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The Friendly Frugaleers: Saving and chatting as the heatwave rolls on.

999 replies

BestFootForwardAndThenSome · 24/07/2018 22:26

Now that I've put that in the title, we will almost certainly get snow. LOL!

Welcome to nearly-August.

OP posts:
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ememem84 · 04/08/2018 08:01

Im trying to do the same cag or will do once we move.

By decluttering I’m realising I just don’t need all the stuff I had. It’s quite liberating really.

My vices are:

  • make up and beauty products - I’m using what I have so I can work out what works for me. If it’s the pricey stuff well so be it but it lasts. And if it makes me feel good....
  • clothes - im working out what works for me and am starting to take care of things better. I’m trying where possible to buy only what I need. With the occasional I want this purchase.
  • stuff around the house. Once we move into our new place we’re going to have to be sensible with new purchases. We’re buying new mattresses for both our beds as they’ve been with us for 10 years. We have furniture for now. We do want to hit up the local furniture charity shop and see what we can get second hand.

I’m making a list though of “stuff” and will look to buy one thing a month for the new house once we get said new house. Haha. They’ve just opened a next home here too and it has so so many lovely things....

lifelongfrugaleer · 04/08/2018 08:18

was your offer accepted em?

lifelongfrugaleer · 04/08/2018 08:19

dont say if you dont want

mammynowanauntyIRL · 04/08/2018 08:23

I've days and days to catch up on!

Thurs and Fri were NSDs for me Halo NOT I generally don't spend during the working week anyhow so this is not a big deal Smile

mammynowanauntyIRL · 04/08/2018 08:26

Frugal find on thurs evening at the recycling bins - bins for glass bottles/jars and cans btw, I found a complete card making kit for children, the outer box was wet but the contacts inside were fine. Why would someone who feels strongly enough to recycle dump stuff at the bins, I just can't fathom this. Dc were thrilled with it yesterday when I gave it to them but appalled at someone dumping it. Dd said couldn't they have given it to charity or a neighbours child if they didn't want it, love that my children think like me.

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 08:42

We didn’t put the offer in life.

We thought about it. But the family are moving because they need more space. The house had planning approved to extend downstairs.

Dh estimated the extension alone would cost us £50k minimum. He’s based this on fils gf’s extension costs to her house. Which is similar. He also knows that the cladding on the house has asbestos in it. It’s a 70’s build. So we’d have to do something about that - on the back of the house if didn’t look in very good condition so it’d need to be done sooner rather than later. So more ££.

The more we thought about it the more we’re weighing up buying a bigger place now to give us the space we want. But still not maxing ourselves out. We could stretch to a 4 bed of up to £700k (sounds ridiculous but that would be nothing “special” here) which would give us more space. It’s mean less money to invest for the future and possible working longer.

We also think we should wait until we have a court date for the sale of ours.

So. Waiting. Patiently. And back on the declutter train. Wooowoooo.

I’ve ditched my old bras. Kept the bigger ones i had when I was pregnant and obviously the new ones Not much size difference. But will replace these once they start looking shabbier.

Am aiming to take three bags to charity shop/tip (as applicable) this week.

Much easier now we have a car park space. I can fill the car and do a tip run at lunchtime without the worry of finding a space back in the public car park...!

Cagliostro · 04/08/2018 08:47

Aw that's sweet of them mammy :)

Decluttering has been a huge eye opener for me em and I agree about the expensive things, I think spending on what we really love is fine, better than lots of cheap copies. Less is more.

Think I might venture to the neighboring town as we can get one bus from the next street now, rather than two buses changing in town which meant lots of waiting around! I ache like hell this morning but hoping stretching my legs will help.

Sunny thank you for the reminder about the CO2 also! Interestingly illnesses like CFS and fibromyalgia are also markedly more common in people with ASD.

WreckTangled · 04/08/2018 09:02

I don't know what we're going to do today. Ds wants to go to petworth Park with his bike so might do that. Won't pay parking though . Dd still can't ride a bike though which is a shame.

