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

[needastrongoneagain]

New thread.

All welcome.

Time flights from Scottish airports are usually cheaper for those times life mentioned. We've not done that but we've considered it, depends really on ease of access to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Tayto sounds a productive day despite the weather. We were expecting rain here but it didn't arrive until evening so we got more done than planned.
Big hope your ds gets to some games next season. The away games generally are a great atmosphere.

We've got a lot done in the garden & kitchen this weekend. Hedges and lawn done, some weeding and plant moving done. Had 2 good meals from frozen meat that needed using, spaghetti with pork meatballs & Caribbean lamb & sweet potato curry. Enough for leftover lunches too. Then made a huge vat of bolognese & a veg soup

No exams this week for dd, one next week, then the final stretch after half term. Really hope something comes of the thyroid test, it's so hard seeing her struggle having gone through very similar with ds. He is eating a high protein diet now and that seems to have been a game changer for him. He is having such a great year on his placement, his cricket was called off on Saturday so he went to Cornwall for the weekend with a friend, happy days.

unescorted do any of you have permission to speak to medics about your mum? Good luck to your ds & hope you get out for a walk

Unfortunately not North. They are also really strict about visiting times when there are no Drs on the ward. It is frustrating... I am going to have to be reactive so that I don't upset either of them. They have a codependent relationship that I am not going to unpick. I wouldn't have mentioned it to DBro if I realised he would react in the way he did.

Good luck to your DD. And all the othe babes taking exams in the next month's. These A levels are the first proper exams that DS is taking because they are the Covid kids.

Lantern is lovely @Taytocrisps.

Keeping busy isn't a bad thing @Timetoswitch. There's no rush re funeral, but I understand too you might just wish to get things sorted.

That's so tough @Unescorted re your mum. And doubly so re your DB. The last thing you need is family conflict. Is it denial on your DB's part? I'm not sure the hospitals diagnose in truth.

Productive day @northender! Garden on our next bank holiday list of to do items. Sounds like DS is in a good place.

Quiet weekend here. No much spent other than a few extras for Eurovision. We were fed at my DSIL's yesterday.

Today I'm WFH as we've an appointment for DH at a high tech rehab clinic that uses robotics to improve outcomes for folk. It's £££ and not available on the NHS, but the cost is covered by how little we do and spend at the minute.

Spends yesterday
£12 oat milk
£40 new heart rate monitor (I'm trying to pick up the running, 33 miles last week).

Menu plan to do.

Good luck to gcse and A-evel peep’s starting today

Need I think so. If it is dementia it is going to be difficult for him. At least I have space away from it all.

Went to Glastonbury yesterday afternoon for a mooch about, bought dd a throw for her bedroom £18 which she is meant to be giving some money back for.

Other than buying a bottle of water 68p think that was it spends wise.

Ddog had his agility class in the morning and none of the other dogs turned up so he had a one to one which was a bonus!

Second your musings on the social spends Martha. Went for a walk with a friend yesterday and it turned into more of a spend than planned. Congrats on the 10k.

Yesterday was £4 on two bottles of water, £8 on two drinks in the pub after our walk and £12.25 on dinner. All unplanned and then £65 in advance for a podiatrist appointment.

Lovely day with my friend was ruined by two calls with mother and sibling being an arse. Still not made my mind up about tomorrow. Don’t want to see either of them, more so after yesterday, but still worrying about potential fall out.

Trying to distract myself today. Waiting for something to be collected so not sure if I’ll make it out while anything is open so a win there spending wise.

I happy with the jacket so far Tayto and Needs. I like it more than the others I’ve bought and it’s made it into my suitcase and that is more than can be said for at least three others. It has elasticated sleeves and is more fitted.

Good luck for those with children sitting exams.

Time I am so sorry to hear about your dad. I lost mine 5 years ago and still feel it all the time.

Good luck to exam kids. I can still remember that feeling even though it is now <cough> quite a while ago.

unescorted that sounds very difficult to manage, and so worrying and frustrating not being able to find out exactly what is going on. I hope you get some better news soon.

DS’s class is starting a residential trip today. We’ve paid up but are not at all sure he’s going to manage sleeping over - he’s never stayed away from home before and because of his SEN there’s a lot that will be tricky. It’s not far away so we’ve agreed with school to bring him home tonight (when the other kids will be massively overexcited - he won’t cope with that) and then try to see if he will stay over for the last 2 days. I dunno… I will be on tenterhooks waiting for the retrieval call 😖

Building work is slow to start because the scaffolding is still going up. They underestimated how much house there is here as it looks smaller from the front. I got a fixed price so am not listening to the grumbles, though to be fair it is an insanely big ‘cage’ around the place. Roofer is here ready to start the loft tomorrow. Packing is a nightmare and also extremely eye-opening. We just should not have this much stuff. I’ve never lived anywhere half a long as this before so didn’t realise quite how much is accumulates. Lots of stuff I could sell, in theory, but I don’t have the time, I just need my space back! It will be a race against the clock to get out of here by 27th. Eek.

It is the rules... Builders take longer and grumble more than you initially account for.

