Scrimping through the remains of September, Austere Autumn approaching, frugal friendly 'Fred

[Justanothermile]

Thought I'd make a new thread, I'll post on the old one and alert to its presence.

All are welcome, we are friendly folk.

Girlie ds has pocket money and his phone contract paid for as well as all his clubs but he does not get toys/games etc bought outside of birthday and Christmas and I don’t buy his magazines for him any more. Any cheques at birthdays go into the bank account my parents have for him - he has had a mountain bike out of that money but generally it’s to save for when he is older.

Afternoon.

I'm so pleased for you mammy, yesterday must have been trying to say the least. Today is a new day, a new start. Are you definitely safe? Positive times though. Hair cut sounds good. Well done on the run, it's stunning here today, perfect for a run.

girlie I think we waited until the dc were a little older than your Dd and then trusted them with their own accounts and cash cards. Both accounts had a fair amount of cash in as we put small monthly amounts in from when they were tiny and even small amounts add up over 14/15 years. We gave them a talk about trust, but that if they wished to blow the lot then it was theirs to spend, with the consequence that there was no more. Neither did blow it, both still have most of it, but have money for cinema, clothes and Christmas etc. And responsibility.

Great news Christmas!

Shopping was £100, but £25 on good whiskey on offer for DF's birthday.

How's DS's eye north, how did GP appointment go?

Got the £10 voucher fluffy, it's being used for Christmas presents.

girlie I am with you on the AF pain, one reason why I skipped my Clubbercize class this morning! DS1 is 13 and we used to give him £5 a week but got out of the habit. Now he just asks if he needs anything or wants to go anywhere. But I think time will come when we do a set amount into a bank account. Both boys have accounts already but they’re not aware of them as they’re the ones we’ve saved for them since they were born.

Finally got to see my friends art exhibition this morning! It’s awesome, I’m so proud of her. She’s got other exhibitions happening elsewhere too, people have seen her work and want it in their space. And she applied for a residency at the uni too.

JD sports issue has been resolved finally! They’re sending out the missing items today, should receive them tomorrow.

Pocket money talk is interesting.

I’m planning on giving ds pocket money when he’s a bit older and can do things. At present he “helps” me sort laundry and likes to throw socks around.

I put £20 a month into his bank account though.

I’m due af this weekend. Hoorah. Can’t wait.....

Great news mammy - a new era begins!

Good ideas from all about pocket money spends etc. We did give dd a small amount on holiday which helped curb the desire to buy all the tat . Do people with younger children use a GoHenry account?

I bought a BFG Monopoly last night because of the Christmas bargains thread. Not particularly desired or needed - it was just a bargain but now I'm feeling a bit 🤦‍♂️ - 'it's only a bargain if you would have bought it anyway' etc etc

Quickly skimmed through to find mammy's update- that does sound promising!

Today has been very frustrating. Was excited for pay day, to realise I gave an incorrect sort code. So I wasn't paid but now have been I believe. Any one else been as daft as me today???

Will catch up properly later. Once cake/food/alcohol has been located!!

Meal plan

Butter chicken
Pizza with crudités
Bacon spaghetti
Meatballs mash and veg
Gammon en croute with roasties and veg
Nuggets Waffles and beans
Tacos

I’m trying chicken biryani in the instant pot once I’ve had my nails done. Rice is my nemesis so will see how it goes!
Ds has had another full on meltdown. God knows what the neighbours think. I’ve been called words I never expected. There will be wine later!

I don't have AF anymore, but the downside to that is terrible memory, sweats and insomnia... I am reluctant to take HRT so have just been getting on with it

Girlie that's fabulous news & even better that you approve of them.
I saw him for 15 mins last night & wont see him again until sun eve or mon eve possibly.

Pocket money started in our house quite recently and they are both learning the value of stuff. Ds spent 3 weeks pocket money on a Lego mag recently but he got two vehicle kits with it so he's happy. Dd is saving her for spending in Claire as at the moment. Still put €5 weekly into their savings and birthday & Christmas money go in there too. Unless they need something that we really can't afford ourselves.

Also they get €40 each at summer to spend on toys or holidays as their birthdays are Nov and April so quite w long stretch between Christmas and birthdays.

Wolf how are you feeling yourself at end of working week?

Also in AF camp at the moment & the ache in my lower back and tummy is constant but I guess it means the hormones I've been prescribed are starting to work.

Well jjam there's 100 miles between us at the moment

Thanks for thoughts re pocket money, dd is pretty sensible and rarely asks for anything. She did mention the other night she would like some money to buy Christmas gifts with so will have a think about that.

