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

[needastrongoneagain]

New thread.

All welcome.

That's interesting re the credit cards. I might look into that. The problem I had with my last one was that when I stopped using it they cancelled it so this way it would be getting used and then cleared each month and I'd benefit from points.

Hi new people...

Food prices are bonkers. I guess we all got used to super cheap food. Is it Tesco that are doing large joints for low per kg? Morrisons had a deal on for salmon the other day but you have to buy the whole fish. I have got out of the habit of buying at the beginning of the month in bulk. It is so much cheaper than weekly or ad hoc shopping.

Home Bargains have a long drain unblocker brush which works really well for getting hair / dirt out of drains, vac tubes and out of the way places in the washing machine. They are £2.50 for 2. They have saved me buying 2 washing machines, 1 dishwasher and several bottles of drain unblocker. I have not used it on the inlet tube for the washer... But it might be worth a try em

On a trip to Birmingham for work. Bit miffed b/c the place booked for lunch is more expensive than the max amount covered by expenses. My humour is not helped by the irritating person behind who is playing really poor poppy style d&b without headphones. I may need an alibi.

you were with me unescorted. I defo remember it

Yes Tesco Unescorted. What I've pulled out of my bath drain with those unblocker brushes has to be seen to be believed 🤢 I have long hair and I'm surprised I'm not bald as I must shed like crazy, Vacuum cleaners always end up needing hair cut off the brushes too.

To be fair. Now I’ve gone for the new machine I bet you anything if I plugged mine in and tried it it would work. So I’m not going to even go there.

I do have one of those drain snake thingys. My hair sheds like anything. It’s insane. Luckily I have a lot of it. But eugh. I washed hair the other day at the hotel we stayed at and I swear the amount that fell out I could have knitted a new me.

been for breakfast this morning with dparents. They treated us. Yum.

and have ripped out the majority of the plants in our front garden. In preparation for the make over. Woooooo. I just went for it. The kids “helped”. 😂

now at the stables for a private jumping lesson. Yay.

Thanks born I will call in there at some point. At £6 per kg it is cheaper than mince.

Here is a twist.... Irritating d&b boy left his wallet on the train. I am torn... Obviously I will post it back but do I put a note in asking him to tun his music down on his next train trip.

£6 on ice creams for me and the dc. Not a bad spot

£240 on an equestrian body protector sheesh. But hopefully she has stopped growing now. £50 on other spends

didn’t get to ikea but Will go Thursday when it rains.

Intrigue by the drain things but know it would be gross as likely never done here

We used to do the same thing re credit cards as DH used to incur really high work expenses which we always put on the marks and Spencer's credit card, used to get a few hundred quid in vouchers each year.

Spends today - 20p. The scrap man came round at work and gave me some cash for a load of old knackered machine spares that have come off various repairs and services we've accumulated from customers equipment that would need to be scrapped anyways. It's covered my Sainsbury's shop, including the luxury of buying some breaded fish for tea, which we are having with home made wedges and peas. This is a real treat for us as I rarely buy stuff like this!

Feel the pain re the body protector @lifelongfrugaleer, riding is certainly not a cheap pastime!

£37.98 for a new bbq grill tray for outdoor cooking.

Good thought about the credit card, we have a one that gets cleared via direct debit every month but tends to be on bigger purchases / spending abroad. I'm trying to track food spending at the moment and keep it under £500 in a four week period. Starting this week.

Yay re the scrap man money need

Sold some old football nets for £20 straight into DS's savings account though as they were his.

@lifelongfrugaleer yep. The body protector is expensive. But worth it.

she will probably more than likely struggle with wearing it if it’s the first time she’s worn one. I only got mine Christmas 2021. So have had a year with it. And it takes some getting used to.

