Frugaleer Festive Fun

[Unescorted]

I went to post and realised we had nearly run out of room.

old thread here

Bring the sparkle on....

Morning everyone 😊
Mia yesterday more family drama but l will spare you the details, it was too ugly to repeat 🙄😭
I can't believe what is going on in the US too it's horrible ! I have loads of American FB friends and they are absolutely heartbroken. Apparently there wee white supremists wearing swastikas there ! I didn't see them but it has upset my Jewish friends . 😭
Hope everyone is ok l had NSD yesterday , want to thank everyone again for your kindness and support you are amazing 😊 👏👏👏😍

£24 on a calender from photobox for Dm.

£50 pyjamas for Dd next. I’m so annoyed that everything is shut. We can’t even buy kids clothes here currently. As they’re non essential apparently. To clarify we’re not in lockdown. But May as well be.

Our gov have said it’s not a lockdown because there’s no time limit on how long we can spend outside.

Anyhoo.

dr glad you did save the change. It’s not much each time but every little helps right?

I have racked up almost &2500 credit card debt from Christmas and before. So need to sort that soon. Payday on 21st so will Chuck some extra cash at it.

Children's clothing is classed as essential here Em what a pita!
You will get the CC sorted out asap you got it ! l love Next so l can imagine the PJ's are just gorgeous 😊

Tired today.

Snuggly and peeps have you claimed your £ from the HMRC for home working. It's not much but will aid the pot.
IKWYM about heating. I make everyone use the front of the house when the sun is up

Thanks for the reminder Life I had forgotten about that. Will apply.

mrs you'd have thought it'd be the same here, but our choices for kids clothes are (physical stores):

• jojo - closed
• m&s - sectioned off the clothing department except for underwear and socks;
• next - closed;
• boots - pharmacy and baby toiletries and milks only;
• george - closed.

someone in my local good and bad business facebook group (i love this group - the comments are sometimes hilarious), noted that kids clothing stores were closed and someone else commented that they weren't essential....and then went on a rant about how single mothers on benefits always just squander the money on shopping so thats why they were closed....(cue other comments...)...someone pointed out that the shops should open because "children grow...."

anyhoo. i've bought dd some dinosaur pj's and some bunny ones. 6 pairs in total. next are fab. they'll be here within a week. and they're proper pj's too. not onesies. my girl is growing up! (she'll be 18m at the end of this month. how'd that happen?!)

have done a speed tidy of the house this morning. cleaner is coming so always like to have things tidy so she had more time for cleaning and less time spent tidying. have also stripped the bed so all she has to do it replace the bedding. again more time to clean. annoyingly because covid we aren't allowed to be in the same room as her, so she'll do upstairs while we work downstairs then we'll switch. thats the plan anyway. or we'll stay in the living room while she does the kitchen and then go out for lunch!

plan today is to take a trip down to the beach and have lunch al fresco at the beach cafe. i am craving an all day breakfast (veggie) wrap. they are so so good. am forgoing the vegan so i can have scrambled eggies in the wrap! :)

Mine is paid in directly by my employer.... only £7pweek but better than a hit with a stick.

Dr I am getting there with a budget planner - I just need to speak to my IT trainer at work to see if she has a neat way of making a cell repeat every x number of days. If she hasn't then I can set it up another way - it is just a bit of a faff.

I am so lacking in motivation this morning...

i know the feeling of lacking in motivation unescorted i don't have much on today, which is both good and bad.

@Unescorted you are a star!! Thank you so much for helping. No rush.

Also tired and lacking in motivation here. Just flat really.

I can't claim the Hmrc thing until the next financial year because of self assessment tax. Work will not pay because we benefit from being at home

This is the thread with the lnks to the spreadsheets by TalkinPeace.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1987219-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

As for my own spending so far: £4200 on new boiler, replacing ancient and inefficient (even when working) two boilers. It's fabulous! Thermostats mean the house is heated to a comfortable temperature all the time, rather than oscillating between baking and freezing.

Replacing my glasses (previous pair chewed by spaniel, grrr) and went for eye test yesterday. £40 for test, glasses will cost £410 in total, of which I've paid £235 so far. Will pay the balance when I pick them up, probably in two weeks, or might delay until February and next pay day. I have halved my contact lens usage though, so that will be a saving of £26 pcm (complicated prescription, and yes, I have checked to see if I can get them cheaper).

