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.

creme just interested to know why you don't claim JSA, I'm not in UK so don't know how it works. In Ireland you pay your taxes which some cover benefits so a few years ago I did claim while on short time at work, I figured I had paid into it so why not. Since going back fulltime it has been well covered! Sorry to hear about you not getting the job.

north it's audit's mum that isn't well mine's only back from a cruise so is fine

girlie that's great about your holiday
laska what kind of car did you get? I'm loving ynab by the way, love that I had categories in green before payday this week & that I can visibly see my debt reducing too what we can have a ynabber section of frugaleers thread!

wreck it can take a while for your body to get used to exercise, sometimes your muscles need extra repair and the scales doesn't reflect the effort put in quite as quickly as we'd like.
For instance I feel and look slimmer this week, but I'm on antibiotics, and ate out 3 times so I actually gained 0.5lbs this week. I know it'll catch up in time.

ipsos I'm awful at food shopping. Dh does it and he seems to manage to get it to about £40 a week. I could never get it that low.

Spends today £9 on a white too from oasis. I've lost mine and need a staple for work.

£16 on a new pair of leopard print shoes. Moccasins. Super comfy as my old ones have totally fallen to pieces. From schuh online via topcashback.

Fluffy - weekend away was hen do (I had three weekends away in quick succession and it's really bitten, all nice family times etc but spendy) and I'm on maternity leave from a post as an applications specialist for a medical devices company. Any more than than outs me completely! I've been there five years. Can't believe it.

Spends today £20 on fuel. Going to try and make that last to pay day. Think I might need to go to aldi tonight as we are out of fruit and veg and oat milk (morrisons next door sell it).

I am awful at grocery shopping. Actually at the moment I'm awful with any kind of spending! It's going through my fingers like water ATM! I'm sort of letting myself a bit because I know it's a stress reaction.

We are still planning carefully for our trip away though. We were discussing budgets etc (as the main reason we're going is for the board game show, and there's no point pretending we won't want to buy some games when we're there!) and we want to be really organised with the food, using clubcard vouchers where possible (breakfast is sorted with both hotels, and the one in Leicester had a dinner deal too, so won't need many meals 'out').

I've already said that I won't be going to all the museums with DH/DCs as I won't be able to manage that, which is sad because obviously I want to be involved in everything, but it's better to accept now that I should spend some time resting when I can, rather than burn out and end up unable to do anything. It will save some money too, as we won't need to pay for my entry to everywhere.

Because it's more hassle than it's worth, Lilac. Your life isn't your own when you claim JSA here and they make every effort to sanction you, which might then affect other benefits you claim, like housing benefit. I was just venting yesterday. As long as I can get by without it, I wouldn't claim.

Thanks for all your kind words, everyone.

I totally get what you mean about JSA :(

I had you down as medical/AHP. I'm a podiatrist desperately trying to leave. Will you stay in medicine or leave?.

I think medicine based careers are the new teaching, lots of us wanting out.

I want to be a nail tech running a home based salon doing nails and spray tanning. I told dh I wanted to do this three years ago but he put me off.

Someone we know wasn't put off and is now a successful tech. I'm not jealous I just wish I hadn't let myself be put off. My business plan at 7yo was to run a children's nursery in a house but my mum said it was a stupid idea because "nursery is free" and no one would pay for childcare

I'm waiting to see if I can do a course in July but I need a model so I'm waiting on my dn's partner to get a day off so I can book it. I don't mind having no friends but at times like this you need a hand. Literally.

The courses are all miles away from me too, think Manchester, Leeds, York, Cotswolds, Essex, so she'll have to come with me in the morning and then wait till 1pm to be my Guinea pig. I'm paying her £100 and buying lunch for her.

Afternoon.

Hope you are all ok.

£19 in Aldi and £50 Morrisons.
£45 cheque for PC rallies, but that won't be cashed for a week or two.

I need to menu plan still for the next few days.

I need a quiet night perusing recipe books, feeling fairly tired today.

I'm a radiographer by profession and was teaching people how to use / setting up new equipment. At some point I may try and get a place to do sonography or mammograms as I can then pick up agency work once the boys are at school. I can't see me going back to the NHS or full time work really. My job involves a lot of travel and i always ended up spending too much on lunches and bored treats. I've lost 2.5st since I got pregnant with my second son. Not eating on the road / hotels is the key.

