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.

£57 tesco delivery. Frugal win the substituted my 250g punnet of raspberries for FOUR 125g punnets of finest raspberries. My substitution price match was £7!

Skate park coaching, that sounds cool! DH takes the DCs to our local one sometimes, I'd love them to learn some stuff. I really want them to have Parkour training too but all the affordable/nearby courses are age 10+ - I think that's a shame because IME girls especially have already lost a lot of physical confidence by then :( there's a specially built Parkour ground on the other side of town though, I should take them when I'm a bit better. Actually it's really near where DD has her writing club so we could take a picnic and go beforehand. :)

The ice skating cost Dont mentioned is about the same as a horseriding thing locally. They do an hour of stable care stuff and an hour of riding, £24ish, apparently they even get homework! It sounds great, no way we could commit to it regularly (and thankfully you don't have to - they do one a month and you just book it one at a time) but I'm pondering getting the one nearest DD's birthday as a present for her.

Awesome Spotty I love it when subs work in my favour like that :)

NSD! Going to try and catch up with some housework and cooking over the weekend and also play with DD lots to make up for staying in bed most of the week so should be a low spend weekend too.
No not NSD, just remembered I spent 69p on an app.

I'm always stalking this thread but from today am joining in properly! Having just booked a holiday for the summer ( yet to finish paying for) have had a problem with central heating, an unexpected bill and a higher than expected dental charge. I now need to somehow earn or save at least £100 more a month than planned if holiday is to go ahead! I know that I am lucky to be in this situation .

Hi all, a quick but late check in! Been a super busy day, well week really and think the wend will be as well.

Spends today £8ish on a MacDs as an end of week treat for me and dd, was lush and cuddled up in my bed to watch a dvd afterwards. My Morrisons delivery came tonight, it came late as I am too tight to spend more than £1 on delivery got lots though spent I think £47 in the end, need to menu plan now....

My bathroom is now asbestos free but also we are now missing a wall that wasn't quite what i was expecting so am assuming the council will sort that when they put the new bathroom in!

Fuzz whats parkour? At the stables where dd has riding lessons they are having a fun day over half term, am debating if i can afford for dd to go i think its £30 for the day.

Dh meant to be paid yesterday still not in his account.

Dd still ill so we can't go anywhere meaning ds is going to have loads of energy! Looks like it's going to be horribly wet and windy all day though anyway. We're going to make chocolate pizza.

Welcome frazzled.
girlie I used to love the fun days at the stables when I was a child. Every time you or need mentions riding it makes me want to get back into it. Sadly my bad knees and bank balance won't allow it at the moment!

Homework and something indoors planned today

Sounds like you have some good ideas there Fuzz.

I ought to keep my MN habit quiet too. Ds has started calling me Ipsos.

Argh I'm being paranoid mum I know I should probably wait it out but:

Dd 5 years old. Asthmatic.

Cough for 2/3 weeks.

Fever for +24 hours (which I know isn't long!!) not going below 38 with medicine

Pain in chest when breathing in.

Lethargic and not eating but drinking.

OOH or wait it out until Monday? My rational side is saying wait it out but my mum side is saying make her better as she has a hx of v bad chest infections.

The fever only I would wait it out. Lethargy and pain would send me to ooh.

Trust your instinct spotty. Is this a usual presentation for her?

pointless when you can do it. It's the best thing ever. I git back into the saddle 18 months ago. And am only wondering why I didn't do it sooner.

It's improved my core strength and balance. Improved my confidence and has given me something to do for me. I love Saturday mornings now except for today when it's wet and I still haven't bought any waterproofs

Only when she has a chest infection. She's just coughed until she was sick but it was clear phlegm hmm maybe I'll phone them they will just say no if they don't want to see her. I would wait it out with a fever too usually I don't even give medicine.

If you can phone them that is a good idea. Spotty

Here if you ring spotty they always advise bringing in. I would bring to ooh to give child relief & prevent a more serious illness.

Today is going to wipe out our joint account but dh will do his transfer Monday & it will be ok again.
Mortgage has gone out - balance is €286 cash bills for week come to €125 leaving €161 for grocery shopping which will be nearly all of that & dd needs new shoes & runners Which will be around €100 I'm going to borrow cash bills from Dc Christmas money & replace when dh has done his transfer. Cleaner couldn't come this week so that saved €45

I must go to dss 21st birthday party tonight, really not looking forward to it as his girlfriend has angered almost all the family & there'll be tension.

Someone will call me back within six hours which would be fine except I know ooh appts only run until lunchtime without us having to go to the hospital ooh which is miles away.

£25 riding lesson today and that's it.

I'm going to attempt an aldi weekly shop for £50 today! Any recommendations? Will need to buy 6 main meals ,bread fruit and veg and a few snacks for packed lunches. Might be a bit ambitious to hope that I can squeeze in a bottle of wine too!!

Frazzled what sorts of things do you eat? You can get three meals from a roast chicken. If we're being really strict we will make sure we have a cheap night ie beans on toast. Just one super cheap meal seems to make a difference it seems.

spotty Even I would err on the side of caution here and I am not the most cautious parent in the world, as you might guess! HOWEVER, it is good that she is drinking and kids have an amazing habit of perking up, just as you start to get really worried

fuzz Always makes me smile that young girls (boys too, but mainly girls) love all the surrounding care that goes into having a pony. The excitement soon wears off when you do it everyday! This particular pony is a bloody swamp monster, and will choose to roll in the muddiest patch of the field 2 minutes after your spent an hour grooming him

frazzled I think, at Aldi, that's very doable. Their gammon joints are good value if you soak the salt out. Their version of the Old El Paso kits are worth it too. It's hit and miss sometimes, but you should definitely manage. The fresh F&V is lovely but doesn't keep as long as other supermarkets I find. Egg and chips is a cheap meal.

So, I ordered a new saddle for the swamp monster last night. £600 (gulp). However, the saddler will give us £100 for our old saddle and the resale value of the make of saddle is very high at £450 plus, as the gullet is interchangeable, therefore will fit another pony. I'm ok with buying expensive if I can make the money back.

I'm waiting now for DD to finish her first snowboarding lesson. Paid for a course of 5 and it's cost £130.

Life is very very expensive at present. I have to get the pony clipped later at £30 and am going out tonight.

Not a trickle of money, more a gush

Thank you, I could cook a gammon with roasted veg, then make a carbonara with the leftovers, roast chicken dinner, and chicken stir fry / risotto with leftovers, 1 fish finger type meal, then a lasagne / enchiladas . The other eve I'm at work so they can fend for themselves with toast , beans etc. it should be doable.

I'm dreading Tuesday. Am going to London with work. All flights and hotels dinners etc paid for. (Or I can at least claim back on expenses). Not dreading that part so much.

I have free time in the afternoon. And need to avoid the shops. My boss likes a shop.

I'm going to try and persuade him to either shop in the most expensive places so I can't afford anything. Or to spend free time at the v&a or the nat hist museum with the dinosaurs.

I'm also not meant to drink on my anti biotics. And we're going to a dinner thing. So will have to stay sober. Not that I need wine. But sometimes it's nice to have so people don't question.