Frugaleers chatting and saving into August...

[ipsogenix]

Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

Useful links copied from last year:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/1324074-For-those-who-cant-afford-to-use-central-heating-this-year-How-are-you-going-to-cope

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1543785-your-top-tips-for-money-saving-and-a-more-frugal-life

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1600030-Small-money-saving-habits-petty-even

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1628874-Gas-Elec-Bills-monthly-and-SKY-so-angry

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1911061-NO-MORE-COLD-MUMSNETTERS

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2209167-Slow-Cookers-are-shit

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2224969-saving-money

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2258202-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-6-start-the-new-year-with-a-clear-purpose-and-keep-moving-forwards-even-by-tiny-steps?

orchard.tesco.com/ Sign up to this.

www.topcashback.co.uk/home And this.

www.quidco.com/home/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/ And this

www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub ditto.

www.checkoutsmart.com/ Plus this.

www.hotukdeals.com/all/deals/new?page=3 Check this daily.

Hi all

Me again. I want to join in but I worry that I can't give every post the attention it deserves and that I'm all Me! Me! Me!

God this month has been horrendous. Everything has been due and my savings have take a real battering

So far this month: (from 15th July)

• five weekends
• 2 x trips to the races
• Car Service
• Car MOT
• Annual house insurance
• I had the bedroom decorated so paid out for: new blinds, new doorknobs for cupboards, 2 lots of new bedding to match the wallpaper, some metallic gold paint and some transfers to tart the wardrobe up.
• 2 x nights out
• Lots of eating out and takeaways.
• School uniform / bags shoes
• Extra spending money on DS2 (13) just from being at home

I've had to take about £800 from my savings to cover it all so they are really depleted. All I have done is put my hand in my pocket (or hand over my card).

Payday is Monday so I'll start tracking my spending on here again.

Fluffy and Wreck, sorry you are having a shit time at work. What's a HCP?
Cag, hope you feel better soon.
Creme, I think that coach driver was outrageous. What if you had been stranded there and had spent all your money. Definitely report him.
Very spendy day today. £72.80 for DS, DSiL, and one DGS to go to castle. I was free because I have a pass and other DGC is too young to pay. I should have got Tesco boost coupons but used them for vouchers elsewhere. DSiL forgot her vouchers Grrrr.
It was brilliant though. We all enjoyed it, but how on earth do families with a few kids afford it. It was packed as well. I assume Tesco vouchers?

Trying it's a health care professional. I'm not that though I'm just the reception/admin person and the one who dance inappropriately on reception there wasn't any patients there though...

Health care professional. We're reaching the baby boomer generation and they are entitled so and so's.

I suspect a lot of parents go into debt for these places. I know carers who've told their Dh they don't want anymore meals out because the kids can fall out at home for less than £60. Kids have never been cheap though.

Em - your holiday looks amazing.
Scarlet - at least you had savings that you could use, that's good that you had them.

Going out in this country is expensive. I have castle passes cost nearly £20 you can go again for a year...but I've not yet been once as its a little way to drive. I wish a day pass was £5 as then id not feel bad. The tickets just sit in my purse. Same with the zoo day passes are same as year, but its a good drive to get there, so don't go. Hmmm bar hum bug.

I'm going to do poo sticks with dc..thanks for list 😊

Low spend day here, payday is Monday so I'm going to try and be sensible about my spending and see what difference it makes to a full month.

wreck that's so funny! My GP is SUCH a grumpy guy on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. But on a Wednesday or a Friday he's strangely hyper. Like a little kid.

Houses where I live aren't selling. And houses where I want to move to are selling in 3 days! I'm feeling strangely pessimistic

Welcome back scarlett, you post how you want to, there's no rules.

Ooh, plaster of paris... that may work! We have clay already so maybe we could shape that somehow?

DD's doing a book for her project (she made a lift the flap book today :o) so at least that won't require any purchases!

