Friendship and Falling Leaves, Frugal Autumn Continued

[Wolfcub]

New fred

Morning everyone.

I was in the hairdressers early this morning and now I'm having a quick cuppa before I hit the big town for my shopping. I prefer to go early so I don't have to queue for the car park but sure, has to be done.

I'm going to pick up some Hallowe'en goodies today. I usually bag them up before the big day.

I need to pay the last instalment for grass cutting. The lady who collects the money called to my door recently looking for the payment. I was at work but DD answered the door to her. So now I have DD giving me helpful reminders in case she calls back .

Need to get petrol also.

I set up a Credit Union account recently and lodged my first payment for DD's college fees for 2023. Feeling like a proper grown up now that I have a college fund containing all of €50 but it's a start. Ex and I will go halves on the college fees.

I'm setting the heating today for the winter. An hour in the morning, an hour before we get home from college/work and an hour before bed. It's been very cold in the mornings lately. I ordered a full tank of home heating oil recently but I actually had a half tank of oil already, (I've no way of checking how much oil is in the tank) so I only had to pay for a half tank which represents a really big saving. I don't plan to stint on heating because it would inevitably result in damp or mould and/or frozen pipes. Also, I've no dryer and I dry my clothes indoors in winter. I find there's not much drying outdoors between October and March. DD is under strict instructions not to put the heating on other than those three hours. If it's exceptionally cold, she can plug in the radiator in the sitting room. I know I'm in a very privileged position to be able to heat my home and I'm sorry for anyone reading this who isn't so fortunate.

DD gave me an energy tip (unprompted) this week. If you've been baking or roasting something, leave the oven door open afterwards to heat up your kitchen. I wasn't sure whether to be amused or impressed .

Chilli for dinner tonight and tomorrow. DD is heading to the cinema this evening with her friends so I'll pick them up later and they're all staying here.

I've been really good at making packed lunches lately. It helps that we've a fridge in work so I do a quick shop in the supermarket near work on a Monday morning, stash everything in the work fridge and then make a sandwich at lunchtime. It means I'm having a freshly prepared lunch every day. When I was taking lunches from home, the sandwiches weren't very nice after being in my bag for the commute in. And if I forgot to prepare lunch the night before or woke late, it just didn't happen.The only downside is that the work kitchen is just inside the office door so my colleagues have a nose at what I'm making as they pass in and out and I get comments like, "Oh, that looks nice", or, "So, what are you having today?". I'm spending a bit more on groceries because I'm buying separate food for work and home. But making a saving overall.

Tayto We always do the 'leaving the oven door open after' thing for the heat!

Spends today: £113 on groceries in Asda. Does anyone else feel genuinely anxious in supermarkets now because of the prices? I'm getting increasingly worried. Almost everything we buy is own brand/Just Essentials. We don't buy alcohol, or fizzy drinks, we used to buy quite a lot of treaty stuff for me and DH but we've cut that right back and don't buy much of that anymore. The only way I think to bring it down more is to start compromising on the food I buy for the kids . Actually I suppose we could just make proper meals for them and me and DH just eat beans on toast etc a lot instead, but that wouldn't really work for DD as she's not a good eater and eating the same as us/with us does tend to encourage her to eat better.

Will catch up with thread in a bit.

Spent £15 on drinks with friends last night. Well worth it to relax and just be me for a while although one friend kept trying to steer the conversation back to my op and was asking how much chemo etc I'll need if it's cancer and I was steering it away with "so let's talk about you 😂" apparently I'm very calm about the whole thing, don't feel bloody calm!

Swimming this afternoon so "free". No idea how we are going to renew when it's up for renewal in feb. But that's not today's worry

In good frugaleering news I've had a freezer rummage for tea rather than planning a whole new meal. Attempting some sort of ramen soup with gyoza hopefully will warm me up!

Also sold something online so got £20 from that which I spent on necessary DC clothes so "free". Also have people interested in 2 more items if they both sell it should be £25-30 after I've paid postage etc.

Not frugaleering related but anyone got any good ideas for something DH and I can watch tonight, we have the usual streaming services. We like crime drama, documentaries, not into things like strictly etc

Shocking weather here today. We've had torrential rain on and off and there was even thunder and lightning at one stage. Hope it's not heading your direction tomorrow.

Decaf non of those genres but ghosts on I player

Ooo yes I've heard that is good thanks will try that

Lost track!

If I don't post daily, I'm screwed!

NSD.

Daily posts from now on, otherwise I'm toast 🙃

Freezer and use up meal tonight. Strictly but I'm at least half an hour behind!

