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

[needastrongoneagain]

New thread.

All welcome.

Thought we’d have a quiet day at work since the weather is awful. Oh how wrong we were! I don’t think we’ve taken so much in one day in months! Crazy busy, which was brilliant. Specially as I work for a small family owned company.

NSD. And doing well since I got less pay last month due to the snow. Plan is to keep my head down and keep going, spend as little as possible.

Lost a long post from my phone earlier in the week so more to catch up on now.
London was good. Spent £180 on food & drink & that was really not extravagant. We walked lots & when it rained we went to the V&A which we've never done before. Folk band at the RAH was fab.
Only spends since then has been groceries.
Have had lots of worries lately re dad who mum & I have a difficult relationship with. He has early stages of a behavioural type of dementia I think(diagnosed by me, chances of him admitting anything to GP, zero). Anyway, they went on a coach hol to the South coast this week & on Wednesday he got caught by a gust of wind & literally faceplanted the pavement,. He was patched up in A&E & they got back yesterday. In short I was so shocked by how bad it is & mum has zero sympathy (which I get, but just isn't helpful right now).
So this morning my plans for a peaceful weekend are toast & I'm off to adds to buy him comfy, easy to get on & off clothes, the local mobility shop for incontinence pads, a bottle & a drinks beaker & then a round of phonecalls & messaging to let people know what's happened. Luckily I have great support here but sometimes it's really feckin crap being an only child.

Oh and half I was so gutted reading your post about the building costs. I totally agree you must go for it anyway, it's been so long in the planning & dreaming & will make such a positive impact on your family life in the long run.

Sorry to hear about your dad north. But glad London was good

i also say go for the build then half, it will make such a positive impact on you to be worth the money by the sounds of it.

typical good weather when back to work and feeling better, going to start jetting the paths and patio today. Can’t do it all as some drains to the pond and there are Tadpoles

We're home, had a lovely time despite storm Noa's best efforts!! We walked over to Burgh island Ystd and took the sea tractor to get back which was a new experience for all of us 😂 kids and teens loved it.

It worked well taking my 9yo niece, she absolutely loved it and it gave my dd something to do in looking after her, taking her swimming etc which she enjoyed doing. It also meant I got a bit of time to myself to read my book!

I reckon I probably spent around £100 all in which includes dinner out one night so I don't feel that's too bad. Both girls had their own money to waste in the shop and the arcade's which was good.

Just checked bank account and once dds bus money is paid (£50) and I've paid the dvla £25 (another story 🙄) I'll be left with £200 until payday in two weeks which is do'able I think. That's really only for food and fuel although I've still got 3/4 of a tank which is good.

Sorry about your dad north
life that’s so exciting re tadpoles. We are going to dig a pond into our allotment.
girlie sounds like a nice trip.

I now have explosive runs (TMI sorry) so I can safely say it was some sort of norovirus. Sigh. No idea why it says 48 hours on NHS website and for me it’s been 5 days so far. Poor DH is having to fend for himself with a big surgery scar.

our food budget is very low already despite me not eating/shopping for almost a week, prices are outstripping us I think so we may have to start actively looking at eating more veggie food and shopping elsewhere. We have been just about keeping on top of it so far by meal planning and not wasting food. We also feel the pinch in hols as we both get free lunch at work and I forget how much that saves us.

Sounds like you had a great time girlie

That sounds like you got great fun value for your money Girlie!

ouch North, your poor dad. And I don’t envy you being an only child. I am the oldest child so defo have more than my share of the responsibility for the family (my sisters did literally nothing for DM’s recent milestone birthday; in spite of me only asking them to do one thing - book a restaurant - they decided it would be easier to come to
mine for lunch and let me know their plan just 3 days beforehand, when I nagged them AGAIN 🙄). But still, it would weigh heavy on me to be the only one.

