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

980 replies

lilacclery · 06/09/2016 08:15

Thought I'd start us off!

OP posts:
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Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 09:43

Agenie I'm only training but yes clients can be really candid. It is very bad form to discuss it afterwards though. You never know who knows who in this world.

Neatly manicured, polished nails are really nice to have too.

My contact lens broke this morning. I'm going to throw myself on the mercy of the optician and hope they've got a spare.

North Fun weekend treat indeed. I've often thought a weekend angio is what's missing from life.

needastrongone · 15/09/2016 09:53

Thanks guys, DS had a great birthday. Muted, he doesn't much like being the centre of attention, but we had a nice meal as a family and he got plenty of wonga.. No driving lessons yet. I'm in a small dilemma as it's just dawned on us that we won't get him insured for either of our cars, mine is a company one, and DH's is simply too expensive.

Genie I do think getting you nails done et all can be beneficial emotionally. Not just the fact that you have lovely nails, but you have taken the time to stop, and be something else other than a mother, and do something for yourself. If you are SAH, I think there's a bit of guilt attached with being 'selfish' with time and money. I think that's also linked with self esteem, that we don't 'deserve' it for ourselves and our selves alone.

I've spent, in the last 2 days.
£35 on a provisional license for DS.
£40 on text and study books and A Level related items.

I'm jotting down pressie ideas too North, but not buying any as yet.

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 10:01

Some new small cars come with a years free insurance, it's going to be well over a £1000 the next year though.

I grew up in a posh area & my parents knew kids being given Porsches & scimitars .

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 10:05

That's a proper MN chicken, mummy!
My trip to Waitrose was a bit frustrating. First I couldn't find my Waitrose card anywhere then I got to the checkout and realised I'd left all my shopping bags in the car. Since I got home I've realised there were 3 more things we'd run out of that weren't on the list. DH used up the last of two of them but didn't think to add them to the list, the other was cat litter which I buy every week but completely forgot. Grrrrrr, annoyed with myself!
Managed to resist most treats in Waitrose but it was difficult, I could have bought loads. If money was no object I'd shop there every week! Quite a few good yellow sticker deals though and on things I needed anyway so that saved a bit.

AGenie · 15/09/2016 10:26

That's good to know snuggly thanks. I have recently found a new hairdresser and I'm really looking forward to going to see her again. I think that having a hairdresser that I really enjoy seeing would be a lovely thing. My previous one didn't speak English at all, which made for very interesting hair cuts.

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 11:10

Well the optom can't fit me in until 4 because I'm due a contact lens check and a sight test. His cars broken down hence the late appointment.

Snuggly Waitrose home delivery isn't too pricey and you can get offers like £100 off the first five shops, plus cashback.

Ememem84 · 15/09/2016 13:16

£17 in boots - echinacea tablets (everyone at work has a cold/bug of some kind) and foundation. Rimmell had a deal in boots 2 for £10. The things I bought were £4 each. They tried to charge me £10. I argued it.

Watch out for this.

AGenie · 15/09/2016 13:18

Good spot Em! Smile

I just tried an online order with Waitrose Fluffy. It's free delivery with a minimum order of £60 right enough. It said I made £38 worth of savings from buying half price things. Confused I forgot to look for the £100 off, as I was concentrating so hard on the minimum order. d'oh!

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 13:25

Ooh that's interesting. I was thinking we'd probably have to start doing online shopping when the twins arrive. Shame as I quite enjoy going to the supermarket (I know that's strange).
Doctor has prescribed me some iron tablets and warned they cause constipation so that's something to look forward to!

AGenie · 15/09/2016 13:26

Ah! I just worked it out. The RRP for the things I bought was over £100 but they have a half price offer on lots of soap things like dishwasher detergent, and ordered lots of that to stick in the attic and use later. So I paid £64 for things that would usually have cost £100+, apparently.

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 13:45

That sounds good to me Agenie.

INeedSomeHelp · 15/09/2016 14:11

I keep lurking on these threads as I know I need to sort myself out but my head isn't quite out of the sand yet.
I have no reason to buy anything other than food and household items - I have more than enough clothes, toiletries etc to last me for the foreseeable.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions if that's OK. I've seen Iceland advertising a lot recently and wondered if their stuff is any good? I use Aldi for most things and there is an Iceland next door so would welcome any recommendations.

I've also heard Martin Lewis advertising his utilities club thing where they use mass bargaining power to get the best prices. Has anyone used that successfully? I pay £48 per month for gas & electricity which seems pretty good but any savings would be welcome!

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 14:28

I've used the utilities club on mse. It worked fine. You just need to remember to switch before you go into a standard rate again.

Icelands ok, it's good for branded stuff and the mature cheddar is amazeballs. I didn't like the meat but our butcher is cheap and the meats better quality. It's not pumped full of water & floppy it's firm and dry.

