Fantabulous February with the Friendly Frugaleers!

[Cagliostro]

Hello everyone, new thread time yet again!

Fluffy Well you made me laugh at least. Thanks for listening and helping out.

Oh here you all are!!

Am off to the dr later today. Haven't been feeling right for a while.

Also probably need to buy a new case for my phone the plastic has snapped and it's being held on by duct tape at the moment.

cashback pay out today £24!!!

Welcome to new folk.

I got a whole pile of fresh fruit and veg for a few quid from M&S yesterday. And insider knowledge about at what times of day they reduce certain products at that store.

No idea if this is nationwide but 8am for products that will be OOD the next day. About 2pm for fresh fruit and veg and before closing for bakery.

The kids phone contracts are now changed, saving me £30 pcm.

Meal planned for the week.

Keep on the frugal trail folks, it's what we are here for.

Welcome back Need and welcome to newbies too! Pleased to have you with us :)

I've booked the room for our world book day party, council rates are really low so should be very cheap per child. Going to phone up the rental agency in a sec.

I just had lychees and strawberries for breakfast. Sure beats coco pops.

So sorry about the virus Cath and em hope doctor helps x

Yummy breakfast Cag. I had a pile of fresh and greatly reduced raspberries from M&S with Muesli and almond milk. Agree, much better than crap.

Frgual Goals for the week -
Bag of crap/junk/charity a day from the house, reassess what we need.
Check for Ebay items.
Quotes for carpet cleaning.

ps - Fluffy Thanks for the heads up about the £5 TCB offer, which I utilised on Sunday.

Thanks Cag.

Good luck with the GP Em. I seem to have finally found a good one, which gives me so much hope for sorting things out. I hope your GP helps out too.
Getting well again is definitely a frugal issue, and worth pursuing with gusto.

Good to see you back Need missed you!!

Welcome newbies, this thread is a great way to stay accountable and also for general support/chat.

Cath is your ds still feeling poorly then? Hope you pick up soon, did you once say you have IBS? I have that and any stomach bugs etc will play the IBS for a few weeks till things settle down again. Fennel tea is brilliant for settling tummies.

Its my day off so plan to take a few things back to Sainsburys so that will be £23 back in the pot and go to town. Few last min bits for dds bday and have a look at baby stuff for my colleague. Thank you for all the ideas, they are fab

Oh and it must be the morning for a healthy breakfast, we had a banana, raspberry and blueberry smoothie (mixed the fruit with Greek yogurt) delicious and surprisingly filling.

Thanks Girlie yes I have something like that, quite badly at the moment as well, as a sort of post-natal blip. It doesn't combine very well with viruses like this. I'm drinking loads of water just now. I think I had accidentally turned into a raisin.

Ds is on the mend, but still eating very carefully, as he sincerely regretted a potato waffle a couple of days ago.

Frugality has been shelved for now. I ordered a ton of activity books from amazon prime. They are such a godsend at times like this.

Carpet quotes organised. Bag of shit sorted. 2 charity bags. 3 loads of washing.

Had a phone appointment with GP. Brill. Took 2 minutes and wasted no ones time.

Greek yogurt is awesome Girlie. I missed you too.

Little DD has just turned the washing machine on, so now my clothes are washing for the second time. Frugal fail

Got some bargain shampoo/conditioner in Boots for £1.39 each and got 200 points too using coupon from their catalogue

Got some warm trousers and pretty t shirt for DD in sale in Gap for under £10. Lady kindly reminded me to check my emails for an extra money off code which helped

HI everyone, just checking in. I'm doing pretty well on my frugal mission.
I think the frugal lifestyle has a habit of 'rubbing off' onto other areas of my life... for example, I suddenly realised last week that I was spending so much time doing laundry. (not even my DD/DH's, just mine!) And realised I was going through a ridiculous amount of clothes every week (wearing a clean T shirt in bed every night, putting all clothes in laundry basket when I'd worn them once, even if they weren't dirty/smelly at all). So now when something doesn't need washing, I simply fold it or hang it back up. My laundry pile has halved. I guess this fits into the topic of 'frugality' as I'll be saving on washing powder and electricity etc - but really it seems to me just part of how my lifestyle is heading in a much more simple/green/chilled direction in general. Hurray!

Welcome to new people, too many different usernames to remember them after reading the last two pages in one go but hi!

Cag Generally being a guarantor for a student house-share does actually entail being a guarantor for EVERY student's portion of the rent, which most parents don't realise and then if they're unlikely can end up in a very unfortunate situation. Generally agencies will credit & reference check guarantors and the usual rules are that they must be home-owners, in full-time employment for at least a year, and often have a minimum income requirement too say £18,000 a year or more. I know all this as I'm a law student and my dad has been my guarantor for the last 4 yrs or so but only once was that in a house-share and luckily everybody else payed their rent fine so no problems but it is a gamble unfortunately and also lots of people don't even have anyone to be their guarantors that meet the requirements (e.g. students from disadvantaged backgrounds, international students with no family resident in the UK etc) and often their only choice then is to pay say 6 months rent up-front to be allowed to rent .

