Frugalleers Spending September Safeguarding our Shiny Shillings

[Wolfcub]

Welcome to mid September frugal folk

Have you tried an open window for stuffy noses? We tried everything for ds when he was a baby and literally the only thing that worked was an open window, which was borderline magical in its effect.

Dd has gone back to school today, she is still coughing but no where near as bad, we tried vicks on the feet/chest etc but didn't seem to do much. I gave her a spoonful of honey one night and I think it helped a bit.

Thanks jam I'll measure dd when she gets home! She is tall and about an adult size 10 now.

I've taken the dog for a walk and am having a cuppa now. Need to get a few bits in aldi later.

Yup been making sure she gets the fresh air in. She’s not got a stuffy nose thankfully it’s just the horrible cough sometimes (not most of the time, she is breathing normally etc just gets coughing fits mostly at night. Still horrendous nappies though.

Mammy meant to say yes I’m really pleased with how DD reacted to SWFL. She can actually be really desperate to conform sometimes due to anxiety about fitting in yet in other ways she is very much her own person and doesn’t give a toss about brands etc. But I’m well aware that at only 11 that could yet change. We tend to make them pay for their own toys etc so when she had a very long JoJo Bow phase 🙄 it was all financed by her and that does seem to make her think harder about what she really likes. Seeing how much the little girl was spending on Amazon she said “I’m glad you and dad brought us up” 😂 well, thanks 😂

OTOH I do think sometimes the Caglets are a bit spoilt in terms of life revolving around them and their many hobbies. This was another reason for arranging the volunteering as they could stand to give up some time to help others.

Sorry to hear about the cough Cag. That sounds hard work.

I'm pacing like a professional here to try to keep up with ds outside of school hours. Zzzzz

cag teething maybe? Ds coughed a lot when his teeth were breaking though. Something to do with excess saliva at nighttime. Gross. Either that or post nasal drip (equally as gross....).

New bank accounts done. Hoorah. Was super easy too.

Children’s saver is 1.96% interest. Didn’t open one of these for ds as he needs to be there...but will do it in future

£10 petrol.

Car insurance want an extra £50 a year now I've had a non fault claim. Wankers.

Menthol crystals work well for adult blocked noses. Much underrated.

I read infections find it harder to survive in tissue high in iodine. Multimineral supplements contain it. Bacteria certainly don't like it.

I've restarted raking my multivitamin with iron tablet, it's only a cheapy one from aldi but I've noticed a big difference in my energy levels.

Did a quick shop in aldi, didn't really need much £23 but about £6 of that was food I'm going to donate to the food Bank. I've been meaning to do a food donation for a while and given its harvest and all that thought it was a good time to do it.

Girlie I've upped my iron, for similar reasons. It seems to be working. Diet is good, but I'm not convinced I was eating enough green leafy stuff to cover the full requirement plus the endurance training.

They get you anyway fluffy fault or not I find. Bastards.

Martin Lewis was talking about a help to save account that seemed interesting, I'll dig out some details as it might be relevant to folk on here.

Worked all day, just in.

£6 veg box. Total spend today.

The help to save account is only available to those in receipt of benefits. So no help to the people who get zero help at all but are literally ok the cusp of receiving them.

£20 post office posting eBay sales. Net profit £36. Will pay for DD's winter boots.

Also have been looking at life insurance and unknowingly filled in a form for an insurance broker. Seems ok though he said I'll still get the amazon voucher L&G are offering if you sign up online.

I wondered what benefits, wreck, didn't catch that part of the interview. Therefore wondered if it were useful on here. Shame it's not more widely available as the payout is quite generous overall.

I've also dropped off DS's IPad as the screen is smashed. It was a Christmas present nearly two years ago. At the time I pondered for ages about taking out the Apple Cover as it was £80 for two years cover. Such a big additional cost on an already high value item, although the daily cost is very little I guess. Well, this is the second smash that is unrepairable (that's an entirely different story altogether DS 😡) and they've not quibbled. There is a limit of two claims for accidental damage such as this but, in this case, it's been worth it.

It's a hard one to figure out whether theses warranties are worth it, DD's hasn't been used at all.

He's obviously on his own from now on for these things!

Car insurance renewal quote received. Slightly less than last year although I do pay for protected no claims which has served me well I am considering paying it all in one rather than stretching it out over the year like I normally do to save £30. Does anyone have a view? It would mean spending some of the money I’ve put away for other annual expenses (I didn’t budget for insurance) but I would look to increase the annual expense monthly payment to account for it so I wouldn’t actually be better off each month if you see what I mean

Jam it probably is as it's available to those in receipt of tax credits etc I'm just feeling hard done by

I hardly ever seem to manage an NSD .

£6 today on a singing class with dd, £2.50 on a coffee first with the other mums (in the gap after the school run) and £2 on peaches from M&S. I took dd to the park after the singing thing and wore her (and myself) out walking round in circles together. Picked up my bargainous M&S order of two hoodies and two cushions for £17. By this time dd was asleep in the buggy so I stayed out mooching on the high street and sitting on a bench do she’d have a good nap (she always wakes up when we get home otherwise 🙄)

Cleaner came today. I pay her for 4 hours but she left after 3.5. I know because my Ring doorbell tells me when the door is opened! I am a little cross about it because the floor under the dining table isn’t terribly clean, there are still crumbs. I’m going to have to tackle her about it next week but I am not looking forward to it. Much harder with the Cleaner than in a work context because it seems more ‘personal’.

Apparently I need a medical report from my GP for life insurance. Humph.

Life isn't getting any better is it wreck😂

It's a faff indeed.

In updating some insurance details I reduced the quote further and paying annually saved £65 overall. Overpaying the cost of insurance to the annual expense pot by a few quid to account for inflation and to counterbalance the fact I’ve spent money I haven’t saved a tiny bit still means I will spend £5 less a month and it’s all on Bills not paying finance wooo

the minestrone was delicious though! The dc didn't thinks so but I didn't expect them to like all those disgusting vegetables

I try and pay insurance in one go. They must rake it in charging interest like that.

I saw the mse thing too, apparently certain email providers are more likely to reduce your quote too. Must check which.

There's free ktc tins of chickpeas on green jinn and free noodles on shopmium.

I have been feeling wiped out today and as a result have done nothing the bare minimum. Still at least it has been a nsd.

Wolf I think that's the right decision with annual expenses like that when you've got a pot.

Wolf sounds like the right thing, always nice to have one less dd to pay out each month. Home insurance for us is nevertheless a huge amount so it’s one I definitely try and pay annually if I can.

Weekly shop tomorrow. The last couple of weeks have been really spendy, probably because I ran the fridge and cupboards right down before hols. But the freezer is looking really full, so I’m going to do a quick inventory of what’s in there and meal plan accordingly to use some of that up.

I've made last payment towards house insurance & au pairs car insurance which gives a breather for a few months. I'll probably continue monthly though because who knows what'll happen with our finances.

The flapjacks obviously went down well here

€55 brownies registration & subs for next 4 weeks.

H gave impression he was taking her and then didn't so we were late