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?

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Morning all!
for Em and MissA who are dealing with difficult situations.
I also know a couple who have been approved for adoption and are waiting for a match. It's very emotionally draining and stressful and they have been waiting for over a year now.
I'm off to the supermarket in a bit, we have a very busy few days and we are going to be decorating so I'm buying a few easy meals like pasta and ready-made sauce, pizza etc. It will make the food bill more £££ but it might just save our sanity and my back this week! Have promised myself I will cook something properly on Sunday though.

Em interesting discussion about phobias and trip to NZ. I would say that if you want to go, then you need to make a condition that MIL is no longer allowed to treat you like garbage. I like that quote I hear a lot: "Before you diagnose yourself with anxiety or depression, check to make sure that you are not just surrounded by arseholes." (Or words to that effect.)

In your shoes I would treat it entirely differently from Need's suggestion (predictably). I would dig my heels in and refuse to visit until the MIL behaviour changes, gradually increasing access if she visits you and demonstrates respectful behaviour. I have done this and it does work. I gave up letting people treat me like a doormat years ago, and surprisingly, even quite entrenched bullies can be sorted out if I just set really clear boundaries.

Just my tuppenceworth though.

Trying this is walking stick cabbage

#www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/Vegetable-Seeds-1/Cabbage-Walking-Stick-Seeds.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAzNfDBRD2xKrO4pSnnOkBEiQAbzzeQSABA3jdqarjRiR9UFaheIUCG_g44TlmM1DyG19H5skaAuwZ8P8HAQ&ccode=D17PGP#.WHXqtlWLQy4

£41 primark
£9 macdonalds
£5 toddler group

trying jersey is famous for its giant cabbages and its walking sticks. Yay!

Re nz trip. No boundaries other than dh sticks to me like glue while we're with mil and if here's so much as a sniff of her being a dick I won't travel out there again.

Oh. And £2 on a Bag of popcorn and a San pelligrino grapefruit drink.

Hello all, its my day off today thank goodness!

Am feeling very pleased as the scooter I wanted to get dd for her birthday was £33 rather than £70 on Amazon bargain of the year so far! So have bought that and also have bought myself a juicer as part of my healthy living kick. Am determined it will not just be a Jan fad total spend £56. Link for anyone interested in the scooter bargain scooter

Am in charge if picking up a colleagues leaving gift so off to do that this afternoon, had a productive morning catching up with jobs and a friend came over for a love days off!!

Top up shop: about £10 in mr Ts on strawberries and other fruit, tomatoes, Soreen (can't remember who is to blame for making me want that!) and a 75p bunch of pink roses. V pleased with those, they should last a good while. Also £5.50 on two loaves of bread from our local bakery. I was that is is now £2.75 per loaf but it is amazing multiseed stuff, more granary than anything you can buy in a supermarket. So so delicious.

Trying to get lots of cleaning done today but not feeling very energetic at all. So far I have wiped the kitchen surfaces and hoovered the kitchen diner. Making myself feel better by doing a bit of laundry too.

Good stuff Em. Well done.

Possibilities of snow here on Thursday apparently. Exciting.

I have got some energy. However, I have mopped myself into a room that does not contain any chocolate. A tactical error.

Forgot new potatoes, so back to the shop later.

How odd, I thought I'd posted earlier but can't see it on the thread. Thanks everyone for your comments - MIL is BiPolar but refuses treatment so worse potentially than she'd be if she would get treatment. BIL has severe depression, but DH has never had any issues. We have a nephew, his sisters baby, who is perfectly healthy.
I think it's partly because his family was always very dysfunctional and he's secretly scared he will be a bad father, which is so sad because he is the kindest, most patient person I know, a brilliant teacher whose classes love him and a very adored uncle to our DNeph. I'm hoping once we buy our house (goal for this year) and get settled we can discuss this again and perhaps he will be persuaded to change his mind.