DH is feeling unwell, he this is the third time since he started work in a hospital beginning of December that he's been ill ! He's meant to be in work from tomorrow for a 4 day cycle so fingers crossed he is well enough . He's managed to take no sick leave yet as thankfully always been falling most ill on his days off (which is annoying but better than having a bad sick record at work really).

I am going to see the SU's emotional support/therapy dog in a bit . I got to spend half an hour with him last week and he was actually quite shy - I'm not sure that he's really the best temperament to have a job like that where lots of students will no doubt be grabbing him without understanding dog body language etc. I'm hoping today he will remember me from last time (I got to give him some treats and managed to get him to play a little bit with a plastic bone) so hopefully we can have a good little play again. I was going to bring some carrot for him but I forgot.

Thanks whoever it was about Peppa pig. Iceland have Peppa pig easter eggs for £1 so think I will buy them for the neighbour's kids as 4 of them are 5 and under. And then get the elder boy a different one as he's about 11 or 12 I think so don't think he'd appreciate Peppa . And yes will probably get baby cousin a book or something else Easter/Spring themed. She really loves her books she's got soo many!

That sounds miserable MeadowHay. Sorry to hear that he's going through that.

Ex has put some money in. So that is good. I am being punished though, £100 less than normal. But no shitty messages this month, so I count this as a win.

Went to Tescos with a small list. Spent £51! But, did get the choc brioches that ds lives on (keep chanting any food is good food), 4 bags as on £1. Lots of other usual branded stuff on offer to like philly and dettol. Was hoping not to shop until feb, but not having peanut butter in the house is not a good idea here!

Have also got £70 worth of seeds and bits (nematodes anyone?) in Marshalls (like suttons but better) open on my browser. Need to make this money first, so furiously knitting tiny chicks and bunnues for the craft shop I sell to. Guttering with rain and getting very windy here, hope the weather is better where you all are today.

NSD here to end the month. 9th this month.

Miserable here too, but I don't mind, as I'm making soup for a late lunch. I need to pop to the library later and get some cash out for work tomorrow.

Welcome more newbies and welcome back, Need.

I would like to own our own home before I'm 50! I'm 31 now but even 19 years doesn't seem enough time. We don't save as a family. We have no savings whatsoever and I don't know how to start. It's ridiculous I know.
I'm hoping to get some hints/ tips of frugal ways to feed us, clothe us,enjoy days out which don't cost the earth and general advice on how to save and how much.
Not a lot then

Aradias That's great that you want to start saving. Many of us on here started by watching the tutorials on the YNAB website, which is here:

www.youneedabudget.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%28roi%29%20branded&utm_content=ynab&utm_term=ynab&gclid=Cj0KEQiAiMHEBRC034nx2ImB1J0BEiQA-r7ctmRkvmkQtUh73U23TGs2o5gwND4Yokq6Vj5bZ2undcMaAvbE8P8HAQ

It would be worth having a go if you have time.

Back from town, busy morning!

Have done my colleagues baby box and gifts, think I did quite well if I do say so myself Spent £45 in total which i will get back from the collection.

I got a packet of newborn nappies, wet wipes, baby shampoo, bubble bath, a baby book, some lovely colourful vests, a bargain newborn set of clothes which was reduced to £3 and sudocrem. For the mum to be got some lovely Sanctuary stuff (was on 3 for 2) from Boots and hand creams.

Could have got loads more tbh but ran out of money!

Other spends;
£21 on some reduced clothes in Sainsburys, both needed.

£3.60 on parking
£2 conditioner
£3 wrapping paper and gift bags
£2 Birthday card
£4 coffees.

Met my friend after shopping for coffee and a catch up, was my turn to treat.

aradias you just prompted me to check what age I'll be when our mortgage is repaid - tada 5 months before my 50th birthday

It was I who mentioned feta snuggly
knitting good that you got some maintenance - pity it was short

Aradias go through your accounts and work out exactly what goes in every month and what goes out, then work out how much of whats left goes on food, petrol, clothes, clubs, socialising etc.

Look at all your direct debits and consider what can be reduced (gas/electric/insurances/water) and then look at your food bill and work out a budget and ways to reduce waste.

Lastly set up a direct debit to a savings account and depending on how much you can afford have a set amount that goes in every month regardless.

Hope thats helpful and not just stating the obvious!

For days out, look out for vouchers and always take food/drink with you!!

Thanks for that Girlie the reminder did me good too.

I've also realised recently that as we can only get interest on savings of about 2% it's worth making savings on spending absolutely anywhere as long as the time it takes to do it gets us a reduction in cost of 2% or more. There are a huge number of opportunities to shave off 2% plus.

(not including the high interest c/a but they only take small amounts of money and no good for a house deposit)

Aradias I think Girlie's advice is excellent. I might also (with her permission) add meal planning, taking sandwiches to work, a refillable bottle of water, a meat free day per week, a 'cheap' meal per week can really help.

Also, National Trust membership is pretty cheap for what you get. I found NT Scotland membership cheaper than England, for entry to English sites too. Lots of venues then and a pack up option to keep costs down.

Agree with Girlie, save for holidays, petrol, Christmas, birthdays, MOT's, childcare in 'pots'.

Welcome, btw.

Spends today.
£40 hairdresser.
£5 Bootcamp.

I've just got the Joe Wicke's book with some birthday money. Looks good.