Jolly japes in July (only if they are frugal)...!

[needastrongone]

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Just checked my direct debit, it's £103 pcm for month and I'm £100 in credit. But it is summer.

Cag My ds likes doing combat moves too. I always wonder whether he's secretly a dancer.

I have built a working light meter and feel moderately chuffed about that.

I just got an email to say that the M&S sale has started.

In pony news, his last X-ray yesterday showed his fracture is almost completely healed, there's just one tiny part that needs a little more rest, mainly for surety. Vet trotted him up and he's only 1/10 lame in trot, which to be honest you would see if you didn't know how horses moved.

He was a twat for the vet, who remarked 'he's feeling more like himself then....'

If you have a Sparks card, you get early access to the M&S sale, being honest, it wasn't really worth it.

Right, more over due admin.

And for once we are being frugal and having pasta and leftover tomato sauce for tea.

I saw a baby gold finch in the garden yesterday having a massive flailing panic attach because it had a small white fluffy feather stuck to its beak. I felt quite reassured to know that even wild birds get blindsided by inanimate objects sometimes.

Hee hee d pony.

Feeling like a bit of a twat.
Update for anyone who doesn't know me I live in Australia, originally from the uk though. Up until recently I've been shopping mostly at Aldi, and I had thought I was saving money (although some things eg quorn I had to get elsewhere as they do not have it here).
However this week dd was a bit ill, I'm a single mum and Aldi doesn't deliver so I did a basket on Woolworths, didn't order but price was $60 incl delivery. Please do bare in mind that Woolworths have a very steep delivery charge ($12) so my food total was $48
Dd was ok when it was grocery day so I drove to Aldi (only 5 min away) stuck to my list religiously and to my shock the total was $130 I was
I got home, checked my receipts against my Woolworths basket and a lot of things were more expensive eg
Woolworths chopped tomatoes in garlic and oregano (used as a base for pasta sauce) 0.69c
Aldi chopped tomatoes (standard ones)
80c a can.
Woolworths pasta, 85c
Aldi pasta $1.20
Woolworths vanilla ice cream (it's delicious if you ever visit TRY it!) huge 4L tub 4.30
Aldi vanilla icecream 2l tub $6.50
I can't remember all of them now but those are the ones that stand out mainly.
Do feel a bit of an idiot now though it's only when I realised how much it should've been because I'd already done the basket and list that I realised they're actually more expensive here.
On the upside,
I've now realised that with meal planning I can feed myself and DD for about $40-$50/week which is great.

Cag I've just been to one of the primary schools! Oh my...their reception intake is twice the size of my dd's whole school!

£7.65 McDonald. Yum.

Afternoon all.

DS was up at 4 this morning . I was not impressed, particularly when he then had a meltdown at 7.30 because he was tired. Whose fault is that then mate?!

Spent £100 this morning as had to get him a new car seat, and booked our cat sitter for over christmas - that'll be £90 but won't pay her til just before.

Oh and spent 50p on a cereal bar :)

That's great news about the pony, Need. I was wondering how he's doing.

DD loves picnic type lunches. Her favourite is hummus with pitta bread and carrot sticks to dip. She's also partial to a hard boiled egg although I can't stand them.

The disney price is for a week staying in the star wars hotel (opens 2019 and i've based it on a similar hotel with a dining package) then a week in a villa with a pool, flights, all park tickets (universal and busch gardens too) and food / car hire in the summer holidays. It would be the most we've ever spent and ever will spend I think! Will all be saved for.

Both our cars have broken down, got one back today, £430 bill but MIL is paying it for some lovely reason. Yet to hear the fate of mine. Gulp.

Sticking well to YNAB, We have more money in the bank for mid month than I have seen in a very long time. DH gets paid a week today but I am trying to use as little of it as possible for July and allocate it for August.

I am trying to eek out my grocery budget, I've done a tesco order that has lots to make hopefully two weeks of meals in it for £40. I need toilet roll but I'm hoping I can get to August. We have lots of potatoes so I imagine we will be eating a lot of potato based meals! Tonight is meal four from my joint of pork, I will mix it with BBQ sauce and serve it over jacket potatoes with some cheese and then do green veg (frozen) and beans on the side.

