Frugaleers March On!

[CremeEggThief]

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

Hi all, thanks for all being so nice feeling more annoyed about the whole thing this morning than anything! Getting the application together was no mean feat, so frustrating to do all that work for nothing Have tried ringing Stone water but no reply, have left a message for them to ring me back.... Connolls have gone unusually quiet as well Grr!

Collie good to have you back, it def did not feel right calling you Twit!! A £100 would be great, I keep thinking I should talk to my bank as I did take a loan out many years ago to buy a car, no idea if I paid PPI or not though!

The flat is full of work men so am trying to stay out of it as much as possible! My poor cats are completely traumatised by the whole thing going to a friends for lunch later and think will take dd to Asda for tea. Have just bought my mum some flowers to be delivered on mothers day £25 but free delivery so not too bad. Also got the dentist later - ugh!

Will look for school trousers in Asda as dd has suddenly only got one pair through a combination of growing like mad and putting holes in them!

Ipsos sounds like poor communication from the school more than anything but I imagine all the things you did with him would still be really beneficial.

Id like to ask your opinion if you dont mind, this hasnt happened to ds yet but many others in his class and its only a matter of time before it does so im wondering if im BU, they do a performance for easter which includes singing,now they are getting a bit older alot of the boys really hate the singing and dont do it very enthusiastically.

Yesterday a number of the boys were told they were missing out on breaktime today as they werent singing in the rehearsal. just wonder what your thoughts would be if it were your dc?

Super seems a bit harsh but then tbh they probably need to just sing or at least open and close their mouths to give the impression of singing

I did wonder why they didn't do that to be honest! I'm on the fence because it ruins the show for the people who wants to do it if the choir is lacking but removing a break seems counter productive as they get no time relax/play and are in a bad mood.

super They're punishing boys for not singing? About 8-9 are they? That's a bit off, surely everyone knows boys that age shuffle their feet and mumble (except for the supertalentedmymumthinksI'mgonnabeastar one). If they're a bit younger then a bit of encouragement might help?

girlie I'm not surprised you're cross today. Do be prepared in case you find out that your house has gone to the agents brothers friends sister.

Right, dull stuff...
After my first full month of frugaleering, my final figures are this:
I spent £780 on my debit card (so all food, fuel, clothes, cash etc), this is £380 LESS than January. Last year it averaged out at £1200/month which is .
I also paid off £855 from my assorted credit cards. Again, average for last year was £650/month.

My new MBNA card came, and have applied for the max balance transfer of 2300 off my Lloyds card, and then can tart the max (hopefully 3K+) I can back onto the Lloyds from Natwest as Lloyds are offering me 15 months 0% on new transfers again. So by next week I should have about 5.5K of my debt on 0%. Which will do great things to the interest payments.

In other news, the boiler finally breathed it's last this morning. New one will be about 1.1K, DP will fit it. Just have to find the money. Lottery anyone?

Wow! Well done on the frugaleering knitting that's awesome. Not about the boiler though. They are bloody expensive.

Sounds like you have made some really positive changes knitting makes all the difference seeing it all totted up like that.

Yep all age 8/9 and think singing is the worst thing ever at the moment haha

Good going, Knitting. Super work!

Mario, sorry you're finding this time difficult. Try to enjoy your meal tonight and don't be ashamed of your dad treating you.

Ipsos, in the nicest possible way, I think you need to let your DS do more without you. He sounds the same as all children from your last post, with the exception of being ill a bit more. They all need to learn how to get on with things with less adult intervention. I really don't mean to sound unkind, but I do think he's 5 now and needs to learn how to cope without an adult around constantly. Maybe you could do more talking about when he needs to seek out an adult, if things are getting too much for him, and just see how he gets on? Standing back is one of the hardest things to do as parents.

Thanks for your thoughts creme. As my neighbour wisely said to me, we are responsible for our own children and we make our own decisions accordingly.

That's very true, Ipsos. All we can do is what we think is the best for our children.

Ds goes away in two weeks for 3 days, i think other than when i was in hospital it will be the longest he has been away but hes really excited which is nice, hope i dont make a show of him on the morning they leave!

i was worrying about not being busy and worrying about him as it will send my anxiety through the roof but my sister has just asked me to help her move house the day he goes and get the new house straight as i all needs redecorating so sounds like ill be really busy after all!

Thanks, yes, I think so. Different children can be so extremely different from one another can't they, and yet still just perfect as they are.

Wow knitting! I'm in awe of your frugaleering.

I remember when we were at primary school we got detention for singing "We WISHHHH you a Merry Christmas" too enthusiastically. Then nobody wanted to sing at all. We were only 8 or so

We found DS a new nursery near my mum so he can have a full day per week playing with his friends. He loves it! So it's well worth the change. And the price is half the price of where he goes at the moment so that's a big fat frugal win. (Well I think so anyway!)

