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

Primark bedding is great value l am sure he will love it Life

Oh I love primark bedding. It’s amazing quality for the price.

I still have some single bedding from my uni days. Brushed cotton. Super soft.

the only bad thing I can say about promark bedding is that if you don’t wash it feet and sweat in Your sleep you get the dye transfer. Housemate of mine while at uni turned blue…..

accodentallyngot drunk. Dm and df came round for dinner. DH cooked up a storm. 2 roast chickens (will be eating Chicky leftovers all week) yorkies, roasties veggies and a “gruffalo” crumble (apple and raspberry). wine. Lots of wine.

df is currently reading stories to the dc after having played brio trains with them. They love grandad.

catface has taken up residence on dms lap. She loves her grandma.

dh did a food shop £130. He had a list. He’s done a meal plan.

im off all week on study leave. Exam on Thursday.

Ah maybe I should have washed it first or I may have a Smurf ds

Em that does sound a great Sunday.

Socathe similar feelings here re climate change. Had the towels out all day, just stuck on the radiators to finish off, only needed the heating for this one hour boost all weekend. Weather is mild even in the North.

Need six months is a long time.

Decaf hope the recovery goes well.

Welcome Lily

We are getting winter bedding as an early present from PIL. Got the Primark brushed cotton winter scene for DD today £17 but no sign of the king size in the robin bedding. 🕵️

Walked along to the Cenotaph with DD for Remembrance Sunday Service as she is in scouts then headed to the shops with her in tow as she's a good shopper for 11!

£43 in home bargains (£30 Christmas)
£26 in aldi (few £ for Christmas)
£64.50 Primark (£41.50 for five presents and winter bedding).

Sorry likely missed updates off. Hope everyone is okay. Trying not to let Christmas overwhelm me. Repeats to self we still have six weeks!

Thanks need will check out the cookbooks. It's my birthday soon so if family ask what I'd like I might suggest one. I don't cook anything spicy because of the kids but I can just tone everything down easily anyway. DS so far will give most things a go and DD is very fussy but also just generally unreliable in that half the time she won't eat things I know she likes anyway. So I just try to cook varied balanced meals and if they want to eat they eat, and if they don't want to then they don't have to.

We had laundry on the line today for first time in quite a few weeks. Agreed felt very strange given its November! It wasn't fully dry when we took it in but just a little damp so finished it off easily on the radiators, we put the heating on when we got back from the park as had gotten cold by then and the kids were cold too from park.

Spent about £10 in Tesco's on groceries so a LSD today. Kids Sunday activity was a frugal trip to a park, the only expense for that was a tiny bit of petrol as we did drive there and back (not a local park). Definitely getting into the swing now of spending less on the weekends with the kids so that's good.

This weekend was super spendy but was a post Covid celebration night away with friends for 4 out of 9 of our 40th birthdays
Bottomless Brunch €45
Dinner €65
Hotel €134.50
Cocktails €48
Parking €7.50

I'd saved €200 for it, I didn't realise it was 5* hotel, so worth it though.

Friday spends - €37.50 pub grub, I'll get €16 reimbursed, €25 OTC exam at Specsavers, €20 two pairs of earrings, €25.80 penneys(primark) slippers, pjs, facemasks
Sunday €32 penneys - makeup bag, jacket for casual wear, €9 pizza from local guy who reopened after being shut for a couple of months

Sounds totally worth the spends happier

Sounds like a great weekend happier.

NSD today woohoo.

I'm contemplating cancelling a holiday next year. We have two UK breaks booked, only cheapy airbnbs but I booked them before the govt went back on the energy cap (reducing it from two years of help to six months) and I'm worried about costs rising in April. Aside from cost I'm also a bit worried I've used too much annual leave ahead of DS starting school next September.

Ideally I'd cancel the June one but unfortunately would lose our deposit so not an option. The other I can cancel for a full refund but that's the one I'd rather still have.

I know this isn't a bad problem to have as we are fortunate we will be able to afford a holiday next year. I'm just being very indecisive, I think we could just about afford to still do both and before this year we hadn't had a holiday since before DS was born. But I just keep thinking it would be sensible to save some money. Argh

Whizzing through this thread (thanks, life) and end of previous one. Not really across the deets, but decaff, good to hear your surgery is done, and best of luck for a clear outcome.

My impression is that everyone is super-organised about Christmas, and I have done sod all, apart from a few groceries. We don't do much viz. present exchanges, haven't for years, and we don't have a tree since Ddog joined the household. But I will decorate (all from existing stock of decs) and greenery culled from various walks, so fairly frugal on that front. And there will be plentiful food. I have just started making mental lists of ideas for gifts for those to whom I do give (DS, 2 nieces, DS' girlfriend, DH probably), and will commit some of those to paper and budget soon. But entertainment will be of the free music in lovely churches variety, rather than paid-for concerts and theatre this year.

