Would I July to you August Frugaleers

[Unescorted]

Follow on from the last one

Macaroni cheese in 6 mins is another one we made. But we had it so much we got really really sick of it

No instant pot here but I also love my acti-fry! I don't even think I use that as intended - I use it as a very lazy way to make anything that needs constant stirring. Made fajita chicken tonight and it makes the best stir fry tofu.

Have had quite a serious money discussion with dh tonight. We seem to be in a perfect storm of increased house costs + normal life resuming after lockdown and we're having to dip in to savings again to get through to the end of August (which includes a holiday!) we've looked at the budget for September and it's tight. We can do it as long as we have some quiet weekends.

£50 fuel, &25 lunch, &70 dinner

Welcome Granny thank you for the blogs
Madden it's half the battle knowing what you are up against , what to do to correct it and that your Dh is in it with you , great work!
Camden me too re the American measurements
Em Hope Dd is ok Korean Chicken sounds lovely
Wolf me too re getting started with the cooking again, l have been so mentally exhausted and then with my leg hurting me , l have just been eating convenience, unhealthy, expensive food
Happier it's funny but we didn't like our air fryer , it was all the steam coming out of the top, we have to be careful re the condensation here it causes mould on the walls
Alfie Good luck tomorrow lovely
Life hope you got your packing done
Humbug aw those were the days when the tooth fairy arrived
Just a heads up , have arranged Flu jabs for us all today , yes it's that time again!

NSD again yay!

Fell asleep watching sleb masterchef and woke up because dd2 was crying. Have been in to settle her twice now, she's not really awake, just crying. It could be a long night!

Nsd though which is good.

Welcome Granny, I know you are lurking but we'd live you to join us!

Thanks everyone I have a UK based instant pot book which is useful. www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Multi-cooker-Cookbook-Recipes-Instant/dp/1849759731/ref=sr_1_1?hvlocphy=1007460&hvnetw=g&keywords=the+modern+multi-cooker+cookbook&hvadid=381555401730&qid=1629173075&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmeiIBhA6EiwA-uaeFVTjKrnL3wX8TadWbsmqAfKRTvEiAl94F7Y1DG53n4YDLdh_waulmBoCHI8QAvD_BwE&s=books&hydadcr=24460_1816155&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-755125158420&adgrpid=76037604617&hvrand=1881432312838006620&sr=1-1

Also the Pinch of Nom book I have has instant pot instructions for some of their recipes.

There was a thread on here that helped me loads when I started

Packing was mostly done but I did forget some stuff. Hey ho
I need to get back to cooking. Been so stressful here but something has to change.
I look at instapot then done. Never tried an air fryer though

Hi Granny thanks for the links. I have a cheap pressure cooker. It is used mostly for stock, ribs and the first part of crispy "duck" (chicken).

Can I just say that chook in a tin looks grim.

Tinned spuds make a passable side when sautéed in garlic / herbs.

My D Bro has decided that he is staying away 2 extra days...... I am not happy. I don't think he has any concept that when I wfh I need to work. Having my DM appear in meetings to talk about some random shit she has seen on the internet or complain I am working too hard for those "Nasty Employers of Yours" is not good. Not helped by my dad who has realised that if he moans like an extra in a zombie film I will drop everything to check he is not dying.

£25 on a weed burner, I've about 5000 weeds in my yard, think this will be more satisfying than pulling them!
€40 on two tourist attractions for today, yesterday we went to beach across the road at 4pm after they'd spent the day on technology.
£11.24 on two bulbs for extractor fan & 2 bulbs for lamps I have.

Networldsports are replacing my parasol that broke after 2 days of use.

Unescorted hopefully there's no more extensions

Life where you off to?

Mrsmadevans I normally get flu jab in October

Urrrgh unescorted, hope he comes home when he says he will now

We went to a theme park yesterday, but were pretty good and only bought ice creams.

This week is going to be spendy- haircuts for me and the DC, 2 x new school shoes, maybe new trainers depending on if feet have grown, new school bag needed and pens/glue sticks.

