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.

And Ocado had just texted to say that my order will be missing the crispy duck (tonight's no-cook treat dinner). Grr!

Snuggly Have you gone quite mad? A party?

😳

Shopping coming this morning. Approx £120
Panto this afternoon.
Will collect meat tomorrow. £60 ish.
Then done.
Feeling really rubbish. Made a pact to go to the gym wed. Thus sat next year minimum. Building up to 5 hours training over the 3 days

Snuggly you nutter. Good luck

Strangely I do not feel as bad as I should. Feel a bit fuzzy. But apart from that I think I'm ok. Starving though.

Having some toast now but will suggest bacon rolls once at work. Bacon and scrambled egg rolls. Mmmmm.

Last day of work this year!!!!

Snuggly you're mad!

He is mammy! I was due to do the Christmas food shop this morning too. We had a big argument about it.

Any ways £56 tesco had £25 voucher to use so that was good.

Sainsburys arrived with my full order and no subs. Sent back 1 packet of short dated grapes. £117 -£25 nectar so £92 from the back. Enough to feed half the street but will keep us going for the full week.

Yay, Life.

I hope Snuggly's home by now, feet up with a cuppa.

Thanks all! We survived Sainsbury's and I have now got my Jamie Oliver veggie gravy simmering away on the hob. DH is cleaning the bathroom and DD is watching the CBeebies Nutcracker for the third time this week from the comfort of her potty!

Yay!! Home from work.

And now off to the shops.

Snuggly, I hope your family are helping at this party.
You are definitely crackers.
Just been sawing wood for the wood burning stove when the storm hit. And I am in the South East. Dread to think what it's like in the north of Scotland ( or even north of England ).

Is it possible to freeze egg whites for later meringue-making? I have just used 4 egg yolks in a custard and have the whites left over. I could make a meringue now but I don't think we will eat it, given the sweet stuff we are amassing already!

Amazed you are not a broken woman Snuggly. I am heading to our little high street in a mo but even if it's busy I won't have to contend with traffic and parking rage. That's the worst bit for me (also because I'm not very good at parking our large car)

I just need fruit and avocados and cheese balls, again . I made a tactical error - I need ripe avocados on Sunday so I bought some hard ones on Tuesday, thinking they would ripen up nicely, and they have gone really soft already! Need to try again.

Before I go out I might just polish off the leftover mash with cheese - I seem to have forgotten about lunch in the excitement of cooking Christmas food. Fudge done, fish pie in fridge, creme pat choc buttercream made for Yule log tomorrow. But the bathrooms are untouched by the hand of Mr Muscle, as yet. I am running out of steam, so shortly to revise my shiny house aspirations downwards

Yes to freezing egg whites.

Yesterday was;

£5 Tesco, £47 cc vouchers used on Xmas shop. Incl half a bottle of Gordon's.

£23 Aldi
£1.20 sains

Today
£40 cash for cards
£3.50 cards and bottle bags.

Dh will give me half of that back.

I'm finished work!!
I bought myself a lovely regatta hoodie, dh a rugby tshirt & hoody €83.50 ibuprofen as I stubbed my little toe this morning & it's swollen & gone bright purple, not broken though. €8.20.

Off for dinner now with my bestie from work and our fc gave us €50 got it

Dh ate our dinner for lunch

Oh dear, Wreck...

I dragged DS out for lunch earlier, at a lovely café near us, which unfortunately is closing down. Today was its last day. They may re-open in the spring, or not. Such a shame. Anyway, I spent £18.70; on a full English for DS, an egg and mushroom bap for me, tea, two café lattes, a flapjack and a huge slice of stollen. Then £6.57 in the Co-op, on gravy granules, a wholemeal loaf, some French sticks, oven chips and kitchen roll, so that's all of the food and household stuff until well after Christmas. £3.80 bus fare and £50 for DS, as his main Christmas present. Absolutely everything is wrapped and under the tree now, apart from anything that might come tomorrow, DS's Christmas box (decorated), and his stocking (checked that all fillers fit in it). Come on Christmas, I'm ready for you!

Hanging's too good for him.

What did he eat?

By the way, so far, Storm Barbara hasn't really affected us, so fingers crossed it continues. I think the North West is due to get it worst, sadly.

Chicken nuggets and chips in his defence there wasn't much else to eat and tbh the weirdo dc won't eat chicken nuggets anyway!

Dh going out for drinks tonight with his boss so I'm going to watch love actually and eat chocolate!

The Christmas chocolates, Wreck?

Maybe....

Wow, Scarecrow, you have been busy!

I 'might' have just had a pre Christmas meltdown with the DC and DH, about general untidiness, lack of help doing small everyday family jobs like emptying bins, changing loo roll, putting recycling out, tidying pots away etc.

Which might have resulted in a large bunch of flowers and a small bottle of Moet being bought for me from DH....

Spends today, far too much. Still using DH's cash.
£45 nails, toes, brows.
£13 pound shop.
£30 Garden centre, very last present for MiL.
£100 M&S picking up food order for Christmas. Can't move for food in our house, won't need anything other than milk and bread for ages.

Don't worry I've got lots of easy food for the party e.g. pizzas, crisps, olives and we should have lots of cold meat from Xmas for sandwiches. DH will help, and I expect MIL will pitch in too.
Going to have pizza and salad for am easy tea tonight and get to bed early. Lots to do tomorrow!

I fell out with Dh on the phone earlier. Then he went out to run an errand.

He made me tea & used his Christmas bonus on light fittings when he got back. I think he realised just how bad it is out there.

Next year I'm doing an Internet shop, I'm too old for this shit now.