Frugaleers March On!

[CremeEggThief]

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

Woohoo, sold my labradoodle! £10 plus postage. Makes up a bit for my naughty ebay yarn blip yesterday.

super had to laugh, dd2 (9) came home complaining that she's missing pe this week as they are doing singing. She made it sound like 'dog poo'. Not just boys then!

That's fantastic knitting do you break it down to figure out what it cost you to make? My mother knits for the pleasure of it and then sells sometimes at less than what it cost her for the wool. She's retired on a good pension and is happy to do this. It exasperates me but live and let live.

There was a mother's day offer on tickets to a game we're going to on Sunday - got the four of us for €25 instead of €40.

Oh no Wreck sorry about the car. I have no clue about such things but I hope it all comes right ASAP.

Does anyone else just use an Excel spreadsheet for their budgeting? In Jan (and what I did of Feb) I just kept a long list with 3 columns - date/item/cost - and then went through it to look for all bus fares, all food etc and C&Pd them into their own columns to see how much we'd spent on each category. But that was rather fiddly and annoying. Is there a better way?

In my Christmas spreadsheet - which again for 2015 was just one long list - I've made it all detailed, with different sections for stockings/different recipients/misc stuff like giftwrap etc although that's more for the sake of being organised than tracking cost. But I'm not sure that kind of thing would work for an overall budget spreadsheet as I'd still like to view things by date as well as category I think.

I'd like to have the kind of spreadsheet where I can make pie charts of expenditure categories but I don't know how! I'm rubbish at understanding tutorials and stuff too

Good afternoon here, DD enjoyed her writing class. I'm going to put another wash on and then gather some more stuff for them to tidy - this morning I just grabbed anything I could see that definitely has a home already (from our bedroom which is genuinely nearing Hoarder TV show type levels) and put it in a pile for the DCs to put away in the various places. It worked so well - it was easy for them because everything I gave them had an obvious location (like pens/Lego etc) so it wasn't confusing for them, and it was barely any physical effort for me as they were happy to do all the running about between rooms. Win win :)

wreck my friend was in a similar situation with her car before Christmas albeit she was purchasing a new one. She took it to the garage & was straight up about the new problem, they stuck with their original offer.

Hope it's not a big issue for you, when are you due to get your new car?

fuzz I've been using a spreadsheet since April 14 to work down through my debt and keep account of what I need to put away for various things like holidays/christmas/insurance etc My bank allows you to download to excel or to do a quick tally online of what different transactions add up to eg I can tally all my aldi butcher etc to know what I spent on groceries. I just thought I needed to up my game a little bit. As despite making lots of payments to my credit cards last year, a couple of spends around christmas/jan on my cards meant that the balance was the same at end of jan this year as it was in apr 14 and jan 15. Plan is to decimate them.

Maybe check out the screenshots of ynab to see if you could work out your own excel sheet from them or go on to excel templates as they have some dummy budgets on there too that you could fill with your own information.

when im watching tv ill wear a hoody thats a little damp and pull it over my knees. stretches them right out! although probably not good for achieving a nice shape!

Ah i feel your dds pain today, singing is "totally last year"... apparently the school backtracked and gave them one more chance, two of the boys earnt the chance to go out two got kept in as they still didnt attempt to join in.

Off out in a minute, i know noone else really understands and just think im a crabby cow but i cant help it, three years seems like a lifetime as well as no time at all if that makes sense.

I think that there are rules about putting dogs in the post knitting.

I am sorry about the car wrecked, although I don't know about things.

£20 Aldi, one of the 'get loads for the money' shops, although I don't know why I bother to buy strawberries as the DC eat them within 30 seconds of them coming out of the bag.

I need to check my Sky expiry date for the deal I'm on too, as I think I can get a better one.

Well, DD has announced she's going to train with the school rugby team tomorrow lunchtime

Hello!! Nsd today! Yippee!

I like the idea of spreadsheeting to see what I've spent. Although would probably be terrified. Might have a play tonight. With this year so far. I like graphs too.

Well done knitting. I loved the labradoodle.

Tonight we are going to my parents. To "shop" from their leftover veggies and fruit.

No ferries have left the island again today (although our ferry company has now made national news -or at least BBQ south west) and the flights are fogged in too. So officially cut off.

How long before the waitrose panic buy starts...!

Should hear hopefully about my payrise and bonus in a few days. Am wishing and hoping it'll be about a million £££ but more realistically is likely to be about 2%. Better than nothing.

Said to someone the other day that I was going to save the payrise bit. And the bonus. They didn't quite get it. Why wasn't I going to splurge the bonus on something? I am. On a house eventually

Oh and knitting well done on drug alerting. That's amazing!!

Oh arse. frugaleering not drug alerting.

Me again. Just checking in with my £6 spend on leggings from Tesco. They are gorgeous! Just like the Topshop ones - maybe a bit nicer!

also withdrew £20 bus money for the month. So I have freedom

Haha em! Love that.

