Festive Frugaleering

[Unescorted]

[[https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/4340188-Savvy-savers-sashaying-through-September old thread]

Opppppps - we nearly filled the old one

Just realised bulb didn’t take out my dd this month no idea why except it may have fallen on a bank holiday so have paid it manually. Still in credit for now but expect to have to increase my dd soon especially if the price increases again

Catching up properly
Congratulations adora

Nsd yesterday and today hopefully. I’ve been struck down by the super cold. I’ve done three lft’s and negative. Although I have all the covid symptoms. For now I’m in bed. With a bucket of tea.

love I’m so sorry to hear your news

adora congratulations!

Em keep doing lateral flows. It was five days between my friend developing all the covid symptoms last week and her first positive test

Pressed send too soon. Hope you feel better soon

Hope you feel better soon em

Adora congratulations. I am sorry I missed your happy news last night.

Em I hope you start to feel better soon.

I think my stress levels are on the rise..... apricot tart, sourdough bread and homemade pasta all done. I haven't quite worked out why I need to bake when I am unsettled. It is my version of rocking in the corner humming tunelessly with my fingers in my ears.

Frugal news - DS has fixed my beautiful coffee machine that I had never quite justified spending £200 (postage, tooth suck & lets have a look see what it might need before charging for parts and time) on to have it serviced. It has huge sentimental value b/c it used to be my dad's.

That’s a top frugal win

Back from the supermarket. I've had lunch and accounted for all my spends so far today:-.

Woodies DIY Store €10.99
SuperValu €68.52 (some of that was turf briquettes)
Cat food/litter €38
Butchers €7.10

Total spend €124.60

I got a voucher for €8 off a €45 shop, which has been put in a safe place for next week.

I've drawn up a spending spreadsheet with columns roughly along those lines i.e. Groceries, Pet Shop and Misc. Misc. is the one I really need to watch because that's where most of my random spending will appear. €10 here or €20 there doesn't sound like much but can really add up over a month.

Love I'm so, so sorry to hear about your Dad . Just awful that you can't even visit him and give him a hug. Sending you love and hugs from across the Irish sea.

Sing nice to see you! Annoying that you have to keep up the appointments when it's basically a box ticking exercise. But I guess it's worth it if it means you can avoid any sanctions that would mean you'd lose your UC.

Adora congrats. on your new grandchild. Boy or girl? Nice to hear some happy news. Annoying about all your Amazon purchases arriving a day early.

martha hope the new module goes down well with the students and all your hard work pays off.

em get well soon. Hope your DH is stepping up re: kids.

Unescorted sorry to hear you're stressed but at least you get some nice baked goods as a result of said stress. That's lovely that your DS managed to fix your old coffee machine - so nice to have something that your Dad used.

unescorted your ds is more useful than mine!! Great work. I cook & bake too when I'm stressed. Study stress is increasing so I'm home alone today and will be baking & cooking in between.
start that's a great result with the washing machine.
Great to hear you have so much going on sing
Congratulations Adora
Great bargain hunting Mrs
love so sorry to hear your news and sad to be told via email. Hope you get to see him very soon.
I do a spreadsheet similar to that Tayto

£18 spends at farm shop. Did a big cooked brunch before dh, ds & dd have all gone off to Birmingham for football. Going to do a big batch of bolognese this afternoon and then a lasagne with some of it so they will have that to eat when they get back.
Dh and I went out last night for something to eat & drinks. It was lovely as we didn't go out at all over Christmas/new year.
Study time for me now

tayto thank you, I hope they do too!
em sounds grim, your turn to rest up
north and unescorted that sounds a healthy way to work through your stress. I get snappy which is not as nice for those around you.
start great news on the repair, it’s hard to find someone to mend a washing machine
I’m pleased with my frugal food efforts today. I’ve made soup out of veg box veg and leftover ham stock in the freezer. I’ve made a giant chilli with lentils and some mixed dried beans that were lurking at the back of the cupboard. They were a panic pandemic buy and I’ve chucked them all in the instant pot. I’ve realised I usually shop on the basis of having everything in so I can always throw together any recipe I want (an anxiety thing). But actually it’s quite satisfying to find creative ways to use up stuff in the cupboards. Does take time though which I don’t have in the week.

Nothing frugal here but I too am
A stress baker.

My bhuna was too spicy

I’ve hardly got out of bed today. And when I did I moved to on bed.

Feel rough as. Keep feeling hot and cold and shivery. Head is sore. Throat is sore and my face hurts. Feeling v sorry for myself.

