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

[Wolfcubisthefemalenominal]

New Fred frugal friends

Ok, think this is the meal plan:
Thurs: sausage roast (mostly from freezer)
Fri: chicken&veg skewers w buck wheat tabbouleh
Sat: picnic lunch / hm pizza
Sun: picnic lunch / honey&mustard pork and gnocchi

Mon: chickpea tray-bake
Tues: curry fried rice
Weds: cottage pie

The kids, of course, will eat only 20% of the above so early tea time will be supported by sandwiches, picky teas, fishfingers and tomato soup!

Cancel the milk tayto. Lights on a timer.

School holiday cost a fricking fortune. We need an old frugaleer and her bucket list back for cheap days out.
£3.49 Holland and Barrett, £18 superdrug,£17 KFC not worth the calories imo, £15 Iceland and£22 Aldi

Hi ChocFrog - does that make you a Freddo?

Wolf I hope you are OK - I was thinking of you and your DS today.

Life I am not a fan of KFC either. We have been experimenting with chicken variations - nuggets, southern fried etc. There are some great home made seasoning mixes and rubs. When I find one we like I make a jar up and then it is a quick and easy dinner option.

The cost of summer holidays is bonkers here - the boys are away to the states for 5 -6 weeks and therefore I feel obliged to make it a good holiday for DD as well to keep it fair. I will be eating stale bread topped with worm pate & washed down with water to make ends meet.

Anyhoo - proud parent moment. DS won head of house award at school prize giving.

Yeah well done DS. Although worm pate, pft posh bastard, should have the stale bread and be grateful. Especially if the mould is cut off first.

Do you not dry the mould on a tray on the window sill and grind it? Makes a fab seasoning for water & ice soup. Like blue cheese without the cheese.

Ew, mould 🤢. You lot are gross.

Welcome Freddo (I thought the same thing Unescorted ).

I meant to say earlier: what a gorgeous puppy Girlie - more pics please! I don’t think you’ll regret it, if will be brilliant for your DD.

Still working but just taking a break to eat a very old pizza I found in the freezer. I only have an hour or two left to do. I have been very productive today, I have done a Big Thing almost from start to finish. Not nsd but not too bad - spent £2.85 in Costa but then sat there for 3 hours (it wasn’t busy) . Then a quick grab in Waitrose (mostly fruit), £15. Collected some sandals from JL that I was planning to wear to a wedding this weekend but think they might be too narrow. Not uncomfortable, because they’re sandals, but I think they look too small. I haven’t got time to find an alternative though

Also dreading the holidays - not so much a money problem for us because I can’t think of places that are suitable to go to with an anxious ASD boy, and also in charge of a toddler. I think we are going to be stuck at home a lot as I need two adults to take mine out anywhere and DH doesn’t have any more leave to take. We will be Climbing. The . Walls.

Thanks for the new thread.
Have been awol for a week but keeping up.
Girlie very cute dog.
Welcome chocolatefrog lots of support, advice & general chat here
laputa sounds like the dc did you proud
Tayto have a good holiday
wolf that news is difficult to deal with. Hope you're getting things sorted.
unescorted well done to ds on his award
Christmas hope you got the work finished.

So, since last week, ds made it back from the cricket at Headingley in one piece, a bit drunk, but having had a great day. He's not having a great week health wise. His eye has flared up and along with that, his fatigue. We've abandoned frugality and booked an appointment with a private consultant on the recommendation of a work colleague. It's a week on Monday, so fingers crossed we get some answers. The urgent nhs appt for his eye is on Oct 29th .

Dh had a good time with his parents in Devon & didn't spend too much.

Dd is off to a theme park for a "Reward Trip" today. Not a reward for the parents though, at £28!

It has been a ridiculously busy week at work, but quite productive. Hoping to finish early today & to take some time back. Day off tomorrow. Lots to do as camping in the Lakes (shore of Ullswater) for the weekend, so need to dig tent & camping gear out of the garage & get food etc ready to take.

Low spend week so far.

madden I like the sound of your meal plan.
thatsnot can't give any tips for earlier nights as I'm rubbish at it. Will watch with interest though!

Texted the midwife yesterday as had found out about something which might a) help me relax and sleep and b) could help with my uncomfortableness.

Float therapy. Essentially a big super salty pool of warmy water. They pop you in (with the lid on the pod if you want) an eye mask and plinky plunky music and you float for an hour.

Float place say it’s ok to use when I’m this pregnant. Midwife says ok. So I’ve booked a session. £60. But apparently worth every penny. Dh was going to get me a preggo massage/facial but he’s got this for me instead.

Midwife said she’s enquires about some physio for me because of the soreness in my hips etc but the earliest I can have an apt is September if I don’t go privately. And she suggested that going privately might not be worth it as I’m 37 weeks already.

If it’s still uncomfy after baby I can then get a private referral so will see.

Planned spends today - lunch. It’s my last week at work and I’m treating myself to lunch at all my fave places. 😉 once I’m on leave it’ll be lunch at home most days so am making the most of the naice cafes etc here. Today I might go to the organic place and have falafel.

