Festive frugaleers saving through to the new year!

[SnugglySnerd]

New thread! Tried to post on the old one and it was full. Newcomers welcome!

No idea what my aims are really.

Spendy today as going to hospital to see DD’s bestie. Just diagnosed with type 1 😰 her sibling has it so it’s not the great unknown, but still a huge shock for them all. Then we are helping at a charity thing my friend runs. Wanted to get the Caglets used to giving up their time too.

I put in a third yesbebe order happier this is all your fault :o I’ve ordered a Luggy. And a little rocket as Cagletini’s favourite song is Zoom Zoom. She always climbs onto our laps and does the actions to ask for it.

Happier a small Christmas dessert - won’t your dc want to eat it? Mine steal everything I’m eating... except veg . Plan for next year is great, I really hope you do get to move to your own place.

I know nothing about consoles as we don’t have any games things in our house but I bet it’s worth waiting till after Christmas if you can bear it Sneaky.

Strictly final tonight - I’m very excited! Slow cooker dinner tonight with rice in the rice cooker so there’ll be no faffing in the kitchen for me while it’s on! Must get some knitting sorted and ready too.

Manic day yesterday so I didn’t get to check in here properly. I put my coat on at 8.15sm and didn’t take it off till 5pm! Took DS to school, popped round to drop something off with a friend, caught bus to ‘other town’, browsed in Wilkos, finally opened business bank account (took 2hours but hurrah!), quick whisk around TKmaxx, bus home, no time to take coat off as I then drove to Waitrose to pick up my new computer and some food for dinner, then to DS’s school to watch his end-of-term dance performance with his after school dance club, then home at 5pm , fed DS Mac n cheese, then out again at 5.30 to fetch dd from nursery. DH home at 7, kids to bed, friend arrived for dinner at 7.45, cooked dinner, had lovely chat SITTING DOWN AT LONG LAST! I was so knackered but it was a productive day.

Also a bit sad watching DS with his dance club. The other kids (all girls!) danced and DS walked around at the back talking to himself. Oh well.

Computer is still in its box, I’m going to attack it this morning and get it set up. I’ve been lolling in bed doing the Ocado shop and a last (yeah, right) amazon shop.

Thanks so much for the M&S voucher offer Love, but I’m not sure I’ll get a chance to get onto a rl shop next week. Unless I take dd to Westfield, but I’m not sure we’d both survive that

Spent about £30 in wilkos yesterday on some fairy lights for outside and some other Christmas bits. £69 in tk maxx on a lovely fitted green cashmere cardi for me (for work) and a boxed set of Winnie the Pooh books for DS for Christmas. Nearly done for Christmas but still need to do BIL, SIL and FIL. No inspiration at all

Also my god daughter. Do you think a waffle maker is a good gift for a 12-year old who likes cooking? With some accoutrements (sauces, sprinkles, squirty cream etc)? She has lots of siblings she can make waffles for

Today I need to do computer stuff and wrap presents. Also book hotels for India trip.

And our car insurance is due for renewal on 27th -waaaahhhh!

Off to look up a luggy now, though it may be best I never know .

Lonely I meant to ask - when do you go to CP? I’m so impressed you’ve kept your secret and so excited for you all. It’s so well deserved and I hope you have a wonderful time x

Sea I think that sounds like an ace present for your god daughter. My ds who loves to cook and bake would go mad for that

Need to book car into garage I think I have a sticky brake.

The bad weather is supposed to start in the next few minutes. I am not looking forward to picking ds up in a couple of hours as the roads are supposed to be terrible

I’m going to clean out the kitchen cupboards in a minute and bin anything that’s duff

2019 goals
🦡 continue paying self first to ensure there Is enough money to pay for all annual expenses
🦡 save enough money to be able to afford a solicitor to get divorced
🦡 be able to have a little holiday, not necessarily abroad

I’m still in bed. Have somehow cricked my neck over night so have cancelled riding. It’s foul weather too.

Am exhausted. Dh came home at one thirty and woke me up. Ds woke up at 5 and dh got up and brought him into bed with us. 😪

Am resting now with another cup of tea. Ds is napping. We’re going to head into town later this morning so we can try and get ds some shoes. Dh needs to buy my presents. And I need to get wrapping paper.

I got a toastie maker for Christmas when I was 13.

I still have it

Off out with a worker - he takes me out for meals and gets reimbursed by the council so neither of us has to spend anything

I don't know about my frugal goals

I am trying to avoid getting out of bed. But everybody wants me to drive everywhere.... Manchester to take pictures for homework due on Monday, pick up from over the hill and far away ( I did warn that the weather was a bit shit and last night, early today or tomorrow might be better options....but no 1 pm) , meet up and drive people home because they want to go for a walk and don't want to walk back because the weather is a bit shit, want to do something in his spare time ( unspecified but needs me to drive).

