Friendly Frugaleers Ambling into Autumn, watching our wallets and the weather!

[Cagliostro]

Hello! All welcome as we continue trying to use our money wisely!

Re coats, I have:

Barbour was jacket.
A quilted gilet from jack wills
A jack wokfskin ski jacket
A smart red pea coat
A navy wool duffel coat
A vintage 1979’s Burberry Mac - which’s was dm’s
A Parka type wax jacket from fat face.
Numerous blazers
And my trusty years old denim jacket.

My Jack Wolfskin is awesome. So light and warm. One of my favourite coats. Not quite up to 'weekend in field in rain' but certainly up to a long dog walk. Not cheap though.

Brand of fleece which is as fresh as day I bought it is dare2be sale up to 60% off

I got a mountain warehouse one the other day for £80 something. Should have been £199 3 in 1 for the footy line. I do like that Barbour one though. My Barbour rain Mac is my favourite coat.

I have one raincoat and one winter coat, the winter coat is a ski jacket and hence warm but not the coolest!

I'd like a new coat and new boots this year, maybe if I get some bday money....

In frugal news I par boiled a load of spuds, chucked some oil and salt on them and have frozen them for roasties at some point.

m.gooutdoors.co.uk/rab-microlight-alpine-womens-jacket-p275818&gclid=CjwKCAjwq57cBRBYEiwAdpx0vSAiRkZhX0Zb9Rrwk4vDbkiBM23esyD84zsjIphoQnPYTJ1X-e-s4RoCgAgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJTUza_Uld0CFWgg0wodGyULrw

Not sure if I've linked properly but my mum has one of these rab jackets and they are really warm take they are also pricey though!!

I've also got lots of coats.. far too many and these include
4 Berghaus jackets! 3 of which work have bought me ..just standard ones , no logos .. I seem to get one every couple of years as part of PPE (but of course they dont wear out ) also a couple of Berghaus fleeces they have bought me.. ill never have to buy a walking jacket again..

I need new winter boots this year the lining has gone in the sole of mine and it makes them really uncomfortable. They are four years old though but they were lovely expensive Spanish boots

I've 2 coats, if you don't count my "vintage" (ie bought in college 24 years ago) Levi demin jacket, both mountain warehouse, a soft shell jacket (it's like neoprene) in purple, and a 3/4 teal puffa thing. It's so snug and light. I never seem to carry off a smart coat. Haven't quite got it right, like I'm not lady enough for one of those gorgeous seasalt coats. If that makes sense. Maybe I should just say bollocks and buy myself one for christmas.

Got £118 extra pay this week, so all that fecking painting was well worth it!

Have finally watched bake off, really like the french girl, but the chap with the twiddly moustashio must go! And started Masterchef Australia - cannot recommend this show enough! (On watch, 7pm pretty much every weekday until christmas).

Definitely agree about spending on coats and boots for winter.
Where I work we encourage the children to play out in all weathers (we do supply cold weather gear too), but this does mean you can fucking freeze to death! I have a couple of regattas, one short and one long and they have been essential to my well being for the last couple of years. I will need new boots for this year as my old ones have had it, but can't complain really, they have lasted 3 years.

Spends today
Ocado £43.64
Haircut £24.95
Primark £8.80
Argos £10.48
Sainsburys £2.35
Costa £5.10
Wilko £5.10
Yesterday was a NSD.

I have a couple of Seasalt coats and I love them. I’m not sure I’d wear them to the office but they are definitely great for my ‘mum’ job. Proper waterproof and kind of smart enough without being too smart. I have a couple of thin ones (no padding) which I’m using now but last winter I lived in the plant hunter one through the coldest spell. With jumpers underneath and medium padding in the coat I was plenty warm enough for the school run. Maybe not for standing still eg watching sport though.

Ikea later today. Bye bye money!

Belated happy birthday to DS Caglet

Ha Quite I know what you mean about instant pot porridge. I usually make mine in a pot on the stove, but the advantage of this is that I can put porridge on for DH and the 3 DC as I'm leaving the house in the morning (I leave before 6, they're not up til 7) - I don't need to worry about the pot boiling over and it's kept warm til they're up and ready to eat it.

That Barbour jacket is beautiful, Take. I tend to default to North Face (tried and tested on the sidelines of Scottish football pitches in deepest darkest winter - shows you how warm they are!). V tempted by that one, actually!

I usually buy the DC winter coats in TKMaxx at this time of year - we've had some brilliant ones the last few years. Geox parkas are fantastic for kids, amazingly warm.

I am so looking forward to the DC going back to school next week. I've got all 3 of them at home at the moment so that we can spend time together before reality kicks in again. I adore them all but they are a constant drain on my finances with the amount of food they eat. Did a big shop yesterday and there's nothing left! Might as well just set my bank account on fire and be done with it...

Enjoy Ikea Christmas! Our nearest one is in Croydon and it's a nightmare to get to - takes over an hour in traffic. Excitingly though, they're building one 15 minutes away. I cannot wait!

I’ve been wanting new boots too. But have enough.

I wear my long boots a lot during the winter. Either tan leather ones from Clark’s. Or my dubarry ones. Especially if we’re going walking. Warm. Waterproof. Have lasted me ages.

Not cheap. But do the job. I’ve been wearing them for riding too. So they keep my feet nice and dry.

Friday yay!!!

North Face would always be my 'stand in a field in the rain all weekend' default. They are £££££ though the higher end ones, and I'd only say invest in one if that's truly a realistic possibility or as lily's type of scenario, the wilds of Scotland watching football.

