Familiar Friends in Frugality(Feb 24>)

[Happierwithouthim]

Frugal Friends Facing Forward with Fortitude http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/costoff_living/4957140-frugal-friends-facing-forward-with-fortitude

New thread

Good news on the bathroom Big. Your plans sound lovely.

I’m like you Short. I keep everything. Currently avoiding going through over 20 years of paperwork. It needs to be done as I can’t really move with it.

Welcome Sheep. Sorry about the health issues.

Productive day em. Fancy coming over to mine? Good luck with the bread.

Had a three day office week so spent a bit more on commuting than I would have liked. Wednesday I spent £40 in Uniqlo on two tops. Thursday was £6.50 on a Too Good To Go bag. If anyone is ever tempted by chocolate and raspberry cookies pass them by. Today I spent £4.98 in Lidl on something for dinner as I missed a free lunch at the office. The amount of food they threw out was awful. I left early today so got an off peak ticket at least.

Still waiting the council tax bill. I tried to log on online but was told I didn’t exist. Not sure that’s a good sign. Heard back from an estate agent so think I will try to throw something together for the solicitor.

Actually I did manage to 'save' myself £30 today - I was fretting a bit about a £32 taxi fare back as everything would be too heavy/bulky to carry then realised I could use mum's shopper and get on the bus for £2!

@RumBananaSundae thank you :)

GP trying to coax me back for more tests so I'll do that on Monday. They know what patients are like and how reluctant they can be.

@Chile1978 yes we got a bit above what the estate agent thought we would. We are lucky to live in a university town with two big unis so house prices haven’t slumped as much here

@BigSkies2022 I would hate to travel next to a dog on a plane 😬 I have handed in my notice which has actually directly caused some of the “misbehaving” I mentioned above. They are trying to get me to produce work for 3 years ahead but we have never done this before and I don’t have time to do it before I leave.

@RumBananaSundae I have been much less diplomatic than that over a glass of wine, I can assure you 🤣

Hosted some friends for dinner last night - pushed the boat out so feeling it today, was cooking and cleaning all day.

got rid of some more items by leaving them outside (our road has a very thriving culture of people leaving items out for a day to see if others want them!)

-huge (I mean MASSIVE, you could serve a toddler in it!) glazed blue and white bowl from Tunisia (holiday with Ex, so not feeling the urges to take it to America!)
-big wooden and brass trunk/blanket box, very heavy and not as much storage space as you’d think
another plant in a heavy pot, we can’t take any of our plants sadly
-agreed with a friend she will buy our garden furniture, a large plant and an air fryer which we will deliver

Morning all. Sunshine, hurrah! We're meeting friends for brunch in Clerkenwell this morning, then possibly do some browsing for light fittings. Hoping the good weather will continue so I can finish my weeding and mulching this weekend.

Easter still very unclear. Hoping DS will be here on the weekend, so I can do a Big Lunch for fam on the Saturday, and cover off several celebrations at once. We'll see.

We also have on-street distribution of our clear-outs, Gen. I'd definitely be along for the items you describe. The cheek of your employers! Practice your old fashioned look on them. No, I don't know what it means either, it's something my gran used to say when she was planning to communicate disapproval.

Morning all, made it to another weekend.

We're going to Bristol this afternoon, plan is to have a look round the shops and we've got tickets booked to see Jesus Christ superstar tonight.

Ive got a voucher I'm hoping we can use for dinner as it covers most chain restaurants.

Thanks for thoughts on house expenses, it feels like there is something most months for the house.

Can I join this thread, please? I must admit I've been reading it for a while, thinking I really need to be smarter with my money. I was in the "no spend 2024" thread, but it's rather quiet, and my goal isn't so much to not spend but to spend better.

I live in London with my DH and our 4,5yo. We are lucky to own our (small) house, which is mainly due to DH buying his first place at the age of 21, and me making some smart investments in my 30s (we are in early 40s now). I need to be a bit more frugal because I'd like to pay our mortgage off in the next 5 years. I don't really think we can, but I'd certainly like to try. My hours have also recently reduced from fulltime to 3,5 days (so 70%), and the first thing that went was saving. I'd really like to cut back on other areas so I'm able to save again.

I also have a few bad money habits - I can easily not spend anything at all for days, but as soon as I enter shops I tend to pick up things I don't need. I went in yesterday for a lip balm (which I did need), but ended up browsing and picking up a small skincare product (definitely not needed). So instead of spending £4, I spent £13. I feel like I need a bit of accountability!

