Frugaleers chatting and saving even further into August...

[AGenie]

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.

east the cake looks lush!!

People brought booze. I've had 2 glasses of wine loads of water and a tea. Sober hostess.

Was so nice. Al guests are Dhs friends from school and their gfs. we worked out that we haven't all been together since our wedding 5 years ago so lovely to have a proper catch up. I was worried we wouldn't have enough food. But we have leftovers!!

Lovely evening. Sharing news and gossips with lovely friends. Priceless.

also lost The Game

Ooh, thanks for the cake, East. No, nom, nom!

Sounds like a lovely evening, Em. It's great when you have a proper catch up with old friends.

I'm late to the party re: rice (came to mum's for a couple of nights but have brought the laptop this time as DD has her project to work on) - I love the microwavable frozen sachets. Perfect for me as no heavy pots/standing and stirring etc (I had tried a rice cooker thing - just couldn't get on with it). And we get the brown rice one - could never be bothered cooking normal brown rice as it took aaaaaaaaages.

Had a lovely day, got to mum's and then they took us out to lunch. I'm not sure if it's a big chain yet but it's a place called Project Pie. Mum gets discount via her work (council) but even without, it's really good value. They make the pizza in front of you and for 9.95 it's unlimited toppings. Far nicer than other high street pizza. We've been twice now. :o AND they have refillable cream soda! So I could pretty much live there. :)

My lovely (and somewhat insanely generous) friend has informed me (!!!) that he's getting a Microbit for DD! She's a couple of years off the age they would be given them in school, so I'm really chuffed that she's not missing out (as the scheme may well have stopped by then, these things often seem to). He loves researching and choosing techy stuff for them, and it'll be great for home ed projects. Win win! :)

Had a nice chat with the owner of a bat hospital today - she'd only got my voicemail this morning. So it was lovely to tell her how it had recovered, and she was really sweet telling me lots about them, and saying how grateful she was that we cared enough to look after it. :)

Blimey, I was only off line for about a day and I had 5 pages to catch up.
Italian, so glad your DD is out of hospital and ok
East, please can I have a slice of cake?
I too buy the microwave rice but I don't eat it very often
I have been in York with DGD for 3 days and stupidly didn't realise it was York races, the place was packed.
DGD loved all the museums. The castle museum was brilliant. We stayed til closing time. And The Dig was great. We did everything and I am now not only broke but knackered. Glad to be home and back to frugalling.
I am not going to think about how much it all cost.
Cag, love the bat. When we went to Country File Live the Bat Society were there and they showed us two different bats. One was a pipistrel and the other was bigger. Both had been injured and were staying with volunteers of the bat soc. they were wonderful.

Oh and I'm buying DSD's iPhone off her (she bought it second hand) as she's gone onto contract as well now. So I can cancel both DSDs' giffgaff things now. Also cancelling cinema card as there isn't the right cinema where she's going to uni. So that'll save nearly £30 a month once the notice period is up (now I just have to remember all the login details...). Buying phone for £40 (which was more than DSD had thought when I offered actually, but I'm still giving her that :)), but still functional and I'm just excited to have my beloved iOS again and the ability to take decent photos of the Caglets! My rather basic supposedly 'smart' but it really isn't phone seems to be on its last legs so I figured get this one now.

Is it really easy/cheap to repair an iPhone screen yourself? I'd like to try as it's got a crack, doesn't affect the use of it mind you, so I don't want to risk it if it's liable to go wrong.

Sat in bed with mum this evening drinking Lidl's Malibu with some Pepsi. In mugs. CLASSY :o

[adds York to the list of must-visit cities] glad you enjoyed it :)

My DH is similar me. He's not a particularly frivolous spender, but he really just isn't interested in being proactive in managing our money. I am always the one taking the lead on budgeting, looking for best deals, switching bank accounts etc. It's just exhausting trying to drag him along and not feel like a total nag!

He does however cook amazing rice! Soak it in cold water for 30minutes first. Then refresh the water, only just covering the rice. Put pan lid on and bring to boil, then lower heat and leave for 10-12 minutes. Avoid stirring. Turns out really well!

Glad you had a great time in York, Trying. I knew you would! Looking forward to our day trip there on Thursday, especially as we haven't been for about 18 months.

Just caught up on thread.

Tapas style nipples :o :o :o

The idea of simmering rice until it 'looks like a sheep' really tickled me as well. :)

I should really sleep! Busy day tomorrow - hopefully getting the Caglets into a Pokemon drawing workshop, and then theatre for a dinosaur thing.

I'm off to the sho to buy some nipples...

Me - thanks for the ideas.

Cag It's not too hard to remove a screen, it's glued on so you heat it & loosen it. Dh took my old iPad apart & it wasn't hard. He's also replaced batteries in them too. There's loads of YouTube videos on it. I've got dhs old 4S and I love it. I have a page devoted to the shopping apps on it. Sometimes I apply for the cashback on the supermarkets wifi before I've left the car park. I don't blame you using microwave rice with your health problems. Cheap rice is not worth being in pain for.

Me It is usually the men who are late to the frugal party. No idea why but it's endemic amongst them. You do get the odd one who get the idea but it's a long process with the rest. Kidstart do Amazon cashback, it's not much but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Trying knew you would both love the museum, it was the same with me and dd! Would love to go back to York but its a minimum 6 hour drive from us. Might think about it for next year though as have got some family in Yorkshire so would like to see them at some point.

