May the frugaleering be with you - frugal chat and support for frugalers old and new.

[babsmam]

I took the liberty as we were nearly at the end of the last one.

Morning all, I have just been a complete slob and done the school run in my pjs I reckon I can get a way with it now as don't need to get out of the car - dd can just run in!! I am so tired am planning on going back to bed for a bit.

Not a lot planned today, boy cat is going back to the vets for more tests today bless him. I had thought we were getting somewhere with the insulin but checked his blood sugar last night and it was 29mmol

Hope he's ok girlie. Purplecat is currently perched on a shelf behind me in an attempt to avoid being manhandled by DD!
I love camping too. Our existing tent was great for just us two but it felt a bit too cosy when DD came camping last year. The one we've been offered has 2 sleeping compartments and a porch which would give us somewhere to leave wet shoes etc without them being inside the tent.
No spending planned today, as it's pouring with rain we are doing jobs round the house and will do some baking later. Luckily DD is still small enough to be excited about sorting washing and dusting! I might however venture out and buy some caustic soda to unblock the plug in the bath. Last time I read all the ingredients on all the plug unblockers (Mr Muscle etc) and they all contained caustic soda so I bought that instead which cost pennies and it did the job!

Oh poor cat girlie.

So far today...
£42 payment for DS Y11 prom and a post exam trip out.
£40 approx on ESTA form fees to get into the USA (took ages to plug in all the info in!!)

I need pony feed later too.

Oh no poor puss :( :(

Good luck on the CBT Soap I have found it helpful but it can be very hard work psychologically can't it. Hope you have some time to unwind after.

Not doing owt today, other than picking DD up from Brownies - unfortunately that means I have to get a taxi back in order to be in time for my pupil. So I only make £4.50 really. DH is getting stuck with pretty much all late shifts. It's ok really, as I'm managing the evenings better (if the DCs were at school, I would not cope at all as the school run caused so much pain I was in tears and incapable of anything by 4pm) and I get the telly to myself til 11pm :) and we get mornings together which is fab. This morning DH did the reading/maths with them, and then we all cuddled up writing a poem together and playing language games before he had to leave. But it does mean that I'm 'on duty' for the evening activities more. What's really annoying is the fact that when he started he was told that he would do a range of shifts (like mornings which would be great as he's home so much earlier) but it's barely happened. Turns out it's because the previous manager didn't change the contracts when he was supposed to, so all the others are not required to do lates. Argh.

Friend showed me the Montessori method for long division yesterday. It's great! It really explains the concept in a concrete way. The resources are horrifically expensive though, even the bog standard school type on Amazon, so I'm cobbling it together myself instead with what we already have (Numicon pieces for tens and units, and I'm drawing the flats and cubes for hundreds and thousands on some blank cards) - should work ok as they have actually handled the resources so they understand what the cards represent. The cards are probably the single most useful and frugal resource I have bought - just a massive pack of playing card type things but they're blank both sides, we use them for all sorts of learning and games.

Well I had my blood test, did the shred and half an ab work out before I have up then hoovered downstairs and some of upstairs. Still need to finish that. Just waiting for ds' bed to be delivered they phoned to say they won't be long.

Hope the CBT goes well soap

Hope it goes well Soap, I also found CBT wonderful but draining.
It's stopped raining! Finally! I wouldn't go so far as to call it sunny but it's an improvement and I will take DD out for a walk in a bit.

Lilac I'm so glad the shampoo and vinegar trick worked for you. I felt a bit embarrassed admitting to having such a trick but it does work so beautifully every time and I'm glad not to be spraying bleach everywhere.

Cag I love your blank playing cards. I must get some of those for ds so we can make up big number and think about hundreds and thousands and things. I've been wondering how to do that.

I've had a very expensive morning. I bought mugs and curtain rails and have already made curtains this week. We're on a mission to re-lightproof the bedroom windows as we're waking up at 6am.

On the plus side ds has been offered a free hearing test in return for taking part in some research, and the office is next to a safari park, so that sounds pretty good really. The hearing test would have been £150.

Is anybody else getting hot rain today? I don't know whether to put on suntan lotion or wellies.

ipsogenix it's great, I smile when I enter the bathroom now

I've taken delivery of my new phone, I'm disappointed to have signed up to a new contract but I'm happy with my new phone.
I also purchased a pair of sketchers this morning from lifestyle sports, a hat & gloves set for ds and a pair of gloves for me. Hats and gloves were to bring it up to €50 for free delivery and then I found a 10% off code online and I also went through cashbackireland too. Does this go on order total incl del charge or discounted order total or what?

