Friendly frugaleers as the leaves fall our bank balances will rise, hopefully!

[lifelongfrugaleer]

Couldn't see one so took the liberty of starting a new thread.

Charity shop for curtains if you don't mind the pattern. Line with cheap fleece blankets. B&M

£12 Sainsbury's

Big week wolf. How you doing with the nisi on its way?

@northender there is an article on Martin Lewis's Facebook page about Thomas cook direct debit refunds if you haven't had yours yet

Life I'm all good with it, thank you for asking, I'm of the view the sooner done with it the better

I am missing @unescorted this week and hope she and @jam are both ok

Thanks wolf I'll have a look at that. I've just been thinking about unescorted ,jam ,lonely this week & spotted fluffy on a thread

H just asked me why I hadn't taken ds out for lunch today. My answer was a slightly milder version of "because I can't afford to fucknuts"

Thanks Madden - that's a good way to think of it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and often give up if I can't do something perfectly.

So in future I'm aiming for LSDs

Girlie - you're probably right and it wouldn't have been a disaster to be a day later. I'll be saving 1st class for urgent letters.

NSD today, and actually better than that as I chased up a refund due to me and it will be credited this week - woohoo!

Thanks for the diabetic chocolate tip, Wreck!

£5.30 M&S for lunch and groceries top up
£2 on sweets for Halloween

So happy tomorrow is payday, even though a lot of it's already spoken for, as usual! I guess we can eat a bit of the stash if needed. There's frozen veg that probably should be used in the next month or two, as well.

Wishing I had time to read a nice fiction book, but work deadlines are quite full-on at the moment.

Wolf you're doing such a great job in tough circumstances. Don't let him get to you.

Hope everyone is well, and a reminder that if anyone wants a number '2' cake tin (originally from Unescorted) for an upcoming birthday/event, do let me know or pm me!

awww bless you guys.... I am about, just a bit overwhelmed with life and shit to post much.

moi good to see it is still about.

Busy day here in the end,

took dd to town, she wasn't really feeling the love for trying on clothes and shoes 🙄 but we did find a few bits.

Found her some boots for £28,
£29 primark
£11 wilkos
£9 subway
£2.60 parking

We've got my niece for a sleepover, she's been very good and gone off to bed no trouble (she's only 5yo.)

Tomorrow will do a few Halloween things I think...

Wolf money aside why is it any of his business what you do with ds? He is aware that he f*cked up yer lives not you?

Spends yesterday €10.45 on lozenges, honey, starbar and quick dinner accompaniments for myself and dm. I'm absolutely smothered so I was in bed again at 9.15pm. Ds kindly woke me at 4am in case I wasn't shattered enough.

Today is payday and I'm going to buy my lunch because I couldn't function enough to make one this morning Ok enough of the self pity!

Morning. Ds awake again at 130. No idea why.

Ds has gone to nursery as a dinosaur today. Dh not happy having to take him on the bus...

Having a spa afternoon with dsis today. Cannot wait.

Love your ds's independent streak, wonder where he gets that from em?

My ds called me at 4am and then I'd to get a kylie sheet for my bed, bring his duvet to my bed and strip his own bed, encourage him to strip himself and go to the loo, all while feeling miserable. He was so cute cuddled up in my bed when I got up at 6.15am to go to work. Only myself to make lunches for this week so I'm taking full advantage of extra time in bed

@Unescorted sorry things are tough at the moment. If there is anything you need you only have to holler

Payday, paid myself first. If I can stop ds being a mawky so and so we will be going for a walk

Happier he does realise it's his fault but I don't think he sees or thinks of the consequences of his actions for us. He also helpfully told me last night he wants more time with ds. My hackles are well and truly up

Em I think dinosaur is the perfect costume

happier I wonder.......?!?! 😀

Nursery said they could go dressed up today for Halloween. Dh wasn’t expecting him to want to wear his outfit on the bus though. 😂

Ds went out on his first nursery trip yesterday. To the woods with the pre school kids. It’s half term here so loads of the nursery kids were away. Ds apparently loved the adventure.

Fgs wolf. What did he think would happen. More contact but on your terms. Or the supervision terms. And he has bugger all right to say anything about what you do with DS.

Ha love Dino DS on the bus. That's fab.

Gws happier.

Lunch in Tesco today for DS to appease him at the gym. £12.70 as got some protein bars too. £2 parking.
£35 pony £24 cleaner

£4 parking
£9 lunch
£15 ice creams and cuppas
£58 diesel

Have also bunged £57 in my isa to take it to a round number and overpaid £40 on a cc bill. Feeling virtuous which will no doubt be regretted when I’m skint at the end of the month

Heating is broken in the new house and landlord says he can’t get anyone out today (I reported it at 8am). So annoyed as it is freezing and uncomfortable without it and landlord seems very casual about it. hoping to unpack some more boxes this afternoon as I have finished work early. Downstairs is box free but upstairs is still pretty awful.
Dinosaur costume sounds very cute!

