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Frugal the flip to make the festivities fun

997 replies

lifelongfrugaleer · 08/11/2022 21:27

Wasn’t going to be flip but decided to be polite
46 days or so

don’t panic frugaleers

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17
needastrongoneagain · 29/12/2022 09:30

🤣🤣🤣! Oops.....😁

BigSkies2022 · 29/12/2022 12:34

Socathe - agree it's an excellent time of year to be setting financial goals. I've been doing the same, and laying out my 'lumpy' expenditure for next year in a planner, so I know precisely when big calls are going to be made on us e.g. paying balances for booked holidays. Also, building emergency reserves, and paying down debt.

Happierwithouthim · 29/12/2022 12:39

GrinGrinGrinneed

kessiebird · 29/12/2022 14:34

socathe agree its a really good time to plan financial goals. We have a pretty dull year ahead with essential repairs and maintenance needed on both house and cars. If I can keep the spends under control on day to day we may be able to have fun too.

need we definitely need sleep and rest, schools broke up here on 23rd, only been six days so I don't feel like we've had a break yet.

Enjoy Devon north

I love Denby curls we still have 8 plates with no chips, 10 years on. One of the bowls broke but the plates are amazing.

Spends yesterday
£28 unexpected McDonalds yesterday - long boring story about DD and her friends
£10.35 Asda
£17 family birthday present
£47.50 M&S although I had a return for £45 so only £2.50 cost
Today so far £6.63 at Home Bargains, loo roll, crusty bread and kindling.
Beef goulash in the slow cooker, been out for a very short run so I'm not going back out.

Sorry if I've missed anyone on my phone with one page open!

CurlsandCurves · 29/12/2022 17:11

Big spend here today. I’ve been putting off booking an eye test because I knew I’d need varifocals this time. I rang this morning and luckily they had a cancellation this afternoon.

New glasses, thinned down lenses and varifocals, £310. And that’s with discount because I have a complex prescription. I need the thinning down because my prescription is so high. And I went for the best varifocal lens type because I wear them every day.

I decided last payday to be as frugal as possible with ‘my’ money as I knew this was coming. At least it’s done now.

lifelongfrugaleer · 29/12/2022 17:36

Popped into lidl to get my free tiger bread for soup tomorrow but it came off ds donut instead, £13 lidl and £7 scooter grip tape

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needastrongoneagain · 29/12/2022 18:49

Disappointed you didn't poop while you were there too @lifelongfrugaleer ...

lifelongfrugaleer · 29/12/2022 19:10

😂😂😂

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TheNewlmprovedMrsMadEvans · 29/12/2022 19:51

Thank you Martha Kessie Need that is so kind of you Flowers (re the row)
Hope your Dad is ok Martha Flowers
Fear welcome back sweetheart Flowers
Em so glad you are having such a great time Smile
Happier off the back of you getting your electrician l am going to get the plumber in to sort out the taps and the plumbing in the bathroom thank you for shifting me Flowers
Been pretty good spending wise, l was nearly tempted by a travel size Noem candle on Amazon for £8 odd but cancelled it , we are eating up the contents of the fridge & freezer thank God. So NSD today
Curls omg that is a lot of money but very sensible for you to save towards them well done .
l think need varifocals too , l had better get my eyes tested & sort myself out .
Thinking of putting £150 a month , in an account for next Christmas . l used to spend a hell of a lot more on Christmas but as the years pass and the family gets older the cost does come down thankfully.
Need Life Grin Grin we have a new Aldi and they have toilets now l haven't christened them yet lol !
North have a lovely time Smile
Kessie well done on the spends and returns & especially the delicious sounding beef goulash yummy!
Gen that is so brilliant l so hope the insurance pays out for you sweetheart Flowers

needastrongoneagain · 29/12/2022 20:04

I do the same re tiger bread life, time my visit for soup day!

You didn't need the candle MrsEvans😂

Ouch re the cost curls

Made this tonight. Subbed aubergine for a tin of chickpeas and frozen green beans. Cheap Lidl tomatoes. Frozen peas. Super tasty. Highly garlicky! Made loads and cheap too.

meerasodha.com/recipes/aubergine-and-pea-curry/

kessiebird · 29/12/2022 20:27

I normally do ham and cheese toasties with the free Lidl loaf. I've been caught out getting a free 30p bakery item instead of the bread too. Only the once, put it through seperate after that!

