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We’ve had our Merry Thriftmas, now bring on the Happy Fru Year! All welcome as we Frugaleer our way into January 2018.

999 replies

Cagliostro · 31/12/2017 20:22

A new thread in case we are too tipsy (or in my case, asleep on the sofa) to remember later.

This is a friendly group where we chat all things money related and all things everything else related. Everyone welcome so settle in and let’s make 2018 the year we save money!

OP posts:
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30
Fluffycloudland77 · 06/01/2018 18:59
Grin

I tell Dh I cut his sandwiches on the diaganol "as it's more middle class", it gets him rilled up enough to remind me I was bought up in a flat over a shop.

We shopped in Waitrose though Wink

Price of fruit in morrisons earlier, it's a wonder the nations children don't have scurvy.

ememem84 · 06/01/2018 19:06

wrong my “pony fund” is being spent on a house. Dh said I had a choice - horse or house. House was the sensible option. Also to spend the time with said horse I’d need to have a zillion hours free so would be time rich if I stopped work. Sadly we’d be money poor.

Best of both worlds at the moment - ride every week, all the good bits none of the responsibility (except for my own safety) no vets bills no costs. Win win for me.

🐎🐎

Have just discovered a ton of new emojis on my phone. 🧚🏾‍♀️🧜🏼‍♂️🧜🏾‍♀️🧛‍♀️🧙🏻‍♂️

cheminotte · 06/01/2018 19:27

Our Tesco shop last week was £150! 2 adults and 2 DC. That included quite a bit of beer and was our first post-Christmas big shop. But we've been shopping since then for forgotten items like eggs and more veg so I don't know our total.
DP bought soup although I could have made some.
Trip to Wilkos yesterday was successful - bird feeder and nuts purchased and a few other items that weren't on the list

TimeForMy10thCuppa · 06/01/2018 19:30

Spends so far this year... £35 on a weeks food shop on tuesday. Need to do another tomorrow. Mostly for lunch box stuff. About £15 today, took both kids to the cinima, so £7.50 was on tickets. The rest was on 2 coffees and 3 milkshakes at DS swimming lesson. Though im sure it was less. Will check my purse.
Our food shops are about £50/£60 pw. I have a £200 budget for the months. Thats for 2 adults, a fussy almost 7 year old and a 3.5 year old. No nappies or wipes or anything. Loo roll is bought in bulk. Cleaning stuff as and when. But i try to stock up if on offer. Every 3 months or so i buy meat, and portion up and freeze ( i actually get OH to do it). Though the butchers has closed down now so no idea where i will got for meat. It used to cost me about £40 and would last 3 months.

ememem84 · 06/01/2018 19:57

We are watching “another mother’s son” on Netflix.

It’s about jersey during the war. Annoyingly it’s set here but not filmed here. Worth a watch though. Sad. Based on a true story.

LonelyOversharer · 06/01/2018 20:01

peonies if you don't usually get sore boobs before af, thats a good sign! So is joining a gym (all exercise plans up in smoke), and being on this thread!

I'm finally doing the blankets and bridles on the camels. I'm ignoring the fact I should have posted them a week ago.

Nsd for me! Dp brought stuff from the coop and £10 tips (gone in my purse). Will do my weekly numbers tomorrow, but it's been an unusually cheap week. Will get dd1 birthday pressies next week, and a birthday tea to do (pizza & cake for 11) so next week will be more spendy. I'm going to try a mirror glaze cake. This has meant watching many many tutorials!

Uht milk does taste different in tea and coffee, but powdered milk does not. We rinse a carton and make up a couple of pints when we run out unexpectedly. At sea we only had uht, and I always hated it (but needed the coffee), and the fresh milk we got onboard in the u.s. was weird and sweet. Its amazing how many countries just don't routinely drink cows milk like we do.

laska yes, the morphy richards one. I haven't done a beetroot in it yet, but sweet potatoes, butternut squash and potatoes fly right through, so do apples (very quick crumble that was). I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets! I have two waffle makers, and a waffle cone maker, the tefal electric grater thing (I totally love this, and have had to replace the grating cones as I wore them out!) as well as the mixer, processor, coffee grinder, nutri blaster, ice cream churner, dolce gusto machine...you get the picture (and an idea why I 1. Have no cash, and 2. Have no counter space!

WreckTangled · 06/01/2018 20:05

Sore boobs were my first pregnancy symptoms both times.

ememem84 · 06/01/2018 20:07

...and mine....

Loveabaconsandwich · 06/01/2018 20:12

DD1 it was the nausea
DD2 the smell of quavers
But i’m not the most observant and both DDs took ages to be made so was at the giving up stage! Ooooh, and itchy skin on my back with both

A nsd.

