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.

What you could do is buy a second hand tassimo off eBay, there's usually loads going near by & make a tassimo coffee in the flask.

I think lattes are £4 for 8? So 50p a day.

Or a £120 a year based on a 5 day working week.

Maggie - you have to decide if it is a priority for you over using that £500 for something else. Maybe drop it to once a week and see how that feels?

I have a Diet Coke addiction. I spend £500 a year on Diet Coke. That's ok. I know what I spend and I accept it.

life that sounds like quite a strong tasting potion. At least it was things that he isn't meant to eat that he's presumably now sworn off for life. For me it was a bit of an error going overboard on the salt, as I'm still nervous of it to this day.

Can you put filter or cafetiere coffee in it, MM?

Fluffy, what a pain about the banks and not finding out about the funds issue in time. I switched to the Co-op at the end of May and I got £150 for switching. You have to pay in £800 minimum a month and have 4 active directory debits on it (not standing orders), so check if the offer's still on. They paid me the £150 about a month after I switched, but it said up to 45 days.

I'm getting quite excited as a friend I haven't seen for 3 and a half years will be here soon. She's staying overnight on her way back to Bristol from a holiday in Scotland with her relatives. She's coming with her husband and 3 kids, so I've got a full house for once. Unfortunately, DS won't see them, as he went to stay with his dad yesterday. We're going out for a a pub meal.

I went to NZ in my 20s had a great time, and you've got something to look forward to.

Creme enjoy the pub its sunny where I am so hope it is for you too.

I've been to nz twice before but Dh hasn't been.

Creme have fun! Love a pub dinner.

Thanks Wreck. It's clouded over, but it's still warm.

My friends live in New Zealand - she's Kiwi and they moved out there after they got married 12 years ago. Just posted photos this morning of them skiing on the mountain behind their house. I'm always jealous of them...when we are deep in midwinter dampness, it will be gloriously sunny there and they'll be posting pictures of them all swimming in their lake!

Wreck that was a great deal on the flights! Should be a fantastic trip!

Spent £70 on a new rotary washing line for the new garden - came with a cover/peg bag/spike etc and £5 on ice creams at the park. Has been a glorious day here. Dinner was tuna pasta bake using up cupboard stuff futile attempt to be frugal after the other spends today!

wreck that's so cool about NZ! Love it!!

Oh god it's so muggy here. LSD as predicted though. Mostly spent on little bits from Homebase to improve some stuff before our house is valued this week. Also some paperclips & folders to organise the conveyancing paperwork.

I once swapped Costa lattes for a flask of hot water & a sachet of hot chocolate. It was Winter and my bank balance was grateful. I now have a Tassimo which I bought in the sales. I absolutely love it but I found the pods pricey. So my latest thing is fancy coffee and a caféteire. Which smells amazing!

I'm so tired. According to my fitness tracker I've walked 5 miles in total today.

I forgot to say earlier - once we eradicated mid week "top up" shops - we started savings lots and lots of money!! It makes a huge difference!

I'm going to try cutting down - maybe limit to two per week. That's £250 a year which isn't so hideous...to be honest on some days it really helps me through a busy 12hr shift.
Feeling very positive about this - thanks to all of you for the welcome and sage advice!

Wreck that's great about the NZ flights. Something to look forward to (and a goal to save towards).

Collie we have a Tassimo too but the pods are expensive. We buy them once a month (DD loves the Tassimo hot chocolate) but once they're gone, that's it until the next month. We don't keep a constant supply of them. We make do with good instant coffee in between.

Creme enjoy the reunion with your friend (and no cooking)

Our neighbours have offered us their porch door for €200 as they're putting in a new porch. Their 'old' one is only four years old and in excellent condition. It's something we've been planning to do for a while as our front door isn't all that sturdy and we reckon we lose a lot of heat through it. So hopefully it will save our heating bills too.

We prob budget a bit different than you lot do. Our pay go in to our budget account and every month the budget account keeps 2100£ to pay bills. All bills are set up as automatically transfers trough a Danish system we call nets. The amount is based on all our outgoing on a yearly basis and divided by 12. The rest gets automatically transfer to our usage account where our visa is attached too. Given that we are paid the same monthly and pay the same tax per month we know we have 1100£ for usage per month:m. Groceries are approx 120£ per week for 2 adults and 1 toddler but we live in an expensive country and we buy lots of organic food by choice. Petrol is approx 60£ per week for 2 cars but we both drive out of town for work. Rest is going on bits, bobs and stuff. Some month we save and some month we use from that saving, depends on the situation.
Spend today was 20 £ on fast food, I've in pain all day and dh is making the finishing touches on dds room

Oh and we have a tassimo too. Wedding gift, absolutely love it... We only buy the pods online on offers so its acceptable. Dh prefers espresso and I prefer cafe au lait so this is still cheaper than having an old time coffee machine where we would trow out to much coffe...
We're thinking of giving dd a tablet for Christmas, anyone know of a good kiddies tablet for an acceptable price ? And from a place where they ship to Denmark?

Maggie if it makes your shift bearable then don't worry about cutting back. DHs treat is a magazine subscription. Mine is ale and foodie treats. But because we're aware of it - we budget for it. Being aware of how much you spend on coffee is good- because hopefully it'll stop you from buying the extra cake or even two coffees during one day. Etc

I found that withdrawing the cash and not using my debit card helps a lot too. Sometimes handing over a debit/credit card felt numb. Like I didn't spend anything at all. It was worrying!

Do coffee shops like Costa have a loyalty scheme for those who buy frequently?

italian it's so interesting reading how it works in other countries. A tablet is a brilliant idea! I'm interested too.

Where can I buy cheap Tassimo pods online? I think I may start budgeting for it also

Hi everyone, I've fallen a bit behind on the thread. Welcome to all newbies! And sorry I'm not weighing in on the food budgeting advice because frankly I am shit at that :o . (And DD just looked over my shoulder in horror at the swearword

Brill deal on the flights Wreck.

Enjoy the lunch, Creme, and the guests staying over.

Good deal on the door, Tayto.

I think you're better off getting a basic adult tablet. Ds has a kindle and loves it.

We have the kids kindle from.amazon and its preloaded with lots of great stuff.

I'm back! Had a lovely time camping but spendier than I would have liked, especially as we came home and ordered a take away! Pregnancy nausea has hit now and it was the only thing I fancied but I can't keep using that as an excuse.
Will catch up on the thread tonight/tomorrow.

Hi all, have been lurking for a while and overspending. No debt but my savings are going down faster than I'd like so I need to get to grips with my spending.

Hopefully posting here will motivate me

Welcome

wreck that sounds an amazing deal on the flights, how exciting.
Em really hope your mil doesn't crash your holiday, but at least you have a plan for if she does.
I'd go along with all that has been said about food/meal planning, it really does help.

I've had my Mum and Aunty here today working in the garden which has got somewhat overgrown and at the moment I can't garden so accepted their offers of help. A friend came round with more flowers and also a bag of goodies for me: posh crackers, pate, crab terrine, olives, chocolate and a couple of other bits. Peoples kindness has been overwhelming and humbling.

£1.50 spent on eggs this morning, £1 on a drink while watching ds at the cricket this afternoon.
Dd has earned another £15 cricket scoring today, ds should get £20 for babysitting tonight, great for them both to have the chance to earn money at the ages they're at.

Sil has offered to have children to stay with them in Plymouth for a couple of days before we go to Cornwall to give dh & me a bit of time on our own. So, we're going to drive to Taunton from where the dc will get the train to Plymouth, then dh & I have booked 2 nights at a B&B in Dunster (Somerset). Looking forward to it so much