I hope it passes soon Gen

Better weather today. I’ve done a cost of anti-mould paint in one of the two wardrobes but I have a suspicion that the previous mould stains - which have been treated but are still visible - will show through even after 2-3 coats. I have some stain blocker paint, perhaps I should do an undercoat with that before the anti-mould on top? The internet says mould paint has to be the topcoat but doesn’t say whether a stain blocker undercoat will make it less effective or not. I have told DH he’ll have to do some of it, he’s not very good at painting but inside his a wardrobe it probably doesn’t matter much. It’s awkward as the inside space is taller that the door openings and with fixed shelves in the way so it’s very hard to reach it all.

Oh no gen, sounds horrible. I hope DH is recovering well too.

sounds like you have weighed up all the options well half, and going ahead is the way forward. Sounds like a good bit of frugaleering will be required in the next few months.

Hope your Ddad is recovering well north and boo to the lost weekend.

Dmum is being tricky again at the moment. But at least, as DH pointed out, she only started up again right at the end of our holiday. She posted a letter to Dbro’s ex today, I suspect there will be fall out with this mainly because his lies will be exposed. I’m staying out of it, and fingers crossed she wrote the address wrong 🫰

Need to do a review of the finances once we see our April payslips. DH is good at updating the spreadsheet 😁

north does your dad have fronto temporal dementia? That’s the type my DDad has.

I was thinking it was low spends today. But actually I have spent £3 on a costa coffee while watching DS2 at football, and £4.80 on teacakes and drinks while on a walk with a friend. Plus £60 buying tickets to a comedy night in Nov for me and same friend for her birthday. Which means also getting the train down and staying overnight…yikes.

on the plus side DS1 is on a job trial as a pot washer at a local pub and has texted to say he’s enjoying it. DP and I also planning to clear out a cupboard tomorrow and he’s persuaded me to get rid of the tent. I’ve kept it for years as I have fantasies about camping (hover on the camping threads here). But realistically no one else in the family wants to go, and I have a friend with a nice tent that I could go with. I actually feel quite emotional letting this go!! Also, I have one of those beach trolleys that I bought with similar fantasies of outside living (are you seeing a theme here?) that I’ve hardly used. That’s good enough to sell but I think the tent just needs to go to a charity shop.

Sorry you are feeling so rough gen
Sounds like you were really frugal but still had a good holiday girlie
Sorry to hear you are having family stress too time
hope the anti mould paint works half, we used it successfully in a bathroom
life I hear you oh the back to work gloom, I’m back next week after a few days off.

Spendy day as bought a jet wash but applied all the discounts and got it for £176 instead of over £200

£32 sains but that includes a present, £32 outdoor shop and discovered they sell
my dog food the cheapest anywhere

disnt get half of what I wanted done but that’s gonna have to be ok

@Gensola sorry to hear you’re still struggling, hope it comes to an end soon.

@marthasmum great to hear your DS is enjoying his new job. I think it’s great when they want to get out there and earn for themselves if they can. It’s not easy these days to find anything when they’re young.

DS2 had a sight test today and is going to give contact lenses a go, as he hates wearing glasses.

My dad paid me in advance for the work I’m going to be doing for him whilst he’s on holiday. So I’ve finally got my emergency £500 back to where it should be. And I’ve put aside the last £100 for DS2s school trip that needs to be paid for at the end of the month.

Missed some updates
sorry you are feeling so unwell Gen, gws

good news on the pot washer job and liking it

meeting my friends for lunch today and might mooch the shops. Could be spendy

Afternoon peeps.
Gen - sorry to hear you are still unwell.

North - yay for the lovely London trip.

Curls - good going getting your emergency £500 back to £500.

I have friends coming over for dinner... They are vegan so I have been trying to work out what they can eat. I have no idea what some of the numbered items on ingredients lists are. I am erring on the side of caution and making things from scratch..

I don't normally look at the ingredients list on made food... It has been eye-opening. At first I thought it was just vegan food with all the additives so I checked non vegan food. I can report it is all food. Another reason to cook from scratch.

