Safely into a frugal September saving as we go...

[northender]

New thread. Thought I needed to get back on track.

Thanks guys. I think my key worry is the moral thing, I don't ever feel comfortable taking handouts being a bit of a stubborn pig-headed independent type and, whilst I did last time because we had no real choice, this time I do have options if I needed them.

Evening everyone, we’ve come to Starbucks as they’ve got the pumpkin spice lattes!. The DC’s dad has popped up too, annoyingly I’ve found out the reason he’s been so present is because he broke up with his gf and now can be bothered to see his children. I can’t fault how he’s been the past couple of weeks but I really hope it continues when he gets a new partner and it isn’t just temporary because he’s bored!. Oh well, time will tell.

I’m happy to hear you’re all okay with my Christmas chat, I hope you don’t regret it😂. It’s getting me through, I just hope bubbles can still be together and I can spend it with mom and nan.

Had tea not long ago, pasta with salmon and peas. I’m ready to collapse.

snuggly I’m sorry you’re going through the annoying table fiascos!. I long for the days it’s over. Great news about sprouts! I love them.

unescorted I’m really happy to hear your conference was good!

born I’ve finished all my planning but really need to start buying.

em I’m glad your little boy had a great day!

Great going with the cleaning wolf!, I think I’d get DF’s car.

£7.65 on coffees.

wolf that sounds like your dad recognises you are going through a tough time and wants you to have something nice and "new".

I am fuming at the number of people who are blaming students for virus spreading.... no one said it was old peoples fault when they caught the wretched virus while all cooped up in communal facilities..... people can't seriously expect them all to stay in their own rooms. Countries are censured at the UN for torture based in solitary confinement.

€7 on chicken kebab

I totally get your dilemma I would stick with what you have & go with the mentality that df already gifted you a car & it's still usable but I'm stubborn too. I would also consider if you've got siblings who don't benefit from dfs generosity. History dsis was gifted a car when she was young under agreement that she would pay it back & she only made a couple of payments, it definitely rankles with me & one dB has mentioned it too, it's not that we want the same just wanted her to learn to stand on her own feet, she's now doing that aged 29, I was expecting dc2 at that stage & on my second car on finance and had a mortgage. Now they're helping me purchase a home which wouldn't be feasible without their help & that's my inheritance, which I totally accept & will be forever grateful for , just my point of view

Dc had neighbours pups in the house yesterday never saw them tidy sitting room so quickly

Both dc in bed with me last two nights, I'm glad not to be sharing with them tonight. Staying in bfs house though so not getting bed to myself

Brrrr.... I can't get the heat into me at all. In the space of a week, we seem to have gone from summer to winter. The evenings are so short now. And Covid cases are escalating . We've two counties at Level 3 (tighter restrictions - not quite lockdown).

Wolf I think my decision re: car would depend on my Dad. So, if he was wealthy and could easily afford to buy himself a new car without availing of a trade in of his current car, I'd be happy to take him up on his offer. If he wasn't well off and I thought it would cause him financial difficulty, I'd probably decline the offer. Without knowing your Dad's circumstances, it's hard to say. Either way, it's nice knowing you're in a better financial position now and could apply for a car loan if you really needed to.

Did someone mention sprouts?

£79 Farmfoods stocking up on coffee and toilet roll got lots for that so happy. Then £70 in Lidl got £2 off for reaching my £50 spend and than another £10 off for my next spend for reaching £100. They had the big white chocolate toblerones for £2.99 so stocked up for Christmas.

Wolf I would take the car off of your df. I think he will feel better knowing he is doing something to help you. You've had a shit time of things and deserve people doing nice things for you ❤️

I may have bought some bog roll too... and washing powder. I have a list of things that we can always find room for if there is plenty in store. Since April we have bought at least one item each time we go to the shop.

Wolf I'd take the new car if it's good make and not likely to cost you more in petrol/tax/insurance etc

Happy birthday to your ds em! I've lost track, is he 3 or 4 now?! I love your gruffalo cake.

Made it to the end of the week, glad it's Friday!

Had to give the office secretary £20 for various team members birthdays/baby showers! Just as well it's quite a small team 😬

Also put £10 over to dd for pocket money, I want to set up a standing order to her account monthly but can't work out how to do it on the hsbc app. Anyone know?

Tomorrow I'm getting the sofa cleaned £40 and we have the dog agility class £15.

Hey Guys!

Orange - sorry to hear about the dc's dad, I dealt with similar for years with ds1 it's heartbreaking for our kids

Wolf - I'd 100% take the car from df, although I'm not bothered by the car I drive as long as it gets me where I need to be.

Love - congratulations on your wedding, dd1 is desperate to get to JL to visit the Christmas shop, hope you manage to get there this weekend!

Life - I feel your pain re the cost of builders, we've been spending every spare penny on the house for the last year, it's just started to slow down and I'm looking forward to having some cash in the bank at last.

I've treated myself to these bad boys, used ds2 student discount and saved 20% and I love them 😍 (paid for last week so came out of last months budget)

Spending hasn't been too high today, £18 on ribbons to make some Christmas decorations, £3 in the bakery, £4 in poundland on toiletries. This is very good as usually I'd go a little bit crazy on payday!

Slightly concerned about the Covid situation in London right now as I'm still commuting in and will probably have to if there is a local lockdown.

I've just picked ds2 up from his first shift as a pot washer in a pub a few miles away, thankfully he really enjoyed it which is a relief.

No plans for tomorrow other than housework and need to hang some curtains up.

Hope everyone gets a little bit of a break over the weekend.

