Had a Spendy Summer? Join the Friendly Frugaleers as we Segue Smoothly into a Sensible September

[LivingInLaputa]

All welcome. Couldn’t see another thread!

Washing is such a pita, i keep on top of it by doing washing almost every day and putting away the clean/dry wash from the day before so I can hang out todays washing iyswim?! I also don't iron anything....

Ystd I spent £53 in Aldi so food must have gone up as normally that shop would be £45 ish.

I've bought a chicken to roast later which will be nice and should last a couple of meals.

I also paid £15 for dd to join the junior kennel club, there's certain advantages for her being a member including getting into crufts free.

Got loads done in the garden Ystd and it looks so much better, have about 5 bags of garden waste to take to the dump now though!!

Need to go to town today, have stuff to take back to Next abc still need to find some work trousers. My mum keeps suggesting m&s but I still feel I'm 10 years to young for them!!

Oh and I planted 30 daff bulbs around my estate today ystd, they were my nans favourite flower so a nice tribute to her when they all pop up in spring 😊

I'm lucky that once I wash clothes au pair will put on line & bring in & fold during the week, this is since h moved out a year ago. I also don't iron at all, possibly dc school shirts if they need it but nothing else. Ds wets the bed so I generally need to put on a wash 5 days a week. There's one wash in basket needing to be put out, another in the machine, and I've another one to put on, it's lovely out today so I'm going to line dry them.

The stuff au pair brought it is covering the dining room table but dc have been with their dad so I've eaten at breakfast bar type thing instead, doesn't seem as lonely as sitting at a 8 place dining table alone plus I could ignore the laundry too

I'll need burns plasters today from chemist & not sure if I'll eat out or not. They'll be the only spends.

Little same as that live in the sticks & need to drive everywhere

Wreck great news about money

Madden good frugal meal plan

Making a campfire stew for tea which will do at least three meals for two, probably more like four. Had a gnarly end of butternut squash so I’ve chucked that in too. Nearly had a fit because there were no tinned toms in my kitchen cupboard but the brexit cupboard came to the rescue

I iron very rarely.

Today has been eventful. Woke up and ds had somehow escaped from his sleep bag and had got his leg stuck in the bars of the cot. I freed him (although he was quite happy in there not stuck stuck) and he then proceeded to try and climb out of cot. Leg over the bar etc. Ffs.

We had breakfast and went for a walk in the rain to the park down the road. He had a play (in his wellies and waterproofs) then fell off the rope bridge. Ffs. Absolutely terrified me. But he’s fine. I managed to sort of catch him then dropped him.

He went for a sleep almost an hour ago now. But we’ve got him up because he escaped from his bag twice. He’s taken his own T-shirt off (never seen him do that before...) and he’s thrown the blanket I gave him out of his cot. He’s also not showing any signs of being tired. Despite being tired.

In the hour or so he’s been not sleeping I’ve re booked out Mexico trip. Previous Thomas cook booking included flights from Gatwick and hotel at a cost of £4500 for the 4 of us.

Booking everything with BA (flights to Gatwick then from Gatwick to cancun hotel (same room as previously) and a night at holiday inn at Gatwick on the way out) has cost £3100. Ba have a sale which ends tomorrow. 👍🏻

All I have to do now is get Dd a passport. Put advanced passenger info in. And book seats together. Dh says I don’t have to pay for this and we just chance it. But I’m not willing to do that. Will get it all at a later date though. The main bits done. Phew.

It’s tipping it down here. Luckily football has been cancelled so I am having a chilled out afternoon on the sofa. I got all my housework done yesterday so I can totally relax without thinking of what I could/should be doing. Just need to meal plan and finish my shopping list.

Well that nice little windfall from the council soon went! £100 on brake discs and pads, another £100 ish on new fan and resistor as that had stopped working on the car too. £80 on diesel for our weekend visiting family, just filled up again so another £80, £40 for DS1’s subs, £25 for his Explorers shirt, £36 on DS2s school shoes, and that’s it gone!

However by DH doing the car repairs himself we reckon he’s saved us a good £1000-1500.

@ememem your DS has just turned 2 hasn’t he? Might be the beginnings of dropping the nap altogether 🙈. I know by that age DS1 was resisting them and if he really needed to sleep I’d resort to driving with him.

