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.

Not actual shit, or virtual crap, I kind of meant rubbish and stuff!!!!!!!!!

I have had a good look at myself and as a result my 2017 goals are revised.
I will lose a stone and a half.😧😧
I will get off my backside and go to the gym and do my programme at least twice each week. I will stop finding excuses.
I will swim twice each week
I will not eat any more chocolate, sweets, biscuits or cake. Ever.
As well as being super frugal to pay for these bathrooms.( and then the house needs new windows) 😂😂

Trying those are my goals as well!! The weight has def crept on over the last year and I need to start being healthier in general now. My plan is to give up chocolate completely for 6 weeks and to stop snacking on crap in the evenings. Am also going to start trying to run again, I am really quite crap at it but Need inspires me to try again!!

We had pizza with salad tonight for tea, was very nice.

Today and ystd were NSD.

Scottish Power are asking for my meter readings I hate putting them in in the winter!! Also need to do an online food shop and work out a healthy meal plan...

Home. Yay. Survived the day. I started to flag at around 4pm.

Tonight's jobs - sort the eBay stuff and get it ready for posting.

Veggie stew for dinner. Dh cooked.

I had some salt water today. One of the ladies at work recommended it. It was rank. But seemed to help. I've also had a rummage in the medicine cabinet and have found some prescription gargle stuff (diflam - it's bright bright green and tastes rank). Prescribed to me for a throats infection 2 years ago. Still in date. Just. Expires January 2017. So have used some of that.

Aside from my soup lsd.

Also my cheeky cheeky wipes arrived! Yay! They feel so soft.

We are getting a smart meter installed (gas and electricity) and one of those digital energy monitors. I am a bit too excited!

£9.70 travel to work but that was it.

Ha, funny you mention further maths A level need - I and a few other students had to teach ourselves it at college as they couldn't justify the teaching time! Aced it though :o

Re: work, that's a barrier to many, particularly if both parents work FT. When I was working I at least was only very part time so only needed a CM one short day a week. Other friends have one SAHP or they have PT jobs where kids can tag along for the shift or two they do each week. Many like I do now have ways of earning from home - I don't need childcare at all for my work really now they're old enough to stay in their rooms during my lessons, one friend earns well as a mobile hairdresser etc. I know plenty of people who would HE in a heartbeat if they didn't both work FT, it's a shame but it would be very difficult to work around 2x 40+ hours without a lot of family support at the least (I know one mum whose own father does most of the HEing while she works).

Just in the bar waiting to see the play now. Can't wait.

Spends today: €1 in work canteen.

Wow this is moving quickly!
Impressed by all the new year goals, meal planning etc that's going on.

Dh has been to Truro for the day on the train with his dad, and then on a brewery tour! It was the Christmas present for his dad but dh has obviously done quite well out of it too!
I've been shopping with the dc. I needed shoes and 2 or 3 tops but came back empty handed. Today's spends were £5 car parking, £4 on 2 fat quarters for quilting, £25 on household stuff & £28 on make up (I only had foundation & concealer)

I'm quite envious of all your weight loss aims. My aim is to lose 4 stone this year and then will still have another 2 to go. I am determined to do it and feel quite confident but know I'll have my ups & downs. I'm going to enter the Great North Run too to give me a focus. I've done it twice before but never managed to run jog all the way round. The second time (5 years ago) I had trained really well & would've been able to do it but, a week before the race, I started with what turned into 2 years of chest infections & the start of my long term chest problem. Having recovered fully from my health problem in 2016 and with my chest condition pretty stable it seems like the right time to go for it. I'll probably pay for guaranteed entry so that I can choose to raise money for two charities now close to my heart, the British Lung Foundation and Headway the brain injury charity.
In the 6 months since the brain haemorrhage I have experienced all sorts of emotions and have had a roller coaster time. My overwhelming sense is that I'm so lucky to be here and healthy. My weight is a very long term issue and wasn't a predisposing factor for the haemorrhage (it was a totally random event) but I feel ready to fully address it now as I don't want to risk future health problems I can do something to prevent.

Sorry for that essay, it helps to write things down sometimes!

cag the voucher is a paper one. Its valid until 21st Jan, so could post it to you. Or you could buy one item for as cheap as possible and see if you get a voucher. Let me know.
Top up shop at Tesco 😞 I need to get food orgainised. Its hard when dh works away from home.

Still doing dry January. I haven't lost any weight & I don't look 10 years younger so I don't think it's working. That made me laugh.

Day 2 of being back at work and it's killing me off. Have had a headache for the past two and and can feel it going into a migraine so I won't be on this too long.

I updated my YNAB. I also wrote out cheques for school lunches/after school clubs and other activities for DS. Total=£278. Ouch!