Thank you for your good wishes regarding my parents' move. We did it! Ancient Ps safely deposited in their lovely, spanking new flat, and they love it. Unpacking pretty much done, pictures up, cardboard all cleared away, champagne toast shared. Everyone hugely relieved. Still a fair bit of admin to do - new GP, audiology clinics, dentist, podiatrist that sort of thing - but they have signed up for supper evenings and quiz nights and joined the library and the book group, so already settling in.

Ddog has his op tomorrow, so that will be the thick end of £300. Also planning to return to the dining room redec project, and various other body-and-soul type things this week.

Last of (my personal) big bills to be settled this week, and then the fox can see the rabbit so to speak. Frugal food - am determined to eke out what we have in November, ahead of December's feasting. We had an omelette and greens on Friday, a big vegetable soup on Saturday, fish finger sandwiches last night, mushroom stroganoff tonight. I can make another big veggy soup for lunches for the next couple of days. I have the ingredients for a favourite pasta dish with roquefort and broccoli tomorrow and I can stretch two sausages and a few bits of chorizo with green lentils, carrots and onions into a cassoulet on Wednesday. And only then, when the last square of chocolate and crumb of cheese has been eaten, will I admit defeat and go shopping.

Great to hear the move has gone so well bigskies

We’ve only just started Christmas shopping here. And slightly pulling my hair out at peoples’ lists, with reasonable priced items, but a £7 delivery cost. I guess I’ve just got used to buying things on Amazon prime 😩

We’ve got a holiday booked for 2023, and 2024. But we’ve not told the DC incase we decide to cancel when the balances are due. Who knows what finances will be like then.

Hi all

Pleased to report I'm feeling a bit stronger physically, trying to wean off the painkillers and made it out on a short walk today.

Emotionally im a bit up and down as to be expected and glad DH is around for the rest of this week on paid compassionate leave which was a very pleasant surprise

Frugaleering wise i said frugaleering was on hold which is still is to an extent but we've been chipping away at Christmas presents mainly via vinted. Also as DH is off I'm sending them to the local shop rather than paying extra for home delivery and have saved £4 so far doing that, every little helps as they say.

Off to read the rest of the thread now 😃

&60 accupuncture today. To release the tension in my neck spine back everywhere. Had a couple of quick fix stabs and then about 70 strategically placed needles to help
loosen everything. Feels way better now. But wil probably hurt tomorrow as everything looser. But it’s loose. So that’s a plus.

Happier Hope you had a fab time for the birthdays!

BigSkies Your food planning sounds great! So glad your DPs are happily settled into their new place as well, you must be so relieved (and them too!). Hope DDog's op goes well too.

We have no hols booked for 2023 unfortunately. I'm hopeful we can do a little, fairly local UK break in a caravan park or similar which is what we did in 2022. I'm also hoping to go up at least once to visit my relatives further north as we can stay in a relative's house so pretty frugal. However no definite plans, have to see how the next few months pan out financially first really 😞

Decaffe glad you're getting well supported by DH, it's great that he can take some paid leave. Hope you're recovering well, it sounds like you're doing great to be out on a walk.

Spends today:
£15.98 in Subway on lunch for me and DH, a real luxury. I think we last had a meal together out in early September and prior to that it was one year earlier. So it was nice to meet up on our lunch breaks from work as we were working near each other this morning. Highly unlikely to get that opportunity again any time soon so made the most of it.
£29 on photographs of DS that he had taken at nursery. Admittedly it was not an amazing photo as he isn't smiling and looks slightly worried. However it's still cute and we got DD's baby room photo so feel obligated, and no way could we afford to get him photographed anywhere else. XL print is for us to go on our living room wall next to DD's one, and then 4 desk prints, one for my DPs and the other 3 will probably go to my DD, my DB, and BIL for equity.

Fairly spendy but on the plus side have had an assurance from job 2 that I will get my September and October pay in one go as part of November payroll. I will believe that when I see it though. Also been told that finance dept are querying one aspect of my expenses claims for both months, that I was told repeatedly would be fine to claim as an expense, and indeed I even checked this before I started in role, and told them I wouldn't do the role if it wasn't. Have been assured 'I'm sure it will be fine'...so we'll see. It's a huge amount of money too (for me). So they have given me no assurance with when I will see any expenses claims, only my actual pay is apparently coming in November payroll.

Tomorrow should just spend £2-£4 on bus travel to/from job 3 depending on if DH can give me a lift home or not. Got lunch made ready. I do really need to buy my 12 month prescription prepayment certificate though that I've meant to do for weeks but never get around to, cost putting me off but necessary as I get a few regular prescriptions so it will be cheaper this way.

