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.

Not too bad this week:

Got 5 bags of shopping yesterday for £2.47!!

Got 5 loafs of bread
2 x packs of pain au chocolat (8 in total)
2 sandwiches
3 two litre bottles of fizzy drinks (I had three pounds worth of manufacturer vouchers)

This week I have had the following vouchers sent to me after writing to companies to tell them how much I enjoy their products:

£5- Lucozade
£5- Daz
£3- Britvic (That's how I got the drinks above)
£2- Pataks

Been eating lots of leftovers, had leftovers for dinner tonight.

Got a letter from Eon this week saying that my total dual fuel bill is going from £50pcm to £35pcm. Bargain!

Made £56 on eBay and got lots more stuff to sell.

Welcome Marsh.

Scrambled Do you have credit owing to you as well?. Brilliant vouchers.

I told Krups how wonderful my new coffee machine was. Nada. I was hoping for a burr coffee grinder out of it

Welcome newbies
Great news scrambled
back again, will catch up properly later
£20 at Asda, £12 at B&Q and also money for my birthday meal tonight with dh (don't know how much we spend as he wouldn't tell me)
Does anybody have any ideas for lunches which don't include bread? I usually have a sandwich because it's quick and easy but I am trying to loose some weight so I want to limit the amount of bread I eat.
Very wet and windy down here so I hope everyone stays safe and dry

Oh bollocks, thanks to a busy day (was nice though, parents took us out for lunch and we spent lots of time together... and I have my beautiful bowl :o) I'm only just ordering the shopping for tomorrow (today). Not got a frigging clue about a meal plan. I've ordered the basic weekly stuff so far. Meh. Must be more organised. Tomorrow (today) is going to be dull and full of crappy housework, need to update the diary too.

Spends - Saturday:
£6.50 taxi
£1.60 DH got bus home from work (but apparently he found the £1 on the pavement :o)
£15 dancing monthly fee
£3.05 charity shop got 8 children's books for that though - mostly non-fiction

Right, must crack on. Brain not working and can't think what to cook. Why does nobody else like gnocchi in this house? :(

Love soup? Do you have a thermos or a microwave at work? Or jacket potato - I really love baked sweet potato with feta cheese and a little spring onion. Or couscous salad?

OMG next time I say I'm going to do the shopping in the middle of the night, PLEASE SOMEBODY STOP ME!

Lot of junk food coming our way tomorrow and not much of a coherent meal plan.

I could blame it on the fact that DH didn't help (he's still ill and was asleep by 8!)... but really I just have zero willpower

Love how about couscous? It's a firm favourite for lunch here. Or soup. Other things we have all include different breads though I'm afraid so no other suggestions.

Scrambled what a bargain!

Oh fuzz already those! Ummm nope I'm out

Welcome Marsh, I'm a SAHM too and it's different but very possible. The biggest thing I find it actually remembering to take care of myself. Living frugally is very possible but remembering to not end up like a tired compost heap of a human being is something that takes some concentration. The plus side is that I am very close to ds and dh because I have time to listen. Good luck and keep us posted with all your discoveries.

Swimming today which will be about £15

Yay - finally caught up!

Welcome new peeps
Spotty good mum skills with dd. It is difficult to tell sometimes with asthma.
Love I have made up dressings that I keep in work- In the morning I chop the vege and off we go. To make it more filling I put in left over meat or cooked vege, sardines, tuna or an egg. At lunch time I choose a dressing according to what is in the box / my mood. The only problem is someone has decicded that the dressings are a free resource.

We have just had the cost of flights for DH & DS trip to the US in June. Nearly £1000. We also have to find the money for the fine we will get from school. I can understand if we were taking out of school to save money on the family holiday - but this is a race that is run at a specific time and if he doesn't do it this year he won't be able to do it until he finishes high school. He has wanted to do it since 2011 and has spent the last 4 and a bit years getting his cycling skills & fitness up to scratch.

Looks like we will be back on super frugal rations

Just made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. They were amazing! ....if I may day so myself

I rarely take bread for lunch as GF bread is so expensive. I have a 4 layer tiffin lunch box so I can take lots of bits. Usually a protein such as tuna Mayo, left over chicken, salmon (aldi do good frozen salmon). Some carbs like fried potatoes, corn couscous, rice. And then loads of fruit and veg. I practically live off carrot, cucumber and peppers. Recently I have got really into frying kale with some salt and pepper and a few cherry tomatoes, its surprisingly yummy cold.

Of course that is all needing to meet my crazy low FODMAP diet so there are loads of options for people who can eat sensibly.

The other good option is making extra dinner and taking left over. Or soup is nice. I just get bored of it quite quickly.

Morning. And welcome Marsh and Scrambled, lots of tips and friendly advice here. Love the getting vouchers for praise idea

Hey girlie, it's sunny here. I am hoping somehow this is the case that it's sunny there too, and your DD gets her amazing party. Hope so, you've put tons of work into it.

Hey fluffy, , folk banging on about having or not having children is crass and insensitive to say the least. Totally pissed off on your behalf.

unescorted Would your DS be able to get authorisation from school for this event? We wrote to school when DD needed a week off to perform at HOYS and the school were actually very proud.

Had a brill night out with friend last night and DS and DH went to see a comedian (Lee Nelson), who they said was absolutely hilarious

Roast chicken and trimmings, even stuffing, for tea.

Spends will be £6 training, haven't totted up last night yet.

Jeepers - where did you get your tiffin from . I have been looking out for one and have failed miserably to find one I like.

The plan for this coming week is to call HM revenue and remind them kindly that I need my tax back for professional registrations. Whoever washes their own work uniform, be it Asda tshirt or nurse's uniform, are entitled to tax rebate.
I am looking for a cheap and cheerful bike basket for DD, she needs it for chain/helmet/library books/assorted rubbish/lights etc. :)

Windy but sunny here today. Dh is making breakfast. I'm in bed with tea meal planning.

Money wise, the plan is to list 2 items on Ebay. Make a plan for any big spends this year (we need our walk in wardrobe fitted out, has just rails and has done for 4 years!) and sort DS, who is going to Berlin on Friday.

I wear a uniform but I don't pay tax

Dontletme I guess you are near me. We had the Merlin passes and we certainly got our money's worth. We always had somewhere to go when the weather was bad.

need - I am writing the begging letter today so fingers crossed they let him off. In the past they have been really inflexible, although after we have paid they do a big write up in the newsletter and claim his achievements on as their own on the website. Apparently they don't want to set a precedent, so I am doing it in terms of learning outcomes so they can say yes without losing face.

Unescorted would that count as exceptional circumstances? It's a sporting events rather than "just" a holiday.

Oops sorry x post should rtft before posting . I do it as by the time I get to the end I forget. It's a bit cheeky fining you the doing a credit write up.

When he did the Highland Trail Race last year in May they said no - because there were only 40 competitors (because it is so tough) and eveyone has a satellite transponder the race organiser let Ds start a day early. The schools were really awful about it, to the point when he does the Scotish 24 hour races we just call him in sick.

It is doubly annoying that they have on their website a section saying how supportive they are of his riding - of course they are soley responsible for his success when he has a film crew in tow. It is all down to their letting him take part in the interschools cross competition.