Frugaleers Flying into the New Year All Welcome on the January Thread

[SpottyTeacakes]

New thread hopefully someone can add some old links?

C'mon spotty spill it.

I'm at home. Frugally watching tv. Drinking tea. Dh has gone for lightbulbs and a rail for wardrobe. Probably about £10.

..now you have to tell us spotty!

DH had an voucher hanging about so we have spent it of a new shower head and hose...oh the glamour!

Also got some bits from the pound shop and had lunch in town so about £30 spent when out

I have also bought some supplement for the cats so I can experiment with homemade raw cat food. They are amazingly spoilt and have the most expensive cat food ever! I've costed it up and buying meat and making it myself will actually be quite a bit cheaper. If it works out I'll get a proper meat grinder so I can do bones and reduce the supplement cost (also I could make sausages!).

In my defence they were half price and I really love them

Style classic. You'll get years out of them. Years.

Thanks fluffy I find shoes hard as I can't wear heels of flat flats (if that makes sense?!) so when I find some I like that are comfy I tend to get them

Lovely. Money well spent. Good choice.

If they were in the sale I'm guessing it was a good chunk off. I bought a hilfiger top in the summer sale. Great sales.

Spotty they are lovely and you will get loads of wear out of them. Think of them as an investment

£46 in Tesco as needed top up food, stationery and tights for work.

I bought some frozen mash to go on the top of my shepherds pie - does anyone know if you cook it first and then put it on the meat or do you just put the frozen pellets on top and then put it in the oven?

I would cook it first Fanta

Boots look great and as everyone else said you will use them time and again. Feeling so much brighter today finally but won't overdo things -in the laundry bag was a big fluffy bright pink bath towel from asda nan knows me well

Had to borrow 20 off ds so his residential trip was paid need to pay that back Monday. He keeps pondering about an iPad but has a galaxy tab 2 don't know if it's worth it and I would buy his tab 2..he likes games and always runs out of space on this one so we end up deleting something to get something else anyone any advice.

Think I would cook it first too Fanta

Spotty thank you I will try that

I am doing quite well with the batch cooking and today bought a 1kg pack of mince so I am going to make some shepherds pies and freeze the 'bases' and eat the rest. The frozen mash is to go on top of the defrosted ones for a really quick meal.

I only have 2 Tupperware containers that are suitable for freezing my casseroles and curries so I have been freezing them in these and then the next day, putting them in freezer bags like giant ice-cubes so I can have my containers back. It is working out well so far. I am even labelling them (that won't last!)

I microwave the pellets first and then use them as I would normally.

I am worried DH will detect an unusual smoothness to my frozen mash and be suspicious so I might mix in some leek to put some lumps back in.

NSD.

Price per wear spotty. Think price per wear and I bet it will be excellent. Nice boots

Gorgeous boots

I'm very picky with shoes too now. Far too much pain caused by cheap ballet flats (on my feet a lot at work). I wear the life out of my trainers, as when I find a pair that fit perfectly (Nike usually) I stick with them. I get them cheap in Sports Direct, when I think about price per wear for my current pair - which do need replacing as they are getting holey, but had them at least 3 years - well, that's a tenner a year, and I wear them pretty much every day.

I was terrified when I decided to get boots for work though, I spent £80 on a pair in Clarks (the Unstructured ones) which is at least double what I've ever spent on footwear before, but I actually think that might be the best purchase I have ever made. Even walking round London didn't affect my feet at all.

A little spend today. £8 on some stuff I forgot from the shop, and then £10 on a pledge I'd made to a friend who's raising money for charity. Not too bad, could do better.

NSD

Lovely boots Spotty. Where did you get them from?

I have a pair of gel insets in my trainers I got from Sports Direct. Best £7 I've ever spent. Not longer get sore feet when I've been standing at work all day. They seem OK for running in as well.

Wish I'd done that Em it cost me £10 to have them removed. To be honest it's a one off for me to have them done so it wouldn't have been worth buying the stuff.
Love the boots spotty!

Dinner tonight was roast gammon, boulangere potatoes, carrots, peas, cauliflower, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Yum.

Dh wanted a takeout as there is very little food left. Ha mince, dumplings mash and veg later

Hello :-)

I've been very busy getting up to all sorts this last few days. I managed to find a very kind person who was willing to lend me some microscope objectives so I'm back with a fighting chance of getting the photographs that I'm working on. I've ordered an adapter that is due to arrive in February.

Also my supervisor at the department where I am a sort of volunteer says he might be able to apply for a grant to get me better equipment so that is really very exciting indeed. It's been a frantic few days so I am stopping now.

I've managed not to spend much money at all with all that, which is excellent.

Need how's it going out there?

Lovely boots spotty!

Any word from Collie?

Well done Nk5 for all the job progress and the hopes about moving back close to family.

Fluffy did you buy a tumble dryer in the end?

Spotty I was looking at some Fly boots that were in the sale today, I still have a £100 of birthday money to spend on them but there were none in my size

Spends

£24 on football trainers (half price) and a new water bottle.
£12 on a waterproof mattress protector
£6.20 on a Subway lunch for me and dd
£2.25 on bird feed and tissues.

£60 deposit for dds bday
£15 riding lesson

Need to check my account but am a bit scared!

Yes was wondering where Collie had got to?

Hope you are all better now Needa?

Sounds good Ipsos

My budget app is an eye opener! I'm already in minus numbers on some of what I'd allocated. I seem to have overestimated other areas though. Going to use this month's expenditure to do a more realistic budget for Feb.

Thanks I am all better now. DS is badly, but I am all better.

Great news about the lense ipsos

The boots are absolutely super spotty. Sometimes, you spend to not spend iyswim? Enjoy them.

Fanta Batch cooking doesn't work for me at all, glad it's working for you.

In addition, I spent £8 at the feed shop. On pony food and pig oil (Dpony has a bit of mud rash).

Also, the pony had an accident today. DD freaked. He got his head collar stuck in a really obscure place, as we loaded him onto the horse box. Naturally he panicked as he was stuck, and it took be about 30 seconds to unhook him, which sounds no time at all, but when you have a pony freaking, that feels like forever as they are big things to get stuck!! He calmed right down immediately bless him, but had taken a couple of chunks out of his leg, so will need cleaning down and slathering with vaseline twice a day. DD was sobbing and sobbing and hugging him, pony was thinking wtf is up with her?!!