Frugaleers March On!

[CremeEggThief]

Hi All,
New thread time. I hope you all see this and join in. Newbies are always very welcome too.

Frugal oportunisim or very sad I am not sure which yet. It can join making mincemeat and Christmas puddings before the tree comes down and the stash of Christmas cards bought in the January sales in the guilty secret box.

I also to do pickled lemons ( these are a real revelation), glutney, real chocolate drink powders (blitzed real chocolate left over from chocolate making combined with spices & cocoa), chocolates and flavoured vinegars, oils, sugars and salts - it spreads the cost of Christmas over the year and people think I have spent a fortune.

There is a shop fitting and a catering equipment store around the corner from my work so I can get all sorts of bags and jars etc to make it look shop bought.

unescorted I love chilli jam!
I've made a cake for DH's birthday and his dad's taking us out for Sunday lunch in a bit. Think we are heading for a no spend weekend - very proud of that!
Need to do food plan plus March budget and cancel a direct debit later.

Oh dear its not looking good... even taking off my work related expenses at the min i think we'd still be short a few hundred a month. I have a feeling we could apply for tax credits on DHs wage but all those calculators giving different figures etx x

Unescorted I made my dad a litre of chilli jelly.the year before last. I think it's his favourite ever Christmas present

blue I think the calculators give different figures because no one really knows what's going to happen with the roll out of universal credit. We get a small amount of tax credits. If you just did two days locum work a month that would cover you wouldn't it? You could do OOH so dh could have the dc?

I am glad to see there is a good chance it will be well received.

I don't understand tax credits and universal credit changes (the later impacts on my job so that is embarassing!). The changes are coming through so thick and fast it is impossible to keep up.

Chilli Jelly - yum.

Good idea about locum/bank work 2 days a month, that would keep your hand in the pot too, so to speak.

Lovely ideas unescorted

unescorted I love chili jam. It would have gone well with my tuna melt both my tuna melts

Dh is also hungover. He is in worse state than me. He's still in bed. I've opened the windows to let the sunlight in.

So far nsd. Am waiting for my eBay items to sell tonight.

We've got a friend coming over for a roast later. I wish dh had discussed with me before offering a roast I always get worrie they won't be as good as other people's I'd have preferred a nice roast chicken with salad and nice bread etc plus I'll end up being in the kitchen a fair bit. Anyway I've just made the cauliflower cheese an dh cooked the gammon last night so just need to do roast potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Will that be enough?

Glad you're feeling ok em. I haven't had a hangover for over a year but it was such a bad one I can still remember it. My friend and I spent £100 on wine that night it was her thirtieth though.

I love chilli jam too and there's lots of ways to use it. I have no idea about universal credit I assume it mainly effects people who claim lots of different types of benefits? I'm sure ours will stop though as we earn just over £30k together which, according to DC, puts us as a high income family

Spent £6.45 in Trago on 2 Thomas the Tank Engine books.
£4 at the car wash. We rarely do it but the car looks beautiful now and DS loved the experience.

I'm feeling absolutely rough but my Grandma used to say "keep on, keeping on!" And I'm battling through. It's such a sunny day I don't want to waste it. There's a lot to be grateful for.

Later we'll be off out for hot chocs.

Have a rubbish memory so can't remember most of what I've read, but do remember collie's news - congratulations to your DH! Awesome :o so happy that the notice period didn't put them off, that would've been so frustrating. And Laska YAY so so pleased about your DGD's progress, what a huge relief. Ipsos yay for Beavers! My DS finds making friends quite hard (utterly impossible when he was at school, they all teased him because of his speech disorder) but he's really getting on well there. It seems quite low key and a non-pressured way of socialising (rather than having obvious groups of friends to try and break into, which seems to happen more with girls IME) so even though he's one of the newbies he doesn't feel left out.

DH and the DCs are back from town where they went to buy my mother's day present (I'm really not fussed about celebrating but obviously the DCs want to). I said to DH it better not be expensive, and he said "well considering everything you've been through lately, and everything you do for our family, no it isn't expensive" am torn between feeling at being frivolous, and actually melting. Bless him. (It won't be mega expensive anyway, we really don't have expensive tastes. But perhaps a lot 'for us' IYSWIM.)

Tesco delivery arrived this morning. Our meal plan is sooo unhealthy this week, lots of processed easy to cook crap. We agreed to take it extra easy this week though - DH might have to work extra again due to staffing, and I'm rather nervous due to the epic flare up last week. And actually it ended up about the same price as our usual shopping. Will make extra sure to use lots of veg (frozen) on the side to healthify it a bit.

