Money-managing Masterfully into May - Frugaleers unite!

[needastrongone]

Thread continued for old faithfuls, new posters and anyone else that would like to contribute.

Financial talk, tips and discussion, with quite a lot of other stuff too.

We are a friendly bunch and there's lots of support for new and old.

Definitely to a few of them seacow

Today has been spendy
£40 on my once every six week petrol fill up for my car
£83 in Tesco
£230 on nursery fees (and there's still the childminder/ breakfast & after school club to pay too.

Pay day though

Trying to pull myself back together a bit. Sadly got very overwhelmed with work which is why I ended up sick yesterday. Poor DP didn't look too good himself this morning (has been stressed too) so want to get myself back into some kind of sensible/productive place! I did kind of do a very aimless shop in Tesco hence the big bill but we needed food and I needed to get out and about. Sorry for the self indulgent moan

bacon this is exactly how I supermarket shop! Hence my kitchen full of food that doesn't quite make a meal. But I feel the need to get out, so I bimble round with a trolley for a bit, then get home and realise we've nothing sensible for tea. I think it's okay to take a bit of time when you're feeling stressed or run down.

Sorry about cross-posting yesterday, Em, I never actually said congrats - house sounds amazing.

I think it will be another NSD today, that's 3 in a row. Have actually spent very little since being on mat leave, not going out much etc.
I expect the water bill will be going up though, feels like the washing machine is on constantly and we're on a meter.

Also getting takeaway cravings. Might be a nice treat next week.

We now have about 3 meals, plus a load of frozen peas, toilet roll, ice cream and a lot of cake lonely. You can never have too much cake though and it's a bank holiday so we should eat it. Since trying to be frugal I have tried to prevent these kinds of shopping trips though.

I think being kind to yourself is the best thing sometimes.

Just picked little DD from my parents who is now refusing a nap. I've put the news on in the hope she nods off otherwise she is going to be hard work later!

Fairy spendy.

£15 in charity shop. Got a fat face and crew clothing top for work plus a floral cap for dd and she needs one for school.

£10 something in boots on spot scrub, moisturiser and hair spray.

£? In tesco must have been about £6 stuff for dinner and lunch for me today. Will need to go food shopping tomorrow.

Just blitzed the kitchen! It was so gross bil obvs didn't actually clean when he stayed on the odd night and our cat is pretty messy. Feel much better now 😂

I spread the frugaleer spirit a bit in RL yesterday and felt quite good about it.

A neighbour was having an MRI scan to test for bowel cancer and asked me for a bit of moral support. I wouldn't previous have known what to do and would probably have freaked out and climbed the nearest tree.

However, a year+ of frugaleer chat has got me more experienced at that kind of thing, so I talked for ages with her on the phone and then went to the shop and bought the kinds of food that she can still eat while awaiting an MRI scan, and a couple of magazines, and dropped them over. I felt quite good about having managed that.

It cost a fiver, so not frugal at all, but definitely in the frugaleer spirit, I thought.

Sunny that's really kind and a fiver to help someone through a difficult day is nothing really.

Bacon you're right about being kind to yourself, I'm trying to do that at the moment as it's so easy to focus on what's gone wrong and miss what has gone well each day. I'm trying not to get too stressed if dinner involves oven chips two days running or the bathroom isn't spotless and focus on things like everyone is warm, dressed and fed and we've done something fun with dd1.

Sounds like a plan snuggly to be fair, I still operate on the warm, clean, fed - its been a good day, and my youngest is nearly 5! Dd2 and I often do an arms up 'still alive' at the end of the day (from the croods, one of our favourite films).

Blown being frugal, £25 on a maccy d's for tea, that's for 5 people. I'm avoiding food! And now we have a 3 day weekend - yay!

Meadow Immersion heaters heat the hot water up, it's usually a fairly powerful appliance and if you're on a tarrif with a night rate it will be on 8hrs or so. It's a big tank. Somewhere on it will be a round plastic cover with a screw. Switch the power off at the wall, unscrew it & there will be anumbered dial for the stat. Turn it to 55c. Hot enough to kill legionnaires, but cheaper than the 70c it's probably set to.

Have you got the readings mixed up? I've done that before.

£30 on petrol.

Yes I got muddled with the meter readings once, at the flat there was day and night readings and I somehow got them muddled and nearly had a heart attack when they wanted to bill me so huge amount. Luckily I worked out what had happened before paying it!!

Snuggly you are doing so well, managing three little ones is no mean feat

Love I know what you mean about getting overwhelmed with work, have been there myself recently. Do what you need to do and don't feel bad about moaning

Work was busy again today, there was a bit of a do at lunchtime as a couple of colleagues are leaving. Spent £3 on a few bits for that, £1 parking (can claim back) and 60p on sweets for dd.

Am ready for a three day wend!!

Me too! Happy Bank Holiday weekend!

Spends: £2.49 on paper dividers (I had to get them from Smiths, as the Card Factory, The Works AND Poundland had none, grrr!) and £4.24 latte and brownie in Pret. Sainsburys delivery came, so that will be £42.39 out on Tuesday.

Meal Plan:
Tonight: bean burgers in baps with cheese slices, oven chips and salad. I made banana/vanilla ice cream milkshakes too. Le yum!
Tomorrow: pizza with extra olives, mushrooms and pineapple.
Sunday: eating out somewhere.
Monday: lentil Bolognese.
Tuesday: lentil Bolognese.
Wednesday: jackets with cheese and coleslaw for me and cheese and pesto for DS.
Thursday: tofu and veggie stirfry with noodles.
Friday: bean burgers in baps and oven chips.

