Frugaleers, keeping their frugal resolutions in the new year. Keep on, erm, resoluting!?

[Cagliostro]

Hello everyone! :)

4 of us, 3 bed semi, £80 per month for had and electric. Co-op want £123 per month which has pissed me off as it's more than the uswutch wrote. Shan't be on that for long.
Welcome nook
£10 for lunch to meet a colleague on maternity

LSD - a loaf of bread. Pay day tomorrow. Just checked my account and I have enough to clear my credit card bill with what's left, hooray!

Neenook we have a smart meter and it is amazing how much some things cost to run.

Hey all. Welcome Neenok this is a very informative and friendly thread.

Added to the £12.89 in Tesco is £289.94 on a new laptop for DH. His ancient desktop has finally died. However he gave me the cash for that and I did it through Quidco. Go me! Also I forgot to say, I paid for the upcoming holiday through Quidco and I've got over £50 coming back. I was dead chuffed with that.

Frugal win of the day: the defrosted moussaka was delicious so emergency fish and chips were avoided.

DD is still pox ridden so I'm hoping for a more peaceful night than last night.

Loving those boots mammy...

Need how do you make the fajita seasoning please?

Really glad things are improving for you. DH found similar (he also took gabapentin for his prolapsed disc, although side effects were horrific for him) - a hell of a lot to be said for core strength and stuff. He'd have been a lot worse off it weren't for years of running that's for sure. :)

My dinner was nice (usual tomato pasta type thing but with leftover chicken and chorizo) so feeling better for not having succumbed to the fast food! For today at least.

Caglets snuggled in their new jammies - Ninjago and Pokemon :o

Geography club tomorrow so will be spending some of my earnings (pupil in the morning) on train fare. Then a mad dash back for Brownies but at least I don't have to pick DD up this time (DH on an earlier shift) so I can chill before my other pupil at 8pm. :) I'm playing a lot more piano myself lately - recently discovered that a lot of pieces I wrote off years ago as too hard are actually not so hard after all! I still have to limit myself (due to hand pain) but it feels good to play more. Really good. :) Like occupational therapy.

Oh also people have mentioned LED bulbs, where is best for this please?

fluffy it's possible it could be sewed. But I don't think I could do it. I may pass over to Dm and ask her.

I've had 4 wines. Stupid friend encouraging me.

And chips. Yay!!

Now home dh picked me up and is making me dinner. I haven't mentioned the chips. I figure the more I eat the better.

I'm also downing pints of water. Just to try and stave off the hangover tomorrow.

Cag Salt (tiny bit), garlic pepper (or salt, pepper and garlic powder), cayenne, paprika (lots of, I use smoked), cumin. That's it. That's all it is. Mix it together, and fry your ingredients in the usual oil. Those packets are a rip off.

Good for you for eating well. I honestly and truly believe that the better you eat, the better you feel. Lots of water. Bit of fresh air. Won't harm at least!!

Welcome, Neenook. We're getting our smart meter fitted tomorrow. Pleased as we always forget to send the monthly meter readings but dreading next bill as we've had the heating on a lot more than usual.

I am also on the lookout for LED bulbs, Cag. The electrician told me proper branded ones are best and own-brand cheapies won't last as long but I didn't think to ask him to recommend a brand! There is an electrical wholesalers near us so I might go in and ask.

Girlie this is a bit drastic but is read recently that having a specific part of your ear pierced can help with migraines, it works like acupuncture. I can't rem which part of your ear but googling ear piercing and migraine would find it. Completely understand that most people wouldn't want to do that though!

£4.75 today on hospital parking. I'm totally exhausted so didn't go to yoga, that's a tenner saved. Have made a shopping list for tomorrow and am now being cuddled by the cat. He loves the bump, bless him!

Pretty standard spend day today for me. I did look to see how much the Elsa meerkats are going for on eBay £40!!! It will be going straight on when I get it.
My gas and electric has just gone down to £72 with Scottish power. There's me and dd occasionally ds when he's home. 3 bed detached.

TBH cag Cajun, fajita etc isn't hard to make. There's loads on Google.

