Super Scrimpers sashay, save & --squander-- their way through September

[lilacclery]

Thought I'd start us off!

She's gorgeous em!

Quiet day here. Spent £8 at SW, about £8 on facepainting/bouncy castles etc at a local charity fun day. £6 on bits and crusty bread for tea - Slimming World macaroni cheese, which was absolutely delicious . Looking forward to a glass of vino once the mini-Sierra's are in bed

She's so cute Em tabby cats are gorgeous!

So today was as spendy as predicted. But all budgeted for and it has been a great day. I've done quite a lot on barely any sleep. Quite pleased with myself!

Tomorrow should be a NSD. But we are going to check out mattress toppers - if there's something decent in Dunelm I'm getting it.

Multi vitamins link sorry I can't remember who asked me for the link.

We went out for a bit came back and she wasn't in the box. We were very confused!!!

She's eaten something and has obviously had a bit of a walk around.

She's now sat under the table. Still watching. Still taking it all in. Maybe tomorrow she'll be a bit more interested. I'm not worried. The lady at the shelter said it'd take time. We have time.

Before you know it she'll be walking around like she owns the place!

Dd has a friend to stay tonight, first time we've had someone over, it's my best friends daughter so she's known us since she was born. I think they're both fast asleep but I daren't check...

For those into craft, knitting & sewing - Aldi have a "craft" special buy week from 15th September.

Thanks for that collie I'll have a look on the aldi website.
Unescorted we have a good local Booths but I also go to one in a local market town. That now has an aldi next door and I'm sure they work very well together. It suits me as I get most things from aldi but some branded things and Longley Farm dairy stuff from Booths.

Cag, well done to your DH with his sports class. And he was so nervous.
Em, Millie looks so gorgeous. ( as does your yellow scarf).
Another one here who loves autumn....but not when it is damp or drizzling.
I love picking sloes and making sloe gin, collecting conkers with the DGCs, kicking up and walking through all the leaves.
Collecting all the leaves for making leaf mould for the garden.
Flasks of hot soup/ hot chocolate. Wrapping up warm. Lighting my fire.
Lots of things, but not the dark mornings.
NSD yesterday....day 3 in September, but £9.50 today to finish getting stuff ready to sell.
I only missed 1 day and it was 5 pages!

Thanks Collie, I knit and sew. In fact I must get the large, thick curtains out and cut them to fit over the doors in this house. I had them over large windows in my last house.

Just back from Kynren, an outdoor performance based on historical events, that's been running every Friday and Saturday night this summer. It was absolutely amazing and very well organised. Spends: £7.80 bus there, £8 on hot chocolate and doughnuts, and then on the way home, £3.80 bus to a town 3 miles from us, where I thought we could get a taxi home. There were no taxis on the rank, just a couple waiting there, so I asked a bouncer outside a pub if he knew of any. Then one came along, so the bouncer suggested I ask that driver to radio another taxi for us. It turned out the couple were going to our village too and insisted DS and I hop in. I offered to pay the full fare as a thanks, but they wouldn't hear of it, so it only cost me £5. The taxi driver said that we could have been waiting ages tonight, as they were very busy, so we were very lucky. I feel all grateful and thankful that there are still kind people around. Total: £24.60, so just inside my £25 budget.

cag pleased that the class was so successful, hope it continues.
Creme is that the show based on the French Puy de Fou? Friends rave about that when they've been to France and I heard a radio 4 programme about the British version. Was it good & is it going to continue next year? I'd love to go
More emptying of ds' room today & then cricket later.

Em your cat is a beauty. Did ye name her or had she been named already? It's a beautiful name I know a baby & a dog with same name
Thanks to everyone for siding with me regarding the clothes shopping. My cousin that goes with me is great at advice, of all we got last year there's only one item I don't wear regularly it was more suited to her shape than mine.

Myself & dh test drove a new car that I've been ogling yesterday, both love it but I've decided that i don't want to stretch myself financially & have decided that I will purchase something secondhand instead next year which I can comfortably repay. Good frugal decision led by head rather than heart.

Creme that was very nice of the couple to share & great that it kept you on budget.

Dh & I went away for a night, he paid for hotel & lunch & a few drinks. I paid for dinner incl cocktail for me €81 + tip €5 plus round of drink €13.50. Dinner was amazing, in a restaurant where chef sent some appetiser complimentary & a sorbet round complementary also. Everything was divine. Azur Limerick ROI dh drove there & back so that we didn't have to spend €25 on taxis.
This kept me under my €100 budget for weekend so far. I may be buying lunch today & leggings & base layer top to make a dress I bought two months ago that's two short wearable for winter. I will borrow from car tax funds due end October or first ten days November as it's ideal opportunity to buy without the dc
Mon Tues Wed will be NSD for personal spends

Cag your dh sounds like a caring dad & 'teacher'

Girlie sounds like you'd a lovely day out

I've had a discussion with dh regarding sky & bill & we're changing to diff broadband provider & getting Netflix, chromecast x 2(one for au pair) & going to use free to air for now this will save €550 in first year alone & more after that as chromecast are one off spends. If we feel the need for a dreambox we will purchase later. They're €250 first off & €50 per year thereafter.

I just read an article in the Birmingham Mail about how MasterCard have been ripping off Britain with high charges and legal action is being taken on behalf of Britain. If successful, all Brits over 18 will be able to claim £330 even if we've never had a Mastercard.
Sorry can't do a link on my phone but if you Google Birmingham Mail you'll find it. It's probably in other papers too.