I never pay to book seats together just check in online as soon as it opens. But personally it wouldn't be an issue for us if we weren't sat right next to each other.

I've made low carb brownies, been to my parents, had cuddles with the dog, washed all the towels, now washing all the bedding. Have still got loads of washing to fold and put away, list more on eBay and cook dinner.

Dh took ds to football (luckily was indoors!) they won, he went to McDonald's now he's having a rest

Lovely dog Wreck. My slow cooker is absolutely full to the brim so I’ve labelled three big freezer bags in the hope it’ll do at least eight good portions, nine ideally so that I have something for lunch tomorrow

I’ve had a lazy day in my PJs. I’ve tidied the house top to bottom and ordered the online food shop for the week. £38 which was mostly fruit and packed lunch bits.

@CurlsandCurves my dh does most of our car repairs too. He saves us a fortune!

@ememem84 all of mine dropped naps around that age! I’m still mourning that time years later

Don't worry em dd is 9 and had an afternoon nap today so it does come back around

My dd napped until she started school!!

I've just seen the most amazing quilt on the antiques road show and immediately thought of you lot!!

We've had a good day, went into town and got the bits I wanted. We took the puppy and he was brilliant walking about and not phased by anything.

Spends
£15 Holland and Barrett (curly girl friendly conditioners and dried fruit.)
£6 lunch Greggs
£3 card warehouse
£12 tiger on a few bits
£12 pound stretcher toiletries

I took clothes back to next so £36 back in.

Spent the afternoon making a roast dinner complete with a crumble for pudding, it was delicious. Gave the puppy some roast chicken, think he thought all his Christmasses had come at once 🤣

Da fell asleep in the car on the way to dparents. It’s a 10/15 minute drive. I drove round for 45 minutes....danger nap time.

He’s gone to bed now. BEts on whether he’ll stay in husband sleep bag??

I’m off to dunelm tomorrow to get a corned duvet and bedding.

We've had an uneventful and very rainy weekend here. But ds spent some quality time with DH while I worked on some boring tax stuff. Friday teaching wore me out and it's back to it tomorrow morning.

Meal plan for this week:
Bean enchiladas
Leftover curry with rice from DH
Veg and tofu lasagne
Mediterranean vegetables with vegan sausages and baked potato
Leftover chilli with rice from DH
Burgers and chips with beans
Takeaway or whatever DH cooks

Happy Sunday all!

moimichme can I come to yours for dinner this week? Sounds amazing!

ememem84 good luck!

He’s out of the bag. I’ve draped it over him and popped a blanket over him too. Tucked him in as much as I could. Crazy little mate.

Hopefully I’ve just ordered a corned for Dd too. £152 from amazon with mattress. Hopefully it gets delivered. The last one I ordered accepted order then refunded because they didn’t deliver here.

I put Dd in a pair of tights today. Dh told me I was doing tights wrong. I dressed her as follows: nappy long sleeved bodysuit tights then a romper over the top. He thinks I should have done tights then bodysuit. What does/did you guys do?

em can't remember what we did with tights, but I suppose the tights would be easier to keep in place under the bodysuit? Glad you got Mexico sorted & cheaper too.
madden good frugal meal plan,
girlie what a lovely idea to plant the daff bulbs
wreck glad your dh is getting some money
We've resorted to the tumble drier this weekend as the weather has been so dreadful. We have a spin drier, so do that first which gets rid of loads of water & is much cheaper than the tumble drier. I just iron what I need to which isn't much when things have been line dried.

We have got our Tobago trip sorted through flights to Trinidad with BA from Gatwick & quite a bit more expensive. I'm so looking forward to having it as a proper family holiday now as ds will be with us too which is an added, unexpected bonus (and no cricket to watch!). So now we need to be frugal in order to claw back the extra we've had to spend.

I've roasted some veg tonight for my lunches for 2 or 3 days, will do some lentil soup tomorrow for dh's lunches. Have got mince defrosting for a JO meatloaf tomorrow & will use the same mix for meatballs the day after.
Am collecting things together to sell on FB or eBay & have started Christmas shopping. Am going to start thinking about what to ask for for my birthday & Christmas. The pil are very generous & are happy to be given ideas, so I'm thinking anything that I'd like but won't make it to the top of my priority list any time soon.
Luckily we are all looking forward to the holiday, so everyone is on board with the frugal effort.

