The Friendly Frugaleers Keep on Chatting (and having babies!)

[WreckTangled]

New thread, everyone welcome!

So it seems that 4am is the new getting up time . Of course the dts are already exhausted and crying. It's going to be a difficult day I think.

Beautiful pic Em.

Cag I have some baby hats that are too small for mine if you would like them? Pm your address and I'll send some.

Good point lily I use pay pal a lot and checked back to see if I was being charged but am not. Which credit card do you have sunny? I’ve got a Hsbc visa and no charges. Dh uses his Amex and no charges (and Amex get charged a lot...)

Oh no Snuggly that does not sound good. Are you able to have a day at home or do you have things to do? How old are the twins now?

And cheers Love

Pink. I echo the others do stay and Witter on too.

Cag do you think she is sleeping for too long between feeds? How are the nappies. Have you tried the tricks of no covers, get ticking, feet unwrapped so she is not too snuggly. Take as much time as your need for the mw or ask then to come home.

Whitby abbey was ok. Chips for tea £18, £3 parking, £4 snack. It was very cold and wet this year so we didn't stay too the end. Nice to have a look out though.

Well done on the race need.
It's was the right dog decision girlie. Pleased girlie can see it.
Meadow, tell your boss over the phone. Don't wait for the fitnote.

Nsd planned today

I've missed loads, sorry.

Snug still try and get outside though. Don't add cabin fever to your woes.

Well done on the garden lonely.

Em he's a cutie. Hope tonight is better.

Quick check in
Feeling better this morning .
First night without bad dreams/racing thoughts for a couple of weeks -someone else mentioned this but I didnt twig .
I do tend to bottle things up so thanks for letting me witter
DA can talk shit all he likes em his voice is just so soothing and Im already looking forward to next sunday .
Righto got to steel myself up for work -they think "I ate something off"
Have knitted a few rows already Lonely
Im going to stay off FB and MN for a few days and try and get out and about/walk/knit .
Hope I wont need to talk to GP ,she is very nice but has just offered me ADs in the past, when Im not depressed and I had an awful reaction.
Have a good day everyone xx

I'm not sure what the paypal 2% surcharge is, but often when I am about to pay by paypal a little window says that there is a 2% surcharge, when there isn't one for credit card. I can't remember which places now.
It annoys me, because I can't get 2% interest on savings, so I feel as though I am throwing money away.

I’ve never seen that before, Sunny. It must be down to the individual seller rather than a blanket 2% PayPal fee.

Strange. I’ll keep an eye out for the surcharge not that I should be internet shopping

Ds woke at 1, at 4 and again at 6 (the latter being because silly mummy didn’t do his nappy up properly and we had a pee leak...sigh) he’s still unsettled - I’ve fed him and dh room him for a bit but he wanted more food. Settled in to bf him again and he had a bf then wiggled about pulled awayvthen cried because he wanted more. Sigh. He’s sleeping now though.

Have cancelled reflexology. Annoyingly it may have helped him today as first class was hour and a half of introduction and then how to deal with coughs colds etc. But he’s far too unsettled and it wouldn’t be fair on other attendees. Plus putting him down awake is difficult.

Glad you are feeling a bit better Pink lots of us struggle with anxiety from time to time (me included!) so completely understand.

Need you are a running superstar are you putting in for any marathons? You should.

Meadow you poor thing I have had sickness for just over 24 hours and completely lost the will to live, God knows you rubbish you must feel! I found fizzy things slightly easier to drink when feeling sick, fizzy water and squash etc. Also fennel and peppermint tea are good for settling stomachs. I had terrible morning sickness with dd and took some comfort from the fact that it is apparently a sign of a healthy pregnancy

Sunny that sounds odd with the surcharge, is there someone you can email? I have never had that before either.

I am feeling slightly more human, slept well last night (also slept through the whole of BP2!) no more sickness so fingers crossed it was just a 24 hour thing. Dd is now ill as well crying with a headache and has a slightly blotchy rash so likely a virus. Lucky I am off work really so she can stay off, quiet day today then.

