Festive Frugaleering

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

Opppppps - we nearly filled the old one

I’ve started wrapping and way over spent. Buying bits at a time without proper list didn’t help. There is a lot I need to do
Better next year frugal wise

Thank you Martha that's so kind of you
l can't find my Dd2 advent calendar anywhere !
Yes l am thinking of doing that too Wolf . Happier it would be so much easier
life and everyone Happy Dec 1st
Spent 34 in Aldi

I also disguise things the kids need as sticking presents - pants, socks, stationery etc. My mum used to do the same but back then the things I needed included walkman batteries and blank tapes!
Pleased you are feeling better Mrs.

I have overspent too - also got myself the Kiehls beauty advent calendar as a treat and so far it has had two absolutely TINY sample sized things, total joke as it was £99!

DH's present is a surprise trip to Sweden on 2nd Jan, not sure that will happen now, just keeping everything crossed. It is the third time I have booked these flights and it keeps getting cancelled.

I've opened my first 2 days of the Holland and Barrett advent calendar, quite pleased so far. We made DH a handmade one with various things he likes. Ds has a playdoh one and chocolate as well. I wanted to bring us some cheer in December since it's not looking super likely we can travel up to Scotland again this year (trains and £££ hotels in Edinburgh would be required) to see DH's side of the family.

Gen I hope you and your DH manage to go - sounds like it'd be a lovely trip.

I also need to do better with saving in 2022, just to stay at the same level as prices go up.

The DC have advent calendars. We didn’t buy ones for us as we always forgot to open them (leave home at 7.30am on work days)

I only have two hours at work left. Hoping for no more covid cases to trace before I finish for the week. Will be ignoring phone calls from work tomorrow 😂

I’ve also ate two doughnuts by 1pm today. No wonder my clothes are feeling too small 😬

Hello everyone
Thank you Humbug l am feeling much better
Gen so hope you can go to Sweden it sounds wonderful. You know what they say third time lucky
Found Dd1 Advent Calendar yay!
NSD today l don't know how mind
Have a lovely evening everyone

Socks and pants are a stockings guarantee.

Work pays us on the 21st. Or nearest working day each month. No exceptions.

I worked somewhere once and they paid us the first week of December. Then not again until end of January. That was a long time. Thankfully I still lived at home. But still.

I have done something really frugal and productive today, I always end up paying house/car insurance monthly because I never have the money to pay at once but the monthly payments usually add up to more than a one-off payment would. So I have opened a new savings account which took about 2 mins online and I am paying into it enough each month to cover the one-off payment when it is up for renewal next year.
Now I've found out how easy it is to open savings accounts I think I shall open 2 more - one for Christmas/birthdays and one for a holiday. Getting organised for 2022!!

humbug I recently started doing this on Monzo, it’s an online bank which allows you to create «pots» within your account where you can put money aside, I have a car insurance pot and MOT pot where I now put money each month, it works really well. I also use it for budgeting so I have a groceries pot that I fill at the start of the month and then that’s my food budget.

humbug I have one savings account but also have a spreadsheet that divides it into Xmas, Car and hols. So I only transfer one amount of money but can see how much is in each category IFYSWIM
£68 Ocado order today and £22 on two headbands to keep my ears warm while on daily dogwalks

Something I’ve been looking at work wise currently for a client who is looking like he’ll tip over the days. But please be aware of the days you spend in the EU/Schengen area. 90 in the last 180 days. Client is due to spend ski season in France so it’s looking likely he’ll now meet criteria for French residency. Ffs.

Met with kitchen designer today. I've got to the tipping point of broken/leaking things when it just makes no more sense to keep patching things up and the whole lot needs ripping out/ replacing. It will wipe out my savings entirely but it is necessary. The only thing that can stay/be saved is the fridge freezer which is only 3 years old

Em I've found a really good online calculator that helps you plan. We're hoping to do two 6 week trips next year and a short one at Easter so it my cause us some problems - not counting the expense of taking the dog (unlike before when it was reasonable)

LSW here, no groceries until after we move next week. £58 today on redirecting post, that’s 4 adults for 3 months. £20 sent to DD1. She’s working in a restaurant, usually walking distance but needs Uber’s to get home due to drunk idiots- her words. I really don’t envy her.

I’ve done all the Christmas shopping bar perishable food. I always start in October.

Fingers crossed for your trip Gen

Well done on the advance planning and saving Humbug

DH and I both had booster vaccine on Tuesday, Wednesday was a complete write off. We’re still tired but managed an hour at the gym today.

Small frugal win today, we sold our nearly new dishwasher. Got £250 for it 😄 Only had it for 6 months but the new house has one built in. Someone else getting a frugal win too, fridge freezer going to a young man with new born child at the removals company. Again, we don’t need it but it’s 5 years old and it saves us paying to get rid of it,

🍷

@grannycake

Em I've found a really good online calculator that helps you plan. We're hoping to do two 6 week trips next year and a short one at Easter so it my cause us some problems - not counting the expense of taking the dog (unlike before when it was reasonable)

Oooh sounds fun!

My work have added a location (eu/non eu/uk) to our holiday approval forms. We’ll have issues here if we spend too many days in the uk working. So they need to keep track.

Spends yesterday

£35 dentist all good
!68 Christmas tree. Yippee.

I have an Irish passport so my UK one is now in the drawer binthere is no benefit to using it
DH is half French and his French one has expired, we are going to France to sort it as the UK place you can get a French passport is overloaded and he can never get an appointment, they are just constantly booked.

No frugally this weekend at Warwick castle having early Christmas with dbros

humbug that takes me back...I remember getting blank tapes as stocking presents!
Up early for football, feeling a little ropey as went out last night with friends we haven't seen for ages, which was lovely. DS1 (15) managed to discover a bottle of vodka from last Xmas however. Which confirms DPs suspicion that they're not responsible enough to be left overnight if we went away (though DD rang us to tell us what was going on). I don't think he actually had that much and Tbf our older two have not experimented much with alcohol yet and are 15 and 17.
On the savings front totally agree with the savings pots. I have a few accounts for insurance, holiday/ big savings, car/vet/house stuff and like humbug said, very easy to open. No 'untouchable' savings though, we haven't got that far. Plus, my problem is I'm not always good at stopping spending when I've spent the 'pot' - tend to raid from other places. Think this is my money issue generally 🙈

Oh dear Martha, I can remember experimenting with vodka at a friend's house at that age and being very sick . Hope he's ok today! I rarely touch spirits these days apart from an occasional g&t on a hot day and hot chocolate with a splash of rum on a cold day.

Haha martha I remember those days well!

DH and ds went to shop last night and brought back black jack ice lollies. I had one and instantly had flashbacks of Sambuca shots on a girls trip to Magaluf. Vom.

I can take or leave vodka. Although remember when I was around 15/16 pouring it into a plastic lemonade bottle. Thinking I was the bees knees. The. Heading out to town to hang with my super cool friends.

Man we were stupid and definetly not cool.

it looks like a few of us have had vodka experiences then. I never drink it following a similar teenage experience. I was cross with DS til I remembered my sister, friend and I raising the Cinzano in her mums's sideboard at a similar age.
Our drink of choice in the park was snakebite and black which we too thought was the height of sophistication. DP and I rarely drink now and were a bit shocked at the prices last night!

Snake bite and black...happy days!

NSD today and yesterday. But tomorrow there is a Christmas market nearby so I may make up for it there.

Feeling knackered after one glass of wine. Early night needed, I think! Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday.