The Lockdown Saving and Spending Continues! May Frugaleers continued

[LaneBoy]

New thread!

Another nsd here today AND when they put the scaffolding up yesterday they said they don't want paying until they come and take it away.

Painted should come Monday (I assume weather permitting) and I hope there won't be too many delays as a) it will cost extra if I have to keep the scaffolding longer than 4 weeks, and b) I am back in my classroom from the 22nd, prepping for the 29th when the kids come back.

I do need to go and withdraw £££ tomorrow to have at home for paying the painter. The impact of being able to save bits here and there by being able to do bugger all in the lockdown will mean that this relatively large expenditure on our home won't dent the bank account as much as it probably would have if I was still spending out for petrol/clothes/coffees/clubs and hobbies.

A bit annoyed that I can't buy 2 pairs of joggers from Sports direct for DD and get the 2- for -£15 deal that is on their site as every time I add it to my basket and try and pay for them the deal disappears. SO I'm not buying them until I can get the deal. Sorry dd.

North sourdough looks good
Em a loaf a day who's going to eat it all?
Dr your safety is definitely worth the extra £400 & you saved on the windows too so deserve it

I've a £5 off £20 m&s voucher if anyone wants it just pm me

I've been to the sanctuary in north Berwick which is all about the bass rock it was amazing

I need to bleed my boiler before I can put back on heating but stove has been on a couple of evenings

Wolf got the inevitable email that the sellers account had been compromised and to contact PayPal to cancel payment

€2.75 on a protein bar when I filled car with €50 diesel

happier that’s the issue. We can eat it for toast, sandwiches, snacks.... or slice and freeze. Initially when dh started making it we’d happily eat the whole loaf in one sitting. Oops.

£32 today riding.

No other spends planned.

Morning everyone,

I worked extra Ystd to get a report done, it took me 8.5 hours and by the time it was finished I felt a bit gaga 🤪 the extra money will be good though and help make up for loss in millage recently.

Love the pics lane I've kept loads of dds drawings, could never bring myself to throw them away!!

Felt a bit bad as due to working late yesterday dd was left to fend for herself a lot, she told me she didn't want dinner and then I discovered she eaten a whole packet of hobnobs!!! Think both of our diets need an overhaul before one of us gets skurvy or rickets 😶

Going to see a friend this morning and sit in her garden, hoping it doesn't chuck it down with rain, we had some torrential down pours Ystd!!

Sent dd to the shop Ystd with a list and my debit card, she was very good and stuck to the list spent £15.

Morning everyone. Ds and seven big laundry bags o'crap dropped off at exes.

Need to do interview prep today but house is also an absolute pig sty so feel like i should do some cleaning too.

Have stripped bed and put that in the wash.

At the stables. It’s raining. Guess who didn’t bring a jacket. So I’m going to have to see if I can borrow one. Sigh.

In other news I freed my mixer bowl. A bit of wd40 some wiggling (the bowl not me) and some brute force and it popped out. Phew.

Wolf could you do just the room you'll be doing the interview prep in maybe? Great to get more of ex's stuff out of your sight.

Em I made a loaf thurs eve, gave 1/4 each to two colleagues had some for lunch and then au pair had some, I'm away today but will make another one tomo. I'm thinking 2/3 a week. Must see if dc will eat it, I'm in love with it because it doesn't bloat me, but want to make it higher in fibre so need to hunt out strong whole meal or rye flour.

I only slept for two hours last night, so am exhausted, tomo will be close to a pj day I think except for walking dog.

Yeah on freeing the bowl. I think you should also have wiggled em.

Yy wolf just do one room, interview prep is more important than cleanliness ATM. Yeah to bag o'crap out.

Going to aldi/ Iceland this morning. Small shop required so might stash shop too.

We all have long days girlie every now and again. Don't feel bad but yy to reducing hob nobs.