Chilli done and cooling. Have cleaned downstairs. Just waiting for the sides for the roast to finish and then I'm going to stuff my face and collapse! Roll on pay day

Fuzz welcome back! I am going to give you a little bit of advice that a counsellor gave me once re my dh buying me a really really expensive gift after a very difficult time in my life. (No debt involved! It was my thirtieth)
She said "you don't have the right to steal Dh generosity. Except the gift with the spirit it was given ie love & gratitude". She was right. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up trying to project and look after everyone else we forget how to relax & allow them to spoil us. IYKWIM. I am sure he won't have gone too mad & you deserve it!

Can I have a little rant?! My organisation has had a lot of changes. Anyway there have been a lot of retirements redeployments etc all of which have been Voluntary. But the collections are endless and I am getting really annoyed at being expected to give €5 minimum! Every single time. They do it for people moving departments! Ffs
By the way I have nt given to everyone on principle but it's hard in my dept as they keep a total of those you donate ie name & amount. I earn the least in the entire dept as I am low grade & very part time! Yet expected to give the same as people on €90,000!!! Last week we had two interns leaving & I did nt mind giving to them and one of our colleagues is off with cancer again no problem giving donation. Oh & they also do lunch out & nights out for every single person, more costs. I just offer to cover phones while the rest are at lunch.
Anyway sorry I needed to vent! Not to mention we have another lot going in next few months on paid career breaks & I swear if I am asked to donate to that! 😬😬😁

Fuzz sorry to hear last week was so awful, there seems to be an epidemic of people with fibromyalgia and CFS at the moment its so awful, I hope they find some answers into causes and treatments really soon

So we have had a fairly successful morning my meltdown stern talking to with dd seems to have done the trick and she has been much nicer since. I took back some wicker baskets to Argos so thats £15 back in the pot.

I swapped a kettle in Dun Elm as it had stopped working after a month really hoping it was a one off and this one is fine. Dd wanted a drink in the cafe and I told her to go and ask for tap water as didn't want to buy a drink she did and they even put ice cubes in so she was pleased.I also found some free fabric samples which I am going to use to make cat ears with for WBD.

I had a voucher for some free cat food in Pets at Home so picked that up.

£47 in Lidls on a ton of food! Have tried to be good and not buy too much rubbish as don't want to put on any more weight. Although saying that the plan for this afternoon is baking.......

booty my place is the same really. Why the hell do they make us wrote our names down when we've given a donation?! It should be 'sign the card and pop an anonymous donation in if you would like'

Rant away booty. Keeping names and amounts is out of order. I refused to put on for someone going on a loan or secondment as they are not really leaving IMO. I get the office pressure though but I don't care although I can see it bothers others.
Unescorted I'm in awe. I wish I had people who appreciate home made
Gws collie
Sorry the numbers didn't work blue,

booty it was like that in my old place. £2 for everyone's birthday. 50 people in my dept so £98 a year (not including myself) then weddings, leaving presents, babies sponsorship etc.

We do presents for big birthdays at my work only. And babies weddings leavings etc. But not many of those.

It would nt be so bad if say €2 a time but it's €5 min & lunch out/ night out! As I said I cover lunch instead and often can't make night out min €15!! As I have DS who has aspergers.
It's the one's who are only moving 'upstairs' or off on paid breaks that bug me. The woman who organises them is very pushy! Single no kids on big family and I don't think she gets that €20 of contributions is a lot to me in one week...

At our work we pay a social sub for things like Xmas party and leaving presents come out of that. It makes it nice and equal at least although some people do better out of it than others.

Hi everyone! It's sunny here , which is nice. We went to IKEA this morning, which was useful but a bit spendy (~£80).

Homemade pizzas later, frugal and delicious.

Thanks Girlie and need, I am trying to patient and stick with the pacing.

Fuzz that's great to know that beavers worked for your ds. We will have a go. My only concern is that it runs from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and ds goes to bed at 6.30pm for "4000" book before sleep at 7.30pm. I wonder if he could be convinced to sleep a bit later in the morning?

We had a bit of a spendy day today. Our usual weekend lunch out which is a bit pricey at £22 and then £4 parking. Ooops.

Booty, I'd have a quiet word with your manager. I don't allow my staff to set a donation limit for gifts or record who has paid what for this very reason.

£40.75 eBay sales, for 5 lots of Lego.

Thanks for suggestion Wolf but he'd just say it's voluntary! There is only one person who does nt give and I ve heard a few people giving out about her! TBH I wish I d thought of it in time. I never give to collections outside my own dept now! Another colleague from another dept was giving out about it recently! I think I am going to cut back further & let them talk!