Frugaleers chatting and saving in the April sunshine.

[SunnyLikeThursday]

Welcome to the new thread. This is a support thread for chatting and discussion of family budgeting.

Sunny have a look on your local council website. Ds and I often aim for a 90% free Feb half term as we’re usually skint! We like museum activities and looking at bad taxidermy in museums. Garden centres often do free or very cheap activities for kids in half term too.

Just caught up with threads. Sorry to hear your dads news seacow but his attitude sounds great, which will hopefully help you all to cope with it. I have an Uncle who is dying of cancer just now and he has totally given up to the point that he is refusing the most basic care. It is totally soul destroying for his family.

Had a very expensive March so hoping for a more frugal April. Have managed to stick to meal planner most of the time so consoling myself with the fact that it could have been worse.

I'm so glad that mine are out of the really expensive Lego stage even though they're now in a everything else expensive stage as it's so difficult to keep the sets intact and to stop it getting all mixed up. ds1 had both the Death Star and the Millennium Falcon now with pieces missing 😫

April is my last month of Mat leave 😭😭😭😭😪😪😪😪 so I need to get back into frugalling in preparation for going back to work. Once I go back Well have more money but more expenses with ds’ nutsery Fees etc. So. Need to meal plan and food shop like a boss.

Things I need to do in the weeks before going back - hair cut and colour, waxing, nails. Buy bras.

Goodness Em that has gone fast. Enjoy every last minute of your mat leave. It's nice being at work too (sort of) but requires military-like organisation to get up and out in the morning!

I am nearly at the end of Mat leave,back next weds...had 13 months off and it has flown by! Since reading this thread i have really started to change my mindless spending,i had a morning shopping the other day and actually looked in my wardrobe to buy things to male diff outfits where as before i just bought whatever i saw that i liked without seeing if i had anything to match,small win!

I absolutely will snuggly

I’m looking forward to going back to work. I don’t think I’d cope mentally being a sahm. I have so much respect for those that do it. It’s hard!

We could survive without me working. We’d be fine so it’s very much a lifestyle choice for me. But I need it.

Plan is for April to get into an organised routine so it’s not so much of a shock when I have to actually do it.

Ds has nursery on 17th 😭😭😭 so I’ll have 6 days to myself to sleepget shit done before I head back.

I feel the same em,i love my job and worked super hard and think for me personally going back to work will be better,i am doing two and a half days so will be best of both worlds. I cannot believe i have a nearly one year old!

Lego can be a bit pricey can't it? The thing we're having is the Mindstorms Education Core Set. It's a bit pricey too.

hen I’m guessing you took time off before yours was born? I just read your last two posts and got myself thoroughly confused “13 months off” and “almost one year old...” haha.

I’m off riding. And am debating going to the baby shower. On the one hand I want to go. On the other, I have a stinking cold and am worried about infecting the mum to be. I would not have been happy to have been given a cold at 38 weeks....

Maybe you could phone and ask what she thinks Em. I would say yes to a cold but no to a tummy bug, just because I'm good at one but not at the other.

ememem84 Ds is doing fab with his food bless him.

Nsd today apart from milk, have 2 shifts at work today but will be home just after 7 this evening, I am very part time but my hours fit in with the kids, so it means I am at home during the week, unless I have overtime which is only a couple of hours, that will all change when I start doing shifts as a Hca, bank though so I can pick and choose what I do, I work on a mental health ward and will be doing the Hca on there.

Oh dd1 has a party so a fiver for the card.

We have a noisy Peppa Pig phonics toy, we have found a naughty word on it

Naughty word on a Peppa Pig toy? Is it “bacon”

Sorry to hear about the job Unescorted

Seacow you have some lovely friends. Your Dad sounds incredibly upbeat and brave, given the circumstances.

Sunny good to hear your parents will be moving soon.

Wolf how was the show? What did you go to see?

Wig very disheartening and frustrating about the credit card

em make the most of your last month off

We met up with some friends last night. When dinner was over, we had a music quiz between the adults and DC - '80s music (for the oldies) vs. 2000s/2010s music (for the kids). It was fun. Lots of yelling out of answers and singing scraps of songs.