BestFootForwardAndThenSome · 04/08/2018 09:04

I didn't know that Cag. It's great that so many people are getting an ASD diagnosis now, as it means that they will hopefully have access to more targeted medical care. That must surely help.

Btw Girlie was spot on with her IBS idea. Although chronic hyperventilation is a breathing pattern disorder, it's also classed as one sub-type of IBS, because many of the symptoms present as gastro ones. Biology is full of weirdness.

OP posts:
CurvyInAllTheWrongPlaces · 04/08/2018 09:20

Today we are going into town to meet Batman and do some craft activities.
Later we will pick up ds2 from his camping trip, get home wash and dry all his clothes ready to go and visit my Mum tomorrow. She lives in Basildon, so it will be nice to get away from London for a bit.
Hoping for a LSD

Wolfcub · 04/08/2018 09:27

Morning all. Almost zero sleep here after a couple of weeks of low sleep so I am struggling for motivation. Ds has contact later and I’m conscious that after yesterday’s melt down we’ve done none of the nice picnic outing type things I wanted to do with him. He is happy Lego-ing so I can’t decide whether to go to local nature reserve or nip out for varied bread ingredients and spend the day doing his homework which he will enjoy the process off I think but homework over holidays is always a very tense activity with him

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 09:39

cag yep. I’ve had to seriously give my spending habits a rethink over the past few years. I’ve always maintained I’m an emotional spender.

I’m spending less often now but maybe more on the things I really need. Quality over quantity.

I’m also a fan of finding something that works and buying in bulk (bras yesterday being an example - three basic colours), or my favourite top for work (I have this in multiple colours)

WreckTangled · 04/08/2018 09:48

£13.50 on loo rolls from groupon.

CurlsandCurves · 04/08/2018 10:01

ememem so it’s not just me then! I’ve just bought 4 bras because I know they’d fit and will last. And when I finally found a summer top I liked a few month back I found it came in 3 colours so bought all 3!

Sorted the boys school bags last night on Sports Direct website. Just need to do DS2 school shoes before we go away as there’ll be nothing left when we get back and he has very large but very thin feet. Adult size 7 but a c/d width Confused

Just been a bit naughty and ordered myself a bag off amazon. I’ve been listing after my friends brown leather satchel for ages. And I decided that I could really do with something like that to keep my hands free when traipsing through the airport. So I found one, only £30 and it’s arriving tomorrow, the joys of Prime!

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 10:02

I’ve cancelled riding for today. My tummy is not happy. 😪I don’t know if it’s a bug, or a reaction to the meds (is it normal to get effects like a upset tummy 6 weeks in?) or a stress reaction or all of the above.
Either way. I’m staying home. No dairy, lots of water. Bland food.

I will have to pay for my lesson though because it’s such short notice. But. Needs must.

We’ve just Skyped bil and sil. And they’ve announced baby no 2 will be a boy! Yay. Another nephew. Apparently mil is excited, but also a bit miffed because she is desperate for a girl. She’s the youngest of 7 and the only girl, she had 3 boys, and now has 3 grandsons. So I get it....in my family it’s all girls. So it was so nice that ds was a boy!

Wolfcub · 04/08/2018 10:06

Em and Curls I do that two. 5 bras the other week, same style different colours. Multiples of the same dress, skirt, tshirt, Cardi in different colours

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 10:07

curls nope not just you!!

I do it with everything. Jeans, tops (my faves at present are the v neck sleeveless ones from oasis perfect for work. I have 6 a 2 white a black a navy a burgundy and a dark green) and underwear. Although I don’t buy matching pants for my bras. I stick to black mostly. And then have a few pairs of nude pants for lighter dresses. But all the same style.

