Frugaleers dripping their way through a wet January...

[SneakyGremlins]

Hang on, that makes us sound like alcoholics

Sorry was going to post more last night, but fell asleep. Re my aunt, she was only 53 and as I'm 40 today, well it is just so young.

Keep going Cag, you can do it.

Please could I join in (and hopefully read the whole thread over a cuppa when DD is napping later)?

I've found the decluttering thread so amazing for keeping focused on getting rid of things from the house, I'm really hoping to also focus on staying frugal!

Finances are a bit of a mess and have been since I had to get a new job from Mat Leave and now earn about half of previous and also have full time nursery fees. Everything is doable (just..literally just) and will improve when DD gets the 30hrs at the start of next year, but I always seem to go over budgets. I don't have any friends in the same position so would love to chat here 😃☕️

Man I love battenburg! Welcome to our chatty thread! In the first instance we always say to check you have all the cheapest utility/insurance packages, sign up to TopCashback and make sure you meal plan

Oooh battenburg, yum! I had a mini one the other day, but prefer the big ones as it’s a more favourable sponge to marzipan ratio. Anyway, welcome! This thread is complete awesomeness, and not just because of the frugal tips. ❤️

Right. Gotta leave shortly, I am starting to feel a bit angsty as always seems to happen when I have to leave the house lately 🙄 so I may just get a cab rather than two buses. Hmm. But I have had toast, and finished watching Dumplin’ on Netflix (so good!) and enjoyed the peace and quiet, the others have gone to trampolining and Cagletini has her MMR after (hoping she’s not too inconsolable, as DH doesn’t have the boobs).

Back later. :)

Dumplin' is fab - such a feel good, watched with teenage DSD a weekend or so ago😃

Hope Cagleti's MMR goes well, my DDwas finer with hers except from a lump that came and went way so all good and no worries of catching measles, mumps or rubella😃

I do love a battenburg cake! Big or small - mainly love the sugary marzipan :)

We are pretty good with the household bills except Virgin which is on a 2 year contract, and energy, which I know I have to deal with. We recently got a nice thermostat fitted to the heating so can set a temp rather than on/off and that alone will really reduce our usage I think.

Meal planning/food shopping is the bane of my life TBH! I'd like to start eating more vegetarian meals and also use the slow cooker more. We don't eat a huge amount of meat anyway but I would need to find some really good veggie recipes to convince DP!

My best friend is vegetarian so I could ask for ideas?

Afternoon all

I would like to eat more veggie too but dh really isn't keen. Not sure what the answer is tbh. We all like lentil dahl and jacket potatoes but he isn't keen on quorn or my veggie curries!

£8 in Tesco £11 on a sledge

Spent £0.95 today

Hope it goes ok cag

Poor DD2 is not well, collected her from CM and now asleep on the floor. Really hope it is not flu

We're predicted heavy snow.

One way or the other, expecting to not go to work tomorrow if either our schools are shut or poorly child

£3 parking
£1.80 hot chocolate
£3.30 on hot lunch

Tomorrow is my day off. Typical as I could have got a free day off work! If we get the snow they're saying there's no way the dc will be going to school.

Love is she too young to have been vaccinated? Hopefully it's just a virus and she will feel better in a day or two. Lots going round though in fact one of my schools has chicken pox already.

Good luck Cag

Happy birthday Curvy . So sorry to hear about your aunt too

Battleburg welcome. We are very friendly and we often chat about non frugal things too. This thread is a great source of support.

I love marzipan. It’s a good job I’m not at home or the pack in the cupboard would be at risk after all your talk.

Sneaky well done on the low spend and that’snot well done on the no spend

She attempted the vaccine but made such a fuss/struggle about it I'm not sure how much of it made it up her nose wreck

Apparently as a care leaver I shouldn't have been paying council tax for the past six months

Sneaky you should be able to get a refund. Contact your local council.

So I've had my worker here and from April I'm exempt from paying

Welcome Battenburg. Sorry I don't like marzipan.
Defo ask for a refund sneaky.
£241 on a youth hostle for Easter in the national forest. Going to look for cheap twycross, space centre and theme park ticket now.

Evening

I am so happy to see Cag, Lonely and Sneaky all back with us.... skippity skip.

Battenberg ....firm fave in this house too.

Lonely that is what I call cutting it fine. I do not miss self assessments.

cag hope your BGP's were hoiked and it went ok today.

Em glad it was a passing thing. sounds grim.

Wolf we should do cake! except I am in Bham today.

Love hope you are tucked up and warm. (and all our other southern peeps) We had snow yesterday which caused gridlock.

Frugal win...yellow stickered croissants 15p (for both) for my breakfast and train for tomorrow.

We're ready for the snow. I've got biscuits, bread, cheese, milk, jelly babies, coffee and a sledge bet we don't get any now!

Cake would be ace Unescorted

Wreck there is definitely a sledge in a house but there’s also absolutely definitely no food. I was going to nip Lidl tonight but events have conspired against me

It has been the shittist of shit days. If it could go wrong it has. I need a drink. Stil 30 mins of camhs an hour of driving and an hour at volunteer whatever to do so I need to put a pin in the drinking for a while.

We've currently got rain. Feeling a bit cheated.

DD2 has asked to go to bed

Happy birthday Curvy - how do you feel about the Big One? I hope your family has made a fuss of you anyway.

Cag how was it? 🤞🏻

Battenburg you and your cakey interior are very welcome but you can leave that marzipan jacket outside

Sneaky that’s annoying given how tight things have been but brilliant if you get a refund - a nice windfall! How long a payment break do you get as a care leaver?

Work. Blah. I take lunch in but I’m not too frugal on the drinks on office days - I keep buying tea from the canteen at £1.40 a go because I don’t have a desk, so nowhere to leave a mug, only there 2 days pw, not in the milk rota thingy.... but it adds up. I probably average 2 teas per day when I’m in. Wfh tomorrow though.

I’ve got to head out to Slimming World when DH gets back and it’s soooooo cold I can barely face it! There’s an icy wind out there. We are forecast snow tonight but it will be sleet /slush by tomorrow I expect. The kids will be very disappointed...

love hope sleep helps your dd. I think they only need a few molecules on the lining of their noses to get the vaccine.

No snow here, and none forecast. The wierd hairy frost has not melted at all. It's kind of furry.

Spent £9 in the post office, and took out £10 cash, then bought big hoops and choc!
Dd1 had a Jeremy Fisher 50p! I gave her 3 20p's for it so generous

Oh, and I went into my overdraft today, until I realised and shuffled money! I have finally run out of non-ISA cash savings so will have to dip into those now. It’s not good.

I am feeling rather annoyed because I’ve been working since the end of September, have paid almost £5k in childcare in that time and still haven’t been paid a penny yet! It’s partly my fault after the debacle over opening a business bank account, which took a couple of weeks to sort, but I haven’t even invoiced for my projects yet, let alone been paid, because I can’t invoice without purchase order numbers. And they can’t seem to sort that out, after more than a month of chasing. I am going to get very arsey tomorrow

I'll have life and seacows marzipan. Best thing ever. If I had to choose only one food to eat forever...

Seacow At least til age 22 so over a year