Frugaleers Frolick Frugally through February

[Ipsomatic]

Just setting up the new thread for the chatty Frugaleers.

By popular request - copied from an old thread

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.

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www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub ditto.

www.checkoutsmart.com/ Plus this.

www.hotukdeals.com/all/deals/new?page=3 Check this daily.

Don't know they're in the packet..

I expect they'll be fine Wreck but chicken is one thing I think it's worth being extra careful about.

Going out for food with friends later so it won't be an NSD here.

I would imagine they'll be fine, and you'll soon notice if their not.

em That's an excellent plan.

Wreck I'd be careful about the chicken. I've twice given myself food poisoning with chicken that was really mostly cooked, but just not quite enough.

I am more focused now than ever on saving money. I know I will probably need to use my cc but am going to try and pay it off IN FULL every month from now on.

Fogged in today. Again.

Plan for the day is to empty the washing basket and Hoover the bedroom floor. Anything above this is a bonus.

I also need to send my gp bills to my medical insurance people for a refund. I've been forgetting and it's over £80 they owe me.

Box of stuff sent to music mappie £10 ish. Another box for ziffit £40 ish but I need to rescan as it's too heavy.

Photo graph of stuff to try selling once then charity.

I'm going to work out how much a new house will cost each month, put the difference in savings and see how we go. Realistically we are never going to get a real pay rise as both public sector workers.

I'm still paying off cc debt that initially started in 2010 when I was on first mat leave. Will be fully paid off this year.

My attitude to what was essential spending didn't change until 2013.

Em you know cheeky wipes are designed as a replacement for baby wipes

£3 spend today on dd football. Kickoff at 12 then home to do roast chicken dinner.
Ds is going back tonight.
Will be going into work early every day still got lots of work at the moment. And that is my exciting life

WRECK im going to try that pea and potato curry this week, am aiming to have 2 veggie meals in my meal plan per week. Dh wont like it but he can always cook his own. NEED im very envious of robo hoover, but i mustnt buy anything this month ( or next 6 months really). We have a holiday planned for easter and i need spending money. How much do people budget for sc cottage breaks, family of 4? Its not going to be a busy one, just walks, a couple of meals out and hopefully use my NT membership.

mammy I did. I've put half my stash aside in my "baby box" the others are stuffed in my makeup bag. I'm loving them for removing make up.

Other things in the "baby box" so far are: the positive pregnancy test. And some bepanthen (left over from when I got my tattoo done). That's all I need right...?!

I also need to look at music magpie as have loads of books/dvds/games to sell. I usually ebay but have had a few bad experiences with buyers and am now put off.

em haha I love your baby box.

frazzled I halved the recipe and did it with some popadoms, mango chutney and if I did it again I would do a salad of diced cucumber; yellow pepper; celery; tomato and onion. Also I only used the ingredients I had in so didn't bother with the ones I hadn't heard of

Dh said he would give me some money to go London next week. Not sure what to do whilst we are there though will have a look.

Morning all

Em loving all the baby planning, so exciting! I did have a little laugh at your comment about life not changing totally when the baby comes your life does change fundamentally but it is still possible to do the things you mentioned with a baby in tow. I took DD to Glastonbury when she was 14 months although prob not a coincidence that I've not been back since....

My plan for today is to clean the car out as it's grim and maybe do some baking.

Am very depressed about being back at work tomos half term has flown by. DD is still struggling with her arm so going to try and get her to rest it so it's hopefully a bit better for school tomos .

Oh and ipsos I know what you mean about it being tricky with an only , DD likes to play fight and have someone to jump on which gets a bit tedious after 5 mins. I think she misses out from having a sibling or a dad to do this with, I to compensate by ensuring lots of play dates and time for DD to spend with her grandfather and uncles.

Am pretty sure my abs were surgically removed when i had a emcs that said might be good and go for a quick run in a mo

Girlie I'm so glad that you see the same kind of thing. Nice to know it's not just us.

That book "The explosive child" has been fantastic. I've always struggled with conflict situations and it's making me look at them totally differently, in all areas of life. I'm really finding it very helpful.

The basic message is, "ignore the behaviour (shouting, hitting etc) and think about what the person is trying to achieve. Then teach them the skill (problem solving, verbal expression or whatever) that they need in order to achieve it. The part about totally ignoring the aggression really alters the whole course of the dialogue.