I am officially sick of the rain here now. It needs to stop.

It’s my birthday on a couple of days. 26 again....! Or maybe I should just admit to myself my proper age....! My present from dh is in the garage. It’s a big box. Wrapped in bin bags. I’m not going to peek as I love a surprise. But I’m dying to know what it is. He knows I know it’s there. I knew he brought it home. And asked where it was. Mostly so I didn’t accidentally stumble upon it.

He asked the other day what I’d like most, I think hopjng I’d say whatever it is he’s bought me. I said he’s never made me a birthday cake. So I’d like that. Doubtful that it will happen. I worked out that since we’ve been married I don’t think I’ve had a birthday cake that I haven’t had to make or buy myself. Grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal really.

Just up with dd. Have checked on ds. He’s still in his cot. 🤣

Sleepless night not sure if it’s pain or Stress but I’m knackered
Pay day, have paid myself first

Morning all! (Em how do you sound so chipper at 4.30am?!!), I do love darker mornings and evenings, apart from when I snuggle back in to sleep and my alarm goes off. At least with light mornings there is some warning!

Hope you get through the day ok wolf. Keep your eye on the prize of pjs and an early night to keep you going.

North that's a relief that Tobago is sorted and that you're all going together as a family holiday. Am I right in remembering you saying it's where you went on honeymoon? It will be so special to go back!

Em I can't remember what we did with tights. I don't think it matters either way. I've never had a birthday ale either. Not even when I was a child.

wolf lack of sleep is horrible, hope your day is ok. Campfire stew to keep you going!
little & curls it's a great saving to be able to do diy car repairs/maintenance
life did you find a GF cake recipe? I've baked plenty of cakes, but never GF.
madden it wasn't our honeymoon, but when I was pregnant with ds & our only ever exotic holiday, so yes it'll be special. Too expensive really, but one of our last family holidays as a four I expect, so worth it.

No rain this morning for a change, but more forecast tonight. Big day at work today, will be glad when it's done. Lunch & snacks all prepped.

em oooh wonder what it is!

No rain so took the dog for a run. My trainers are rubbing which means sore feet all day at work.

Morning all, full of a cold here, lovely. Going to get the weekly food shop done then come back and hibernate until school pick up.

Popping on to respond to the most important issue on this thread...

Em I think you are both right re. Vest /tights. As a general style thing /way of wearing I agree with your DH - tights on top is the correct configuration.

But. With a small one it is quite handy to put the vest over the tights for 2 reasons:

1. It keeps them in place a bit better
2. If there is a poo leakage incident the tights are going to cop it anyway, so may as well keep the vest a bit further out of trouble.

Now DD is a bit older and walking about /flashing her bum I go tights on top but as a baby I went with vest on top.

My weekend wasn’t quite as relaxing as I’d hoped because DD burnt herself yesterday - she was walking past the cooker and put her hand on the top of the hob where I’d just used the gas ring so it was scorching hot. I’ve told her loads of times not to touch the cooker as I saw it coming one day... usually if a ring has been on i leave a pan on top as a deterrent but I was just in the process of tipping chicken from the frying pan into another pan when she came by so it wasn’t on the hob and I just wasn’t quick enough . I had a massive struggle with her too - she was hysterical and I couldn’t get her hands in cold water without tipping it everywhere so I ended up pinning her down and holding an icy wet tea towel to her hand by force. 15 minutes of complete hysteria, it was awful and DH had popped to the shop so I was on my own. It didn’t blister (though one finger does look very sore) so I’m glad I persevered even though it was awful. When I was dressing her for bed I said I was sorry she’d been so upset today and she said rather sorrowfully ‘I not touch the cooker again’ so hopefully it has sunk in!

Spendy last night, I bought some clothes and bits for DD’s room from next and amazon (a lamp, a rainbow light thingy, duvet and a duvet cover set, loads of leggings, few bits for me). Not sure what I’ll keep but it’s mostly practical stuff apart from the Halloween pumpkin top .

I need to sit down tonight and pay off all my credit cards etc - I am not used to an earlier payday after being self employed for ages so still do it on the last day of the month!

WFH today and have a lot to do but must also move the newly painted book case back to DD’s room so my mum can get to the bed in the spare room tonight.