In good news, the DC have both mastered riding their bikes. DD2 decided she was going to do it first, so DD1 then decided she wasn’t going to be outdone by her little sister.

Hoping for a quiet day today as worn out!

We are in Lancashire

That is very annoying about bro. Fuming

The kids and puppy are doing laps around the lodge as it’s raining out

@lifelongfrugaleer

We are in Lancashire

Enjoy the break

Hang on in there unescorted 😅

Ooh weed burner sounds epic!!

So after the realisation yesterday that we need to eek through to the end of the month, I changed our plans for today. It was only going to be lunch+a wander at IKEA but it all adds up. Anyway, I was talking to the kids about what they would like to do today, all of which cost money (theme park, trampoline place, swimming etc etc). Anyway, I suggested to eldest dd that her and a friend walk to the local park on their own. They are 9 and the park is just over the road, but this level of independence is usually not granted. You'd have thought we'd just suggested a £££ day out 😂. Off they've trotted, wearing my watch so they know to be back by 12:30 for lunch. Sometimes the best things really are free.

That's brilliant madden! We live within sight of a post box. Dd1 who is 7 feels so grown up if I let her make the 30 second round trip to post a letter unaccompanied while I watch from the front door!

Madden isn't that brilliant.
Frugal fail here, packed a picnic & then dc looked for a snack from shop ended up costing €17.20 & now ds isn't hungry for his picnic

I agree I want and weed burner
No longer in Lancashire

Spends: £38 on a pregnancy massage. This is actually a frugal win too because I've already checked with my work healthcare cash back plan and I can claim it back through that. Put the claim in already.

Frugal lose - forgot about the home insurance and it's auto-renewed. To be fair I did ask DH to do the comparison for it as it was only going to be a quid more than last year and I've got too many other things to do, but he hasn't done it (no surprise there...).Too late now.

Frugal fails here. McDonald's lunch because we'd had no lunch by 2.30pm and were starving. £30 to extend voucher to do an activity that was planned for this week and now can't happen. £5 parking. £££ lost through unused sports camp day. ££emergency dog care. Day spent in a&e priceless. Bloody kids!

Oh no wolf a&e?!!

Ooh meadow I bet the massage was lush!

I have had a spend today - but a planned spend for cheaper than budgeted. We'd budgeted £100 for a bathroom blind. I finally did the measurements today and the one we wanted came out at £125. I found a different pattern that was cheaper and had 30% off (blinds2go) so it was only £73 so under budget. I did prefer the other one so am a bit disappointed but realistically, I've got more important things in my life to worry about than the pattern of my bathroom blind 😂

Catch up in a bit. But

£89 feel unique on the advent calendar. Worth around £350 of products. And all I’ll either use or have wanted to try. Used vouchers to get it for £89. Usually £119 I think. My Christmas treat for myself. Need to find one for DH now too.

£43 m&s. A Breton stripe too (a classic piece which I don’t actually have in the wardrobe) and some flamingo plates. I love picnic ware. And these will last. And they match. Ours are currently a mismatch of styles picked up in various sales.

£66 osteo appointment. Work will cover this though.

We are back from two weeks in NI - totally broke as we ended up eating out way more than planned as we felt family didn’t want us in the house so much plus the holiday let we booked only had outdoor cooking (this was not clear in the ad) and it rained almost every day we were there. Sigh.
Have done a meal plan for this week largely based on freezer.
£34 in Lidl
£12 waitrose on things Lidl didn’t have
Was supposed to be meeting a friend for dinner on Thurs but changed it to coffee and a walk to save ££.
DH gets paid in just over a week and I get paid right at the end of the month.
Cars both need MOT and service which will have to come out of rapidly dwindling savings.
We are determined to get on top of things this month, so have agreed not to eat out etc until mid Dec when we have our “getting together” anniversary. We will do something super nice then but until then we really have to knuckle down.
Any tips gratefully received.
Have cancelled an app subscription at 12.49 a month today plus downgraded Netflix and Spotify saving another £9 a month.

Wolf what happened?
Gen sorry that you weren't made feel welcome & sympathy on your dbro anniversary
Madden good saving and compromise