You can buy spices in bulk quite cheaply.

You could register for an LED hut trade account for bulbs, your a self employed tutor after all. I've got poundland ones & homebase ones too.

Guess who came back just now

Oh I am so pleased, I've wondered where he went to.

He looks in good condition. Does the other one remember him?

Yep other one hadn't let me even rub him/her yet but came into my arms tonight. Other one hissed at Tom when the two of them were up in dh's arms though

I went looking for him tonight as we had scrapped an old car & his disappearance coincided with that but he showed up himself tonight
He smells of bog & is a little dirty but not the worse for wear either.

Welcome back mammycat!

Ooh yum that sounds like even I could manage it thanks need - do you just rub it on the chicken then, before cooking? We don't tend to use the kits as they usually contain gluten so we generally just do it with no marinade/sauces, but would love to add more flavour.

Cheers fluffy cor imagine me getting a 'trade' anything?! Makes me feel all official :o great idea, I shall have a look.

£11 audiobook for DD

Mammy he looks lovely. I really miss my cat who died some years ago...old age. But I live in the country and the cats here catch birds and rabbits and I don't like that. Maybe a dog. I like dogs but love cats.
£1.50 tea with friends.
I pay £22 per month for just elec. no gas. I live on my own small 4 beds but have draft excluders and fleeces in the curtains and a curtain over front door. And a wood burner. But lots of friends stay so often have house full. But I am very careful.

So many of you living with constant pain, I'm sorry . I'm really lucky, but my dp has permanent nerve damage from a broken back, says it's like toothache all the time. He takes tramadol just now but once he is fully healed from gallbladder op (naproxen buggered that we think), will get reassessed. He put on 3st in 3 months on gabapentin need, turned him into an eating machine! The fitter he is the less meds he needs.

We pay £100/m gas, lpg as off grid, and £82 elec. 6 of us, 3.5 bed semi, we run 6 vivariums and 2 big (one 6') fishtanks, so don't help ourselves much. The boiler is efficient, and all appliances newish A++...

So glad your boy has turned up mammy, awful feeling when you don't know what's happened to them.

Ooh vivariums does that mean you have reptiles? I'd love a lizard or three. Absolutely adore geckos and skinks. Snakes are awesome too.

Can't wait to see the dc's reaction to Tom being home pity I'll be at work.
I don't want to get up it's windy outside

Today's smoothie is; spinach; banana; avocado; blueberries; chia, flax and linseed; water. Only half a banana between two of us.

Need to go to the post office today otherwise should be nsd.

mammy so glad your boy is home. What a smasher he is.

Wreck thanks for reminding me. I sold something on eBay over the weekend and clean forgot to post it. So LSD hopefully just postage.

Gym this morning, then back there at 2.45 for a shift.

Lots of fibre & goodness there wreck
I experimented with a toastie filled with an egg & quarter of an avocado, so filling but needs a grain of salt or some relish to lift it a bit,

Someone ate the soup I was planning to take for lunch so was racing around this morning to gather stuff for lunch. Promised dd I'd take her to swimming this evening after her dance class so probably €20 on dd today
She needs spoiling right now. Might take her for a hot choc afterwards.

Mammy what about Worcestershire sauce mmmm love it with avocado. Not sure about egg as I don't eat it.

I'm also going to try and get a doctors appointment for ds and me. I have a weird rash on my legs and ds is always shouting 'pardon?!' At me so I want his hearing checked.

mammy lovely cat you have and glad he's back.
Our cat is fat lazy and old. She only stays on our ground, and prefers the whole autumn and winter to stay inside. We found her the first spring we lived her in the shed, skinny and looking for cuddles and a good wash. Took her to the vet who said she had defn been dump by her previous owners because she was used to ppl and had the signs of a house cat. So we had 2 options, to get a cat or she would be put down to sleep, so yeah we got a cat. Cost us 500£ because we got her sterilization vaccination and her teeth done but she's worth it. Dd loves her and she is very patient with her. The vet thinks she's between 8-10 years so we see it as us giving her a good retirement period...