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.

[lifelongfrugaleer]

Yip creme 8 June.
When's the holiday Adora?

[SunnyLikeThursday]

Girlie How did your dd get to have routine ENT appointments with the NHS? I have to pay privately to have ds's hearing tested and it costs £50 each time. The really good hearing specialist here charges £150 a go. Ds's hearing was fine last time it was tested so possibly we wouldn't be eligible anyway.

I can imagine that routinely comparison shopping for groceries could be a bit of an epic venture. I suppose the thing to do is just to do most shopping in a cheap place and only go elsewhere when absolutely necessary.

[Cagliostro]

That's especially galling when the reason you can't find it is because they have used the wrong spelling!

Another tip if you can't find the exact thing is, if you find a similar thing (say the branded version when you want own brand) click on "rest of shelf" underneath it, it'll bring up the similar stuff so theoretically the one you want should be there. On Tesco anyway.

I am shocked at those price differences though! I'm sure I remember my friend telling me that Ocado did price matching for branded items but I guess they've stopped that now. One thing I do miss from Waitrose (we don't have one here) is their Barbary smoked duck slices. Absolutely fucking lush. Mum used to serve it with rocket and ripe mango. Le yum.

Spendy today, we bought a sofa! :o £70 including delivery from British heart foundation. Nothing special but cheap and cheerful and will do for now (hoping to get a big corner one if we move and have a larger living room). And the ones that have been properly cleaned are labelled there. Whereas we went in another shop and they were vile, like really really horribly dirty and grimy :( anyway it's arriving on Thursday and I'm excited about having somewhere comfy again!

Also £8 trains, £9 buses, £18 Boots on prescription and a few other bits, £14 Sainsbury's on lunch stuff to take to friends, £3 drinks on the way home. Oh and 69p on a hash brown as I had no time for breakfast before the doctors :o

Pleased to be home now. Tesco arriving later

[ChristmasSeacow]

Is that for summer hols Adora? Shame you've had to cancel your plans.

I shop on Ocado for most things except fruit and find it quite reasonable, but I usually buy their own brand, which is very good, and stock up on certain things when on offer (washing powder etc). If I go into Tesco or ASDA I tend to find some good offers but not enough to cancel out the effects of going into the shop and buying things I didn't plan to!

DS got a place at our first choice school. It's our second nearest school; the nearest is extremely sought after but I was not impressed from SN point of view. I am really pleased he will be in a 'less successful' but smaller and more nurturing school.

Sunny his temp goes down to 37.5 an hour or so after Calpol but was 39.6 between doses (when he woke this morning and again by lunchtime). I don't think I need to take him to the docs unless it either doesn't respond to Calpol or goes on for several days? I really hope he can get to nursery tomorrow as I've got nothing done today at all!

Out tonight with a local friend for dinner. She is awaiting school news too, hope she gets what she wants.

[SunnyLikeThursday]

I'm starting to find shopping in the supermarket in person really weird, just because it's so hard to think about the prices. It's even more of a thing if there are sometimes price differences of a factor of 2. That's going to make a big difference.

I ought to try aldi I suppose. I've never done that. The thought of having to juggle four different supermarkets melts my mind.

[CremeEggThief]

Eek! I can't believe I only found this out on here. Not happy about this at all, as I think it's a passport for another 5 years of Tory government. I would LOVE to be proved wrong, but I don't think there's credible and strong enough opposition at present...

Spends: £7 travel; £1.17 post and £2.50 on a latte, whilst I had half an hour to spare between buses.

[allthebestplease]

We are on our way home from Lego Land. Had a great day, stocked up on breakfast food at hotel to have as a picnic there. Only bought a Princess Leia Lego key ring £3.50. Also had special tickets 2 for £20. We did splurge on getting QBots and they were worth their weight in Gold. We literally got off a ride, walked round and went on again. 😉
Stuck on the M25 now though. 😞

[Girliefriendlikesflowers]

Sunny dd has had ENT issues since she was 2yo, had two lots of grommets and her tonsils and adenoids out when she was 4yo, they have just always kept her on their books!! She goes once every 9 months now and they check her hearing each time. She had a hearing aid for a few years as she has partial hearing loss due to nerve damage but actually the last year or so her hearing has improved slightly so doesn't need to wear it now. I think if you were concerned about your ds hearing you can just ask his GP to refer him for a hearing test, if it was below par they would refer him on to ENT. The lady dd saw today was very thorough and does all sorts of things to check the ears not just hearing iyswim.

I remembered another spend £9 in m&s on underwear!!

The problem I find with online shopping is sizing, I find I can accidentally order something much bigger or smaller than what i wanted!!

[Mummysh0rtlegs]

I have a £20 off ocado voucher and I can't work out with that if it is worth using them for a shop before our weekend away or go to Aldi. Minimum spend is £80 so it is 25% off, I just can't get my brain to process it!

