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

[Cagliostro]

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!

Don’t get me started on the toiletry cupboard plastic boxes of doom

I have 17 eyeliner pencils 7 shampoos 9 conditioners 12 mascaras 15 showergels three eyeshadow pallets 4 foundations and a multitude of scrubs moisturisers cleansers toners magic potions.... all to be used up before I buy new.

£7 tea and scones with Dm this afternoon and £3.99 on a pink spangly collar for catface. She needs to wear one when she goes outside (hopefully later this year once we move house) so I figured get her used to it before we move.

We met our friends today for tea and cake and at the garden centre - friends dd wanted to talk about catface and I took her to the pet shop bit and she helped me choose the collar.

Since I’ve been on leave and dh has been cycling in I’ve spent £12 parking. In almost 4 months. We’d spend £37 a week both of us parking all week for work. Spendy.

AwwwCag think of it as a means to an end -can anyone give you assistance with the forms?

em Im doing the same -Im shocking for makeup and smellies.
I have a huge stash to use up

If any of that make up is unopened you could probably flog it on Ebay. My hairdresser did that and did quite well out of it.

Mine is opened -I buy it,still look crap and never use it again
Will have a sort out at the weekend

snugglysadly its all opened and poked. I’m determined to use it up. I’m making notes of what I like etc. The eyeshadow pallets will take forever to use up but am trying to use them every day. So far I’ve hit the pan on two shades of my naked 2 pallet.

Some thinks will be easier to use up than others - moisturisers etc as long as I use them every day I’ll blitz through.

Waste not want not.

"Opened and poked" em I love that description!

life aren't eggs mostly protein if you like them? Dp says bodies can only manage a tiny bit of protein in one go, like 24g (I just asked him) so little and often.

I've had an hours sleep, and feel much better. I was hot/cold/panicky/churny last night.

unescorted I'm so pleased it's not nasty, they will monitor you a bit more frequently as well now I think? What a relief. And super good news (letter awaiting) for your dd, is she going near or far?

I just spent my first £100 of the year in amazon, birthday things for dd, and a bullet journal for me, plus some peg doll blanks. I spend far too much time on pintrest!

Yesterday I emailed British Gas to see why I hadn't received my feed in tariff cheque. They said I last submitted a reading in July! So, another job for tomorrow.

Aww need thank you so much! 💐😳 Definitely making improvements since baby arrived. Turns out our little surprise has made an impact in many ways :o fitter/lighter (although Christmas may have messed up the latter a bit, haven’t dared check yet! :o), sorting stuff out/housework etc. The only thing I’m finding worse is the anxiety but it’s not too bad most of the time really. I’ve been lucky that she’s a pretty easy baby, evenings are tough with cluster feeds but at this age (11 weeks tomorrow!) that’s par for the course.

Thanks pink 💐 I have to reprint the bus pass forms (very basic) I think and sort out copies of the evidence I need. Thankfully the photo is done already. It’s on my list of frugal things to do :)

Glad it was good news unescorted

Grocery delivery today, expensive this week, £135.

Also, shoes I ordered before New Year’s arrived. That’s £90, and because I had no confirmation from a few days before that order the same shoes are en route

Lonely it is 6th form so just the other side of Manchester.
The monitoring is the standard every 3 years. Thankfully I get an annual MOT through work.

Cag I had no idea that you have so much to contend with. Good effort. You know you are more than capable of doing the bus pass.

I have a lie in followed by a game of sardines tomorrow courtesy of Northern Fail / RMT. I am finding it frustrating. I can understand the principal of having someone to check that you haven't got some one stuck half on the train but our rolling stock needs someone to stick a key in the lock to open the door. And how the safety issues went away when a 23% pay rise was offered to the drivers (not the conductors) on Southern.

em you have reminded me that I have 3 of those Urban Decay palettes somewhere
Right job for the weekend .
I have got some eyeshadow primer now which seems essential to keep it on so will have a go at the weekend and sort all my stuff in to day/evening/bin

Need to sleep so not hanging about now but just wanted to say: great news Unescorted 👍🏻

Wrongwayup thanks for that advice! Sounds good to me, we've no land so most likely won't be purchasing

Lifelong you're joining me on the fru flu bench

My dd is complaining of a headache & we had a text yesterday to keep children off if they are unwell so will see how she goes, she's fairly pale, have given paracetamol & dh is in charge of bedtime as I'm already in mine. I made dinner & fed the animals. Our female cat looks pregnant even though she was neutered can they have phantom pregnancies I wonder

Girlie not an option so
Unescorted that's a double whammy of good news

Lifelong my winners for increasing protein are tuna, prawns & 0% fat Greek yogurt. I tried using protein powder my weight loss stall (it contained a lot of sugar)

Wreck would be worse if neither of you got them can you freeze it?

Cag our dinner this evening was stir fry using ready to wok noodles & ready cooked prawns & a pad Thai set that was out of date a few weeks ago. Love healthy fresh convenient meals like that.