North I think the plan is every two years for kynren. It has a definite northern theme but yes Is inspired/ based on a French show.
There are a couple more September dates if you can get down.

That was canny of the couple crème. The show is good isn't it.

Ah em. She owns you already

Lilac could you sell the item you don't wear? Add to the pot

Thanks for the aldi tip. I keep forgetting they are on line. I was in store and the £150 sewing machine looked OK from the poster. All the garden and camping stuff is reduced too.

First football game today. Need to get off my butt and pack a pic nic

Thanks Snuggly, just googled it and it looks interesting. I can't understand why everyone will get £350 though. Still it will be very welcome as my savings are not as high as they need to be for my bathrooms.
I keep forgetting that I can only spend each £1 once.
Glad you had a good time with DH, Lilac, and of course you should buy your clothes. That's what it is all about. There is no point in being frugal for the sake of it. Enjoy the money you have worked hard for and saved.

I didn't really understand that either but I'm not going to argue with free money!

em I have scarf envy, where is it from?

genie if you are in UK flexi schooling is at head's discretion. There are FB groups you can join for models of letters / support but nest thing is generally start with an informal chat with the head to gauge where they stand.

creme we were sorely tempted by that but tickets are a bit £££. Might speak to DH again about just taking eldest DS as now we aren't going to Italy next year, we don't need to save quite as much.

Been a LS week as back at work (hence just reading catch -up on here). Managing to stay out of overdraft, aim is to have £100 saved by end of this month.

www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/everyone-uk-could-330-mastercard-11869406

Here it is.

Dhs dr wants to move him off Symbicourt to save money. Can we object? It's the only thing that's helped his breathing.

I think he ought to see the late cancer effects clinic because I don't think it's asthma I think it's all the radiotherapy on his lungs when he had hodgkins.

Lila That is proper frugalling. Well done you. Everything in ROI seems so expensive.

£10.10 spent in Sainsbury's yesterday on school lunches cheese, mature cheese for me, orange juice and higgidy quiches. Been buying Lidl value 1kg blocks of cheese, but I'm fed up, I needed a change :)
The quiches are 2 quick dinners for me and DD, now we are back to our routine.
Once I get paid I need to have anither look at my budget and see how I sort everything.

lillac, I have been working my backside off with not a single thing for me. So last week when I bought a new dress I felt guilty and frittery, but you know what? I need to re-learn to look after myself.
em, your cat is so lovely! Hope yours brings you as much calm and fun as mine does. I love mine to bits, he comes and 'kisses' me know.
creme, glad you made it home safely!
snuggly, I doubt everybody will get £330 even if they never owned a mastercard. It would be nice, but how?
life, have a nice picnic :)
That list of things to do in autumn is wonderful, I'll save it to my phone!
Have a nice day everybody, I'm off to work for a bit of extra money.

Yesterday I spent £14 in tesco getting things I forgot but I owe back £4 of that.

Today I need to get a pack of baby vests for the decoration of my friends baby shower next weekend I will pop into sainsburys when we take dd's friend home later.

I've got three loads of washing to fold and school uniform to iron. Feeling very autumnal this morning but it's meant to be 28 degrees Tuesday?! I'm going to work tomorrow as extra as I have so much to do and need the money. My mum will have Ds. I might do an extra day in the run up to Christmas.

Fluffy Have NICE changed its designation? If it has been done across the NHS then I guess you will have difficulty. Otherwise you could look to get the prescriptiion from one of his other healthcare providers - I know my mum seems to get one prescription from the GP another from one hospital and yet others from 2 other hospitals. It is all very confusing. It might be worth getting your MP involved.

Fluffy I would ask for a referral to the respiratory clinic

The Mastercard arguement goes along the lines of each time a Mastercard is used the retailer is charged, and it cannot be added to the cost of the goods bought on the card ( I assume it is that bit in the contract that makes it potentially unlawful). Therefore the retailer adds the cost to all items in the shop irrespective of if it is bought on a card. This
results in all shoppers having to to pay for the use of Mastercards. Don't you just love Radiio 4.....

Unescorted

The letter says its to save money because there's 70 patients taking it at the surgery.

He doesn't have any other health care providers. It's not cheap but it really works well.

Im pushing for him to see the late cancer effects team. I don't think he ought to be paying px charges at all because a lot of its caused by his non existent immune system because they took his spleen out during treatment. Not everyone copes well without a spleen. He feels ill all the time, for the last 35 years 🤒

Plus he doesn't trust GPs because several told him his hodgkins symptoms were normal for his age and he was just another work shy youth trying to skive off work. It took ages for his mum to even get a diagnosis & then it only happened because he collapsed and got taken to A+E as it was back then.

Fluffy of course you should object if it's helping dh & no reasonable alternative is being offered.
Yes things are expensive in ROI average wage is €26800 gross and we get much less value for € vs £ too even though they're worth similar amounts now. Luckily I'm on an above average wage

Lifelong I could sell it but I like it & it will form a staple part of my working wardrobe for just a few more €'s and I wouldn't make even half what I bought it for.

8 bet if you'd bought dd a dress you wouldn't have felt any guilt at all.

That is really pants... maybe when they take him off it & his breathing worsens he needs to keep making appointments with the Drs until they reinstate it for him. We did that with DD until they diagnosed her asthma, and again when it worsened. Is the ROI the same as here where a proportion of the A&E / OO cost is recharged back to the GP if it is caused by the poor management of an existing condition?