Well the car has been towed, we've missed parents evening and ds won't be able to go to pre school tomorrow. I've had two glasses of wine so feel a tiny bit less stressed but really ffs we have the worst luck with cars. Five bloody days that's all it needed to hold out for.

On the plus side I have to said top marks again for auto aid. Local breakdown assistance here in thirty minutes and towed to local garage of my choice and I didn't have to pay a penny.

Oh also. Sainsburys taste the difference mango chutney is amazing. We had chicken korma (from a jar lidl though was really nice) with rice and I made a sale of diced red pepper, celery, spring onion and tomato topped with the chutney. Was as nice as a take away.

£12.99 on a new kitchen clock in TK maxx.. needed one as the old one just didnt keep good time anymore.. we tried replacing the movement , but the old hands didnt fit .. ( so that was £2.50 wasted)

Plus 3.24 for reduced mushrooms, spring onions, tangerines and a cabbage .. ( call me exotic!) ..
also got a £2 coin for the £2 pig. (first in gaes )

I have been doing the £1 a day since Jan 1st , but in a boring way . just transferring a months worth into my savings account , but hey £91 already !! ( having just put March's in )

Collie I've tried not being Laska also , but it doesnt feel right.. ive been Laska onthe web since about 1998! (its my official 'other' name now)

Pleased auto aid have been good to you wreck. Sorry about the car. Maybe it will be something cheap to fix. I don't know about trade in though if not. It might affect the price might not.
Em love the typo!
Welcome back collie , much prefer that
Excellent frugaleering knitting
I don't do spreadsheets but get bored and don't. Then do note books but decide my writing is too messy. Lots of head in the sand and winging it here which is no good as we end up in pickles.
Super ikwym I'm the same with father's day. For mother's day I pointed loads of stuff out in sainsburys to the DC then told then to nag their dad to take them. Seems to have worked so far
Singing. Love it, can't hold a tune, thankfully not in choir territory yet.
Sorry if I've missed anyone.
Is there a better class of panic buy in waitrose? Too far north here to have them so genuinely no idea

I didn't think of it like that creme, I just thought it was boring but minimalist sounds much better. Collie my jeans are also from TU!
I want to buy some card for DD to make mothers day cards for her nans. Trying to decide whether to go to Hobbycraft which is more expensive but has free parking or The Works which is cheaper but I'd have to pay to park. I think it would work out cheaper to go to Hobbycraft so long as I can resist popping into the M&S food shop next door!
Going to do March budget in a minute.

I'm meant to be at my 3rd week of 8 Zumba classes between 7&8 except dh went to his hobby at 6.45 saying he'd be back at 7.30
I'm tempted to go to it minute he comes home just to prove a point!

Great news about auto aid wreck fingers crossed for your deal

Have calmed a little dh rang at 7.30, he forgot about Zumba, he'll be apologetic

Make sure you're out the door well before 7 next time, Lilac!

Tomorrow is likely to be spendy .. I have an eye test booked...... am thinking presciption wont have changed as I am manging fine for both distance and reading , had laser eye surgery (on one eye) some years ago . But I do have 4 pairs of reading glasses! 3 ordinary and 1 reading sunglasses.. some of them are over 4 years old and lenses are scratched so really need replacing.. I have different need for each eye so cant just get off the shelf ones..

My jeans are from Tu also !! I love their £12.99 jeggings.. But i do have some M&S and Mint Velvet ones I currently cant get into. However, I am frugally slimming back into my summer clothes.. and its working, lots of them are fitting again, (whereas they didnt last year ).

Best of all, this morning I actually got my (expensive) winter down coat zipped up .. a bit too late to wear it this year, granted ..and also my £££s grey leather biker jacket that DH bought me a couple of years ago .. though that is still a bit tight across the bust .. But YAY! It feels like I have new clothes (and you all know how I like new clothes )

Creme I intend to be, had to miss last week because I hurt my back
Laska that's brilliant, nothing better than getting into your clothes or buying a smaller size
I want my wardrobe back too, choc monster rared it's ugly head past two days today was a perfect day food wise though so hopefully I haven't done much damage weigh in tomo night.

lila are you doing bloodsugar diet also..? cant remember if I saw you on that thread..

Hi all well its been a very weird day in the end but to cut a long story short I have been offered the house!!!!!

I spoke to some one at Stone Water and they said ystds email was a mistake and that the house is mine - I am in shock!! Now the fun really begins trying to sort solicitors and mortgages and the like Talk about flipping roller coaster!

Anyway today has been spendy in the end, sent a cheque off for Easter child care £95 thats only a week!

Then £17 in Asda on some clothes for dd and a few other food bits.
£5 on tea for me and dd in Asda (complete bargain!)

£18 at the dentist, was a new one that I haven't met before she was lovely and gave me a free polish

Whaaaat?! How on earth did that happen girlie?! So pleased for you though

Oh I am so happy for you. Well done, you deserve this.

It's going to be stressful, just keep going.

I have loads of outlet sites etc I will post later in the week.