Frugal Friends, planning, saving and considerate spending through July and August

[Wolfcubisthefemalenominal]

New Fred frugal friends

happier I was joking about “push presents” the other day. Haha. I just hope it’s for me!!!!

Afternoon everyone 😊

Em I'm glad your mil backed you up, maybe it will make dh think a bit. Unfortunately most people do end up reflecting their own parents behaviours unless they have enough self awareness to actively change patterns. My mum managed to but it took a fair amount of work on herself, lots of counselling and reflecting.

North I really hope this dr gives you some answers, your poor ds has been struggling for a long time now.

Lap 🤣

We've had a nice day, went to a local beach with my dads dog, spent about a tenner I think including parking.

Oh actually that's a lie I also bought a gift for my step mum which was £15.

The silly dog drank some sea water and then managed to throw up in a shop 😱 very embarrassing. I did my best to help the shop lady clean it up 🤢

Euww :(

Argh crap my crown has loosened a bit. Not sure what’s worse, the fact I’ll most likely need that tooth out now (knew this was a risk when I had it) or the fact I will have to admit that no I haven’t seen the hygienist yet like I was meant to six months ago 💸💸💸

Girlie did you tell dd about puppy?
My father has kittens and asked if dd wanted one, we already have a cat, I've said no for now. He asked me not dd btw

Oh no laputa

Nice afternoon here. Took ds to dparents and he had a play in the paddling pool with us all. Then Dm made the most delicious buffet tea. Smoked salmon lobster crab prawns falafels spicy ribs cold chicken sausages ham garlic bread salad new potatoes. Then three birthday cakes for ddad. I bought one. Dsis bought one and Dm bought one. Communication fail.

Also a yuk moment - flying ant day. Ick. Everywhere. Ick.

We had such a lovely afternoon. Ds was superbly behaved (splashed everyone to the point we should have all followed dsis’ lead and put our swimmers on too!!) left there at around 8. Ds straight to bed when we got home.

Baby bag done. My bag done. Im now lying on bed as it’s super hot.

Nsd today. Dsis sent me money for dads present and breakfast. Dm sent money for the Buck’s Fizz yesterday. I told her not to but she insisted. If I send it back she will just keep sending it back. So I’ve put half in ds’ savings and will throw half in baby’s once I’ve opened the account.

Since sept I’ve saved over £5k in my Lloyd’s account. Yay. I get the interest for this in September this year so really don’t want to dip into it.

Dh has just told me off for not putting his protein shake shaker in the dishwasher. (It wouldn’t fit) and also for not washing it. I told him to do it himself. Apparently I need to have some consideration. I reminded him of the “get yourself organised” conversation. Apparently this means he can’t go to the gym tomorrow now 🙄🤔

Not my circus not my monkey.

Em your help is needed on this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/uk/3637249-Recommendations-for-Jersey

I have a note on the dishwasher that explains the difference between in and on. A vowel between friends is forgivable, between family members not so much.

Hi all.

Em, glad MIL backed you up. Sounds like you ds had a wonderful time.
North, hope the doctor can offer some answers for him.

Spendy few days
About £300 since Friday, but does include some uniform for DS2, new clothes for the 2 younger DCs, they really needed it, they have grown so much and lots were in the sale, a few bits for me too. Plus I got a new phone on contract, (so no money for that yet as it will be paid by direct debit), and I treated myself to a galaxy fit, £89 and a pub lunch £5 something.

Yes happier she met the puppy Ystd, she is delighted and slightly in shock I think!

My mum and I are going halves on the puppy so £200 each, I'm going to pay for a pet plan and mum will pay for insurance.

Dd is going to use £100 from her savings to buy all the puppy essentials (this is her life savings and she has a fair amount in there!)

I've caught up on all the posts I missed while I was on holidays.

Girlie the puppy is adorable. I'm sure DD will be so excited.

Unescorted congrats. to your DS for his award

north good luck with the consultant tomorrow. Hope she can throw some light on DS's health issues and offer some solutions. Sounds like you've a very busy time coming up.

