The Friendly Frugaleers, figuring out our finances with furry feline photos!

[Cagliostro]

Hello all :)

Glad the kettle is doing its thing snuggly.

My scanner has arrived now, thought I can't get it to work at all. Open box returns are always a bit mysterious. This one came with only cables and nothing else, and the plug had one pin entirely broken off, which is a bit odd.

Yes unfortunately

My dinner was amazing mmmm dd didn't like it obviously

Yes unfortunately

My dinner was amazing mmmm dd didn't like it obviously

Jumping back onto the frugal train after a hiatus.

Spends today:
€85 nursery
€10 gas.

NSD.

Hope Cag has had a good day in London.
wreck that electricity charge is eye watering. With our fluffy inspired investment in a spindryer and LEDs, we've got our monthly dual fuel bill down to £74.
need cook books are a good idea for the birthday and Christmas lists I'm compiling for myself! I'll have a look at the Jamie book (from the library), I've already borrowed the Mary Berry one that you recommended and think it'll be on my list.
It has been a low spend week so far here. It needed to be after a very sociable but spendy weekend.
I'm taking my mum out for lunch tomorrow as a belated birthday treat but that will be paid from our birthdays budget pot.

Right, spends: £9.70 bus, 80p Greggs cheese and onion roll, £2.49 shop (milk and Jamaica Ginger cake) and £4.20 window cleaner. Total: £17.19.

Genie, glad you got the scanner, but how annoying it's not working properly. Do you think the person who got it by mistake has tampered with it?

Mains gas provision is awful in the countryside. When we lived in a village with no gas we had a neighbour Dh worked with. Her monthly gas bill in the winter was £500 per month. They had a 5 bed detached house, newbuild but on the edge of fields, the cold air hit those houses full on.

It's mind boggling.

£5 food out and about and £10 petrol.

Evening all :)

Having a glass of wine and catching up on some TV, DH is working late. Just back from taking the DC to see their great granny which was lovely. DM made our dinner tonight which was doubly lovely!

Doing quite well so far at sticking to our budget, will see how we do at the end of the week - taking cash out on a sunday for groceries and personal spends, very proud of DH who has been a real trooper about such a large loss in income and is sticking to his budget brilliantly. Taking his lunch every day religiously etc :)

We have home heating oil instead of gas which is quite expensive - is off from about june to sept but then over winter costs about 150 a month but our house is shocking insulation wise and has an old boiler - both on the list! Electric DD is 76 a month and cant seem to get it lower.

£500 a month is ridiculous fluffy

How annoying about the scanner genie - can you get your money back?

I also forgot to say that the Jamie Oliver book has a nutritional analysis and portions of fruit/veg per recipe. Very useful.

Hope you have a nice day out with your DM North.

mammy, that's a deal!

Boxercise tonight, £5. I'll run in the morning after my bank meeting.

I had a fabulous afternoon :) the film made me cry! It was amazing, and they had a q&a after with the director. Quiet lunch in an Italian place, wandered round a few shops, listened to an opera singer in Covent Garden, had a cake. :)

Wreck, that's ridiculous amount on electric. My DD is £22 per month and I am in credit £9. I am very careful and live on my own. I must get led lights though. My door bell is a real bell.
I am fairly rural and have no gas. I have oil fired ch but have yet to do a full winter here. And I haven't put the ch on yet...just wood burner.
Cag glad you enjoyed your day. Sometimes it's good to just recharge your batteries on your own.
Snuggly glad you got your kettle sorted....going without tea is unthinkable.
Another NSD today. 4th this month. Living out of garden and freezer.
Girlie, what did the teacher say about DD and the bullying.? Hope she's ok.

Hi all quickly signing on before bed, have had a better day today thank God work was actually quite reasonable for a change and no clubs to run around to tonight.

Have managed a NSD

Can't work out how to get my heating to work but would have put in in tonight as it felt properly cold, my little thermometer said 18 degrees which i have been reliably informed is cold enough to warrant heating! I have had my little oil burner going all evening though and that is surprisingly warm. Wreck if you have storage heaters it might pay to get yourself one as am thinking they will be cheaper to run than the storage heaters.

I need to put my meter readings in to gauge how much my usage has gone up....

Day off tomos which will be spent looking round the local secondary is the morning and phoning various companies in the afternoon - fun fun fun

My NSD for Friday has gone out the window as I'm back to being quite sick with stomach pain. This has been on and off for a week now so I'm visiting the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully he will prescribe me something. So not a NSD after all.

Collie I hope you feel better soon

Hope you get sorted collie
Pleased you had a good day cag.
I'm not usually a JO fan but that book looks ok need
Welcome back Bertie
Have been reading but not posting posting much, sorry I miss your my memory is poor.
£36 yesterday in Morrison's. Their fruit was shit Two lots off when I got home. Should have braved the traffic and gone somewhere else.
Nsd planned today. Cake to finish icing

girlie, up the thermostat on the wall, that's how I turned mine on!

Oh no collie hope you feel better.

Yes it is expensive and we only use three out of six heaters.

Should be a nsd today. I think my voice might be gone by the end of the day!

Feel better collie.

Hoping for LSD today (although it is Friday so may get second breakfast at the shop for team)

Must write thank you cards today. Must.

Interesting evening last night. Dh thought he had my cold. So went to bed at 7. He slept from 7-10 then woke up feeling fine. No symptoms. Lucky git.

Catface looked awfully guilty this morning. We've started leaving the living room door open overnight. And she's started being brave and going in there. The guilty look made me nervous. There's been a feathery toy mousie massacre overnight. Fake feathers everywhere.

I told her she was a good girl for playing. And gave her a treat. And her breakfast.

Tried that 8 there was even a random switch on the wall that i switched on just in case!! Annoying as its still cold, I think the pilot light might have gone out in the boiler?? Can that happen?? this is when having a man about would be useful Really don't want to have to pay someone to come out.

Have been to an open morning at the local secondary, was really impressed although slightly depressed to hear about all the things the government are doing to slowly destroy education Apparently even food technology is 50% written work now and slowly going towards almost 100% exams rather than course work which would have been a disaster for me as I hate exams.

Have spent £3.35 on posting a gift to my Godmother, have taken £20 out of which £10 is for the window cleaner.

Need to get on with ringing various people....

Collie thats rubbish you are not pregnant are you? hope you feel better soon

Freezing here today. Only 16 degrees!!

Brrrrrr.

Spends £30.40 in oasis on a yellow slouchy handbag. But was a gift voucher spend.

£4.95 in sandwich shop - peri peri chicken and cheese spinach wrap toasted and a Fanta. healthy

Sorry to hear you're still not well Collie. Doesn't sound fun. I hope the GP can help.

I've been up to the eyeballs in technical fixing for a while, but my nice scanner is not fixable unfortunately. It's going back and the company are paying for the courier. Shame, but I did enjoy trying to sort it out. Like my old job in a way.

I'm really loving my new housework rota. This morning was bathroom cleaning day, and it was still clean from last weeks, so it only took ten minutes to spruce things up. Then I was able to do interesting work with a clear conscience.

girlie I thought that a few days ago but I definitely aren't.

I'm so poorly I could cry. The GP was fab though! Spent £16 on 2 x prescriptions. Looking after DS too. Its hardwork when youre poorly If I don't improve by Tuesday then it's time for further tests. :'(