Springing into the New Year with the 2017 Frugaleers

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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.

I know cath basically if you meet the minimum requirements and have a disability (including hidden ones such as dyslexia) then they have to interview you. I feel a bit cheeky doing it but it's also a way for me to let them know what's wrong with me without me having to just blurt it out as I don't like talking about it. And a way of saying I'm happy to make tea and coffee but don't ask me to carry it anywhere because, even on a tray, I'll spill it everywhere

Good luck there Em.

I see what you mean Wreck. Good idea.

I've just volunteered for the Equality Committee of the place where I used to work. I'm hoping that I can help them a bit and also learn how I can somehow reintegrate into work. Fingers crossed anyway.

Good luck wreck. The scheme is there so use it.

Good luck wreck
cag I went to this school and a very similar high school until I came over here - It's ethos was very child centred / led learning. ie HE for lazy parents. The best thing about it is learning how to learn- an invaluable skill in my current job. We had a lot of kids come in after their parents had tried HE. The ones that struggled were the ones that had been kept away from engaging with anything and hadn't been given any boundries. If I was doing HE I would make sure the child had the fundamentals in place - spelling/ basic grammar (not last years SATs levels...I mean who knew all those different structures by name) , maths, logical argument, story/ essay structure, science and philosophy / ethics and meta learning skills. Everything else can be picked up on the hoof, googled....

Hello new people - it is lovely this time of year when so many people join in. Loads of new ideas to use.
We are back down to one salary again - the joy of zero hours contracts.

Good luck with the job application Wreck

Get well soon em and mammy. Bronchitis seems to be doing the rounds here - our neighbour's had it and some family members had it too.

Welcome to all the new posters.

I've a lot of meat in the freezer so I'm aiming to get 10 - 12 days out of my freezer before I buy any more meat. Must get some more freezer containers 'cos I had a job squeezing lasagne slices into small freezer bags.

Trying not to think about the 'W' word. Last day off tomorrow .

I'm in bed. Dh is bringing me tea. And maybe a biscuit.

Well I survived the first day of term, very tired though.

Welcome to newcomers and I hope poorly people get well soon. I suffered terribly with tonsillitis as a child, Em, it's horrible. Gargling with soluble aspirin and eating salty crisps are soothing.

£3.75 on parking today.

Gosh Em that doesn't sound a terribly healthy way for the kid to grow up really. :( To be taught to fear everything and to be so sheltered you aren't actually able to live in the real world when you're old enough. :(

Unescorted that sounds great and I can see how it was the overly sheltered children who struggled. Unfortunately that sort of occurrence gives HE a bad rep for unruly kids etc. I agree, the basics are essential no matter where you are learning them, different kids need different approaches sure but they need doing.

Need I haven't decided yet about secondary level HE really but I imagine we will be. Certainly many HE kids stay out for juniors and go to school from y7, often as the parents feel less capable of ks3/4 level study. Particularly maths, but needless to say that subject doesn't worry me! :o

Anyway it is possible to do GCSEs etc outside school and many do, the only issue is the cost involved of being an external candidate! Thankfully the community here is so big and busy that there are already lots of tutor groups etc set up and geared to exam entry. A good incentive to be frugal. :o We would need to pay for at least one subject regardless - DD really wants to do Japanese and schools round here don't offer it, an ex colleague's DD (who goes to school) attends Saturday classes to do it as there was no way of doing it via school.

My main priority is the Caglets' mental health though, I am more than happy to keep HEing if they are happier and healthier that way. DD's epic anxiety certainly makes me think a secondary school would be a step too far, unless it was a really small one, but I wouldn't stop her trying it. Again though as there's such a massive community round here there's no worry about being isolated from her peers. Anyway she is in y5 currently so we shall see what happens in the next year.

I am back in the room - I went for a look about the school website. That brought back memories.
It is a shame that HE / alternative education gets a bad rap. It works so well for some kids ( I suspect most would benefit from the tiny class sizes /

I'm a private tutor and have worked with a fair few HE children over the years. It's absolutely brilliant for some.

It's been a minimal spend day-just a loaf of bread and a few vegetables to finish off dinner. I've made enough soup from some sad looking veg in the fridge to last for the next few days and am planning an Aldi shop to stock up on tins tomorrow.

It's sad cag sadder still that the kid is 5.

I love the idea of home ed but is don't know if I'd have the energy to do it, especially with subjects I'm not too confident in. I would quite like to offer home ed group sessions in the subject that I teach though, I'd enjoy being less constricted by the curriculum and not having to do hours of marking and report writing

We have had a couple of kids start school in Year 10 to do GCSEs who have been home educated since they were 4 or 5 and are streets ahead of the rest of the students which doesn't show the school system in a very good light. I think it can be amazing but it's a big commitment to take on.

Blimey you lot have been chatty!!

Really interesting chat on HE, I have mixed feelings on it if i'm honest. I think if everyone did it in the way you do Cag it would be fine but ime thats not always the case. My brother is a teacher and has had kids come into his class in year 5/6 unable to count to 10 or spell their names which is just and imo it should be carefully monitored. I also know there is no way I could do it dd has struggled at times with school but actually now seems much more settled and happier.