I've read but also fallen behind with keeping track. V spendy time.
£19.99 Lidl (DH getting a top up)
£11 ice-skating (in budget)
£20 cinema
£6 parking
£32 food after cinema
£16 food in cinema
£25 fuel

So that's £68 for a day out for me and DD with a friend and her DS, they are worth it but we don't normally spend that much 😳

In better news I got a Kindle version of Anne Frank's Diary for 0.68p. DD and I will read before heading to Amsterdam next weekend.

Headed off on holiday on Friday. Will try to post daily until then - need to keep in check until then. 😬

Morning,

Think we are all just pottering around the house today. I’ve got a bit of it to do and I will make sure everything is as in order as it can be. Because next week every spare moment I will be at the rental helping DH and FIL.

Need to nip to B&M in a bit. We could do with a cheap as chips kettle to keep at the rental and I’ve seen one on their website for £6. Whether our local branch has it in stock is another matter but worth a try. Got to keep the workers happy with endless brews!

I’ll also finish up my shopping list and meal plan for next week.

I've caught up on the last few pages.

Time sorry to hear you could be facing redundancy.

Curls hope you get the hours you requested at work.

Weight sorry to hear the kids have colds - I remember the guilt of putting DD into the creche when she wasn't 100% and hoping I wouldn't get a phone call to pick her up. I never put her in when she had a tummy bug though.

Ginger glad your charger turned up.

Welcome aboard Cuppa. We're a friendly bunch.

Decaff that's annoying about your nephew's present - having to pay two sets of postage. When is your op? Sorry to hear you face the prospect of no pay so your DH can do post op care. Glad you enjoyed your drinks Friday night.

em just adding to the chorus of voices shocked at the parking space increase. And £18,000 for a watch!!!! I'd be terrified I'd lose it on the way back to work. Did you dress up for the posh shop?

Alfie annoying that work never replied to your query re: Covid and then you had a wasted journey in.

Half nightmare about the oven. A pain having to fork out for the microwave but at least you're sorted now. Short term pain for long term gain and all that.

life hope the phone dries out. At least you have a spare.

kessie it seems like any form of day out/entertainment really adds up. DD wanted a Chinese take away last night but I vetoed it. We're going Christmas shopping one of the days of the mid-term break so I told her we'll have lunch out that day instead. I guess you could have gone to your friend's house (or vice versa) instead of ice skating/cinema/food but it's nice to have a day out from time to time.

I've done a meal plan for the next few weeks but I'm not sure what way DD is fixed for the next few weekends. I had her two weekends in a row because Ex was away for a week. I'm assuming he will want to take her next weekend as he hasn't seen her much lately. So we're out of sync - I'm not sure if we're reverting back to our normal weekends after that. It's only a minor thing really and I can adjust the meal plan easily enough once I know. Just a bit of a niggle that I'm having to plan things around Ex.

I collected DD from the cinema late last night and two of her friends stayed over. One of them headed off at 9 'cos she's working so I think there's just one left now.

I was invited to a friend's house for dinner today but I've a chilli in the fridge from yesterday so I'll decline. It's nothing formal - just their usual Sunday dinner. I only got the invitation last night. I might pop in later for a cuppa though. DD is friends with their DD so I'll suggest it to her. I'm going to drop in to my brother's house for a bit as well, for a catch up. We're watching Strictly later.

Should be a NSD unless i pick up biscuits or something to bring to my friend's house.

Need to think about Christmas also. I should probably start to make a list.

@Taytocrisps No I didn’t. Jeans doc martens shirt. Just my work attire for that day. But yeah it’s an astounding cost. It’s a 1991 Cartier watch. Stunningly beaut. but still.

today I’m feeling so overwhelmed by everything. So I’m cleaning.

cleanrs we’re meant to come on thurs but they didn’t because of Illness.
ive just done the kitchen which looked a lot worse than it actually was. Have emptied all bins and once DH takes dc to fils I’ll blitz upstairs. Floors in our room need a hoover as my hair is shedding all over the place.

also laundry. Have done 3 loads today already and they’re all out on the line.

I don't think Wolf has been on the thread all week. Hope all is ok.

@lifelongfrugaleer thanks so much re the ghosts recommendation we absolutely loved it we watched 4 episodes last night and had a bottle of wine plus crisps and chocolate so feeling a bit delicate today

@Taytocrisps yeah it not ideal re DH getting time off. Someone upthread asked can be WFH. Not really. But he can change his hours to be able to do school run then log on again in the evening. Op is in a few weeks, keeping this vague sorry! Not really sure why I'll need adult help post op when dc all in school and nursery and non nursery days grandparents can sometimes step in but according to the hospital I might no be able to get up and down stairs 😱

@ememem84 you are on a roll this morning hope you feel better!

