Summer savings support - be frugal

[ememem84]

Running out of space on the old thread so here’s the new one. Everyone welcome.

for background this is a slice to share your No spend days, your big spend days your savings your situation. We all help each other out with advice and tips etc. but it’s mostly for friendly accountability.

The shed is painted. Or at least, the first coat is on. It's a bit patchy but it should all come together when I paint the second coat tomorrow morning. I've a few decorations for my shed, so I'm looking forward to putting them up - little wicker heart lights my sister gave me about two years ago and a round plastic frame with birds and flowers on it. I saw a gorgeous peacock decoration a while back at a garden show but I didn't have my car with me and it was too big and heavy to carry. I've been regretting it ever since. It's perfect painting weather today - warm and cloudy but not too hot. Going to put on dinner in a bit and then I'll clean out the fridge.

When I was dropping stuff off at the charity shop earlier, I met an acquaintance with her daughter and she told me they were heading to the school uniform shop. That's one thing I don't miss.

Good work on the shed painting tayto, I'm always promise myself I'll buy things that are perfect for the house as an when I see them, but never do, I'd be the same re the peacock. Fridge and oven on my agenda tomorrow, and some garden tidying too. Rock and roll.

Skies - bit different, but we still buy Fairy washing up liquid. I'm happy with Lidl products for most things, but you just use twice as much for less good results, it's not worth the saving. The fairy lasts forever!

Interested in an Ooodie, I'd never heard of them!

Lidl are selling Airfryer's in next weeks offers from Thursday, if that's useful?

Enjoy Norfolk socathe

We've made a huge beef chilli and a huge veggie one (I very rarely eat meat, but will cook it still), there's a huge Mexican salad made, rice and wraps and nibbles for our guests tonight, but that lot will last us days!!

Pack of cards for DH and some pegs 😁 - £5 spends today.

Nsd! Cheap day out at the beach, was lovely. Should be lsd all this week🤞

Nsd here. And a lovely day pootling

good work on the shed

happy to also report and today again a day at the beach
Also hoping for another nsd tomorrow

Couple of days worth of spends:

£137 Waitrose yesterday (£18 of which was dms). No booze. This was sad. Most expensive thing a mega pack of weetabix. £8!

£45 riding today.

£9 ice creams at the park. Kids were superbly well behaved.

yeatersay was awful. I woke up and had a funny tummy. Think it is hormonal period related as I’m due on next week. But man that’s a new symptom on me! Not cool.

trimmed my tomato bush this morning too. 😂

£133 Amazon on chillys water bottles for all of us. 6 of them. Two for the kids and one new one for me and DH. I know these are spendy. But I really rate them. Also stainless steel so less likely to break. The ones DH and I have already are about 3 years old. The dc use plastic ones and they go wierd after a while.

Sho do great bottles too em and they are half the price of chilly ones. DH has a chilly one and a have a Sho one, we can’t tell the difference! They both still look like new.

LSD day today. Home from holiday. Stopped at a national trust place on the way home, took a semi picnic (we took crisps drinks biscuits etc and bought sandwiches from Aldi on way there). We are nt members so "free" to get in.

We've spent £140 on diesel in the past week though! Normally we spend around £100 a month!

£20 in McDonald's on way home although I got the app to earn points so next time we get a free item I think.

I need to do school shoes - we have the measure thingy but that’s more to avoid the shops than save money (I usually buy Clark’s and dont find much of a saving on line - am I missing anything?). I think DD will have grown over the summer so that’ll be wellies, trainers, casual shoes too. Sigh.

we’re on hols now - we’ve rented an air bnb in Pembrokeshire for 2 weeks. It’s our third holiday in 4 years in Wales, first in this area but Wales hasn’t disappointed us yet. We had to fill up with petrol en route, £80, and service station snacks £14 (we had some picnic bits from home). We had a takeaway curry tonight, £30, as we couldn’t get a supermarket delivery until tomorrow. I’m currently too full to sleep, even though I’m knackered, and only just managed about half of mine!

Tesco delivery tomorrow is £280 but that’s most of what we need for 2 weeks for 3 adults, 2 kids
(DM is joining us). We’ll need top ups of bread, milk and some fruit /salad but that’s for picnics every day. We’ll probably eat out once but with DC being very picky it’s not worth doing it more often.

the forecast looks very warm for this next week so I expect we’ll be at the beach a lot - it’s the DCs’ dream!

DH is snoring but is quite far away for kicking purposes. This must be a super king size bed - wish I had room for one at home!

