March Frugaleers continued. In which we report spends, share money saving advice, chat about pretty much everything and post pet pics.

[Cagliostro]

Welcome one and all! Newbies and lurkers always welcome 💐

Good luck for the interviews.

Renewed my car insurance and saved £50 plus should get £28 cash back. I am very happy but also a bit apprehensive as I get paranoid that I have made a mistake...So that's £150 saved over the last few days that I would normally not have bothered doing 😮 Will need to look at energy suppliers next to see what savings can be made there.

NSD apart from that. Really need to claw back some of the money I've overspent this week on my DS's birthday.

Good luck with the interviews.

I am fed up of poorly children, work, n it sleeping and the fact that even when ds does go back to sleep I don't because I can't switch off. I never normally look at my phone in the night as the light keeps me awake but since I've been awake for over an hour anyway I thought I might as well distract myself for a bit.

I'm also hungry. Sleep deprivation is causing me to eat lots of crap which is probably making me feel worse. I need to use some serious will power and break the cycle.

Ah snuggly it must be so stressful ATM, cut yourself some slack - it’s a huge adjustment to the new way of life. How are the twins settled at childcare? I totally get you about the vicious cycle of eating/feeling rubbish, it’s so hard to break it when you’re knackered. 💐 I’ve had to set myself some rules about fizzy drinks and chocolate 😳 so I can’t have them every day. Knowing I have one or two days a week where I can eat them helps though.

Snuggly I used to replace sleep with costa triple chocolate muffins. It was great because I was working so hard that I was still losing weight. Not a good long term strategy unfortunately.

Born That’s a brilliant saving. Who will you use to switch utility suppliers?. Do you have led lightbulbs? They’re really cheap now and save loads.

I think Wilkos are copying John Lewis. Everything I like in Jl I find in Wilkos for half the price. I’m obsessed with Wilkos at the moment.

Oh snuggly poor you xx

I’m dying to snack but as we’re trying to run things down we have very little food in the house and I have to take my aligners out to eat it’s a right pita. This may curb my snack habit once and for all.

Post office today. And food shopping. Just enough for a couple of days in case we move....

Snuggly . Big adjustment and a busy life.

Em your situation with the ‘maybe-sale’ would drive me mad!

NSD yesterday, just had coffee with some friends at one of their houses. I made vegan brownies as one of them is the lactose-free breastfeeding mum and they were amazing - a complete revelation. Everyone was raving about them! So easy and quick too (and cheap in theory, although I bought Doves Farm choc chips to jazz them up a bit).

Need a few top up bits today. Ocado omitted my milk last week and I need fruit.

Snuggle, this bits always the worst. Everyone isr tired, picking up new germs, not in a new routine yet. It will get better.

Thanks for the good wishes. Typically I'm shattered today and the DC are hard work. Hey ho.

Just to wish Meadow and Life best of luck today!

creme it is.... slowly going nuts looking at a half packed apartment. Plus side though is I’ve done a major declutter and have used up soooo much stuff.

Downside calls to lawyers restate agents etc on my mobile. So phone bill will be higher. Sigh. But needs must.

Today I have to speak to management company. If they can categorically tell me we legally don’t need a fire cert (because of split owner occupied/rented) our lawyer can work with this. And we can get the bank to maybe relent. And then we leave a chunky retainer for works needed. That may work. 😭

Snuggly sounds exhausting. Not long until Easter

Hoping for a nsd today it's a lovely morning.

Thanks everyone. We have a lot of chocolate in the house post mothers day but when that's gone I'm going to try and eat properly again. (It would be silly not to use it up first).
I think working on the laptop in the evenings is affecting my sleep too. Apart from ds. He affects my sleep most of all!

They seem to be enjoying nursery though so that's good. I think it's harder to settle back into work!

Good luck today Meadow and Life!

I've been hiding in the kitchen and everyone is suspiciously quiet. Off to investigate...

Good luck meadow and life

life and meadow fingers crossed for you both today.

Spends yesterday just £1.50 on decongestant (that dd2 can't swallow), is vics the only alternative? She's a big 11 3/4 and is a bit deaf, tinutussy and in ear pain after sodding sinus cold.

£14 parent pay on school trip.

I made essentially rissoles last night! Eight sausages smushed up, an egg, softened onion and breadcrumbs. I rolled them (as very sticky) in more breadcrumbs and baked them. All eaten. I have never served so few sausages to my lot (between us we usually have a pack of 24 chipolatas). With tagliatelle and veg sauce from the freezer. It's another rummage tonight, and then shopping tomorrow.

Best of luck to life and meadow 💐⭐️

Yesterday was spendy, £68 tickets for 5 to DD’s ballet show plus spends on food, I am really insanely frazzled and disorganised right now. Today £89 Tesco delivery, and I’ve got to buy DS his tap shoes! So will need train fare for that too.

Right, confessing my sins... I have just spent £73 on seeds, sweet potato plants and greenhouse grow bags But I used paypal, so money made selling my stuff rather than food budget money.

