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

999 replies

QuiteCleanBandit · 28/04/2018 09:15

New thread

OP posts:
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WreckTangled · 29/04/2018 08:15

Dh wired in our oven, dishwasher, tumble drier and washing machine. He's not an electrician and it was fine. Get dh to look on YouTube first.

Lonely I would worry too! Bet she's having a great time.

lifelongfrugaleer · 29/04/2018 08:35

Ah, no tea bags left........ disaster

Must go shopping today for food.

Nice to see your back north. Pleased it's not as bad for dm. And ds is getting support.

The Indian was cheap as dh and I shared a main so it was one dish. DC got pizza and there is still some left for today.
Definitely no back holiday until 7 May in England.
Hope the cold shifts em.

WreckTangled · 29/04/2018 08:38

Those of you that are weaning can I please suggest if/when you give apple you give it to them whole and peeled. I won't go into detail but it's the safest way to give it, giving slices and bite size chunks is not safe.

I need to put some washing on.

Fluffycloudland77 · 29/04/2018 08:38

quite Thank you for checking for me but I just can’t risk it. The hives take months to fade & im only just getting rid of the ones from mid December. They don’t have to list it if it’s under 10ppm but I’ll still react.

Need cat food today.

I made onion bhajis last night, really easy to do but the oil can’t be reused so you might as well make a huge batch & freeze.

ememem84 · 29/04/2018 08:43

wreck interesting you should say that. I was talkin to dh this morning about ds and apples. He’s only had purée so far. But I gave him my apple to play with. He held it looked at it and then licked it and then tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth and rubbed his teeth over it. I’ve now washed it peeled it and eaten it myself. #babygerms

WreckTangled · 29/04/2018 09:58

I had a fresh soup (chicken) that I stuck in the freezer a few days after the use day. It'll be ok won't it?!

Wolfcub · 29/04/2018 10:06

Wreck I’m pretty slack about bbe and use by dates but I wouldn’t eat that. If it was a veggie soup only I probably would

UsedToLoveMorrissey · 29/04/2018 10:14

Hello. Can I join? Laska put me onto this thread. Not in emergency dire straits but need to seriously made some headway into our debt and looking to find ways to make more monry/save money etc. Will get myself a cuppa and have a read through everything.

ememem84 · 29/04/2018 10:24

I’m the same as wolf fairly blasé about use by dates but not with meta or fish.

WreckTangled · 29/04/2018 10:26

Oh that's annoying I was looking forward to it!

Taytocrisps · 29/04/2018 10:30

I went to Dad's house last night for my Mam's anniversary mass. We always get together for the mass and have a Chinese take away after. I skipped the take away and had pasta salad and smoked salmon instead. I didn't really have time to cook and also, I'm always a little uneasy about cooking in Dad's. His idea of washing up is a quick rinse under the tap so everything tends to have a greasy film on it.

Spends

Birthday card for my sister €4
Pasta salad €3.20
Smoked salmon €2
National Geographic magazine for Dad €8.46
Travel card top up €5

Total spends €22.66

Dad scalded his foot recently and has been ordered to rest up as much as possible. So apart from hospital visits, he's been mostly confined to the house and he's really bored and fed up. That's why I bought him the magazine.

A quiet day planned for today.

Meadow sorry to hear your anxiety has escalated, especially with the possibility of a big baby. I hope you hear back from the mental health team soon.

Seacow sorry to hear the latest update about your Dad. Must be so upsetting for you all.

em hope you feel better soon. Bad luck to catch a cold when you're due to go back to work.

Lonely it's only natural to worry about DD when you haven't heard from her. I'm sure she's fine though.

QuiteCleanBandit · 29/04/2018 10:44

That sounds awful Fluffy
I assuming that I need a certain level to provoke a reaction then -wine an absolute no-no .
Long lie in and then some nice pottering and baking today .
Chores all done yesterday so will just chill

OP posts:
ememem84 · 29/04/2018 10:52

Ds has been napping for over an hour. Yippee. Poor little fella must need it.

Dh is draining his ear wax (Eugh).

I’ve just made dippy eggs and soldiers and am about to embark on outfit choices for next week.

Unescorted · 29/04/2018 11:10

lonely whereabouts is she doing her DoE? If it is around here mobile reception is pants as soon as they get out of sight of the village. My friend is an assessor and they keep a watch on them.... She often asks me to "just go for a run and check if they still on route" if the weather is particularly bad. Or we will plan a walk out to intercept them. Also the outlying farms keep lights on overnight during DoE season so in emergency they can make their way to safety.... We just pretend to be grumpy northern locals.

Hi north good to see you again. Sorry to hear about your mum's poorlyness but glad it is now sorted. GCSEs are so stressful. DD has finished her first one (art) already which is a relief as she is doing 3art A levels. So now that distraction is out of the way she can concentrate on the others. She also had a lot of time off in yr10 with asthma related problems it has been hard graft for her to get back to where she needed to be.... Many hours over summer going through study guides and learning resources on the internet. It isn't easy for them but it is doable.