Well my plan to go shopping has been scrapped as my cold is making me feel lousy, bleurghh. So my aim for today is to at least get the chores done. Horrible grey weather here too.

Ipso I forgot to reply to your message about vit D! I was tested fairly recently and didn't have a deficiency but in the past I've had one and was on strong supplements but that was during summer time but it didn't improve my mood at the time when I was severely depressed. However now that my depression is miles better I do find that I feel lower during the dark cold months. I'm so happy it's getting brighter earlier now and things it will help my mood. Funny how weather can have an impact. It won't affect my anxiety much though just my general mood.

Girlie You went to Glasto with a 14 month old !? That is really cool but sounds scary!

Today should be NSD seeing as I'm staying in again.

Morning everyone.

The boiler cost €330 to fix. The boiler repair man (I'm sure that's not his real title) had to replace the pump and a few other bits. Just as well we hadn't made any firm plans re: the gift from MIL and FIL. A lot of friends/family have been telling me that we may need to consider replacing the boiler soon as it generally has a life span of 14/15 years and we've had it approx. 14 years. So another incentive to start saving seriously once the holiday is out of the way.

I've read back a few pages. There's been a lot of baby talk . I was blessed with a very easy baby - a good sleeper and eater. I wasn't obsessed with routine but I remember we went on a holiday to Spain when DD was a toddler. She was having a really fun day on the beach one day, playing with the sand. We didn't bother with her nap 'cos we didn't want to pack up and end all the fun. We figured she could have a nap later, when we got back to our apartment. Well, she threw the mother of all tantrums! I'll never forget it. We never made that mistake again. My Public Health Nurse explained to me once that the world is a very confusing/frightening place for babies so they like routine because it helps them to make sense of their little world and gives them some idea of what to expect next. She also said that it's a good idea to talk to them and tell them what's about to happen next - "now I'll give you your bottle"/"now it's time for your nap". You might think they don't understand the words but they gradually begin to understand what you're saying.

I bought most of my maternity clothes in Next, Dorothy Perkins and Mothercare. I don't know if they still do maternity clothes. Once DD arrived, I couldn't wait to get back into my normal clothes and was very disappointed to discover that my normal jeans and trousers didn't fit . Nobody had prepared me for that eventuality and I felt kind of strange wearing maternity clothes when I wasn't pregnant. I was so happy when I got back into my normal jeans about three months later.

I didn't breastfeed so I've no advice about suitable clothes for breastfeeding.

It's a grey day here and slightly misty.

Creme hope you're feeling better today.

Meadow sorry to hear you suffer from anxiety. Thanks for giving us an insight into your condition. Your DH sounds lovely and very supportive.

mammy hope DS feels better soon.

Just had a gorgeous not terribly frugal lunch. DH did sea bass (£4 for 2 fillets so not TOO awful) baked in paper with loads of cracked pepper and asparagus, served with sautéed potato and leeks. Le freaking yum. The Caglets had mini kievs instead of fish, some things just aren't worth the battle 😳😂 I must buy fish more often though. Omega 3 and all that.

DD was spoiled rotten yesterday, she was invited to the zoo with a neighbour and the dad bought her a hoodie at the gift shop and point blank refused any money for it. 😳

We've dismantled our bed and sleeping on the floor (on the mattress on the floor I mean) is surprisingly comfy. Nicer than the bed actually.

Fricking world book day. DS is reusing last year's so hope it still fits. DD doesn't know. Went to sainsburys for Mary Poppins but she changed her mind so will return stuff. She might want to go as a mine crafter. I've given her until Wednesday morning to decide as that's my day off

Spendy day yesterday. DD2 needed to go to another town. So,

£12 brunch
£5 coffee as no public toilets outside of eateries
£5 fruit and veg
£28 butchers

And £2 to a monk, the abbey helps to feed homeless people. Today should be an NSD.

I can't really weigh in on the whole life changing after baby thing. I mean it does change of course because you have this whole beautiful little person that is your world all of a sudden. But TBH I didn't really HAVE much of a life before DD was born 😂 I mean DH and I used to go to gigs and spend hours in pubs etc but I don't miss it, that wasn't really 'me' (like meadow I am really stressed by crowds etc).

I think if I had a baby now I'd find it more of an adjustment TBH than I did then. They would interrupt my board games and piano playing 😱😜

cag lunch sound le freaking awesome yum.

I had humous and tomatoes with black pepper on toast.

I'm so bored we're going out for ice cream. Not a nsd.