I've been using ReepRewards shopping app and have got my total up to €10.83 and now they've shut down the service. Pay out to paypal is €50 minimum. Hope I can get something to reward my hard work snapping receipts!

Ipsos surely the NHS would offer your ds a free hearing test? Is he under the care of ENT? Reminds me I must ring up as dd is reviewed every year and I can't find the letter with the next appointment on it anywhere.

I have felt rubbish today, period pain and generally feeling crap so have not achieved very much. Took boy cat to the vets, waiting to hear when can go and pick him up, poor chap. Popped into Dun Elm which is next to the vets and ended up buying a load of brushed cotton sheets £18. In my defence they are needed and dd is very fussy about softness!

Rest of the day has been spent on the sofa.

£7.20 on cinema tickets for the weekend. I've been promising dd that we will go and see alvin and the chipmunks when it goes over to cheap viewing and it finally has. That's for all four of us.

Ipsos I am sure I read you were taking your DS for a test at the Doctor's? I remember the appointment being on a Thursday, but didn't then read how that went, or even if that was to do with his hearing? I might be wrong though, as I am often getting ready for a comp towards the end of the week, so skim read sometimes.

Hope you feel better soon Girlie, best to go steady if you feel crap.

cag I'll send DS over to help with the maths, he's a maths whizz. He's taking Maths and Further Maths for his A Level choice, and Physic and Chem. So that's 10 hours of Maths a week. I cannot imagine anything more awful

£42 on pony feed.

I've set up my direct debits for Santander, the ones I want to go out of this account. Checked energy tariffs, I can get cheaper, but only 6 months into a deal, so will keep an eye on this. Next is Sky package.

ESTA forms approved for travel too. It's been an admin day.

Thanks Need I have taken it very easy today as am working Thursday and Friday so conserving energy! However taking it easy in my case still means sorting washing, cooking tea and driving dd to swimming and back - have done a lot less than I normally would though. I am in awe of your ds, it took me 3 attempts to scrape a C at GCSE level maths

Dd has what looks like bites on her legs, midgie ones I guess, the cats have been defleaed so it shouldn't be them!

NSD! Hooray!!
Hope you and the cat are both ok girlie.

My taking it easy looks similar girlie Re DS, it's just his thing, maths and science, ask him to use his imagination or do something musical and he would be completely stumped. All kids shine at something, he's just lucky in that it's more of a 'valued' thing that he's good at, and the current Govt isn't doing anything to rectify this, quite the opposite, such a shame.

Sounds like my kind of week Need! :o :o Absolute heaven! Well, the maths bit, I am rubbish at science. I did Further Maths as an AS level - we were only offered it in year 13, and they had no staff time to teach us so we had to self study. Loved it. And got my revenge on my teacher who thought I shouldn't take the Mechanics units because I didn't study Physics so I'd be sure to get a low mark... I may have marched right into the staff room on results day and waved my grade under his nose.

It's been a steep learning curve trying to teach the DCs though. I always assumed any child of mine would be a born mathematician oh how mistaken I was. DD REALLY struggles with it, she was having remedial classes at school. She's catching up now though as we have more time to go over everything as much as she needs, and she actually enjoys it and she's got her confidence back! Making it into something she can physically handle really helps. We just tried our DIY long division resources and it worked really well. :)

Really need to get back to this thread and focus on keeping spending down again.

Spends today:
€2 in work canteen
€45 on new foundation, I liked it as a sample so I really hope I continue to like it now that I've spend €45 on it!
€58 online on trousers and a top for a work.
The clothes make it a very spendy day but I need them really badly; I was on maternity leave all last summer so I didn't buy any work clothes then, and for various other reasons, I didn't spend much on work clothes for the previous couple of years either. Added to that, I have lost quite a bit of weight since two years ago so my summer work wardrobe is currently very limited.

Tuesday:
NSD

Just a quick post of spends: £1.71, on postage and a pint of milk.

I'll catch up later.

Woah you've all been busy today!

nsd. Yippee.

I've been at work today. So busy but think I've finally caught up from my week off. Yay! Did not wear tights today. my legs are nice and tan thanks soltan and I ditched my jacket today. It's hot. And foggy here.

Boss wants all my airline tickets/boarding passes from last week so he can claim back on expenses. Just found them and one has a shopping list scribbled on the back. Oopsy.

go on then :)

Of course! Ask away

Em what's on the list??

(that was meant to sound encouraging, not sarcastic, btw!)