When we went for our camper van trip we distilled everything we owned into 81 boxes a bed frame and dining table and chair set. When we moved into the house it looked so empty. It now looks impossibly full.

Apparently the exam went ok. No plane vectors except as a mention but it was really a common and garden vector. Didn't quite have enough time for the last question but did most of it. Next one on Friday...

half oh crikey. Use this time to do a serious declutter.

when we moved out last year to get our work done DH was adamant that we could survive with two weeks worth of clothes and then ditch the rest. He was wrong.

Thinking of you today rum

@RumBananaSundae hope today goes as well as it can for you.

It’s all happening again here. Our lovely tenant rang last week. She’s had a terrible time of it personally and professionally and can no longer afford to live in our house. It’s only a month until her tenancy ends so we’ve agreed to break our contract as long as she leaves within the next week. She was very relieved. Such a shame.

So that’s me off to the letting agents this morning before I go to work to get it back on the market. And how’s about this for bad timing? We were talking to the people in the neighbouring property, their landlady is selling up and they have had to find a new home after 10 years of being there. If we’d known, and if they’d known what was going to happen, they could have just moved next door in the next week or so!

My thoughts are with you rum, whatever you decide to do today x

What a pain curls, but you do sound like a lovely landlord. Landlords often get such a slating.

Got the first job off the list today (contact printer about order of service), time for a cuppa then off to collect/look through Dads belongings at the nursing home. Dmum went yesterday and collect what she wanted, but they found a sentimental type item after she left which needs to be collected.

Afternoon everyone
Beautiful weather here hope everyone is enjoying it too
Good luck to everyone whose DC are having to do exams it's such a stressful time bless them and you
Time thinking about you and sending you big hugs
Curls you are such a sweetheart so kind of you
Rum hope it went ok whatever you decided lovely ,sending you good wishes
Half l dread any workmen coming in the house it's like an invasion of our privacy .
Tayto hope your weather has improved
North great work in the garden and house well done! Good to hear your Ds is doing well on the high protein diet , hope you get your Dd seen and the blood tests done
Unescorted it's very difficult dealing with the medical profession re your DMum without any consent , l feel for you
Time it will all come together it's overwhelming on times l know
Need hope you had a good appt at the rehab clinic
Em l laughed when l read about you Dh getting rid of his clothes bless him
Girlie Glastonbury sounds lovely , the festival is on soon isn't it ? Must go and look otherwise it will bug me lol , found it ! Wed, Jun 21, 2023 - Sun, Jun 25, 2023
Hope l haven't missed anyone out if l have then please forgive me
Spends today Morrisons £20 Aldi £28
Hope everyone has this lovely sunshine

Rum I hope today was as peaceful as possible for you.

Half I thought I'd decluttered before selling house & moved from there to rented accommodation before my house was finally purchased & I still have two full sheds I need to clear out of stuff.
But I need to sort out inside the house first.
Was going to spend time until collecting dd from guides making a start on my room but have to find her school tie for an official outing tomorrow and for their sixth class photo on Friday & I planted some gladioli bulbs & 1 dahlia! That's all that was in the pack from Lidl

I'm going away bank holiday weekend to celebrate my 40th again, unfortunately 5 people cancelled in last week or so, I've been so lucky with the accommodation they're allowing me apply deposit from second house to first house instead of charging me full whack, phew, two of my friends have had bad news about their dm so I completely understand why they & their other half's aren't coming but the other person I think we may have finally come to the end of our friendship. I'm going to let the effort come from her side next time as it seems to be very one sided for a number of years now.

Sorry I'm not catching up with everyone

€4:80 at local shop on two fizzy drinks & two Freddos for myself & ds to enjoy while dd is at guides

Half Oh lord, I feel you on the STUFF, the urgent need to declutter, but then having no time to ever do it, and the same for selling. However, some of my friends have been praising Vinted, so I've listed two things which are in excellent condition that I thought might have some resale value, and one of them, a dress, has just sold today for £10. In hindsight possibly I could have got more for it, but I just want to get rid of stuff really and a few extra quid is just a bonus. It would have gone to the charity shop otherwise. I need to figure out how to sort the postage on it though, going to get DH to have a look with me tonight. Our printer I think is kaput for good now so not sure how to sort it...the printers at work are terrible too so not sure I'd trust them to print barcodes. Also feel you on the one-sided friendships, I gave up on a bunch of people after having DC1 tbh and I'm glad I did as none of them ever bothered to contact me again, so I'm happy I didn't waste more previous energy.

Spends today just £2 bus fare to work, DB was working at the same site as me today so I just hung around til he had finished and hitched a lift home with him. So an LSD for me.

Best of luck to all the kids sitting exams. I still remember well how sickeningly anxious I was about my GCSEs, A-Levels and uni exams!

Curls Rubbish timing about your tenant! I hope you can find another nice tenant soon.

