Advancing into April - Frugal Friends still being, er, Frugal.

[needastrongoneagain]

New thread.

All welcome.

That is fine work on those wardrobes, half. I am trying to ignore the need for a third coat in the loo - small spaces are harder to work in. And I need to do the skirting boards, but currently CBA.

Those wardrobes are amazeballs

sorry to hear dd is unwell half

can’t they just weigh her in the carrier then weight the empty carrier Martha?

Got a tgtg bag but wasn’t the best, £3
getting one tomorrow from Morrison
Also £40 lidl for run out of stuff

Grand work on the wardrobes half. I hope it stays that way for as long as possible and that your dd is on the mend. Did everyone escape the vets unscathed @marthasmum ?

Bought two t-shirts today (£7) and a carton of juice (£3.95). Friend cancelled lunch plans for Wednesday so I’ll be saving some money there.

north we had crispy Burmese tofu in harissa, calvero nero with dill & spring onions, green beans with preserved lemon and chilli and giant cous cous with pomegranate and cashews. For desert it was ginger and rhubarb pudding with custard. The pudding was a little solid... All in all quite edible. Aldi 0% alcohol vegan beer is really nice and only £2.70 for 6 so a bit of a win

need I hope you get help for your dad soon. Dementia is horrendous for the person and their family.

half the cupboard is very spangly clean. Well done.

born good tactics there.

Today has been a nsd plus.... I couldn't be bothered going out so didn't spend any money. Then got an award at work with a £50 voucher and a thank you card with £20 in from the owner of a lost wallet I returned.

Marvellous wardrobes!

Boo re crap TGTG bags.

Nothing wrong with general housework @Bornlazy

We had a lovely shepherds pie for tea. I bulked up the meat with lentils, grated carrots, courgette and celery and so one there's tons to have with wedges etc tomorrow for 3 adults.

Spends
£100 marathon entry (some of which is refund insurance, photos and a finisher T shirt) This may be a pipe dream but it's get me out of the door. Did 9 miles yesterday! I'm not sure I'm ready to give up marathons just yet.
£50 to my only annual subscription left (running related again).

Had done really well until today!

Martha how olds the cat? My cats nearly 9 now I decided last year she didn't need any more boosters, I sort of decided if she didn't have immunity now she never will! I also only put the flea treatment on if she starts scratching 😬

Thank you for the cat love! Also, genius suggestion about weighing the carrier. I had a very skilled vet who dealt with her with minimal trauma so all good, but could try that next time.

not sure how old she is girlie as she was a stray, but about 8 we think. I can see your point about the boosters! She is a typical moggy, pretty healthy. She was sitting on my laptop while I caught up with work tonight so I think she’s forgiven me 😂

Either forgiven or she is plotting her revenge from a comfortable place 😂

martha I have similar issues with DCat2 who freaks out doesn't like being held or petted. Just catching her to put her into the cat crate is traumatic, never mind being handled by the vet and given a needle. Occasionally she comes up and rubs herself against my shoulder or back, so I know she loves me. Although she tends to do it most when she's hungry .

Also, the worm tablet was a complete waste of money because both cats point blank refused to eat their food when I had ground up the tablet. It obviously doesn't taste very nice because they went all day without eating. I'll have to think of a better way of getting it into them - some luxury cat food or something. This is why I don't bother changing their food to a cheaper one. Speaking of cat food, I got some the other day and the pouches were smaller than normal. Does the company think we won't notice?

Morning.

Off to work in a bit but expected spends are a small top up shop of milk, bread and fruit.

Have a super day all.

Yesterday I paid 2 lots of €20 to the school for music for dc and then last night another €10 for dd to attend an extremely subsidised musical. Today I am up €5 as guides is cancelled but must take out money for swimming through the school for dd €75

Interesting to read all these stories about cats after the morning I've had. Had 1 year old kittens booked in for neutering a few months ago but failed to get them into the cat carrier, then dd succeeded last week but I couldn't contact the vet, this morning when I fed the animals I heard mewling and I counted the kittens/cats that were feeding, all were there so I searched and found the source a small kitty, there was another one there too but I'm afraid it didn't make it. However no kitten came over to look after it when I was on the search so I'm afraid it's probably not being well looked after. I will see later on how they're getting on. Must try identify which one is the mommy too.

I stopped buying wet food for dog and cats a few months ago, I was sick of all the waste with the foil pouches and hated washing out the tins. I buy cheapest beef mince and cook it up with some frozen mixed veg and add gravy and keep it in a tub in the fridge, all bowls are licked clean. It isn't any more expensive and only takes about 10 mins once a week to make a big batch, I then freeze half. I bung any leftover rice or pasta into it as well and am thinking I might start adding rice anyway as a regular thing.

unescorted I’m coming round yours for dinner! 😋

I feel for all those with fussy pets, DCat is an absolute little pest, goes on and off food. The cat food he currently likes is £££ but he really is stubborn and once he goes off it, he will just leave it all day until I crack and throw it out in fear of bugs!