Wolf I hope you managed the walk with ds! We're just entering 'walking is boring' territory but atm as long as we can get the kids out, they still enjoy it once there (even if under duress!)

Hot water bottles and duvets in the sofa for you placina! Glad you're getting unpacked and settled but will be better when you can be cosy too. I read once that even having te-lights burning makes you feel warmer as they give the illusion of warmth.

How was the spa em?! I think every new mum should have a spa day standard 😊.

Hurrah 🙌 our fuel got us back home so won't need to fill up until tomorrow ('payday' for us is 1st of month as that's when money hits our joint account). Looking forward to starting a new month, not so many commitments in Nov either.

Feeling a bit sad today. It's my first Hallowe'en without Ex. There are Hallowe'en festival events on both here and in the nearby town, but DD wouldn't commit to anything because she just wanted to hang out with her friends tonight. I discovered today that the event here is now sold out (free but a ticket only event) so it's too late to go to that even if DD wanted to. I persuaded her to accompany me into the nearby town to check out the events there (had to bribe her with a bagel and a drink in a cafe) but they were only setting up. DD spent the whole time looking at her watch and saying, "We should head back now". The logical part of me accepts that she's at an age where her friends are everything and she'd rather spend the night with her friends than her Mam. But it seems a shame to be missing out on some fun and free events.

Anyway, I've been busy answering the door to trick or treaters. I've gone through 49 bags of goodies. So I've one bag left and a bowl with approx. 30 loose funsize bars. Once they're all gone, I'll take in the Hallowe'en decorations and switch off the outside lights.

NSD yesterday

Spends today

€16.50 on coffee, a drink, a bagel and cake in the cafe
€9.56 in Lidl
€16.98 in local shop

Wolf it is just lots of low level stuff and not much of it bad - just different. Layering stress really. Any one thing is easy to deal with - all together I can do without.

I love hot water bottles. Although not if they are the only choice.

Em I hope you were treated well & are now de-stressed.

Happier hope you are feeling a bit better - and the light bulbs taken out of the kids bedrooms so they can't get up until after the day breaks..... is this just me?

A random thing - I am going to make a Momofuku cake at the weekend because they look sooooooooooooo good. Haven't decided what flavour yet. Sea have you any suggestions?

Today I took a half day because I just didn't feel up to working, I've got holidays left so figured why not!

Ds was at a play date & I took dd for lunch out €25.40, then disco at community centre €6 entry & €3.95 on 3 Capri suns & a freddo bar, they'd free tea/coffee for parents but I don't drink either.

Tayto I can appreciate how you feel because both H & dd are pulling away from you at the same time, in different ways. Sorry that you haven't some friends you can tag along with. When I was at Halloween disco today I was lucky that ds came with his friend & both parents were there & they included me otherwise I'd have been a loner in a very busy community centre. I was envious of them as both were taking care of the children & he was participating where I had to go to events like that alone even when we were together as h didn't see the value in spending time with his dc like that.

Unescorted he'll just call me whether there's light or not
What's the cake like?

€1.50 on 2 litre bottle of water to see me through this trick or treating malarky.

I think I've found a house to rent it, bit more expensive than I hoped to pay but I know the house as dds former childminder used to live there.

Happier I would have gone to the events on my own - they're outdoor and will attract big crowds. But I have to stay home for DD, for whenever she gets back from her friend's house. I can't assume the friend's mam will be happy to keep her all evening. Anyway, it's been raining steadily for the past hour so I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed the events in the rain. I'm feeling less sorry for myself now .

I'm very happy to go to stuff alone too, it's when it's a thing like today I feel so much an outsider not being from the area.

Happier I know that feeling I've travelled alone. Lived abroad alone and would happily do something big alone but now I'm single something like the other week when adults were invited to a party with kids and I knew it would all be couples and staring I sent ds alone. Tayto ds is also at that age, it's hard.

Unescorted please try and make some time for yourself in the midst of all of it. You are always welcome for coffee and cake on this side of the hill

Cheese and Worcestershire on toast and gin and tonic for tea. Can't be beaten.

£4.40 coffees
£16 m&m world
£39 lunch at Bella italia (dh paid though)
£12 Waterstones
£10 M&S food
?? Whatever dh spent at McDonald's for him and ds
£6/7 tube and bus max I reckon. We only did one tube journey and one bus journey.