The battery in the smoke alarm has clearly gone. It's next to the bedroom. It's been emitting a high pitched screech every three minutes since midnight. It needs a ladder and a steady case of nerves (neither of which I have) to reach it as it is precariously positioned on the tiny landing. I am absolutely ready to take a baseball bat to the thing but it's mains wired so won't bloody help

wolf that is an advantage living in a bungalow.

Yes! To all the small and not so small increases putting stress on budgets. Mortgage, fuel, food....

I don't miss shoe shopping for children either. I suspect that is why we went for a minimalist approach. And also the cost😲

I have the joy of mumsitting...

Aaah if I’d seen your message earlier. My orders been dispatched so can’t cancel.

I have the joys of school uniform shopping on Friday.

ds’ new school have logoed jumpers. Pe top. And tie. everything else can be bought elsewhere. Although here apparently it’s only M&S or next which sell school uniform stuff. Matalan doesn’t.

I think sainsburys TU deliver here. So might have to do an order.

ive worked out (with help from dsis who teaches primary) that I should look to get:
2x jumpers for ds
4X trousers
5x shirts
shoes

they do PE twice a week and can go in that I think. So 2x PE kits.

he needs trainers, school shoes, plimsoles, wellies

coat waterproofs (they do lots of outdoors play whatever the weather).

book bag PE bag water bottle lunchbox

dd will be going to the school preschool. So she needs a school jumper.

a colleagues boy is in year 2 at school and she has given me some bits. But still. It’s going to be spendy.

Metal bottles are soo worth the £&. we have loads and they are years old

have a good holiday those on holiday
boo smoke alarm.
out for birthday lunch for friend today

I really rate the Sainsburys uniform stuff Em, the trousers have reinforced knees and adjustable waists too.

Em I think four pairs of school trousers is too much, you should be ok with three. Five shirts definitely

I think you'd be okay with one PE kit em, at least to start with, and then see how you get on? They don't tend to get dirty/sweaty in the way you'd imagine when they are that young. Just creased, when they stuff them into their bags!

We've SO much food from last night! Probably enough for all week. I'll probably freeze some though, for varieties sake. But tonight will be chilli and wedges. And tomorrow with wraps and salad.

Hoping for a NSD.

Yy sainsburys uniform is good.
how messy is ds and how much washing do you want to do?
definitely 5 tops
2 pe tops and 1 bottom if they go in them
if ds isn’t too messy and can get 2 wears from bottoms then 3 trousers and 1 pe will be fine. Though I think trousers come in 3 & 5 packs (maybe)

You’ve missed it now but M&S do uniform discount in June and theirs is a Aldo good

Thanks guys!!! Will re think the list. It’s difficult because the kids get so so messy at nursery so I’m expecting to need loads of clothes.

ds is still knee sliding everywhere. Hence thinking I need a gazillion trousers. But we shall see. Couple of pairs to start and see how we go.

waiting at the stables with dd. Instructor isn’t here yet. She’s text to say she’s running late. I’m not annoyed but there’s only so much I can do to keep an excited 3 year old occupied! I know she (instructor) and the stables run on what we term “pony time” it’s like another time zone here. Lessons start when they start and finish when they finish. But it is super relaxing.

we’re waiting in the car because I don’t want to go into the yard without instructor. As much as I’m sure it’d be ok I feel awkward doing it because it’s her dads house. So…dd and I are in the car. She’s exploring the front seat.

have also seen a humungois bird of prey.

Ah no that’s not on really though em especially if you can’t go on the yard. Helpers and owners are on pony time but lessons are strict

reception is usually lots of learning through play too so I would expect mess then from the sounds of it. I did have 5 sets of uniform in reception so if they go in on pe day in kit you need 3 and 2 unless you can do a wed wash

To be fair after I posted I thought that it was odd that no one was there. So we went to look. Two of the helpers/staff there. So we had a look at all the horseys. Found her a hat etc.

then got out for a walk - we got about an hour and half instead of the 30-45 mins. £35.

dh and ds went swimming.

I sat down to watch 'Gosford Park' last night. It's exactly my kind of movie - a period drama with a murder thrown in. But I found it hard to keep track of the multitude of characters and then I kept nodding off. Gave up and went to bed.

I got out early and put the second coat of paint on the shed. It's drying nicely and has really brightened up the garden. Although I think it's maybe more of a pale blue or turquoise colour rather than the advertised sage green. I still like it though. I'm keen to paint the garden walls next. But maybe not today .

Having some lunch at the mo. Any kind of outdoor work always makes me ravenous hungry.

Going to put on a washload and clean the kitchen and maybe have a shower. Then later, when it's cooled down a bit and the paint on the shed has dried, I'll do some strimming.