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Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

New frugal thread for autumn savings

999 replies

SnugglySnerd · 10/10/2017 10:05

Just filled up the last one. Hope you all find the new one!

OP posts:
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31
Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 14:49

Welcome Queen.

Where would you like to cut back on first?.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 15:07

Everything!
Food budget is £50 a week for 1 adult and dds 5 and 8. I am struggling with this though we only shop at Aldi except for the bastard fruit winders the dds have at play time at school.

Today dd1 best friend is here so free entertainment.

I am going through parking maps like a nerd. My job gives me city wide permit parking so I'm looking for the spaces near places we visit where we pay to park. I've bought a year pass for the aquarium so if I can work out the free parking it's a winner.

Does anyone else have ichoose at work? It's so vast I can't get my head around what to look out for

Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 15:14

TBH a lot of frugality is quite nerdy. There's a lag between starting frugality & seeing the benefit so don't give up if you don't feel better off straightaway.

So, what's your menu plan?.

mammymammyIRL · 14/10/2017 15:18

Queen are you in contracts for mobile electricity insurance etc

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 15:28

I needs new menu plan. I have a slow cooker fantasy but I don't have one yet.

I'm on contract for mobile but just got to the end of a big switch for duel fuel I can't understand what to do next with that.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 15:30

Outgoings are currently £1900 a month. Annoyed virgin has gone up to £39 but I only got the tv package back in June so don't know if I can do anything

Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 15:34

Ok, so for fuel you ring your provider & ask them how many units of electric & how many kWh of gas you used last year & your tariff name.

If it's not a free phone number check for a free one on saynoto0870.com. Then put the information into money saving experts energy club. It has deals other comparison sites don't show you because they aren't paying to be on them.

Then switch to the cheapest.

If you have two kids & work full time a pressure cooker might suit you better. You can cook things really quickly in them. Cheap to buy too.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 15:35

Fluffy I've done that re the fuel it says I'm already on the cheapest deal

needastrongone · 14/10/2017 15:42

Hi Queen we are a friendly chatting bunch here. Have you reviewed all your DD's and S'orders for cheaper deals or rouge ones slipping through the net? Menu plan, I assume with £50 pw you do. Use of pulses, beans to bulk up etc?

Mammy Sometimes, when I am time poor I am at my most productive as it does focus the mind somewhat! How's the healthy eating plan getting on? Richie Howe isn't it?

Lonely I can see that you would be bothered! I'm surprised the GP hasn't switched him over anyway.

needastrongone · 14/10/2017 15:44

Also, use TopCashback for as much online purchases as you can, especially utility type changes.

Anything you can Ebay or sell on FB? Kids? Yourself? Grin

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 15:52

My typical mean plan is;

Chicken nuggets and frozen veg
Fish fingers beans and waffles
Sausages eggs and beans
Spaghetti hoops and toast (late home after brownies)
Spaghetti bol (1 tray of mince makes 2 x dinners and a lunch for me)
Frozen pizzas
Burgers/frozen veg

You get the idea.

Spaghetti Bol is the only wet food they will eat just now. I want s slow cooker and recipes they will eat so I can batch cook and take to work.

My work lunch routine is awful I've wasted loads on food in Tesco across the road.

There's fridge and microwave at work. I've got loads of posh lunch boxes and a thermos soup flask.

I have some veg I can make soup from might do that tomorrow.

I could ask dm to get me a slow cooker for xmas

LonelyOversharer · 14/10/2017 15:56

need the gp isn't entirely sure why dp was still on them, so has asked him to try without for a bit. Its been a month now and bar him being a bit more erratic, no change iyswim.

So far a cheap day, but we're heading for costa and maccys now. Ds has been v hard work at the shop today. I know my beyond lovely parents need a break, but aaaahhhh!

Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 15:58

Right, stay on that tariff then. Is the account in credit? They won't tell you if your due a refund they'll just hang onto it.

Energy use, can you economise there? There's loads of energy saving tips on money saving expert. My best one was turning our water thermostat from 70c to 55c, I knocked loads off my bill doing that.

Do you have a dishwasher? Some people have them but won't use them because they think hand washing is cheaper but it's the other way around. If you check the manual on things like that and the washing machine it'll tell you the cheapest cycle to use.

I bought two sets of Wilkinsons smart price crockery when I got my dishwasher so I only had to run it every two days.

Virgin your probably stuck with. Sometimes BT raises prices mid contract & money saving expert flags it up as people can break contract within so many days of the price increase but I don't know if virgin have it sown up more tightly.

You could always email a complaint to the CEO of virgin media & point out that your a lp with erratic income & you took out a contract with them to save money but now your paying more than your budget allows. If they give you a little bit of compo its money you didn't have before.

SunnyLikeThursday · 14/10/2017 15:59

I think a little camera is a splendid baby present for the Mum. I took about 70 zillion photos of ds and having the camera pocket sizes was good. I think that was what I got, though tbh the memory is a bit hazy now.

Em my dh covets hybrid /electric BMWs, so I know where you're coming from. You might need two cars.