I have only bought seeds of things we eat, rather than all sorts of things that catch my eye. Time to sort the tomatoes and cucumbers etc. I have left starting seeds much later this year, as I was a bit keen last year, and had weedy spindly plants.

need the doctor didn't say what was wrong with me - just listened to my symptoms and agreed that I needed an antibiotic. I've been reading the possible side effects and one of them is a black tongue which looks hairy . DD thought this was hilarious and keeps checking my tongue at regular intervals. It's all glam here what with snotty tissues and black hairy tongues.

Best of luck today Meadow and life. Hope the guinea pig starts to feel better now that the dental issues have been sorted.

em well done to DS for mastering rolling over. I love all those firsts. Sounds like he's well pleased with himself. Won't be long until he's crawling around. It's cute reading about his interactions with Catface.

bacon Wimbledon sounds really exciting. We'll wave to you in the crowd

Snuggly sounds like you're going through a rough patch. and a and some to you. I hear you on the sleep deprivation - crap eating cycle.

Girlie sounds like a nice day with your friend. Hoping all goes well tomorrow.

Good savings Born

I mustered up the energy to wash my hair earlier so I feel a bit better now that it's no longer all greasy and icky.

I might watch an episode of 'Call the Midwife' and then get dinner going.

Lonely, that will most likely save you money in the long run though.

Thanks for the interview wishes. Celebrate/ comiserating with a non frugal lunch while specs being repaired. £8.99
Mammy don't look as haven't tracked it.

NSD for me yesterday but 'd'h did the grocery shopping and came in on budget, I didn't see what we got though and wasn't consulted about what was needed.

Today - cc direct debit for cc3 came out, and I made another payment from joint account to cc1, which only has woodpellet delivery on it.

lonely was everyone full after that dinner? It sounds yummy to me.

I had steak taken out of freezer for dinner, ds was being a grumpy pants and I have swollen glands again and dd was ecstatic that they'd no homework, so I suggested pancakes instead and cooked steak/chips for 'd'h and gave him a leftover pot of curry sauce from our trip to takeaway for on top.

Steak will be tonight's dinner instead.

You guys would be proud, I was paying for my fuel on Sunday using fuel card and got my topaz treat for march too a can of coke zero and a packet of maltesers, turns out that shop is spar & only centra do the topaz treats so I left it behind. I didn't want or need them was only picking them up because they were freebies.

lonely sounds like you'll have veggies coming out your ears this year! But you'll be at home more to tend to them too this year.

snuggly I definitely found the nights where I didn't look at the clock, judging how long I'd been awake for, or how long until I had to get up, were the nights where I felt more rested in the morning. Ds didn't sleep at night for first 2.5 years. No solution to resolving either his sleep pattern or your tiredness though

How was it Life?

£5 cork placemats, soda crystals and a paint tester pot in Wilkos.
Free birthday card for Dh and daffodils in sains
14 pairs of socks free from dhs sparks card. It’s a birthday offer.

Making laundry gloop when the dishwashers finished.

Lonely Menthol crystals in hot water and inhaled. It unblocks really quickly.

I've been at the school filling in one of those forms where I get to list ds's shortcomings. Hoping for one of those magic referrals again. Fingers crossed. This time for Ehler-Danlos.

Still no further forward with the sale. I honestly could sit and cry. But I’m not going to.

Have found out how the other apartment that sold here last week got through. The buyer also had heir mortgage via the same bank as our buyers. The sellers left £5k behind for work needed re fire cert. I’ve spoken to lawyer and have suggested we do the same.

£24 Waitrose on things for dinner (ingredients for chicken curry and rice) frozen berries and porridge and milk.

Have done a lot of washing today. Currently waiting for ds’ sheepskin to finish. The. I can throw more stuff in.

Ds has started grabbing things when he’s being changed too. He grabbed his feet and lifted his bum up yesterday. And today grabbed his bum cheeks. #allclass

He’s lying on the bed with me at present while I fold laundry. I’ve caved and just put dh’s stuff away now too. Ds is currently exploring a pair of my pants. He’s rubbing them on his face....

How frustrating em

Sunny I know a couple of people with that, what makes you think ds has it? Is it in your family? Not a nice thing to have

Work is quiet this afternoon.

em be prepared for his lifelong fascination with his p*nis to begin at some stage too He sounds like so much fun now, doing something new everyday.

sunny just googled Ehler-Danlos, I understood that your ds was slow to mix at school and had a weakened immune system and allergies.

How is treadmill going?

fluffy that's a great haul you've had for dh's birthday
life lunch looks good. I had a instagram worthy tuna melt, except I'd company in the canteen so never got a pic of it. It was easily 7cm high, stuffed with tuna mayo sweetcorn mix, cucumber, cherry tomato and cheese. I followed it with a pear and some cross stitch, I'm rock n roll me

tayto cross posted hope you feel better soon