Friendly Frugaleers chat their way into February...

[Ipsos]

Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

By popular request - copied from last year

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?

orchard.tesco.com/ Sign up to this.

www.topcashback.co.uk/home And this.

www.quidco.com/home/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub ditto.

www.checkoutsmart.com/ Plus this.

www.hotukdeals.com/all/deals/new?page=3 Check this daily.

Just checking in to say hi!

No idea what we spent on food this week as I had surgery Monday and dh has been running the show & he does nt keep track🤔 But it's minimal as some has been left overs.. Also have to pay for cert & prescription charges!

Feeling very low at minute! I know it's partly the anaesthetic. On the up side I have my giveaway book that I won to read!

Fuzz. I had CFS when I was 17-23! Then about eight yrs ago developed FM. I work part time. It is hard though. 💐

Lovely mum has just come round. Armed with milk, a chicken and leek pie, some mini quiches and a huge bag of oranges.

Ive drunk so much water today. And mint tea. Anti biotics made me feel a bit sicky and hungry. Dr said they probably would (as I had to double dose last night). So it's not unexpected.

Have emailed electric co to see if I'm on the correct tarrif. And have done two loads of washing and am contemplating ironing and/or catching up on tv. May just eat my quiche and oranges and watch tv.

Welcome dont If you're living with your mum can you see if her house insurance covers mobiles? Ours included an additional "handbag insurance" which initially I thought was for handbags. But it insures purses phones glasses ie things you'd expect to take out and about with you.

Have cashback waiting to be paid out. Yippee!!

And have caved and bid on two dresses on eBay. Bith lovely dresses that I'd seen in oasis. Both suitable for work. If I win both at my highest bid I'll only have paid a quarter of the original retail price.

I use excel and if I spend money when out I just keep the receipts to type into the spreadsheet when convenient. I don't have a smartphone.

Welcome Dont!

Last time I never took out phone insurance the screen smashed and then the phone stopped working..

Not sure my mum would let me use her home insurance to claim etc.. I've found one for 5.99 a month. May only be 500 saving but it's better than nothing :)

That meant to say 50p oops

Some friends of mine are doing these box deals where you get all the stuff to make some meals. It's three meals for £45 and they thought that was very good and tell me it's only slightly more expensive than tesco. I told them I spend that on a weeks shopping in ssinsbury. They were quite surprised.

what one of their sales people knocked our door trying to sign us up to that. When he told me the cost my jaw actually dropped! He gave up when I told him I could feed 3 of us plus the cat on that for at least a week.
em pleased you are being looked after - have a rest and recover though, ironing can wait.

Pointless I had those people at the door. I told them about our exclusion diet and their jaw dropped too. They left quietly.

To be fair he was very polite and the recipes looked lovely!

Oh I've seen them. I don't answer the door so I don't know if we've had them.

Welcome Dontletme

Agree. Ironing can wait. I'm watching bones. Have a blanket and a hot water bottle.

We just watched toy story 3. It's a real tear jerker at the end. Yikes!

That's a great film ipsos but yes, I think I got something in my eye towards the end!

It was when the ds in the film was leaving home and his mum was getting all emotional and I had ds aged 5 on my knee. Yikes and double yikes. It's quite complicated watching any toy story film with a child because it's all about how the toys are bereft when he doesn't want them. Some kids could get really worked up about that. Not ds fortunately.

I'm showing ds the coronation now on tv. Trying to get him to understand who the queen is while she's still here for him to know. I had no idea she would be 90 this year. Yikes! (Again)

Has your DS been off all week Ipsos? Poor lad, what did the Doctor say when you took him, I missed bits of the thread this week early on.

Those boxes cost tons, Abel and Cole do one and I never order them.

Lovely mummy Em, hope you feel better soon.

Fuzz The Sear and Stew SC by Morphy Richards is very light indeed, lighter than a pan of that size. Not telling you to spend more money, but a very good option if you struggle. I understand, DH had Le Creuset (sp) pans when we met (we still have them in fairness), but hell, they are heavy.

£20 Aldi today, milk, fruit, cleaning items and some riding socks for DD. Bizarrely, Aldi do fab riding apparel.

£30 cleaner.

Spag Bol for tea.

Hope you are ok Booty after your hospital stay.

Welcome Dontletme.

Oh and I still write my spends down on paper, I just find it's easier to keep track that way, that's just personal though.

need yes it's just a stomach bug and I've got it too. They always last 10 days with us. We're making the best of it though. We've been doing lots of nice bonding stuff and watching films together, and I've been working through a couple of things he's struggling with at school to help him on a bit. I had a lot of bugs at school too and have very fond memories of the time spent with dm. I learned an awful lot more at home than I did at school.

Oh dear, hope he's ok soon. I got booted out to school even with a broken leg

10 days for a stomach bug sounds horrendous, ipsos. Touch wood, we only tend to get one each roughly every 3 years, and even then we're sick once or twice, off food for a day and that's it. It's my least favourite thing in the world. You do sound as if you're making the very best of it though, kudos to you.

£7 getting to work. My Sainsburys order is coming soon, so that'll be £40.something. I'll post my meal plan later, but it's gnocchi night tonight, hurrah!

I don't use any spreadsheets. I have all my fixed expenses recorded on a memo on my tablet and I just adjust them monthly, using a calculator to check my figures.

Hope you start feeling better soon, Booty.

I'm too used to seeing people with years of CFS to mess around with viruses. It's the folks who have the sense to stop and rest that end up in a full recovery. I'm trying to teach ds that from the start so he doesn't need to find out the hard way. A broken leg may be different.

It was a joke!

10 days for a stomach bug sounds horrendous, do the school not start getting twitchy? My dds school would be sending some school liaison person round if she is off too much!! Am lucky that she is pretty healthy as work are not very sympathetic when it comes to ill kids.

Been at work so not too spendy, had to buy some chocolate for a school chocolate tombola thing tomorrow £2.70 and spent £20 on Amazon on some equipment the OT has recommended for dd as well as a coin album and some gemstones (damn you Fuzz )

Got to clear out my bathroom tonight as someone from the council is coming to remove a wall that has asbestos in it tomorrow - am trying not to think of the mess