Nsd so far, but have to pick up dd2 later, need tinned dog food (buggers won't eat dry kibble alone), plus probably a chippy tea. It's been a frantic week. The 3 little dc finish tomorrow not thinking about leavers assembly dd1 friday luchtime. I cannot wait. No alarm friday morning. Dp can fend for himself! dd1 will get the bus.

cocklodger half my life ago I used to go in and out of Dampier every three weeks, I always got sent ashore to do the shopping, being the only female, and used to love Woolworths!! I went all nostalgic. It always amazed me that it was a proper supermarket and not just pic'n'mix and stationary like ours were. I'm glad it will work out cheaper for you going there. I love 'forrin' supermarkets!

I hadn't realised Woolworths was a proper supermarket in some countries! I think our high streets are emptier without it.

Brilliant news about the pony, Need. Delighted to hear it!

NSD. Having a lazy day at home, and it's great!

Train home from Bristol has been rammed, reserved seating was suspended and only two carriages instead of three . Some poor man got off the train to let a man with a bike get on and then the guard wouldn't let the one who got off back on due to space

Managed to do a few online surveys on the train which was a bonus. And got a free can of Coke Zero for the train and a voucher for a free bottle of Coke Zero too.

Still no sign of chickenpox for DD2

Snugg Shopmium has 50% off sma follow on and toddler milk. You can both have accounts & get two.

Can dpony go out now then need?

Lodger don't sweat it, lesson learned. I'm finding waitrose cheaper than aldi here using their offers & essential ranges. Plus they bring it to the door & send me money off coupons.

Homebargains haul;
Astonish paste 79p
Colour catchers £1.49
Scourers 59p
Two ice blocks 79p.

Can't be our infant school as it was nice and small wreck but most are quite big here I think. The junior school my DD started at (the part of town called Mb) was flipping massive though - 5 classes per year 😱😱 no wonder my shy anxious little girl felt lost there!

Waiting for a lovely friend to pick us up to try taekwondo. Will be walking if we sign up as we will have to do the Monday class instead which happens to be more local. But DS wanted to try it with kids he knows :)

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/cookworks-3-5l-slow-cooker-white-8-49-argos-2744356

Cheap slow cooker. Winter will be here before we know it.

This was TB Cag. It's such a culture shock to me!

Evening all

Productive day

Christmas craft bits £14.12

Transferred credit card balance to Yorkshire bank 0per cent credit card deal.

Mistakenly paid the full outstanding balance to sainsburys energy it's the final payment from last house. Had planned to pay 50 pound a month. Went online, put in numbers and only realised afterwards that it hadn't asked for amount to pay. 276 pound later.....well It's paid now!

I've planned how much I need to put away each month for Christmas.

And planned out the uniform shop.

Got a deal from the Plumbcentre for bath tap mixer. Advertised as 129 online - I went in person to local centre and they've said I could have them for 49.95 because I'm a regular! The cheap ones I got from Amazon keep leaking underneath the bath no matter what I do. I'm going for a new set on the chance the cheapie Amazon ones were very cheap for a reason. If the new ones leak....

I will admit defeat and call in a plumber....watch this space tomorrow and cross your fingers for me and the bathroom lol

I bet amazon would refund you for those taps.

£7 emergency beer and crisps.

Just catching up with you all...

Lonely didn't know B&q and screw fix were one and samehow come you only have one set of double doors in kitchen?

Laska exciting times! Are you looking forward to retiring?...you sound very organised

Fluffy do you mind me asking how on earth you fuel bill is so fab!!??

Copper hope they've sorted your shelves out!

Creme how do you keep your fuel so low? Very envious lol

Emem envious of you too. Two nights out in a row....and a lunch in one week. Good god woman were are you finding the stamina....I'd be feeling the effects for a week! Have a fab night!

Need you have teenagers too....I feel your pain how old are yours? Great news about your pony!

ImaFur hope your DS has been kind to you for rest of day...4am my word!!

Fluffy do you think they would? It wasn't Amazon but a seller on Amazon. Do you think it would be worth me trying to get a refund?