Frugal Friends Facing Forward with Fortitude

[Happierwithouthim]

Here's a friendly space for new and existing frugal friends.

We have all different types of incomes and lifestyles but with a common goal of making the best of the money we have.

Many of us have experiences of becoming debt free or being in difficulty with money for one reason or another so there's no need for embarrassment, just join in, post as little or as often as you wish.

Some record daily spends, some record only spends that are unplanned, some don't record spends at all, the choice is yours!

Cages = cafes. I know Hull has a bad reputation but even so....

Thank you Unescorted. I found a similar item with the size assist so have a plan. Cages gave me a chuckle this morning I hope you enjoy your trip. And avoid them.

I have the opposite issue Martha. When I’m at the office I rarely spend but working from the flat is a free for all.

Yikes em. Snow is only good in the mountains. It should learn to stay there. We had a tinseee bit of something yesterday that might have been snow but it didn’t lie.

Should be meeting with the solicitor on Friday so need to get my questions together. Might leave it until tomorrow when I’m at the office and have company.

Spending yesterday was £22.30 on Amazon on a hill walking in London book and a map I’ve had my eye on that now has a 15% discount. Might add some water bottles to that for my holiday in the summer.

Had my gym introduction yesterday and now have a PT. I got a discount so will see how it goes.

Waiting for Mr DHL. Rossignol missed an item from my order and it should be coming today. I’m making some soup with 15p Christmas vegetables so a big thank you to the poster that mentioned them. Snowshoe trekking has caught my eye so I might take a look at that though I think by the time next winter comes I’ll be too impoverished to afford it.

Last of the clotted cream with todays homemade veg soup.

dinner will use up some blue cheese still lurking in the cheese drawer.

I have avoided the cages of Hull. My meeting overran so had no choice.... I am very hungry. Hopefully one of my changes will give me enough time to get a sandwich from somewhere.

I have not been warm all day....

Unescorted That autocorrect amused me no end this morning

I went home for my lunch, that I'd brought with me to work, made the sandwich then got distracted with Eatstro delivery, taking washing out of machine and putting on a new wash & putting mince/veg/gravy into slow cooker to make food for dog and cats so ran out of time & had to put the sandwich into my lunchbox and eat it at my desk

The m&s at Sheffield was apparently a less daunting prospect. £5.50 for a damp sandwich, pack of crisps and a bottle of water. I should have just bought 4 packs of crisps in retrospect.

We passed a Tesco in Dublin on Sat before parking. Ds saw it, he hadn't eaten at all (I did cook a fry in the morning & stop at services, it was his choice not to eat) He wanted to go there for a meal deal before theatre, we ate in the hotel restaurant and tesco wasn't on our way. The following day he had hotel breakfast, and we were going to a restaurant to eat on the way home, however we stopped at a shopping centre which had a tesco, he got a meal deal there, he's kinda of obsessed with tesco meal deals for some reason, it was obviously still in his mind since Sat.

Cages 🤣🙃.

A NSD for once!

That did make me chuckle unescorted.
£3.30 on lunch as didn’t get way home.

I feel the same Unescorted it's been a hell of a first six days back I feel ring out and there's no let up now until April at least

Dinner is out of the freezer bulked out with a tin of cannellini beans and some sad sweet potatoes and I'm making soupy's flapjacks from stores. Slightly caught the toffee mixture so it maybe a little bitter but ds is grumbling about no puddings or biscuits

£136 summer childcare/end of ds's qualification thing.

First supermarket shop of the year coming tomorrow. It's needed!

Well done on the weight loss Happier. I get what you mean though. New scales arrive today. I have lost my menopause half stone in hrt but I'm still a good four to five stone overweight. Whilst I'd like to lose some the scales are more for making sure I don't gain any more.

I have to go to London.... DD has a piece in a prestigious exhibition. It is the private viewing in a couple of weeks. Not budgeted for but I am not missing it for the world.

Happier ds has an obsession with Tesco meal deals too. V. Odd.

Wolf April is a long way away.

One full frugal dinner wasted as ds has lost his shit again. Luckily the tv he kicked across the room is still in one piece. The flapjack isn't scorched so yay we have sweet treats

Ahhhhgggh wolf

😔 sorry to hear that. How old is he?

My NSD was thwarted by the window cleaner (£15) and then the arrival of my new single person discount council tax bill (£422 🙀). I have another installment to pay next month but adjusted my daily 'allowance' so can hopefully swallow the cost this month. Otherwise I have the cash I squirrelled away last month in anticipation.

Bloody hell @Wolfcub. Take care x

Is that annual @tuttifritti?

Sadly not @need. It is half the remainder of the year incl a 25% discount following exh finally leaving the home. The annual bill is over £2k.

Lunch was a slow cooked spaghetti bolognese which should do for another 8 or so portions.

Blimey tutti that’s steep.
today top uptesco 26 and dog food 16

Paid balance of holiday we are having in March, but that is already budgeted for. Sadly my uncle passed away just before Christmas and the funeral is later this month. He lived quite a distance away so we have decided to travel the day before the funeral and stay over. Booked a travel lodge, so not a huge amount, but that's probably this months savings wiped out with the fuel costs, but it can't be helped.

Menu today was porridge with berries for breakfast, roasted sardines crusty bread and salad for lunch, and maple and mustard sausage tray bake for dinner.

@tuttifritti I thought ours was bad.
@Nellieinthebarn sorry to hear about your uncle.

Totally you are going to London unescorted well done dd

wolf ❤️

sorry to hear about your uncle Nellie

@Happierwithouthim @Wolfcub I'm in the same boat. Have packed and kept on the weight after the DDs - both were difficult pregnancies. 5stone heavier than before. I've probably lost it all but never managed to keep it off - I seem to lose and gain the same stone over and over.

@Wolfcub sorry to hear that 😞

@tuttifritti sounds like you've got a plan to pay it off, but that's steep.

Work is seriously busy already, am already knackered and looking forward to Easter holidays. Writing a bid I know will be turned down, but still have to try anyway. Played around with a pension calculator to see what I need to retire at 60. Interesting to see the figures even if they were out of reach but there are some options.

NSD

Ins
£5 selling

Well done @Unescorted DD!

This is where Brutus (established one) and Neo have got to overnight.

If I was going to bake bread Brutus is ready to go because he doubled in size. I would keep 150g & put it back in the fridge. 35-40g is enough for 600g flour because he is a brute.