Keeping our Fru Year Resolutions! Frugal January thread two (already) - all welcome!

[Cagliostro]

Eeek so the other thread filled up fast. January 10th must be some kind of record!

£10 on eyebrow and upper lip threading - she went a bit mental and took way too much off my brows, so will now have to try and grow them all back
99p on coffee
£7.50 on a gift
My boss is encouraging me to apply for an external promotion - not sure if this is a compliment or an insult

Ooh exciting peonies no harm in applying I guess?

Wow well done for the make up declutter pink I definitely find that having less clutter is helping me spend less as I see what I have. I need to sort the Caglets’ clothes next.

Mammy that’s so sad :(

Audit brilliant on the squad invite! My two have just started taekwondo, I have always hoped they would do some kind of martial art. It’s done wonders for DS already in terms of concentration (he’s being assessed for ADHD so this is a big thing for him!)

Lonely :o some people say if you can’t see the clique, you ARE the clique... :o really though I was always always on the outside, until I started home ed, basically because most of us are a bunch of weirdos :o :o I have some friends who use a bujo but I’m not even going there yet as it’ll just be something else to avoid housework with I love the habit tracker element though, I do like a bit of squared paper and it may be helpful, but I’m going to carry on as I am with small changes first.

Meadow I have a Cosatto, it was a specific design exclusive to Mothercare as it was much much cheaper. Meh, call me shallow but it makes me happy :o it was actually cheaper than their own brand system which was the other contender but had different advantages and disadvantages, I’m not sure any pram will ever be absolutely perfect, but it’s about what your needs are. For example folding hasn’t been necessary for us so far as the buses here are spacious, it’d be different if getting it in and out of a car several times a day. I was concerned we wouldn’t use the pram bit (but the full system was cheaper IYSWIM) as DD1 didn’t use hers but actually Cagletini is in it loads. One factor for us was having wheels not tyres as we have a lot of woodland and punctures were an issue with DD1. I shall be quiet now as I am possibly making it sound too difficult to choose! But if you have a shop that’s great, you’ll know when you’ve found The One :o

Welcome frazzled and canary! :)

Welcome Canary.
Thanks for the new thread cag. It mattress not who starts them as long as we have them.
Re prams. Think about your life ie will it go in the car, will I do a lot of walking, folding it down, public transport. With us we had an estate car so size wasn't an issue but I wanted an all terrain one I could push one handed as we had ddog and are very out doors.
You have to be comfortable pushing it. Do you want baby facing you or are you not fussed?

Not doing much other than learning my new job and seemingly asking why a lot. Went to spinning at the gym yesterday (quite liking it wreck) so saved £3.80 as my back up was PAYG class.

Tonight will be £5 fitness. Need to find my cheque book at the weekend to pay my dance and milk bills.

I'm going to sign back up to RH £4.99 a month but he's going to waive the fee I paid before but couldn't get my head out of my arse. I'm nearly there with it but need some tweaking as the scales haven't moved but I think AF hasn't helped. Yes mammy I will pm you but I'm still getting my head around it

You can make espresso or any other coffee in advance and store it in the fridge. It makes it easier to do a coffee in a flask. Quick blast in the microwave and it's ready.

Aldi ground coffee/beans are cheap but actually really good. I've tried pact coffee & Taylor's single origin from the shopmium app but I keep going back to Aldi.

I've got Aldi ground beans at the moment for our coffee machine and it's nice. I had a branded one that was on offer last week not sure which but it wasn't nice.

Should be a nsd today. Work and then dd has swimming later. Although am going to be doing a lot of driving today so might end up buying a coffee.

Welcome new folk.

Thanks Cag for the new thread, you thread hogger

Pink Great idea re the make up sorting. I'm not buying anything other than essential items. I'm still on the hunt for a cruelty free, non smudging mascara.

Wrecked I've made the redang curry before, it's fabulous isn't it and so easy?

I lost track a bit yesterday, apologies. Busy day at work, running club, pony blah blah.

Spends yesterday

• £5 class for DD
• £50 Sainsbury's delivery, used a £10 off voucher.
• £18 on all my toiletries, cleaning products etc, they are great at labelling the ingredients on their products and are generally vegan/cruelty free.
• £20 feed shop on stuff for the pony.

Today is an admin day and further cooking etc. I also need new wellies for myself and DD. Done expensive, done cheap, both split given how much use we give them. I'm doing cheap from the garden centre. I think that will be it for spends.

lifelong they seem to be really genuine at helping people once you put the effort in. I fell off the wagon a bit but didn't cancel my membership. Once I'm off antibiotics and feeling better I'm going to spend a week doing my normal exercise to get a genuine calorie burn and work from there then. I'm not gaining at the moment so I'm thinking my calories consumed is spot on and the exercise is what makes it higher then for weight loss.

Need yes I really liked it but I did find I was full for long after it.

Place marking. Thanks for new thread Cag.

Love a rendang curry! Mmm.

Estate agent is coming round today. Must try and tidy up a bit.

Have things to list on eBay today.

Started watching the truth about make up show. Wish I hadn’t. Makes me sad that my miracle products may not be....