I got a fab (again, Joules) waterproof coat for dog walking from a Facebook selling site with a detachable fleece inside, new with tags for £40 a while ago. That's great for winter dog walks but not quite long enough to be a North Face alternative. But worth checking, especially at this time of year.

Spends today
£36 cleaners
£16 dd PT session, he's teaching her to box.

I'm baking today, and hoping to stay home most of the day. Bit sniffly, so won't harm then.

North Face is the one I want for the footy season.

I am so tired today. Sleeping awfully at the moment.

So many things going on in my head plus catface bouncing on our bed all night. Sigh.

Dh looked at the plans for the new house yesterday and we realised it’s actually not that much bigger than our apartment. Including the garage. Hm.

So. We’re not faced with a decision. Go ahead with it even though there is no storage and we would struggle to get a wardrobe in the bedrooms with a bed. Or pull out now before too many costs are incurred.

Em if the properties are basically the same square footage and the only difference is the fact the house has a garden, then I guess this would have to be your absolute dream home. Is there any room for you to grow into it, what happens if you decide to have more children for example? Be honest with yourselves about why you sold the flat - if it was because you felt it was too small for your family then there's your answer but if it was purely because you didn't have any outdoor space then that's a different conversation I reckon. Good luck. Housebuying is never easy!

Lilly we used to go to the Croydon one until they opened Southampton. I always used to get lost going to Croydon.

Oh em if you're not 100% pull out now.

I've had a rubbish nights sleep too. Had to get up to take paracetamol. It's my last day in the shop today. Also I'm annoyed because I requested to remove my overdraft on Tuesday and it's still there. Ffs when you want to increase it it's there in a matter of hours!

Is there room to extend em, and would you want to or would that be a short term fix? How about the schools and area the house is in? Generally, I've found that as your family grows, even if that's just in age, then the lack of space becomes ever more apparent. A room big enough for a 6 year old is different to a gangly teenager occupying that space.

FWIW, I wish he hadn't moved to our last house. We weren't brave enough. And it cost us more in the long term. It was what was on the market at the time.

But, if that had been my dream house, I could have lived with that I guess.

What's your gut saying?

If in doubt...leave out.

Dp's mantra (say it in a scottish accent) and has saved us daft decisions more than once.

Morning all, happy friday.

its not always about sq footage though, its about how it lt works.. we moved to a much smaller house Down from massive 3 bed with all huge rooms to a 2/3 bed chalet with smaller rooms and pretty small bedrooms compared to our old ones (but with a much bigger garden) with a 16yr old Ds and all his stuff (ok hes not here now 12yrs later ,but his room has not been taken over by our stuff )and we have managed really well in it. It made us realise just how much clutter and 'stuff' we had and any new furniture we have bought has been tailored o the actual space.. ( we do of course have full size stuff! king size bed etc etc). its also helped with making sure we do keep things streamlined.

It was the right house for us in the right place and still iis the layout just works fo rus ( we do have a conservatory also which makes a huge difference and may be worth considering if it doesnt have one Em), also much cheaper to heat !

Obviously its got to work for you and be in the right location and of course not overpriced compared to what else id out there , but with Ds so small its bound to and it seems that given the market there it will sell if you want to move on up in a few years. it doesnt have to be a forever home..

Tricky Em. I guess the point isn’t really how it compares to your flat, so much as how it compares to other stuff on the market in your desired locations. If you’ve maxed out your budget and it’s pretty typical for that then you may not get much more space in a house (unless location would make a difference?). Houses are always more expensive than flats but I guess you do have the potential to extend.

I took y’all’s advice yesterday and decided to do 15 mins decluttering. It turned into about 45m but still... I turfed out the bottom of one half of my wardrobe (I have a fitted wardrobe that goes the whole length of our bedroom wall, so more than a double wardrobe, still overflowing ) . I found no less than one entire full black bag’s worth of tights. Mostly opaques that I would have worn with dresses (my default work uniform). I suspect many have holes in the toes and I had good intentions to sew them back up. Do you guys ever mend such things? I may go through and mend a few so I have a good stock for now, and then bin the rest. Or maybe I should bin them all and just start again. Hmm.

I’ve been ruthless about old handbags that are past their best, and I also need to get rid of any shoes that are pre-DC as my feet have definitely grown. I am feeling motivated and ruthless! . I have tonnes of hanging space but very little in the way of drawers or shelves hence the trip to Ikea - I’m going to get kallaxes to go in the bottom of the wardrobe for tights, shoes, knitwear etc. The easiest way to organise the wardrobe soup, I think.

DH got up with the dc and there’s a lot of noise. He’s not having the best morning with the little darlings!

Em when he says not much bigger what does he mean? A square metre here and there could actually be a lot of space. Have you thought about how you would use each room and what would go in it? Make a paper template on squared paper if you’re not sure and fit templates of your essential furniture in it

Have been paid but banking app down so can’t shuffle money where it needs to go

Could cheerfully skin ds, everyday this week I’ve had to drag him out of bed at 6.40 so I can go to work, today which is the only day I could have had a lie in all weekend he’s banging round the house at 5.50 to put the sodding telly on.

Morning all.
Em, lots to think about there, and I echo what others have said, if it doesn't fit then leave it.
Wolf, isn't that always the way!

I have a question about overdrafts.
I've only just got one ( long story as to why and won't bore you all), if you have an arranged overdraft and go into it and a direct debit is due does the bank still allow it and would you get charged a failed fee?

(I know that is a stupid question and as I'm a grown up I should know)

Curvy if you're still within your arranged overdraft it should go out no problem. If your overdraft is maxed it depends on your bank. Mine usually sill goes out and I get a text message to tell me to put more money in or I'll get charged