Marvellous Frugaleers - Chatting and saving through November, and into December.

[CathodeRayTube]

Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

By popular request - copied from an old thread

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.

Good luck Cag I hope today goes your way.

Good luck Cag

cag fingers and toes crossed for you here
em vicks on bottoms of your feet tonight

I'm like Santa doing up my list of remaining people to buy gifts for, approx cost and ideas. [ssmile]

Good luck Cag, remember to be assertive and clear.

£5 today on exercise class.

Good luck Cag. I hope it goes well.

We pushed the boat out here and got all the lego down from the loft at once. It's amazing how a spell in the loft turns an old uninteresting toy into a new and treasured one. We have a lot of policemen and firemen in the living room now.

Mammy sorry to hear that you were having battles yesterday too. I think it's the season for it just now as we're all cooped up and waiting for Christmas.

Good luck today Cag x

Good luck cag

I have a fever, head ache, body aches, chills & my skin hurts to touch. I could barely move earlier but 3 coffees has helped. I hope it doesn't get worse!

NSD today but last night I popped to Sainsbury's and bought a dress (and strepsils) that looked really cute on the hanger. It was £9 but it looks horrible on me! Unfortunately I was too enthusiastic and took the labels off. It honestly looks gorgeous but doesn't suit me at all! Frugal fail. Wondering if I can gift it to someone taller.

Oh no Collie that sounds like flu did you have your jab? Make sure you are well dosed up on paracetamol. Touch wood I seem to have warded off most of the bugs so far, although did feel a bit meh last week, I have been taking my Lidls multivitamins with iron and a garlic supplement religiously so wonder if thats why....

Day off today which is nice, have just done a stock check of Christmas presents. Not doing too bad, dd is done for main presents but need stocking fillers, niece and nephews done, God mum done, step mum done, actual mum main present done (fitbit) will get some other bits for her though. So need to get something for my dad, my brothers and sil and thats about it I think...

Can't believe it will be December on Thursday this year has flown by!

Occasional poster here checking in again, hoping for some frugal inspiration after writing my biggest cheque ever last week - deposit on our new home . I hope it's OK to check in occasionally like this, every time I do, I'm always inspired by everyone's posts.
Should be an LSD, I might pop into supermarket later for one or two items. I need to order some more Christmas presents but I probably won't get much time to do that today.

Welcome Back BertieTodd and congratulations on the new house. That's great. Do just pop in any time.

I've had an odd thing the last few days. Tesco keep running out of our staples. The website says things are in stock but then the delivery man comes without them, and I have to rush about the place trying to find things that we can't really manage without, because of the funny diets. I wonder if they are also getting a bit knotted with the Christmas planning?

collie I thought you were desperately trying to buy staples (as in stapler), I thought wow she likes to get her paperwork sorted

Nsd.

Hope today went well Cag.

Sorry for everyone feeling crappy.

I'm feeling stressed about the Christmas presents I need to buy. What do you get for you grandad who you never ever see (he's nice enough but wasn't to my dad when my dad was little so I don't bother making an effort) or for your uncle who is pretty cool but you only see him a couple of times a year? Argh!

Of course Bertie congrats on the new home

I am back from town, shopped till I dropped!

So i spent;
£4 parking
£11 Poundland various stocking fillers, teacher gifts, toothpaste.
£22 Superdrug various toiletries and gift sets
£8.50 local shop, stocking fillers, gift for my dad.
£20 Hawkins Bazaar stocking fillers .
£20 SaltRock Hoodie for dd, top for my mum.
£32 Boots face creams for me and a nice one for my mum.
£13 WHS Stocking fillers.

Think it is fair to say dd has lots for her stocking now

So thats about £130 ish I think, eek! Have got all dds presents now though, my brothers and sil are also done so feeling quite good about that. Also I have got lots for the money I've spent!

£30 in sainsbury, £8 in matalan and £30 on Amazon. New clothes for the kids, new jeans for dh after a voucher and a dress and petticoat for me to wear on Christmas Day and to a winter wedding. I'm now going to try and spend nothing but food and fuel till Christmas!

NSD.

Thanks cathode.
Spends:
€5 supermarket
€125 restaurant vouchers (one of our nicest local restaurants was having a voucher sale so that's a couple of gifts sorted at a good price. )

Oh thanks girlie also.

Hello Bertie, hope your new house move goes well. Is it new new or new to you?
NSD
Couldn't go out. Had builder here most of the day and night finding and fixing my leak. Good job the bathrooms are being changed because, if they weren't they now need it. Bath, sink and toilet all badly plumbed and been leaking for ages. Water collected under bathroom floor ( which is now up and soggy and broken) and decided that last night was the best time to escape through the ceiling into sitting room. On the coldest night of the year.
Builder was the best. He came out just after midnight.
House is a damp, dusty mess. But I cba, so on mn.
Cag, how did it go?

OMG, Trying, what a nightmare . Thank goodness for that builder though! Was he someone you knew already?

Happy new home, Bertie.

Well done on the Christmas shopping, everyone.

£9.70 travel to work. I was in as a HLTA, which means you can be left in charge of a class, but paid half of what a teacher gets! Sadly, more and more schools are doing it, as their budgets are so squeezed. Still, it was a nice enough school and it's a bit extra cash.

I've put some lights in my window... Won't get the tree for another couple of weeks but couldn't resist these!

Welcome back Bertie!

Girlie sounds like you've got a good haul for dd

Yes, creme, it was the builder who was going to take the bathroom out anyway.
I didn't know schools could do that Creme. Does that mean kids can be taught by HLTAs all the time or just occasionally. It would put teachers out of work. Are you just minding the class, giving them work etc. or actually teaching them? Sorry, I am out of touch.

Oh you'd be amazed what schools get away with! TAs, not just HLTAs, have been used to cover classes, usually guiding a class through work prepared by a teacher, for about a decade now. It's unfair to T.A.so themselves, as they don't get extra payment for it, as well as the kids. Some Head Teachers even use the "It's better for the children to have someone they know" line to avoid paying for supply teachers. It's the governments' fault really though, both this and the last Labour government, as it's been going on since then.... Just as well you'd already got to know that builder, eh? Imagine if you'd decided to leave the work til the new year!

Bear lights, Wreck.

Bear lights?

Great lights, Wreck.

Bloody hell trying, are you insured for the damage?

Just put an online order in for Morrisons, would have been cheaper to go to Lidls but no time and we need food! Spent £50 which included 2 gifts for £8 (one for the cm and one for a good friend whose bday is just before Christmas.)

What a nightmare Trying

Love those lights Wreck