Rain rain rain here. Bastard weather

Man, DS has just had the most enormous meltdown. He has a special toy which is very small, about the size of an adult thumbnail. He loses it several times a day and always launches straight into a meltdown but normally we find it fairly quickly. It’s just taken is 45 mins of screaming time to find it and DH and I are completely wrung out. And DS is so upset that even though we’ve found it he can’t stop crying..... that bloody thing is the bane of my life 😫

I’ve started the blood sugar diet today. I really think i need to do something quite drastic for a couple of weeks to kick start some weight loss but especially to break my carb addiction, which is terrible at the moment. Doing it for even 2 weeks is meant to really help with insulin resistance, which I am sure I have. Pretty hard going for 2 weeks though but then more like 5:2 after that. I feel very positive about it, though after years of trying to eat low fat it feels very odd to be putting oil on salads and eating full fat yoghurt! I’ve weighed myself but I’m also going to measure myself too.

Today I need to plant some stuff out in the troughs outside the back door (there’s about 6m of trough!) and nip round to a local lady who’s giving away some mint plants. And feed my tomatoes etc. So gardening, cleaning, tidying.... in between I might manage to crochet a teeny cactus plant. I fancy having some on my new desk so want to make a few different ones. I’m not very good at following crochet patterns so it might not work... I’m much better at knitting really!

I listened to that Woman’s Hour podcast Madden, thanks for the tip-off. If was very interesting.

Oh no sea :( am guessing it’s not something you can sneakily get duplicates of either?! Special toys rarely are 😭

FWIW eating high fat low carb helped me lose loads even though I was pregnant and I didn’t feel hungry. I did get a few gallstone attacks after but they are common in pregnancy anyway. I don’t think I could be as strict about it now (was a lot easier when I had the blood sugar monitor to reward or punish me TBH! I wish I’d kept it)

Oh Sea that does sound exhausting for both you and ds, have a very unmumsnetty hug from me and a . Crocheted cactuses sound fab.

I have done a little bit of tidying, a bit of furniture moving a bit more interview prep and some more packing of exes shit. Aim is to take three more boxes when I pick ds up. I can actually see most of the floor in the attic now. When lockdown started I could even get a foot in the floor because there was no space.

I've also hung Washing up and made bed

I'm going to record my last longer comp. then do Pilates. Then cuppa. More focussed interview prep and not sure what after that.

I need some new wool storage. I'm trying to create space in the office for work to deliver my desk and chair but the furniture ex had in there is big and it's a tiny room so not much space. If I get rid of my big wooden box of crochet stuff o think I can push all furniture to one wall and then might just have room for desk and chair. Would be squashed but potentially doable

That sounds very draining Sea. I was just wondering if you could sneakily buy some duplicates??

It's sunny here now having rained all night. We had lunch in the garden!

Very tough sea. Have a hug from me too. Good luck on the diet. I know what your mean about being radical sometimes.

Please you got some prep done wolf.

So much for small food shop £120 later. Have to do Sainsbury's for mil but that's tomorrow's job.
£55 scooter wheels, £35 Amazon for mil, £43 for me.

Should have been our big scout fundraiser today. As it traditional it rains for ages before then we take a punt and the sun comes out at 130. It will rain again around 4.
Shame it's covid cancelled.

We have had some good news re cat insurance. We had to pay a vets’ bill recently of £1700, and we learned last night we are to receive £1300 back. Very relieved, it was a lot to part with although she’s worth every penny of course.
Spent the day sorting and tidying pantry and food cupboard. Everything now in tip top order and I’ve moved my Brexit stash in there too. The time has come when we simply have to eat it. I’ve got to be organised if I’m to plan and cook economically. Will do fridge and both freezers tomorow. Shopped at Tesco this afternoon, £50 but nothing to buy for ages now except a few fresh bits as we need them.
I’m going to bake after tea, banana and raisin muffins. And prep pancake batter for the morning.
Not the most exciting day but satisfying.

