wearing them because she can put them on herself and they don't slide down like jeans, she is skinny so we have to buy trousers with adjustable waist
the dinner was yummy and dh enjoyed his coffee and walnut cake
spotty I am waiting for a catalogue from Book People dd usually get from school so I don't have to pay for delivery

I've been reading back Frugaleers threads. Love this! So here I am, ready to jump in and enjoy this thread.
I hope everyone's Holiday shopping is going well. I've been taking advantage of deals and free shipping online so far.
Not much shopping here as I live in a small town in the Southwest- USA.
(Think Santa Fe NM only a bit more humdrum part of NM)

Hi mila