Are we all enjoying the Olympics? DD's just the right age for it, she's been so inspired. :)

Welcome Scarlett agree please don't worry if you can't keep up with all the chat, this thread moves faaaaast :)

€38 for two for dinner. The freshest tuna steak I've ever had and rocket salad for me and Quattro staggione pizza and half bottle of wine for Dh. So yum.

We are enjoying the Olympics Cag. We got back from Florida in the early hours. Watching the American coverage compared to UK is interesting. Sounds rather obvious, but the USA as so focused on their own performance, and less balanced, and way more ad breaks

Body clock is all over the place, so may watch Super Saturday, or may not!

Came back with a lot of dollars on the Fair FX currency card. We got a great, pre Brexit rate. I am wondering what to do with them?

Cag, why not try grey or black playdoh. It goes hard quite quickly and they can mould it into the different size stones.
Wreck, if I has to go to hospital a cheerful ( or even a dancing) receptionist would cheer me up. The doctors might think it's their hospital but they are wrong. It's ours and we want cheerful receptionists please.
I am really pleased because I have just achieved another of my frugal August goals. I have learnt how to sell on ebay and have just listed some stuff ( DS showed me/ guided me through it) . Now I need to change bank to first direct and get £100. There are no co op banks within 40 miles of me so I can't change to them.
I thought I would use first direct as my main account and also open a TSB account ( because according to MSE you don't have to close your main account) for saving because their rate is better.

Playdoh, that's an idea - something like that would probably be easier for DS than clay (its quite firm clay so hard to shape it).

I am SO glad we have Olympics on BBC, it is very nice not having advert breaks! Unlike some other sports.

Olympics has inspired maths this weekend too - we're making graphs on Excel for the medals, and DS wants to do long jump tomorrow and measure it (he found one of those metal measuring tapes earlier and has barely put it down).

I like watching gymnastics and we are really looking forward to the BMXing :). Not sure if we will stay up for Mo tonight though. 10k is after 1am!

Thanks for all the kind words and support, everyone. I'm relieved to know I wasn't overreacting and several of you would have felt the same. However, the coach driver apologised again when I was getting off, so I accepted it and won't report him. I didn't bother getting off the coach at the stopover on the way back though, which was meant to be 10 minutes, but stretched into 20.

Need, glad you got back okay and I hope you enjoy the British coverage. I've loved the Olympics so far. So many different sports you only get to see every 4 years.

Em, looks fab.

cag I love the Olympics. I've even been watching stuff I'm not usually fussed by. Some of the events are absolutely breathtaking!

DHs tablet wouldn't start or charge (I've been trying to charge it since 8am!) So... I went to hit it on a cushion out of frustration - ended up hitting it on the hard wood on the sofa and it smashed. A lot! I have no idea what I was thinking!

Cag, what about plasticine, if you can still get it?

Eek, Collie! Can you make it look like an accident or did he witness it?

Cag I know this would be a rather small idea.... But what about Lego?

creme no, I was so shocked that I laughed and laughed. Til I stopped laughing and swore at myself. Then I laughed some more! Luckily DH said everything was saved on Google Docs and he said he had accepted it was never going to turn on anyway. Phew!

cag the only things I can think of that are hex shaped are pencils. If you have any jumbo pencils going spare could you cut them up and paint them? My ideas are so pants! Sorry!!

Lego :o I bloody love Lego :o I don't know if we could make hexagons from it! We do have Polydron too but that's massive.

Grey plasticine is £3.60 for 500g so I think that may be the cheapest option, although no clue how to mould it.

I do rather fancy taking out my PMT on cutting some pencils though so might have a look at that option...

Oh dear collie!

Spendy day today as I'm going to London with my friend. Have saved £80.

Crème I would be mad at that and stressed too. Not sure if I would complain or not and I'm usually the first to.
Oh dear collie,

Cag, do you have and black food colouring. Make your own playdoh in various shades of black/ grey. Easy to manipulate too.

Ridiculously spendy here. Lots of frugal fails. Going to be intermittent until hols then start again in September.