Austere April Advances (even though it's mid March.....). Frugaleers Unite

[needastrongone]

New thread. Can't link.

I'd say the reason we go through so many tea towels is because people dry their hands with them [shame]

Yip we do that too lilac. I've given up having separate towels [slattern]

Just ordered £55 worth of sainsburys food and no meals. Bleeding fruit and veg. Might see if I can get to aldi in my lunch break Friday

Eugh cancers just shit isn't it. Sorry about your friend need hope you're ok.

knitting I think it'd take me getting pregnant for work to do something about the smoking. Can't discriminate against preggos. Says so. In the law.

£2 today. Went for a sunshine walk by the sea at lunchtime and bought a 99 with a flake. lovely

So £13 in purse + change. £33 in bank ac.

Pasta pesto with veg for dinner. Lunch was leftover salad. And a box of pineapple and grapes. Super healthy.

We are down to 10 in the office today (only 21 usually) due to business trips sickness holidays. So very quiet.

Decided that the Mac mascara I bought in December (when I slipped and fell into Mac) wasn't worth the money. It makes my lashes clump. And I've pulled a lot out when removing. At this rate will have to go back to beauticians for more lashes. I'd just grown my real ones back too!! pulled them out in oct 14 when I was stressed with work so had semi permanent fakes glued in place

Hi, is it okay if I ask you wise ones for some pointers?

I'm not working at the moment, and while we don't desperately need to reduce spending (yet), I'm on the look out for any relatively painless ways to reduce outgoings.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this

There's LOADS. Swapping utilities via moneysavingexpert energy club is a good one. Swapping broadband too, or tv packages.

Or shopping at Aldi/Lidl.

Or opening a new bank account with a bank offering an incentive. Yorkshires offering £150. Then you can close it and open another one for another incentive.

Registering with topcashback & taking cashback as Tesco clubcard points to spend on days out.

Need Your poor friend, people are so thoughtless.

Right.

£4 in Tesco but £3.02 coming back from checkout smart.

£2 on card for dh. He's asked if it reads "happy birthday you cunt".

£2.60 in lidl on lettuce, ibuprofen and ice cream for dh.

£45 on heritage new zealend membership, plus cc will charge me £1.30 but I wanted some protection on the transaction. See here for details

Got £5 asda vouchers through post from complaining. Will buy Vodka, or more Microfibre cloths. Can't decide.

Steered dh away from the iPhone 6S (£27.50 a month) and onto an ID mobile sim only plan for £5 a month instead. Vodafone livechat was a hoot.

Em "Kick off", yep that'll totally get her more bonus. Such poetic use of language too.

I suspect many bosses start off being totally left wing with bonuses & get such ingratitude that they end up being more right wing than Maggie.

Girlie I don't even answer the door. I switched the door bell off as an extra hint.

Wreck one of my patients swears blind her GP receptionist diagnosed her shingles over a Skype link. I'm hoping she's wrong.

Fluffy, that's hilarious about the card message!

I prefer the difficulty of decision between vodka and microfibre cloths creme personally.

You are right with the concept of bosses and bonuses fluffy, DH is a socialist in his heart, but ingratitude and 'jobsworth' folk make it difficult not to have a more capitalist attitude at times.

And, sorry about my manners, welcome jobrun. Sounds like you have the 'skills' for frugaleering, but have got out of practice If I left DH to the finances, we would be bankrupt, despite him being the source of the income! Can you take complete charge, if he would let you?

Hi isit. Yes this is the right place to ask as the collective knowledge is awesome. Fluffy has given you a starter.
Also review all direct debits. Those you don't need cancel, those you do see if you can get a better deal.
Meal plan
Anything you want to spend money on Google to see if there is a discount or a voucher

Fluffy what was it then cloth or vodka??

job hi! Welcome!

Try getting everything out (food make up etc) and actually look at what you have. I was shocked when I did this. 15 eyeliners....and 7 black cardigans. Sell what you can. Use things up. No buying new.

fluffy yep. They're all going to kick off. It's hilarious.

I feel welcome already!

I do online shopping but recently have been adding weekly items, booking a delivery then realising at the very last minute that I haven't finished the order so guess the last few items, when it arrives I have usually forgotten something, or wondered why I've added something else. We don't have a huge freezer to I tend to get bread during the week and buy more random items at the supermarket. My Dh gets our meat from a butchers so that's cheaper and better quality than a lot of supermarket equivalents.