Laputa your DD is very brave to consider secondary school. That's a big development. Cagletini is getting so big! in my head she's still a baby. How are you getting on with StepDD?

em I'm sorry your DH is so stressed about work but he has to take steps to deal with his stress. Either he looks for a new (less stressful) job or else he actively explores stress management techniques. He shouldn't be taking it out on his wife and child. Calling you lazy when you're coming to the end of your pregnancy (and caring for a toddler at the same time) is totally unacceptable. He also needs to organize himself (and his possessions) better - but I guess you know that already. When DD makes her appearance, you're going to have your hands full and DH really needs to take responsibility for his own actions and belongings. Anyway, good news about the free gym membership and DSis's unwanted presents.

Wolf I'm so sorry to hear about Ex's resignation. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for you. Sending you hugs, , and . I hope you manage to enjoy your holiday, despite the worry of recent developments.

Adora lovely to 'see' you on the thread. Hope the new job is going well.

Seacow that's so annoying about the train tickets. Do you have something like the Small Claims Court in the UK, where you could somehow claim compensation for the tickets? Work sounds crazy but I'm glad you got paid finally. Hope you had a nice lunch today - you're always so busy cooking and baking for everyone else.

madden sounds like you've had a run of bad luck with appliances etc. Thankfully you were able to replace the TV. I hope you can restore your emergency fund before you need to dip into it again.

Happier I'm glad you enjoyed the glamping and nice that you (and the DC) had a bit of company. Lovely of your Dad to help out with the holiday spends.

flamingo hope your migraine eases soon.

A very warm welcome to Chocolatefrog, trinity and Summergarden.

I met three friends for lunch earlier. My share of the bill was €35 including a tip. We had a main course, dessert and soft drinks. The food was fab but very expensive. I also spent €21.67 in Lidl.

I'm meeting another friend in Dublin tomorrow. An old school friend is home for a fortnight (she lives abroad). It's been raining cats and dogs all day today - hope tomorrow's a bit nicer.

Hey Tayto, glad you are getting out and about with friends. Do you feel more positive after your holiday?

North your consultant sounds like a great choice, I really hope she can help DS. He sounds like such a lovely kid but having a bumpy old time.

Had a lovely day with friends, and they were very pleased with their picnic blanket gift too. It was a bit tough on DS, he was pretty good while we were there but was very agitated in the car afterwards so it felt like a very long drive home . Anyway, busy evening (baking again!) and still have a few chores to do before bed... and it’s late! I’m in the office tomorrow, not wfh, so it’s going to be a right old rush.

Better crack on...

Also, it’s going to be mid-30s and humid here by Wednesday. They say London will feel like 44C . I’m on leave with the kids at the end of the week but it might be too hot to actually do anything except flop.

Blimey 44C !!!! I hate hot and humid. Some how if feels even hotter. For those of with an Aldi the Valencia Orange iced lollies are lurverllllly & at 99p for 4 a bit of a bargain. They do a raspberry one too which I must try.

I have another day at home - DD needs picking up from Blue Dot. I think I will crack on in the garden in between time

North hope the appointment is successful.

North good luck today. I hope ds gets answers and help. It sounds like the consultant is a good choice on paper

Awake since 4am. Tried to drop back off but df took the dog out and then the house was awake so a bit pointless

£11.50 yesterday for castle entry
£10 ice creams

Df paid for morning coffee and cake and dinner out.

Will need garden entry today, lunch out and a bit of shopping

Unescorted enjoy your gardening

Em definitely not your circus.

Sea yuck I would not like to be in London in that heat. I hope it’s sorted itself out by the week after! Red heads and warm don’t mix and I will melt

Girlie glad dd loved the puppy surprise

I probably need to catch up a bit. I’ve been all me me me for a few days. Sorry!

Woken up this morning feeling a bit “off” I think baby has moved down somewhat which is good. Am meeting a friend for coffee this morning then meeting ds and dparents at the beach. That’s the plan anyway. Who knows. Baby could make her appearance today or tomorrow (my moneys on tomorrow because 30 degrees here and who wouldn’t want to spend a lovely hot day in hospital....). Also it’s our wedding anniversary tomorrow (which I’d forgotten about) and was hoping dh had too. I actually asked him this morning had he done anything for he. He said yup. My response “oh crap”. He laughed because I’d forgotten. in my defence I have been a bit busy with growing a person

Anyway. Welcome to newbies. We’re a friendly bunch here. And super helpful.

