Managing Money Mindfully in March with the Friendly Frugaleers

[Happierwithouthim]

Last Thread

All welcome on this thread, we're a friendly bunch who like to get bang for our buck, and manage our money as well as we can.

Pet pics very welcome too

Afternoon everyone.

I love all the games and makes you guys are coming up with - you should do a You Tube channel together. Makes me wish the kids were little again.

I have been properly busy today... this working from homes is more work than the office.

Another CovoSilverLining… if you go shopping just before closing in Sainsbury's the yellow sticker goods are incredibly cheap. I went in yesterday just after 7 - there was no queuing and loads of items marked down to pennies. I got a couple of trays of chicken thighs fillets for 94p, drumsticks for 35p bags of vegetables for 10p, 4 x croissants for 25p. I also got home to find a box of eggs left on my door step. Still no flour though!

Lane, I'm really glad you are not too stressed, I agree about the balance to life once things go back to normal.

Unescorted, that are some bargains, well done! Shame about the flour though.

Fab educational resources there everyone

Mrs lovely looking baking too

Terrible day. One of those staff go off and do really silly things publicly and you can't react fast enough to stop them days. I've done Pilates now I need gin.

Wolf aw that is a bgr, it happens though, some ppl just don't think before they act , or they do and it's worse, enjoy your
Curvy Thank you my blanky was crocheted by my Mum for me , she used to do them a lot but the weight of the blanky is too heavy for her arms now
Thank you both for the praise re the cooking , my Dh loves it

Wolf, enjoy your gin, sounds like a hell of a day!

There are rugby orientated national curriculum activities on the World Rugby Museum site if you have rugby /sports mad Dc

worldrugbymuseum.com/school-of-ruck?fbclid=IwAR0Lc6w4t8yK2z1REqQpjBINOYIXahqAO0PnmnCRUE_ghPKgHJqnfFUR7Ew

Oh dear wolf. Sounds hellish.
Great baking pics. I did scones but they didn't last long enough.

Nsd aren't they all.... It's great

wolf that deserves gin. We had a team meeting this afternoon and half of them were already on the gin....

life I am becoming very well acquainted with the postman.

After tomorrow I have 10 days of holiday.... does anyone have any suggestions to keep me busy. I thought about cancelling it but I 35 days plus stats so if I don't take it now then I will end up losing it.

Unescorted baking, baking. More baking. Read some good books.

I got flour in Lidl on Monday! Only self raising though. I would really like some strong flour for bread.

Spring clean, decoration, baking, walking,

I want to declutter but no where open to take it.

Have your all seen the MN premium membership thing £4.99 pm or £50 per year for to loss of advertising revenue they are struggling

I saw that Life do you think you will pay it? I think I might but only on a monthly basis as I would cancel it if things go back to normal.

Ok day here. I have ticked another box in the Lockdown dick bingo and started walking everyday. In my defence this bug I’ve had has knocked the stuffing out of me and I want to build up my strength before going back to work next week

I am kind of tempted - just because talking to you lot is better value for money than a councillor. I would hate to see the site go under because frankly I would be lost without it.

wolf I would bake but for a lack of flour. I have burnt through the Brexit stash, even the weird and wonderfuls are being used up . I had to use some for dusting the chicken tonight & I nearly cried. I did get more icing sugar yesterday and with a bit of luck the icing kit will arrive …. fingers crossed. I must remember to put the sourdough starter into cryogenic stasis before it needs topping up.

On the reading front - Manchester Library have put all of their books on electronic loan, you can get free Audible and magazines... I don't even pay council tax to them, but they are the best library service in the country.

Born walking is so good for the soul. Especially in this weather. Do it, breathe deep and be glad that you are out. I will fret enough about the sourdough starter to offset your Lockdown Bingo points.

I am amazed at all the things I haven’t noticed before. Roads I’ve driven a million times and there’s houses there I didn’t know were there. I’m lucky in that where I live has some nice views but unlucky that it’s quite hilly so legs are killing me. I go with dh so that’s quite nice in a strange bonding kind of way 😳

Good for you born. I miss walking.

Not sure about paying. My initial reaction was no. Now I'm not sure. I don't think the benefits seem worth it but yy to missing the chat.
Dunno

It is really lovely to take time over things. We were having a discussion about how it will take time to readjust to busy life - and I expect that we won't do a lot of things we used to do once this is all over. It has made us realise that there is more to things than just the next retail hit or exciting thing. Even the boy's adventuring is being re-evaluated, which I never thought I would see. I was really proud of them - they did an a podcast interview about adventuring in the current climate & pointed out that although they may not use a hospital bed in an out lying community they may carry the virus there which would be even worse.

