Frugal fun in February - the one with the Spring spring

[Unescorted]

New thread continued from this one

All are welcome - just dive in.

em I prefer travelling on my own. I get to read, sketch, listen to music /podcast, eat when & what I want all without huffing and puffing and the need to fill a social void with all the "shall we just....." suggestions.

Frugal act - I appealed my parking ticket and won. £60 saved for the 5 minutes it took me to log it. Well worth doing.

In limbo here. New detailed guidance from 1 April not been published. So no idea if the positive person here should/could be allowed out! And what they are meant to be doing at this point 😡

Time I think there is no legal obligation to remain in but the government are relying on the social expectation that people will do so.

Our employer has been clear that anyone with symptoms that could be covid is not to go to work

Same here. If we have symptoms that could be covid were to stay home and then get a pcr test. Not allowed back into the office until two negative lft’s or after 10 days. Whichever is earlier. 10 days being the maximum time set by gov for isolation.

@Timetoswitch I work for a very small organisation but when I tested positive last week I threw it over to my colleagues to see what they would rather I do, and the consensus was stay home. As it turned out I was too ill to have been able to work anyway.

@Unescorted nice one re the ticket appeal!

Very positive outcome from work. The boss was there to set me when I got in yesterday and assured me that no matter what, my hours are safe and he doesn’t want to lose me. My manager said later on in confidence that it was noted how I stepped up and took it on the chin when all our shifts changed and I drew the short straw.

So it’s all very much up in the air but as long as I’ve got my hours still I’m happy.

My boss was there to meet me, not set me!

Guidance now out. They are day 6 and well, so could have gone in! They have stayed home.

Well done unescorted 👍

I also like travelling solo.

Sold another pair of earrings this morning, I had thought of getting them fixed - they’d been squashed- but not possible, so another £22 😁

@Taytocrisps MOLI is great I took DD and her cool friend on a whim and they both loved it

I am in Ireland. Almost in dublin. The countryside is beautiful.

That’s great news you are will though of curls
Have fun em
If there is no guidance not much you can do tayto.

Curls that is good news. It is nice when you realise that you are valued.

Em Ireland is so beautiful. Have a lovely weekend.

DH & DD have gone to London - it is the boat race and there is a surrealist exhibition at the Tate they both wanted to go to. DD is staying down there and dh is coming back. Not frugal but they got split train tickets which worked out loads cheaper.

DS & I have turned the house into a gin palace - it would have been mojitos but no soda water to be had

A truly depressing inflation calculator from the ONS

Don’t think I want to be depressed yet. Head in sand here
Sounds like a great Friday unescorted

£83 in Aldi yesterday £83! Though the stables owe me some back
Farm foods today

Blimey life £83 in Aldi is scary. I'm a bit head in sand at the moment too, but so many people really struggling already.
Holiday prep here, off to the airport in the middle of the night. Finally feeling excited, but lots to do beforehand.
Enjoy Dublin Em

I also don't want to be depressed yet although I will bookmark to read later

Happy packing North, don't forget travel plug adaptors and suncream

I have lurgy. I'm hoping it's not the lurgy but I definitely do not feel good.

More study for me today and possibly a nanna-nap

Happy holidays north. Don’t forget snacks for the plane

You seem quite run down wolf , you’ve had a few things back to back

Have a lovely time North

There are a lot of bugs going around - wolf I hope you feel better soon.

I spent £45 in Aldi yesterday - admittedly it included a bottle and tonic for the gin palace, but that is a lot. Aa soon as this cold spell goes I am going to put the seeds out. Even if I am only saving a £1 on a bag of salad and 50p here and there on herbs each week - over the summer it will add up.

I need to work better on food waste too. We have got into the habit of choosing dinner on the day - I need to do some more work on meal planning and make sure we have easy to make things for the kids.

It feels as if we are going back to making being skint bearable. I am thankful we have that choice - if this had happened when we were already only just getting by it would be truly terrifying. Much love to all the people here who are having to make difficult choices.

I fell off the thread for a little there, work and home had got a bit much. Worked from home this week and it's been a lot better. Had an endoscopy this week which was a bit grim. Agree unescorted I'd been fed up that it feels our luxury money is going. Then watched a news piece yesterday morning about a lady in a wheelchair who can't afford to charge it, to go out.
tayto great news about the win, lovely to have unexpected good news!
em have a lovely time in Ireland child free!
curls great news about work
wolf I hear you on the DS, mine has a 'spiky Profile' too of doing great jn some things and failing others. Though he did make a revision schedule this week...but has since given up again. I'm worried about him actually, he has never been a good eater and is skipping meals a lot/ refusing to eat what we do. I want to helicopter but his response to any pressure is to push back and do the opposite of what you want. So trying to hold back whilst keeping an eye, DD went to CAMHS for eating issues and really don't want to go there again.
Sorry I'm sure there's people I've missed but hope everyone is well!

Had a wonderful time yesterday. Drinks dinner and dancing.

I hadn’t realised that the temple bar was an area. I thought it was just a bar.

Anyway. We ended up in The Temple Bar bar. Love music rammed with people and extortionate drinks €14 for a g&t…. But I wanted it. I paid it. I enjoyed it. The music was amazing. The atmosphere was awesome. So money we’ll spent in my mind.

Morning everyone. It's grey and kind of rainy here. So sorry you've missed the lovely weather em.

My electricity company has announced that prices are to rise by 24% . I'm not sure a switch is worth it because the other two companies also announced similar price hikes. My last oil fill was really expensive (or so I thought) but about a week later, things kicked off in Ukraine and the price almost doubled! The oil company I use are currently charging €1,190 for 1,000 litres of oil (a full tank).

I get paid on Thursday and then I've to pay for DD's college course. She's aiming to do a post-Leaving Cert. course for a year which will be fairly inexpensive (€250). Hopefully she can then transfer to a degree course in 2023.

Anyway, the €200 electricity credit is due this month so that will be very welcome.

Did someone mention having their head in the sand? I feel a bit guilty for saying it but I've booked a night away with two friends - we've booked into a hotel and we've booked a spa treatment. We haven't been together since before Covid and with all the doom and gloom of the last few years I just thought, "Feck it, I need a bit of fun in my life". I'm going to cut back in other ways though. For example, I was going to buy a bunch of flowers to brighten up my hall but I'm going to cut some flowers from the garden instead and put them in a vase. I'm also going to look into buying bulbs to grow flowers for the summer, instead of buying expensive plants from the garden centre.

Curls good news on the work front - nice to know that you're appreciated.

Unescorted that sounds like a lovely day in London for your DH and DD.

north have a lovely holiday. Are you heading abroad? Is it a sun holiday or a city break?

Wolf hope you feel better soon.

martha sounds like you've had a lot on lately, not to mention the worry about your DS. Mind yourself.

Blimey tayto that's eye watering about the oil costs. It all feels a bit like a bad dream doesn't it? Thanks you for your kind thoughts x

tayto the sun came out for us. Dublin is truely a beautiful city. We’ve been life drawing today. Hilarious fun #peen

Martha you poor thing. I hope what ever it is is treatable and you are put right soon.

Tayto - how much?!!!! I am so glad my parents moved from oil to bulk LPG back in the day. LPG / Propane is not cheap but it is not going up as fast as oil.

I am back to planning my super insulated straw bale off grid house - electricity and heating from solar, wind and heat source pump. First part finding a local authority that will let me build in straw.

-3 degrees outside here this morning. Brrr!