Unescorted · 29/12/2022 20:42

For those of you that need varifocals if you use a computer screen for your work your employer has to pay a contribution..... My optician wrote me a letter to give to my employer with a reminder of their obligations.

I have had a lovely day out bimbling through the slate mines of N. Wales. Frugally we took our own sandwiches and flask of tea. I We carried them all the way up (3 hours we were out) and down before sitting in the car to eat / drink tea. We were only short a copy of the Daily Heil to complete the old before our time tableau.

TheNewlmprovedMrsMadEvans · 29/12/2022 22:31

Been looking at savings accounts for Christmas found this offer in the Principality .
www.principality.co.uk/savings-accounts/fixed-term-savings-and-bonds/Christmas-2023-Regular-Saver-Bond
Forgive me if already posted Smile

northender · 30/12/2022 08:43

Tell me about the free tiger bread please! I'm not usually a Lidl shopper but we do have one a mile away from us now.
Curls DH has contact lenses and now varifocal glasses. It's not cheap but so important, so well done for sorting.
Yesterday was a bit manic, but had a good journey down last night. We're with dh's family in the main city down here. DH & DD went to football last night which reminds me of half's ddad who supported the same team. He'd be excited at how they're doing at the moment half.
No plans for today , meeting up with a friend tonight. An old work colleague from my time down here & it's always good fun when we meet up.
Did an audit of fridge, freezer & cupboards before leaving yesterday so that I can look at a meal plan for next week & meal ideas for the rest of January.
In good frugal news, I don't have a smart meter but do keep a v close eye on meter readings & despite the cold snap, we are sustaining a reduction of just over a third in gas & electric use compared with last year so that will lessen the impact of the price hikes.

lifelongfrugaleer · 30/12/2022 09:15

There is a lidl app and each time you go you should scan it, they do coupons which need activation.
each month there are rewards for meeting spend threshold and bakery item is after £50 I think, you then have a week to claim

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CurlsandCurves · 30/12/2022 21:26

@Unescorted sounds like a lovely day!

@northender great stuff re energy saving.

I also need to do a fridge and freezer audit. Freezer is bursting. I’ve spent about £15 on a tops up since before Christmas, mainly milk, bread, bubble bath 😁. I usually shop on a Monday but due to work it’ll be Tuesday next week. Hoping to spend as little as possible for the next couple of weeks at least.

kessiebird · 30/12/2022 22:57

£45 Lidl. Enough for NY and the week ahead. Lidl App have changed their free cleaning product at £150 to a free product. It was a chocolate bar, likely worth 50p. Hmmm used to be a £10 voucher at £200. Anyway there was only dark chocolate left, so I made chocolate brownies with it when I got home, as had all the other ingredients. Also made meringues for Eton Mess tomorrow. So at least a little frugal baking.

£31.60 toll charge - I've driven on a toll road that you used to chuck money into the machine to pay for, now you have 24 hours to pay online. It's not normally a route I take and I completely forgot to pay the fee afterwards. So £1.60 is now £31.60. 🤦

ememem84 · 31/12/2022 07:35

happy New Year’s Eve y’all!

we’re almost at the end of the year here. I for one am sort of glad it’s over. It’s been tough.

I’ve felt it a bit the last few days. I think festive season being away from my mum and family (who I’m super close to) has done it. The dc have been playing up a bit - super excited etc so not listening and DH has been poorly - sinusitis. So I’ve been in charge.

fingers crossed for 2023!

lifelongfrugaleer · 31/12/2022 08:04

I hear you on that road Kessie I hate that there is no money Chuck option, steered stressed me right out. sorry you got fined.

Sorry to hear that em, you got this, happy new year

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kessiebird · 31/12/2022 08:36

Thanks life paid it straightaway as the letter dated 20th Dec arrived 29th Dec (Royal mail strikes) and the 14 day 'cheaper option' almost up. Afterwards I thought I could have appealed it. Hey ho!

em once NYE is done and January is here it may be easier. hope DH gets well and takes over soon! I say this having spent NY and Jan in Thailand many moons ago. Missed home on NYE. But it was the best holiday of our lives at the same time. Happy New Year - guess it will be almost midnight in NZ 🎉

ememem84 · 31/12/2022 09:04

Yep almost. It’s 10pm. Im in bed. It’s the nye thing I think as much as anything else.

im all good. We are having a great time and for once I’ve told DH how I’m feeling. He knows I’ve been struggling to hold it together for the last few days.

be has meds now though so that’s all good.

