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

[Cagliostro]

Hello all :)

We only have a tiny house too

I've decided I'm going to get some pet insurance so I'll be doing that today. I'm going to get lifetime cover as he is 8 now and I don't think it's worth the risk. My friend has just had to pay almost £1000 on her cat as she had an abscess on her eye

Wrecked, that seems a wise choice. I can never quite understand putting the cost of the monthly premium in a separate pot, when even a relatively minor injury can cost hundreds, way in excess of that.

Glad you both had a lovely evening Cag and Creme,

Em I can't wait for you to have kids and have to function all day as normal with a hangover I've no particular experience in this regard, but sounds like the less pressure you put on yourself, the more likely conception will happen by itself.

All Don't dogs look and smell amazing after a visit to the groomers?!

Girlie It's impressive that your DD, as an 'only' will play so well by herself. Which I really hope isn't a stereo-typical comment to make. Please tell me if it is and I will be happily corrected! There's 18 months between my 2, and that floored me for the first year or two, but it did mean both of mine don't ever remember having all my attention for any given period. Which is no bad thing I suppose.

Today will be a NSD and hopefully tomorrow too.

trying nope. Not my birthday. It was the boss' 60th. I'm a bit rubbish. Hadn't eaten much all day then had drinks and no dinner. Oops.

genie oh I'm good at saying no to mil. It's the fallout afterwards I'm not good at handeling. She's not used to hearing no or not getting her own way. The best she's done are (in no particular order):

• spoil my surprise hen party day at the local races (sister organised it invited mil dm and all our friends- mil got annoyed that none of her side of the family were invited told me my sis had to invite them, because they'd already be there because they go all the time etc etc etc she said she couldn't go if they weren't invited it'd be too embarrassing I pointed out that they would be there already. So we could have drinks with them. She refused to come. And still moans that I left her out;

• tried to invite an aunt who none of the family speak to because of some bollocks row over inheritance to our wedding. As a reunion. I said no. Because I'd never met said aunt or her kids and didn't want any bad feeling at our wedding. Suggested she organise a reunion prior to the day and then if it worked out we'd invite. She couldn't be bothered to do that. So they still don't speak= my fault.

Luckily though the timings of our trip and bils wedding coincide nicely with a cruise she's going on from Singapore. So I probably will only have to spend a week tops in her company...

need dh and I rarely go out together. This is a pre-emptive plan for when we have kids. Only one of us can be hungover at any one time...

It's roast chicken Sunday here today. We are going to mn the fuck out of that chicken. Dinner tonight, japenese style chicken noodle soup for lunch tomorrow spicy chicken pittas for dinner tomorrow soup again Tuesday lunch and probably a stick for rissotto. That's the plan anyway.

It's going to be nsd.

Just reading back - Em I got great advice from the NHS site about conception. It said, count 12 days from the first day of your period, then have sex every other day until ovulation. You can tell you've ovulated using little sticks that are sold on amazon:

www.amazon.co.uk/One-Step-Sensitive-Ovulation-Fertility/dp/B001G7P62S

Giving up alcohol is also important as far as I can gather. The every other day thing is useful because it means that new sperm is made every other day so you get better quality sperm, so to speak. Good swimmers and all that.

We did all this and it worked first time. I surprised the dickens out of me.

Amazon also have cheap pregnancy test strips:

www.amazon.co.uk/One-Step-Ultra-Early-Pregnancy/dp/B0026RKBSQ/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1474791489&sr=1-7&keywords=pregnancy+test

Both of these sets of test strips are the ones used in the NHS and they are great.

I think it also helps not to be stressing about MIL and travel so you can tell your MIL that you have important business on hand and can't possibly travel.

Oh, I forgot, the giving up alcohol thing is especially important for the man as drinking alcohol radically reduces sperm count. Fun fun fun.

Roast chicken here too em. Dh working again (worked all day yesterday) so he'll be working 13 days in a row. I can't moan though as he's only doing it for the money.

I'm just lying on my bed doing nothing

wreck, I have a dyson, I can't comment on vax. But 0% interest over 4 months sounds good! Or, you can set aside some money for the next 3 months and buy one in the black friday sale, I think it'll be even cheaper, no? Or sales after christmas? That's if it can wait, obviously :)
My DB swears by henry's, the thinks they're the best.

Oh, and here's mine

The vax is a new one and has £110 off plus £54 worth of free accessories so it's £134 altogether. I think Henry's are robust hoovered but they're so heavy and clumpy!

She's. Eating. While. We're watching!!!
Yay!

Mil likes to think that she and "the family" are better than me and mine. The family name is an old jersey one. Back in the day (probably about 200 years ago) the "family" owned almost half the island. Sadly they still now think this is true.

