Frugaleers saving and chatting through April

[SunnyLikeThursday]

Newbies welcome to join us for a bit of chat about budgeting, saving, paying off debt, and everything else that comes along.

In the picture above, the brown is the new plaster that we had done 4 years ago. The cream is the peeling paint, and the white fluff is a mystery substance.

Love the sound of these campsites, I'd definitely be up for that sort of thing - not least because we have no car to carry tents and stuff. :o So the more that was already there, the better! :)

Booking appt at antenatal clinic on Monday. GP has done referral for scan when I phoned this morning, but they couldn't say how they'd be in touch, could be phone or letter (the latter suggests it could be another week or so). I'm hoping that if nothing's been done by the time I see the midwife, she will hurry it along for me anyway.

DH got called back to work a day early, they changed the rota without telling him it seems :( so frugal fail I have to pick up DD from Brownies instead tonight, and will probably go both ways in a cab because I am feeling immensely pants.

I'm super proud of my parents today, especially my dad who is the worst financial ostrich in the world. Years ago they bought into this holiday club thing (like timeshare but useable at various resorts rather than having an apartment somewhere). It's amazing and we had some lovely holidays but the maintenance charges are increasing and they have accepted they aren't getting their money's worth anymore. Also it's lifetime AND I would inherit it - and therefore the charges! They are actually setting things in motion to show it was missold etc so they should get some money back. Excellent. :)

That looks like salt to me sunny you can see it on the edge of the stripped back plaster on my photo. My leak has dried, but the salts come out as it did (shower tray drain in our case). I am ready to replaster now. Can you have a close look at a sample? For some reason I think you have a microscope to hand!!

So far nsd. Dd2's eye is the result of an allergic reaction it seems.

£2.26 top up shop in aldi.

Sent strongly worded email to previous broadband supplier. They owe me money. Bastards.

Hello all, loved the talk about buggies and baby furniture etc, so broody!! Watched One Born Every Minute last night too! Very excited to be seeing our little cousin later this month she is such a darling, she is nearly two.

Yes I think that's salt too Sunny. Something's definitely wrong with your damp coursing (stating the obvious, not helpful I know!) . Still, at least you're not breathing in mould spores unlike us in our mouldy conservatory

About £10 top up shop today. And found my house keys which I lost about a month ago, so very relieved.

Nobody messes with our Fluffster!✊

Busy day today, so just sitting down for a few minutes before starting dinner (lentil Bolognese and spaghetti.) Spends: £9.70 travel and £5.30 on my card at Starbucks. I'll read through later.

What type of lentils do you use for bolognese creme?

I use red for Bolognese, Cag, and green for cottage pie, as I prefer the firmer texture with the mash.

Ah that's what I imagined thanks - I love red lentils but not green. So do you just cook it with onion, tomato etc?

It's actually from an old Rose Elliott veggie cook book. It's red lentils, onion, garlic, a teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 cans/cartons of chopped tomatoes. I usually add a chopped carrot or 2 to bulk it out a bit and occasionally, some sliced mushrooms. Very tasty, IMO.

Sounds nice! Thanks.

Not that any of my lentil hating family would eat it. 😡

All the more for you, Cag?

cag I do a 50/50 mix of lentils and mince. In the slow cooker they sort of explode, and there's enough visable mince so I don't get complaints! No good if you're veggie, but frugal as the mince goes twice as far. That's for spag bol and a savoury mince (cottage pie/pasties etc).

Only ever had undercooked green lentils. They were like lumps of crunchy soil. I must try they properly sometime.

Had to pay my etsy bill $9 on paypal. Nearly a nsd then.

Ended up a spendy day.
£23.17 on some trellising from B&Q....10% off on Wednesday
Then, foolishly went to garden centre to buy some hawthorn hedging .....got a mixture of blackthorn, hawthorn ans hazel.....but also bought a load of plants....cabbage, cauliflower, calabrase and swede, and somehow I bought 6 trailing fuchsia for the hanging baskets. £53.34.
They are worth it though.

I should say I've worked up to a 50% lentil mix. Its been gradual as my lot hate them too!

Creme, I'm veggie.....do you use the same amount of lentils as you would mince and cook it just the same? And does it freeze the same as it would with mince? Thanks

I don't really know, Copper, as it's so long since I made Bolognese even with soya (frozen) mince and I "measure" the lentils by sight. I'm not a very precise cook, surprisingly, as I'm overly precise about nearly anything else! It freezes well though. I get enough for 5 or 6 portions from about a quarter of a 500g bag; that's about as precise as I can be.

Lonely, it's always good to get one over on OPs and DCs and sneak some goodness into 'em!

I tend to cook it for 20-30 minutes. I think frozen soya or Quorn is more like 10-15.

Mmmmm lentils.

Nsd. Didn't make the gym as dh called to work but he was stood down before i got back but by then i had lost my place in the class. Feeling lardy today.

I tried putting some lentils in bolognese and it got the thumbs up from everyone! But then I discovered they had possible traces of gluten so I can't use that if DH is eating it :(

£10 taxi but tooootally worth it as we are back home from Brownies and I actually still have some energy to cook dinner :)

I won't have my usual Wednesday evening pupil for a while now as she is in the throes of GCSEs bless her. Shame about the money but good timing for me really as I am finding it difficult at the moment. And I've been assured they want to continue after exams :)

Evening all! Making the most of a few quiet moments between DD1 going to bed and our nocturnal babies waking up.
Bit late to the party but I would highly recommend Ikea baby stuff especially the high chair which dismantles so you can shove it all in the dishwasher.
I thought a changing table was a waste of time but after 2 c sections it's great not to have to bend and the Ikea ones have loads of storage. DD has an Ikea bed which was very inexpensive. They also have lovely toys, art materials etc. Things that are non-gendered and encourage imaginative play. I'm not on commission I promise!
NSD today and I somehow found time to make cornflake cakes with DD which I'm now trying very hard not to eat while she's in bed!