Spendy day today £100 on ocado. Planning McDonald's lunch and a look round the pet shop as we need bird seed (garden bird type we don't have pet birds) and it's easy entertainment for little ones. DH and I will have cheap lunch though eg £1.99 wrap and take our own drinks.

Rough meal plan....

Sun...roast chicken dinner
Mon... leftover chicken with noodles and brocolli in a satay sauce
Tues....pork tacos
Weds... turkey meatballs and spaghetti
Thursday..... creamy sausage pasta everyone loves this.
Fri...I'm out for dinner so DH sorting dinner yay

Lunches for me tend to be leftovers or I'm also recently getting brie which is pretty cheapy plus oatcakes and fruit

Pleased you liked it decaf

Tayto ice-skating is a lesson. Think the problem was I wasn't very organised as I'd been at a club presentation evening on Friday, then up early for DD ice skating lesson, straight onto friends, so we didn't buy drinks / sweets to take into the cinema. Prices have gone up again, £5.30 for a milkshake in the cinema 😳 friends DS is ND, he struggles with large cinemas so the smaller one we use is pricey with city centre parking. Friends are worth it though, just need to be organised next time and suggest eating at home / take out after! Think we could have done the whole day for £35 not £68 😳

Back to normal today £16.59 at Lidl. Hoping for a low spend week 🤞

Managed a NSD. Think that's only the second this week. I feel like I spend much more and much more often these days! And I can't work out why or how to stop it!

Kids entertainment was a frugal trip to a local park and I took us all crisps for a snack. Often we rush out places unorganised so I forget to pack snack for the kids and then it gets to snack time (around 3pm-ish here) and end up buying something overpriced for them.

Also want to get the ceiling plastered in our spare bedroom before we soon turn into DD's bedroom, and DF has kindly said he'd pay for it which is a relief. So that's some frugal good news.

Hope the op goes well Decaf.

Sorry that I can’t hold enough info in my peri-menopausal brain in order to reply to most people - but Need, any prospect of your DH getting home this side of Christmas?

I cracked and bought a new range cooker. Got the cheapest one possible, which actually has very decent reviews from users (even if Which? Wasn’t overly impressed). The fact that our oven was really crap even when it worked, and they can’t get the spare part to fix the main hob burner, and the oven still might not work after they get the new part, and it will take approx 2 months… anyway, done now. £850 with gas-safe fitting and getting rid of the old one. I could have done without that expense though!

Been a quiet weekend, mostly at home. The house looks marginally cleaner and tidier than it did on Friday and top-up shops were resisted, except a fresh baguette and a paper yesterday. The only other cost was approx £100 on spring bulbs to plant in the garden and in some big troughs outside our back door. DH was the instigator, surprisingly, but I am really looking forward to some spring flowers - nothing flowers in our garden till about May /June and I so love tulips.

made Mary berry sausage lasagne and then millionaire’s shortbread for dinner. The kids were ecstatic 😁

Busy week ahead, I think it’s going to be a bit painful! I’m meant to be off over half term but will need to really motor to get enough stuff finished off this week.

Right I’m definitely going to have a nsd today
And my phone seems to have dried out ok too

Morning.

In answer to your question Half, we just don't know. While he continues to progress and benefit from the rehab and therapy then he will remain in hospital. They are careful not to give dates. We will take Christmas to him if he's not here! The garden is my project this weekend.

kessie cinema trips are pretty ridiculous, cost-wise, aren't they?

Haven't had a chance to meal plan but I made two huge ragu-type dishes yesterday (one meat, one veggie) so plenty of food for a couple of days. It'll be something like

Bolognaise
Leftover Ragu with jacket potatoes
Thai curry
Cauliflower and chickpea curry.
Veggie tagline.
Use up soup
Dhal/risotto

Spends - £98 Ocado (includes a few bits for Christmas to spread the cost)
£4 coffees at the hospital

Doing pretty well so far this month, but it's just happened that no hair type appointments, dentists, dog food, car stuff etc have fallen in this period. So far....! I'm going to split any excess into Christmas shopping and paying excess off the mortgage (even if it's £50, it chips away and we are on a variable).

Other frugal 'win' has been increasing the positive balance on the energy again last month by about £80 (thank the lord for mild weather and fake Oodies!).