Happier how many cats/kittens have you got? I have three and they all seem to go off a brand of cat food at the same time. One of them really pisses me off as she goes over to the bowls and scrapes the floor as if she's covering up shit. How insulting is that?

Tayto I can't get my cats to take worming tablets I really need to find a solution so if you find one let me know.

Gen are you better now?

£12 today (already) on a pair of under armour shorts for ds2 for our holiday. Damn these bargain sites I have on my phone 🙈 Still they were needed and were a bargain. Other spends today will be bread and then I'm meeting friends for dinner later so about £20 all in.

Bornlazy as of this morning I've 5 I think!

Momma cat, turned up as a stray before Christmas 21 at my parents 100miles away, I tried to find owner as she was obviously a pet but to no avail, she came to us on 1st Jan 22 & had 3 kittens in Apr 22, I promptly had her neutered and planned on getting the kittens neutered when it was their time. I didn't get there in time obviously! Because I discovered 2 little kittens this morning.

Oh wow happier! Do you live rurally? That’s great you’ve taken them in and cared for them. My cat came to us with a kitten, who very sadly got run over when she was one. It was strange though that before that, she’d been quite fed up with her kitten and quite mean to her eg bossing her about. That surprised me as I thought they’d live happily together - but maybe a bit like us when we’re ready for the teenagers to fly the nest.

does no one do the spot on medication for fleas and worms on the back of the neck? I’ve had that for a while as there’s no way I’d get pills down her. Although she’s even wise to the spot on as it smells strong. Also more expensive than tablets.

born catface gets a spot on flea and worming treatment.

Marthasmum I live very rurally, my house is at the end of a boreen which is a colloquialism for botharin in Irish which translates as small road. I'm half a mile in and there are six houses on the road, my neighbours aren't even within shouting distance of me!

I'm an outdoor animal person although the cat/kittens do come in in the childrens arms on a regular basis.

£19 on a jessica set from amazon for damaged nails, a second biab nail has come off within 10 days of getting them done so I'm just fed up of it and the time it takes to get them done too so I'm going to try strengthen my own nails. This set got good reviews so hopefully it'll help.

born I am sort of 80% of normal, still very tired and lacking energy and appetite is non existent. Which is actually no bad thing as I’ve a stone to lose 😄

I’ve given up. Made a dr apt for tomorrow. Bloody sinuses are giving me hell.

had my tattoo touched up today too.

Evening.

Loving the thought of kittens. I have dogs, dogs eat anything, I really mean anything.....💩🤢

It's really lingering isn't it @Gensola. These things can really take it out of you. Be kind to yourself and rest.

Spends - £35 in Lidl, I had a £5 off voucher if I spent £30. Stocked up a few bits I get cheap at lidl.

Hi all, had a super day today, so came here to share!

Sold DS car toy for £5 and old babygate for £10. Had £7 from selling bag of DD clothes.

Took bunch of cuddly toys to charity shop and decided to look round each one, properly. Was so successful that I tailored it to just looking for me and DTwins (boy/girl) and will look for DH and elder DS next time.

Shop one. Mountain warehouse biker top for DS. £1

Shop two. Next trousers and hoodie for DD. £3. Brand new pink next dressing gown, and beige Boden sweatshirt for me, £5.50.

Shop three. Two George joggers for DS, £1

Shop Four. Nada.

Shop five: Brand new Pain de Sucre swimsuit for me £4. And (I still can't believe this) I have collected J G Durand champagne glasses which they brought out for the millennium, since then, when I was bought some for my 18th. Every time one smashes, my OCD of having to have complete sets, drives me to eBay, one comes up every 6mths, if that, and they are £20-50 depending on competition. I found two champagne glasses, and a set of 6 wine glasses (didn't even realise they did these!) for £7. I'm elated.

Shop six. Pink Boden cords for DD. £2

Shop 7: Brand new M&S pink pyjamas to match my new next dressing gown. £1!

So a £24.50 spend, for some absolutely smashing bits, which after using the £22 from getting rid of old stuff cluttering up the study, nets in at £2.50.

Hurrah!

Happier isn’t that 6 cats? 😂

Frugal advice please - is it a good idea to get a smart meter or not? On the one hand my meters are very hard to get to so don’t get read often enough, and I am in ignorance about the impact of our bad fuel habits. But otoh, I heard that if you have a smart meter there the chance of being charged differential rates for on / off peak use, which I doubt would work in our favour. Is this a real threat?

Been to the office today. Failed to take a packed lunch. FFS.

bangers and mash for dinner, I shouldn’t be this excited about a sausage.

Unescorted that sounds lovely. I’m a big tofu fan.

Didn’t have the greatest day today. Parent’s death has been referred to the coroner and there will be an inquest. Have now, unintentionally, fallen out with sibling. So so so tired of drama I have enough of my own to deal with.

Decided to take a trip into the city tomorrow. Throwing caution to the wind with the train fare. Hopefully it will lift my spirits somewhat. Might even buy myself a cake.

Ohhh half thank you for your post. I’ve remembered I have sausages in the fridge. Might cook them as an evening watching snack.