I've just started buying aldi own brand dishwasher tabs, does anyone cut them in half? Is it ok and do they cut easily? I can't find the daisy powder or I'd try that!

Oh and thanks for the shower gel boots priority heads up the other day! I got it :-)

What annoys me is people thinking they know my job more than they do, or telling me I should work for free because it's wrong to charge for health care.

I'm going to shut up now, I have issues after 16 years in health.

What, I use Aldi tablets too, but don't cut them up. I am really chuffed with them for quality, and the price is brill.

Break the tablets in the wrapper. Think Daisy powder is gone now.

I bought the Lidl dw tablets, i cut them in half sometimes (depends how much I have crammed into the dw ) it was 60 tablets for £2.99

Spent £36 in Lidls which is more than I intended but have stocked up on all the things I know are cheaper in there like dw tablets, toiletries, tins of soup and salmon! My plan is no more shopping before our holiday at the end of the month now other than bread and milk anyway.

Went for a swim £4.20.

I don't feel like i have lost any weight for upping the exercise but do feel slightly better in myself, more energy etc so still worth it. That shred thing you are doing sounds painful wreck have your blood sugars settled a bit now?

Fluffy the nhs is hard work if we continue with this Government I can see it only getting worse unfortunately. Thats a shame you weren't backed up on your ideas but its not too late to have a career change now. I do enjoy my job and the interaction with patients but all the paperwork and endless demands on my time are draining.

Spent some time reading through all the paperwork from the solicitor this morning it makes me very nervous as seems such a responsibility. I know it will be worth it but its so scary doing it all on my own!

My dn's partner got the day off, I am going on my course!!!! 💅🏻

OMG.

Girlie But you're a proper grown up! At least if you own it by yourself some man can't bugger off and force a sale. It's no small thing for a woman to own property by herself.

If dh runs off we'd have to sell.

Girlie I really enjoy it. It's only twenty minutes so really easy to fit in and I really like Gillian Michaels. Yes they have thanks I've dropped my ratios right down but still need some tweaking. My life is just so much easier if I don't eat many carbs.

I too am doing the shred, I can't do the star jumps though so have to modify. It's not as hard as it sounds and I am going to move up to level two in the next few days

Gosh that's generous, Fluffy. I would be your model if I lived closer to you. I've never had one done, but I've read chiropody pedicures are amazing.

I've decided I want to be an office administrator when I grow up. I have got experience, but nothing paid since 2002, so I don't know how I could get back into it... After my bonkers experience yesterday, I can't be bothered applying for any more teaching assistant jobs for a while.

My Sainsburys order just came. There was a short shelf life on the salad leaves, so they gave it to me for free after I said I was fine with it. So my £45 shop will be £1.10 cheaper. Result!

NSD but going out for dinner later.

What I can't either. I can't jump at all because of mobility problems and t kills my knees. I just do butt kicks/high knees/punches etc instead.

Thanks lilac. I know you're right but I'm v inpatient

wreck I've been waiting 2+ years for getting back to target now
last night guys I took ds to bed, read him his stories, he cuddled me and pointed out my ears hair eyes etc and then said 'Mammy you can can go downstairs now' my little boy who wouldn't let a night go without getting into my bed at some stage just two months ago is all grown up (at 2.5 years)!

I also use aldi dw tabs, they're super. I haven't tried one broken though.
Maybe I should the amount of times our dw is put on
tried aldi good house keeping institute approved wash up liquid, it's not fairy, nothing is fairy, no value in buying any other wash up liquid than fairy. That's just my humble opinion though

Glad it's not just me with the foodshopping Em. A lot of people on here are brilliantly frugal but with my family it's a struggle just to find things that we can eat, let alone things that we can eat cheaply.

I didn't know you were a podiatrist Fluffy. A podiatrist did miraculous things for a friend of mine ten years ago. I'm sorry to hear you're thinking of giving up. I can understand why though. The NHS seems like a really stressful place to be just now. Would you consider going private?

Lilac that's very grown up of your ds. Well done. :-)

My grocery shopping seems to be £5 a day cheaper than usual at the moment for no obvious reason. Food shopping is so weird.