Fluffys frugaleer thread. All welcome.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Saved £4.50 by walking and not paying to park. I am very soggy and scruffy though as it poured with rain. My colleague who did a similar walk still looks like a model. How???!

No train wifi so will catch up later

Aw, Copper I love hedgehogs. We have a gap under our fence but we never get any. Shame as we have about a billion slugs in the garden, it would be like an all you can eat buffet for them!
The babies are coming up to 3 months soon. It's going really fast!

Wow snuggly three months!

We used to get hedgehogs in our garden before we got the cat. Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets. So cute.

Copper Thanks, yes it's an equipment grant with no salary attached so I can work from home as a volunteer and drop everything any time ds needs me to Ideal really.

That's great about your greenhouse. I hope you enjoy it. I use mine to sit in the winter even when nothing's growing and it's lovely to sit and enjoy the sunshine there. I even like watching the rain from inside it.

My next door neighbour fosters hedgehogs and the come through the hedge to our garden sometimes. It always surprises me how large they can be.

I'm hoping for a quiet day today. Just folding washing and stuff like that. Beavers tonight, all being well.

We've had the oddest weather. Yesterday was boiling hot and windy and today it quite hot and pouring rain.

Aww I love hedgehogs. We've had a couple over the years but now if we see one it tends to be roadkill :( :(

Grant sounds super exciting!

Got the day to myself. DH is off and has taken the Caglets to the nature park.

Awful weather here today. Wet. Wet. Wet. Yuk.

Spends £12 at post office posting some things to bil and sil in nz. Also returned one of the pairs of wedges I ordered so should get £39 back at some point.

£9 in the Asian store on wonton wrappers, oyster sauce and noodles as coop didn't have any yesterday and £2.99 in coop on decaf tea!!!! Hoorah! No more no afternoon cup of tea!!!! Yeah!!!! Wooooooohoooooo!!!!

Oh and £3.20 on a chilli chicken and melted cheese panini (or panino. Or panina...!?) haha! It's a melted cheese sort of day.

I'm thinking of following sunny's example of being frugal elsewhere in order to spend more on what is really important to make life more comfortable.

I've been panicking about the postnatal ward - I really struggled in the busy ward and I am dreading having to stay in. I understand more about why I struggled so much now (autism) and I really want to make things easier on myself in the event I have to stay a few days (less likely perhaps as this is my third but I can't rule it out).

So I had a chat with the midwife yesterday and she said there are private rooms available at a cost - obviously you can only book once you're in labour so it's first come first served but I've decided to put money aside for it. If it makes those first few days a little easier then it will be worth it a thousand times over.

I would Cag, you'll be much happier in a private room. Post natal wards sound horrific.

I've done my first bet, it's one where you lose about 50p or so but it qualifies you for a free bet. You bet with that to make free money.

cag I'd do it. In fact it's something I'm going to do if I can. I'm lucky in that I think my medical insurance will cover it. But if not I think dh will agree it'll be more comfortable.

I also believe that at our hospital if you're in a private room visiting hours are more relaxed.

I'm erring on the side of thinking that it's better to spend money where it's needed and be super frugal elsewhere too.

I'm working on using things up (make up toiletries etc) instead of buying new and am meal planning properly and shopping with a list for probably the first time in my life. Spends at coop yesterday we're mostly "on liste" and we're £1.02 over my £55 budget. So I didn't do too badly. The only item not on list was some non alcoholic pre mixed g&t.

Meals for the week are:

Weds: Carbonara type pasta bake and spinach and rocket salad

Fri: pizza - homemade

Sat: homemade wontons and Singapore noodles

Sun: katsu curry

Mon: chicken curry

Tues: soup and toasties

Ive been to the pensions seminar and really think its dosble for me to go in December!!!
Uve also made the utterly scary decision to put HALF of my salary into pension savings until then!!! It will mean that I will save a shed load of tax..