@northender glad you enjoyed London. What did you think of the V&A? I love going there and always find something new to look at.

Sorry you are still under the weather @Gensola . I do hope you’re better soon. Being ill is no fun.

The weather has been quite nice this weekend. Yesterday I went for a walk with a friend and had a no spend day. Today I felt hungry so I spent £4.50 on some groceries. I heard about a community kitchen where I live so I walked past but wasn’t brave enough to go in. Will try again another day.

I compared T-Shirts I had bought in Marks and Primark and think the cotton and fit are nicer for the Primark shirt. I was pleasantly surprised. I am looking for one to go with khaki trousers so will go back and see what they have.

£74 in Aldi, I'm hoping (other than milk and bread) we should have enough food to last a couple of weeks.

I've made a vat of chilli con carni which should last us a few days.

I've been watching the smart meter and am really shocked at how much the oven uses, it's around 1p a minute which doesn't sound a lot but it soon adds up.

Had the most delicious Sunday dinner today £17 inc drink and tip, £6.60 parking ouch, £24 shirt, £6 tea and teacake
lovely day with besties

work tomorrow 🙁🙁

Home from my weekend away in Galway. It was relatively low spend. We got a take away on Friday night which was €10 each and we went out for dinner and drinks last night which was approx. €60. Oh and one or two taxis in and out of Galway. But not bad for a weekend away. My friend lent me some dresses to wear to DD's graduation at the end of May. So I've made a saving there.

We didn't do all that much over the weekend but we spent a lot of time chatting and catching up. On Saturday afternoon we drove to a local retail park and had a wander around the shops. My friend is looking to do up her new apartment and buy some furniture for it (most of her furniture came with the apartment and she wants to replace some of it). So we looked around some furniture shops and I looked for a dress for DD's graduation but didn't find anything. On Saturday evening we traipsed around a couple of restaurants but were turned away because we hadn't booked a table. Eventually we found a tapas place that had a cancellation and we had the most amazing meal with a bottle of wine. Then we went into a nearby bar and had drinks. Today was sunny so we drove to Salthill (by the sea) and went for a walk along the prom and stopped for an ice cream.

I had a lovely week off but I'm not not relishing my return to work tomorrow.

We enjoyed the V&A rum but ran out of time to go into one of the exhibitions
Unescorted hope the meal went well. What did you do?
Tayto sounds like a good weekend.
Girlie we love Bigbury. It was one of our favourite beaches when we lived in Plymouth.
Marthasmum it's frontotemporal that I think he has. When I read the list of symptoms, he ticked every box. I'm hoping to get him seen by GP tomorrow & will push for an MRI scan based on the impact his head has taken from the fall but hoping it will give us some other answers. Would you mind me messaging you?

Had a lovely riverside walk with my retired nurse friend & her dog today then she came with me to see mum & dad. It's been a stressful few days but he's enjoying the food we've been taking him. No spends today. Meals planned for next 3 days then it'll just be DD & me as DH is off down to Devon for 10 days.

Sounds like a lovely weekend @Taytocrisps. I’ve just gotten your message, I rarely use anything other than the app, so huge apologies for the longest ever reply time!

Glad the weather didn’t completely ruin the break @Girliefriendlikespuppies. Hope the food stretches out for two weeks.

Nice one re the dinner @lifelongfrugaleer.

Any better @Gensola? Hope so.

London sounds great @northender

Good news re the job for DS @CurlsandCurves

Hooray for the savings top up @marthasmum.

Sorry if I’ve missed folk

A low spend weekend for once, just bought some hydration tablets. I’ve ordered some clothes for DH, but won’t count as spends until I know we will keep them.

I’ll post my menu plan in a bit, but it’s likely to be a carry over from last week, given the turkey donation from Dsil.

Have a great week folk!

£50 for dds bus pass (can claim back from the college.)