Good job you mentioned hoovering seacow I've been planning to buy hoover bags since before Christmas.

peonies hopefully in time your dh will come around to dc

dh threw it at me when I was pregnant with ds that he didn't want a second child with me(had 3 with first wife), and resented ds for about first two years. He has anger management issues/bi polar, no diagnosis so who knows but has been attending counselling weekly for past six months and in past two/three has really bonded with ds. Also this Christmas there wasn't one angry outburst or row between us. Proof that his attending counselling is vital to our lives.

£72 supermarket, otherwise we've been pottering at home doing jobs, playing with play dough, that sort if thing. Very tired, can hardly keep my eyes open!

That's weird. I'm doing my tesco order and a box of 2 pork chops has gone up from £1.50 to £2.75. Gosh!

£1 spends today

I dropped my phone last night and my screen has cracked 😩 it still works fine so I don't need to get it fixed straight away. I've no insurance so will have to pay for it.
It's my mot on Saturday I'm dreading it.

brighter could you take out insurance now and then claim later for the screen?

I think I'm just going to wait and get it fixed I won't take it to apple there's a few places I can take it too. I've ordered a screen protector for now.

Dh has changed the screen on his iPad. He used a YouTube video to guide him through it.

I think the iPad screen was £30 on eBay.

£4 morrisons, gravy and alcohol free lager.

NSD here plus my cello lesson this week was half price because the teacher was late, I practiced while waiting for him so a win!
I have some kind of flu/cold, coughing like crazy and feel grotty. Took afternoon off work, missing a class which always makes me feel guilty.
I have a big NQT assesssment tomorrow so have to finalise a lot of paperwork tonight, dull but necessary sadly.

Expensive evening. Plans jigged around a bit as I suddenly got really shaky after dropping DD at Brownies and nearly collapsed, could barely speak enough to ask for my bus fare. I am home now and DD is getting a lift home with a friend but I still feel wobbly and I'm ensconced in a chair still in my coat!

Em, you seem to have it sorted about NZ. Let's hope so.
Cag, when will you hear about PIP?
Went for coffee with friends earlier. £4.
Done 2 loads of washing and cut a lot of kindling.

brighter check your house insurance. You may be able to claim. Ours includes a "handbag" clause. Or anything you'd ordinarily carry round with you (money phone keys glasses etc).

Unless of course you mean you have zero insurance at all. In which case. Bad girl.

I spent £32 on clarins. Oopsy. In my defence any excuse the set was reduced down to £32 and includes the double serum (albeit a half size) which I believe is about £70 on its own I've also got a cleanser and a day moisturiser. All of which will be useful for our trip. I also scored a travel size night cream and a travel exfoliator. Yay!

cath were forecast snow here too which is very bizarro. It almost never snows here...

Hi all

I've been really tired and not posted.

NSD on Monday and Tuesday. £25 for DS after school care for January.

I did well on my new year's resolution today. I went back to bed for the whole morning - lights off, duvet over the head and everything. Then I slept all afternoon. Creme you would be proud of my pacing.
Feel slightly jetlagged now, but it's got to have helped. Cheap way to spend a day too.

Has anybody heard from NK5? All this talk of NZ brought her back into my head as she was talking of moving to Australia. I wonder how she got on?

Em I really hope we get snow. It would be so exciting and ds is just old enough to really get it now. Fingers crossed here, and also that our scaffolding is gone by then, because a bit fell off it today. Eep!

That's funny, Cath I was thinking about NK the other day too. I think she name changed a couple of times but I lost track a bit.
Had brilliant dinner compiled of leftovers plus random things from the fridge: Veggie lasagne using leftover Bolognese, potato wedges, roasted beetroot, salad, chopped olives and feta. It was all delicious!

I really hope it doesn't snow as I have a long country roads drive to do on Friday, eek! It can snow as much as it likes after that :)

£1 toddler group, £8.49 top up shop, 2kg of rooster potatoes for £1 which I thought was good so got a few bags to stock up

DH replaced his own smashed phone screen for £10 following youtube videos too, good as new now - worth a go?

Hope you feel better soon Cag, take it easy