"Commoners" like me shouldn't be allowed to have a say. and I'm very obviously only after the money/inheritance mil didn't like it when I pointed out that I have my own money (because of my job and don't care). I was initially told I'd have to sign a pre nup. Which protected the family assets. I took it to a lawyer friend who laughed at it. They don't stand up over here. it basically says anything that dh inherited prior to marriage was his and his alone and anything he inherits while married will get split jointly. no idea how they thought that was fair...

She's already given her views re private school, christenjngs for babies etc. I told dh I'm tempted to convert to being Muslim or Jewish or something so we can still have a "christening"for hypothetical baby but not one that she can control/organise...

I hated our Henry, little bastard used to flip over on me.

My cashback for co op bank has been declined, I've appealed obviously.

I really want a Miele tumble dryer & I was going to put it towards that. I will just have to save for longer now, can't see me getting one this winter now.

Oh well, onwards and upwards.

Em

Dh and I have a joke when one of us will point to the other and say "you're scum, and so's your family".

It's funny said out loud.

Console yourself that you can at least stick to your wedding vows

Our divorce barrister relative draws up pre nups, and post nups. They know a divorce is imminent when clients make appointments to "review their pre nup".

That's what mine does fluffy!

Yay em!

Morning all!
Good luck ttc, Em.

We are having a day out at a NT place today. Picnic is packed and we are members so it should be a cheap day out but we have promised ourselves a cakey treat in the cafe!

Em That's a tricky one. God bless the woman for moving to New Zealand. I've been reading a lot about ILs recently and I think that what you're saying is a sort of very specific variation on the standard IL problem (not that that helps). I have the same because I'm from the wrong country and so have the wrong way of dealing with social situations. I have no idea what the solution is, but I'm working on it.

Irrespective of all that I think it's entirely fine for you not to go to NZ. In the relationship forum here they always say that if you have a MIL problem you actually have a DH problem, and DH needs to learn to stand up to MIL and support you. Effectively he needs to cut the apron strings and move on. I think that you refusing to attend this wedding would be a gentle but clear hint to MIL that you DH is growing up and has his own life now. Setting boundaries is great, and it's easier to start with small ones. Once the grand kids come along the stakes get much higher.

If you could say all this back to me at regular intervals I'd be really very grateful.

Haha genie will do.

In some respects yes I have a dh problem. But in the past few months he's stood up to her and has recognised that some of the shit she's pulled against me hasn't been on. And he's called her on it. It didn't go down well.

we've just skyoed her. (Previously she wouldn't speak to him if I was there- but he told her it's either both of us or no Skype). She made a dig at my family (both mum and dad are retired and they are enjoying it she's the same age as mum (62) and has to work - because she divorced fail and needs the money) for being lazy. And poor (because they don't travel or have a massive house or flashy cars...) I asked her why this was important. I'm apparently holding dh back. Because we live in a "pokey" flat. (Not pokey at all....).

She sounds vile em

Yep. But not much I can do about it. At least I recognise she's a vile manipulative witch....and can work with this. I don't give her any info unless it's absolutely necessary. Am deliberately vague.

Dh is waiting for flowers to be sent to me next week for my birthday. He's told her about the cat and that how it's a shame he can't buy me lillies any more because they're poisonous. We've got a bet on that she'll send lillies. id prefer she sent nothing.

Thanks for all your support, Frugaleers. I could not have saved all this money without your support and advice.
Wreck, don't forget to buy the VAX through a cashback site....I learnt that on here!
I tried to open a co op bank account through TCB the other day but on the TCB site it says they are no longer giving cash back for this. I think you have to click through to "details " or something like that.
I have saved £12,000. I am owed another £800 ish for work I have done and have £60 here which will go in bank tomorrow. I reckon I will need about £15-20,000. So I need to keep saving.
Em, I reckon you have cracked it with Millie.

I did topcashback trying

Yeah he'd be living in Monaco if it wasn't for you 😂 Your flat would buy a 5 bed detach with land in the Midlands.

I got accused of being a gold digger when I met Dh. I earnt more than him and probably still do but deffo a gold digger.

Cake in slow cooker. Total cost 71p incl liner and electric. Took some batter out as I had visions of the cake mushrooming over the top of the slow cooker.

£7 slow cooker.

I've had this model for 10 years now.

fluffy sadly our flat would buy something amazing in the uk. Current value for our 2 bed dingy pokey flat (disclaimer it's lovely spacious and light and sorry) is around £350k.

Average 3 bed house small garden and parking space over here £550k.

In Devon (where dm comes from) we could get something amazing. And I could have land and ponies. We often think about moving. But to earn the same sort of money we'd have to work in London. Well I would. Dh could be OK wherever as he's acca qualified so there's a certain level of salary which comes with that. But I don't want to commute.