Hope all the poorly peeps feel better soon, I always think this time of year is terrible for bugs as we are low on immunity after the long winter. It was Easter time that my dd ended up in itu with flu (that was 7 years ago now!)

North I love Devon, would like to move closer to the coast one day.

mmm, Bigbury beach, mmm, Burgh Island...makes me very nostalgic for the South Hams, indeed.

Meanwhile, the first council tax payment at the new rate has kicked in, and we're also now paying over £90 a year for the garden wheelie bin collection. The council have removed lots of street bins (why? why?) and I dunno, is it just me, or are the streets getting grubbier and grubbier?

Never mind, weekend was a good London one - Shoreditch on the East London line, walked to the canal via the delights of Arnold Circus and Broadway Market and thence to Victoria Park. Delicious cheese toastie and cardamom buns in the café and then bus to Dalston Junction and home. Ddog loved the lake, the train and bus rides and the melted cheese off the toastie. Diss the hipsters all you like, but they have brought excellent baked goods to neighbourhoods...These neighbourhoods were grim beyond measure when I first lived in east London back in the 80's. (yeah, I know all about inequalities too...).

Yes Big, the best breakfasts in my neighbourhood are courtesy of the many hipster cafes. However, they are inevitably dog-friendly, which means Ds won’t go near them. Sigh.

Inset day here so DH and I took the day off to take the DC somewhere nice (I felt they were owed some excitement after watching me paint all weekend). Anyway, £85 ish for Whipsnade Zoo, took a picnic. It was all going well, even DS was cheerful and enjoying it, and then DD was struck by diarrhoea. She’s really upset, one of her ASD things is not dealing with being ill at all
well, so she was having a huge anxiety meltdown while we rushed from loo to loo. It took three times as long to get home as get there due to extra loo stops and there have been lots of tears. I’ve never been so glad to get home! Now collapsed with a cup of tea….

Out tonight with friends, will just have one drink in the pub though. Work tomorrow, been off since Good Friday so it’ll be a shock!

can I please gloat over my pristine not-mouldy-for-the-moment wardrobes? On my side I have two double doors, but it’s all one continuous wardrobe behind them, the entire length of the wall. The hanging rail is at least 12 foot long, for scale. Top part is much taller than the doors too, so really hard to reach. DH’s is the same but about half the width. It took a hard scrub to clean and then four coats of paint. Four. If I see any shadowy stains emerge I will weep!

north of course, you are welcome to message me though I’m afraid I’d need you to tell me how to retrieve a message??
My DDad has had a diagnosis fairly recently but had symptoms a while. To be fair only my mum has dealt with his consultant and she can’t remember the name for his type of dementia. But DSis and I have researched fronto temporal and pretty sure it’s that (even down to symptoms like increased appetite for sweet things). Plus, a key thing is that it’s more the behaviour (angry and irrational) rather than memory loss that’s the issue.

Am sat in the vets with a very cross and unhappy cat - due boosters and flea meds but the vets want her weighing first. She’s an ex stray who doesn’t handle well so will need to be pinned down by two vet nurses ☹️ and it will be costly. I always wonder whether it’s actually worth it for her every time I come!

Had a day in today to avoid spending money. Every time I go out I just lose control of the purse strings so as I don't actually need anything today I thought staying in was the safest option. I could have been way more productive in the house but apart from the usual housework I've done nothing.

Half I'm super impressed by your wardrobes! They are gleaming! We have a similar problem in ds2's room only it's behind his wardrobe that sits against an outside wall. His room doesn't smell damp but that wall always gets mouldy if there's not enough air circulating. It's not helped by the fact that as a teenage boy he's minging a bit untidy and sometimes things fall from the top of the wardrobe down the back. We used to have his bed on that wall and all the wrappers and bits of crap that fell down the side made it worse 🤢 We need to tackle the problem once and for all.

north I'm sorry to hear about your dad and I hope you get some answers soon. It must be putting such a strain on your mum and on you.