DD1 has tummy ache so not going to sleep, poor thing Sad

WreckTangled · 06/01/2018 20:17

WreckCat is sleeping with dd tonight apparently

We’ve had our Merry Thriftmas, now bring on the Happy Fru Year! All welcome as we Frugaleer our way into January 2018.
PeoniesforMissAnnersley · 06/01/2018 20:24

Haha lonely I had the exact thought when I signed up at the gym ...
You guys are giving me hope Smile wrecked em

Unescorted · 06/01/2018 20:28

And mine.
I have had a dull dull day filling in a job app. I am unlikely to get it but I will make someone else say no.

Dd's pictures look really amazing when they were put up. her Instagram

WreckTangled · 06/01/2018 20:33

Wow unescorted so talented!

Unescorted · 06/01/2018 20:38

Thanks I will let her know. She has bouts of underconfidence. It was only because she was bullied into exhibiting by the librarian that she put them up.

ememem84 · 06/01/2018 20:43

unescorted dd did those?! A. Mazing.

Pinkpeppermintteaforme · 06/01/2018 20:43

We get organic milk delivered in bottles by a real milkman-costs a few p more but I love it Grin
It cuts down the plastic also.
Lonely if you have a local Coop do you have a Coop card ?
5% back onto your Coop card which I love as its handy to use that for bits instead of real money Smile

Unescorted · 06/01/2018 20:47

Yeah... She wants to do art at university. Most of my income goes on art materials. It is worth it.

Pinkpeppermintteaforme · 06/01/2018 20:49

Other little frugal wins
Have had lots of those charity clothes bags through the door -use for emergency bin bags as they dont collect them and I dont currently have clothes recycling.
All the Christmassy present bags collected and saved minus tags for next year -obvs immediate family only (they think its a great idea)
Have had heating on one hour /off next

lifelongfrugaleer · 06/01/2018 20:52

Those pictures are fab. .
£10 birthday present, £7 trampoline for dd, £3.78 dortitos.

Lostmyemailaddress · 06/01/2018 21:28

Spent £12 today needed milk for dd3 and got creme fresh. Made mushroom stroganoff for me and dd1 got 2 portions left got to Google if I can freeze it otherwise it's our lunch tomorrow. Made mini pizzas for other dc plus a pack of Aldi sausage and a pack of frozen puff pastry made 45 sausage rolls. Finally got around to use the cooking apples I was given. Made 1 big Apple pie 6 mini Apple pies and 5 lots of Apple crumble. Kids eaten 1 tonight and 4 for freezer. Tomorrow making bread cookies and flapjack so will have snacks for the dc for next week. The only thing I should need tomorrow is to buy some cheap Aldi chocolate for cookies.

PollyShelbyLifeCoachServices · 06/01/2018 21:41

NSD- Yey! Same tomorrow.

TheDuchessofDukeStreet · 06/01/2018 21:47

Unescorted, I do like the sound of your recycling centre and the Thai curry!
Am not at the meal plan stage yet this week as I have to sort out the freezer tomorow but I plan to make and freeze in portions

Shepherds pie
Hunters chicken
Thai green chicken curry, alas from a jar!
Bolognaise sauce
The Pioneer woman's lasagne

And to try making
Chicken risotto
Chicken fricasse

And to make Apple crumble cookies , flapjack and banana bread baked as buns, for Mr Duchess's packed lunches. My poor freezer, it doesn't know what's coming.

Coppersulphate · 06/01/2018 21:59

Unescorted your DD is clearly very talented. You are right to be proud mum.
Unexpectedly spendy day in Laura Ashley furniture sale today. Went in for friend’s birthday pressie and bought two sofas, but they were much less than half price and I needed them. My others are 25 years old.

LonelyOversharer · 06/01/2018 21:59

unescorted they are fab! She is very good.

Yes pink I have about £15 on my card, I'll use it by and by (on milk and bread probably). I also have a midlands coop card for my electricity, it gives me 5% too, which I have set to pay against my bill. I have an asda cashback credit card that I'm going to use instead of my debit card this year. I'm keeping track of spends, and on sunday night will pay off weekly spend rounded up to nearest ten. Plus making my usual payment as well. I'm hoping this will pay for my big christmas shop (this year £170 but lasted so well, I'm still not really needing to shop yet) in cashback.

I can't remember the last time I got a charity bag through. I think we're too far out of the way. My mum gets loads.

wreck it looks like he's slowly slithering onto the floor!

FridgeCut · 06/01/2018 22:01

Bad Amazon day, £50 on a new set of chopping boards, the last set have lasted nearly ten years so an investment. And then £25 on index cards and books for DS1, he needs some handwriting practice and he is learning sight words so they are for good purposes. No other spends and heating has only been on for thirty minutes today.