Sea it must be awful for you all to be slowly losing people you all so obviously cherish. I am glad your DD has the good sense to make sure there are moments of joy for you.

I have been planning my Vege garden ... I have 2 raised beds that I am going to plant out first. The side beds are still going through operation scorch earth and dig out builders rubble. I have belated realised that they are too full of substrate, hard core and plastic to be fixed by a bit of top dressing. Dig and dump is the way forward. I am going to see if my brother has any spare seeds he can give me so can avoid the expense of going to the garden centre.

Unescorted · 29/04/2018 11:13

Good to see you here usedto I left a post for you on your thread.

Fluffycloudland77 · 29/04/2018 11:18

Oddly I can have wine. I shouldn’t be able to. I can’t have whisky that’s had caramel added to it because it’s made from corn syrup that’s been sulphited.

I have realised it’s cheaper to buy morrisons smart price mustard and ditch the contents than buy empty jars to put my cheap spices into.

So that’s what I’ll do. 30p each then.

Unescorted · 29/04/2018 11:25

fluffy that was my excuse to buy lots of flip top beer from Aldi. My nano brewery is so much easier to manage if I don't have to cap the bottles. I use olive jars for the spices.

Laska5772 · 29/04/2018 12:07

used to welcome.
We are a bit oh a 'hive mind' on here.. lots of different incomes and perspectives but we all like to get the most out of our ££s. The best thing is to dive in and ask questions. Theres always somone with a good frugalling idea.. we also like to chat about all sorts of stuff.. Smile

Laska5772 · 29/04/2018 12:09

Fluff I did buy mine in bulk as i wanted them all to fit in specific kitchen drawer but yes its also cheaper to buy value jam and chuck it rather than new jars...

Fluffycloudland77 · 29/04/2018 13:10

Jam, that’s 2p cheaper and some spices are bulky like coriander so I’ll buy jam and some wilko 50p stickers & maybe some mustard ones for powdered ones.

I have a round cordless Buffett server taking up cupboard space but the lids are cracked so I’m not sure ebay will want it. Feels wrong to just bin it but I’m not going to use it again.

LonelyOversharer · 29/04/2018 13:11

unescorted we are Cumbria, she's in Keswick. She's only on the overnight practice bronze run, so 2 members of staff with them. Got a breezy text at lunchtime saying no signal, but all fine (and she put 3 kisses, so is in a very good mood). It's lovely to know they keep a good eye on them though. What seeds do you need/want? Only I have literally dozens of open packets, I'd be happy to send onto you, my planting is done for the year, bar rolling lettuce and radish planting.

I have skipped out the hall (was the pantry until we took the wall out), looking for my garmin watch charger. It was eventually unearthed in the little car. So much mess. A full load of laundry (mostly dp's), two bin bags full of crap, three huge cardboard boxes (empty, dp was keeping them for who knows what). Anyway it looks much better.

No spends yet, but off to find dd1 soon, so we might have an afternoon tea, and maybe a pasty, and probably diesel for the ever hungry car.

Hi usedto I posted on your thread too. You're very welcome here. I think some folk were a bit sharp with you tbh, "go and work in Marks" is lovely advice, but in reality they never have jobs, and it's actually bloody hard to find suitable work when you have school age dc, live very rurally, and have transport issues. I understand. I found simply admitting that my debt had reached a stupid point, and joining this thread has helped a lot.

Loveabaconsandwich · 29/04/2018 13:16

Welcome usedto

Sorry to hear things have been so tough north

Yesterday we took out an old massive built in wardrobe in our spare room. DP had a lot of treasure crap in there. He has started listing some of it on eBay today. At least now there will be no obvious place for such hoarding. We’re now ready to pick a new carpet next weekend. Then we need to paint before DD2 can move in there from her tiny room. But it will be a great room. It was filthy when we moved in and only now we are ready to change the carpet.

We are going to have to get a skip though for big bits of old furniture that won’t fit in the car. Hoping DPs eBay selling will cover some of the cost.

Glad DP is doing what he agreed to work lonely. You were so stressed about the money. You’re lots of extra work at the moment too? I’m sure your DD is having a great time!

Loveabaconsandwich · 29/04/2018 13:18

£27 on a top up shop Blush I was only meant to be buying peas, a parsnip and raspberries

Mummingainteasy · 29/04/2018 14:08

Hey, jumping on if that's ok?!

Off to catch up from the start of this thread :)

Laska5772 · 29/04/2018 14:18

weather not nice here again.. I have scrubbed he bathroom descaled everything , including kettle an iron and put [[https://www.cleanstore.co.uk/products/Product.asp?ID=2842 HG Service engineer}} in the washing machine ( this a great product BTW) .

Am feeling pretty down re DS TBH and its affected my whole mood this weekend .. he didn't hear from interview on Friday so probably wont have got it .
and it only another few days until he is finished his work contract ..