Wolfcub · 31/12/2022 10:36

Happy New Year's Eve frugal folk. Annual and monthly budget done plus budget timeline to 60 which has made me realise if I don't start saving for ds's uni costs now I'm going to be completely screwed.

It's been an extremely expensive three months so I'm starting back from a position of very limited savings and about £2k of credit card debt, a small amount of that will be repaid by pet insurance.

Also got a big bill for house insurance in January - £900. This is thanks to the flood and then a water escape last year. There will be no scope for getting it reduced as lots of insurance companies wouldn't touch this area pre flood.

So good financial behaviour is needed in 2023, sticking to budgets, squirrelling away what I can, trying to keep the food and energy bills to a manageable level and starting to save for ds's driving lessons. Teenagers are so expensive!

Taytocrisps · 31/12/2022 11:09

Happy New Year to all the lovely frugaleers. I was very sick the week before Christmas (it started with a vomiting bug and then turned into a chest infection). Luckily I had all of my presents bought by then and the Christmas tree was already up, but I had to drag myself to a supermarket on the 23rd and get a grocery shop in (DD had come down with it by then and was in no fit state to come with me). Obviously it was too late to book a grocery delivery. I usually have guests to stay on St. Stephen's Day (26th) but I had to cancel them because the house wasn't visitor ready and I didn't have the energy to go cleaning bathrooms and changing beds etc. I'm a lot better now but I'm still quite tired overall and have been falling asleep every evening watching TV. That could be the wine though Xmas Grin.

Nothing exciting planned for tonight. I'll curl up on the sofa and watch the usual end of year shows. DD is heading out with her friends which means I get to stay sober and collect her at the end of the night.

Tomorrow we're meeting up with my Dad, my sister, her partner and a few family friends and we're going for a Chinese meal in a restaurant.

I need to ring the hairdresser and book an appointment for the next few days. I had an appointment booked for the 17th but I had to cancel and at this stage my hair looks very straggly and grey.

A bit of a mixed bag in terms of frugality. I saved money on food because I was too ill to eat. And I saved money on a few nights out because I was too ill to go out. But I also lost money on a concert because I'd bought a ticket and then couldn't go. And I had to pay for a GP visit so I could get a cert. for work.

My Dad gave me an M&S voucher for Christmas so I took myself off to M&S the other day and bought a jumper and cardi which were reduced in the sale. The jumper is purple and the cardi is black and white striped. Badly needed some jumpers/cardis.

The weather's been pretty awful since Christmas. We've had lots of rain. I'd normally try to fit in a winter walk but you wouldn't feel inclined to go walking anywhere. It's been raining cats and dogs since I got up. January is going to be a depressing month. I'm not looking forward to taking down the tree and lights etc.

I haven't booked a foreign holiday for 2023 because I'm saving for DD's college fees in 2023 and I couldn't possibly pay for a holiday as well as paying the mortgage, bills etc. There's a limit to how far one salary can stretch. But I've booked a weekend in a nice hotel in Dublin for December 2023. I've a whole year to save for it and a whole year to anticipate it. The hotel is expensive but I don't have to pay for flights and I only need spending money for two days instead of 7/14 days.

DD had a big birthday this year and got a lot of birthday money so she's hoping to go to England for a few days with her friends this summer - and maybe take the Eurostar to Paris for a day.

Well, that's all my news. Hope you have a nice evening whether you go out or stay in. And I hope 2023 is a good year for everyone and that things improve financially for us all.

Unescorted · 31/12/2022 11:38

Oh tell me how expensive teens are... And uni. We have tried to keep DD debt free & hopefully the same for DS.

I have started my NY resolutions early this year to let them bed in without the pressure of expectation. I find it is easier to maintain them if I start them mid year. I will add the enjoyable ones in at this time of year.... Go out with friends more and don't wait for other people to have ideas and remember to invite me.

lifelongfrugaleer · 31/12/2022 12:54

How organized is that wolf, I’m impressed and envious
teens are ramping up here £££ wise

em it’s NY blues, twill pass

out for tea tonight, dc wanted steak until we saw the price and I’m rubbish at cooking steak,

sorry you were unwell tayto but sounds like you did ok

£57 Sainsbury’s more than anticipated but some stuff was on offer I use

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