I don't meal plan but I know I really need to. Tonight's dinner was meatballs for DS and DP and a bean ragu for me with pasta. I don't like read meat.

red

Cag it's a really interesting discussion. I can really see the education relationship 'jarring' less when learning is kind of woven into everything. Rather than switching gears into bossy teacher round the dining table like I did with my sisters when they were three years old Interesting that you could see your DD going through an adjustment phase. I don't think about it too much because I will have to work and, as you say, it is pretty difficult to do it when both parents work.

Snuggly I am at your nuthatch. We've never had one of those here although the inlaws have them regularly. I do enjoy birds as well, I am just much less geeky about it than DH! He is impressive though, he knows loads and can spot and identify things before I've even clocked there is a bird there!

Northender it sounds as though you have set yourself a fair task there! Mind you it is possible. My sister lost 5 st on Slimming World in just over a year. I had the same to lose and got 2/3 way there by this spring but then went off the rails this summer after my miscarriage. And now I am stacking it on and probably can't blame the baby for most of it! It'll be my goal again next year, no doubt. You sound really motivated though so I wish you lots of luck and willpower - it can be done!

Tesco curry for dinner tonight - I fancied curry but didn't have the makings. Cheaper than a takeaway too. I have did tbtgd day dieting paperwork for my tax return and felt I deserved a night out of the kitchen.

Settling down now with telly, crochet and chocolate. Lush.

Put meter readings in, there was a sharp increase in usage especially gas which surprised me but then realised that central heating is now gas based rather than electric based as it was in the flat! Its still offset by the minimal usage in the summer at the moment so thats reassuring.

Am so tired, think will head to bed in a min!!

Play. Was. Amazing. Just WOW. I'm on a high now :) and got back to mum's in under an hour after too.

Hello all. I need to be back on this thread.

Spends today, £5.50 on car parking, plus train fare on my Oyster card. Can reclaim both on expenses. Was on a course and lunch was provided.

£61 for school dinners for DD1, plus £20 for swimming lessons at school for her.

Apart from those, £32 buying Clarks boots for DS. His last pair survived for 16 months but are now too small. I have ordered a full size larger than his school shoes.

Tomorrow I will need to pay £4 parking to collect DD2 from the panto party. I can't attend as I work in Hertford on a Thursday. If I can remember my lunch, then hopefully just parking tomorrow

Had a small piece of good news yesterday, DD2's friend who she shared her party with, her mum stood me she had forgotten to transfer £70 to me to cover the balance of the party costs. That is a bonus as I thought I'd already had it. Downside is that DH is taking DS's broken iPad to Apple yomorrow so I'll need to pay some of the replacement cost (but it is his Christmas present)

Signing in for new year of frugaleering.

Thanks for thread Cathode

Happy new year to all.

Spent £6-ish in Boots today, £65 on Sainbo's delivery yesterday and tomorrow I'm going to Pilates. Cost unknown at present, new class opening in the town. There will be veg from the greengrocer and meat from the butcher at the weekend.

Vet bills still racking up. £150 due to kennels for cancellation over Christmas. That is less than I anticipated.

Welcome back Audit and Adora. Hope Teddy's still making good progress?

Broken a resolution already. It's obviously long past my official week night bed time of 10.45. When I'm overtired, I just g

Posted too soon.

I get too warm and comfortable on the sofa to actually get up and go to bed!

H's thunderous and persistent snoring is keeping me awake

Note the lack of 'D'.

Oh no seacow! I'm annoyed with Dh this morning too. Tuesday I was up at 5 for work and yesterday I got up with the dc at 6. This morning I got up with them at 5:45 and tomorrow we will both be up early with them. He could have given me yesterday or today

Anyway. We have CQC doing an inspection at work today so everyone will be feeling stressed. I need some lunch but don't really have anything I can take so might end up buying a sandwich. I have some coins in my purse I can use though.

Welcome back Audit and Adora.
Pleased you enjoyed the play, Cag.

Plan for today is to finish marking my exams then nip into town to exchange a Christmas present for a different size and take bags to the charity shop.

Hospital appointment later.

It's a cold one today, very icy!

-3 here. Brrrr.

I make DH sleep in the walk in wardrobe last night, due to snoring, as the spare bed wasn't made up. I am a cow bag, I don't tolerate it, just kick him till he moves.

Hope the appointment goes well Snuggly.

Welcome back Adora and Audit. How's Teddy getting on Adora?x

Glad you enjoyed the play Cag. You would get on very well with DS, he loves Further Maths A Level. Maths will be his degree choice I think, or possibly physics.

I consider myself and the DC lucky that their schools have been outstanding, and in particular, high school. Which, I feel is the more important in hindsight, having now nearly been through the journey twice.

Spends.
£15 Personal Trainer later.
£17 Race entry.
£60 Ocado (would have been less but DH wanted some low alc beer/lager).
£10 DD training.

Porridge and coconut water with a pile of blueberries for brekkie. And 2 pints hot water with lemon and lime. Go me!!