I recognise a few people here from the decluttering thread (hello!) which makes sense as the two kind of go nicely together.

Welcome @Pigtailsandall - which section is the decluttering thread in? I’d love to join! I am currently on a massive decluttering vibe rn as we are relocating to USA in the summer.

@Gensola thanks! The decluttering is in the Housekeeping section. We are up to thread 7 now I believe. We all have different methods and goals and are at different stages of the process, but it's a very supportive group.

An intercontinental move! That's so exciting! I'm originally Canadian and the idea of ever organising myself enough to move overseas again is an overwhelming one.

@RumBananaSundae still waiting here too. Hoping it comes relatively soon as it will be due 1st April.
@Gensola I am looking for a pot just like that!!! All the garden centre ones are too small or are those metal ones if large.
@Girliefriendlikespuppies have fun! Love Bristol.
Welcome @Pigtailsandall. Sounds like an ambitious and worthwhile goal to be mortgage free by 50 (give or take!). We've recently restrategised and are now prioritising pension over mortgage which should make more sense for our situation.

I've been a lurker on the decluttering thread for years but am relatively self-motivated so I just like to read along and occasionally get inspired to do an area I haven't done in a while.

Picked up a click and collect. Some shopping to be done later today. Have written a list ✔️

Making the most of the lack of rain (not sure it really qualifies as sun just yet 🤣 ) and starting to weed the front garden (more a patch really!)

Spends day fixing an old phone for ds but £50
j stead of £550 new.
£40 Aldi, £17 takeaway, £3.63 mil shopping
££££ on food yesterday

Good grief Gensola. Three years? No wonder you need wine.

Enjoy the theatre and dinner Girlie.

Welcome Pigtail. Thank you for mentioning the decluttering thread. I might look it up.

Was feeling good after my £4.17 in Aldi this morning until I realised I needed washing up liquid and something for lunch tomorrow so went back out and am another £5.31 down. I did get some double yellow stickered flat breads.

Was meant to be hill walking tomorrow with my walking friend until we realised there are public transport issues in addition to a closed motorway. We’re going for something town based instead.

Have done nothing today. Was hoping to sort numbers out for the solicitor but took a nap instead. Am already down a YouTube rabbit hole so can’t see anything getting done this evening. There’s always tomorrow.

A productive day - in a way!! Was up early for a Saturday - two washing machine loads done this morning. Then got lost in FB/catch up on IT stuff and continue completing my PIP form online. Then went into my neighbours' to sort her phone out to free up some memory and have a brew with her. Then back home to continue with PIP form - now need to dig out evidence for uploading.
So all positive stuff. Even better - it was a NSD and my neighbour paid me for dog biscuits I picked up the other day - so £3.00 up for staying in and around home!! 🙂
But then fell by the wayside - sharing Donner Kebab and chips meal with DH along with milkshakes - was worth it though!! £19 😋and all because I couldn't be bothered to cook as wrestling with the start of a cold and sore throat - which the milkshake soothed!! Very medicinal!! 😷😅

I would've been mortgage free at 49 had I stayed married to exh instead I've a mortgage until 68 if I don't manage to pay extra money towards it during that term. I will though but probably not until dc have done third level education

€8 on a cream bun & two cans of monster will get 50c back on deposit return scheme
€70 on cut & colour
Call to see my cousins dc and left with big bag of jeans that no longer fit her, they'll either fit me or dd or pass on to charity shop

The decluttering thread is great. Lovely and friendly and supportive like this one.

ds went to beavers camp yesterday he had so much fun.

£175 Waitrose. Enough stuff for the week plus a lot of stocking up stuff.

sourdough was an absolute failure. Flat and solid. Will try again.

woken up this morning at 6 by catface scrabbling around on the stairs. Thought nothing of it initially but then went to investigate. She’d somehow caught two mouseys. And was trying to keep them in check. She’s very proud of herself.

mouseys have been pooped back outside. The front because she doesn’t go that way.

They are TTP gen (taking the piss)
I need to carry on the declutter but no head space

Will catch up in a mo. On the way to London 🚆 - will be checking various sights and the British Museum. Brollies 🌂 at the ready! Should be minimal on spends as most is either paid for/free/or prepared (i.e. packed snacks.)