@Unescorted I love an orange ice lolly. Shame we don’t have also here.

@Girliefriendlikescake did I miss a pic of the puppy dawg?

@LivingInLaputa haha! Love a comedy WiFi name.

Hope you’re all ok xx

Thanks for all the good wishes, it means a lot. Appointment at 1230, will catch up properly later

That explains the box then em
Best of luck north your poor ds

Back to normal today thankfully @Taytocrisps and @northender. I think I'm going to book some acupuncture though to see if that helps their increasing frequency, not frugal, but a preferable option to more meds I think.
May do a quick top up shop later.

£27 Sainsbury’s stuff for dinner tonight and tomorrow’s lunch.
£26 garden entry for me and dm
Df bought lunch
A couple of pics from the garden we visited for our frugal gardeners

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Lovely garden pics wolf

Hope appointment went well north

Heres a pic of dd meeting the puppy for the first time em 😍

Quiet day here, just work etc and no spends.

Very cute Girlie
Welcome summer The calendar planner for summer holiday activities sounds good. Libraries often do good free stuff.
Em that's a turn up, mil effectively backing you up.

So, ds' appointment went well. The consultant was brilliant, she had made notes from the history I had sent via email & told ds that she would ask lots of questions that mainly needed yes/no answers & that would mean more time in the consultation to talk about management & the future. She has given a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and a very clear plan of dietary supplements (short & long term), management of exercise/recovery/rest, sleep and diet. She said keeping going with his sport has been the best thing and that had he not been sporty, he would likely have ended up in a much worse position. He is lucky in that cricket is a sport with short bursts of activity, hence why he can manage to play for several hours at a time, it's the training that's a problem, but that will be better with some easy modifications. Because he has the diagnosis he will be able to get extra time for his exams next year & any extra support he needs in the build up. She said to use that even if he feels better by then, as he has had 2 years of underperforming due to it, if that makes sense. I feel very relieved and ds did me proud in how he spoke up and is also very happy with the outcome and the plan. The only thing she is concerned about is his eye & getting a definite diagnosis, so she suggested seeing an optician as a possible quicker route into the NHS system (our "urgent" appointment is Oct 29th). If that doesn't work next week then we'll go private for that too. Frustrating, but I need it all to move on for A level year.
Sorry for the long post but you have all been so supportive when I've really needed it, thank you.
Stopped at the Trafford Centre on the way home & had an unfrugal lunch. Only other spends were £40 on some polo shirts for ds to wear to work experience (he has 5 days starting tomorrow)
Dd is going to my mum's tomorrow for 2 days

North, please don't apologise!
You all must be so relieved to finally have an answer. Your ds is a credit to you. I'm so so happy for you all!x

@northender that’s great you have a diagnosis. I tend to find things easier with if you have that “label” if you will. Easier to manage mentally.

Baby update. Still no baby.

Met up with dfriend £8 on coffees and danishes. Yum. Met dparents and ds on the beach. He is absolutely exhausting. We built about a hundred sandcastles and then splashed in the sea and carried buckets and buckets of water from the sea to said sandcastles. I say we. Ddad Dm and I carried the buckets. Ds supervises and managed us.

We also found a hermit crab which ds thought was funny.

Dh’s anniversary gift to me? A voucher for the beauticians, and a new serving plate. 8 years is pottery and bronze. The idea behind this is I can use the voucher for a spray tan if I want (a bronzing!!).

The plate is a jersey pottery one with some mackerels on it. It’s lovely.

I’m still working on his gift. still haven’t bought one

Tomorrow I am staying home (apart from dropping dh and ds at work/nursery). It is going to be hot as. So I’m keepjng windows open and will mostly be resting. And maybe Doing laundry.

North so pleased you have an answer, at least partially, and a plan
Fingers crossed the optician can help bump him up the list for the eye specialist