Frugally Forward To Autumn

[Wolfcub]

New fred

Collie - verbena is good in a dark corner. Evergreen, you can prune it into an elegant shape by raising the canopy as it grows, and you get lovely pink fragrant flowers in winter. Easy to take softwood cuttings so frugal too - potentially lots of free plants. I've also grown cotoneaster lamarkii (a broadleaved variant - there are loads of cotoneasters) against a dark wall, and again you get flowers and berries for your money. Fatsia works in dark corner too: big glossy leaves that reflect whatever light is around, lovely sculptural leaf shapes.

Congratulations to GCSE fledgelings. It's been such a tricky couple of years for them, they deserve every bit of success. The stress of exams is hard to live through - I found it the most tricky bit of parenting. Ouch!

Afternoon all, planning a lsd today :) would be nsd but DH has a hospital appointment so will have to pay for parking.

Took DS out blackberry picking this morning and this afternoon we'll make a crumble - frugal win as almost ordered far less blackberries on the food shop for £1.75, ridiculous idea at this time of year! Plus a free activity which DS really enjoyed.

Our visitors have gone so its a big pile of washing day here.. luckily its lovely and sunny so it should all dry .
Lots of leftovers from meals cooked all week so it'll be a nsd but a very strange dinner!
Next thing is to blitz the garden as its all suddenly burgeoning after the rain we have finally had , and to sort out traveling and final camping booking for our holiday in September when we are off up to Scotland for 3 weeks. Am rather dreading the fuel bill for the campervan...

Hello
Can I join?
Just reading through and I'm certainly going to need these tips after the announcement today. I'm a carer for my disabled son and my DH has a new business that isn't bringing in much at the moment.

Sorry for the super quick post but Halifax is down meaning I can't transfer the money needed. We've gone into overdraft in our joint account which is expensive. I've complained and hoping they'll refund overdraft fees.

Such anxiety!! 😢

More gardening tips for complete novices please @BigSkies2022 - Fatsia is my absolute favourite. I got a tiny plant from a sale and excitedly planted it... in full sun 🤦‍♀️, it has not enjoyed the recent heatwaves. I need a fair bit of evergreen 'filler' for the bottom of a line of fence. I've got box and hebe and a red robin which seem to have survived the glaring sun but want something a bit more interesting!

Panic over. Halifax is back up and they said they'll refund any charges. All transferred and sorted.

Overdrafts give me serious anxiety from 2008 student days where they'd charge you ridiculous amounts every day!

Anyway, @BigSkies2022 amazing advice thank you so much!! We have B&Q and local garden centre vouchers to spend so we're off to find the plants you suggested x

@mustbefunny no we are NE so opposite to you 😊 was always a key date here too.

@ofwarren hello. I just started posting last week, it's v helpful to focus on daily spending.

I'd say a spendy day so far but not bad...
£35 on DDs school shoes
£7 at Primark, just a few bits she needed to finish off the school uniform
£2.75 on an ice cream for DD
99p on a birthday card.

The energy cap is hideous. We have a smart meter but it only tracks electric. We were with Pure Planet until they went under so not much historical data to go on for gas usage. I may try to work it out manually...

Energy price cap 😫

We have friends coming to stay for the BH weekend and I'm sure they will notice that we will now have a lot less 'naice' stuff in for them. Tbh this started the last time they came in June, but is even more noticeable now. We are currently running down some of the cash we need for the deposit to buy the house as there's been delays for various reasons, which is a worry as we won't be able to buy it without the deposit money still there!

Went to the supermarket, spent a little over £30 on groceries although £12 of that was formula. £12 for formula, we used to pay £8 a tin in 2018/19 for DD but that was a cheaper brand too. A lot of the groceries are literally just for the next day or two though with us having visitors so using more stuff.

Tiny frugal win is that nursery have confirmed the brand of sun cream they are now going to be using, which is not the old one that didn't agree with DS's skin, so he can thankfully just use theirs which will save me buying him his own separate bottle for nursery. I just need to buy a big pack of nappies to take in with him for next week, and he doesn't have a bag yet either, so hopefully will buy him one tomorrow. Worst time of the year for buying kids' bags though! I wish I'd have bought it months ago but just never got round to it (and DH virtually never buys anything for the kids unprompted...😡).

Hi ofwarren, welcome.

Should be imminently receiving my first pay for one of my new jobs, my mat pay ended at the end of June so this will be very welcome.

@WeightoftheWorld it's good your nursery supply sun cream, ours ask us to send DS in with it already applied in the morning, plus put the bottle in his bag so they can reapply it for the afternoon.

Re: a bag for nursery, I honestly for the last two years have sent DS' stuff in a jute/canvas bag for life from Sainsbury's. It was handy when he was potty training as fit plenty of spare clothes in, and it's not like they carry it around, or at least at our nursery they just put the bag straight on their designated hook in the storage room. Might save you some money as then you won't need to buy one?

