Jumping into July: Frugal Friends Financial Fun

[needastrongoneagain]

New 'Fred.

Very low spend couple of days.

£12 AdBlue but that's expenses.

Will be back to post fully later.

Spends today

£8 boots

£16 Claire’s

£9 local chemists

all of the above for things to do bloody ballet buns for dd’s mullet hair for her dance show over the weekend. Have I ever done a ballet bun? No. am I going to suck at it? High possibility seeing as I can’t even do a French plait.

£22 local cook shop on bread proving baskets. I’m doing sourdough again and my nice baskets I had have gone mouldy. Sad face.

also £8 local diy store because my shoe broke. So needed super super glue. Am sitting at desk with gorilla glue trying to stick the wedge on my shoe back down!!!

Ah Big, you are right about the food spends. I could understand spending a bit more for a time but honestly it feels more like 30% more! I am not going to worry about it as I’ve no headspace, and it’s not forever, but I will be very glad to get back to a proper fridge and eating more salad. You are also right about the decorating but it’s so expensive at London rates. I expect we’ll do some but not all and split the pain. If I paint a couple of rooms myself I can buy a sofa for the kitchen… 🤞🏻

Em DD had a tap exam today…. Previous ballet bun hair bits (nets and whatnot) are lost at home so I braved the only permitted alternative of a French plait at 7am today. I can’t claim it was entirely straight but fortunately the boss couldn’t see the back of her own head 😉. My first French plait in over 30 years, feels like me that had the exam!

NSD, I think. Unless I buy knobs later.

Collie I found car insurance jumped up this year 🙁 I've been driving 25 years and have never made a claim!!

Dd has gone off to her boyfriends house for the night 😕 not sure I'm ready for her growing up so quickly.

I've been getting on with some decorating, I used some paint I had left over for the downstairs loo, picked up more paintbrushes and a mini roller for behind the radiator from Wickes, also got some tester pots and some gloss for the skirting boards.

£40.

Picked up my cats meds £12.

Looked at vinyl for the floor, found some I liked but will wait until next pay day. Is vinyl easy to lay? pondering if I could fit it 😬

Collie Deflating it most certainly is.

Girlie Glad you had a nice break.

Half Hoping the end is in sight for the renovations.

The trainers are off my watch list. The Emmanuel Macron trading card is now feeling lonely.

Have abandoned my Christmas plans. Hotels were all either all booked or four times the price of the week before. Will put the money towards next years holiday. Think Christmas should be relatively cheap this year.

Filled in a form today about the hotel charge credit card dispute and returned it with my related documents. Hate that it’s so much effort when they overcharged me. Given my experience with Virgin and the arbitrator I am not getting my hopes up.

Spending has been £4.36 on chocolate milk in Aldi yesterday. Waitrose and Marks and Spencer have not had any for weeks. I bought four cartons so I hope it’s nice. It’s also 41p cheaper.

Today was a no spend day. Might try to brighten my evening by looking at a new restaurant to try in Paris. Anyone have any suggestions?

My home insurance renewal has come back double previous quotes - £1100
Instead of £550 😮. Will be hitting the internet tonight

There will be loads of people to show you a ballet bun and they are fairly easy. I can still do them. Also useful for horse show buns

Yes vinyl is easy to lay IMO. Careful cutting but YouTube is your friend there

Few spends today not many. Canceled lots of subscription Inc Prime

Nsd. Yeah

Morning all! Just taken delivery of a pallet of paving stones, and helped DH carry them through to the garden, pending the great DIY venture. Have built up a healthy sweat. I'm hoping that this project will go a good way towards my weight resistance/cardio efforts for the year.

Roof man due to get started today. We're all action! (though not like half).

Finished Detectorists last night. Oh, so lovely! I now have a feature length special to look forward to.

DParents doing better - Ddad has physio exercises and adaptations from the really excellent falls clinic, DM's haematology all going pretty well, and mentally they both seem in better places. We put up their shelves at the weekend and they are very pleased with them. They have book club, fish and chip night and a Pimms party this week, so things are looking up!

NSD here at last. Checked finances last night. All seems on track but tight.

Also hopeful to be posting more regularly here.