LonelyOversharer · 04/08/2018 10:14

Ooo em you start to get it then. Mil's parents 'kept going' until the long wanted girl. She was then doted on, and thorougly spoiled... stop the world, little princess coming through ... she grew up knowing her brothers (probably no.s 3-6) were unwanted by-products to get to her. So now she is spoiled, used to being indulged, and tantrums at the first sign if a no. Not ace parenting.

I know (vaguely) a woman like this. Her second and third sons were not wanted. Her daughter (luckily the 4th) is the light of the world. She actually blanked me when I had my 3rd girl, as I was 'doing it deliberately'. Go figure.

Quiet day today. Just clearing the laundry towards the machine so I can get to the loft hatch.

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 04/08/2018 10:30

Lots of spending yesterday in LEGOLAND. £10 for the shuttle bus, £11 in Waitrose on lunch/snacks to eat in queues, £15 McDonalds for dinner, £3.50 on a shared slushie, £2 for the locker, £10 on a photo - was the best photo dds first log flume dd1 looked like she was going to poo herself, dd2 was terrified - we were all in hysterics when we saw it so had to be done!!! £6 on a fridge magnet. Dds had money from dh's managers so they bought their own bits from the gift shop. We were there all day, went on everything and the longest we queued was 30 mins, feet were throbbing and they fell asleep on the train home. Was a brilliant couple of days away! They are still in bed now 😂

seacow those shoes are adorable 😍 i miss choosing shoes for dds, mine are both so strong willed they like what they like now!! Mostly crocs....

cag also an anime fan here, we sre having a film day so there will be an anime film in there somewhere! You must be near me as we were going to go to Brighton pride today but dds didn't wake up in time. We all have rainbow t-shirts and had the body glitter ready!! I live about 30 mins by bus into Brighton!

I'm also a shopaholic I will buy things in multiple colours and sizes for dds. I've even bought 2 pairs of the exact same shoes as I loved them so much! Me and dds probably have enough clothes to wear that I wouldn't need to do washing for several months! So I am decluttering too, trying to sell on eBay but also charity shopping lots too. I am realising the less clutter I have the easier it is to clean!

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 10:33

nobuts I wish I’d done it with some of my shoes. My leopard print flatties are getting a bit sad looking. But I love them. Want to find another pair the same!

QuiteCleanBandit · 04/08/2018 10:43

Im the same em
Always buy in all the colours because I rarely find anything I really like or fits well/is long enough .
Bras are easy and once you know what fits you can have a look on ebay

Fluffycloudland77 · 04/08/2018 10:54

Lonely You must patent your wombs ability to sort one sperm from another to guarantee a particular gender & sell it.

It's not fair to keep it to yourself like this.

I know two families where the dd was the pwincess. Didn't end well for my grandma, she signed the house over to my aunt to cut my dad out and ended her days living in the converted garage while my aunt lived in the main house & she was the victim of domestic abuse off my aunt.

BestFootForwardAndThenSome · 04/08/2018 11:15

Em I know what you mean about the emotional spending. I think I spend out of boredom, because these last few says I've finally achieved the coveted NSD two days running, and it was just because I was too socked out to want any entertainment.

I think I need to keep working on the business of getting voluntary work with paid expenses. That would help a lot.

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Cagliostro · 04/08/2018 11:16

Yep ditto with the bras although I don't do it straight away as sometimes they don't fit as well as I thought. I really need to go bra shopping soon, actually will go to Brighton for that.

We live near gatwick nocuts :o what anime do you like? Big ghibli fans here but I love finding other films, I don't have the attention span for series :o

ememem84 · 04/08/2018 11:22

Dh has taken ds out to see fil. Thank god.

It’s a lovely day here and I don’t think I feel safe leaving the house. Sigh. I’ll potter around and get things done though. Don’t feel so rough that I need to stay in bed - it’s also boiling here so would absolutely melt!

Am meant to be cooking sesame snow cooker chicken for dinner. Don’t fancy it really. But may still do it for dh and I can pick at it I suppose.

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