Marching into May, packed lunches all the way ! Join the frugaleers for frugal tips and friendly chat .

[QuiteCleanBandit]

New thread

Forgot pic

Ah.

eme love the shoes

Hello, can I join (again)? I was here in the Autumn, possibly with a different username. DH had been made sort of redundant at the end of November and we hoped he would find a new job before his small payout ran out. There were so few jobs being advertised over Christmas and new year but he finally got something, albeit on £7k less and hours where he didn’t get to see us. He stopped looking for new jobs for a bit but has really started again now.

The last 18 months have been awful, this year things were supposed to have been getting better! But we have so little money, DH had a car run into him in the snow and the other party are lying about the circumstances (a claim form got lost too so it’s been delayed, hopefully DHs pictures of the accident are enough proof), we are unsure how he is going to afford the insurance renewal soon, I have been using my credit card for weekly shops and some money transfers, I’ve missed payments on things… I forgot to check our meter readings for a few months and my gas and electric bill for May is £650. I paid it on my credit card and am asking my landlord if I can move suppliers but the house is not at all insulted and draughty. Dh also hasn’t given me any money for nursery fees this month, I suspect because he can’t. I am feeling really miserable. The plus side of his hours is that we don’t have many big meals so on days where the children eat at nursery or a quick tea I just have a coffee so I am saving money on food (and will soon be supermodel thin!!). I keep thinking that ‘next month’ will be the month that I get back on track but then something else comes along. My eldest DD needs larger clothes, DD2 can wear the hand me downs. My clothes are falling apart. I suppose I just want somewhere to feel a bit sorry for myself, and also I remember you all being so friendly, a chatty distraction will be nice. I’m going to have a little read through the thread in a bit. And hopefully will post later feeling less glum.

Cearly very woe is me at the moment!

Welcome back thishat come in and snuggle up. We’re extremely chatty at present but still as frugal. Ish.

Sounds like it’s been a tough time for you 🌷💐 and I do hope you get back on track soon. Whatever you do, don’t not eat. You have to take care of you.

I hope you can get the landlord to let you switch suppliers. From all accounts that saves people buckets (I can’t as we only have one supplier here...damm government owned monopoly).

Where abouts in the country are you (roughly) - just curious as hopefully summers on the way and it’ll be warmer so less of a stress re heating!

Welcome back thishat and forget your woe is me, you've every right to feel like this. There's an ad on Irish TV about drowning in debt and I'm sure you feel like you're paddling to stay afloat these days.

I echo what em says you've got to eat, I know you mightn't want to spend money on big meals but what about checking out a girl called jack's recipes they're from someone who was in similar position to you.

Birmingham. And its been rather lovely! With a one year old and three year old, we had the heating on near constantly over winter as when they are cold they wake up! And I was up in the night and didn't want to be shivering! There are only so many socks and jumpers one can wear. She is a decent landlord so there shouldn't be a problem. I just haven't got round to it, my own fault.

We had a couple of thousand in savings which went on the house move, I had three months maternity at statutory pay. With us both working and dh at his previous salery we could afford the car payments, rent, nursery and nice things. Everything has happened at once and now I can't see how we will get back to that point

Hi Thishat - welcome back from a fellow brummie! That does sound tough. Please eat though!

Oh that sucks. Super sucks when things all happen at once. Boooo.

Girl called jack recipes are awesome. I follow her on Instagram and some of the stuff she’s posting looks amazing even if it is #vegan haha!

I was reading something the other day about mini goals and how these are easier to achieve than for example one big goal like “save money”

I usually have to calm myself down by writing a list. (When I get overrun at work but same principles apply I suppose). I list everything. Every task that needs to be done then break them down. And one thing at a time. So change utilities. If that involves electric water and gas - choose one (once you’ve got permission) and do that one. Then the next. Then the next. Etc.

There’s also the “eat the frog” technique which I taught my assistant when she started. Do the nastiest task first. Get it done. Eat the frog. And you’ll feel like you’ve achieved something.

Not sure if that will help or if it’s just a Friday afternoon patronising waffle on my part (if so apologies but I’m bored of looking at clients Tax returns...)

I'm now pondering whether I have any frogs and whether I want to eat them or not.

I've been enjoying playing my violin lately, which is a thing I haven't done for years. It only cost £52 and is a student one, and I've been listening to the London Symphony Orchestra masterclasses on Youtube and wondering why the violin sounds so much better on there than mine.

Anyway I went to the string shop today and asked to try a really expensive violin to see the difference, and they let me try a £3000 one. It did have one very good string that sounded lovely but the other three were very dull strings.

Then I went home and tried my own one, and it has four dead strings, but I actually quite like it because at least they all sound the same. It seems a shame to have one good one and three dull ones.

Does anybody happen to know about string instruments? I'm only thinking about it because my ds is getting to the stage of having music lessons, and so it is right up there in my mind.

