Frugal the flip to make the festivities fun

[lifelongfrugaleer]

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

don’t panic frugaleers

I’ve been after •simple” for a while and have just looked on our library’s catalogue too. But they don’t have it. Booooo.

i was meant to get up early today and have a run. But it’s chucking down with rain! So I’m staying in bed. Dd is asleep next to
me. She slept through last night. Win!!!!

I think we’re going to the sky tower today.

yesterdays spends $20 supermarket - moisturiser, crazy looking cookies and raspberry Pepsi.

also $44 chemist on Clinique face wash. I’ve been using dhs man face wash since we’ve got here and needed something more normal for my skin. Yes I could have got cheaper but this is what I know. And it lasts for ages. So will take it home and use it up. Should last me around 6m.

£88 Amazon on bits for home - trouser hangers, a fleecy hoody for DH, a razor holder for bathroom some storage bags.

Spends
£4.99 amazon. soup container for DH to take to work since his subsidised canteen is putting prices up he's said he's taking food in.
£4.99 renting film
£40 takeaway food and hopefully £20 to claim back as it was two different types of take out. Will be leftovers for tomorrow.

£52 Waitrose on food for the next 3 days, plus some cleaning stuff, store cupboard bits and two fancy squashes (so I can soothe my sore throat with hot drinks. It’s getting worse by the hour, I can hardly swallow now, argh).

£30 flowers to a friend who’s had some bad news.

3 passport applications submitted - think it was £108 for 2 DC and £84 for me, with our documents being returned by recorded delivery. And I still have to pay for recorded delivery to send the required documents to them, but have to wait to find out whether they accept the photos of the children first. Two out of three pics were graded ‘maybe useable, maybe not’ by the website when I uploaded them so I will have to see what the human says.

We’ve had a damp problem in our conservatory for a while, which I’m ignoring because we are pulling it down and extending the kitchen in its place this year. So we just keep it locked off and I try not to have sleepless nights over it. However, I’ve realised today that we’ve actually got water properly coming into the conservatory and it’s also soaking into the shared wall between the conservatory and the kitchen, which has electrics on. So I’ll need to get someone out to have a look at it. I know from prior experience that roofers don’t want to touch conservatories, and conservatory people just want to sell me a new one, so I suspect this could be a tricky one 😕.

Evening.

Only the food shop today. Went to Sainsbury's as I had a £9 voucher if I spent £80 but really struggled to spend that much, ended up stocking the stores up further so didn't buy anything that will be wasted but it was hard getting to the required amount and I know some stuff is cheaper at Lidl anyway, so refused to buy! Bought a birthday present too for my little niece to make it up.

Couldn't get going at work, first post Christmas return blues.

Hope the throat eases half, sounds painful.

Hugs to those with ill family members, or are poorly themselves. It’s a tough time of year.

It’s my dads birthday today. I went round earlier to give him his gift. Me and my brother managed to track down some original Peanuts comic books which he used to own. He gave his own to us when we were kids and I think they just got overused and trashed in the end. His face when he saw them was an absolute picture. It was lovely to regift them to him, as I know both my and my brother adored them.

Big stock up food shop, £160. And an extra shift at work today so a small top up to this months wage packet.

Thank you very much for the kind good wishes re. mum. She transferred to a proper bed and ward early this evening - has her own room and a shower and lav en-suite! She feels hungry for the first time in a week. Still not clear at this point what they think is the issue, what the plan is, what they hope to achieve for her while she is in hospital, the criteria for discharge...Some of the people in the urgent care centre were waiting for admission for over 24 hours just sitting on hard chairs, so she has been treated really very well, even during the period while she was just being 'warehoused'.

Tomorrow I will do some cleaning here - start to take down and pack away Christmas decs.

Just reading the many entries and catching up! Happy new year to all. I was back to work today and felt like I made a slow and frustrating start. One of my lovely colleagues is off long term sick which will make a big hole in our already short staffed team.
finances are a bit messy too…I’ve been robbing from all the different pots I have and need to restock and rein it in. I spent a fortune on Xmas food too and thought we’d have loads left, but we seem to have eaten it all!
my resolutions aren’t as well thought out as many of yours, but along the lines of going low carb again and trying to stay within the spending parameters I set myself. I’m good at setting budgets but not at sticking to them.
time and big sending particular hugs. It sounds like your DM has something very similar to the UTI my DDad was in with (fingers crossed for you it’s only that). And time that does sound hard, sending thoughts your way.
I did go for a wild swim with a friend from work in North Yorkshire yesterday - absolutely freezing and we weren’t in for long, but did the trick. I need more of that this year - and it’s free!