@lifelongfrugaleer 50 is better than 1000 📱! Great you could get it fixed
@RumBananaSundae the chaos didn't seem to happen - people avoided it. Wondering though whether next time people will think it wasn't bad so I'll continue as normal so it will be the expected gridlock. 🚗 🚗 🚗 . Seems like you must have needed the rest, hope today you cam get a few jobs done
@Rainbow1901 milkshake indeed is medicinal 💊 take it from me, signed not a doctor 😆
@Happierwithouthim I'm sure you consider it worth it though?
I too could/would have been mortgage free at 33 and 50ish respectively had we not moved and then done the extension. Whilst sometimes I think about it, I wouldn't change it. It will also be 65 for us, and hoping we can use the pension lump sum to pay any remainder off.
@ememem84 I have no luck - bread week would be my bête noire on GBBO.
@lifelongfrugaleer little and no pressure might work - every time you open the sock drawer for example you recycle any with holes. It can be exhausting though (physically, mentally, and emotionally) depending on your start point. I did a kondo festival about 10years ago and I'm still reaping the benefits. I appreciate though I've always been tidy and organised, it was a case of wanting to shift to a less consumerist mindset and getting rid of the extras I'd been keeping too long out of a life I was no longer living (e.g. outfits from my London clubbing days)

Spends (from Sat)
80 food

We had a great day Ystd, Jesus Christ Superstar was absolutely amazing, we all loved it and were blown away by how good it is. Seemed like a great time of year to watch it with Easter around the corner as well!

Had a fab time in Bristol mooching round shops and markets, my mum kindly paid for lunch and dinner. I paid for snacks and drinks £15, parking £16 and I drove so fuel about £15.

Dd found some clothes in the vintage shops which seem to have popped up so she was happy.

Topped up on toiletries and snacks in Poundland this morning £35, that includes some bits for Easter.

My friend looked after the dog for us for the day and took this cute pic of him... he's my baby boy 😉😆

Cuuute @Girliefriendlikespuppies .
Trip sounds fab too - it's those experiences that make frugaleering worth it!

We had a great trip too. Absolutely exhausted. Laundry in already as we were all a bit damp. Girls did brilliantly and seemed to enjoy themselves.

Forgot to fill up so will need to do that tomorrow. Determined to make it through on budget!

Spends
£15 travel and a drink

big selling day today, gained £650 (minus site selling fees!) for the peloton and another £32 for chalet books.

Batch cooked for the week but didn’t make it to the gym. Sigh.

House is feeling so much calmer and more spacious as we get rid of things. It’s really made me think about over stuffing future houses.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies very cute doggo!!

I’m going to be you Happier (possibly). I’m very bitter about it. Feel like I could have spent the last 20 years in bed scratching myself and be in a better position.

Sorry about the sourdough em.

My friend and I were thinking the same Chile re the traffic. My day consisted of a walk and no jobs getting done. Tomorrow maybe. I need to get things to the solicitor.

What a lovely dog Girlie. He looks very angelic.

No spend day today. First in a while. Need some new walking trousers as the ones I bought are now too big. I’ve not even worn two of them. I did wear one of my new jackets today and loved it. Office is only open two days this week so I can save a day’s commute.

@RumBananaSundae I’m sorry to hear that, it is galling 💐

@RumBananaSundae 🌼 sorry, that is hard. Are you staying in the marital home do you think?

Spendy morning already
£20 new suitcase
£55 argos (but used £50 Nectar points so only £5 cash)
Have put out a couple of quote requests for a pergola and a firepit.
Shorter day at work so will try and use this evening to follow up on our ongoing thermostat issues. Thought we'd fixed it, but nope.

59p for a bag for a Vinted order (I've run out now - it's been that long since I had delivery for clothing) Parcel sent - so £3 to come even if the profit is reduced.
Milkman - £8.59

Good on spending your points Chile. I always save them for a rainy day and end up loosing them (looking at you Eurostar). Good luck for the thermostat.

Spending today has been £1.78 in Aldi and £3.36 in Lidl.

Productive(ish) day so far. It’s amazing how much not wanting to do work pushes you towards other things. Solicitor’s correspondence done so will try to stop thinking about it as I can’t do anything more. Hoping I can forget about it enough to start planning France. Will be good to get an idea of what I want to do and to book what I can.

Vegetables prepared for cooking tomorrow, bags of spinach cooked and will go into the freezer and today’s dinner out the freezer.