I have just sat down to plan some meals for the next week and then will start a planned grocery shop. Then will have a good read through this thread!

I have started to make a note of things I need to buy during the month and what would be nice - so this month a new bra and mascara was on the need list but a pretty cot quilt I spotted can wait for a sale another time! Next month I'm expecting my dd will need some bigger tops and a sun hat. At the weekend I'm going to properly go through all my spending.

need yes, my Dh has said he would happily give all his money to me and I can give him spending money! We've never had a joint bank account but I think we do need to perhaps have a shared bills account or something.

I know there will be a million messages from when I last posted, but just popping in (in a rush between other things getting ready to go away fro a few days tomorrow)

I do remember seeing Em when I skipped through yesterday , you saying about me getting my Ted Baker dress more frugally , but I paid full price as it was from one of our local shops, I needed to try it on and get for this Friday anyway ,(as Im wearing it to a wedding then) but consoled myself that I helped the local economy!!!.

Right.. ill not be on here now until Sunday probably ,and at the rate you all chat you'll probably be all on a new thread by then!

Have a great weekend.. x

Welcome newcomers!
Sorry about your friend need, I know 3 people fighting cancer at the moment, it's horrible.
Hope GirlieDD is feeling better
I thought I'd spent loads today, totalled it up and it was actually under £50 but I go shopping so rarely that felt quite extravagant!
I bought Body Shop shampoo &conditioner £10, sun cream which was £24.99, I get the posh sort as I am very fair! £5 in the pound shop on craft stuff and £3.60 parking.
MIL gave me £40 to buy something for DD's birthday so I got her some nice clothes in Next, have some left for her bank account. Also used Boots points to buy curl creme. Had to pay window cleaner too £8.
Tomorrow and Friday should be NSDs.

Oh pointless good point best get the sun cream before the summer price hike.

My bedroom is freezing dh keeps leaving the door closed which really annoys me as it never warms up. We've only ever had the heater on in the dc's room and don't bother with any others upstairs.

Did the weekly shop on Sainsbury's Online and it came to £50 as we needed toilet roll, nappies, bin bags, shower gel, shampoo etc

DH had £60 come through on Quidco tonight! Very very pleased. It's been processing since last June and we forgot all about it

Phew!

Thanks guys. Have already agreed with DH that we can save on Sky, so that's a good start.

Isit and job welcome - if you have time sign up to tesco orchard and product testing for mumsnet def worth doing hit an miss what you get chosen for.

Childcare is our biggest outgoing its more than the mortgage!

Just place marking so that I can come back and post properly soon. It's been a few threads since I last was active here but need to get back on it.

isit, welcome :)
I have haved a huge amount with MoneysavingExpert. If you're not already doing it, do sign in for the weekly emails. I think I saved/gained about £1000 in the last 3 months.

Haircut today £40 , dc want cafe tea £20, need to meal plan to order food for the weekend and next week. Need to go to b&q and Morrison's. aldi tomorrow

Also dance exam fee of £42 by tomorrow

£4.05 in my account. £13 in purse. Plus change.

Really super glad it's payday on Monday!

Am probably going to have to buy lunch today and tomorrow. Unless dh managed to scrape two portions of last nights dinner into lunch boxes.

Walking to work today. Sun is out. Sly is blue! And we are out of parking cards.

Morning all, dd still poorly had a temp of 40 last night she hasn't had one that high for years, sounds chesty this morning and has a very sore throat. Am going into work later as my mum can have her for a bit, hate having to juggle sick kids with work

My boy cat is keeping us on our toes as well, his blood sugar last night and this morning was 25mmol and there about (for a cat it should be under 11mmol which is slightly higher than what you would expect for a human!) hoping the insulin will start helping soon. Bless him he has been so good having his injections and blood sugars checked.

What with kids and cats its just like being at work!!

Oh poor DD, girlie, and cat. Hope they both pick up.

I'm going to go out soon, after doing some household stuff, and be spendy, but in a 'sweeping up' all my spends into one day.

Aldi.
Farm Shop.
Petrol.
Travel money DD.
Extras for DD skiing.
Returns to Next.
Boots (sunscreen, moisturiser).

We are doing really well this month, and hope to have circa £250.00 excess, in addition to the standard savings we already contribute to.

I really need some clothes though....hope this spring weather stays, then I can put it off a bit longer.