DD is binge watching 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. They've released a new series on Netflix.

We need to pick up the lamb from the butchers at some stage (we ordered it during the week). And some more Easter eggs.

£12 weekly shop for things that I don’t buy at waitrose.
£4 two basin waste seals. We need two locknuts now 🙄.

Friend says stay away. They’ve just gotten overboard colds and does not want another one. She’ll send cake and we’ll catch up next week.

I went riding (because I’d have to pay for it either going or not) and I actually feel worse for going.

£33 in M&S for last minute Easter eggs.

Just back from dds riding lesson, one of the naughty pony's bit her on the arm, its an impressive bruise bless her!

Plan for rest of the day is to start getting organised for Devon on Monday, need to pack, empty the car out and do a shop in Aldi. Have put a banana loaf in the oven and will make some Easter cornflake cakes with dd later. She is currently watching the Spongebob movie wtaf?! Such a weird and pointless film

That's great that you asked Em. That is probably right up there with her favourite baby shower gift right now. Better still, you will be all recovered in time to see the baby when it is very new.

Hello all, thanks for asking after me.
Seacow do sorry to hear the news about your dad.

We had mum's funeral last Monday, was quite stressful, but it has gone. What we still gave to do is to inter her ashes. That will be later in the year, once the house has been sold. Unfortunately we can't all agree on where to inter the ashes.

We are currently on holiday, at a Center Parcs in Holland. My mum was supposed to come with us. The children are all climbing, DH and I watched them for a while, then went to buy chicken for dinner. Currently watching a Sherlock Holmes film, and trying to work out if we can stream Limony Snicketts from Netflix via an iPad onto the tv to watch together later. The weather here was beautiful yesterday, out in t-shirt and jeans. Still pleasant today, just not quite so warm. Will go swimming later.

We missed all the Folkestone queues, our train was booked for 4.20, but we were running early and offered the one at 2.51 (am)
Laws good to spend all day here, but had grumpy fractious boys

Hehe yes em that was a tad confusing,i had Pre Eclampsia so it all went a bit wild at 36 weeks endng in an emergency c section at 39 and 2 weeks in hospital with a poorly baby and mum. It was a tad stressful i am naturally laid back but the birth and after was the total opposite to what i thought. I didnt have a plan as such apart from dealing with each bit as it happens,and maybe using the pool but jeez! It affected me for some time and it all reeked havoc on the old bod! Think i am becoming more like old self now.

I’m not a fan of baby showers Em (or hen dos for that matter) so reckon you’ve had a lucky escape

Just made chocolate cupcakes and butter cream to make Easter nests (we have mini eggs and flakes for the top). I will assemble them with DS later when I am in the mood to be super stressed out by his inability to handle food without eating it

I am going to make a coffee and walnut cake next, just for myself. I love it but DH doesn’t so I literally never make one. Last time I made one was 9 years ago for our housewarming, which started with a tea party. I’ll send some back with DSis tomorrow and pig the rest over the next week 🐷

NSD for me but DH is picking up some icing sugar when he goes to buy a paper. He also muttered about going into Majestic Wine. I expect that will be spendy but will last a long time as we’re not big drinkers at home.

Cross posted -good to have you back Audit and glad the funeral went well. It’s awful being a grown up, crap things happen sometimes

Hen that sounds pretty traumatic!

Its a strange time when i think back to this time last year all a bit of a hazy blur!

Well done for coming through all that LittleHen. That does sound a lot to deal with. It's good to have you here and recovering.

Spendy day here. £14 DVDs (waiting for price reduction paid off) £6 leggings for DD, £4 periodic table notebook for DS :o £14 in Boots on tights dribble bibs and a sandwich, and £35 on a lightweight folding stroller to keep at mum’s flat, so I can always bring her in the sling. It’s for 6m+ but DH suggested we may as well buy while he was with us to carry it home.

I think it’s fair to say she likes it :o

(You will recognise the outfit seacow :o I will reply soon to your PM)

Thank you sunny . I felt a bit lost for a while,probs should of stopped lurking on here through the wee hrs and just shouted up i felt a bit pants about the whole thing!