Have only recently sent DS with a little backpack as now he's gone up to the 3-4yo room they all have little backpacks and he felt left out.

Frugal win: Reduced online weekly shop by £10 to £64

Frugal loss: Slight misunderstanding about who is footing the bill for something and its probably about £1000. Absolutely gutted.

I feel so hopeless about money, like we scrimp and save for nothing. 😢

Oh collie, I'm so sorry. It seems relentless doesn't it? Is there no way to argue your case? I'm gutted for you.

weight. Good friends won't mind fewer luxuries.

Brilliant gardening advice, I kill everything, DH was the gardener, so I need to learn.

Hi warren

Cheers re the cauliflower in the air fryer, it does keep a nice crunch and flavour to it.

I'm cutting back pretty much everything I can too decaf, but it gives you no break does it. I'm exhausted.

Perilously close to a NSD.

Ratatouille for tea, so many veg to use. Just about to start cooking.

I officially bloody love the airfryer what a game changer

I haven't been convinced by an air fryer yet.. DH bakes bread so I try and use the 9ven at the same time to bake as much as possible ( veggies, chicken etc for meals later the next few days and that saves overall cooking time..
Also we dont really have space in our kitchen for one to be out all the time and I think it would end up unloved in the Cupboard of Lost Appliances.. ( like the blender and juicer did )

Spends day.

£79 Clark’s on school shoes (ds) and nursery shoes for dd. yikes.

£41 shoe zone on wellies x 2 plimsoles x1 trainers x2.

£9.80 swimming. DH promised the kids we’d go when I said I wanted to sort my membership out. Turns out no one in the office available to do memberships.

£45 lunch.

then we met Bil and sil at Portuguese food fair. £4 entry for DH and me. I paid £5 a pint of sagres (we had £6) fruit shoots for the kids were free.

kids rinsed us on fairground games. Came back with a gigantic Spider-Man for ds and loads of sweets. Sil and I went on the “g-force” fair ride

www.google.co.uk/search?q=g-force+fair+ride&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilg8zsluX5AhXKbsAKHcQ5A-kQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2#imgrc=3SzKaaPS2hpvjM

bil and DH are wussy’s. (I almost vommed after though). But churros sorted me out.

@ThisisCollie2022 That's quite a misunderstanding! Wow. Is there anything that can be done?

@WeightoftheWorld Second the poster who said good friends won't mind fewer luxuries. There's not many people who won't be keeping a bit of a lid on costs right now.

Few spends today. $2 breakfast. &15 wilko on first aid and back to school. &26 pizza tea for dc x 5

ah collie that’s rubbish about the misunderstanding but phew on the refund

our garden needs a total over haul but next year.

definitely don’t need a nursery back pack , any bag does, have you got a drawstring plastic bag?

Good friends definitely won’t mind fewer luxuries. I know I wouldn’t

im in the NE too Kessie. Waves

sounds a great afternoon

@needastrongoneagain I’ve sent you a pm, I remember you don’t always get them x

Today I've bought a rotary washing line for £25 and a rechargeable battery thing because my DS is constantly asking for batteries.

Does anyone know a good Facebook group for cheap recipes?

£29 odd in Sainsbury’s, 3 x coffee beans, bread, cheese, yoghurt and 4x cheap disinfectant.

Gym this morning. Meeting this afternoon then pub dinner because meeting ran over. DH paid, £24 or there about. He also paid £17 to post things to DD in Uni. Other DD has a problem with her tooth, temporary filling on Wednesday, £23.80, root canal and crown due to be done early October, tooth broke again on Thursday night. So she’s coming home again next week for an emergency appointment on Tuesday. I don’t know how much that will cost as I don’t know what the dentist will do, I think the tooth might be extracted. With lockdowns/travel restrictions/Uni and work commitments it’s been nearly 3 years since the problem started 🤦‍♀️

Sorry, haven't been able to keep up with the thread as it's moved so fast. So good to see Collie & laska & mines / need I'm rubbish with name changes so never would've guessed.

Not an easy post to write but need to update as you were all so supportive before my op. Op itself went well I think & I'm recovering well, got home on Thursday, but the news was pretty much the worst, the cyst was ovarian cancer. So, everything possible has been taken out & we now have a 2-3 week wait for the full results & a decision re need for ongoing treatment. It's been just a huge bombshell for all of us we knew it was a possibility but didn't think it was likely. There have been many tears shed & lots of cuddles, and I've got major surgery to recover from at the same time.
Frugality has gone out of the window this week but will need to come back into focus as the future feels much more uncertain for us now

Oh north I’m so sorry to hear this - sending you and your family lots of love and strength.

North sending you all my love.

NSWeekend here x

North so sorry to hear that. X