Tayto you & dd seem to have a good relationship

Not a make up person at all so I guess that saves me money

Nightmares again last night, well more strange dreams than nightmares & awake every two hours woke at 10.15pm thinking it was morning time

Thanks for the protein tips. I have tuna and 0% Yog. I always forget about eggs although I have a ready stash. I have saved needs veg pics too.
My calories are fine but I need to tweak my macros - to much fat not enough protein. Carbs have been cut but I can still go over, baby steps. Mammy will understand that.

Great news unescorted 🎉

It is quite a revelation how much we spend on odd treats cag. I really must try tracking it too

Thought I would have to pay to park today but had enough time to walk to the train. Train is going direct to work today due to revised strike timetable. I do prefer this timetable. Should get to work 15 mins earlier, but will need to leave 10 mins earlier.

Yesterday spends
£45 Tesco. Not great as shopped the previous day but got nappies, washing powder and dishwasher tabs in that
£6 on swimming goggles
£18 on a new duvet

Spends today
£17.40 train

I reset my password on my Ocado account the other day as I last used it over 4 years ago and they have now given me free delivery for 3 months

It is still pitch black here. Which makes for a very dull journey.

The lady I job share with is officially back today. She’s lovely and it will be great to have someone to handover stuff to (although I try really hard not to dump stuff on other people)

Hope everyone has a good day and the frugaleer babies are still sleeping

I found 3 pencil eye liners and one liquid eyeliner when I was sorting my clutter the other day. I have never worn eye liner... I think at least two were free with magazines though.

Hope you have better night tonight mammy

I got the Naked 2 pallette for Xmas. It's lovely!

NSD yesterday and should be the same today.

Quote from CJ Lewis for all of us this morning There are far better things ahead, than any we have left behind

lifelong I do find when I have eggs that my fat is higher than usual but rh say this doesn't matter as long as you hit your protein and fibre. For my weight loss, hitting the fibre and water daily have been winners. I'm not 100% right now, just keeping to the calories as I'm eating funny due to being ill.

bacon you sound much more positive now, having that day off is definitely helping. For any of you with ocado I got two codes for £20 off, one for me, and one for a friend if any of you want them let me know. I'm in ROI so they're no use to me. It says and free deliveries with a smart pass but I guess that's probably what smart pass is anyhow.

Thanks re sleep - I'm hoping it's the antibiotic rather than new multivitamin that I started but going to leave off the multivitamin tonight just to see, or maybe it's when the two combine

Mammy it'll get eaten so it's ok.

Aiming for nsd today.

Great news unescorted

cag DH and I worked out we were each spending £5ish on lunch a day at work (this was a few years ago when we were also, not uncoincidentally, in 17k of debt) so £50 per week between the two of us which worked out at £2600 per year, and some days it was even more like £7. We were horrified and started pack lunches. Now we both get lunch for free in our schools (he is also a teacher) which is a great perk but we saved a huge amount with our pack ups!
I also stopped having coffee out more than once a week.

peonies lunch out is a real eye opener isn't it? Easily said it's only x and I work hard for my money etc but we want our money to work hard for us too

MissA same for us. We limit bought lunches to one a week now (usually on a Friday)

snuggly oh I remember when my naked pallet was fresh and new and shiny. Now it’s used and not so fresh looking. Sigh. Must not buy a new one!

I have naked 2, a bare minerals one and a Mac one to use up. May break out the Mac one today. In total 37 shades to use. All different. The Mac one has one of my faves - it’s black with red sparkle in it. Super dramatic and unlikely to be used. Sigh.

Food shop today. Braving it with ds. Meal planned and have done a shopping list. It is small. And I think will cost around £30 for the week. I should be able to do it with ds in the pram and a basket. I was wondering how to do it the other day and saw someone with baby in car seat in trolley. Hadn’t thought of that. I suppose it’s safe...but won’t need a trolley today (and dh generally does the food shop so we don’t have to take ds)

We have an inordinate amount of chutneys/pickles in the house so am going to make a cheese and pickle quiche using the Christmas pickle/relish/chutney.

I’ve still not spent on myself (clothes toiletries etc) this year. things are arriving from “the internet” but I bought them in December so it doesn’t count....

Taking lunch and coffee is a huge saving -I have my trusty Contigo and Chilly bottle for water .Neither were cheap but have paid for themselves in full.
My friend was moaning how broke she is and then spent £7ish on one lunch !
Madness.
7×5 = £35 just on one meal per day

Lifelong a bowl of chocolate goodness - porridge,flaxseed,dates, Alpro chocolate milk & roasted almond milk. If you want to be friends on mfp pm me.

I never understood why I was buying coffee everyday. We have a kettle and Tea/coffee at work and I can have it in my fave mug and not a paper cup...

Madness.

I am partial to a hazelnut latte occasionally though. Or a peppermint mocha with whipped cream. Or a chai latte. But only sometimes. There was 4 on my team including the boss and we take it in turns. Every Friday someone gets fancy coffees in. They’re annoyed they’re having to do this more often now I’m not there!