Hello everyone, I changed my job a year ago and am earning several hundred pounds less a month now, but the upside is that I no longer work shifts and have evenings, weekends and bank holidays free. I have had to alter my budget accordingly and panicked at the time but we have manged, neither of us are on huge wages. I am good at making low cost meals, using leftovers etc so we do eat well. We are very luckily mortgage free and have almost paid off our car loan which is our only debt, but need to take out another to do some much needed home improvements. Christmas was a much scaled down version this year as we did a secret santa as a family and reduced what we normally spend. Am wandering around the house these days like Florence Nightingale with my rechargeable battery powered lanterns and am monitoring everyone's shower times and the amount of laundry we are doing. The family have all agreed that secret santa has taken a lot of financial pressure off so will likely do the same again next year.

No spend yesterday and have won £125 on the premium bonds so that’s good

That’s great news blue

Woke at 3:30am checked my email & I'd received my electricity bill. With the government credit of €200 & electric Ireland's €50 winter credit I'm in credit so the €186 odd euro went against my cc, along with the €1200 cash I had from Christmas lodged yesterday plus money I'd already assigned to cc I did transfer of €1461.51 to my cc last night. Balance is down to €2518 from over €4k at start of month. I've been debt free since 2020 & want to get back to that asap.

Excellent

Great chunk off the cc happier

Well done Happier

Day two of back to work and still feel like I'm dragging my arse through treacle.

Ocado coming today £50

Did meter readings at weekend but British Gas are crap so still no idea what I owe/where I am in relation to usage

Good news blue
happier that's brilliant re the cc

Hello diversion

First day back at work for me wolfcub been happily filing emails and sorting spreadsheets, while I should be looking at the list of reports I need to do while it's this quiet. Gonna turn emails off now and try to crack on

DH and DS left early for work and college. DD still off but she's going to invite a friend for a sleepover tomorrow so hopefully that's a low cost activity to get us to the weekend. Day out with Spendy friend Saturday, that's my lovely friend who loves to spend a lot when we take the DC out. Will see if I can cut costs there!

Ooh, premium bond win! Well done, blue! I was given £15 in PBs as a christening present, and have never won a penny. I keep them as a sort of quaint antique.

Feeling somewhat rubbish today after a sweaty night of coughing. But have run a bath with Japanese bath salts, and plan to put on some make-up, and potter about with undemanding chores. DM very much better in hospital today, so perhaps it is a matter of the right antibiotics, fluids, rest and putting weight back on. She's 6 stone 11! But has showered, is eating again, and may well be discharged tomorrow, with follow-up OP appointments for further investigations.

In the meantime, Ddad is being taken to his dermatology appointment by DSIL, and requires biopsies and treatment for an old friend, basal cell carcinomas. THis is what happens when you put a ginger in the sun. He however shrugs off any health problems, and never spends time on worry or regrets.

We're lucky that the NHS seems to be working pretty well for our parents right here, and that we're able to pull together as a family and support each other.

Energy statement shows we are now £200 in deficit after December's heating binge. Oh well. Barring any further nasty cold snaps, we'll work it off by April/May. Once DS is back at university, and I can get back in the library, we'll be back to heating just a few hours in the evening, and probably one floor mostly.

I typed up a long post yesterday but MN was having technical issues and my post disappeared.

Yesterday was a NSD.

I've spent a bit today but my banking app has been quite slow since Christmas and isn't showing any of today's expenditure yet.

I've taken down the decorations and packed them away. I just need to take down the tree itself and put it in its box under the stairs. Will get DD to help me with that shortly.

I also need to take advantage of a brief lull in the rain to put out the paper and cans recycling. It seems to be raining constantly atm and I end up with a recycling mountain in the utility room. Roll on summer!

DD and I sat down and discussed college options for next year. She was offered a place last year and deferred it. It wasn't her first choice but the points requirement for her first choice are very high. She opted to do a one year course (PLC) instead and re-apply this year. Thing is, it's unlikely she'll be offered a place on her preferred course this year. The points requirement is unlikely to drop significantly. So she's inclined to stick with the course she's been offered because it's a sure thing. I've told her to make an appointment with the career guidance person at her college and discuss it fully with him/her.

DD got a phone call today about a job she's applied for (weekend job). They're going to do an online interview on Monday. It would be great if she got the job because she can use the money to pay for her bus fare and lunches etc. I'm a little stretched paying for these things and saving for university fees at the same time. I should add that uni fees are lower here than in the UK because our government pays the tuition fees. But we have to pay an annual student contribution which amounts to €3,000. Ex has assured me that he will pay half of this.

I'm back to work tomorrow and dreading it. I was off work sick before Christmas, so I'll have about three weeks of e-mails to catch up on.

Skies I'm sorry to hear about your Mum. I'm assuming you've told the doctors about her fatigue and wight loss? Hopefully they can run tests to get to the bottom of it (and it's nothing too serious).

