Festive Frugaleers - Chatting and saving through Christmas.

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Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

By popular request - copied from an old thread grin

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.

Cag for the housing form.

Em so pleased you cracked it with cat face.

It's my birthday today and I'm going out for dinner tonight! Yippee!

Cag you have my sympathies

Well done em

Happy birthday wilderness enjoy your day!

Should be nsd as working 6:45-6:30 plus I don't have any money even brought a packed lunch with me.

Happy birthday wilderness
Good news on the scan sea
Yeah for catface and em
Ah cag (( hugs)). Can you photocopy the form and have a practice run? I agree try and see it as part of the game. It's hard not to be emotional but try not too. Hope a bit of sleep has helped.

Beamish today. Not taking a pic nic for once, feels weird.
Yesterday was really good, ds was made up when his pal came to meet us. £11 entrance, £6 drinks, £15 MacDonald (which was fucking awful for me and reinforced why I don't eat them). £4 butchers, £5 boyes
Got a price to fix my car and enquired about changing mine. Next car £16k ish so that can wait 5%apr. Need to build my savings back from this year's house work first.

Has anyone done playmobil land in Germany or Paris?

Or know which part of Mallorca is the best for families. We don't like massive hotel complexes

Dh has the day off today. I asked him what his plans were. Nothing.

Then asked if he could take some stuff to the dump so it'll clear out the spare room. Nope. He can't do that. He'll do it next week.

Can he take stuff to the charity shop? Nope. He'll do it next week.

Can he...nope. Next week. Today is for chilling. As was yesterday. And Saturday. And Sunday.

Asked when he was planning on food shopping for Christmas. Today? Nope. He thought we'd do it on Saturday. Have corrected him. I am not shopping on Saturday.

He hasn't sent anything for his mum and brothers for Christmas yet (in Aussie or nz). He'll send his brother money on Saturday so he can buy gifts. So someone else will be shopping on Christmas Eve.

Aaaaaaaaaaaah.

That last ones not my problem really.

But it's drudtrating. Especially when I don't get time to relax.

Em DH arrived home yesterday all proud of himself because he had "finished all his Christmas shopping". He meant he had bought my gift and his mum's, he had forgotten about his poor nan! He did write some cards but only because I handed him a pile of cards, pen, address book and stamps! He always does the xmas food shop to be fair and a lot of the cooking but it annoys me that he never thinks about buying gifts for anyone.

Good news that Teddy has eaten something, will he be at the vet's over Christmas?

I still have fruflu, 10 days now. I was awake at 5.30 all blocked up. Planning a quiet day at home icing the Christmas cake and making paper chains with DD, might also make more mince pies.

Take a section at a time Cag. Answer to the best of your ability. Then leave it and do another section later. .

Happy birthday Wilderness.

Lovely news on the scan Scarecrow. I get what you mean about telling folk.

I too wonder about 19p vegetables Cath. Aldi will still be making a profit for sure..........

Spatone is liquid iron and much more easily digested iron than in tablet form.

Hoping for a NSD. Going for a run. Distributing the last cards. Walking dogs.

Is this the same DH that was 'The Best' last week Em, for looking after you while you chilled out and relaxed and made/brought you cheese on toast in bed? And collected the car at the weekend

My Dh went from hero to zero choosing paint colours.

I bought a tester in the shade he said was definitely the one & he didn't like it.

I made him pay for the next tester.

Still looking at ladders.

Tester pots are extortionate, I agree. But, you ABU for allowing him any choice in the colour scheme in the first place Fluffy.

Cag, I think those forms are designed to put you off. I agree with photocopying them for practice. Lots of people hate form filling.

Need I know but I'm trying not to repeat the sins of past gf. His last house certainly a sight to behold.

Cag those forms are designed to be as stressful as possible to put people off filing them in imo just do what you feel able to.

Adora I am so shocked that someone could hit 3 dogs and not stop wtaf is wrong with people? Glad to hear Teddy is making progress.

Seacow so pleased that the scan went well, I guess just tell people as and when you see them. If you think your ds skin maybe infected maybe take him into a chemist, they might be able to give advice on a cream.

Mammy and Snuggly sorry to hear you are still poorly, sending lots of get well soon vibes.