I did a grocery shop with trolley yesterday, can't remember the last time I did that. I think possibly before Christmas, dc at home for summer now so breakfasts & lunches will be eaten at home and possibly baking etc
Aldi €141 including spike ball set & camping groundsheet Lidl €20
Lunch from deli counter was €5.50 yesterday & the pack of crisps I didn't eat yesterday is taunting me at work now
€10 5 week lotto ticket supporting ds's club & possibility of winning €20k for me
Got summer roster from exh yesterday and because he's only taking one week off with them he's taking them most weekends this summer, will ruin camping for us as there's only one weekend now we can go but it'll be great for my Friday evenings as I won't be rushing to take dd to horse riding

Day was going well, and then Ddog came home from the park very distressed, whimpering and shaking his head. One visit to the vet later, turns out he had two rather nasty grass seeds stuck deep in there, and suspected ruptured ear drum. He's fine now, but we need to get eardrops into him twice a day for the next week, which he won't like at all. £88.

Jumping back in! Long time no see hope everyone ok will have a proper read through later!

We are good here, although need to get back on the frugal train as we've got lots of (expected) expenses soon eg uniform and school shoes X4 also school changed the uniform who does that in a cost of living crisis 🙄.

Also the house as always needs some work so that's around 2k which we do have in savings but that will be it gone.

Also our income may be going down, don't want to go into details, it might not happen hopefully, but need to try and get a rainy day fund just incase!

Finished the decorating the downstairs loo, it looks much better and fresher. Am on a bit of a roll now, going to do kitchen next!

Nsd.

Decafflatteplease 👋 stressful isn't it. My income is dropping so I'm back here to knuckle down and focus on building a buffer.

I just spent £1.29 on a colouring book for myself. Used my own personal "pocket money"... I always prioritise mindfulness as I have awful anxiety. Colouring and jigsaws help me a lot.

Next and The Range have started stocking Halloween stuff 😳

€15.17 on pure junk & a 6pk of eggs from a petrol station, we were out from 6:15pm-9.15pm yesterday due to me going to a meeting and a funeral and dc didn't complain once, but wow, all because I didn't fancy the hassle of the aldi next door. This won't be repeated.
€9.60 on 3 soft drinks at meeting

Yesterday was £31 in Lidl, including £9.99 for a coca cola cool bag which will do for picnics.
£7.25 for gyoza at lunch time.

Today we are headed to a fish and chips restaurant at the coast, but its not extortionate. Belated anniversary. Round here restaurants seemed to have pulled their lunchtime specials. At Easter there was an £8 lunchtime special at a Gastro pub we like. That's gone now, it's main menus only. Tough times. 😔

Done food shop for collection on Sunday. Spent £74. Budget is £75. Includes packed lunches and treats.

Sunday: Sausages, New potatoes and broccoli
Monday: tuna chorizo pesto pasta
Tuesday: out for dinner. Budgeted
Wednesday: Homemade quiche and salad
Thursday: quick dinner as clubs night
Friday: Homemade fish and chips
Saturday: Homemade chicken burgers, sweet potato fries and Homemade coleslaw.

Am putting together a shopping list for summer holiday food from Aldi or Lidl. Things like tortilla wraps, crisps, malt loaf, ice lollies and breakfast muffins (for mini pizza making) 😊

Half Goodness on that insurance quote increase.

Collie I like the sound of your mini pizzas.

Yesterday spending was £1.29 on some eggs in Lidl to make sandwiches for a day out on Friday. Will have to stop off for some kind of bread or rolls tomorrow.

Today has been a no spend. Took a trip to the community fridge and got some fruit and vegetables for next week. Am at the office tomorrow for an event so hopefully there will be no chance for spending. Though being in town I am having tempting thoughts about a visit to Stanfords.

Work made me miserable yesterday and I compounded it by reading about the increasing mortgage rates. I’ve not been paying much attention as I figure there’s nothing I can do about it. Will just have to see how things are when the time comes. Have to pull out the paperwork and see if I can port the current one. Crikey how different life is now to a year or so ago.

Hi all, hope you're all ok.

BigSkies Oh no, hope your poorly doggy is soon feeling better, poor thing.

Collie We do lots of mini pizza-type things using English muffins, baguettes, wraps, whatever! We often get a lot of free bread from our local zero waste initiative so we freeze it and then defrost a bit a time to make those. DD really loves them and she's a terrible eater so they make a good lunch for her.

Drama at work today over holiday requests. We have a new manager and it's not going smoothly.

Spends today £2 bus fare to work, 75p on bar of chocolate at the newsagents by work on my lunch break. I wasn't expecting it to be that expensive! I only get one maybe once a month though so I think that's fair enough, right?! We are getting a takeaway for tea today, we usually do it fortnightly now. Not great but better than when we were doing it weekly tbf and we do it once kids in bed so it's cheaper for us. DH will probably pay for that.