Morning all,

The house went back on the market yesterday morning and by the end of the day I’d got 3 viewings booked. 2 for this morning!

i was a bit early getting into town for work, so had a little mooch around the charity shops. Found myself a gorgeous leather (or it might not be, I can’t tell) jacket, biker style for £25. I’ve been wanting one for ages, it’s a classic that will never go out of fashion.

So, 2 house viewings, a PT session, then a work colleague is ill so I’ve been called in for this afternoon. Busy day!

€16.04 in lidl used the app discounts for 20% skinny burgers and southern fried chicken and got pack of henry hippos free for spending over €10. After I came home I saw a blogger praise their skinny burgers compared to dunnes ones so I was happy with taking a chance on them, I'd debated them on Sun eve and left them after me. Lidl is not my preferred supermarket but I love their seeded cob so I go there.

Curls that was very bad timing for the neighbouring tenants but hopefully you'll get sorted quickly again now.

Dd gone off on a trip with school so had to set her own alarm and get up as she was staying at her fathers house & he was gone to work, she managed it yet I'd to call her 5 times on Mon morn, maybe the excitement of it? I'm wondering if I can be cautiously optimistic of her managing to be on time for bus next year
and normally ds is out of sorts when she's not going to childminders but he was in great steam, helped feed the animals and all before we left.

Morning all, I have a day off today with a long list of things to do so I'm sat on the sofa on mn 😂

I'm down to £100 in the bank account until pay day, £40 of that needs to go on fuel.

Food wise we should be okay, I could do with baking some stuff to tide us over and will need to get milk and bread at some point.

Want to pick a hanging basket infill today and a couple more plants to put in the basket, shouldn't be more than £10. It's my dads bday next week and I'll get him something for the garden as well.

I need to ring the tax credit people as I've had a letter that indicates they don't think dd is in ft education which she is. I've emailed her college re her bus fees as she gets those reimbursed as part of her bursary.

Pay day is 9 days away 😬

Girlie that's exactly what I'd be doing if I'd a big list of jobs to do too
Think of every day that is a NSD means you've more of that £50 to do the remaining days like now it's £50/9 and tomorrow it'll be £50/8 etc, meaning you're richer!

Thank you Lifelong, Curls, Time, TheNewAndImproved and Happier for your good wishes. Yesterday was better than I could have anticipated. I did go. Mother was surprisingly normal sibling was rather childish. One of the drivers let me ride in front with them so that helped diffuse a lot I think.

Happier I’m sorry about the friendship running its course. I’m having the same with someone and it’s a strange thing.

Curls Goodo on the house viewings fingers crossed you find a good tenant.

Need I missed your mention of the clinic. I hope it helps if you decide to go for it.

Yesterday was a no spend day. Today was £2 on some yogurt and £1.49 on some cottage cheese.

Tomorrow I’m at the office and have lunch planned with a colleague and am shifting today’s would be train fare towards lunch money.

Checked some of my holiday paperwork and noticed that breakfast has been booked but not paid for. I only booked it as I thought it was prepay now I feel the pressure to eat at the hotel every day as I’ll actually be handed a bill and have to pay it. I never eat breakfast so I don’t think I’ll be getting my money’s worth.

Yes, definitely empathise with the 'doing nothing when you have so much to do' thing!! But be kind to yourself, we all have a lot on and are doing the best we can, sometimes we do just need a few mins on MN!! Girlie Happier

Spends today - £2 bus to work, £3.40 jacket potato for lunch at the van near work, little treat for myself. They are lovely and absolutely massive and it's nice to do something vaguely social with a couple of my colleagues to go together once in a while. DH picked me up from work so saved on the bus fare there.

DS crying in bed so gotta run.

Hope everyone is well. I worked from home today. I normally get loads done on the days I'm at home because I've no interruptions (by phone or in person) so I just get stuck in and plough through it all. But today I had loads of minor bitty things to do that somehow took up most of the day. I feel like I didn't achieve anything.

Anyway, not much news with me. It's been a lovely, sunny day so DD and I went for a stroll in the park at lunchtime and picked up some ice creams. I mowed the lawn after work. DD has finished her exams and is relishing her days off (she works three days a week). She's calling over to a friend's house later and they're going to have a few drinks.

Dad is coming to stay this weekend and we're going to a Viking festival at a castle on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be good for it. There will probably be loads of excited little boys running around. And me and Dad . But sure, it's something different. And if all else fails, they do whiskey tasting sessions at the castle which Dad will definitely be on for. I think some of the cast from the Vikings series will be there signing autographs, but I haven't watched it myself so I don't know who they are. I suspect it will be some of the minor characters and not the main characters.

I saved myself a few € during the week. I incurred a penalty because I didn't pay a motorway toll on time. I tried to pay the fine online and was having technical issues. Eventually I phoned them but by that stage, the penalty had jumped to around €45. I rang and explained and said that I was prepared to pay whatever I owed. The nice lady waived the fine and just charged me the initial toll. Phew! So glad I took the time to ring them.

Touch wood, references and credit checks pending we have a new tenant!

I just hope I’m not boring you all with this again in 6 months time, lol.

Well done on the fine @Taytocrisps

Just made a small top up shop list for tomorrow. Bed is calling me.