Sounds like a lovely weekend happier
glad you are on the mend decaf
after having a gynaecologist appointment and scan probably 18 months ago I suddenly have an appointment on Wednesday I did get the all clear from the scan results via the gp. Went due to being peri menopausal and having horrendous periods sometimes every 2 weeks but now haven’t had one for 3 months but the night sweats are now hot flushes in the day as well so still going to the appointment

nsd counting down to dh getting paid on Friday and they have finally agreed on an 8.5% pay rise so won’t be going on strike which means he will still get his Christmas bonus and annual performance bonus phew

€148.50 on 3 nail files & a new medication(€145 it better work miracles!)

€2.60 on sliced pan in local shop #frugalfail I forgot when in Lidl on Sunday

Alfie hope appt is insightful into how to live through menopause

Should be nsd today. Home studying.

ds’ parents evening this afternoon too. Currently sat with catcace and a cup of tea. It’s belting down with rain here. I was going to try and get to the gym or out for a run. But raining.

maybe later on.

Dropped Ddog at vet, lots of cuddles. Should pick him up at around 4 with his cone of shame, poor lad.

Filthy weather here today. Going to head to library for a few hours study and catch up on non-parent, non-Ddog related projects.

Began my Christmas shopping last night. Some nostalgic treats for DS from frenchclick.co.uk - we lived in France for a couple of years and he developed a taste for those sour fizzy sweets, iced-tea sirop, Bonne Maman chocolate spread...have also popped some Muji gel pens in an Amazon basket, and am surveying the luxurious sock options.

Couple of frugal wins. DHs MOT only £100. £24 for three gift sets from Body Shop. They are £8 each for Body Shop club members, reduced from £23 each.

www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/gifts/christmas-gifts/the-gift-of-joy/p/p082044
Great deal if you are a club member

£21 on a birthday present for DSIL.
£19 Morrisons top up shop (including £12 on their pizza meal deal tonight), unfortunately this does mean we've overspent on our food budget a bit this week. But I feel like overall I've really been managing to keep top up shops to a minimum recently.

It's payday hurrah. Going to sit and do some budgeting and see what spends with have coming up this month, I know we have a dentist check up booked so that will be about £45 for all three of us. Also work out how much more we need to spend for Christmas presents (shouldn't be much now).

Spends:
£2 bus fare to work
£2 bus fare home from work
£1.30 milk

Might be losing a little pay tomorrow as DS has literally gone from his second back to back illness into a third. Or possibly third and fourth as he has two sets of symptoms now, wheezy chest and cough, and diarrhea, so nursery sent him home this afternoon. So I might need to take some unpaid leave tomorrow to care for him, me and DH frantically trying to sort something between us.

Morning!

socathe. I'm definitely being more careful re energy, but not to the point where I'll freeze before putting the heating on, so I'm lucky. An hour morning and night, switching off the hot water heating when I think we've plenty, etc, turned heating down a degree, using our fake Oodies But still use the tumble on days like today when it's rained all day and I need to dry some stuff for the hospital. Enjoy the pizza!

Nice frugal wins kessie

Hope Ddog okay skies, how is he now?

So sorry re your DS weight, hope he's okay. Feels relentless at times doesn't it?

Good luck re the appointment Alfie

No holidays booked here either weight, Subway sounds great.

Glad you are feeling a little better decaf, it's early days. X

Spends have been reasonably minimal here.

£32 Lidl (got a lot, and feel I could make a lot of meals and got my free bakery item, a big tiger bread loaf so will make spicy butternut squash soup tonight).
£3 coffee
£3 TGTG Greggs - huge haul!

Think that's it!

Ddog fed up post-op. Refusing food, refusing water, won't go for a pee. He's supposed to start the post-op painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds today, to be taken with food. But if he won't take food, we can't get the meds into him. Will see how the day goes. One frugal element: the op cost £216 rather than £270 because we subscribe to a regular healthcare package throughout the year with the vet.

Weather now wet and filthy. Library yesterday was wonderfully warm, and still quite empty. But don't want to leave Ddog alone today, so back to piling on the layers and staying home.

I was in the library. Studying. Then was ousted from my table by a very smelly man. So annoying. So am on bus home. But I was about to vomit.

BigSkies Oh no I hope DDog is soon feeling better and gets back on the food.

Em ugh what a shame. I am very sensitive to smells.

Spends:
£2 bus fare to work
£2 bus fare home

Managed to squeeze in 30 mins of work from job 1 too so that's good.

On paid carers leave this PM from job 3, cos of poorly DS. DF kindly cared for him this morning so I didn't lose any pay, as I dont get enough paid carers leave to fill a whole day which is pretty stingy.