SunnyLikeThursday · 14/10/2017 16:09

Christmas thanks for asking about ds. We're a family of scientists and it's been a standing joke for years amongst my work colleagues that we're all a bit aspergers. However, the school is in a great fuddle about whether we're "bad enough" to receive a diagnosis. We feel it's a really fine line between holding a kid back with a diagnosis that is only slimly merited, or holding them back by not giving it.

The really interesting thing is that doing the Ados test questionnaire at least opened my eyes to which features of our behaviour attract these questions. I didn't really know before, except that we are scientists and a bit shy. Now that they have asked the questions, I understand better. I can see these features in the rest of the family, which answers a lot of questions that have been puzzling me.

The great question I think, is whether a label would help or hinder. I think it would help me as people would no longer think I am an over-protective mother, and would finally understand why I care for ds so carefully. However, I do wonder whether people would then ask less of ds then he is able to give. It's a real tricky one. I wish there was a grading system or something, and I could say he's "shy scientist grade 4" or something. I really dislike the word Autism, which seems hugely unhelpful and overly general.

Blah blah blah. Sorry that was longer than I intended.

SunnyLikeThursday · 14/10/2017 16:10

btw I mean that all my work colleagues think that all of our branch of science professionals are asd, not just my family specifically.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 16:14

I have sold most of what I can on eBay. Got a coast dress left and a smart trike.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 14/10/2017 16:27

Duel fuel is 198 in credit but the thing says I may owe them 127 at the end of the period which is June 2918. That's based on my usuage but exp moved out in June this year so it's not going up. He had a bastard hot tob I think cost loads

Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 16:31

A slow cookers good for soups, I put the veg in oil for 2 hrs then add the pulses & salt. I don't always use stock cubes. Cooking on a bootstrap is a blog my jack Monroe, her soups are very cheap & tasty.

I use them for my lunches, I make my own bread because it's more filling. Big packs of lentils in sainsburys world food aisles are cheaper & you'll get 10 slow cooker pots of soup out of them. Each one feeds me 4-5 days.

A lot of supermarkets give money off first online grocery shops which would give you an oppurtunity to stock up. Even Waitrose do discounts, I use them combined with the pick your own discounts with their loyalty card.

Do you buy smartprice staples like spaghetti & rice?. The Aldi 20p pasta doesn't taste different to their normal range.

needastrongone · 14/10/2017 16:38

Sunny My own experience, and you are fine to choose to ignore it if you want, it is only offered with good intention, was that a diagnosis for DN, which my DSil had to fight very hard for at about the same age as your DS has only been a good thing. No funding has ever been allocated, I guess you would call his HFA 'mild' or 'on the cusp' too.

It allowed a more sensitive approach by the primary school in all aspect of school life. It also allowed him access to a highly over subscribed high school that was far better suited to his needs which he would never ever have received a place at with no diagnosis. That's massive in itself if you consider that one fact.

I also allowed them to access training for themselves and and whole range of extra curricular resources for DS not available without a diagnosis. Being surrounded by kids like himself was a massive confidence changer for him. It's very clear now that my DB has the condition and strangely, that has helped them as a family too.

In terms of a diagnosis holding him back, well DN has just started his first term at Durham and passed 5 A Levels, 3A*'s and 2A's. So if you count achievement in those terms, then he's a success.

If you count success in how DN handles social situations, reacts to others and generally functions in society and is happy, then the diagnosis has been massively successful too.

I HATE saying this contrite term, but you would hardly notice.

Fluffycloudland77 · 14/10/2017 16:40

Yes, the hot tub would have cost a fortune.

Do you have a hot water tank?. Or just a boiler?.

Look at which light bulbs you use the most, I'm thinking it's probably lounge, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Make a list of bulb types eg normal bayonet, big screw etc and go to somewhere like ikea, home bargains, the range, b&m and replace them with led lightbulbs. Even if you do one light a month it will knock more off your bill than people think.

Be really strict about lights off, tv off when no ones using them. Switch everything off at the wall. Some appliances use electric when their off. A clock on a microwave can cost more per year to run than the microwave itself.

Give a monthly meter reading, if you cut use they should refund you & lower the direct debit.

needastrongone · 14/10/2017 16:41

Sounds like the lunch area is where you might improve spending then Queen. A bag of value carrots and some lentils can make a whole lot of soup!

lifelongfrugaleer · 14/10/2017 16:41

Baby step Queen. Tbh if DC don't like wet food they may not eat SC food.
Start by making changes with your lunch. That will add up.
Iceland the store is good for frozen food deals as it seems it farm foods. Can you give us a vague idea of the area of the country you are in?

needastrongone · 14/10/2017 16:43

Of course we don't know how DN would have fared without a diagnosis!

Loveabaconsandwich · 14/10/2017 16:49

Your meal plan looks like what my DC eat (and often us) queen

Ok, so I did something stupid. DD1 spilt water all over her trousers just before she was due to be picked up. So I put them on the floor and attempted to dry them with a hairdryer. I only went and burnt the carpet. A CREAM carpet. Ahhhh! Only suggestions to rescue it?

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