It's gloomy here

Just sorting my wardrobe. I kondoed last year but then all the drawers collapsed and I have just been wearing what's accessible since Xmas. DH replaced the drawers yesterday so I thought I'd do a bit or reorganising. My wardrobe is so depressing! I have 4 black tops, 2 purple and 5 in teal (tops include t shirts & jumpers/cardies); one pair of jeans that fits, 1 pair black leggings and 3 dresses/2 skirts that I wear for work. That is it. At least 3 of the tops are old, faded and bobbly and one actually has a hole in it.
I've been putting off shopping in the hope I'll be able to wear my maternity clothes soon but I'm going to have to get something else to wear aren't I?
I just feel like clothes are an expensive luxury and also I get confused and don't know what to buy!

I've come in a little bit under budget this month. :-)

Oddly I seemed massively overspent on groceries all month and then I didn't go grocery shopping for a week at the end, just by coincidence, and then it all averaged out to the same average expenditure per day. It always does that, no matter what I do.

Oh collie you need to go to a bird sanctuary! We have a barn owl round here that we see flying around loads.

Our loan came through so I'm going to pay the credit cards off got enough to put £1000 in savings (got a car cheaper than anticipated) I would like to spend £500 on things we need for the house but dh said no.

Got a horrendous headache.

Nsd.

Gosh, Pointless, that is a minimalist dream wardrobe! I would start with replacing the worn out tops (even with the same, if you like them. Why not?) and another pair or two of leggings and possibly jeans/jeggings. Leggings are only £3 in Primark currently and in a lot of different colours.

Great news about the new nursery, Collie. Do they offer any free hours for 2 year olds? We do where I work.

So far today, £1.49 on vitamin D supplements, £1.78 on Mothers Day cards (one for Mum and one for Nana, from DS) and £1.29 on mailing bags. I need to post the eBay sales, the cards and a letter later.

I couldn't wait to get rid of my DC

I had a lovely coffee and dog walk with my friend. She's ok and has deliberately not researched the effects of chemo, very wise. Dog walk was nice too, blowing the cobwebs off while she can.

I am going to go to Aldi now, as I have time today and it will be a struggle rest of the week.

I bet that walk and coffee was just what your friend needed, Need. Sounds lovely!

sounds nice need, hoping to feel the same for the two days and it makes me feel good to know i can help my sister whereas normally id be struggling to do much due to three different childrens school times as although the other two are older and bus/taxi i like there to be someone in when people get home.

I think similar with the clothes,i see something think i will love it and then get home and it doesnt fit right or some other such reason and i never wear it again, but i buy a lot from the charity shop so dont take things back either ive got tonnes of clothes for "one day" Maybe get some key pieces like some jeans, a hoody or jumper which is nice and also warm. i like hoodys but find they are always too short!

pointless have a look on Pinterest or Google Images for capsule wardrobes. A long sleeve striped t shirt is my favourite staple. I only have one pair of well fitting jeans too and they are from TU! I recently went to Primark and picked up a navy cardigan for £6 and it's wonderful. Goes with pretty much everything. I need to buy leggings asap so I can wear dresses and skirts. My tights are so uncomfortable :(

creme they may do! I'll ask :)

wreck the owl sanctuary was on my bucket list but it's SO expensive I bet there will be one nearby when we are on holiday in May! And I bet it'll be cheap as chips. Going to put that on my holiday to do list.

Finally caught up with you guys! Although I posted in last couple of days I wasn't up to date.

Sorry to hear people are missing their mums, feeling blessed that mine is hail and hearty, my dear nan will be 90 this year. Lidl had lovely cards last week so I got a Granny from my dc to my dm, a Mammy from me to her and a Nan also.
girlie sorry about your house too, there's a better one out there for you
wreck well done to your ds, dd almost 6 is only barely competent on a bike for last 6 months or so, ds if he had a bike suited to his size would cycle now at 2!

pointless I need to kondo my wardrobe. Have lots that doesn't fit.
mario I've spent the day either pulling up my jeans or down my hoodie, they are too short aren't they! But my string top underneath isn't much better.

£16.06 at the post office, but I will only count £2.06, as £14 was eBay sales.

Do ask, Collie. I don't think all settings have to offer free hours for 2 year olds yet, but it's coming. AFAIK, it's 15 free hours from the term after they turn 2, if they offer it.

I went to get the dc from school and my car wouldn't start. Got a neighbour to jump it but the power steering wouldn't work. Had to get a neighbour to pick them up. Waiting for breakdown people. Ffs I only need it to last a few more days. Will have to miss parents evening this eve in ds has pre school tomorrow I don't know what I'm going to do. Should I hire a car if they can't fix it? What if the garage won't honour the part exchange amount because it's so broken?

Super I'm really sorry about your mum. Don't blame you for wanting to hide away from Mother's Day. Take it easy x