Ooh boots nice

Thank goodness the house is done Camden.
£40 aldi last night..
£££ today for pizza for DS birthday. Will send dh to butchers £40 ish

Morning all!. It’s absolutely freezing isn’t it!. It feels like overnight it went from so hot to so cold, I am loving it though. We don’t have plans for today, we will walk to the woods later and maybe bring the scooters but until then it’s a movie day. I had some great news this morning, around this time last year I got very depressed, mainly because of the break up of my relationship and adjusting to life as a single mom. I lost a lot of weight and really wasn’t very well, over the year I’ve been building myself back up and I feel like I’m in quite a good place. Well this morning I’ve weighed myself and I’ve got back to the weight I was before I lost it all!. I know it’s not a massive achievement but it feels like a symbol that I’m doing well and back on my feet. It’s put me in a great mood for the day!.

unescorted it’s really annoying me too, I have a few family members in uni and I can honestly say they have behaved better than a lot of middle aged people I know. I’m in the 17-29 age bracket (towards the higher end), and I don’t know many people my age who are breaking the rules. It does feels like there’s no thought into students’ mental health. I’ve spoke to a family member who said there has been no freshers, only 2 people in her halls and none have spoke, there’s security guards patrolling constantly in case of parties, she has no face to face lessons!. On top of that she’s worried about being alone at Christmas due to the rumour going around, and also upset about being blamed for the virus spread. I’m really worried about their mental health. The government really need to step up here.

happier I’d love the bed to myself one night! I always find someone sneaking in. (I wouldn’t mind sharing the bed with a man though😂)

Has anyone noticed any panic buying? I know it’s been reported but I haven’t seen much of it here. I’m not sure if I should get some things in just in case.

camden I’m sorry that you went through the same, it is so frustrating isn’t it. I just don’t know whether to tell him to not see the DC and stop messing us around, but I also don’t want them not to have a relationship. If he carries on I will tell him I will go to court and have arranged custody that he has to stick to, that may scare him. I really like your boots!

It's lovely and warm in the sun here, in fact I'm sitting out sunbathing in shorts and T-shirt. When the sun goes away it's cold right enough and freezing at night.

Nearly said nsd than I remembered I'd had to renew my nursing registration so £120 😱 I really must start paying that in instalments.

Love your boots Camden and glad your house is getting there. What a relief.

That's a great achievement orange, good to be in a much better place.
Wolf I would take your dad's offer, but, for me cars are just about getting from A to B so I wouldn't be bothered about the model etc. We, like you, always drive cars until they go to the scrapyard in the sky. It would be a nice treat not to do that for once.
Enjoy the pizza Life. When is it ds' birthday?
Em glad ds' birthday went well
The idea of a John Lewis visit with vouchers, enjoy Love
Nice boots Camden
unescorted I'm stashing too. I have plenty of yeast, flour and pasta and am building other stocks up too.

Posted off a sewing machine this morning. Once all fees are paid I won't have made much but I have decluttered. The buyer for the overlocker withdrew her bid, so I've decided to try to sell it locally privately to avoid the fees.
After an hour on hold and being transferred 4 times, I have managed to get a Virgin engineer booked for Monday to see what can be done about the poor wifi signal in the loft room.
Grocery shop £100 this morning.
Dh and I are going to go out for a drink tonight I think. Will see what we can book. Nothing spontaneous, and here, no socialising if we see anyone we know.
Ds has his needs assessment for DSA on Monday & luckily I'm off work so I can be around for it if he needs a bit of support.
Dd is working at the rugby club today. School is hard for her, they have had 2 positive cases in Y11 now and 25 close contacts identified each time so small classes and kids really missing out. I don't see how they can do GCSEs fairly at all next year.

Birthday is next Friday but we were, past tense, supposed to be traveling to dbro wedding. Frigging covid.

£16 pizza, £5 skatepark drinks, £5 DD tea,

Petrol and plants for Autumn pots. Cold here. Have put heating on just to ma oh e sure it works 😀

Born mixer is here very nice even if l do say so myself
www.aldi.co.uk/ambiano-pink-classic-stand-mixer/p/802437414880900

Been really busy with Dd2 house, so not here much but hope everyone is ok, Cardiff going into lockdown tomorrow night so we are trying to get everything sorted for her . Lovely stuff in Tesco for Christmas will put pics on now

Here they are

Ds is up very early this morning. I feel very tired and like I have a bit of a cold again.
Nsd yesterday and should be again today.

Nsd planned today.

Morning everyone 😀
Snuggly hope you are ok 💐
Felt a bit like this yesterday but it's almost like hay fever 🙄
Am wondering if there is some sort of pollen going on at this time of year although the farmers have been doing silage the last few days l don't know 🤗
Hoping for a NSD today 😀
Have a lovely day everyone 😀

Thanks Mrs, you may have a point about pollen, I often get a but sneezy in the autumn and my eyes have been really dry and itchy the last few days. Will dog out some antihistamines and see if that helps.

Afternoon, DS was up all night after being sick. I’m not sure if he has a bug or if he’s ate something funny but I’m not sure what he could’ve ate. He’s been sick a few more times today, we were meant to go for a walk but I don’t think he’s up to it. We’re watching films and I think I might order something in for tea because DS is being very clingy so not sure if I’ll be able to cook!.

Thank you north! I hope you and DH ended up going out and enjoying yourself

I really like that mixer mrs love the Christmas things in Tesco. There’s a shop by us that does lovely things they might be getting their Christmas stock in soon. You may be right about the pollen I’ve been feeling quite hayfever-y.

life it’s my birthday next Friday too!! Yay!!

I love a bit of Christmas crockery. Dh hates it. #scrooge

Ds was 3 on Thursday. How’d that happen?!