Fantastic Frugaleers Continuing Austere April!

[Cagliostro]

Hello! :)

Aiming for nsd I'm working and then dd has swimming lessons.

It was going to be a NSD but we suddenly realised that we don't have a holdall or anything for luggage

I think DH found one at Argos which he'll buy later!

We've made £220 extra this month! Very pleased

I've just paid for all the clubs and school trips , Monday is pay day and I need to save loads for our holiday, so I'm putting £100 in a pot for emergencies and budgeting £75 per week for food . No days out, takeaways , cinema this month . We have swimming pool membership and the park , plus with school and work we won't have that much free time anyway. I've just looked in the freezer and I think I could make a weeks worth of meals from what's in there. So this weeks meal plan is
Spaghetti carbonara
Paella
Lasagne
Fish pie
Scampi and chips
Chilli wraps
microwave meals/pizza
After that I'm going to look at my recipe books and find some exciting but budget ideas as I'm really bored with all of our usual meals.
I'm also going to have a rummage for things to eBay.

DS had another day off, as he's not well at all. The swelling has come down a lot though. All of this has happened, because the orthodontist wanted his last 2 baby teeth out before they were ready to come out! I know it couldn't have been predicted that he would get a very bad dental infection and an abscess, but I can't help but feel if he had been left alone, none of this would have happened.

Spends: £17.10 sending off the eBay parcels, £6.24 on tea lights, Vicks and Beechams and 80p on 2 books I reserved from the library.

Spends today £1.95 on soup. Because I forgot to make a lunch and decided I couldn't survive a whole day at work on just an apple and and 2 satsumas.

Also £13 in boots on vitamins.

So happy it's Friday tomorrow.

£8 in Morrison's.
£39 hair cut

£3 on a badge and certificate as dd has gone up at stage in swimming now on stage 2

Apart from usual outgoing it's been a LSD.

1.75 on two birthday cards and 95p on a pack of crisps as my DS did really well in his ice skating and we had a massive long walk I totally did not eat 2/3 of the bag

NSD - hooray! Plus DH gets paid tomorrow, yay!
Hope DS is on the mend creme.

Blimey Creme that all sounds really stressful, hope your ds feels better today.

Managed another nsd which makes it 3 in a row day off tomos though! Bank balance isn't looking too bad, I get paid next week and I haven't got any other big spends planned other than food and petrol so am hoping can move some additional funds to the savings account.

Need to pop into town tomorrow and pay a cheque in, have run out of foundation so need to pick some more up and also want to start looking for some holiday clothes. Does anyone know if Sainsburys are doing their 25% off thing again?

Nsd here (well a few quid in the coop but pinched it from the till as I bought some batteries for the shop earlier in the week in asda). But need to get my nephews birthday pressies tomorrow (my sister had both her boys the same week as her dh's birthday - planned much!).

So sunny here, has been lovely.

Hope DS gets well soon Creme.

Congrats to Wrecks DD :)

DH picked up the luggage thingies at Argos.

I wasted £25 on eBay last week. The item I received doesn't fit and the texture isn't nice at all. So that's a big fat frugal fail. :(

girlie it's usually on a half term

Hi folks. Been a rough couple of days here, nothing major happened but I'm just in "I hate being autistic" mode . So anxiety is sky high.

On a more positive note, I've been asked to strongly consider running a maths club I've been wondering about it since we started home ed, as I love maths and am very creative with it (and obviously have a lot of experience of teaching children and teens, from piano) and there's nothing like that locally. But I am unsure how it would work in a group, as everyone would have different knowledge etc, unlike in a school where everyone would have done all the same work according to what ability group they were in.

I think I could manage private tuition too, and I'd certainly do it a lot cheaper than qualified professionals, but I'm really not sure I could justify charging for it - unlike with piano where I had years of teaching pre-DCs.

Any thoughts oh wise ones? :)

Cag, could you do it fortnightly or monthly and limit group numbers? I think it's worth trying, if it doesn't put you under too much strain.

cag why don't you plan/organise a one-off workshop based on something really fun/interesting and see how it goes. If it's a success and you enjoy it you can do more but if not you're not committed to anything.

Thanks Creme I would definitely limit numbers. I'd hope that I can offer it pretty cheap per child, as I don't feel I can guarantee 'success' IYSWIM? Unfortunately my house is so tiny that having a group here would be impossible - one child is fine might encourage me to keep the dining table clutter free but one of the halls where DD does dancing is small and cheap. I've also said it definitely won't happen until I've got the work situation sorted. :)

Thank you Purple I've been considering (and got a lot of interest for) a short 'maths and music in art' class as well :)

Creme I'd feel like that too, let sleeping dogs lie etc. It's bad enough doing hospital visits when you have a car. I think the stress wears you out. Luckily the young heal at the speed of light.

Cag Do it. You could choose a one off concept. Those who are good at maths should help the rest of us . My dn is amazing at maths, he can do degree level papers for degree subject and get them correct even though he only has a GCSE in it.

Comeonmommy Yes, do the free food apps. Free food is always good. Don't forget topcashbacks snap and save, you can take it in Tesco points and boost it for treats. If you want to swap electric etc you can swap 49 days before the contract ends with no penalties.

Right.

£43 Aldi
£10 petrol
£5 morrisons but will get £2 back for the antiperspirant www.nivea.co.uk/products/campaigns/ext/en-GB/Protect_and_care_Moneyback_form got reduced lamb chops and organic peppers so very happy.

Frugal fail, bought lunch out. £3 and it was vile.

Those who are good at maths should help the rest of us :o ha! I like that. :) I'll just do my bit for the planet home ed community then

The third time I failed my maths GCSE the teacher basically said don't take it again.

I got through GCSE maths with a tutor!

Yes. Those who are good at maths should help those who aren't.

My mind doesn't work mathematically. Or scientifically. I'm much more of an abstract thinker.

Though saying that in my exams the highest marks were in the accounting modules. Maybe because there's a right answer...

Dh brought me back milka chocolate from Switzerland. I've just eaten half a bar. Best treat ever.

cag do it! And good luck :)

Yes cag, do it. If you have a talent you must use it to your advantage. If you would enjoy it, give it a go. The idea of a one off workshop to start with is a really good idea and unless I am worse at maths than I thought - kids homework is hard!!!!! Good luck X