I am now broke.. no more shoes ever....goodbye Hush..

Luckily i have lots of shoes ...

But can you ever have enough?

Cag I've been thinking of that a lot too this week after reading the MN thread about postnatal care. I bailed out after 12 hours as there was nothing to eat or drink, hardly any staff and I'd had no bath since ds was born. Being at home was so much easier as could have a wash, and food and some sleep for the last time until four years later

My dm says that in the 70s it was much better and she was in for five days and was looked after hand and foot. I can't even imagine how much easier that must have been.

Fluffy A good point, wellmade. Perhaps I should change my user name to Imelda?!

I would.

I counted dhs coats etc once & he had 17. He takes them off in the car. I don't see the point but still he buys coats.

Sunny and Cag, I'm with you on being super frugal with things that aren't that important, or that can be tweeked, so the money is there for the things that are important to you.
My greenhouse is a daft thing but it's important to me so I will be super frugal with other stuff.
Lonely, yes it has a little wall and, importantly, double doors. The bricky has to level the ground and build the wall. Then they will come and erect it.
Laska.....I am officially retired but super busy. Retirement is the best thing ever. I work almost full time on a voluntary basis for a national charity. This is the reason for going to Jersey to perform an "opening". It is for the charity.

I was given a private room after having Gabriel. I was in for three nights as I had a section. The first night you have to be on the ward, that's the rules here for sections. The woman next to me at her partner with her and they shouted back and forth all night. They knew I had a just 2 year old at home and was self-sufficient so happily moved me. I wasn't charged, but as they didn't have any food for me (Always run out by the time I waddled down there) and didn't call the midwives at all I was a blessing to them they said.

Spends today was just £28 towards a joint birthday presnt and £3.75 for creche for Gabriel while I did my sh'bam gym class. I have an asda order in for tomorrow, they keep promising me vouchers for messing about the last one so I am hoping they turn up before the cut off point for cancelling.

£24 boden top. They sent Dh a voucher.
Waitrose refunded me on my shopping £10 because the chicken their sending is out of date today.

Put £15 into my matched betting account. I was clicking on the wrong box so I'll either lose £2, or 22p. I won three pounds on free slots earlier so I can absorb it.

I should get a free bet to win on Friday, then I can sign up to a monthly subscription and have access to all the free bets on their forum.

Thanks all. DH in agreement too - couldn't discuss in detail about the mental health implications due to Caglets being there but he gets it. Hopefully won't need to be in long anyway. In particular hoping I can get feeding established quickly third time round!

EDF putting charges up. We've been talking about switching anyway, we are one of those households who've never done it

Presumably we can look on uswitch or something but then do the actual switch on TCB/quidco?

We're lucky with our maternity care here. The labour room had a shower in so I could have one as soon as ds was taken away. Also Dh could stay on the pre natal ward with me right from the start of induction and postnatal too if he had wanted to.

After I had dd they gave me a private room as I had a horrible birth and dd was in scbu they thought it would be mean to put me on a ward with all the newborns.

Anyway I definitely think a private room is worth it.

Yes Cag you can.

£4.50 parking. Doing chicken kievs and cheesy mash for dinner. I need comfort food in this horrible weather!

Cag Try moneysavingexpert energy club, the others don't show all the deals.

Right, I made a minor mistake on my first bet but when it's all rinsed out I've lost 22p. I think.

Psychologically I'm over the first hurdle & I feel better for it.

laksa im in agreement with fluffy you can never have enough shoes.

I've just cleared out under my desk at work. 7 pairs were lurking there. Oopsy

And have established I cannot drive in wedges. Have moved the car from the car park so I can pick dh up. Will have to drive the rest of the way barefoot.

Question. On a scale of one to dangerous how dangerous is it for me to be around someone who's around people with chickenpox? I'm my head it's avoid avoid avoid. But I've had it. And so has said person. So in theory it's oknright???