A bit depressed because DH had a problem with the car earlier and the bill came to €422.73 . We can afford to pay it but it will blow a big hole in our holiday fund. I'll sit down tomorrow and see exactly how we're fixed. Too tired and depressed to face it now.

I'll catch up properly tomorrow too.

tayto thats a huge unexpected bill, no wonder you're feeling down.

creme can I ask, when you say "cheese and pesto" for a spud filling, how do you do it? Mix it with the cheese, or a dollop that would melt maybe? I love pesto, but literally always stir it into plain pasta.

I got a variety pack of yankee candle votives, so tonight we have "fluffy towels", it's lovely, smells like flowery comfort!

Lonely, either put a spoon of pesto on the potato and spread it and grateful cheese over it, or you can do as above and melt it all together in the microwave.

I'm being a rebel and going to bed WITHOUT WASHING UP! The last time I can remember doing this was my birthday in February last year when I was ill with laryngitis and a horrendous cold. I know I'll regret it in the morning, but for now, I don't care!

Was there a pun intended with your 'grateful' cheese Creme

Tayto. There's always something isn't there?

for your too Love. Life gets us all down sometimes, promise. x

Talking of which, I had a bad day yesterday too. Probably a combination of DH being so low (MH is hard for all concerned in a family), Dpony will probably be out for the season and just overall tiredness, I've got to admit I sat in my kitchen and wept buckets. Then I phoned a lovely friend who listened and then I went for a PT session and a 6 mile run with another friend. And this pulled me round. Especially the running.

DH and I went for a curry last night and his head was in a place to listen to me for a change (I find it's hard for him to look anything other than inwardly when he's bad) and I've slept well.

We all watched Marathon over Matter last night too and were moved.

Spends.
£15 PT session.
£30 curry
£5 DS Karate.

at DS... he had pizza and chips at SiL's for his tea, got a McD's on the way back from karate and then had a bowl of weetabix when he got in, followed by the entire doggy back of leftover curry, which must have been an entire portion!!! Love the teen male food consumption......

Now I'm off to parkrun.

need what sort of curry? I could murder a curry. Mmm.

Going to look at the new house today. Eek

Sent email to her yesterday about my ideal options for return to work after may leave. Will discuss with them next week. I don't think they're going to go for me going back 3 full days a week but I'm willing to compromise.

Had a very productive evening. Made a list of things we need for Baby and also had a look online at nurseries.

My favourite one so far offers eco friendly "organic" play and early years learning for kids. It does forest school in winter and beach school in summer. For a full week though it's £380. Am hoping that a) they have space in Feb 2018 as the setting is lovely and it sounds great and b) we can pop baby in for either 3 days a week.

I'm struggling with the idea of baby being in nursery at 4.5 months. But thats how it has to be. We can't afford for me to stay home full time and my parents won't do full time childcare (which I understand - they will do up to 2 days a week though which will help enormously).

I'm currently pinteresting gardens and home decor.

Catface was helping. I went to sleep and woke up with her right here.

Em I kid you not, this curry place is a small hut in a car park, unlicensed and famous for miles around. I had garlic king prawns to start (wow) and chicken ackbar with naan. That was quite dry (in a good way) and marinated in mango chutney and spices prior to cooking. Really delicious.

Eeerrrrmyyygaaahhhhhhddd sound delicious.

I love a proper Indian curry. Haven't been out for one for ages.

Also love Thai curry. There's a place here right on the beach (which gets flooded if the tides too high...) and they do the best Thai food ever. Red king prawn curry on the beach. Or my fave garlic fried chilli chicken in a paper bag with a beer and some takeaway noodles. Bliss.

I've just added a few baby things to my Ikea basket.

Nightmare. The children and I are all ready to go to lidl only to find 'd'h has gone to work with my bloody car key! Well it's actually his but I still haven't got mine back as they were in my colleagues car and I won't see her until Wednesday. Dh knew they'd been found and just assumed that I had them without checking. Now he's annoying with me as he has to come all the way back from work forty minutes away and I'm annoyed with him because I like to get to lidl early before it gets busy.

Em A relative of mine had to leave hers much younger than that. All 3 kids are absolute diamonds & the parents can afford to put them through uni fully funded. They will graduate with no debts at all & have a really good chance of doing well themselves.

Need A good cry lets it all out. Mh is very hard to live with, it's not something that you can say will never happen again either.

Also em that nursery sounds lovely.

Dd's school are looking into doing a before and after school club who knows if this is a good price or not?

7:45-8-40 £5
3:10-4:15 £5
4:15-5:15 £5

Need to check with the childminder how much she charges as if it's less than £5 it makes more sense to keep her!

Thanks for the kind words everyone . I hate it when I get like this and I tried so hard not to get this way as I knew it was going to be a challenging week.

I think DP is going to try and drag me out of the house today. I get so worn down and don't want to go out, but actually getting out does me the world of good. Hopefully the DC will be delightful to go out with . Maybe the beach.

Should be a LSD apart from maybe parking (and ice cream )

We need to do some gardening this weekend. We have a huge patch of weeds at the front of the house which is spoiling the nicely cut grass effort I made. DP has finally decided he wants to grass that patch which is a result, as he wanted to grow flowers but in reality it has just been weeds for the last two years.

Also I still need to try out the bread maker. I bought the ingredients last weekend but never got around to it. DD1 will probably enjoy helping.

It's all very exciting at the moment for you em. Hope you love the house.

Comparison here wreck

Breakfast club 1 hour £3.25
After school two hours £8
After school three hours £12

I'm sure we are due a price increase in September though. Does it include breakfast and after school snacks?

However, I know other schools where it is much less eg. £1.25 for breakfast club. Also some schools let you decide on a daily basis if they are going, whereas we pay/book in advance