£85 Sainsbury's but £50 was a new microwave as ours went btz. Some is mil too about £15.

£25 food shopping (iceland)
£13 lunchbag/handbag thing.
£2 ice packs

Back to work soon and although we can have a packed lunch provided for the 4 weeks we go back before the summer hols (Wales) I don't really think I want to eat the same sandwich-crisps-apple combo daily. And we won't be able to use the staffroom or have access to a fridge or a microwave. So I've invested in a new bag that will also keep my lunch cool and also picked up some ice packs so I can take salads on days I don't want a sandwich.

Spends £64 on the majority of DD1’s presents (had already got her an album). Mostly art stuff and some Kpop merch. She will love it! Need to find some cheaper watercolour paper though and if it’s open I’ll get some bubble tea coupons as well.

Also £112 tesco. I still have the “aaargh what if we can’t get a delivery” panic (no car and DH’s health is deteriorating ATM) so still ordering up to the item limit (85) - it really makes you focus. I’ll log on after midnight to see if I can book the next one for early July

Sorry to hear DH's deterioration. His back or something else? Don't answer here if your dont want

Visit mil today to drop her shopping. Social isolated walk with a good friend before

I’m not feeling well. Sinusey. Snotty. Sore throat. Bugger. This potentially stops my plans for the week doesn’t it?

No beauticians appointments or popping into the office to sort some paperwork. Sigh. And probably no going to dparents tomorrow so I can work quietly while they look after the kids. Will have to juggle that with dh.

Lane sorry to hear dh is getting worse. Did I remember correctly that the council has agreed to fit some aids in the house?

I need to sort out a present for my friend for this week and really don't want to go to a shop!

Em hope it passes soon. Could it be hay fever or is it definitely lurgy?

Lousy nights sleep - probably less than three hours and then lots of hours lying awake. Not ds's fault this time

Morning everyone. Grey miserable day here today. Yesterday was even worse so had a pyjama day. I had a really busy/stressful day at work on Friday where I had to wear the full PPE for several hours and it was exhausting. I’ve no idea how people manage in it day in day out 🥵

Lane sorry to hear that dh is getting worse.

Wolf I can’t remember the last time I slept well - as in woke up feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep. I fall asleep easily but always wake up in the early hours and then I’m ready to go back to sleep when it’s time to get up. Think it’s my age.

There’s a million things I could be doing in this house today to keep me occupied but I can’t be bothered doing any of them. Need to give myself a good shake. At least I don’t spend money when I’m like this. I think the realisation of no summer holiday is kicking in and making me a bit fed up.

wolf I’m going for lurgy. Dh has told
Me to stay in bed and rest. So I’m holding on to lurgy.

I’ve never ever suffered from hay fever previously but I know that it can come and go. But my eyes aren’t itchy. Isn’t that a hay fever trait?

Anyway. Tea and toast in bed and I’m going to have a shower in a bit. Ds just bought me big gorilla to keep me company. 😂🦍

Yeah it’s back/hip/leg pain mainly. MH definitely in decline as well, it’s like he’s somewhere else entirely much of the time TBH.

Yep getting a handrail on the stairs, it’s up to us whether we wait till lockdown is over or not. I think it would probably be worth getting it done sooner though, it’s not like a massive several day task is it, probably just a couple of hours? And we can stay in the living room to maintain distance.

Spends today so far, a tenner on rolling Twinkl membership. Free one ended and I have been surprised how useful it’s been. DS has a very “wonky” profile academically so being able to pick and choose from different KS is much better than buying workbooks etc. And it saves me making stuff myself although I do enjoy that when I get the time!

Do it lane. You can contain where they are in the house and clean afterwards.

I agree with doing it. I have an ex old lady house with super steep stairs. The top part of the stairs has two hand rails and it's invaluable when my back/hip are playing up because I can take so much of the effort of getting down stairs into my arms