Time really sorry to hear about your Dad . Very hard for you but even harder when you have to deliver the bad news to your Mum and prepare her for the inevitable.

Diversion well done on managing on a reduced salary. I laughed at your Florence Nightingale description .

blue great news about the premium bonds win.

Happier that's brilliant about the credit card payments. Well done! The government credits of €200 x 3 off the electricity bills are really helping.

Forgot to say that I've been looking to buy a bookcase for ages but the ones I looked at (around this time last year) were about €1,000. So I put it on the long finger. I had a look just now and one of them is reduced to €350. I have some savings in the Credit Union so I could probably afford it, but I really need to get a washing machine in the next month or two. I think I mentioned already that there's a piece broken off the inside of my washing machine drum and it's left a jagged bit exposed that's tearing holes in my clothes. It doesn't happen every time I do a washload, but it happens occasionally. So I have sulked a bit resolved to be sensible and get the washing machine.

Hi,

Not at work today so I’ve had what I call a ‘get shit done day’. All windows flung open. Tree and Decs down and in the loft, downstairs all cleaned and hoovered. Towels washed, bedding washed, upstairs and bathrooms all cleaned. Various bits of life admin (calls, emails) done. House feels all fresh and organised. And I’m now feet up with a cup of tea and the last 2 pieces of Christmas stollen.

Tayto think of the energy saving that a newer washing machine will bring. My washing machine pauses or thinks it has no water coming through several times in a wash for months now, need to get it looked at. I've much love for this washing machine as we bought in 2008 when we moved into the house so it has served me well, previous owner of my house's washing machine resides in my shed as a backup, my friend had it for months this year when hers broke.
It's horrible having to make the adult decision between a want and a need isn't it?
Now that you mention uni fees, I've been looking at my budget and wondering what expenses I need to allow for, for secondary school. School is a DEIS school so €180 covers books, breakfast, lunches and lockers, I googled price of school bus as I know it was free this year so that's €350, uniform obviously, copies, what else?

Thanks for all the positivity re my cc debt, I'm looking at it thinking though €100 per week will mean it'll take almost 6 months to clear so wondering if I should use savings towards some of it, paying interest is a disaster, I'll search and see if theres any 0% option for me. I'm going to reduce my savings to credit union while I'm paying it.

bigskies glad to hear your mum is doing well and your dad is taking his health problems in his stride. Just saw your update re Covid, that's all you need at this time.

Reminder to check my prize bonds online but they're registered to my parents house so I'd have heard if I won

em loving the pics and holiday updates, wow the crocodiles are incredibly scary.

I'm slowly catching up on Emmerdale, the longer episodes don't suit me, I like to squeeze in 20 ish minutes now and again but 45 mins is a bigger commitment! I'm up to 27th Dec now. It's really the only thing I watch. I do pay for Netflix and Disney+.

unescorted your dd's art installation sounds interesting. We've old baubles from family home that I haven't thrown out yet, I've visions of making them into a wreath of some kind. I need to schedule it in for next Nov/early Dec I think

halfwomanhalfchoc I renewed my own passport before Christmas, need to renew dc's now too, hoping to visit my brother and family in Canada this coming year

My broadband and mobile are out of contract, but I have to ring them to discuss it, I hate that kind of phone call. Also on my list is to check my income protection policy to see if it's adequate following divorce. Do my med1 return, do my vhi claim, mental list in operation here!

need how's your dh now?
wolf how's ddog's leg doing?

Ok I've written enough, apologies to anyone I've overlooked, I went back a couple of pages.

Spends yesterday
€15 swimming family ticket for bf/myself/both dc costs the same as if bf wasn't with us
€6 post swim snacks
€4 deodorant making us of dd's weeks trial of prime
Todays spends
€140 childcare for two half days, they're back to school tomorrow.

Hi curls could you send me over some of that get up and go to do this on the weekend please?

Plans for double date dinner with bestie have fallen through as she's got a chest infection so I'm going to blitz the house on Fri night/Sat am.

Hi all!

bigskies I’m glad your DM is being looked after and hope they get to the bottom of what’s wrong, 6 stone 11 is tiny.

happier and curls you both sound very productive- I’ve done one of about 4 washes that need doing, a meal plan and shop and made a frugal leek and potato soup from veg that was left over from before our hols and I am exhausted 😂

making a giant aubergine parmigiana tonight and freezing most of it. Also want to do a workout. Where has the day gone?!

Gen You were ill over the hols I wasn't! Being back at work helps to make me more productive too. You've reminded me to make soup from the veg in the fridge and that I've two washes to put out and two washes to fold and put away

I’m rubbish at not spending £106 school account
€8 holland and Barrett, £ 8 b&m