Em that evening sounds lovely

I am back to work tomorrow for a rest. I have had 2 weeks off in which I have done loads of jobs I have been meaning to do for ages hoped dh would get around to doing .... I am quite proud of my efforts.
Garden - weeded (wheelie bin full plus 10 ikea bags), took weeds & rubble to the tip, re configured the back beds, broke up slates to cover old raised patio area, dug in compost & replanted,
House things - rehung the kitchen unit door that ds lent on too hard about 3 years ago, sugar soaped the laundry, rehoused all the random bike tools to the bike tool cupboard, changed the loo seat hinges, made 2 quilts, 6 cushion covers for my mum (they are horrible & I wanted her to foget them... 12 months on I realised her memory is in no way impaired when she asks a favour - just the other way around).

Animals - took in a hamster & dog while owners went on holiday.

I am going to give myself a shiney.

Hi everyone ye chat a lot when I'm busy
Yesterday was spendy €50 getting a complete restyle & colour went from below my shoulder blonde hair to pixie cut in a rich red plum colour, Red was intended result
€5.87 on newspaper & snacks on long car journey €3.20 on more chocolate
€20 on takeaway desert for 3 of us
10k was paid for months ago, my sister doesn't run & it was her first race, we kept to a slow steady pace & finished last but we achieved her intended km per minute & it was a great achievement for her.
Saved about €40 by not going out afterwards, I hadn't it in my budget anyhow.
We ate in a fab Indian restaurant & my sis paid for that.

Love that campsite kitchen unescorted, going to put that on a wish list. Love how it folds into a small bag. Debating if we could holiday for a week in uk in campsite next year rather than stay in chalet or mobile at haven. It's a quarter of the cost.

Unescorted work will definitely be a rest after that.
I'm away since 9.30 yesterday morn without dh or dc, it was great to go to bed without having to have an ear out for them & I've been on Facebook & mumsnet since 8am in bed. I was super cosy as had been in a sleeping bag on couch after my shower & got back into it under quilt for the night

Dreading looking in mirror at my new hairstyle, when I had it short like this previously I'd to wash & blowdry every single morning. Only minutes but still

lilac it transformed our camping. Especially when doing 24 hr bike races - organisation is key at pit stops so havin a pllace to put things is such a hhelp.

Lilac it transformmed our camping - especially thhe 24hr bike races. Organisation is key at pit stops so it is really helpful to have a place to put things.

[Hmm] random posting - this keyboard was cheap but not very good. Keeps putting in random double letters & missing others off totally.... Do not be tempted to buy an ADVENT keyboard. The mouse seems OK though....

And another random post - DH & DS have finished their ride across France - pictures here on instagram

Today is the first day on no booze Ems. Until my birthday in October. Over the last 3 weeks I've had a drink pretty much every day. And I'm feeling it. So 5 weeks off at least.

Am going to eBay a few more things today too - some shorts I wore on holidays and some sundresses i haven't worn this summer. So I'll spend the day drinking water and taking pictures.

I also need to do a ton of ironing. but can do this while watching Netflix. We're off to parents for dinner so will probably walk there to save on petrol and to work off the pizzapasta pounds.

As of today frugalling is back on the menu.

I managed somehow to make super sticky rice last night. Not at all fluffy. But it was delish.

I hate ironing. I would love to look well put together but it would require me ironing my clothes... so that is never going to happen.

Does anyone know where is a good place to buy plant pots? I bought spring flowering bulbs the other day ( £2 per bag at Morrisons) & want to make up some pots for my new tamed garden - did I mention that I did the back garden over the last couple of weeks?

unescorted me too. I never iron. But I'm going to try and be more put together. So needs must. It probably won't last.

Still in bed. I went to make breakfast and discovered the kitchen is in a right state. Dh needs to wash up.

late again! This is yesterday's money post

Saturday 20th August
Money in Jar: £0.00
Money in Purse: £16.65
Money in Bank: £807.30
Grand Total: £1026.39
Grand Total: £823.95
Reduction since yesterday: £202.44
Days to Pay Day: 25

Spends:
£20.02 – DH petrol
£0.99 – Amazon Kindle book
£42.47 – Meat delivery
£130 – Cash DH
£2.50 – parking
£10.00 – cash DH!

Still to spend:
Gyms: £43.99
DS2 Football (cash): £6.00
DS2 Football (standing order) £15.00
DS2 bus fare: £7.20
Interest: 0.55
Petrol Budget: £68.98 remaining
Grocery Budget: £221.08 remaining
Leaves for everything else: £461.15
Birthdays / nights out budget; £265

Morning all. Last day of our holiday here. Have been frugaleering this week to try to bring down some of our regular outgoings in a bit of a money makeover a la Martin Lewis...

Have managed to shave off about £80 a month by hunting for better deals over various insurances etc. Money for nothing at the end of the day! Trying to work out if we should go down to one car and pay off the car loan which would save another £170 or so a month. Cutting our cloth really as we havent really adjusted to my lower income since April so savings havent really grown at all since then. Looking forward to next june when the mortgage payment should drop as well. In a few months I should be able to stop setting aside 100pcm for my exam also which will help. Just feels like we are treading water at the minute really.

Some great charity shop and sale finds this week on hols. Working on xmas shopping and DS/DDs next size up wardrobes.

Unescorted - well done for al your efforts. Love the photos, he looks really happy.
Lil - that's a dramatic change in hairstyle, I have short hair now and it so much easier.
Em - have you watched Grace and Frankie on Netflix? It is brilliant.

I've joined YNAB...i think I get it, but not sure how the budget items role over into next month, time will tell. I've so over budgeted to what actual money comes in, but I need to be realistic, e.g.payments for car insurance needs to be saved up each month - I just thought it was magic before (credit cards are magic right???).