Wreck that new cbg monitor thingy looks awesome, so clever. Monitoring is coming on in leaps and bounds now. We still have to prick some poor peoples fingers 3 times or more a day!

Happy birthday Wilderness

Lifelong we went to Menorca this year which was lovely and very family friendly.

Em amazing progress with catface, you have done so well with her

Cath I imagine the farmers make the same as any other supermarket, it will be the supermarkets themselves that make more money out of more expensive veg.

Blimey have I caught up with everyone?? I had to make notes then and everything

We are all good here, dd has a friend over to play this morning. Will see how they go but may take them out to a garden centre to have a look round if they start driving me mad

You missed me off, therefore I've ripped up your Christmas card Girlie and put it in the bin.

Where about in menorca girlie?
Need not very frugal of you, should have crossed out girlies name and sent it to some one else!

Happy birthday, Wilderness

Need

Thanks all. Yes I agree it's just trying to put people off, like with DLA/PIP/ESA it's virtually standard practice to turn people down at first instance. My friend said the adoption process was the same - put people off at every available opportunity so only the truly determined and resourceful get through. I just wasn't feeling it yesterday, thankfully after my mini meltdown I visited said friend and we had a really lovely afternoon chatting while the kids played. Made me feel a lot better.

Happy birthday wilderness!

Haha Need I am so sorry

Lifelong we stayed at a place called Arenal D'en Castell which was beautiful, tbh you can't go far wrong with Menorca, we have been quite a few times and its a lovely island.

Happy Birthday, Wilderness
Adora, I hope Teddy feels a bit better now he/she's eating
Em, I think you have worked miracles with catface. Just think back to how things were when she came. Tell DH the tip won't be open next week. Only the shops and they'll be crowded.
Mammy and Snuggly I hope you feel better and can enjoy Christmas
Girlie, I think Menorca is good for families. My DS and his family went last summer and loved it, but they do like large complexes. I went to a lovely quiet part a few years ago and it was great. Why not get something like the Lonely Planet Guide just to look and see where to might like. You can usually get them in the library.
Cag, those bloody forms. Who designs them. Years ago, when I had to complete one I took it to the CAB and asked for help. And I was a senior manager used to forms. These forms ask for information that you don't have and leave nowhere to put the info that you do have. Also the CAB know exactly what to put for it to be successful
I now have a fully functioning bathroom! YAY!
Still needs decorating though. And you should see the ensuite😧

need yep. Very same dh.

Hey ho.

wreck happy birthday.

Have chilled a bit now. It's not my issue if he needs to buy stuff. It's his issue. I'm not bothered if I don't get presents. I can take the shit to the tip on Saturday morning.

This evenings job is to do more washing then start wrapping presents.

I'm so proud of little catface. Seriously proud. I may have booped her on the. Ode accidentally this morning. She was stood by my side of the bed and I reached down in the dark and boooed her. Oops. She hissed.

We are close to becoming best friends. She trots after me when I'm home. Cute.

£37 on two tops in the oasis sale. Most of that was a voucher.

Cag those forms are really weird. I have had to do similar things and I'm torn between listing all the awfulness in the hope of getting help, and wanting to minimise it in case of getting bad help that makes everything worse.

In practice, i recently had to fill in a long form about the family, and in the end I actually benefited, because having to write it all down made me really examine what was going on, and then I saw some problems that I could fix myself, and that helped a lot. I hope that something good comes of your form in the end.

I've spent this morning building an image library website, which I enjoyed, and which cost nothing. Nearly the holidays for ds too.

Happy birthday, Wilderness.

Life, hope you enjoy Beamish. We're en-route to Newcastle for the afternoon, to see Fenwicks window, visit Primark and have a free cake and coffee in John Lewis .

Em, amazing how much your cat has come on. It's lovely when you know they trust you.

Plumbers et al have finished in bathroom.
En suite will be middle of January. But at least they are not leaking anymore.

That's beautiful Trying. Well done. :-) Amazingly big too.

I let my 2yo decorate the Xmas cake today. It's very er...special! It has a LOT of edible glitter on it!! Good fun though, she loved doing it and ate a lot of the marzipan.