DH has been amazing today. Kept me topped up on paracetamol and Ibruprofen. Tea and water. Vitamin c drink.

He’s knackered.

Watching the masked singer now.

Nsd - hooray!

Pleased you are being looked after Em, hope you feel better soon.

Dh is making chilli tofu, I am watching the footie with a beer. I feel like a man from the 1970s

Good for you humbug! But no 1970s man has given birth to twins 😂
life that’s a shame. I thought my veg chilli would be too spicy but it turned out ok.
em glad you are being looked after. It does sound Covid-y doesn’t it so I second the advice to keep doing lateral flows. Apparently if you are vaccinated you’re more likely to have false negatives on LFTs. Get well soon

Em hope you feel better very soon lovely
Martha well done on the frugal cooking!
Unescorted your Ds what a clever biy well done to him, hope you feel less stressed now lovely
Tayto great frugal prep!
Spend tesco 8 and Aldi 13
Chinese tonight 30

Congratulations adora!

Hope you feel better soon em

Well done for doing the sketchbook stuff unescorted one thing I did a lot of last Feb was taking close ups of random things to draw, like a detail on a bit of clothing, bits of plants, street signs etc

Spends today £9.28 on puddings/drink at lunch with friend and her toddler, she got the mains today

Morning all. Everyone slept until 730. How’s that happen?!?!

I was woken up by catface demandinf I feed her. I’m up now with the kids. DH is in bed still. I’m feeling better than k did yesterday but definetly still not well.

I’m on day 9 now of no booze. And vegetarian. Sleeping a bit better. Skin looks better.

Not sur e what we’re doing today (apart from laundry). Have a stack to do.

Don’t do Much today em but pleased you are feeling better and were looked after. Had you been boosted or did it come out of no where?

Not sure what today will being. Talking mil shopping so those going to mass this morning pray for me!

I watched 'Nomadland' last night. Wow, what an amazing movie. Frances McDormand is an incredible actress. Such bleak lives and yet, such stunning scenery. I'm so relieved that I live in a country with safety nets in the form of social housing and unemployment benefit/a state pension.

Should be a NSD today. I've no plans to go anywhere or do anything other than housework and laundry - that should keep me out of trouble .

Glad you're feeling a bit better em

Good luck Life
Em definitely take it easy today otherwise you may set yourself back
Adora congratulations
Unescorted yay for ds's practical skills
Tayto that's very good planning

Ds didn't bother to get out of bed until 20.30 last night and the first words out of his mouth were what's for dinner. It's safe to say I was decidedly unimpressed. Amount transferred to penny saver. Put ds's Christmas money in his new account once I'd rescued the account number from his phone after he swore blind they'd not emailed or texted him - no of course not ds those three emails and two texts from the bank definitely don't exist! Will have to go and physically pay in the rest of his money once the digital banking stuff is set up, it's too much to have lying round the house but I hadn't realised how much had accumulated over multiple lockdown events.

Need to make bread, do a bit of cleaning and go for walks. Will be interesting to see if ds makes it out of bed. He hasn't done any washing of school uniform or PE kit so I'm expecting some sort of late night panic wash from him which will mean I need to stay up to whack the washing on radiators for morning. I'm not doing it for him or reminding him, he has to learn to organise himself I refuse to let him grow up as useless and disorganised as his father

Bought a new backpack for work on Amazon. £31.

I’m not planning on doing much today. Am not spending all day in bed though.

Walk number two done. Dog brushed before walk number two rendering the brushing completely pointless but we met lots of nice old ladies who like a nice handsome puppy
Bread in the bread maker, should be ready for teatime when it will be much needed
Chicken poached and sliced for ds's lunches
Fruit into soak for tea loaf
Finished my book

Might, possibly, go and get chips for lunch. Maybe

I spent a good hour or two compiling all my medical receipts for 2021 and going through them.

I can't put in my claim to the tax office just yet because I'm due back at the the dentist tomorrow and I need to get a tax form off him for work carried out in December. But I should be good to enter my claim online next weekend (won't get time during the week).

Found a €1 coin in an old handbag when I was hunting for receipts. So frugal win I guess .

£71 coop. £47 Iceland. Stocking up on food.

DH made banana bread with the dc while I went to the shop. Yay. They’ve made 3 loaves. So one for freezer. One for now. One for dparents tomorrrow.

I’ve also sorted a bag of toys for the dc to take to dparents so they have something different to play with when they go there.