I agree Unescorted, there's a lot to be said for getting up and not rushing to be somewhere. Or eating lunch then sitting chatting instead of rushing to clear up and get onto the next activity. Dh says a lot of his colleagues want to wfh more, not all the time and they miss the social contact but maybe 2-3 days a week without commuting, being able to collect dcs from school etc. (If they ever go back to school!)

Quick check in here. Busy, frustrating day at work. Did a circuits session and went for a walk then had book group via Zoom. Tired now.
Love all the creative kiddy craft ideas

Didn’t even see the pay option. I’d be tempted I think and as others have said this is better sometimes than therapy!

Major frustration yesterday. My assistant at work is just being a nightmare. We’re all working from home (which I appreciate is difficult for anyone to get used to) but he doesn’t seem to actually be doing anything. It takes an hour for a simple “please find attached...” email to go out. How?

I’m working at less than top speed because kids and still am getting more done in an hour than him.

Eugh.

There was also gin last night. The latest gin box from gin club arrived. A lovely gin from Hong Kong. Apparently worth over £100! 😱 but it is delicious. We tried it neat and it’s very drinkable without tonic (only a sip - I’m no savage!)

Thank goodness it's the end of the week and thank goodness it's bank holiday so there is absolutely no prospect of having to work tomorrow

I’m very happy to have almost reached the end of the week too - I’m not even working (much) this week but DS is really tense and tricky my so I could do with DH being off too so we can figure out tactics to manage him. Sigh.

Bought trainers. Need to get some cheap joggers too as I used mine for decorating and they are not fit to be seen. Then I must start proper walking.

Team conf call yesterday and boss said we are almost all being redeployed, mainly to clinical area to support nursing staff. So that will be different. I don’t know how DH will manage to work with the kids at home, especially with the state DS is in (there’s a lot of extreme screaming going on). And the tube travel - ug.

I looked up the mn thread about paying - I hadn’t seen it so thanks for mentioning it. I must say I was surprised how furious some people seem to be about it, and how many don’t seem to believe it is necessary. Revenues hugely dropped, but presumably they can’t cut a lot of staff as site usage won’t have dropped particularly, if at all! It’s an infrastructure we use, paying is voluntary but they need a proportion of people to do it to ensure they can keep going. I’ll pay, like I would support any business whose service I value and given I’m in a fortunate position of still earning. I’ve had great info, support and entertainment from mn over the years (maybe too much, looking at my screen time reports )

Sorry to hear about the job camden

DD1 has been going to bed an hour later, and getting up an hour later since we have been off. She’s in a much better mood for it too. Going back to normal life is going to be tough for her, especially as she is due to move schools in September too.

LSD €3.90 on fresh bread and hot cross buns in Centra.

We've tackled the 'Drawer of Doom' in the kitchen - the bottom drawer which is supposed to contain hairbrushes and scissors and a torch and rolls of refuse sacks, but was so full of junk that we were having difficulty opening and closing it. It's so empty now that the things we're keeping are rattling around in it. When the shops are open again, I'll have a look for some drawer dividers or even some cheap plastic baskets to store the things in.

I've washed the sitting room window and porch doors - having a quick break before I move onto my next job.

DCats are looking longingly outside but DCat2 has another week to go before I can let her out. Wish I could explain it to them.

Is she moving to Senior school Love? DD2 was much better at getting herself up and ready than I thought she would be, I think the responsibility is quite a worry though as I'm not home to hurry her along she knows that if she misses the bus it's an hour until the next one and there's nobody her here to give her a lift!

Christmas- I missed your rainbow 🌈 it's amazing, you must be so creative to knock something like up at home.

I've been to the chemists today and the supermarket- feels like a day out. The weather is so nice it's a definite mood lifter.

I've got a little box of Tony's Chocolonley eggs so today is a good day😊

Anybody watched Tiger King on Netflix? There's a TikTok dance with lyrics about Carol Baskin and it's just made me laugh so much.

Hope everyone's well.

She’s off to middle school camden so will be Year 5. Will be an odd age, so getting older but not yet old enough to walk to school etc.

Got a return less refund off amazon for a damaged book. So a win there, and the book will still be read