Frugally Forward To Autumn

[Wolfcub]

New fred

Good luck to any mini frugal folk getting their gcse results today

Up for a sea swim at 6am in the sun today! Which was lovely as I felt so low yesterday.

NSD today. I'm staying home with DS so a charity can come and collect our old sofa. They furnish people's homes when they have nothing and no money (emergency housing etc, usually DV clients. It's so sad!) Our old sofa is nice and comfortable and I wanted to help.

DV victims, not clients* ffs

@Wolfcub that's us thanks. Not confident as DS didn't seem to do much work and he was borderline to start with but we'll see! We'll support him no matter what.

Thanks for the info on Costco.

Day at the beach yesterday, £10 on a card for the rides at the funfair (DD is 11) and £30 for fish and chips at a really lovely restaurant. Was a lovely day out with our friends. Will be a while before we have another day out like that though.

Sea swim sounds fab Collie. Probably best you pulled from the interview, doesn't sound like it was the one. Good luck for the next one. 😊

@ThisisCollie2022 sea swim sounds lovely, just what you needed. You’ve also reminded me I need to start thinking about Christmas food. I also buy gradually, just things like a tube of Pringles, bag of peanuts etc. With DH and both boys all being off for the entire 2 weeks over Christmas we get through so much food it’s ridiculous.

Im having a relaxed morning before work later. Hoping I might get a repeat of yesterday and an extra hour added to my shift if we are crazy busy again. Fingers crossed!

Christmas! scream! Let me focus on late summer for a bit longer, please. Especially the talk of sea-bathing and beach walking. No, all very sensible, and I do the same (just not quite yet) with Christmas food - buy bits, hide it. The Aldi lebenkuchen are the best.

Rain started at around 3am here, and has been throwing it down steadily since. I am happy to see it. First full day of the hosepipe ban here as well! Have a piece to write today, and plan to make a nice batch of lentil dahl, topped off with loads of fried onions. Off to buy the coffee and eggs I forgot yesterday first though. DS was going to come down for Notting Hill carnival, but decided to catch up with GF instead. So my shopping list will be commensurately shorter.

Morning all

Sounds like the interview wasn't for you Collie best of luck for the next one

Uniform sorting out here today. Have already decided to take some back to shop.and get them to rewear jumpers and trousers and just have a clean shirt each day so that should be £30 refunded soon

Lazy film afternoon with pizza planned later on today will be strange putting oven on as we always use air fryer now!

Saw in the Lidl app that from 1st September they have power banks in, has anyone used these I thought it would be good incase of electric rationing. Also wearable blankets I might get one for when I'm home alone in the day save putting heating on.

Spoke to the solicitor in charge of our late tenants estate. It all seems very straightforward thankfully. A house clearance company has been arranged, although no date as yet. Once that’s been done we will agree an end of tenancy date and they will settle up what’s owed in rent arrears. Which is great but also quite sad in a way. How quickly someone’s entire life can be just cleared out and that’s it.

I think I’m going to need this board more than ever as we now have an additional mortgage to pay plus all the costs of getting the house in a decent state. It’s going to need completely gutting. Let’s just say he was a bit of a character to whom material things and housekeeping meant very little! But that’s just who he was and we bought the house knowing that about him.

it’s going to be a very tight time ahead for the next few months.

Was he is sitting tenant when you bought the place Curls? It is very sad that a life can be cleared out so easily. I was an army child so grew up with not much ‘stuff’ as we didn’t have the chance to keep things out of sentimentality - whenever we moved my stuff had to fit in one box! Once grown up and with my own place I definitely had a tendency to hang onto stuff (books, clothes, kitchen equipment, sentimental stuff) and hoard my life around me. However, I can feel my mindset changing as I get older. I can’t take it with me and it’s really not fun to always be tidying around lots of stuff. And much better to buy less in the first place! recipe books being the exception 😉

Frugal yesterday - I ate the lunch I didn’t eat the previous day, wfh, so it was an NSD. Need bread today though. I’ve also just bought a few tops online for the hen do I’m going to on Saturday, collecting tomorrow. I’ll only keep one, so maybe £35ish. Can I wear jeans and a smart top to a hen do? It’s in central London, nothing too posh I don’t think (no fancy hotel for afternoon tea). If I upgrade on the jeans Ill feel as though I’m dressed for work, but could probably dig out a dress if I need to be smarter?