Hooray re the phone!

Morning everyone. It was a stormy night here. The rain has stopped but it's still quite windy. Really enjoyed watching Strictly last night by an open fire although I noticed that the price of turf has shot up - not surprising I guess. I only light the fire at weekends and only the odd night at weekends. I don't have a back boiler so the fire only heats up my sitting room, so it's a bit of a luxury. Really nice and cosy though and there's something very relaxing about the glow of a real fire.

Working from home today and glad I didn't have to venture out this morning. Dinner will be Irish stew - very appropriate given the weather.

Fantastic news about the phone @lifelongfrugaleer !

Busy weekend here, weve been cutting hedges, shredding and bagging up .. and cutting more bramble..I am scratched to pieces.. Every year its the same , our fault for buying a house with a garden backing 3 sides onto fields ..
Also lots of cooking as DF and DB cane over on Saturday, but we did have lots of leftovers for yesterday's dinner (a mix of pasta bake and baked potato with veggies and cheese sauce .. multiple carbs- but actually made a really yummy meal last night!) .
Today its take a load of cut up stuff to the tip , then prep the van for a quick whizz out. We are off to the caravan and motorhome show in Brum this week and a weekend in Warwick, so looking forward to that. I love a rummage around camping equipment shows (may be spendy though , but we are going for something specific.. - not a new van !)
Yesterday did turn out to be far more spendy that I had planned for as I noticed that my 16yr old extremely well worn yard boots had serious tears and had also cracked along the sole line on both boots.... Luckily I found replacement ones in a sale and are hoping that they will fit .. but 200! ( They are now retailing at 300!)🤦‍♀️.. but if they are good for another 16 years that will be ok...

Meal plan this week will be camping food, but the van had a freezer so I will take 3 meals ( two soup and a casserole) that I have already in the freezer here and we'll treat ourselves to lunch out in Warwick perhaps.

It will be a spendy week as we are going away again, but its all budgeted for... I was fortunate to receive an inheritance a couple of years ago, and its being used to fund van travel for the next few years.. ( I realise how fortunate that makes me, but we still have to budget as now retired...)

But once again my quarterly National insurance bill is in.. I really cannot understand how it os that I have 48 yrs NI but Still not enough to qualify for the full state pension! Well actually I do because my work pension was apparently ' contacted out ' although I didnt know that .. Bit I couldn't have changed it anyway.. And then , sadly I was one of the many 1950s born women who lost out because they changed the pension age and the NI rules ... In my case 6 years.. and thats why I am still paying to make sure that I get the full state pension ,🤬

@needastrongoneagain . I am sorry to hear about your DH being l/t in Hospital, I didn't know that. It must be so difficult for you. I hope that he recovers and is home soon .

Laska my eldest dsis was born in the 1950s baby and she's got under 365 days now before retirement. She was caught in a similar situation 🤬

Good news about the phone life

Need I also didn't realise your DH was in hospital long term. My DM was in for three months and that was difficult enough, but was local. I seem to recall this is not a local hospital though? It must be hard - hope he's out by Christmas but if not then def take it to him.

Love a real fire Tayto. I am allowing two hour boosts per day on the central heating (morning if it's cold, then an hour for DC rooms when they come in). Other than that it's log burner only. Will see what the bill is by 8 Nov.

Busy week ahead, so much work to do before I finish on Thursday, so I best get off here. NSD or very LSD planned.

Well Need, if he keeps progressing that is the best result really, but it must be so hard on you both mentally, never mind the practicalities and logistics. You are doing an amazing job keeping going.

I’ve been glued to the news for the last few weeks. Cannot believe what a dog’s dinner this govt is - whatever your political beliefs this has been a spectacular bungle-fest by any standards. I can’t see how Liz Truss can possibly stay on. And the budget U-turns are dizzying…. I am a higher rate tax payer (though sadly not so high that I’d have benefitted from the 45p rate being dropped!) so expect that after April we won’t get any support on fuel bills. I do think it’s right to target the support where it’s most needed, but it’s going to get quite tight for us; with our high fixed outgoings in London we really will have to think hard about what we spend. Building work is still the priority next year - we may need to move to be nearer a special secondary for DS and our house needs remedial work before we can sell, whether we stay or go in the end. So I have a deadline to get my leaks and damp sorted!

Speaking of which, the structural engineer is coming round this afternoon. £££, eventually.

Picked up dc from school. Suggested we go out (even though I didn’t want to). Ds wanted to stay home. Dd wanted to go out.

were staying here today but going out tomorrow.