I want to tuck up in bed...it is my first day of holiday, it is cold and miserable out and I am only just drinking my first cup of tea.

One has to ask oneself why two people require so many goddam open bags of pasta

We have 5 half open bags of pasta. Dh won’t mix the shapes.

We have shells, spirals,bow ties, penne and tricolour pasta.

And spaghetti.

We do too... Can we organise a pasta and odd sock swap?

Box of shame. diclaimer this does not include the four packs of spaghetti I found

Unescorted that sounds like a plan.

£30 Argos, £60 Sainsbury's

2019 will be save year. No holiday abroad, jobs on the house. Save for moving fees.
May take DC to Florida in 2020 if can save enough.
Make better use of meal planning and being healthy. She says eating a raspberry magnum.

I also need to Santa wrap but the DC are only out now for an hour. I have Thursday off though

Icy wind here. Brr flakes of snow it too.

Will freeze my bits off at the stables later. Then in for the afternoon

Wolf at last a problem that is solved by us being off wheat. Hurrah!

I just put my best foot forward and went out and mowed the lawn. It was really nice actually as I was wearing all the clothes, including ds's raccoon hat. Ds's teenage friend met me at the front door and was too embarrassed to make eye contact with me or my hat, which also has eyes.

My pre-christmas resolution is to spend an hour out in the garden every day to get sunshine and it's really been very nice this last few days. It only works because of my magic second layer of trousers, which was a frugaleer discovery last winter. Yay! #ThankYouLovelyFrugaleers

I have been wrapping up since 8am! Not finished. Turns out I have gone batshit crazy this year! Getting on with dd1's presents, she asked for the bbc Robin Hood on dvd...all fine. As I have a thing for Richard Armitage (sense a theme in my taste here, I get dibs on Hugh Jackman too). Wrapping up, realise it's only series three. Not one and two. Bollocks. Whip round the amazon, and they are on the way.

Now I am trying to finish the camels, except I keep getting distracted.

Will go out to get dd2 a bit early, so we get home in the light. It is so very cold here, no frozen rain yet though. That treat is promised for later on. Will need milk.

And, dp finally rigged up my projector thingy yesterday...finally we have outside decorations. The only ones in the village!

seacow this coming friday!! Very excited. I've only had to fob dd1 off so far, so she knows we are doing something, but not what yet. It's only 2 nights away, but I hope it will be heaps of fun.

Waitrose wants to give me £15 off if I spent £150, which is not going to happen.

I have one cupboard to put back and then I think I’m done for the day, I have moved all the cupboards around so will now spend weeks looking in the wrong cupboards. Frozen rain has just started in earnest and I’m leaving to get ds in 10 mins. Typical.

We're due sleet too, but nothing yet. I'm tempted to get out in the sunshine before the rain starts, but probably shouldn't.

Feeling very nauseous. Kept having to stop the car.

Loitering in a nearby town's Morrisons Café trying to feel better

Gosh it's a cold one today!
Need to think about my frugal aims for 2019. I assume "hope for a windfall" doesn't count?!

I still have a few pressies to buy for a couple of friends and my mum. No idea what to get my mum. Searching for ideas on Amazon brought up suggestions such as "sexy wonder woman apron" and a key ring shaped like testicles. Not quite what I had in mind!

I'm going to shop there later I think cag
Ds presents seem slack compared to dd after wrapping this morning

Seacow they just want ice cream & we've got a few tubs in already from Iceland so will see if I can fit more in the freezer.
Great present for goddaughter

I don't mix pasta shapes either unless we're almost out

Feeling lucky here with only rain to contend with

Ah, I’m sure it will be brilliant Lonely. They’ll probably only get out of the pool to eat

Btw, at Slimming World on Thursday j reached the 2 stone off mark, since September. I look and feel a whole lot better but still have about 3 stone to go

I am trying to set up my new computer (looks really good so far!) but it turns out I can’t remember my password to anything. And apparently my email account has been suspended 🙄. Suspect it might be a long afternoon....

I hadn't realised that people with more than one child had to equalise the piles of presents. That must be really tricky. I find it hard enough just trying to keep pace from last year.

This year we have switched from lego boxes to computer games and computer games look much less impressive wrapped.

I'm trying really hard not to buy extra stuff in the run up to Christmas. It really takes restraint though, doesn't it?

Well done seacow that's a fantastic achievement & you should look at how far you've come not what you've left to loose

€15 for my hair
€35 for makeup incl spare lashes for wedding at end of the month.