Anyone have any good recipes for home made granola? I’m trying to see if I can persuade the kids and DH away from processed cereals.

also, a lovely friend is staying over after the hen and I need to give her breakfast, would like to make a bit of effort. She’s gluten and dairy free. Does anyone have any nice breakfast muffin or cake recipes that fit the bill for a brunch?

Need to do the school uniform audit and measure feet today. Could be expensive…

Another NSD today and DM bought us a load of biccies and teas so that's a frugal win. In return she received a UHT milk from me as requested hah. DD is in a foul mood today, I've hurt me back carrying DS, and I suspect all 3 of us have a mild tummy bug...great. 3.5 hrs-ish to go til DH is home...

Oh gosh Curls. I had that realisation when my Gran died. Like one minute it was a home full of memories and then next, stuff filled the skip and charity shops. We all took little things away but most of it was donated.

She had a very unique cup and saucer set. The sound of the cup against the saucer was very unique. Anyway, years after she died one day I was reminiscing about a picnic tea at hers. And the next day, in a charity shop was the exact same cup and saucer set. I couldn't believe it

So I bought them all. Washed them and served picnic tea with DS.

Anyway, NSD turned into hair products £5 and soothing tea that helps with my bloating £5 (this tea is my hero!).

And the Beano £3.

Just submitted gas meter reading. Weve used £11ish in August inc VAT. Quite good going!!

That's daily dishes twice a day, daily showers for all 3 of us and a few baths!

15 pound in mcdonalds, celebrating twins gcse results, but free cake and tea in morrisons ( daily fail voucher, free from a friends newspaper who wasn't going to use it) 3 pound in charity shop for a wooden towel holder ( to hang stuff over in winter) 8 pound in lidl, bread, bottles of water(weather hot here again) and a quick cook lasagne as a celebration tea:) hope everyone's kids got thr GCSE results they want and need!! It's been a very tough 2 years!

Thank you Wolf club that's us, the twins smashed it, so proud! In fairness they worked really hard.

Very expensive day!

£50 Aldi, weekly shop so this is very good actually.
£121 Ikea, needed a big chest of drawers for spare room, when we did the bathroom we knocked into the spare room's built in wardrobe to make the bathroom bigger so spare room now lacking in storage - this spend has been planned for a while to be fair and decided to do it now to make the most of Martin Lewis' rare Ikea discount code he recently sent out. Went for the cheapest big chest of drawers they do.
£198!!!! At the dentist. £23 check up, £175 for a new retainer - totally unplanned spend, my old retainer randomly cracked the other day, although it was a few years old so bound to happen at some point. Just a bit gutting.

Here's hoping for a frugal weekend.

I’m looking forward to being inspired by your frugal tips! Can I recommend downloading the app too good to go

That's great news @Fearofawelshplanet My DS got what he needed for Level 3 at college so huge relief and delighted for him. Think he understands the importance now 😂

I've been trying to navigate the Amazon Fresh isles as I have the £15 off first £50 voucher. Not happening as far too tired so I'm off to Lidl with my £2 off voucher. Will keep the Amazon Fresh voucher for a bulk buy of soft drinks and meat I think. Stock the freezer up. 🤔

@HalfWomanHalfChocolate yes he’d already lived there 10 years when we bought it.

Today's win - I've got some Waitrose vouchers for £6 off a £30 spend. If I add in my £6.50 voucher and avoid buying cake I can make that a weekly shop with what I've got in the freezer.

Today's fail - swimming with the kids and we've lost a 2nd set of goggles this summer so replaced at £6.50 a pop. Told the kids if it happens again it's coming out of their pocket money!

Last day of nursery and pre school for ds and dd.

end of an era.

Big day Em. How do you feel

Ah em, what a milestone. Hope you remember the sunnies and waterproof mascara

$79 Morrisons, $115 Sainsbury’s coming tomorrow plus pizza takeaway tomorrow for teens sleepover
tbf I did bulk buy some little bits

Oh Em, sending love.

Recommend sunnies and tissues for the first day of school too. XX

just turned down the temp on the radiators by one notch - they were on Max. Absolutely no need for that!

Wilko have a sale on snuggly throws if anyone needs any x

just turned down the temp on the radiators by one notch - they were on Max. Absolutely no need for that! = I mean on the boiler dial itself. (Heating is still off for the summer don't worry!!) 🤣