Anyhow onto more fugal matters all the DDs came out today and I am left with not much, this month is going to be so tight!!

Good luck with the job application wreck

Hope your throat feels better soon em

Ooh shame you don't live near me Snerd :o (now I'm wondering what your subject is)

Em hopefully she will relent as the child gets older. Hopefully.

We are setting up tuition sessions this year for Spanish and Japanese. Only once a month for now as the Caglets are young but I'm hoping it will give us a boost, so we can work between sessions. Contacts through DH and a former colleague. :) I am not planning to join any more extra curricular type clubs in the near future, the Caglets do plenty already, but for an academic thing like languages I am very happy to find the money for it. They've got to the stage where they're ready for more instruction now, especially DD. :)

Wow that's scary Girlie :( yes it certainly does happen like that. Again it gives the majority of HE families a bad name. I do know a few families like that though, who through shunning school seem to shun the very idea of learning too :( which is surely the opposite of the idea of home ed. Of course it could be the case that they would have learned so little regardless if they have SN etc. But either way I agree about monitoring - lots of families are against it and fight/avoid it but TBH I just don't see the issue with someone meeting us and listening to what we're studying! It's not like an in depth Ofsted inspection FFS.

I am so glad your DD is more settled at school now! I remember she was unhappy before but looks like she's in the right one now :)

Jan 3
£3 bus
£40 in build a bear - but was DD's Christmas money
£20 in toys r us - DS chose 2 transformers (obviously) with his xmas money and said he didn't want anything else so he's still got £25 left!

H&M was shut due to some technical fault so haven't used my credit note yet.

Ah well that would be telling, Cag! I don't want to out myself

What an interesting chat on HE. I must admit that I have no clue about HE children because I don't know anyone who was HE themselves or HE their children. I guess as long as the children are secure and happy and learning, it doesn't matter how they are getting educated.

Amazon order of books for DS and birthday present for his friend £18.70.

Creme I love that you're sneaking cake
I've a pot of Rachel allens caramel sauce too, it's meant to last months.

Welcome purple
Wreck that was clever thinking

Love the talk about home Ed I'm unfortunately too lazy for something like that, I lack motivation unless things have structure. I work hard in my day job but when off for any bit of time rarely achieve even half what I plan to

Must buy gas tomo dh's dinner took rather a long time to cook tonight on a very low simmering gas ring

Had to spend today....ran out of tea. Well nearly. Only 6 tea bags left and that represents a crisis.
So tea in tesco but had vouchers.
And oil for chain saw ( DP cuts wood up for me), a bolt for door and a replacement can of gas for my blow torch. £13.50.
Then £1.5o in village hall for activity.

Welcome newbies,

Em and Mammy ....get well soon. This fruflu/ sore throat/ bug thing seems to be hanging around.

Wreck, good luck with the job application. I had no idea about the hidden disability thing. Do all employers have to do it or just the public sector? I interviewed people for 2 jobs recently and I know nothing about this. It was for a charity. Should I have done something?

I wish I had HE my DCs. I would have loved it. Not sure how good it would have been for them though. I love doing stuff with the DGCs now but not sure I could cope with it full time. I do admire you for it Cag. I am really interested.
Love your notice Need.

need I need your notice.... I might get a t-shirt printed up for doing the housework in.

I'm really not sure I should be admired for it TBH but thank you!

I thought that was the case Snerd no worries :o I shall just be curious quietly over here :o

Hurrah, caught up with thread!

Need of course I realised it wasn't a hidden agenda question, I would never think that of you. :)

Cath great news on the bird seed. We've been making bird feeders for a while now, having bought a couple from the poundshop - they were half coconuts with a fatty, seedy filling that hangs up - we reuse the shells and mix lard with seed mix and (euwww) dried mealworms, wrap it tightly (because it smells GROSS) and refrigerate to set. Birds bloody love the stuff though and the tree outside our house has had far more visitors since. We've even had two types of woodpeckers - great spotted and green :) sooo cool! I might see if the Caglets want to make them in bulk for a little charity project, we can cost it all etc and if their friends want to buy them we can donate the money to RSPB or something.

Big welcome to all the newbies! Lovely to have new faces to join in! :)

Tomorrow we are going to the theatre for the second day in a row :o must admit I'm looking forward to this one more - the play that was cancelled last month - than yesterday's which was the panto. I'm just not a panto person TBH, find it a bit cringey although was worth it to see Craig Revel Horwood as Captain Hook (the reason dad took us as we all love Strictly), he was Uh. May. ZING. Daaaahling. Bloody love him, and I'd never realised what a great singing voice he has! I may have swooned a bit TBH. :o

Anyway, DH couldn't make the new date for the play but both DSDs are now meeting us up at Elephant and Castle, our train fares won't cost much as just me and the Caglets and we're already in zone 5, but we'll have dinner first with DSDs. Nandos isn't too pricey though really.

Thursday we are still at mum's and have no plans other than a second attempt at H&M, and a visit to the board game cafe. That will be difficult as I've banned myself from buying games this month...

cag oooh Nando's. Love Nando's. We don't have one here. I know some people shun it but they're wrong. Gotta love spicy chicken!!