Ice and water soup. Only in winter other wise is just water soup. Avoid the yellow extras.
Ok will stop now.
Seriously hoping for some good weather as it's far easier to be frugal in the nice weather.

Have fun in the lakes. Which site in Ullswater. That's not far from us and where we tend to go to.
Pleased DS had a good time at the cricket. Hope the specialist gives answers.
Chocolate frog. I thought Harry potter but then my DC are obsessed. How old are your dc? Do you have to fit work in too?

Nsd planned today.

Don't blame you em. Enjoy your lunch and flotation.

Haha! I also thought Harry Potter!

North the private consultant sounds worth every penny. Why be frugal if not to spend what we've saved on the important things. Hope DS feels better over the week and you get some answers

I read a great tip on one of these threads years back for summer holidays... (although it has some cost outlay to begin with) when buying annual membership to places, buy half way through the summer holidays. By the time next year comes round, you still have membership to visit for the first half of the summer and then can spend the second half visiting somewhere new with a new membership.

Similarly, if on holiday in UK, many places have 'free return for a week' on admission. Plan it beforehand. We'll be visiting a local theme park that has a huge softplay. We'll return at least once anyway but it's a real life-saver if the weather is dire as we can just pop in for an hour here and there.

But weather wise, we'll be at the beach or walking come rain or shine - free is free!!
This year we're already making use of the 'free adult admission' that are often on packs of cereal and hand wash to visit The National Sealife Centre in Birmingham. This will be whilst visiting family so I've already been looking up free places nearby and we'll also be visiting The Donkey Sanctuary whilst we're there (we've exhausted all of the free places near us!!)

Asked dh to get me into work early today. Nope. He has a yoga class at 920 so doesn’t want to be early for that. Ffs. I asked him yesterday. At this rate I’ll be in at 9 when I have a client coming in at 9. Bus has left which would get me there early.

His words are “you’re paid from 9-5, it’s your last week, let someone else deal with it” to a certain extent I see his point. However. It’s my last week. My cover only works mon - weds and I have a lot to do today and tomorrow.

I suggested I drive myself. But dh wants the car - otherwise he’ll be stuck inside all day you could get the bus into town to get the car

This is always an issue because we only have one car. If we had 2 cars it wouldn’t be an issue.

Will catch up with everyone else soon but em why does dh get priority/final decision about the car?

wolf wow you'd a lot on your plate with ds since separation and now this obviously I've sympathy for your h too because he's got his own troubles but it's you that's our friend here.

Yesterday was NSD.
I wasn't feeling well last night and I'm feeling zonked today.

happier to be fair that’s the way we’ve always worked it. Whoever stays home has the car and they drop the other one at work.

Dh dropped me in early doors in the end. He was probably early for yoga. But whatever.

Anyway. I got to work. Dh got to yoga. And ds got to nursery. All good.

Afternoon all, quick catch up.

The floatation tank sounds lush em.

Today has been a nsd and Ystd was a lsd. Although have just sent a cheque off for £90 for dds summer holiday club!!

Not much going on here, plodding on plodding on.

Madden that is an absolutely brilliant idea about the annual membership!

Ok em sorry for jumping to conclusions

No worries happier technically it is Dhs car as it’s registered in his name. I only find out about this when I got caught speeding and the police officer looked up the details. 😱 I just assumed it was registered In both names but apparently you can’t do that here.

We’ve talked about 2 cars before. But given we both work In town it makes no sense to take one car to work and leave the other day on the drive not being used.

While I’m on leave I can borrow DMs car whenever I want as her and dad have 2. So that’ll be a massive help. If it were up to dh he’d go without a car (well he says this...I’ve challenged him before not to use it but he moans about the bus and either deliberately misses it or Just misses it and I end up giving him lifts everywhere.

In the past when he’s moaned about me “hogging” the car I’ve threatened to take myself off the insurance meaning he’d have to drive me/us everywhere. He didn’t like that idea.

Tomorrow is my last day of work this year! How has that happened.

I also have a bit of a cold - which I am hoping might be the start of something. #wishfulthinking

Cleared out my desk today. Have to hand everything over tomorrow. I’m going to be sad to leave albeit temporarily. I love my work family.

life Waterside Farm is the site we're going to. Looking forward to it.

Last day of work this year!! How’d that happen?

And possibly last Friday of work as when I go back in January I’ll onmy be working Monday to Thursday.

Lunch at Japanese/sushi place today with team. Gutted to not have sushi (although would it really do any harm now?!) but the Katsu curry the place does is said to be yummmmm.

Have to pick up cupcakes I ordered this morning. £50 ish on 25 cakes. Eeek. But they do look beautiful and all hand made etc. Sadly (or maybe not sadly) I mis counted how many I needed. I forgot that some people are on holidays oops.

Nice site. I haven't done that one we usually do the one called Ullswater.

Have a great last day Em