Should be nsd

I love Richie he makes me laugh but I speak a lot like him. They are not far from me but unfortunately don't do face to face as I bet he's good craic irl.

Em, have you watched dark on Netflix. Can't recall who recommended it but it's very good?

I love him because he speaks like I think, and often thought when I was a weight loss leader, why the f*ck don't you just do what I'm advising rather than try cheat every which way you can.

Have rather fallen off the frugal waggon this week but want to scramble back on.
Had to take unexpected taxi earlier this week, £22, I used the money I'd been saving in jars but was cross as the bus is £5.50. On the plus side DP has offered to collect me from work from now on so that will be less to pay. Even public transport is expensive.

Had 2 days off sick, nawful cold, which will probably be unpaid.
Have made three purchases from Amazon.A book which will be an Easter present for a family member relatively rare but it was £30 and a good price compared with other listings and she will love it, I hope. A diary for myself, realised I didn't have one. It was £11, and I really like the layout so hopefully it will aid frugal planning. The last was a cd for another present for family, £10.

On the plus side have been very glad of the freezer "ready meals" I have made. Forgot to take one out for DP yesterday, considered fish and chips but cooked bacon, eggs and chips for him instead. I had banana on toast😺 I also have been virtually inhaling home made orange juice I froze in jars to use up oranges from Christmas, heavenly when you have a cold. Packed lunches for work have been nice, good to have a little bit of home in the middle of the day.

More spending alas, this weekend, we are travelling to another town to visit family which means an overnight stay. Still, have booked the Premier inn at £54 a room which is not too bad. I'm planning to take a bottle of wine, bubble bath, and the nice facial treats I got for Christmas. And posh tea and biscuits for the morning. Dinner out will be rather expensive, for us anyway, probably £100 as we are treating a family member who has had a bit of a bad time recently, and she has asked if she can bring a friend.

Next week has got to be a low spend week.

Morning all,
I’m joining in on this thread - have wanted to join for a while but the threads always have so many posts. Getting in early on this one.

Looking to be more frugal/minimal this year. I’m sick of always having to tidy before I can clean and we are hoping to buy a house in the next couple of years so we need to start being more careful with money.

We live somewhere that’s pretty damn expensive so we don’t go out much and already only shop in Lidl but I’m sure we squander plenty of €s on things like bottles of water when out. Also setting the timers on then dishwasher and washing machine to make the most of the cheaper tarifs in the middle night.

morning all. Meal plan for next week tues through to following Wednesday done and order put in for delivery Sunday £100. Dh and I are both away alternate days with work the week after next so no one will be eating a week on Tuesday and I will have something out of the cupboard on that Monday.

Adorabell - thanks cv updated and being fired out this week! Got 6 weeks so up the big girl pants go!
Lonely - I'm an outsider tooand i love my bullet journal, it keeps my mind like a tidy desk!
NSD today! Off to work, thanks for new thread!

Hi to all the new people...
Wolf like your meal plan. Love it when people post them its wo helpful for creating my own...

Welcome brioche! :) Little spends are definitely what do me in too.

Duchess a nice diary is definitely worth it! It makes it a pleasure to be organised. I’ve sometimes bought them at art galleries etc but this year I got a Paperchase one, it’s so pretty :o I used to buy cheap ones but, false economy, they’d be flimsy and fall apart/lose pages.

Speaking of false economy I’m definitely going back to my normal conditioner (Herbal Essences so nothing too pricey) - been trying cheap ones but my hair feels like straw.

Spendy today as we have bus and train fares (and will top up the Caglets’ bus passes too), DD1’s tap shoes and dinner for me and DH.

Cagletini slept 6 hours straight!!! ⭐️ I feel renewed.

Hurrah for sleep Cag
Its amazing how you forget what its like when they are little and cope with it !
Now if I "only" got 6 hours I would be a total wreck am ancient though
em I find those programmes interesting as they only focus on dealing with existing lines/wrinkles when there is so much more to it and prevention is everything these days.
I dont use anything antiwrinkle as I dont have that many and the picture they showed was extreme .
In my mind sleep/diet/exercise/ sun protection are key plus texture -noone ever mentions skin texture.
Nice meal plan -I need to do mine

life no haven’t started dark yet. Currently watching “Sinner” just finished “how to get away with murder” the. Before that “suits”

I tried bullet journal but faffed too much with it to make it work.

I keep a notebook in my bag though - always a moleskine one. Love the paper. And have lists of things in there. My to dos are huge. Must get on that today.

Still in bed. Ds is having a wiggle around and we’re having a chat. Must sort ourselves out soon as we have to get things done before the estate agent arrives.

Fluffy I have a recipe book that says the way to make coffee is to soak 1kg coffee beans in x amount of water overnight and then boil the water the next day. Fantastic!

Cag I bet your boobs didn't appreciate it 😂

Caught up now. Great news on the sleep front Cag. Hope it continues.

Meadow if your dh is a lot taller than you then it's worth considering a buggy or pram with an adjustable handle bar. Both times we've had good buggies that are suitable from birth.