I did some super jumping today (if I do say so myself!) really pushed myself to canter the jumps and ended up doing a personal best. 70cm cross poles all in canter with lots of direction changes. So much fun. I’m registered for a show may bank holiday so want to make sure I’m comfortable with the height and speed.

pony was amazing. Superbly responsive. Very bouncy. But I was in control. Woooo

£42 school supplies/craft store. Posca paint pens x 8 and some plastic eggies. Me and the kids then went to the beach and picked up some stones to decorate as well as the eggs. Sat out in the sun and did this. So fun.

I am keeping those pens well away from them though.

What a lovely view @ememem84

@kessiebird getting a credit card for us was a massive eye opener re food spends. Yes we had the weekly shop set at an amount which I usually go under or over by about £20 depending on what’s needed. But it’s the top up shops that really made us look at our spending. So many small amounts and they all add up. Obviously some of it is necessary, but when you look back and think ‘that was me going for a loaf of bread and some milk, so how come it’s over a tenner?’

£60 on hair coloured today. But I do only get it coloured once a year because it’s curly so the re growth doesn’t show up as much as if it were straight. I love it!

Spent £8 today on my Pilates class, no other spends.

£50 charity donation. £40 garden stuff -blame the good weather. £18 coop.

It’s an update body protector as she has grown out of her other one so used to wearing them.
hopefully she won’t grow anymore

hair cuts today for me and dd £75

£100 new gate

Just paid £240 for our Devon holiday, my dad kindly gave us £100 towards it and I used £100 from savings (which means I've not saved anything this month but not lost anything either!) It's really cheap for 4 nights in a 3 bed caravan in Devon and I'm really looking forward to it.

£15 in the coop on food essentials, planning on doing a big food shop on Friday in Aldi to stock up on supplies to take with us.

I reckon the last couple of weeks of this month will be very tight again but hopefully will have been worth it!

I put two 'posh' dresses to be sold in a dress agency shop and found out one sold and I'll get £38 for it!! Really happy with that, it's definitely more than I'd have asked for if selling via FB.

Also got my vouchers for specsavers through work which gives me £50 off glasses and hopefully a refund of £25 for the eye test. It was worth the bureaucracy to get it!

Need to get dd a new swim costume for the holiday and will get a cheap (Greggs) lunch in town.

£57 next for new trousers for ds who has grown AGAIN!

£32 cafe for brunch - mum dad DH me and two dc

Week is turning out well: Dmum's CT scans all clear, no cancer. Consultant was reassuring, pointed out that she is gaining weight, albeit slowly from a low base, which was the last outstanding 'symptom' that she had been obsessing about. Cheerful relief all round! My father can stop crying now, and DM announced that she 'feels fatter already'. I have again raised the possibility of her seeking help for anxiety, in light of the way she has put herself through the wringer since new year, interpreting every sign in the worst possible light. She has conceded she might talk to the GP about it.

£55 yesterday for share of birthday/anniversary lunch for DM and DF.

13 year old washing machine alas, can't be fixed under the policy. So I will have to replace it. If I stick with Bosch, I think the cheapest one is £399 from AO, then another £40 for installation and recycling the old one. Anyone got any better suggestions? I have money set aside in emergency pot.

@BigSkies2022 thats great news you must be so relieved about your DM.

NSD here! Finally. Woop.

Great news about DM
i would stick with a good basic Bosch

Glad to hear about your mum bigskies

curls you’re lucky with your hair, I have loads of white hair with naturally dark so my roots show after 2-3 weeks!

£400 second payment on my crown 🙄 dental, I’m not Camilla 🤣 currently have a horrible temporary crown for two weeks then back for the permanent one.

in an unexpected twist after being turned down for a small promotion I’ve now been offered to interview for a massive one - would be a £10k pay rise and a much more senior role. So now madly preparing for that.
DH is due to have surgery on 11 April and has been unwell - we had a warning from the allotment that we haven’t done enough on it but when I explained they were okish, I think if we can get going as soon as possible after his surgery it should be ok.

gen best of luck.

Washing machine arrived!!! Wahoooo! 5 loads done. Wooooooo!!!

spent the afternoon doing laundry and lugging things to the dump while DH tackled more of the garden.