Was just about to pay nursery some fees I owe but can see they've not actually sent me the invoice for it even though I asked for it on Monday, so can't pay that yet really anyway.

Contents insurance is up for renewal so need to have a gander. We have the building insurance with a different provider at a different time though as we lived here then bought the house later. I'm tending to think I might just cancel the auto renewal for the contents and leave it until the buildings insurance is due for renewal and then look for a joint policy together. I'm sure that would work out better value and be simpler in the long run. Usually I am super risk averse but it seems extremely unlikely we would need to make a contents claim in the next six months specifically like.

Dd has the pox. She’s literally covered in spots. Ah crap

Evening.

Dropped off the thread last couple of days.

Definitely getting the NHS input @Girliefriendlikespuppies, and do push for it but (very sadly), the things on offer privately are a whole other level. It almost feels wrong we can access this (for a time), but then again, I couldn't deny DH the opportunity to get so much further down the recovery road than he might otherwise.

I'm hiding for ten minutes in the bedroom drinking a glass of red. DS is with DH, I needed ten minutes! Work is manic, life more so, I'm largely mentally and physically and generally exhausted most of the time 🤣

Odd re home insurance, ours went down?

Might try Dectectorists tonight, sounds just the right thing for us.

Small wins re the weekend @Happierwithouthim🙃

How's the dog @BigSkies2022? Here's a photo of my two dickheads this week, 10 and 11 but no one mentioned this age thing 🤣

Hello @Decafflatteplease!

Enjoy the fish and chips @kessiebird

Like the menu plan @Colliewobbler23

Spends here low to non existent on non budgeted items, due mainly to the scrap man swinging by work and picking up a pile on unusable shite worth nothing for a few quid cash - it's bought some fresh fruit and bread/milk etc at least. Some DH therapy related costs, but not as bad as expected, so that's positive news.

I'm better posting daily!

@needastrongoneagain how adorable is that pic! Bless ‘em.

@ememem84 the pox is indeed crap. Has DS had it? If not, expect to see spot on him about 2 weeks today, that’s how it went with my 2.

Expensive week. DS2 went to Alton towers today. I did send him with £20 but he’s bought back £15 so bonus. Sorted out ds1s travel insurance for his holiday £12.50. We get travel insurance as part of our bank account so just ds2 to sort for our holiday, £11.50. Then €100 on a prepaid currency card for DS2s school trip to Belgium next week. Also £70 for me on nails and microdermabrasion.

Think that’s it!

Hilarious pic, need and yes, Detectorists hits the spot when what you want is soothing. Mackenzie Crook is amazing, Toby Young also - just everyone is fantastic, plays it to the hilt but without mugging.

British Library today to get reader's card and have a preliminary look around. £10 on a sandwich and an iced coffee! Caught up with DBro. Risotto for dinner. Roof man done, and all looks good.

Ddog seems fine, but refusing to let us administer the v. expensive steroid drops that are supposed to aid his ruptured ear drum heal.

British library sounds good @BigSkies2022 I've always wanted to go there.

@ememem84 hope DC is ok. Years ago our 2 back in the days we only had 2, got pox the week we moved house, that was let say an interesting time!

NSD here. But I forgot to buy vitamins so should have been a non nsd 😂 I'll get them tomorrow!

Evening all thank you for the kind words. Just having a tough time at the moment since dh brother died suddenly in may the same day as my best friend husband Dh cousin aged 49 a single parent to a 30 year old and 15 old has now been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and given 8 weeks to live. Now dd best friend and boyfriends mum ( not knobhead thankfully she moved on ) has passed away this morning in her early 50s. Throw into the mix I started a new challenging job in may part of my reason to move was a fresh start as dmil passed away the day before i started and it was constant bad news little did I know it would follow me and only get worse

Trying to focus on the positives be grateful for what we have but it’s hard as it feels like one thing after another

update on dm kitchen due to a flood in December it’s nearly finished being fitted should be done by Friday but I doubt she will use it she’s got out of the habit of cooking for herself and i don’t think she can be bothered any more so may have to look at getting carers in which she will hate but it’s not sustainable for me and dsis to have her for tea every night when we both work full time
got some other issues going on regarding dsis and money but don’t want to derail the thread like I usually do

not been very frugal recently particularly dh think it’s his way of coping he booked his cbt bike training did his theory and is now looking at doing his bike test which is a fortune but his db was a biker luckily we can afford it but not put much into the savings account recently but today was a nsd