Thanks for the lovely kind messages re Jack, I had a terrible nights sleep last night and been wobbly at work but feeling a bit better now. Dd has developed a cough which I'm wondering is stress related...

Am trying not to stress about how much the final vet bill is going to be, I think it will be around £250, already spent £130, I'm going to be left with almost nothing for the rest of the month. I need to do a food inventory and write a meal plan, will try and do some baking this wend as well.

Dd needs new shoes and spending money for her London trip next week

art are you in a position to increase your income in any other way? I've been claiming tax credits for 12 years and still don't understand the system!!

em I love that expression, I've never come across it before. Turns out I reallly put off eating frogs! Must be nearly hometime and you can go get your little star. Weekend, yay!

thishat you are allowed to feel sorry in these circumstances. I too have had to skip meals and "diet" it is no fun. What about a box of cereal? I'm having two dishes of cheapest morrisons museli (very wholesome and takes a lot of chewing) mixed with special flakes (aldis are bestist) a day at the moment. Keeps me going bar evening meal.

Definitely swap suppliers, and can you get 0% credit cards to transfer to (then cut up others - I did not do this)? It eases the interest for a while at least. And all our stalwarts...meal plan, aldi/lidl and only buy if you must.

I am no longer spending on credit. If I do (like for amazon) I pay the equivalent off straight away. This is really hard, and testing me, and stretching my money very very thin. But I am sticking to it, hoping things will ease with my debt soon.

And welcome back

Have skim read so welcome new and old.

Em I'm not sure I'm fashionable enough to pull them off

Went out for brunch this morning friend paid.

£2 poundshop on toothpaste and batteries
£68 Aldi including £14 on two pairs of wellies for the dc
£21 bunnings on plants and a roller. I bought plants and actually planted them I know fuck all about gardening. Hope they survive!

I got aldi wellies for ds last week wreck navy blue with cars on. He really likes them.

£8.50 coffee, tea and sandwich with a friend
£4.50 bottle of wine

It is Home time!! Thank god. Currently in the car waiting for dh.

Today has been a day. Discovered a fuck up of my doing (oops) where I realised the mistake and only half fixed it so money has continued to be paid into the wrong account. Hopefully we can fix this. Hopefully our accountants haven’t prepared last years accounts yet. Otherwise....

And turns out client hasn’t paid any vat for things they were meant to. He thought we were doing it. Despite us never having filed returns. Fuck.

So. Thats a Monday job then. As is receive bolloxking (probably) from boss for making error above. It does beg the question why did no one else (ie the bookkeepers or the accounts prep or my maternity cover) pick it up but hey ho. It’s done. And needs to be fixed. I don’t like the blame game. I’m a “hands up who did it no shame just fix it” type of person. Work wise anyway. Personally I hold a grudge and blame away mil

£399 on beers to have with dinner. It’s friday and we deserved beers.

£3.99. Three pounds ninety nine. Not £399. That’s insane for beers. And not very frugal.

I hope there is supposed to be a full stop in there Em. That’s a lot of beer if not

That's what I got lonely.

Woah em, I know it's Friday but that's a bit steep

Lunch out £39 for 3
Nice day out in nearest city and bought new lipsticks for work Kiko £21.30 for 6 on BOGOF .
Diprobase for scaly hands £4.99
Market -2 punnets strawberries £1 each -smell lovely and 4 figs for £1.Cant wait to scoff those.
Spent Lush voucher from Christmas
2 solid shampoo,ultra bland and 9-5 cleanser plus new to me solid body butter bar for scaly shins.
Lovely day,all spends planned and did not go over budget.

WRT to tax credits Art can you use an online benefits calculator to see if it’s right? That drop in income would send lots under.

Yy to girl called jack recipes, I use these to keep my foodbill down. It’s chickpea and kidney bean heavy though, I cook mine in the slow cooker for thrift. It’s cheaper than tins and slow cookers are very cheap to run. Asda were doing them for £10 recently.

em That’s the route I’d take, especially if no one else noticed for the last 6 months 🙄 and you noticed two weeks back.

Wolf Thank you. I would have also taken bossy interfering cowbag with no boundaries. Sometimes you’ve just got to tell these companies their crap at their jobs. I have never had an issue with waitrose. Even when my cards been declined because I’ve forgotten to transfer the shopping money again they’ve still bought it the 22 miles to my house and rang cs for me on their phones so I can pay.

£1 work stuff
£2 aldi pilsner.

So sorry to hear about jack girlie

Welcome art and thishat. Sorry to hear you are both having a tough time. Lots of support here!

Truly awful day at work. Aghhh! But, I have found a different new school admin job (termtime only) that I am determined to apply for so thanks for the advice from you all about who to put as a reference . We are doing decorating this weekend so may fall off the thread for a bit between decorating and application writing.

£43 Ocado
£11 takeaway Chinese

laska how is DS job hunting going?

Thinking of you seacow