[Fluffycloudland77]

Is your shop usually over £60?.

[ememem84]

So. We may have accepted an offer on our apartment. £2.5k off the asking price. buyer in no rush to move.

Emailed hr today. Wanted to know my options for mat leave/return to work. Figured before I make any decisions I need to know what work will accept/consider.

Asked dh what he wants me to do. He doesn't want me to stay home full time (phew - I didn't want to). So we can have a full discussion once we know the options.

Just need to find somewhere to live now...

Spends £18 in boots points in boots - preggo vitamins cotton wool pads and beard shampoo (for dh - bought as a joke really)

[CremeEggThief]

That's great news, Em. Really pleased for you and your DH.

[Mummysh0rtlegs]

Congratulations on the bump Em!

Fluff- no, but this is a shop for a weekend away with my sister and her family and my dad, so it is going to be more. I am making two meals for 10 and will need to provide breakfasts and picnic food for the way there and back.

[WreckTangled]

Yes we knew we would get the school place though. There's only nine in dd's class ds' will be much bigger with about 15 I think.

Girlie we use the calpol plug in thing when Ds has a cough. It's a miracle worker!

Seacow great news on the school! If it lasts longer than three days then see the gp.

Ooo em exciting!

It's our last day here today before we head up to Auckland for a couple of days. I think it'll be good to get back to reality. Plus we miss our fat cat 😸

[Coppersulphate]

Tayto, Jorvik is a Viking Museum in York. It is quite well known here. It was badly flooded a few years ago and had to close. I didn't realise this, took DGD and she was disappointed. Apparently they were redeveloping a bank or something, dug down and found lots of Viking stuff.
Glad everyone has got their choice of school. It is such a worrying time.
Girlie hope DD is better.
Quiet here now. Kids gone home.
General Election!

[Laska5772]

Ooh hello! (waves) I just saw Cremeeggthief on another thread and thought i'd have a quick lurk here! Only to see Ems brilliant news! so had to post..
Congratulations Em, how exciting!!

Do you know what? I am still waiting for my DH to retire( and I am still at work at the moment ). He says that it will be this year , (but then he's said that every year for at least the last 3) .. It was the prospect of that which made me get my ££s in order and pay off my debt 3 years ago when I was first here ..

Things are still ok ££ with me, But I am now saving like mad ( as much of my monthly income as i can each month ) as I want to retire myself at the end of the year (when I am 60 ).. I will get a small pension as have one which matures this year and can access the one I have currently early as , and have some more in another plan which I will be able to access fully when I am 62 . but I want to leave as much of it untouched as I can as I have to wait until I am 66 for the 'state' pension..

OOh! but we have been looking seriously at motorhomes! (excited) .

Still good to see names I recognise on here still

[CremeEggThief]

Hi Laska! Great to hear from you. Motor homes sound exciting.

[mammymammyIRL]

Wow em that's super news!
Mummy could you stock up on storecupboard items before you go away? Great news about the school placement
Best that sounds fab & well done on such little spends in gift shop
Sunny this is how I juggle supermarkets Aldi every week & small shop once monthly in Iceland & Lidl for bits I like from them(this used to include Tesco too but I don't bother much with there now)

[thewaitresses]

Great news on school places!

More small-frugal steps as I get back on the wagon! Washing dried outside, visit to the park with a picnic and refused pester-power for ice-cream! mn chicken from yesterday stretched to lunch and dinner this evening.

[Cagliostro]

LASKA!!! Nice to see you :) how's your DGD?

[Laska5772]

HI caglio , Dgd2 is doing fine - she is a year old now and doing everything a baby of that age should be .. You would v never have known she had so many problems at birth . Amazing just how resilient babies can be eh? the opther 2 are pickles DGS is noe 4.5 ( going to school in sept) and DGD 1 2.5 years.. they are great fun.

Oh creemeegg .... so exciting .. We went to a motorhome show the other month at the NEC .. seriously fun ( they are horribly ££££££'s new though) , I expect we will be going 2nd hand Although i have fallen in love with one spendy beauty in particular.

[Laska5772]

oh sorry.. posted send before editing spelling.. It kind of makes sense.....

[SunnyLikeThursday]

Mammy That's good to know. Thanks :-)

Laska good to see you. I'm a regular from when you were here before but now 4 namechanges later. :-) Still reading the FT, and wittering. Very excited about the election.

[Laska5772]

Hi sunny.. yeah I wonder what is going to happen ( I know what I want.. but I was a remainer ) Well, at least ill get to work 2 elections this year (good for the savings pot!)

[Mummysh0rtlegs]

Laska I am also an old timer who has been absent and name changed, I was wondering how the baby (toddler!) was getting along, so lovely to hear.