Feeling o.kay re the dog, it was def the right decision not just for us but for the dog as well as she was getting more and more anxious as the week went on. Am going to look into this borrow my doggy website and also volunteering at a local rescue as a way for dd to have regular contact with dogs without having to actually own one!!

LLL £6 a day saved is over £1300 a year if you work ft.

I used to buy lunch out all the time, I don't even want to now.

@Girlie sounds like a great idea. There are lots of dogs without homes that you can give a lot of love to without the commitment of owning one.

@em what a gorgeous little one!

Just got my 2 off to school, and having breakfast in peace. Then I’m off to Zumba and possibly spin if they’ve got space for me. DS2 has got swimming this afternoon. Cubs is cancelled because they are doing a big Halloween fundraiser tomorrow night instead. But DS1 still has Scouts, I think they’ll be roping them into get everything organised for the following night.

Girlie Sorry to hear you were not well. I missed that. I hope things are better today. Glad you can keep your dd home if she's not well either.

I've been bustling around trying to organise a minecraft costume for ds. In the end the print shop at the corner are printing stuff out to be stuck onto a box that will be his mask, and two copies of a sword that we can glue together back to back. Fingers crossed it will work.

I hadn’t thought of it like that before Fluffy. That’s rather a lot of money to spend on tea and snacks isn’t it

DH and I were looking at our outgoings on Friday. I do a monthly spreadsheet setting out our regular fixed outgoings (mortgage, childcare etc) and I have a separate spreadsheet for annual costs like car insurance, which I then pro-rate into a monthly accrual. I sound quite organised, don’t I. Except I’m not. It had not occurred to me to annualise the regular fixed outgoings to get a true picture of our finances. DH did that on Friday and oh my.....the realisation that we spend nearly £30k a year on childcare alone is horrifying (it’s full time for 2 kids plus wrap around for the eldest so I’m trying to convince myself that it’s not quite as bad on a “per Head” basis as it seems...). I’ve been trying to work out how to cut costs elsewhere and Fluffy, you’ve just made me seriously think about how all the little extravagances add up here and there.

Do I have the willpower to stop the fripperies?! Argh.

How does "wraparound" care work for your eldest? Is that like boarding school?

I imagine wraparound care is breakfast club and after school club, thats what it means here. £30k a year though thats more about 8k more than I earn a year, can see how it adds up though dd was only in part time childcare in the pre school years and it still cost an absolute bomb and that was 10 years ago!!!

I have been feeling a lot more human and catching up on housework, surprising how it suddenly catches you out and you realise everything is dusty and needs a proper clean. Plus needed to bleach the bathroom post stomach bug.

Dd has perked up with calpol but def not quite 100%....

Wraparound is before and after school clubs. Mine is £40 a week for an hour after school four days for two dc.

Wraparound is before and after school clubs. Mine is £40 a week for an hour after school four days for two dc.

LLL

Individual savings look quite pathetic until you multiply by the amount of times you make them.

The key is consistency & micromanaging regular expenses.

You won't notice that £6 saved today but in two months if you're £240 better off you'd notice that.

If you put all these little savings into the money saving experts mortgage overpayment calculator it'll tell you how many years sooner you'd pay the mortgage off. £120 a month would knock 4 years off my mortgage.

Wraparound is before and after school clubs. Mine is £40 a week for an hour after school four days for two dc.

Of ffs. Sorry about the triple post!

Thanks, I had always wondered what wraparound was. I genuinely thought it meant all night. Glad it doesn't.

Fluffy good point. I must remember that. Have you listened to the song seven and half cents on youtube?

I think they're singing your song.

Yes wraparound is breakfast and after school club. Both DH and I are full time, albeit my day starts at 7am and finishes at 3pm so that I can round the children up by 4.30pm.we live in London so childcare isn’t cheap. Some day they will all be at school though and I’ll have some spare cash again!

Definite food for thought Fluffy

Agh! Awful morning. Nipped to Asda for a few bits and it came to £45. That's on top of main shopping (£60ish) and top up shop (£20ish) since middle of last week. It's because we are too tired and too busy. We forget things or decide we "need" treats like biscuits. I used to be such an organised shopper. We'll be on EWFL at this rate!