I pay for her phone, clubs (with help from grandparents ) clothes etc. She doesn't get any 'stuff' outside of bdays/Christmas. The going out with friends is a very new thing so will see if that becomes more regular.

The £15 I gave her today went on the cinema (£9!) and the arcades, they weren't hungry apparently so didn't go to macdonalds. She had a brilliant time so I don't mind. One of her friends had £30 to spend 😮 I thought £15 was generous!!

Girlie I'm so pleased for your dd.
Quick update on ds. GP was okay, but basically said it is a chronic fatigue type thing which he will recover from, in time. He was reluctant to refer him for any more blood tests. We agreed to continue the antibiotics & see what the hospital eye docs say on Monday. If his eyes flare up again & his fatigue doesn't improve in this time then we go back. If we have to go back then I'll make sure he sees the GP I usually see who has a bit more empathy! Ds isn't overly happy as he just wants a solution, but I think what the GP said was reasonable, but he could've said it in a better way. Hey ho.

I had a virus for about a year at 21/22 North. One day I had a terrible craving for Horlicks and the next day it had gone. Once it was confirmed as non glandular fever the gp lost interest.

Jam Yeah I had a feeling it would be for people who actually shop at M&S.

Free face mask in Tesco using my £3 voucher they gave me for the rotten cat food.
£5.50 weeks cat food for the furry Fuhrer.

Those Christmas threads can get out of control Thistime. As you've found out by buying the board game most likely to cause a divorce .

North is it possible that your ds is still reeling from the personal stresses that he was under at school? I struggle with chronic fatigue and it's always put down to anxiety and general stress stuff. It annoys the heck out of me when people say that, but if it's a real thing is it possible that that is what is affecting him? I've found that talking in confidence to a proper clinical psychologist was hugely helpful.

The biryani was really nice. The rice was perfectly cooked. I didn’t 100% follow the recipe because I didn’t quite have the right ingredients so it was a bit hot because I used some local Spice mix instead of garam masala and the local spice mix is bloody strong. My sinuses are definitely cleared let’s put it that way!
North hope the antibiotics start to help ds. I have chronic blepheritis and I’ve found wipes and hot eye masks very helpful. I know ds’s issue is different but he might find these offer some relief

It’s quite a common age for chronic fatigue to start I think :( poor thing, he must be beyond frustrated.

Girlie great news about DD. Re pocket money I’m trying to decide what to do for DD now she’s a bit older, she will start going to town with friends etc soon. But I want to decide what responsibility comes with more money (eg buying herself more clothes, obviously I’d always get what she actually needs but I mean if she wants a particular t-shirt or something)

We’ve come up with a new plan for sports club. In previous years we have had hardly any sessions over winter as we keep having to cancel due to weather. But we have a loyal customer base (hark at me with the lingo :o) now and I’ve out feelers out for a few indoor workshops to get us through the winter, and response is positive. It’d have to be organised differently - booked and paid for in advance due to the hall hire cost. And price increased too. So would maybe be once every few weeks. Exciting!

Finally read back.

So pleased for you mammy. Once 'DH' moves out will that be the end of joint accounts too? It'll be so good for you to have finally have some separation from him

Your poor DS north. He's had such a time of it

wolf, your DS is certainly putting you through it.

We had to make an hurried batch of cookies once we got home for DD1 to take to brownies tonight for her badge. They looked quite home made compared to some of the other baked items other girls took in 🤔

Exciting times for your sports club cag

Frugal moment the other day when we realised DD2s coat was looking a bit small. Bearing in mind she is almost four, her coat was aged 1 to 18months. Both DDs have worn this coat, and was probably a 25% off purchase from Sainsbury's. Needless to say, DD2 now has a nice new appropriately aged coat

Happy weekend!

Well done on the job Sea.

Fluffy what surveys do you do? I have joined my survey but its quite frustrating although strangely addictive.

born I have done lots of surveys in the past but currently having a rest from them. I do:
Valued opinions (probably the best one for me)
Nectar canvass
E-rewards
Maximiles

I do more shopping apps at the moment like green gin, Shopmium, receipt hog, shoppix, click snap as it is just receipt uploading rather than long surveys

Well done on the job seacow

Valued opinions.

Woah.

It’s debating hour here. Ddad is trying to argue drink driving is ok.....

Hmmmmmmmm.

Also everyone who does drugs should die.

Interesting Em, might be time to retreat upstairs with a glass of eine

Thanks Love/Fluffy valued opinions aren't taking any new members at the moment so I might look at the other ones.