Just redid house insurance, found an eSure policy via MoneySupermarket which offers more for less than our current one. Saving of just under £100 than if we'd stuck with Aviva. Water rate is reducing by £7 per month. Pet insurance to be sorted this weekend.

Spent £17 in Sainsbury's yesterday, including cut-price lemon tart, yess! Forgot to pick up daffs, but have to collect prescriptions today (about £30 - three items) so plan to sneak an inessential purchase in with the essential. one.

USA scenes are ...well. At least Georgia has returned the two Democrats required to hold the Senate, and this monstrous person now may well be impeached to prevent a second run.

£14.45 at beach cafe for flat white, bbq chicken and cheese toasted wrap, spicy bean burger, chips. Pricey but worth every penny.

£37 waitrose. we only went in for quinoa and pumpkin seeds (and gingerbread biscuits for the dc). came back with lentils loads of condiments and some daffodils. yay!

em I went to Waitrose for cat food last week and spent £52. Fruit, dips, olives, reduced but still extortionate fish .. flowers

Em that lunch sounds delicious well worth the money
I love Next Childrens clothes I have been off looking at what l thoght you might have bought and if they are the ones l have seen they are gorgeous! In fact l have just bought these for my Great neice who will be 7 in February 4th , thank you for guiding me there it was meant !
They are very Ted Baker l just love them!
www.next.co.uk/style/st557083/393215
Spends today £31 on said PJ'S l love them!
£30 in Aldi on assorted bits and pieces
Tightwad that is a lot of money but great that you are warm again

I’ve done my working from home tax thing. Got a letter one day saying my new tax code for this year. However, it prompted hmrc to find that I owe some tax from a previous year so the next day I got a letter with a reduced tax code for next year 😂 Suppose they were always going to catch up on it sometime!

Been on phone to social worker for my dad today as I was concerned. My mum is refusing help, so at the moment nothing is happening 🤷‍♀️ The nurse will look at adjusting his meds. All very frustrating. Social worker has said this is the stage where most people would go into residential care. I’m going round to speak to my mum tomorrow.

Keyworker school sorted here. Looks like we’re all going into school everyday, except I still have my day off but my DC have been told they have to attend everyday. Baffled on that one from a safety point of view, but get the continuity thing.

@Mrsmadevans

Em that lunch sounds delicious well worth the money I love Next Childrens clothes I have been off looking at what l thoght you might have bought and if they are the ones l have seen they are gorgeous! In fact l have just bought these for my Great neice who will be 7 in February 4th , thank you for guiding me there it was meant ! They are very Ted Baker l just love them! www.next.co.uk/style/st557083/393215 Spends today £31 on said PJ'S l love them! £30 in Aldi on assorted bits and pieces Tightwad that is a lot of money but great that you are warm again

those are cute Mrs

Next are awesome quality and they are so lovely designs.

i'm watching "pay off your mortgage in 2 years" on you tube.

Aren't they Em l love them so pleased ! They have great reviews too Not seen that but Martin Lewis on tonight

placemarking

NSD

Nsd

Are post offices open? I have a present to post

New hiking boots arrived, I luffs them they are fab

Chippy tea paid for by parents. We had a healthy lunch to compensate - English muffins, fried egg, field mushroom, spinach, tomato and gruyere

I am thankful my work week is over. Three days of work/homeschool has been tiring even though I've had to do no real schooling input. Exhausted introvert at your service a lot of the folk at work are feeling the same

Ds's second pair of hiking boots got cancelled by the store again. Ordered a third pair

Lunch sounds lovely Em

Love I hope the conversation with your mum goes well

Hugs to Mrs and others with difficult parents. I used to have a terrible relationship with my parents but it's much better now

tight I read that as a squirrel had eaten your glasses....

Hi Wheelyyyy

Well done on all the NSDs

DD has found some more things to draw with.... by the time postage and import duty is paid it will be nearly £400.... eeeeekkkkkk

Yes wolf they are but might be on short hours.
Is DS being more amenable to home schooling this time
I cried today at work, twice. Well. It was 2 halves of the same cry with 2 people.
Chocolate didn't help

Nsd here.

life l am so sorry lovely 💐❤️
It's so tough 🤗