I plan shopping around the my supermarket app for branded stuff or special ingredients.

INeedSomeHelp · 15/09/2016 15:33

How does my supermarket work? I looked at it ages ago but didn't really get it!

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 15:56

Welcome Ineed. I think £48 a month sounds good unless you are in debit to the energy supplier. I pay £100 a month and am still in debit!
I don't buy a lot of frozen food but I imagine Iceland is very good if you do. Never had any problems with anything I have bought in there.

DD helped me make a lemon drizzle cake this afternoon. We grated the zest then put the lemon on one side while we made the cake. She cried and cried because I wouldn't let her put the whole lemon in the cake mix!

INeedSomeHelp · 15/09/2016 16:04

Thanks snuggly - I don't owe the energy company thankfully although it's taken me a while to get there. They've just done my annual consumption review and refunded me £16 as well as dropping my monthly payment slightly. It was up at nearly £100 per month for a while but that's because they gave me a huge refund and dropped the payment at the same time which meant I didn't pay enough to cover the winter months.
I definitely need to do something with my food budget. There's only me and the cat and my OH is here most weekends but I seem to spend more than other people I see on here.

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 16:21

What sort of things do you buy that increase your shopping bill?

CremeEggThief · 15/09/2016 16:28

Welcome Ineedsomehelp. I just had a look at the Iceland website and I was amazed at all you can get there now, including Frozen, fresh and household items! My Sainsburys delivery pass (which was £15 for midweek deliveries for a year) runs out at the end of this month, so I'll give online Iceland a try then. It's free delivery over £35. Do you meal plan? Have a couple of cheap meals a week? Have something you can eat a couple of days in a row and/or freeze a couple of portions? All of these help me, as well as being veggie.

Glad your DS enjoyed his birthday and hope you all had a lovely meal, Need.

NSD.

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 17:13

Mysupermarket works two ways. You can do a whole online shop and at the end it will compare which supermarket is cheapest. I think you can print out the list then but I've never tried.

Or the second way is to compare an item you know is often on offer. So I usually check it for dolmio offers or if I need an ingredient I won't use often like rice wine.

Checkoutsmart, shopitize and clicksnap apps do free grocery offers which can be quite handy. I have two accounts with each because I put one in dhs name. Recently they did a pack of cheese for free, it was £3.50 Shock

Another thing worth doing is to do a quick scan of products for try me free offers. They are usually on frozen branded food. Sometimes on loo roll.

Other shops worth considering for groceries are home bargains & b&m. Especially huge bags of branded tea bags. I buy Tilda long grain rice £1 a kilo in home bargains. It's much more everywhere else & cooks better than non Tilda rice. Each pack I buy saves me £7 in what I would have spent on microwave rice.

Cooking from scratch can be really cheap too. I've only just started making things like egg fried rice, takeaway style curries and pitta breads, it's knocked about £3-4 off the bill each week. More if it saves me getting a takeaway.

Definitely put your energy use into moneysavingexpert energy club and see if the switch will benefit you. Switching light bulbs to LED ones from led hut saves lots and they are often having a sale. Switch off things with built in clocks like the microwave or the oven.

snuggly Are you stifling that poor child's creativity? Grin sounds yummy.

£4.99 in Tesco on cheesecake and beer.

SnugglySnerd · 15/09/2016 17:21

Grin fluffy maybe it would have been like one of those Heston Xmas puddings with the tangerine in the middle?!

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/09/2016 17:43

Or a pork pie with an egg in the middle.

My poor aunt wanted to buy a load of smoked salmon nibble for my gm funeral & my gd specified a pork pie with egg in it.

You watch, next year he will launch lemon drizzle with candied lemons running through it.

lifelongfrugaleer · 15/09/2016 17:47

Hello Ineed
£20 on pizza takeaway. Chat to dc about to many takeaways.
£3 Morrison's on a book to put away.
Need to do epic online shop for birthday stuff which won't be cheap

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 15/09/2016 18:01

Hi all, welcome INeed meal planning and taking food to work helps with the food bill, also cutting down on meat consumption.

Glad your ds had a nice bday Need

I have a very busy day at work and am knackered! Dd has been a PITA quite ermm demanding since getting home which I am not in the mood for! Think she is knackered tbf but blimey Wine

So spent £3.25 on lunch as left my pack lunch in the fridge

Also £40 on petrol.

Girliefriendlikesflowers · 15/09/2016 18:06

Agenie I had some counselling last year and found it incredibly helpful, one of the things that came out of it was that I wasn't ever really putting myself first and everything was about dd.

Tbh I am probably still guilty of this now but I am at least aware of it and do try and allow myself small treats every now and then! I also had to let a lot of guilt go, being a mother def messes with your head I think Grin

Collieballs · 15/09/2016 18:09

I'm totally stressed out! I need beer & cake.

Made risotto for tea but I think I fudged it up! :(

NSD